Our Weekly Power Rankings are out following a crazy Week 1 in the NFL!
1 – Buffalo Bills (1)
Buffalo stays at the top spot of our Power Rankings after a dominant win at Sofi Stadium on Thursday Night. Despite four turnovers, the Bills offence still looked great in the win and their defence looked even better. The scariest part about this game was the way they beat the defending Super Bowl champs without All-Pro corner Tre White even in the game. Matt Stafford couldn’t get anything going and was sacked seven times and intercepted three times. The defence was just as good in the ground game, holding the Rams to 52 total rushing yards. Clearly, the Bills are the team to beat right now in the NFL.
2 – Kansas City Chiefs (3)
No Tyreek Hill, no problem. Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offence erupted on Sunday in a 44-21 dismantling of the Arizona Cardinals. The team scored on their first three possessions and went up 23-7 after two quarters. In the second half, things didn’t change much for the offence as they added another three touchdowns. Mahomes ended the game with five touchdown passes and 360 yards through the air while throwing just nine incompletions. Although he had two fumbles, Juju Smith-Schuster made an immediate impact on the offence as well, making six catches for 79 yards. Long story short – the Chiefs are still the Chiefs, and they’re comfortably 2nd in our Power Rankings right now.
3 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5)
The Bucs’ offence did struggle with punching their drives in for touchdowns, but it was still a solid performance on the road against the Dallas Cowboys. Offensively, the highlight was Leonard Fournette, who ran for 127 yards on 21 carries and looked virtually unstoppable at times. On the other side of the ball, it was a tremendous effort from everyone involved. The Bucs were the only team to not allow a touchdown in week 1, and they did it against last year’s top offence. Based on how they looked Sunday night, we could certainly be seeing another deep playoff run for Tom Brady in what might just be the final season of his career (if he ever retires).
4 – Los Angeles Chargers (4)
The Chargers’ defence caused problems for Derek Carr and the Raiders all day, tallying three interceptions and five sacks. As expected, the duo of Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa was in the backfield all day and looked like one of the best defensive line tandems in the league. Offensively, Justin Herbert was extremely efficient, throwing for 279 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Although Austin Ekeler wasn’t as much of a factor as he usually is, the offence looked good regardless. However, he may have to be more of a focal point on Thursday in Kansas City if Keenan Allen has to miss the game with an injury he sustained on Sunday.
5 – Los Angeles Rams (2)
Although it was a tough first week back, we’ll still keep the Rams in the top five for now. It may have less to do with them and more to do with the fact that there’s no other team that we’d take in front of them, but they’ll stick around in the Power Rankings regardless. Cooper Kupp is still dominant, the defence still has stars all over the field, and there’s no reason to think Matt Stafford can’t bounce back next weekend in a big way against a pretty weak Atlanta Falcons team.
Honorable Mentions – Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens
