POWER RANKINGS

1. From Philadelphia “Philly Special” Eagles in (1-0) the | Super Last week’s Bowl to rank: “Philly 1 Philly” continues in Thursday’s to push season the right opener, buttons. coach Doug Pederson 2. New England Patriots (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 2 So far, the 41-year-old version of Tom Brady looks a lot like the 40-year-old version, which means he remains an MVP-caliber QB. 3. Los Angeles Rams (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 3

It took the Rams a while to get moving on offense Monday night in Oakland. That’s understandable, given the lack of preseason preparation that came with coach Sean McVay’s injury-avoidance approach. 4. Minnesota Vikings (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 4 It’s so far, so good for QB Kirk Cousins with his new team. Cousins was sharp and efficient in his Vikings debut, a 24-16 win over the 49ers. 5. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 5 QB Blake Bortles wasn’t great against the Giants, but he did a few things here and there. The defense, as usual, did the heavy lifting. 6. Green Bay Packers (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 8 How great was QB Aaron Rodgers? Absurdly great. His second-half return and the fourth-quarter comeback he led to beat the Bears made for the opening weekend’s best drama. But his knee injury is a concern. 7. Carolina Panthers (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 11

The Panthers beat the Cowboys with a strong defensive performance while doing just enough on offense to win. 8. Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 13

The opening win in Indianapolis amounted to taking care of business properly against a bad opponent. 9. Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 14 Patrick Mahomes was terrific taking over for the departed Alex Smith at QB. Tyreek Hill was at his dynamic best as a receiver and a returner. 10. Baltimore Ravens (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 15 Are the Ravens that good or are the Bills that bad? It’s probably a little bit of each.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0-1) | Last week’s rank: 7 The absence of RB Le’Veon Bell became even more intriguing with the tie in Cleveland and the strong performance by James Conner running in place of Bell.

12. Los Angeles Chargers (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 9 The loss at home to the Chiefs was a disappointing beginning for a team picked by many to win the AFC West.

13. Atlanta Falcons (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 12 These near miss losses in Philadelphia must be getting a little irksome, with one to end last season and another to begin this season. 14. Washington Redskins (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 21 The Redskins debuts of QB Alex Smith and RB Adrian Peterson went well in the triumph at Arizona. 15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 25 Is Jameis Winston going to be Fitzpatrick-ed? Ryan Fitzpatrick was terrific in the surprising 48-40 victory over the Saints. 16. Miami Dolphins (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 26 Perhaps the Dolphins should play more seven-hour games. They thrive in them, apparently. 17. Denver Broncos (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 28

The defense was good against the Seahawks, sacking Russell Wilson six times and intercepting him twice.

18. New Orleans Saints (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 6 The Saints began 0-2 last season before regrouping to be one of the NFC’s best teams. They’re fully capable of pulling things together quickly again this season.

19. New York Jets (1-0) | Last week’s rank: 29 Rookie QB Sam Darnold rebounded from throwing an interception for a TD on his first NFL snap to play very well Monday night in Detroit. 20. New York Giants (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 16 Rookie RB Saquon Barkley and WR Odell Beckham Jr. were productive against the Jaguars. The defense was pretty good. But the offensive line and QB Eli Manning must be better. 21. Chicago Bears (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 17 Khalil Mack was as dominant as a defender can be, at least for a half, in his Bears debut. 22. Dallas Cowboys (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 19

The offense simply wasn’t good enough in the defeat at Carolina. 23. Cleveland Browns (0-0-1) | Last week’s rank: 32 Not the same, old Browns? Not quite, at least. They didn’t win. But they didn’t lose, either, and that’s saying something on the heels of a winless season. 24. San Francisco 49ers (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 20 Last season’s late magic didn’t carry over for QB Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners. 25. Tennessee Titans (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 10 Losing to the Dolphins was bad enough. The injuries to QB Marcus Mariota, left tackle Taylor Lewan and TE Delanie Walker made it far worse. 26. Houston Texans (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 22 Second-year QB Deshaun Watson did not quite pick up right where he’d left off as a rookie, struggling in the opener. 27. Seattle Seahawks (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 27 The Seahawks simply must find a way to protect QB Russell Wilson better. 28. Oakland Raiders (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 30

The Raiders, in Jon Gruden’s highly anticipated return to the sideline, were competitive in the first half against the Rams in the second game of Monday night’s doubleheader. 29. Detroit Lions (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 18 Remember, the Lions fired Jim Caldwell following a 9-7 season before bringing in Matt Patricia to be their coach. 30. Arizona Cardinals (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 24

The performance against the Redskins was bad all around. 31. Indianapolis Colts (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 31 QB Andrew Luck played well in his return. The problem is that the team around him simply is not very good. 32. Buffalo Bills (0-1) | Last week’s rank: 23

If not throwing five interceptions in the first half constitutes improvement, well, then QB Nathan Peterman is improving.