POWER RANKINGS
Tom Brady threw five more touchdown passes on Sunday, giving the 44-year-old relic a whopping nine after two games.
The Bucs quarterback just continues his shock and awe tour, as he’s now a little more than a week away from his showdown with the Patriots and return to Foxboro.
Week 2 also saw an epic battle between the Ravens and Chiefs, with John Harbaugh making a bold call to convert a fourth down and deny Patrick Mahomes a final possession.
Meanwhile, the Patriots’ Mac Jones became the first 2021 rookie quarterback to notch a victory.
Week 2 also had four starting quarterbacks go down with injuries.
Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa (ribs), Houston’s Tyrod Taylor (hamstring), Chicago’s Andy Dalton (knee), and Indy’s Carson Wentz (ankles) all started, but didn’t finish their respective games.
Digging through the rubble, there’s also a few unexpected teams sitting at 2-0.
Here’s our Power Rankings heading into Week 3:
1. Buccaneers (2-0):
The Bucs’ defense has given up 300-plus yards in back-toback weeks. Not a concern if Brady keeps chucking multiple TD passes and putting up 30plus points a game. He’s done that nine straight games and counting.
2. Rams (2-0):
Definition of a big-play defense? Keeping the opposition scoreless on two different occasions at the goal line. LA did that with an interception and sack of Carson Wentz on fourth down.
3. Chiefs
(1-1): Until Sunday night, Mahomes was 10-0, with 38 TDs and no picks, in the month of September. The Ravens ended Mahomes’ September bliss, with a loss and a pick.
4. 49ers
(2-0): Two road wins right out of the gate. One slugfest, one nail-biter. The Niners are off to a good start.
5. Ravens (1-1)
:No guts, no glory. Harbaugh knew he’d lose, giving the ball back to Mahomes with a minute to go needing a score to win. So he put the ball in Lamar Jackson’s hands on fourth down, and his quarterback did the rest.
6. Bills (1-1):
They rebounded the old-fashioned way, behind a defense that notched 6 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, 9 tackles for loss and 3 takeaways, and a running game that topped 100 yards.
7. Browns (1-1)
:A sign of Cleveland’s progress? They haven’t lost two games in a row with Kevin Stefanski as their head coach.
8. Cardinals (2-0):
Kyler Murray has seven touchdown passes after two games. He’s already getting MVP buzz, but let’s remember he’s two shy of that legend who’s 20 years older.
9. Seahawks (1-1):
Tough to fathom them blowing a 15-point halftime lead, but Pete Carroll’s crew allowed 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
10. Raiders (2-0):
They traveled across the country on a short week, played an early game, and watched Derek Carr take care of the vaunted Steelers defense. Surprise, surprise.
11. Packers (1-1)
The real Aaron Rodgers showed up against the Lions, leaving his imposter behind in northeast Florida, where the nomad Saints smoked the Packers Week 1.
12. Steelers (1-1):
If the defense doesn’t dominate every week, the Men of Steel are going to have a tough time winning.
13. Titans (1-1):
:
Derrick Henry wasn’t about to let the Titans start 0-2. He trampled over the Seahawks defense for 182 yards and three scores to spark a comeback win in overtime.
14. Cowboys (1-1)
: Hard to expect Dak Prescott to put the ball up 58 times every week. Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott made sure there was no need Week 2, running over the Chargers.
15. Broncos
(2-0): The Broncos haven’t lost with Teddy Bridgewater at the helm. That’s usually what happens when you get competent quarterback play.
16. Chargers
(1-1): They had two touchdowns erased. Missed a field goal. And committed 12 penalties for 99 yards. Not a recipe for success.
17. Patriots:
(1-1): Hard to believe pass protection would be an issue with the Patriots offensive line, but the truth is in the sacks, hurries, hits and lack of downfield throws by Mac Jones.
18. Panthers
(2-0): Defense, Christian McCaffrey and a reborn Sam Darnold has the Panthers off to a good start.
19.
Saints (1-1):
Between missing eight assistant coaches because of COVID-19, and being displaced for three weeks by Hurricane Ida, something had to give after a good start.
20. Dolphins: (1-1):
The offensive line is a mess. It was only a matter of time before Tagovailoa got knocked out of the game. Even the best flak jacket couldn’t have saved his ribs Sunday.
21. WFT
(1-1): Forget Taylor Heinicke being nothing more than a placeholder until Ryan Fitzpatrick returns from his hip injury. WFT is going to be just fine with Heinicke running the show.
22.
Eagles (1-1):
After a terrific Week 1 start, Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith turned into pumpkins Week 2. Both were non-factors in the loss to the 49ers.
23. Colts (0-2):
Protection issues continue to make Wentz’ life miserable. And failure in the red zone continues to be a killer. They’ve come away with no points in three of their red zone trips this season.
24.
Bears (1-1):
Justin Fields didn’t do much after replacing Dalton, but the excitement factor rose exponentially with him under center.
25. Bengals (1-1):
After two weeks, can’t tell if the Bengals are new-and-improved, or the same old, same old version.
26. Vikings
(0-2): Kyler Murray lit up Minny’s secondary, and there’s little to no reprieve with Russell Wilson coming to town.
27. Texans (1-1):
The good news? They showed they could compete with a good team. The bad? They lost Taylor indefinitely with a hamstring injury.
28. Giants (0-2):
Word to the wise, stay clear of Joe Judge. Bad enough a special teams gaffe cost them the game, but the Giants start 0-2 for the fifth straight season. And Daniel Jones continues his 0-for streak in primetime.
29. Falcons
(0-2): Tell Matt Ryan there’s no shame in going winless and being 0-for-Tom Brady in headto-head matchups.
30.
Lions (0-2):
Being competitive means they don’t know how to win. It’s also a nice way of saying they’re not very good.
31.
Jets (0-2):
It took Jets fans exactly 45:48 of the home opener to boo Zach Wilson, their new young quarterback. The kicker? Wilson didn’t argue. “They should be booing.”
32. Jaguars
(0-2): Trevor Lawrence continues to struggle. Not surprising given he’s a quarterback with no playmakers and no help on offense.