Conor Orr’s Week 2 NFL Power Rankings: High-Flying Bears Surge Into Upper Echelon

The first installment of games are in the books. We learned that more rules we thought we had a complete understanding of are now called the opposite way, referee Shawn Hochuli still hates the Packers and that there’s a good chance Philip Rivers will probably get called up again at some point this season (so, someone should check and make sure he’s taking his Centrum Silver). Along the way, we laughed, we cried and like one of our fearless podcast producers, Kent Brown, said in the group chat: We cashed an Eli Raridon anytime touchdown.

Sickos, unite. Let’s get into the power rankings:

1. Seattle Seahawks (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 2
Last week’s result: beat Patriots, 13–10
This week: at Cardinals

The Seahawks reclaimed the No. 1 spot after the Rams were waxed in Australia and Seattle totally disoriented Drake Maye in the season opener. Even as this team was grasping at straws to mask its lack of cornerback depth, it was a unit that was vastly different than Seattle’s Super Bowl starting lineup flummoxing the improved Patriots.

2. Buffalo Bills (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 5
Last week’s result: beat Texans, 36–31
This week: vs. Lions

Josh Allen had a fair amount of turnover-worthy plays that could have impacted the final result, but the Bills won a coin-flip game in Houston. I don’t want to take away from Allen, who was superhuman in stretches, and I thought the playcall to make a run right back at Kamari Lassiter after the dropped pick was brilliant. The defense got home with a three-man pass rush in critical situations which, again, may be more reflective of Houston at this point but for now will stand as a complement of the Bills.

3. Baltimore Ravens (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 6
Last week’s result: beat Colts, 41–23
This week: vs. Saints

What a joy watching Lamar Jackson whipping around on a boot leg after an under center play-action fake. The Ravens were one of the NFL leaders in true play-action snaps Sunday but still kept the split-zone concepts for Jackson. This Ravens offense, if Zay Flowers is healthy, can be an absolute killer by maintaining feet in both the old world of John Harbaugh and Greg Roman and the new world of Declan Doyle and Ben Johnson-inspired looks.

4. Chicago Bears (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 13
Last week’s result: beat Panthers, 59–37
This week: vs. Vikings

If you score 59 points against a professional NFL defense, you shoot up the Power Rankings. Sometimes, I like to think of the Power Rankings like the Billboard charts. Like, once a year Mariah Carey breaks the top 100 with her signature Christmas song and then it goes away. But for that period of time, it’s a massive, undeniable hit. The Bears are massive and undeniable right now, in this moment. And we’re going to celebrate, dammit.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III. — Running back Kenneth Walker III put up 191 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in his Chiefs debut. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

5. Kansas City Chiefs (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 4
Last week’s result: beat Broncos, 31–10
This week: vs. Jaguars

I think one of the singular most frustrating parts of covering professional football is spending an entire offseason attempting to understand what will be effective and will not be, and determining that Kansas City—a team starting an undrafted free agent tackle against one of the best defenses in football, having made a wing-and-a-prayer addition of a veteran running back to salvage the offense and starting a QB just nine months after a torn ACL—will struggle. Only to have the Chiefs absolutely demolish last year’s conference runner-up. The prediction game is a painful one, man. Don’t let your kids live this life.

6. San Francisco 49ers (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 17
Last week’s result: beat Rams, 27–7
This week: vs. Dolphins

The NFL will almost certainly look into Kyle Shanahan’s creative interpretation of the new motion concepts he rolled out against Los Angeles which helped power the running game the Rams had no interest in stopping. And, I suppose, they finally settled the debate that experiencing Australia for a week is better than experiencing it for roughly 29 hours. While I am still upset that the biggest matchup of opening weekend was turned into a sleep and recovery contest, San Francisco deserves its flowers for getting it done.

7. Los Angeles Rams (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 1
Last week’s result: lost to 49ers, 27–7
This week: vs. Giants

Like we’d said before, even without Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald, this is supposed to be a Super Bowl contending team. The Rams laid an egg in Australia but the circumstances are such that I’m allowing a pass until we see the team at something closer to optimal. Still, I thought this defense, which was full of credentialed run stuffers, would not be so bullied.

8. Houston Texans (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 3
Last week’s result: lost to Bills, 36–31
This week: vs. Bengals

Here’s a column on the Texans to dive a little deeper. A new C.J. Stroud? An old one? Yes.

9. Jacksonville Jaguars (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 9
Last week’s result: beat Browns, 34–10
This week: at Broncos

I think we’re probably still underestimating how violent, efficient and nasty this Jaguars team can get. An opener against the Cleveland Browns is always good for the soul, but I’d venture to guess Deshaun Watson would not have looked that bad against a middle-tier opponent.

10. Detroit Lions (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 8
Last week’s result: beat Saints, 31–30 (OT)
This week: at Bills

A slightly more conservative Lions offense than we’re used to, with Jared Goff throwing at about half the average depth of target as Tyler Shough, but an efficient one nonetheless. I liked the Drew Petzing wrinkle of lining Penei Sewell back up on the right side and then rushing opposite to keep the Saints on their heels. The Lions’ secondary is going to be their cross to bear in 2026, but can the offense be so good it doesn’t matter?

11. New England Patriots (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 12
Last week’s result: lost to Seahawks, 13–10
This week: vs. Steelers

Drake Maye is primed for a silence-all-doubters game this week after throwing one of the most ill-advised situational balls of the last few regular seasons. Of course, the way opening week played out, New England is tasked with both an emotional exorcism this week against a bad Steelers team and a schematic streamlining. Luckily, it doesn’t look like Pittsburgh is posing much of a threat.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts — Jalen Hurts threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles' 24–22 win over the Commanders. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

12. Philadelphia Eagles (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 11
Last week’s result: beat Commanders, 24–22
This week: at Titans

The Sean Mannion experience offered mixed reviews. The Eagles punted on their opening two drives of the game and their opening three drives of the second half. Jalen Hurts was able to use his legs and smooth out the choppiness but the run game was of utmost concern: most of Saquon Barkley’s yards came after first contact and most came on one play. He was hit behind the line at a pretty high rate.

13. Cincinnati Bengals (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 7
Last week’s result: beat Buccaneers, 33–27
This week: at Texans

I love how this account was attempting to make fun of Dexter Lawrence without recognizing how dominant he can be. Lawrence was one of the best defensive tackles in true pass rush sets throughout the entire weekend. A major upgrade for Cincinnati.

14. Denver Broncos (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 16
Last week’s result: lost to Chiefs, 31–10
This week: vs. Colts

This was opening preseason start-caliber Bo Nix against Kansas City. Tua Tagovailoa-esque scrambling. Balls tossed to nowhere. A running game that never had a chance to take hold and a defense that, like the Texans in the opener, completely vanished for large swaths of gametime. Sean Payton had better hope the first game of the season is nothing but a strange dream.

15. Minnesota Vikings (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 19
Last week’s result: beat Packers, 39–22
This week: at Bears

Call it a matter of a few bad referee moments, or the fallout of Matt LaFleur’s galaxy brain gamble to take points off the board, but what we saw the Vikings do after momentum had shifted was clearly a warning sign to opponents. With the most baseline of quarterback play, this team is a legitimate playoff threat whose defense is still spry enough to wreak havoc. They should definitely call Jimmy Garoppolo, though.

16. Green Bay Packers (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 15
Last week’s result: lost to Vikings, 39–22
This week: at Jets

I think the beauty of Green Bay’s decision to take points off the board is that it reflects the real time push and pull of analytics in the modern game. I’m not saying I would not have done the same thing, but I am saying that it would be harder for me to look Jordan Love in the eyes after he’d been pounded on nearly every snap and tell him that hard earned three points don’t matter.

17. Los Angeles Chargers (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 10
Last week’s result: lost to Cardinals, 26–14
This week: vs. Raiders

I agree with MMQB Podcast co-host Albert Breer who said this on our Monday morning recap show: It's most concerning to me that L.A. did not dazzle in the run game despite having most conceivable advantages over the Cardinals. Alas, this is the opening week loss no one saw coming (especially the boobs who used ChatGPT for help in their knockout pools. All of you get what you deserve).

18. New York Giants (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 26
Last week’s result: beat Cowboys, 28–20
This week: at Rams

A column on the Harbaugh era and what it really means. The Giants have reached their highest placement in my Power Rankings column in what feels like years.

19. Dallas Cowboys (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 14
Last week’s result: lost to Giants, 28–20
This week: vs. Commanders

I’ll toss it to the great Shell Kapadia of The Ringer, who notes: The Cowboys defense was the worst unit this past week in terms of EPA per drive allowed. And by that same measure, Sunday’s game was worse than all but one of the Cowboys games last year (when Dallas’ defense was historically bad).

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough — Tyler Shough led all quarterbacks with 410 passing yards in Week 1. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

20. New Orleans Saints (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 22
Last week’s result: lost to Lions, 31–30 (OT)
This week: at Ravens

I’ll say this about Tyler Shough, who I questioned a lot this offseason in terms of how much better he could get after a complete offseason: tough as nails down 21 points in the third quarter against a good team. He absolutely threw the Saints back into a game with several near-perfect balls. I’m more confident in this team being a legit divisional factor now than I was a few months ago.

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 18
Last week’s result: lost to Bengals, 33–27
This week: vs. Browns

From my column on John Harbaugh, I ask this question openly to teams that continue to hang on to their existing power structures despite glimpses of stagnancy: is the upside worth the downside, which seems to be losing games in nearly identical ways week in and week out? I saw it posited that four lost fumbles are not the coach's fault. I would respectfully beg to differ.

22. Carolina Panthers (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 20
Last week’s result: lost to Bears, 59–37
This week: at Falcons

Again, this may be indicative of how porous Chicago’s defense might turn out to be, but Bryce Young played an excellent game on Sunday. His ability to make deadly throws from nearly any body position has increased with his confidence. He now looks much more like Bama Bryce than ever before.

23. Indianapolis Colts (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 24
Last week’s result: lost to Colts, 41–23
This week: at Chiefs

I’m not pummeling the Colts…yet. Mostly because I thought Jesse Minter was a Week 1 buzzsaw that was going to hack just about any team in the opener. And, oddly, the running game was still really efficient. The Daniel Jones contract, though, does not appear to be aging well. Nor does the secondary that Indianapolis paid dearly for.

24. Washington Commanders (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 18
Last week’s result: lost to Eagles, 24–22
This week: at Cowboys

It’s not a consolation prize, but to be one boneheaded Stefon Diggs decision away from taking your division rivals to extra innings is no small task, especially with a totally revamped defense and new coordinators on both sides. Still, Jayden Daniels looked pedestrian and the Commanders had a lower offensive success rate in the first weekend than the Titans.

25. New York Jets (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 29
Last week’s result: beat Titans, 23–10
This week: vs. Packers

Speaking of the Titans, I’ll understand the frustration that a win over Tennessee got the Jets a smaller bump than a Giants win over Dallas. David Bailey showed the foundation of what can be a good high-motor pass rusher. Sunday’s game against the suspect Packers offensive line should offer Bailey a few more chances to get at the passer—and a better indication of what we’re actually looking at in Florham Park.

26. Arizona Cardinals (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 30
Last week’s result: beat Chargers, 26–14
This week: vs. Seahawks

The Cardinals are the team of the opening weekend—the one that bucked a narrative that became so commonplace across the NFL that it cemented without a single person asking their permission. I think we all counted out Arizona because of the collective hype around the rest of the division. Because of this, we discounted the fact that the Cardinals actually have some decent players and aren’t going to be a pushover amid the March for Arch.

27. Pittsburgh Steelers (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 23
Last week’s result: beat Falcons, 20–13
This week: at Patriots

This will raise some eyebrows, but the fact of the matter is that Pittsburgh looked seriously punchless against the Falcons. Had it not been for two missed Nick Folk field goals and a T.J. Watt pick-six, we’d be talking about an epic failure in the opener. This was one of the lowest EPA per play performances of the last five years. Aaron Rodgers can still sling it, but this team lacks juice.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty — Asthon Jeanty, last year's No. 6 pick, had 147 yards from scrimmage on 29 touches in the Raiders' 27–13 win over the Dolphins. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

28. Las Vegas Raiders (1–0)

Last week’s ranking: No. 27
Last week’s result: beat Dolphins, 27–13
This week: at Chargers

The Raiders beat the worst team in the NFL in the season opener. The good? We saw a revival from talent that was drafted highly in the 2025 draft and was all but abandoned by the previous regime. The bad news? They are getting a hella pissed off Chargers team coming off the most embarrassing loss of the inaugural weekend.

29. Atlanta Falcons (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 25
Last week’s result: lost to Steelers, 20–13
This week: vs. Panthers

Cooper Rush finished dead last in EPA per dropback Sunday against a Steelers defense that sat in zone defense on literally every single snap. If you haven’t seen the game, I wouldn’t go out of your way to check it out.

30. Tennessee Titans (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 31
Last week’s result: lost to Saints, 31–30 (OT)
This week: vs. Eagles

As we noted in the quarterback carousel post to start the season, the clock begins on Cam Ward early. This is unfortunate—and to be fair, I also mentioned Jaxson Dart as well—but the reality is that each week Ward doesn’t look the part, the Titans inch closer to the end of a lost season in which the team might be in line for a top pick at the same position. Ward is so much fun when he’s confident and in the right offense. I just don’t know if there’s a roster to support that player right now.

31. Cleveland Browns (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 28
Last week’s result: lost to Jaguars, 34–10
This week: at Buccaneers

In starting Deshaun Watson for yet another week, the Browns are entering an interesting space that Breer and I explored on the MMQB Podcast. You can get a glimpse of it here.

32. Miami Dolphins (0–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 32
Last week’s result: lost to Raiders, 27–13
This week: at 49ers

I’m not sure what is happening on the field, but I am very into the conspiracy that Miami is cleaning out its stockpile of jerseys by sending them to season-ticket holders ahead of a sleek new redesign next year, in which the team may have the No. 1 pick.

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