Panthers Surge in NFL Power Rankings After Smashing the Falcons

Carolina rightfully rises in power rankings after their Week 2 demolition in Atlanta

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While the early portion of the week brings overreactions and hot takes, power rankings can give NFL fans a clear sense of where their team stands in the league.

The Carolina Panthers are 1-1, but seem to be a stock-up team after Week 2, when they dominated the division rival Atlanta Falcons in a 34-3 victory on the road. Despite the embarrassing Week 1 loss to Chicago in Week 1, in which Carolina allowed 59 points, the Panthers seem to be trending upward.

The offense has been the team's highlight thus far, driven by the stellar play of QB Bryce Young. Through two games, Young is tied for first in touchdowns and is second in passing yards. With his stock only growing, the Panthers will rise as well, as shown in one recent power ranking.

Panthers Rise In Latest Power Rankings

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Multiple prominent power rankings have slotted Carolina in different spots, but the one common theme is that the Panthers have climbed.

Bleacher Report's NFL staff released its latest power rankings, placing Carolina at 21st overall. The Panthers climbed only two spots, but ranked as the second-best team in the NFC South, behind the 1-1 New Orleans Saints, who rank 13th.

NFL.com's Nick Shook ranked the Panthers much higher, at No. 17 in his latest power rankings, moving up 10 spots from his Week 1 list. The gap between Carolina and New Orleans isn't quite as big as BR's, as New Orleans sits at No. 14 in Shook's latest rankings.

One ranking clearly favors Carolina more than the other, but it explains why Carolina either rises just a tad or jumps significantly after such a dominant Week 2. Both outcomes are feasible, depending on where Carolina was ranked last week.

The biggest flaws are in Bleacher Report's list, Carolina is ranked behind two teams that are either fools gold right now or just simply bad but have a win anyway.

Carolina Should Easily Be Ranked Over the Steelers and Raiders

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The Raiders are 2-0, so thats a weak argument for ranking them over Carolina. That said, their wins are against the worst team in football, the Miami Dolphins, and then the broken Los Angeles Chargers, who lost to the Cardinals in Week 1.

Vegas has been a fun offense to start the season, but they still have major questions to answer down the stretch: their WR room, how long Kirk Cousins will start at QB, and whether Brock Bowers can get back to 100%.

This is a team that had the No, 1 pick in the draft, a good start doesn't guarantee they've turned the corner.

The Steelers are just bad. Football games are all different, but just a week apart from each other, the Steelers couldn't beat the Cooper Rush-led Falcons by more than 7, and then looked abysmal against the New England Patriots, scoring only 3 points and turning the ball over twice, once for a defensive score.

Carolina may have gotten embarassed in Week 1, but they still had positives out of the game with an explosive offense, Pittsburgh can't say they have that.