Cary Edmondson-US Presswire
With two weeks in the books for the 2012 NFL season there are just six undefeated teams remaining, six teams who have yet to win a game yet and the other 20 teams are all sitting at .500. Here’s a look at the power rankings heading into week 3 of the season.
1.) San Francisco 49ers (2-0): Following consecutive impressive victories over two playoff contenders to begin the season how could the Niners not be considered the class of the league?
2.) Houston Texans (2-0): Matt Schaub is healthy and the Texans are looking good on both sides of the ball which means trouble for plenty of AFC teams.
3.) Atlanta Falcons (2-0): The Falcons offense is looking very fluid and their defense is getting quality stops in the right situations, can Matt Ryan win his first playoff game this year?
4.) San Diego Chargers (2-0): For a change this year the Chargers are starting off on a good note hopefully they can keep it up and not get cold towards the end of the season instead.
5.) Philadelphia Eagles (2-0): The Eagles are 2-0 by a combined total of two points; are they a good team that knows how to win close games or just a bad one that has had some things go their way?
6.) Baltimore Ravens (1-1): The Ravens are the best of the 20 .500 teams in the league and should probably be 2-0 if not for some questionable calls in Philly.
7.) Green Bay Packers (1-1): Last week the Packers defense looked like the one that helped the win a Super Bowl two seasons ago, was it just for one week or will Clay Matthews and company keep it up?
8.) Arizona Cardinals (2-0): The Cards haven’t earned the rights to be placed with the other undefeated teams just yet, maybe if they earn another upset or two like last week’s then they’ll be on their way.
9.) Detroit Lions (1-1): The Lions took a tough loss to a very tough team now their season could be defined by how they bounce back from it.
10.) New England Patriots (1-1): After losing to Arizona in Foxboro in the their home opener the Pats should consider themselves lucky for being ranked this high.
11.) Denver Broncos (1-1): Peyton Manning looked very shaky in the first quarter versus Atlanta but not nearly as shaky as the replacement refs did throughout the entire game.
12.) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1): Will the real Steelers please stand up; is it the one that was carved up in week one or the unit that looked dominant during week two?
13.) Dallas Cowboys (1-1): After looking terrific in week one, the Boys put up a stinker in week two; there are a lot of bipolar teams in the NFL so far.
14.) New York Giants (1-1): In the first half last week Eli Manning tossed three picks but passed for nearly 300 yards after halftime; talk about tale of two halves.
15.) Chicago Bears (1-1): Jay Cutler became the first quarterback since Patrick Ramsey in 2002 to throw four interceptions and sacked seven times in a single; not company he should aspire to be in.
16) Seattle Seahawks (1-1): Russell Wilson earned the first of what should be many victories in his pro career now let’s see if he can continue to lead the Hawks down the right path.
17.) St, Louis Rams (1-1): After losing a close game in week one versus Detroit the Rams pulled out a close win in week two at home versus RG3 and company.
18.) Washington Redskins (1-1): The Skins lost a close one in St. Louis but even more importantly is that they lost their two top pass rushers, Brian Orakpo and Adam Carriker for the season in the process.
19.) Carolina Panthers (1-1): The Panthers got the running game on track last week which is crucial if they want to make good on those Super Bowl promises made during the off-season.
20.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1): This Bucs team has proven they will be physical and will not accept losing this season, they don’t even respect the victory formation.
21.) Cincinnati Bengals (1-1): The Bengals earned a much need victory last week now they need to keep things rolling this week and see if they can reach the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1981 and 1982.
22.) New York Jets (1-1): The Jets offense laid a big-time egg last week not being able to produce any points over the final 39:35 versus the Steelers.
23.) Buffalo Bills (1-1): C.J. Spiller‘s 292 rushing yards is currently leading the NFL and to think he wasn’t even the starting half back for Buffalo entering the season.
24.) Indianpolis Colts (1-1): The first game of the season at home for the Colts produced the first win in the Andrew Luck era, Jim Irsay should thank you the schedule makers.
25.) Miami Dolphins (1-1): Reggie Bush has finally learned how to run in-between the tackles as he sits second in the league in rushing, the Phins need it he’s truly the only offensive weapon they have.
26.) Minnesota Vikings (1-1): The Vikings entire season will rest on the development of Christian Ponder; if he struggles so will they, if he plays well they might be pretty decent.
27. New Orleans Saints (0-2): Who dat? Who dat? Who dat thought Drew Brees and the Saints would start the season 0-2; time to get it together guys.
28.) Kansas City Chiefs (0-2): The Chiefs defense has surrender 75 points in two games, Romeo Crenell needs to fix this unit quickly because right now they can’t stop anyone.
29.) Tennessee Titans (0-2): Chris Johnson is a mere shell of his former self and the Titans look like they are getting ready for the 2013 Draft instead of their next game.
30.) Cleveland Browns (0-2): The Brandon Weeden experiment isn’t working one bit, time to put Colt McCoy back in before its too late.
31.) Oakland Raiders (0-2): New coach, new front office management, new philosophy same old Raiders.
32.) Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2): Maurice Jones-Drew shouldn’t have asked for a trade because management didn’t want to give him a new deal he should have asked for one because Blaine Gabbert and the rest of this team are terrible.
