2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings

Seattle Seahawks: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#1)

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It might not seem like a 5 point win over the Panthers is that impressive, but if the Panthers are as good as I think they are, it is, especially in Carolina at 1 PM ET. The Seahawks have a very easy home schedule this year (San Francisco this week is their only home test) and they could easily go 8-0 at home again. That’s 9 wins right there. All they would have to do is go 3-4 in their other 7 road games to get to 12 wins, which could get them the #1 seed and home field, which would make them near impossible to stop. Their biggest competition is the 49ers, who they play this week. If they can’t win the division, they’ll have to win 4 away from Seattle to win the Super Bowl. It’d be a huge difference for this team.

Week 1 Studs

None

Week 2 Duds

RB Marshawn Lynch

LOLB KJ Wright

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San Francisco 49ers: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#2)

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The only reason the 49ers aren’t #1 is because they lost the Super Bowl last season. no team has lost the Super Bowl and come back to win it the following season in over 40 years. No reigning Super Bowl loser has even made the Super Bowl the following season since the early 90s Bills. It’s why I didn’t pick the Patriots last season. It’s very physically and mentally tough to come back from that. Their victory over the Packers was impressive though.

Week 1 Studs

WR Anquan Boldin

Week 1 Duds

LOLB Ahmad Brooks

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New England Patriots: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#3)

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The Patriots didn’t look good week 1, but they still won despite losing the turnover battle, the only team in the NFL to do so this week. Teams that lose the turnover battle only win 21% of the time, so that’s impressive, even against the Bills. I don’t expect turnovers to be a huge issue going forward and their young receiving corps has nowhere to go but up at this point. I care more about the Patriots 431 yards and 26 first downs than their turnovers. There’s not enough for me to change my AFC Championship projection for them.

Week 1 Studs

RB Shane Vereen

LT Nate Solder

RT Sebastian Vollmer

LG Logan Mankins

WR Danny Amendola

DT Vince Wilfork

Week 1 Duds

LOLB Jerod Mayo

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Denver Broncos: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#4)

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Peyton Manning had the game of his life, but that’s all it was: the game of his life. He’s not suddenly a better quarterback than he was the week before. Great quarterbacks do amazing things sometimes. Tom Brady opened with 500+ yards a couple of seasons ago. It’s incredible to watch, but it shouldn’t change how we view them. We’ll see how the Broncos do going forward.

Week 1 Studs

QB Peyton Manning

WR Demaryius Thomas

LE Shaun Phillips

SS Duke Ihenacho

CB Chris Harris

Week 1 Duds

LT Ryan Clady

WR Eric Decker

DT Mitch Unrein

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Carolina Panthers: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#5)

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I’m not changing the Panthers as my pick to go from out of the playoffs to a first round bye after they played tough a Seahawks team that could easily win the Super Bowl. Their defense looked as dominant as I expected, particularly the front 7, even further fortified by the addition of Star Lotulelei. However, their offense didn’t look good, even against a tough Seattle defense. The Panthers admit their game plan was too conservative and it really was as they frequently eschewed 4th and 1 chances and just 6 of Newton’s 23 attempts went 10+ yards downfield. That’s not even close to how you best utilize Cam Newton. I’ll give them another chance and I like how the coaching staff admitted their mistake, but if they don’t live up to their talent, it’ll be because of the Ron Rivera/Mike Shula combination. That would leave the door open for the Saints or Lions to go from the playoffs to a first round bye. All of the NFC teams are going to beat up on each other and 11 wins could get you a first round bye.

Week 1 Studs

RE Greg Hardy

DT Star Lotulelei

Week 1 Duds

LG Chris Scott

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Green Bay Packers: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#6)

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The good news for the Packers is they won’t face the 49ers every week. They’ll still win 10-12 games and be in the mix in the NFC. But it has to be concerning the way Jim Harbaugh has destroyed Dom Capers in the coaching part of the game 3 times in 2 years. There are no guarantees the Packers won’t have to face the 49ers again in the post-season. If that happens, the Packers will have to game plan better and hope that the 49ers eventually tire out as reigning Super Bowl runner ups like the Patriots did last year. The Packers should also have key secondary contributors Morgan Burnett and Casey Hayward back by then.

Week 1 Studs

WR Jordy Nelson

Week 1 Duds

LG Josh Sitton

RG TJ Lang

SS Jerron McMillian

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Dallas Cowboys: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#7)

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After forcing just 16 takeaways last season, the Cowboys forced 6 against the Giants week 1. They won’t do that every week, but it’s just another sign that takeaways are very inconsistent on a year to year basis. They’re also very inconsistent on a week-to-week basis unfortunately for the Cowboys as teams who win the turnover battle by 5 have a turnover margin of -0.4 the following week on average. Their secondary will have to play better next week, but the good news is that injury filler starters Nick Hayden and George Selvie dominated in their first career start. So much for them having no depth. Once Jay Ratliff and Anthony Spencer return, they could have a loaded front.

Week 1 Studs

RE DeMarcus Ware

LE George Selvie

DT Jason Hatcher

DT Nick Hayden

SS Barry Church

Week 1 Duds

RG Mackenzy Bernadeau

CB Morris Claiborne

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New Orleans Saints: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#8)

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The Saints have to be very pleased with their defense holding Atlanta to 17 points. Junior Galette, Cameron Jordan, and David Hawthorne all excelled in their new roles in Rob Ryan’s new 3-4 defense. They probably won’t play that well every week as they just don’t have the talent, but if they can be even average defensively like they were in 2011, they’ll have a chance to be a very, very dangerous team once more.

Week 1 Studs

RT Zach Strief

ROLB Junior Gallete

RE Cameron Jordan

MLB David Hawthorne

Week 1 Duds

RG Jahri Evans

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Detroit Lions: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#9)

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Almost every year, one team goes from out of the playoffs to a 1st round bye. I picked Carolina to do so before the season and I’m sticking with that right now, but with Carolina losing a tough game and the way Detroit played week 1, the Lions appear to have thrown their hat in the ring, as did the Saints. The Lions could have easily won by more if it wasn’t for stupid mistakes as the Lions outgained the Vikings by 139 yards and had 28 first downs to 16 for Minnesota.

Week 1 Studs

QB Matt Stafford

RB Reggie Bush

RB Joique Bell

RG Larry Warford

RE Willie Young

LOLB DeAndre Levy

DT Ndamukong Suh

Week 1 Duds

RT Corey Hilliard

CB Darius Slay

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Chicago Bears: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#10)

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The way AJ Green shredded a secondary that was supposed to be the strength of this team is concerning, but AJ Green is a top-3 receiver in this league so maybe they get a pass. The good news is their offense looked very good against a very strong Cincinnati defense. Jay Cutler wasn’t sacked once by a dominant Cincinnati defensive line as their retooled offensive line help up. The most impressive was rookie right tackle Jordan Mills, as the 5th rounder allowed just 1 pressure all game.

Week 1 Studs

QB Jay Cutler

ROLB James Anderson

DT Stephen Paea

Week 1 Duds

TE Martellus Bennett

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