2016 NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Atlanta Falcons Edition
By Jacob Yturri
Going into Week 2 of the NFL season, here are this week’s power rankings.
Although it may not seem so, power rankings are subjective. Each person that ranks a group of team leans towards certain prevailing characteristics when grading. For example, a loss week one isn’t a sign that a team is about to have a lost season. On the other hand, three losses to close out the regular season— big red flag. As a result, I will list out this week’s grading rubric.
A. Does the team pass the eye test? Are players making plays consistently, or did a team win only because of one or two drives and lucked into winning?
B. Did the team have good clock management? Good coaches are wizards when managing the clock. If your team lost because of a clock management issue then they won’t be very high.
C. Was the win/loss at home or on the road? Losing at home can trip a team up, just as winning big on the road can propel a team to a Super Bowl win (New York Giants, 2008).
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While I won’t give a note about every team’s ranking, I will list out a reason or two if a team takes a sudden fall or rise as the season progresses. Also, as this is an Atlanta Falcons website, I will highlight the team.
Without further ado… Let’s see the rankings!
32. Cleveland Browns
Same old Cleveland. The team made some plays early, and Robert Griffen III looked solid. However, as soon as the team saw that a win was possible, the Browns took their feet off of the gas and Carson Wentz turned into Joe Montana.
31. San Fransisco 49ers
30. Chicago Bears
29. Los Angeles Rams
28. Miami Dolphins
27. Buffalo Bills
This team has too much talent on the offensive end to only score seven points. Tyrod Taylor looked shaken up behind Buffalo’s o-line. Also, the Bills let Mike Wallace have a career day on Sunday.
26. New Orleans Saints
Reports of Drew Brees’ demise are greatly exaggerated. The Saints looked good early but lost a game they should’ve won.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars
24. Tennessee Titans
23. San Diego Chargers
22. New York Jets
21. Pittsburgh Steelers
20. New York Giants
Although they beat the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants are not a team I would consider on the up-and-up. Eli Manning was outplayed by a fourth-round quarterback.
19.Indianapolis Colts
The Colts dragged themselves back from a 21-3 deficit only to lose via a heartbreaking field goal. Luckily, Andrew Luck looks healthy, so expect this team to trend upwards.
18. Detroit Lions
17.Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons looked pretty sharp offensively. Matt Ryan looked as if he had come out of last year’s coma and seemed to perform like a franchise quarterback. Defensively, the Falcons need help. As the season goes, the defense will be why this team loses games.
16. Baltimore Ravens
15. Dallas Cowboys
14. Oakland Raiders
13. Washington Redskins
12. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings looked excellent considering that Shaun Hill was in for the team at quarterback. If Sam Bradford can pickup the playbook quickly, I think the Vikings can be a top eight team.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10. Philadelphia Eagles
9. Arizona Cardinals
8. Cincinnati Bengals
7. Houston Texans
6. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Seattle Seahawks
4. Carolina Panthers
3. Denver Broncos
After a tough, gutsy victory over the Carolina Panthers this Denver team looks as if it still has the goods to win another Super Bowl. However, if the team wants to win the big game then it needs to have less turnovers from the quarterback position.