Jaguars

  2-0

  Shutting out the Super Bowl champion Steelers lands Jacksonville at the top of the power rankings for at least one week. However, the Jaguars lost to the Colts twice last season. So unless they turn the corner in that regard, they won’t be able to hold the top spot for very long as the first showdown with Indianapolis takes place this Sunday at the RCA Dome. The winner will surely be ranked #1 next week.

2 (2)

Colts

  2-0  

  Blew out the Texans by such a large margin that 21 points scored in the fourth quarter by Houston during “garbage time” still didn’t make it close… The battle for the top spot takes place versus Jacksonville in the RCA dome next Sunday. The potential loss of Freeney would be quite damaging, as would Vinatieri or Stokley.

3 (4)

Patriots

  2-0  

  Dominated the Jets for approximately three quarters until two long touchdown plays by New York helped make it a one score final.

4 (1)

Steelers

  1-1

  Pittsburgh’s defense played very well versus the Jaguars. Unfortunately, their offense was shutout by the tough Jacksonville defense.

5 (6)

Bengals

2-0

Completely shut down the run for the second week in a row. Granted, Cincinnati was a double digit favorite over Cleveland. If these run stopping defensive performances continue, it will spell trouble for the rest of the league. Unfortunately, Chad Johnson suffered a concussion. We wish him well.  

Cowboys

  1-1  

Dominated Washington but Owens sustained a broken hand in the first quarter… Fortunately, a bye is on deck, followed by a trip to Tennessee, which could allow ample healing time before T.O.’s big return to Philadelphia in week 5… With Jacksonville’s Monday night shutout of the champs, suddenly the loss to Jacksonville shouldn’t look as bad to so called “experts” calling for Bledsoe to lose his job. Perhaps Roethlisberger should lose his job too considering his Monday night performance? A big “no,” on both counts.

7 (5)

Broncos

  1-1  

  The offense couldn’t get it going, but the Broncos escaped with a victory versus Kansas City in a game they trailed for nearly 3 quarters.

8 (8)

Giants

  1-1  

An improbable come back by Manning and crew. Nothing increases a team’s odds of making the playoffs like in division road wins.

9 (9)

Seahawks

  2-0  

  Reasserted their position in the West with a double digit win over the Cardinals. But Alexander failed to go over 100 yards rushing for the second time in as many games in 06. And Womack may be lost to an injury.

10 (13)

Falcons

2-0

  Ran the ball for over 300 yards on the Buccaneers, while keeping Tampa Bay out of the end zone. That makes two division wins versus playoff teams from last year.

11 (11)

Bears

2-0

Chicago scored another big win over a weaker division rival. This time the offense scored 4 TD’s, all through the air from the arm of Grossman.

12 (15)

Ravens

  2-0

  Second week in a row keeping the opposition out of the end zone. Granted it was the Raiders, coming off a prior skunking the week before by San Diego… Another weak offensive team is on deck in week 3.

13 (16)

Vikings

2-0

  Got contributions from several players including a 16 yard TD pass from Ryan Longwell, over 100 yards rushing from Chester Taylor, and a friendly lateral from the opposition in a huge home win versus Carolina.

14 (10)

Panthers

  0-2  

  A devastating loss, laterally speaking… As in “backwards lateral” just in case you thought the spell checker was on the fritz… The Panthers need to win next week in Tampa or they’ll fall to 0-3.

15 (17)

Chargers

2-0

Blew out another bottom ranked team (Tennessee) as backups even got in on the action, such as Michael Turner rushing for 138 yards.

16 (12)

Eagles

1-1

Blowing a 17 point fourth quarter lead at home versus a division rival (the Giants) is the type of event that potentially can keep a team out of the postseason. The Eagles lose Kearse for the season in the process.

Chiefs

0-2

  The good news is Larry Johnson rushed for over 100 yards in Denver, and the defense kept the Broncos out of the end zone (when was the last time a team did that in Denver?) The bad news is the Chiefs couldn’t find the end zone either with Huard playing in place of Green and subsequently fell to the Broncos by a score of 9-6.

18 (22)

Bills

1-1

Second impressive defensive performance in a row, both of which were on the road in the division. Oh what could have been if the Bills had held on versus the Patriots in Foxboro week 1.

19 (14)

Rams

1-1

  You can’t beat Denver at home and then lose to San Francisco on the road. Last week starting center McCollum was lost for the season. This week Orlando Pace suffered a concussion.

20 (18)

Redskins

  0-2

Second loss in as many weeks to a team that didn’t make the playoffs last season.

21 (20)

Dolphins

  0-2

  Lost what is typically the most important game of the year for any 0-1 starter, as Miami’s September home field advantage failed to hold up against the stingy Bills defense. Fortunately, with games versus Tennessee and Houston on deck, the Dolphins should be able to pull to the .500 mark before going to New England.

22 (24)

Saints

2-0

Came back from down 13 at Green Bay to roll off their second straight road win. McAllister and Bush combined for only 52 yards rushing, but Brees threw for 353… The competition will stiffen as New Orleans has to play a total of 11 games versus teams that finished last season above the .500 mark. If the Saints win some of those games, then they could really rise in the rankings.

Buccaneers

0-2

  Allowed over 300 yards rushing to the Falcons. And it was the second week in a row without finding the end zone on offense. The schedule doesn’t get any easier with a Panther team on deck that will also be playing desperate football at 0-2. The Bucs need to lay it all out on the line before the upcoming week 4 bye or they’ll be 0-3 for two weeks… Note the Bucs also lost to the Jets and 49ers last season, and even though they’re coming off a playoff year, it could be hard to keep them ranked above the aforementioned teams if some improvement doesn’t come soon.

24 (23)

Cardinals

1-1

  Never in the game at Seattle. Road wins are hard to come by when your running back only rushes for 64 yards.

25 (29)

49ers

1-1

An all around impressive team performance in a win over the Rams as a home underdog. Got key contributions from Smith, Gore, Bryant, and the defense.

26 (26)

Jets

1-1

Dominated by New England until a couple of big plays got them back in the game near the end. But other than the two big plays for TD’s, the Jets lacked sustained drives.

27 (27)

Browns

0-2

  Couldn’t get their ground game going. And couldn’t stop Cincinnati’s rushing attack allowing Rudi Johnson to go for 145 yards and 2 TD’s.

28 (25)

Lions

0-2

  The Lions followed up last week’s surprising defensive performance with an uninspiring defensive performance, allowing the Bears to score the first 24 points of the game.

29 (28)

Packers

0-2

  Blew a 13 point lead at home to the Saints.

30 (30)

Texans

0-2

  Scored 21 points in one quarter (fourth quarter) versus Indianapolis and still lost by 19. The Texans continue to allow opposing QB’s to have monster games.

31 (31)

Raiders

0-2

  Second week in a row without finding the end zone. They couldn’t have picked a better time for a bye week.

32 (32)

Titans

0-2

Blown away by the Chargers in a 33 point loss. Some might say a performance deserving of a #33 ranking.