Raider Ryan’s Weblog

About the Rankings:

Raider Ryan began ranking the 32 NFL teams before the first regular season games began. Teams receive credit for winning in general, and winning against tough opponents in particular. Teams are also credited for playing tough on the road, especially against strong opponents. Teams also receive credit for beating strong opponents at home.

Results and Moves:

The #1 Colts (2-0) narrowly defeated the #16 Titans (1-1) 22-20 in Tennessee, and the #2 Patriots (2-0) destroyed the #3 Chargers in (1-1) New England 38-14, raising the Patriots to the #1 position and dropping the Colts to #2. The Chargers moved to #7 with the loss and the Titans moved to #17.

The #4 Cowboys (2-0) beat the #29 Dolphins (0-2) 37-20 in Miami, moving the Cowboys to #3 and dropping the Dolphins to #30.

The #5 Bears (1-1) defeated the #27 Chiefs (0-2) 20-10 in Chicago, keeping the Bears at #5 and dropping the Chiefs to #31.

The #6 Bengals (1-1) were embarrassed by the #31 Browns (1-1) 51-45 in Cleveland, dropping the Bengals to #12 and raising the Browns to #25.

The #7 Steelers (2-0) won easily for over the #18 Bills (0-2) in Pittsburgh 26-3. The win boosted the Steelers to #4 and the Bills dropped to #27 with the loss.

The #8 Ravens (1-1) bested the #24 Jets (0-2) 20-13 in Baltimore, keeping the Ravens at #8 and sinking the Jets to #29.

The #9 Seahawks (1-1) lost to the #20 Cardinals (1-1) 23-20 in Phoenix, moving the Seahawks to #14 and the Cardinals to #13.

The #10 Broncos (2-0) narrowly escaped the #30 Raiders (0-2), winning 23-20 in OT in Denver. The win lifted the Broncos to #6 and the Raiders moved up to #28 with a strong showing in the loss.

The #11 Panthers (1-1) lost to the #17 Texans (2-0) 34-21 in Charlotte. The Panthers dropped to #15 and the Texans rose to #9.

The surprisingly lowly #12 Saints (0-2) were destroyed by the #28 Buccaneers (1-1) 31-14 in Tampa Bay. The loss dropped the Saints all the way to #20 and the win elevated the Buccaneers to #19.

The #13 Packers are now 2-0 after their 35-13 win over the #19 Giants (0-2) at Giants stadium. The Giants dropped to #24 and the Packers moved to #10.

The #14 Eagles are 0-2 after Monday night’s loss to the #22 Redskins (2-0) 20-12 in Philadelphia. The Redskins move to #18 and the Eagles fall to #23.

The #15 49ers (2-0) beat the #23 Rams (0-2) 17-16 in St. Louis. The 49ers stand at #11 and the Rams at #26.

The #21 Vikings (1-1) lost to the #25 Lions (2-0) 20-17 in Detroit. The win moved the Lions to #16 and the Vikings dropped to #22 with the loss.

The #26 Jaguars (1-1) defeated the #32 Falcons (0-2) 13-7 in Jacksonville. The Jaguars moved up to #21 and the Falcons remained at #32.

 

Current Rankings:

1 Patriots (2-0)
2 Colts (2-0)
3 Cowboys (2-0)
4 Steelers (2-0)
5 Bears (1-1)
6 Broncos (2-0)
7 Chargers (1-1)
8 Ravens (1-1)
9 Texans (2-0)
10 Packers (2-0)
11 49ers (2-0)
12 Bengals (1-1)
13 Cardinals (1-1)
14 Seahawks (1-1)
15 Panthers (1-1)
16 Lions (2-0)
17 Titans (1-1)
18 Redskins (2-0)
19 Buccaneers (1-1)
20 Saints (0-2)
21 Jaguars (1-1)
22 Vikings (1-1)
23 Eagles (0-2)
24 Giants (0-2)
25 Browns (1-1)
26 Rams (0-2)
27 Bills (0-2)
28 Raiders (0-2)
29 Jets (0-2)
30 Dolphins (0-2)
31 Chiefs (0-2)
32 Falcons (0-2)

Past week’s rankings:

1 Colts
2 Patriots
3 Chargers
4 Cowboys
5 Bears
6 Bengals
7 Steelers
8 Ravens
9 Seahawks
10 Broncos
11 Panthers
12 Saints
13 Packers
14 Eagles
15 49ers
16 Titans
17 Texans
18 Bills
19 Giants
20 Cardinals
21 Vikings
22 Redskins
23 Rams
24 Jets
25 Lions
26 Jaguars
27 Chiefs
28 Buccaneers
29 Dolphins
30 Raiders
31 Browns
32 Falcons

NFL Power Ranking after Week 1 games:

 

The power rankings that were posted before the week #1 NFL games held up pretty well during the first week, even though week #1 was extremely disappointing for me personally. What happened to the #28 Raiders defense against the Lions and John Kitna? After all, the Raider’s defense was ranked #1 against the pass last season.

By losing at home to the #32 Lions, the Raiders dropped to #30. The win also raised the Lions from the cellar of the power rankings to #25. On paper, this looked like a very winnable game for the Raiders. The loss to Detroit foretells bad things for the 2007 season, but I’m not giving up hope after one game.

 

Starting at the top, the Colts proved their worth as the #1 pick by handily beating the #4 Saints in Indianapolis and the #2 Patriots looked very strong on the road against the #14 Jets. Due to those outcomes, the Saints dropped to #14 and the Jets dropped to #24.

 

The #3 Chargers defeated the #7 Bears in San Diego but I gave the Bears a lot of credit for virtually shutting down LaDainian Tomlinson and a potentially explosive Chargers offense. If not for a couple of costly turnovers, the Bears could easily have won this game. The Chargers stayed at #3 and the Bears were elevated to #5 based on this game.

The Bears are now the second highest ranked team in the NFC. The #8 Cowboys moved to #4 by defeating the #17 Giants, who dropped to #19.

 

The #12 Seahawks defeated the #26 Buccaneers in Seattle, moving the Seahawks to #9 and the Buccaneers to #28 and the #24 Chiefs looked terrible losing to the #23 Texans on the road, boosting the Texans to #17 and dropping the Chiefs to #27.

 

After all the Sunday action was over, there were still two games to play on Monday, and they both turned out to be very good contests. The #16 49ers defeated the #19 Cardinals and the #11 Bengals defeated the #5 Ravens stirring up the order a bit. The 49ers moved to #15, the Cardinals dropped to #20, and the Ravens and Bengals are now at #8 and #6 respectively.

 

At the bottom, Adrian Peterson was impressive as the #30 Falcons lost to the #27 Vikings in Minnesota. By virtue of the win, the Vikings moved to #21 and the Falcons dropped to #32.

 

Current Rankings:

 

1 Colts

2 Patriots

3 Chargers

4 Cowboys

5 Bears

6 Bengals

7 Steelers

8 Ravens

9 Seahawks

10 Broncos

11 Panthers

12 Saints

13 Packers

14 Eagles

15 49ers

16 Titans

17 Texans

18 Bills

19 Giants

20 Cardinals

21 Vikings

22 Redskins

23 Rams

24 Jets

25 Lions

26 Jaguars

27 Chiefs

28 Buccaneers

29 Dolphins

30 Raiders

31 Browns

32 Falcons

Rankings Before Week 1 Games:

1 Colts

2 Patriots

3 Chargers

4 Saints

5 Ravens

6 Broncos

7 Bears

8 Cowboys

9 Eagles

10 Steelers

11 Bengals

12 Seahawks

13 Panthers

14 Jets

15 Bills

16 49ers

17 Giants

18 Rams

19 Cardinals

20 Packers

21 Jaguars

22 Titans

23 Texans

24 Chiefs

25 Redskins

26 Buccaneers

27 Vikings

28 Raiders

29 Dolphins

30 Falcons

31 Browns

32 Lions

 

 

This is something that will become a regular weekly feature. With no further adieu, here are my current NFL power rankings from 1 to 32. Do you agree or disagree?

1 Colts
2 Patriots
3 Chargers
4 Saints
5 Ravens
6 Broncos
7 Bears
8 Cowboys
9 Eagles
10 Steelers
11 Bengals
12 Seahawks
13 Panthers
14 Jets
15 Bills
16 49ers
17 Giants
18 Rams
19 Cardinals
20 Packers
21 Jaguars
22 Titans
23 Texans
24 Chiefs
25 Redskins
26 Buccaneers
27 Vikings
28 Raiders
29 Dolphins
30 Falcons
31 Browns
32 Lions