The first two weeks of the 2025 season are behind us, and the storylines are already piling up. The top of the rankings stayed steady, which seldom happens this early, but plenty of teams are shifting around, including the Falcons.
Let’s not waste any more time. Here are this week’s Power Rankings:
1) Buffalo Bills (2-0) (even)
Buffalo’s 30-10 victory over the Jets was enough to cement them at the top for another week. Touting the most productive offense in yards gained, and the 2nd-most points scored, while also having a borderline
top-ten defense makes Buffalo one of, if not the, best team in the NFL.
2) Green Bay Packers (2-0) (even)
Not far off Buffalo’s trail are the Green Bay Packers. Maybe the most dangerous team in the NFC right now, this Packers offense is the definition of a balanced offense. Green Bay is one of two teams (the Atlanta Falcons) that have a 50/50 split of run/pass plays up to this point. Mix that with the fact that they are the only team that is top five in both EPA/play on offense and EPA/play allowed on defense, and you get the hottest team in the NFL.
3) Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) (even)
Walking into Arrowhead Stadium and finding a way to beat the Kansas City Chiefs for a second time in eight months is certainly an achievement. Especially when the defense comes in and accentuates the shortcomings of this Chiefs offense yet again. Philadelphia’s road gets no easier as the Rams come into Lincoln Financial on Sunday.
4) Baltimore Ravens (2-0) (even)
As much as I want to move Baltimore up, there was nobody I could push down to accommodate, but know that this is still one of my favorite teams to watch. Lamar Jackson is stellar, and the Ravens offense continues to find ways to win in dominating fashion. Jackson threw for 225 yards and four touchdowns and the defense stifled Joe Flacco to the tune of 199 yards on 45 attempts.
5) Detroit Lions (1-1) (+2)
Dan Campbell from the top rope! Jared Goff led all quarterbacks in adjusted net yards per attempt in week two by an incredibly wide margin. The difference between Goff (15.5) and *checks notes* Russell Wilson (9.93) in second is more than the difference between Wilson and Michael Penix, Jr. at 26 (4.36). Needless to say, a statement was made.
6) Los Angeles Chargers (2-0) (+2)
No quarterback has generated more EPA than Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Herbert is captaining this offense the best he can, even with a rushing offense that is currently fourth-worst in terms of EPA/rush. Luckily, the defense has been stingy, allowing only 30 points over the first two weeks (3rd-least in the NFL).
7) Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) (-2)
It’s not time to start worrying yet, but the time is getting closer. Kansas City couldn’t generate the offense necessary to get past the Eagles, and they are still struggling with their approach, as they don’t have their explosive elements, and the chemistry with the rest of the passing game is just off. With the New York Giants looking more competent, this Sunday night doesn’t seem like the get-right game that it did in August.
8) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) (+1)
A win is a win. No matter how ugly, a win is a win. If anyone knows that, it’s the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Baker Mayfield and Rachaad White both did enough to garner the win on Monday night, making just a few more plays than C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans. Finding a way to win games like that are the mark of a good team, and that’s just what the Buccaneers are: a good team.
9) Los Angeles Rams (2-0) (+1)
While I can’t help but keep thinking about…whatever that saga was in the leadup to this season, there’s no doubt that Matthew Stafford has been playing really good ball to start the season. The Davante Adams experience is starting to pay dividends, as he put up 106 yards and a touchdown, and the defense has been stifling, allowing only 28 points in two games, the least in the NFL.
10) Washington Commanders (1-1) (-4)
The Marcus Mariota experience has never been fun to watch, so hopefully Jayden Daniels can find his way back on the field sooner rather than later. But, overall, the Commanders haven’t been that same force that they expected to be coming into this season. So, while the Commanders are losing their luster in terms of getting back to the NFC Championship game, I’m still convinced they’ll be one of the better teams by season’s end.
11) San Francisco 49ers (2-0) (+3)
Speaking of QB injuries, Mac Jones looked solid on Sunday, racking up 279 yards and three touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints. As we continue to venture into whatever cursed world Kyle Shanahan has lived in since leaving Atlanta after the 2016 season, I have faith they will be able to weather the loss of Brock Purdy for now.
12) Denver Broncos (1-1) (-1)
Losing in such a crazy fashion never feels good, but the Broncos should feel good about the state of their offense as long as that offensive line continues to play like they have. I believe they have too much talent on that defense and along the trenches for them to drop too many more 50/50 games like that on Sunday.
13) Houston Texans (0-2) (even)
I’m starting to worry. This is starting to look a lot like last season, where the offense has its flashes, but lacks consistency, mostly stemming from its offensive line. The defense will keep them in games; it will just be up to the offense to get them over the edge.
14) Dallas Cowboys (1-1) (+5)
The offense that was on display against the Giants is one of the best versions of this Dallas Cowboys offense. The only problem with Sunday is that it was almost one-upped by the best version of Russell Wilson that we could have possibly imagined in 2025. Due in large part to Brandon Aubrey’s large leg and a whole lot of volatility from New York, Prescott was able to keep his streak against the Giants alive. But let’s be real, the real takeaway from this is that this Cowboys offense may actually be as fun as we tabbed it to be.
15) Indianapolis Colts (2-0) (+7)
This is not an admission onto the Daniel Jones bandwagon; this is more an acknowledgement that these first two weeks have been incredibly impressive. Both games are in the top ten of most EPA generated in a single game by an offense. I am very much still skeptical of this newfound success from Jones, but for now, they have deserved to be around this ‘outside-looking-in’ ranking.
16) Cincinnati Bengals (2-0) (-4)
The Cincinnati Bengals are 2-0 for the first time since 2018, but it came with a rough cost. Losing Joe Burrow for at least 3 months is going to be a rough storm to weather for Jake Browning and company. Hopefully, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are ready for a large target share.
17) Seattle Seahawks (1-1) (+3)
I liked this version of the Seahawks. The Kenneth Walker explosive runs, the varied passing game, the opportunistic defense, I like it. Is it enough to win a wide-open NFC West? It can be, especially if Mike Macdonald’s defense can continue to improve.
18) Atlanta Falcons (1-1) (+6)
The single-most dominant defensive performance in Week 2 belongs to the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta allowed an astonishing -0.72 EPA/pass and pressured J.J. McCarthy on 53.3% of his dropbacks. After two weeks, the Falcons defense is top-ten in both EPA/pass allowed (5th) and EPA/rush allowed (10th). If the offense can find a way to match the defense’s performance, a statement I never thought I’d say, the race to win the NFC South may be one of the more fun battles to watch come season’s end.
19) Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) (-2)
Can one be pessimistically optimistic? That’s sort of where I am with Pittsburgh. The Steelers had a couple of insane blunders, including an inexplicable special teams touchdown where rookie Kaleb Johnson forgot the rules of the game. But, the Aaron Rodgers-led Steelers do look better than I would have expected, and this defense is still good at getting pressure on a quarterback, so we will see where this goes.
20) Las Vegas Raiders (1-1) (-5)
Come on guys, if I’m going to be tooting the Geno Smith horn, I need more than that. The Chargers looked in control of that game from the kickoff, and the Raiders really didn’t have the talent to fight back. We got a couple of cool plays from Ashton Jeanty, though, so that’s a plus.
21) Arizona Cardinals (2-0) (+2)
We are literal plays away from having a very different conversation about these Arizona Cardinals, but they ended up pulling out the win against the Panthers, so they’re safe. For now. But this team has some serious flaws, and are getting their first real test in the 49ers on Sunday. Let’s see if they can do a better job of finishing the job if they get the opportunity this time.
22) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) (-4)
That was not fun. Brian Thomas, Jr. and Trevor Lawrence were on two separate chapters of the book, and that led to some costly turnovers in a very winnable game against the Bengals. It doesn’t get any easier with the Texans coming into town itching for their first win, so hopefully they can figure out how to maneuver around those ‘hospital balls’ that Lawrence seems to continue to throw. (Sorry, I had to.)
23) Minnesota Vikings (1-1) (-7)
Houston, or Minneapolis, we may have a problem. Two of the worst single-game performances when it comes to EPA/pass both come from the J.J. McCarthy-led Minnesota Vikings offenses. The offensive line injuries certainly play a part in that, but McCarthy’s inexperience has been apparent. He isn’t seeing the field like he needs to yet, and that’s okay. He’s the youngest quarterback in the NFL right now. But, with the amount of talent surrounding him on both sides of the ball, it’s going to be an uphill battle getting everyone to buy into the ‘he’s developing’ trope as the NFC North has two heavy hitters at the top.
24) New York Jets (0-2) (-3)
I mean, sometimes you just run into a buzzsaw, and that is what the Jets ran into against Buffalo. There’s nothing you can really do; your game plan doesn’t work, and the better team takes the day. I like what Aaron Glenn is building though, and it’s probably going to take some time. So, don’t be surprised if they drop this one on Sunday against the Bucs, but I can guarantee they are going to be scrappy the whole time.
25) New England Patriots (1-1) (+1)
Drake Maye is starting to look good. While it won’t be nearly enough to bring the Patriots to the playoffs this season, it has to be encouraging seeing how composed he looks delivering the football every time he drops back.
26) Chicago Bears (0-2) (-1)
Yeah, that happened. Ben Johnson got schooled by his former employer and the Bears got ransacked by a Detroit Lions team that was looking to make a statement. Chicago has a perfect chance to bounce back against a vulnerable Cowboys team that showed last week that it can be beat.
27) Carolina Panthers (0-2) (even)
The Panthers lost the interior of the offensive line, and now get to face a red-hot Falcons defense that tote one of the higher pressure rates in the NFL. Include the fact that Bryce Young has seemed to digress into the quarterback he was at the beginning of 2024, and Sunday could be a recipe for disaster.
28) Miami Dolphins (0-2) (+1)
The Miami offense showed some life last week, but it wasn’t enough to score a crucial divisional victory, especially as they go to Buffalo for a Thursday night game. Let’s just hope the best version of this Miami team can show up so that we get a good matchup on Thursday.
29) New York Giants (0-2) (+3)
I don’t know how many times we can expet Russell Wilson to jump in that time machine, but I hope he does it more often. Seeing this version of the Giants offense made me excited, not only for what it could look like with Wilson at the helm, but potentially what it could look like with Jaxson Dart in the future. Even without the W in the win column, I feel like that’s a huge moral victory for Brian Daboll and company.
30) Cleveland Browns (0-2) (-2)
There’s nothing that you can really do when Lamar Jackson gets into that mode, but the Browns don’t get any breaks as the Packers come into town. It’s looking like there’s nothing the Browns will really be able to do this week, either.
31) Tennessee Titans (0-2) (-1)
Cam Ward is fun. That’s…about it when it comes to the Titans. Oh, and I like Elic Ayomanor…yeah, that’s about it. Good luck against the Colts.
32) New Orleans Saints (0-2) (-1)
Go ahead and get comfortable. I don’t see this one moving again anytime soon, unless the Dolphins finally bottom out. There’s just not enough talent on this roster, even with the offensive line being better than expected.
