Power Rankings: Steelers move back on top
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Not surprising after one week, but this week's rankings were all over the map, starting at the top. The Steelers moved back to No. 1, while the Seahawks slipped two spots to No. 3. Four teams got first-place votes -- Steelers (2), Colts (2), Seahawks (1) and Ravens (1)
-- and 16 teams received votes in the top 10. Five new teams (Jaguars, Ravens, Falcons, Bears and Chargers) entered the top five, with the Ravens jumping from No. 18 all the way to No. 6.
The Panthers fell 10 spots from No. 2 to No. 12. An overreaction? Maybe, but these ranking are always volatile at the beginning of the season while things shake out.
At the bottom, well if any of you watched the Raiders or Packers over the weekend, then you know who's at the bottom. The only question was which team would be all the way at the bottom. But really, could you go wrong with either one?
Anyway, on to the rankings. You can rank the teams yourself with SportsNation's NFL Power Rankings.
| 2006 Power Rankings: Week 2 | ||||
| RK (LW) | TEAM | REC | COMMENT | |
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1 (3) | Steelers | 1-0-0 | If he can stay healthy, Najeh Davenport could be a decent pickup for the Steelers. Obviously Willie Parker is the No. 1, but having a big back would be a boost. |
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2 (4) | Colts | 1-0-0 | Obviously Peyton Manning is what makes the offense go, but they're still going to need to get some more out of the running game. |
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3 (1) | Seahawks | 1-0-0 | It certainly wasn't pretty, but you take a win on the road in the NFL. Especially against a fired-up team with a new coach. |
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4 (6) | Bengals | 1-0-0 | The Bengals don't need their defense to suddenly be one of the NFL's top 5. But if they can be in the top 15, Cincinnati will be very good. |
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5 (11) | Jaguars | 1-0-0 | Looked like the Jaguars had something to prove to all the skeptics (including us) who were questioning their 12-4 record last season. |
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6 (18) | Ravens | 1-0-0 | The Ravens are still a Steve McNair injury away from being back in trouble. But they sure looked like a team that is back among the AFC's elite Sunday. |
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7 (17) | Falcons | 1-0-0 | John Abraham made an immediate impact for the Falcons. Although seeing him limp off the field must have soured things a little bit. |
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8 (13) | Bears | 1-0-0 | It was against the Packers, but the Bears looked pretty good on offense (a surprise) and defense (not a surprise) Sunday. |
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9 (16) | Chargers | 1-0-0 | If must be nice having LaDainian Tomlinson in your backfield when you're making your first NFL start, huh? |
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10 (7) | Patriots | 1-0-0 | Tom Brady might be the best QB in the NFL, but even the best QB in the league will struggle some with Troy Brown, Reche Caldwell and Bam Childress as his top three WRs. |
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11 (15) | Eagles | 1-0-0 | Donte' Stallworth always seemed to be on the verge of breaking out. Maybe teaming up with Donovan McNabb was all he needed. |
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12 (2) | Panthers | 0-1-0 | The Falcons are a good team, but the Panthers have to be a little shell-shocked. That's not supposed to happen to one of the NFL's best run defenses. |
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13 (5) | Broncos | 0-1-0 | Not that one year is exactly like the last, but everyone out there jumping off the Broncos bandwagon needs to remember how awful they looked last year in their Week 1 loss to the Dolphins. |
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14 (10) | Giants | 0-1-0 | With their next two games at Philly and at Seattle, the Giants are staring an 0-3 start right in the face. |
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15 (8) | Cowboys | 0-1-0 | If there's one thing that's clear it's that Drew Bledsoe is going to struggle playing behind a line that doesn't give him enough time. That's always been true. |
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16 (9) | Dolphins | 0-1-0 | Daunte Culpepper made some throws that looked a lot like the QB who struggled so much at the beginning of last season. |
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17 (19) | Vikings | 1-0-0 | Chester Taylor carried the ball 31 times Monday. The Vikings hadn't had a back carry the ball 30 times in a game since Robert Smith in 1996. |
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18 (22) | Rams | 1-0-0 | The Jim Haslett (defensive coordinator) era is off to a fast start in St. Louis. The Rams' D turned in an impressive outing against the Broncos. |
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19 (21) | Cardinals | 1-0-0 | Great stat: First-quarter TD drives Sunday for the Cardinals: three. First-quarter TD drives in all of 2005: zero. The last time the Cards scored three times in the opening quarter was 1975. |
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20 (14) | Redskins | 0-1-0 | The Redskins kicked three FGs of 27 yards or less. If they'd converted one of those deep drives into a TD they would have won. |
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21 (12) | Buccaneers | 0-1-0 | Not a very good start for Chris Simms in a season where he's supposed to be taking the next step forward. |
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22 (20) | Chiefs | 0-1-0 | Man, we're just glad Trent Green is OK. There is obviously plenty of violence in the NFL, but that was just a vicious hit. |
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23 (31) | Jets | 1-0-0 | A good QB will give you a chance to be competitive in the NFL, and when Chad Pennington is healthy, he's pretty good. |
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24 (29) | Saints | 1-0-0 | Thirty-six carries for 151 yards between Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush. The Saints will take that every week. |
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25 (23) | Lions | 0-1-0 | We like Roy Williams' confidence, but we're not sure the Lions are in a position yet where they should be guaranteeing wins. |
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26 (30) | Bills | 0-1-0 | The safety was obviously a mistake, but J.P. Losman showed some promise Sunday against the Patriots. |
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27 (24) | Texans | 0-1-0 | At least for one week the notion that Gary Kubiak can take any running back and make him a star didn't float. |
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28 (27) | Browns | 0-1-0 | Not a good start for the Browns, but Kellen Winslow stood out. There's a reason why he was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2004 draft. |
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29 (26) | Titans | 0-1-0 | Kerry Collins played pretty much the way you'd expect for a QB who was just signed two weeks ago. |
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30 (32) | 49ers | 0-1-0 | Yes it was a loss, but Alex Smith and Frank Gore showed 49ers fans something to be excited about. |
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31 (25) | Raiders | 0-1-0 | The Raiders could have played eight quarters against the Chargers Monday night and they might not have scored. |
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32 (28) | Packers | 0-1-0 | Really it was coin flip between the Packers and Raiders, who both deserved to be 32, but the edge went slightly to the Pack. |
| Glossary |
| TG - Tim Graham (AFC East); JW - James Walker (AFC North); PK - Paul Kuharsky (AFC South); BW - Bill Williamson (AFC West); MM - Matt Mosley (NFC East); KS - Kevin Seifert (NFC North); PY - Pat Yasinskas (NFC South); MS - Mike Sando (NFC West) |
