NFL Rankings - 12 Sep

There were a few surprises in week one of the NFL season, the biggest coming as Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins upset the New Orleans Saints on the road, ensuring that the Saints will not finish with the perfect record I predicted just a week ago. They still have a shot at winning the Super Bowl in their home stadium, but they are not the favorite anymore. Here are the updated rankings, with ESPN Power Ranking in parentheses.

TW. (LW) Team (Record) (ESPN)
1. (3) Baltimore (1-0) (3)
2. (4) New England (1-0) (1)
3. (24) Washington (1-0) (15)
4. (2) San Francisco (1-0) (2)
5. (7) NY Jets (1-0) (17)
6. (14) Houston (1-0) (4)
7. (13) Dallas (1-0) (10)
8. (12) Denver (1-0) (9)
9. (1) New Orleans (0-1) (16)
10. (11) Green Bay (0-1) (5)
11. (23) Arizona (1-0) (20)
12. (9) Seattle (0-1) (26)
13. (6) Philadelphia (1-0) (12)
14. (5) Chicago (1-0) (8)
15. (15) Atlanta (1-0) (6)
16. (27) Tampa Bay (1-0) (21)
17. (17) NY Giants (0-1) (7)
18. (22) Pittsburgh (0-1) (11)
19. (8) Buffalo (0-1) (24)
20. (25) Cleveland (0-1) (31)
21. (19) San Diego (1-0) (14)
22. (16) Carolina (0-1) (23)
23. (10) Detroit (1-0) (13)
24. (18) Cincinnati (0-1) (18)
25. (20) Miami (0-1) (30)
26. (29) Saint Louis (0-1) (27)
27. (21) Tennessee (0-1) (22)
28. (28) Jacksonville (0-1) (29)
29. (26) Minnesota (1-0) (28)
30. (32) Indianapolis (0-1) (32)
31. (31) Oakland (0-1) (25)
32. (30) Kansas City (0-1) (19)

The move of the week was made by the Washington Redskins, led by rookie Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, who was the first player every to be named the NFL Player of the Week in his very first game as a professional. Even more impressive is the fact that he outdueled former MVP Drew Brees in the process. Most star rookie quarterbacks don't lead their teams to the playoffs, but Griffin may break that trend.

The Arizona Cardinals also made a big move this week, even with starting quarterback John Skelton going down late in the game. Kevin Kolb, who was the starter at the beginning of last season, stepped in and led Arizona on the game-winning touchdown drive, then the Cardinals' defense made a goal line stand to protect the lead and open the season with a victory.

Tampa Bay, who looked so bad in losing their final 10 games last season that they ended the season as the lowest-ranked team in my standings, pulled off a shocker when they knocked off Cam Newton and the Panthers to open the season and gave Greg Schiano a great start to his professional head coaching career.

The Detroit Lions dropped 13 spots in my rankings despite winning their opening game, and it was due to the fact that they needed a last-second touchdown to defeat the Saint Louis Rams, who haven't had a winning season since Kurt Warner left, and have won 3 games or fewer in 4 of the past 5 seasons. A repeat playoff appearance will not be happening if they play like that the rest of the season.

I expected the Buffalo Bills to lose to the New York Jets last weekend, but mostly due to the home field advantage, so when the Jets annihilated the Bills in the opener, leading by as much as 34 points early in the third quarter, it signaled that Buffalo is not as good as they were last season, which wasn't even enough to make the playoffs.

Predictions

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

Chicago at Green Bay - Packers by 6

Sunday

Arizona at New England - Patriots by 19
Kansas City at Buffalo - Bills by 19
Cleveland at Cincinnati - Bengals by 1
Minnesota at Indianapolis - Vikings by 1
Oakland at Miami - Dolphins by 13
Tampa Bay at NY Giants - Giants by 3
Baltimore at Philadelphia - Ravens by 16
New Orleans at Carolina - Saints by 6
Houston at Jacksonville - Texans by 17
Washington at Saint Louis - Redskins by 19
Dallas at Seattle - Cowboys by 3
NY Jets at Pittsburgh - Jets by 13
Tennessee at San Diego - Chargers by 6
Detroit at San Francisco - 49ers by 25

Monday

Denver at Atlanta - Broncos by 1

Prediction Results

NFL: 12-4 (.750)
Upsets: 1-0 (1.000)