Professional football is back, and while some things haven't changed, a few things are very different. The Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots are still among the top teams in the league, but Peyton Manning missed the first game of his entire career and is in danger of missing the entire season with neck problems, which could jeopardize the Colts' chances of extending their postseason streak. Here are the team rankings after week 1, with each team's name followed by its record and last season's final rank.
TW - Team - Record - LW
1. Baltimore (1-0) (5)
2. New England (1-0) (1)
3. Buffalo (1-0) (27)
4. Houston (1-0) (17)
5. Chicago (1-0) (8)
6. Philadelphia (1-0) (7)
7. Green Bay (1-0) (2)
8. Detroit (1-0) (12)
9. Washington (1-0) (23)
10. San Diego (1-0) (6)
11. New Orleans (0-1) (15)
12. Cincinnati (1-0) (21)
13. NY Jets (1-0) (4)
14. Dallas (0-1) (19)
15. San Francisco (1-0) (25)
16. Minnesota (0-1) (20)
17. Oakland (1-0) (13)
18. Tennessee (0-1) (14)
19. Jacksonville (1-0) (26)
20. Miami (0-1) (18)
21. Atlanta (0-1) (9)
22. Tampa Bay (0-1) (16)
23. Pittsburgh (0-1) (3)
24. NY Giants (0-1) (11)
25. Denver (0-1) (29)
26. Cleveland (0-1) (24)
27. Indianapolis (0-1) (10)
28. Saint Louis (0-1) (28)
29. Arizona (1-0) (31)
30. Seattle (0-1) (30)
31. Carolina (0-1) (32)
32. Kansas City (0-1) (22)
The best team to lose in week one was the New Orleans Saints, who lost on opening night by one yard against the defending champion Green Bay Packers, which is nothing to be ashamed of. They certainly looked like a team that can still be a major player when the playoffs come around again, and with Drew Brees running the show, they have nothing to worry about.
The worst team to win on opening weekend was the Arizona Cardinals, which narrowly escaped with a 7-point victory against the Carolina Panthers, which was easily the worst team last year. Both teams looked somewhat improved over last season with their new quarterbacks, but obviously still have work to do.
The biggest surprise of the weekend was the Buffalo Bills, which went on the road to Kansas City and won by 34 points, the largest loss the Chiefs have suffered at home in decades, and the largest win the Bills have seen in quite some time. By beating Kansas City, which made the playoffs last year, the Bills showed that they may finally be ready to compete after years of ineptitude.
San Francisco's domination of Seattle showed that a new team is ready to take control of the league's weakest division, the NFC West. Ted Ginn, Jr. returned two kicks for touchdown in the fourth quarter, which may have also helped ease people's doubts about the league moving kickoffs five yards closer to midfield and thereby reducing the number of runbacks.
Prediction Results - 8-12 Sep
NFL: 10-6 (.625)
Upsets: 3-3 (.500) 4-5 overall (.444)
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