NFL Rankings - 19 Sep

After only two weeks, there are only 6 undefeated teams remaining in the NFL. Some, like the Arizona Cardinals, are somewhat surprising, while a couple, like San Francisco and Houston, were a little more expected. Then there are the Saints, my preseason Super Bowl pick, who have yet to win a game. Here are my updated rankings, with ESPN Power Ranking in parentheses.

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

Seattle made a huge leap to the #2 slot, despite having lost a game already. That loss, however, came against the Arizona Cardinals, who just beat the AFC favorite New England Patriots, and Seattle had a dominant victory over the Dallas Cowboys in week 2, scoring in every possible way while holding Dallas to just 7 points. Seattle hosts Green Bay this week on Monday Night Football, and it seems like the Seahawks are being overlooked. They just may surprise a few people on national television.

Detroit followed up a weak win against the Saint Louis Rams with a decent showing against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night, which allowed them to climb into the top ten despite losing. This week they will visit winless Tennessee, and I expect to see the blowout of the week in that game.

After Washington's huge upset of New Orleans in week one, they catapulted into the upper reaches of the rankings, but a loss to Saint Louis in week two, coupled with another loss from the Saints, dropped the Redskins back to earth and into the middle of the pack again. Their home opener against the Bengals this weekend should help get them back on track.

New Orleans' loss in week one looked like it could have been a fluke, but after losing to Carolina by the same margin in week two, it's time to recognize that these Saints may not be good enough to make the playoffs, let alone play in the Super Bowl on their home turf. If they can't beat Kansas City this weekend, it'll be time to write them off.

Predictions

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

NY Giants at Carolina - Panthers by 2

Sunday

Saint Louis at Chicago - Rams by 3
Buffalo at Cleveland - Browns by 6
Tampa Bay at Dallas - Cowboys by 13
Detroit at Tennessee - Lions by 25
Jacksonville at Indianapolis - Jaguars by 3
NY Jets at Miami - Dolphins by 7
San Francisco at Minnesota - 49ers by 23
Kansas City at New Orleans - Saints by 12
Cincinnati at Washington - Redskins by 17
Philadelphia at Arizona - Cardinals by 14
Atlanta at San Diego - Falcons by 2
Houston at Denver - Texans by 3
Pittsburgh at Oakland - Steelers by 17
New England at Baltimore - Ravens by 10

Monday

Green Bay at Seattle - Seahawks by 13

Prediction Results

NFL: 8-8 (.500) 20-12 overall (.625)
Upsets: 1-3 (.250) 2-3 overall (.400)