Chaos.
That’s the only way to describe Week 1 across the NFL, and not just because the superteam Rams went down, down under. Some of the best teams in the league struggled to find their early footing. Meanwhile, the Jets, the Raiders and the Cardinals all won their openers!
It has made an absolute mess out of my Power Rankings. Here’s what the carnage looks like heading into Week 2.
*Super Bowl odds courtesy of DraftKings
Super Bowl odds: +50000
The expectations for this team couldn’t have been much lower, and they still couldn’t meet them. It’s going to be a long season in South Florida. Hope the weather is nice, at least.
Super Bowl odds: +30000
How long will Todd Monken stick with Deshaun Watson at QB? Maybe longer than you think. Better question: Does it even matter?
Super Bowl odds: +20000
Brian Daboll’s offense managed just 195 yards against the Jets — and 65 of those came on the final garbage-time drive of the game. Robert Saleh’s Tennessee debut was a total disaster.
Super Bowl odds: +15000
RB Ashton Jeanty was healthy, which is good, but QB Kirk Cousins still turns the ball over too much. Winning is nice, but good thing Las Vegas was only playing Miami.
Super Bowl odds: +13000
Their fall isn’t just about their ugly loss in Pittsburgh. It’s about their broken QB room that left them with Cooper Rush having to start despite back spasms. Ouch.
Super Bowl odds: +25000
Efficient on offense, stingy on defense. Could the Jets actually be … good? Probably not. The Titans are just that bad.
Super Bowl odds: +6500
Jayden Daniels didn’t look like his old, dynamic self, but the Commanders still nearly upset the Eagles. Not sure whether that says more about Washington or Philadelphia.
The Commanders were a two-point conversion short of taking the Eagles to overtime. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Super Bowl odds: +30000
Where did that come from? The Cardinals shut down QB Justin Herbert and thoroughly beat a Chargers team some think is a sleeper Super Bowl contender. So much for predictions of an 0-13 start.
Super Bowl odds: +5500
For $165 million over three years, the Bucs expect a lot better than this from QB Baker Mayfield. He has too many weapons for the offense to be as bad as it looked.
Super Bowl odds: +9000
What does $170 million get you these days? That’s about what the Panthers spent this offseason to rebuild their defense … which gave up 59 points and 552 yards in Week 1. No refunds, by the way.
Super Bowl odds: +2500
It’s bad enough that all that work they did to fix their defense didn’t work. But if their vaunted offense is really as mediocre as it looked on Sunday night, this could be a painfully long season in Dallas.
Super Bowl odds: +6500
They ran into a Baltimore buzz saw, but there were encouraging signs. QB Daniel Jones looked healthier than I thought he’d be, which could bode well when they start playing lesser teams.
Super Bowl odds: +2000
Well, at least one Harbaugh brother had a good day, because Jim’s opener was a stinker. His defense got run over by a Cardinals team that figured to be one of the worst in football. And where was Mike McDaniel’s brilliant, energy-induced offense? What a dud!
Super Bowl odds: +9000
QB Tyler Shough was terrible. Then he was brilliant. In the end, the Saints were one two-point conversion in overtime away from pulling off an upset that would’ve defined their season and proven to everyone they might be the surprise of the NFL this year.
Super Bowl odds: +2000
Jordan Love threw for a lot of yards, and it looks like he has some good WRs. But an offense without Josh Jacobs and a defense without Micah Parsons feels like too much for the Pack to overcome.
The Packers blew another double-digit lead to a division foe in the second half. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Super Bowl odds: +5000
It’s a well-deserved leap in the rankings after John Harbaugh’s debut showed he has a tough, well-rounded and healthy team. When WR Malik Nabers is off his pitch count, this versatile offense is going to cause problems for everyone.
Super Bowl odds: +5000
Aaron Rodgers was OK, not great, but he didn’t need to do a lot thanks to a defense that was stifling against a battered Falcons team playing its third-string QB.
Super Bowl odds: +4000
It was, and still is, easy to underestimate the Vikings because of their QB issues. But Kevin O’Connell is a terrific coach, and that defense was outstanding in the fourth quarter against the Packers when it mattered most.
Super Bowl odds: +1900
I know they were playing the Bills, but giving up 36 points and 409 yards? What happened to the best defense in the NFL?
Super Bowl odds: +1800
Coming within a failed, two-point conversion pass in overtime of losing to the Saints at home isn’t great. Then again, the Saints are better than a lot of people think.
Super Bowl odds: +1400
They’re baaaaack. Patrick Mahomes didn’t even look like his old self Monday night and the Chiefs still dominated the Broncos. When Mahomes rounds into form, KC might be ready to reclaim its throne.
Super Bowl odds: +2500
Yeah, yeah, Liam Coen’s team looked great. Trevor Lawrence looked unstoppable. I’ll be way more impressed if the Jags do this against anyone other than the Browns.
Super Bowl odds: +2100
Three interceptions by Drake Maye, an injury that will cost WR A.J. Brown a month, and they couldn’t beat a Seahawks team led by Drew Lock. Unfortunately, their schedule won’t get any easier.
Super Bowl odds: +1700
Jalen Hurts did what he had to do to win, but I’ve got the same feeling about the Eagles that I had last year: That offense really should be better. Why is it always such a struggle for them?
Super Bowl odds: +2000
They were so close to a Super Bowl last season. They look really far away now following that blowout loss to the Chiefs. And scratch Bo Nix from those MVP contender lists after his disastrous showing.
Super Bowl odds: +1400
They heard all the talk about the dream team Rams and became L.A.’s worst nightmare. If the Niners stay healthy, they actually could end up the best team in the dangerous NFC West.
Super Bowl odds: +1900
They got relentless pressure and forced four turnovers to prove they might have a defense this year. If they do, Cincinnati will be hard to stop.
Super Bowl odds: +650
The big debate is how far they should plummet because of their opening flop? It could turn out to be a travel-induced anomaly. But if the Rams lose to the Giants on Sunday, you’ll find them in the high teens next week.
Super Bowl odds: +950
They put up 36 points and 409 yards on a Houston defense that gave up an average of 17 points and 277 yards per game last year. Apparently, Joe Brady can coach and call plays at the same time.
Super Bowl odds: +1100
They still have a championship-caliber defense. But with QB Sam Darnold out with a hip injury, that offense didn’t look primed for another Super Bowl run.
Seahawks are ‘the team to beat’, Patriots struggle in loss, Can Seattle dominate the NFL? | FTF
Super Bowl odds: +2100
Ben Johnson doesn’t want to just beat other teams. He wants to destroy them. And with that offense, his team is going to break some bodies and records along the way.
Super Bowl odds: +900
Vindication, after all the criticism I took for ranking them too high. The 1-2 punch of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry looked as potent as ever, and Jesse Minter’s defense is strong, too. Injuries to WRs Zay Flowers and Ja’Kobi Lane could be a looming problem, though.
