2023 NFL Power Rankings: 49ers, Cowboys climb; Giants, Bears plummet in Week 2

David Helman

Dallas Cowboys Insider

Week 2 might be the trickiest time to try a power ranking.

We entered the season with so much hope and expectation for what was about to happen. Some of it was affirmed this past week, and some of it came crashing down. Even crazier than that, we’re now stuck trying to figure out how much of Week 1 was real, and how much was not. Every single season we fall for the early mirage of success, or we press the panic button when everything is actually fine.

There are a few big changes for Week 2. Some of them are undoubtedly overreactions, but I tried my best to be fair to the (admittedly small) body of work. As always, feel free to tell me where I got it wrong. 

1. San Francisco 49ers
All that Brock Purdy speculation was fun while it lasted. If guiding the 49ers to a 30-7 win in Pittsburgh was his debut after returning from his elbow injury, it feels like a safe bet he’ll be just fine. This is a Pittsburgh team with playoff aspirations, and San Francisco imposed its will on both sides of the ball until it was time to run out the clock. It was an emphatic statement that the concerns about Purdy’s outlook were a bit exaggerated. And if that’s the case, the Niners look like a team capable of making another run to the NFC Championship Game.

2. Philadelphia Eagles 
Never apologize for an NFL win, but we can admit this game got away from the Birds. Racing out to a 16-0 lead in the blink of an eye, only to hold on for dear life isn’t exactly the way you’d draw it up. But 1-0 is 1-0. On the downside, the Eagles’ vaunted offensive line struggled with New England’s front. On the plus side, their young defenders looked plenty capable of stepping up this season.

3. Kansas City Chiefs
It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that the Chiefs brought Chris Jones back into the fold four days after suffering a season-opening loss at home. Patrick Mahomes is incredible, but good on the Chiefs for recognizing that they at least need Jones or Travis Kelce to help him out – or preferably both. Without Kelce, this offense showed a terrifying lack of playmaking ability. 

4. Dallas Cowboys
The Giants entered Sunday night with a chance to announce themselves, and the Cowboys spent the next three hours dribbling them like so many basketballs. A 40-0 win is about as thorough a beating as you’ll ever see in the NFL, and Dallas seemed to enjoy reminding New York that there are levels to this thing.

Dave Helman discusses Dak Prescott, Cowboys defense in CRUSHING win over Giants

5. Miami Dolphins
They might not be in the top spot in the power rankings, but the Dolphins take home the Week 1 award for being the league’s most fun team. This video-game offense picked up exactly where it left off, and didn’t Tua Tagovailoa look awfully confident in the fourth quarter? Combine that with a very fun pass rush, and these guys have huge potential.

6. Baltimore Ravens
Nothing about the 25-9 win against Houston was particularly impressive, but maybe that’s the point. It was the first game in a new offensive scheme, and Houston’s pass rush made Lamar Jackson look very uncomfortable. Despite that, the Ravens get the win and the cover. How much does the loss of J.K. Dobbins affect things moving forward?

7. Buffalo Bills
Oh, Josh Allen. You’re so, so talented — and so, so chaotic. Dating back to the start of last season, Allen has now thrown 19 interceptions in his last 20 games. His four turnovers are the single biggest reason the Bills are now 0-1, having gotten walked off in overtime by the Jets. I’m not going to overreact to the offensive line struggling against New York’s nasty pass rush, as it’s one of the best in the league. But Allen’s recklessness continues to be a problem. When he’s on, this is one of the best teams in the league. The problem is this troubling trend of being off.

What went WRONG for Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills in loss to Jets?

8. Cincinnati Bengals
Don’t worry about the free fall in these rankings, Bengals fan. Your guys get another chance to make an impression this week against the Ravens. To be fair to them, they just might. We’ve seen the Bengals dig themselves out of 0-1 and 0-2 holes, so it’s OK if you don’t want to panic. But there’s still plenty to criticize after one of the league’s best offenses failed to score a single touchdown. Joe Burrow and the receivers will be fine, but Cinci’s offensive line looked woefully unready to deal with Cleveland’s pass rush.

9. Detroit Lions
“This ain’t the same Detroit” is the fun rallying cry, and maybe they’re right. We’ll see just how good the Lions are, but it’s a mighty impressive first impression to knock off the defending champs at their place. An ugly, gritty win, but it signals that the Lions do in fact belong firmly in the NFC playoff discussion.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars
Credit the Jags for not panicking when they found themselves trailing late to the lowly Colts. It would have been a Very Jags Thing to do had they melted down, but they instead outscored Indy, 14-0, in the fourth quarter to put things on ice. Trevor Lawrence to Calvin Ridley looks like it’s going to be one of the most fun connections in the NFL.

NFL Power Rankings: Tua leads Dolphins’ rise, Giants fall & Rams made a statement to the NFL?

11. Cleveland Browns
It’s still too soon to say if Deshaun Watson is good or not. He definitely didn’t play great in a driving rainstorm. But what we do know is that the Browns can run the hell out of the rock and they can get after the quarterback. They did both things impressively in a domination of Cincinnati. If Watson picks up his play, they can jump from “formidable” to “contender.”

12. Los Angeles Chargers
On one hand, it feels harsh to penalize the Chargers for dropping a Week 1 thriller to a playoff contender. On the other hand, at some point doesn’t it feel like the Chargers never find a way to win these? How is it possible to run for 234 yards, finish +2 in turnover differential and still lose the game? The latest example of Peak Chargers behavior.

Dolphins def. Chargers in Week 1: are Tua & Tyreek the most dangerous duo?

13. New Orleans Saints
I’m worried about the Saints’ offensive line. Granted, Tennessee’s defense is no slouch, but Derek Carr is not a guy who’s going to create much if he’s not well-protected. The Saints couldn’t protect him Sunday, and they couldn’t muster anything in the run game. We don’t apologize for wins, but we also know offensive line woes are often a bad omen.

14. Green Bay Packers
Sunday was Jordan Love’s second career start and Justin Fields’ 26th, and it’s fair if the 38-20 scoreline makes you wonder if the Bears will ever win in this rivalry again. The most impressive thing Love did was keep the offense on track on third and fourth down, converting 56% of the time. If he consistently makes good decisions in those spots, the Packers will be a tough out. 

‘Hats off to Jordan Love and that offense’ – Greg Olsen reacts to Jordan Love and the Packers defeating the Bears

15. Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks might not have turned in the worst performance of the weekend, but getting torched for 238 yards by Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell isn’t exactly covering yourself in glory, either. Truly baffling performance in Seattle. And even worse than the defensive lapses was the way this star-studded offense completely no-showed after halftime.

16. New York Jets 
It’s hard to even know where to begin here. Without speculating too much about Aaron Rodgers’ injury, it feels likely he’ll be out for a while, if not the entire season. There’s a lot to like about this Jets roster, but it doesn’t mean much without good quarterback play. If Rodgers is out for the long term, does New York look for a replacement?

Dave Helman reacts to Zach Wilson, New York Jets’ SHOCKING WIN against the Bills

17. Minnesota Vikings
I’ll go ahead and say it: Minnesota was the better team Sunday; they just didn’t win. Obviously, that’s not going to help them reach the playoffs, but I’m just saying it’s too early to freak out. Clean up the turnovers and you win that game. No need to reinvent the wheel – although Thursday night in Philadelphia promises to provide a much bigger challenge.

18. Atlanta Falcons
Asked about Drake London failing to touch the ball in his team’s 24-10 win against Carolina, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said he doesn’t care about fantasy football. I’d argue that it will have very real-life effects if the Falcons can’t attain a bit more balance on offense. They’re not going to allow one touchdown every weekend. 

19. Las Vegas Raiders
End zone interceptions are the type of thing that lose you NFL games. Credit to Jimmy Garoppolo: after he threw his, he guided the Raiders on two huge drives to ice a road division win. Maybe an uninspiring win, but a win.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The box score suggests the Bucs had no business beating the Vikings, but the scoreboard reminds you that they 100% did. Two of Minnesota’s turnovers happened deep in Tampa territory, and the third one led to a Buccaneers field goal. That’s how an underdog springs an upset.

21. New England Patriots
There’s nothing for the Pats to hang their heads about. This game started about as poorly as possible, only for New England to spend the rest of the day taking it to the reigning NFC champs. Moral victories aren’t good enough in the long run, but it’s refreshing that Mac Jones looked like a quality quarterback for the first time since his rookie year.

Mac Jones feels like he ‘let the team down’ in Patriots loss vs. Eagles

22. Denver Broncos
It’s a step in the right direction that the Broncos were at least watchable in their Week 1 loss to Vegas. Russell Wilson was clean and competent, but it’s fair to wonder if dinking and dunking to the tune of 5.2 yards per attempt is going to be good enough. Ultimately, Denver once again failed to crack 20 points.

23. Washington Commanders
Probably a bit closer than they’d have preferred against likely the NFL’s worst team, but 1-0 feels especially important when you’re making an ownership change. It feels noteworthy that Sam Howell committed two turnovers that led to 10 Arizona points — but also led his team on two fourth-quarter scoring drives to win the game. You take the good with the bad, I guess.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers
There’s no shame in losing to a perennial power like the 49ers — but that was more than a loss. Much like the New York Giants, the Steelers had a big opportunity to announce themselves on Sunday, and they fell well short. Fortunately for them, the Giants spared them from the most lopsided loss of the weekend.

Dave Helman reacts to Brock Purdy, 49ers’ DOMINANT victory over Steelers

25. L.A. Rams
This league, man. There was no more shocking result than Rams 30, Seahawks 13 – in Seattle! And while Matthew Stafford deserves heaps of praise for turning back the clock in a 334-yard performance, don’t forget about Aaron Donald and his guys. For all the Seattle’s offensive firepower, the Seahawks managed one first down and no points after halftime.

26. Carolina Panthers
The makings of a solid team are here somewhere – particularly on defense, where Brian Burns, Derrick Brown and Frankie Luvu picked up where they left off. But while Bryce Young had some nice moments in his debut, it’s fair to wonder if this offense has enough juice to keep up.

27. New York Giants
Do I actually think the Giants are the sixth-worst team in the league? No. But I ask you: where should I put them after that performance? Getting power bombed, 40-0, on your own field after an offseason of hype is about as putrid a performance as you can turn in. It’s hard to know whether to feel worse about Daniel Jones or his offensive line.

28. Tennessee Titans
The Titans were too low in my preseason rankings, so I’m giving them a small bump after a valiant effort in New Orleans. As we all expected, Mike Vrabel’s defense came ready to play. That was never going to be the issue. Three interception in a one-point loss just might start the clock on Ryan Tannehill’s possible replacement by one of his young backups, as Ben Arthur wrote yesterday.

29. Chicago Bears 
The Bears weren’t supposed to be all the way down here, but this looked exactly like the team that finished with the worst record in the league last year. Chicago’s offensive line was still leaky. Justin Fields still didn’t threaten the defense consistently as a passer.  The Bears secondary gave up three gains of 30+. Getting blasted by Aaron Rodgers was to be expected. It wasn’t supposed to happen to Jordan Love.

[Vitali: Can Justin Fields make the ‘Jalen Hurts jump?’ Context for Bears’ young QB is important]

30. Indianapolis Colts
It seems awfully encouraging that Anthony Richardson could make such a poised debut after making a mere 13 starts in college. I still don’t think the Colts have a good enough supporting cast on offense, especially without Jonathan Taylor. Richardson vs. Stroud next weekend will be a fun test for both young guys.

NFL Rookie Watch: How did Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young fare in debut?

31. Houston Texans
There’s a lot to like about the Texans’ defense, which sacked Lamar Jackson four times and made the Ravens work to put the game away. C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense, however, look like a big-time work in progress. It’s not that they were awful, I’m just not sure yet what – if anything – they’ll be able to hang their hat on.

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32. Arizona Cardinals
Credit where it’s due, the Cardinals pushed the Commanders a lot harder than most expected. But it’s not as if things get easier. Starting next week with the Giants, their next four games are against 2022 playoff squads.

David Helman covers the Dallas Cowboys for FOX Sports. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team’s official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing “Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion” about the quarterback’s time at Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter at @davidhelman_.

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