2016 NFL Week 1 Power Rankings

Week 1 Game Balls

Offense: A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals. Caught 12 of 13 targets, for 180 yards and a touchdown, despite spending much of the game matched up against Darrelle Revis.

Defense: Kwon Alexander, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. League-leading 15 solo tackles, including 2 tackles for loss and a sack.

Special Teams: Stephen Gostkowski, K, New England Patriots. Made field goals from 53, 47, and 32 yards, went 2/2 on extra points, and excellent on kickoffs: the Cardinals began drives at the 25, 25, 21, 19, 11, and 8.

Rookie: Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans. The 21st overall pick, from Notre Dame, Fuller finished his first game with 107 yards and a touchdown, including four of Houston's five longest plays.

Honorable Mentions: RB Spencer Ware, LB Eric Kendricks, K Dan Bailey

Five Quick Hits

* Congratulations to U.S. Open champions Stan Wawrinka and Angelique Kerber.

* Dak Prescott averaged 5.0 yards per pass attempt and didn't throw a touchdown. Let's cool the praise on this kid: he didn't have a meltdown, but he had a pretty poor game against a defense that's not expected to be very good.

* When Cris Collinsworth is on, he's the best announcer in football. It's weird that the guy who was so excellent on Sunday night is the same one who spent most of Thursday's telecast swooning over Luke Kuechly.

* Collinsworth is nothing compared to Chris Berman. I realize play-by-play is outside his normal duties, but you don't have to be a stooge. Every other sentence, Berman was saying that NaVorro Bowman is the only 49er who has ever done anything right in this world. He makes every tackle, to the point that it's barely worth announcing the game, because it's always Bowman. Dammit, Boomer, pull yourself together and try to act like a professional.

* It was bad judgment by ESPN to show Antonio Brown's obscene humping routine in its entirety, and extreme bad judgment to replay it.

On to the Week 1 NFL Power Rankings. Brackets show last week's preseason power rating.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers [5] — Second-largest margin of victory by any team in Week 1, on the road against the defending NFC East champs. They're the only team really looked like a champion in Week 1.

2. Houston Texans [7] — Brutalized Jay Cutler, with 5 sacks and 13 hits. Jadeveon Clowney, J.J. Watt, Benardrick McKinney, Whitney Mercilus, and John Simon all had multiple hits on Cutler.

3. Denver Broncos [10] — Trevor Siemian was good enough in Week 1 (159 net passing yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 69.1 passer rating), and the defense still has it. But how did Denver's defense get called for 12 men on the field twice in the first half, plus a third time averted by a timeout?

4. Green Bay Packers [2] — Aaron Rodgers looked great for most of Sunday's game, but he ranks 24th in passing yardage. This after a below-average performance in the final months of last season, as well. The offensive line couldn't get any push in the run game, either. I don't think there's cause to panic, but I think there's cause for concern.

5. New England Patriots [12] — Another testament to Bill Belichick's coaching genius. Tom Brady was suspended. Rob Gronkowski was injured. Rob Ninkovich was suspended. Nate Solder and Dion Lewis were injured. And they won, on the road, against a team that went 12-4 last year and made the NFC Championship Game.

6. Carolina Panthers [4] — Cam Newton took a serious beating on Thursday night, including multiple shots to the head. The game raised questions about Newton's health going forward, and highlighted once again the inadequacies of the NFL's concussion-monitoring protocols.

7. Cincinnati Bengals [8] — Andy Dalton passed for 366 yards and a 114.0 passer rating, without Tyler Eifert. But he also got sacked 7 times. Clean that up, and the Bengals could be a contender.

8. Seattle Seahawks [1] — The severity of Russell Wilson's sprained ankle remains unclear. He will play in Week 2, but probably not at full capacity.

9. Arizona Cardinals [3] — Lost, at home, to the Patriots' B-team. Last year, Carson Palmer averaged 8.0 net yards per attempt, and 13.7 yards per completion. On Sunday night, he averaged 6.3 NY/A, and 11.3 yds/comp. That's about 80% of last year's totals, and if the Cardinals don't rediscover their deep passing game, they can expect to win about 80% as much as they did in 2015, which would put them on the playoff bubble.

10. Kansas City Chiefs [9] — Trailed 24-3 in the third quarter before winning in overtime, the largest comeback victory in the team's 57-year history. Spencer Ware's 199 yards from scrimmage (70 rushing. 129 receiving) led all players in Week 1.

11. Detroit Lions [16] — Like the Cowboys' Terrance Williams, several Lions failed to get out of bounds when they should have. With :21 left and Detroit down by 1, Eric Ebron tried for extra yardage, forcing the Lions to use a timeout and drawing a blast from quarterback Matthew Stafford. On the very next play, Marvin Jones even more egregiously stayed in bounds, forcing the Lions to spend their final timeout. Matt Prater's 43-yard game-winning field goal was successful, but Detroit should have had another play or two to try to get closer.

The Lions are my Week 2 selection in survivor pools. They're 5½-point favorites at home against the Titans. I have no faith in Tennessee, and Detroit just won a road game against a much better team from the same division.

12. Miami Dolphins [13] — In most power rankings, the Dolphins will fall this week. They were double-digit underdogs, and they nearly beat the Seahawks in Seattle. If anything, they should rise.

13. Oakland Raiders [14] — Committed 14 penalties for 141 yards, by far the worst of any team in Week 1. Jack Del Rio's decision to attempt a two-point conversion at the end of the game made a lot of sense. The Raider offense was hot, with its last three drives producing 210 yards and three touchdowns, and the chance of converting the two-point attempt was probably over 50%. If the game goes into overtime, it becomes a coin-flip. Oakland's chance of winning on the conversion attempt was higher than its chance of winning in overtime.

14. Washington [6] — Jay Gruden stifled their early momentum. Washington had 4th-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 40, which is too far for a field goal and too close to punt. You should always go for it on 4th-and-1, but from that part of the field it's a no-brainer. Gruden chose to punt, and the Steelers took over at their own 13, a net of just 27 yards. Kirk Cousins was not sharp on Monday night, and he was much too tentative. You're not supposed to tank until after a multi-year contract, Kirk.

15. Minnesota Vikings [15] — Trailed the listless Titans 10-0 at halftime, and didn't score an offensive touchdown. In fact, they never got the ball inside Tennessee's 10-yard line. Shaun Hill managed the game (236 yds, 77.6 rating, no sacks or interceptions), while Adrian Peterson got stuffed, rushing 19 times for just 31 yards (1.6 avg).

16. Indianapolis Colts [11] — Defense got toasted by the Calvin Johnson-less Detroit Lions. You can't give up 28 first downs, 448 yards, and 39 points, and expect to win.

17. New York Jets [17] — Lost in the kicking game. They had a missed extra point and a blocked 22-yard field goal, and lost by 1.

18. Baltimore Ravens [18] — Won the lowest-scoring game of Week 1. Shareece Wright was the standout, with more than twice as many tackles (11) as any teammate, including three tackles for loss.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [21] — Jameis Winston passed for 281 yards and 4 TDs, with a 122.6 passer rating and no sacks. The Bucs worked hard to upgrade their defense in the offseason, and it remains to be seen how much progress they made, but the offense looked ready to go in Week 1.

20. Buffalo Bills [19] — Gained 160 yards of offense, committed 89 yards of penalties. Five of their nine possessions went three-and-out.

21. New York Giants [22] — All three red zone possessions produced touchdowns, which was critical in their 1-point victory over Dallas. Twelve of the 13 games played on Sunday were decided by single-digits, including three 1-point wins and a game that went in overtime.

22. Jacksonville Jaguars [25] — More yards, first downs, and time of possession than the Packers. They also had better special teams, and only committed one turnover. In a game that easily could have gone the other way, you wonder what might have happened if Chris Ivory, hospitalized just hours before the game, had been available. The Jags handed off 24 times for 46 yards, 1.9 per carry.

23. Philadelphia Eagles [26] — Strong debut for rookie QB Carson Wentz: 270 yards, 2 TDs, 101.0 passer rating. Still, it was against the Browns. Actually, the Eagles may not face a really tough defense until mid-November. None of their first nine opponents finished among the top 12 in total defense last season.

24. San Diego Chargers [23] — As feared, Keenan Allen tore his ACL. He's out for the season. The Chargers' top WRs are now Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams.

25. San Francisco 49ers [31] — Dominant win over a division rival, but the Rams looked terrible more than the Niners looked good. Blaine Gabbert ran more effectively than he passed, the running backs averaged 3.2 yards per carry, and all 30 other teams have better offense than the Rams. The upcoming schedule looks really hard, so let's stay realistic about what this game meant.

26. Atlanta Falcons [24] — Need to convert on big plays. They went 3-of-13 on third downs, and 1-of-4 in the red zone, settling for three short field goals.

27. New Orleans Saints [27] — Gained the most yardage (507) of any team in Week 1, and still lost. Same old Saints.

28. Los Angeles Rams [20] — Since Jeff Fisher took over as head coach, they've had the most frustrating offense in the history of pro football's modern era. The Rams treat the sideline like it's the end zone.

29. Chicago Bears [28] — Defense couldn't get off the field on third down. Houston converted 12 of 20 third-down opportunities, most of any team in Week 1.

30. Dallas Cowboys [30] — Four drives of more than 10 plays, all of which resulted in field goals. Kicker Dan Bailey went 4/4, including 54- and 56-yard field goals, but you're not going to win a lot of games just by kicking field goals — or by staying in bounds with :06 and no timeouts. Terrance Williams, who declined to dive for the sideline on the game's final play, says he "was clearly aware of the time" but wanted to gain more yardage before going out of bounds.

31. Cleveland Browns [29] — Only team to lose by double-digits on Sunday, also dead last in time of possession (20:40). Robert Griffin III, who still won't slide, broke a bone in his non-throwing shoulder, and will be replaced by veteran Josh McCown.

32. Tennessee Titans [32] — Defense did its job, holding Minnesota to field goals. The offense lacks firepower.