FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — For some teams, Week 1 saw expectations remain true.
Top contenders from the 2023 season still sit atop the best in the league, playing fast and fun football that everyone knew them capable of. For others, this season's expectations were too lofty to reach in the first outing of the season, the Falcons' offense included.
With the season officially underway, let's take a look back at the week's games and decide where those wins (and losses) landed each of the 32 teams.
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1
Kansas City Chiefs
The reigning Super Bowl champions remain atop this week's power ranking. Is anyone surprised? Probably not, but Baltimore didn't make this game easy on the Chiefs.
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2
San Francisco 49ers
Gotta give it to the 49ers: Even without Christian McCaffrey they were a fun team to watch.
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3
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles went down to Brazil and handled business. Probably a few more Eagles fans in South America after that performance.
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4
Detroit Lions
Detroit snatched an overtime win over the Rams to put them in the top-5 of this week's power ranking. Is Ford Field one of the toughest places to play now?
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5
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens might be 0-1, but they hung around with the No. 1 team in this ranking. They didn't keep the game alive because of an inch. They deserve a top-5 spot.
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6
Buffalo Bills
The Bills surely did not have the start they wanted, going down 17-3 at halftime. But they got rolling and once they did they showed us why they could continue to be a high performing team in 2024.
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7
Dallas Cowboys
People will talk about Dak's deal all day long, but this defense is not to be trifled with. They held the Browns to six three-and-outs, an interception and a field goal in Cleveland's first eight possessions.
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8
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins' offense wasn't perfect Sunday, particularly their run game, but considering everything that led up to the game and the emotions of it all, they showed up and got the job done.
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9
Houston Texans
Not going to lie, I really thought about placing the Texans outside the top-10 because I thought there were too many sacks given up by the offense and not enough defensive prowess by the other side of the ball either. But I couldn't do it in the end.
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10
Green Bay Packers
I am worried about the Packers. I am not going to lie. They played a good game in Brazil, hanging with the Eagles as much as they could. However, an injury to Jordan Love makes me think the Packers may not have the opportunity to be back in this spot in the foreseeable future. So, that's why they're here now.
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11
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers' win over the Raiders felt right in line with what I expected from this group going into the season. Perhaps I have put them fairly high but its because they really didn't give me a reason not to.
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12
Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford was extremely close to mounting a powerful win, but with his top two tackles out and losing Puka Nacua, Joe Noteboom and Steve Avila during the game, Stafford did as much as he could with what he had.
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13
New York Jets
The Jets offense with Aaron Rodgers couldn't withstand the defensive onslaught of the 49ers attack. Doesn't mean Rodgers won't find ways to win games this year.
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14
Chicago Bears
Caleb Williams' professional debut wasn't perfect, but it still showed promise and poise as the Bears mounted a comeback. This team could rise quickly if they clean some stuff up.
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15
Cincinnati Bengals
In perhaps the most shocking loss of Week 1, the Bengals lost a 16-10 slug to the Patriots. It was not the offensive performance anyone expected from Joe Burrow and Co.
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16
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
You'd never know with the way the offense was operating that offensive coordinator Liam Coen was new. He had his unit working like a well-oiled machine at times.
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17
Jacksonville Jaguars
Despite a loss to the Dolphins, the Jaguars don't fall out of the top-20 for a few reasons. They fix their blocking on the offensive line, they are instantly better.
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18
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers defense was as advertised. In a way they're offense — winning a game despite never scoring a touchdown — kind of was, too.
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19
Cleveland Browns
The Cowboys defense left no doubt about how this game would turn out.
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20
Minnesota Vikings
I mean, should the Vikings have beat the Giants? Yes. Does that really make them a top-20 team? At least for Week 1 it does.
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21
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks defense got after Bo Nix in his professional debut, but still let him hang around, which is why they aren't higher.
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22
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts put up a good fight against the Texans, keeping the game closer than maybe anyone gave them credit for.
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23
New Orleans Saints
The expectation was that the Saints would beat the Panthers. But the final score of 47-10 was more significant than even that expectation.
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24
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons played winning football defensively, keeping the Steelers out of the endzone. One cannot say the same for the Falcons' offense, which had the perception of a unit capable of a top-10 ranking.
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25
Arizona Cardinals
If the first half of this game against the Bills was all I was grading on, the Cardinals would be very high on this list, but blunders in the second half keep them towards the bottom of the ranking.
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26
New England Patriots
No one had hope the Patriots would beat the Bengals. And yet, they are 1-0.
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27
Tennessee Titans
Like the Cardinals, if we are going off of a first-half performance perhaps the Titans would find themselves higher. But we have to go off the game's entirety, and they didn't finish like they started.
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28
Denver Broncos
Bo Nix and the Broncos' offense was far from perfect. They'll have a tough task facing the Steelers in Week 2.
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29
Washington Commanders
The Commanders' disjointed play aligned with the expectations for the squad in 2024. This ranking at No. 29 also tracks.
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30
Las Vegas Raiders
Like the Commanders' loss, this Raiders' loss went about like you'd expect.
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31
New York Giants
The Vikings beat the Giants 28-6. New York doesn't really have much going for it right now, which is why they're at No. 31.
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32
Carolina Panthers
There's not really anything you can positively glean from this Panthers performance. So, I'm not even going to try.
Call for questions
Submit your questions here for inclusion in Friday's edition of The Mailbox.
