NFL Power Rankings — With a Kick

09/11/2024

By: Jeff Yoder

Good Morning!

Was there anything worth watching last night? Yep. All 30 MLB teams (we had you in the first half).

Our first day without football in six days allowed us to update our initial NFL power rankings for Week 2 (if you have qualms, tell us about ’em). Plus, the globe-wide international soccer break continued as we gear up for a big weekend of CFB rivalries and UFC 306. All that and more in today’s midweek edition.

Letter Rip!

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NFL

The Week 2 NFL Power Rankings — With a Kick

Big Adjustments, Kickers Are King, And ‘Legit’ Teams After Week 1

(Loosens the tie and leans forward) … Let’s have a pow-wow before the comments come barreling downfield like Saquon Barkley. I crave the inbox debates. I really do. But ranking all 32 NFL teams after one game feels like football rocket science. And while I’m no pass-trophysicist, I know a good offense when I see one. There was good, bad, and very ugly in Week 1. So who’s legit? Teams like the Chiefs, 49ers, Lions and Cowboys are going to win a lot of games, but the parity of this glorious league is downright fickle beyond the top eight or so. No one can tell you who’s better than who on any given Sunday. Heck, we can’t even know if Christian McCaffrey is active until the pregame. That’s the beauty. But here we are. It’s the midweek edition during football season, which means every sports news site in America dropped their power rankings yesterday. My turn.

The Week of the Kicker: Spicy attitude aside. Did you know kickers stole the show in Week 1? Across the league, kickers went a combined 68-for-74 to boot the second-most field goals in a single week in NFL history. That’s either a result of the new officiating emphasis or a bizarre taste of conservative play-calling early in the season. Regardless, having a good kicker plays a role in our rankings.

The Week 2 Adjustments: Two NFC South teams — the Bucs and Saints — made giant leaps from Week 1 to Week 2 after a pair of blowout wins. So did the Chargers, but I’m still not ready to call any of them top-10. Three AFC contenders tumbled in miserable starts to their 2024 campaigns (Jets, Browns and Bengals). If you’re a football fan in Ohio or New York, you’re hurting right now. The Packers and Rams are maimed for the near future with injuries, too. And before you throw hands over an 0-1 team ranked ahead of a 1-0 team, ask yourself: A) why? / and B) Who did they play? The Bears beat the Titans with 149 yards of offense, and the Vikings played the Giants who will likely be picking a quarterback No. 1 in next year’s draft… so let’s pump the brakes.

As always, let me know where I went wrong.

Top 10

1. Chiefs (1-0) | —

2. 49ers (1-0) | —

3. Lions (1-0) | ↑1

4. Texans (1-0) | ↑1

5. Eagles (1-0) | ↑1

6. Cowboys (1-0) | ↑2

7. Bills (1-0) | —

8. Ravens (0-1) | ↓5

9. Dolphins (1-0) | ↑1

10. Steelers (1-0) | ↑5

Teams 11-20

11. Buccaneers (1-0) | ↑6

12. Saints (1-0) | ↑11

13. Chargers (1-0) | ↑8

14. Seahawks (1-0) | ↑4

15. Rams (0-1) | ↓2

16. Packers (0-1) | ↓4

17. Jets (0-1) | ↓5

18. Bengals (0-1) | ↓9

19. Jaguars (0-1) | —

20. Colts (0-1) | —

Teams 21-32

21. Browns (0-1) | ↓7

22. Falcons (0-1) | ↓6

23. Bears (1-0) | ↓1

24. Vikings (1-0) | —

25. Patriots (1-0) | ↑6

26. Broncos (0-1) | ↓1

27. Cardinals (0-1) | ↑1

28. Raiders (0-1) | ↓2

29. Titans (0-1) | ↓2

30. Commanders (0-1) | ↓1

31. Giants (0-1) | ↓1

32. Panthers (0-1) | —

ESPN: NFL Week 2 Power Rankings: Which Newcomer Had the Best Week 1?

The Ringer: Week 1 Under Review: The Bengals Don’t Need to Panic, The Browns Do

CBS Sports: NFL Week 2 Power Rankings: Chiefs Remain No. 1, Packers & Bengals Plummet

Yahoo! Sports: NFL Power Rankings: It’s Unfair to Judge Aaron Rodgers’ Jets After Week 1 — We Will Anyway

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MLB

30-for-30: A Wild Night in the Majors

Cubs Beat Dodgers on HR Robbery (6-3) to Cap Epic All-30 Day in Baseball

It’s not every day that all 30 MLB teams hit the diamond. Even more rare is what the Cubs are up to lately. Chicago Is 24-12 since the start of August in a late-season effort to nab a wild card spot. Last night, they beat the Dodgers (6-3) thanks to a game-saving home-run robbery from Pete Crow-Armstrong. PCA made a trio of highlight-reel catches in center field (see link below), but none bigger than the fence-jumping, game-ending glove job against Max Muncy for the final out in the 9th. The Cubs have now won three straight, including one against the Yankees and the first two (of 3) against the Dodgers. They’re just four games out of the last NL wild card spot.

Watch: Cubs Win 3rd Straight on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s HR Robbery

MLB Quick-Hitters

Machado Breaks Padres HR Record

Manny Machado hit his 164th home run in a Padres uniform on Tuesday night. His sixth-inning bomb during San Diego’s 7-3 victory over the Mariners made him the franchise’s all-time HR leader. He passed Nate Colbert (1969) for a record that stood over a half-century.

Benches Clear in Phillies-Rays

The Rays are quickly dwindling down the stretch, and the frustration became evident at the end of a 9-4 loss to the Phillies last night. Tampa reliever Edwin Uceta plunked Phillies OF Nick Castellanos with a 96-mph beamer. Benches cleared. No major punches were thrown. Castellanos sounded off in the postgame: “That’s like my two-year-old throwing a fit.”

Four Guys Had 2-HR Nights

You’re reading that correctly. Four players hit two home runs each on Tuesday night. All four were winners, too. You can see each of their double-HR performances with the links: Trea Turner (Phillies), Michael Harris II (Braves), Christian Walker (D-Backs) and Cedric Mullins (Orioles).

Aaron Judge Tracker: 51 HRs

Shohei Ohtani Tracker: 46 HRs, 47 SBs

Full MLB Scoreboard

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HIGHLIGHTS

Soccer (International)

England def. Finland (2-0)

Captain Harry Kane Scores Brace in 100th Int’l Cap

Colombia def. Argentina (2-1)

James Rodriguez Scores Winner from Penalty Spot

Paraguay def. Brazil (1-0)

Brazil Suffers 4th Defeat in Last 5 World Cup Qualifiers

United States draw New Zealand (1-1)

Christian Pulisic Scores, But USMNT Allow Late Equalizer

WNBA

Lynx def. Dream (76-64)

Atlanta Overwhelmed, Shoot 30% From FG

Sun def. Sparks (86-66)

Marina Mabrey (26 pts) Hits Six 3s Off the Bench

Liberty def. Wings (105-91)

Breanna Stewart (27 pts), NYL Shoot 55% From 3

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STORYLINES

CFB Rivalry Week Comes Early

This wasn’t really planned, but we have stumbled into an underrated slate of rivalry throwdowns this week. There are a whopping 17 games matching in-state schools against each other, plus four other old-school border battles. (Sports Illustrated)

Caitlin Clark’s ‘Player of the Week’ Streak

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are rolling towards the WNBA Playoffs. The rookie was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the third straight time after she averaged a head-turning 25.0 ppg, 10.0 ast, and 7.7 reb. (Bleacher Report)

UFC 306 Meets the Sphere in Vegas

Nine of Saturday’s ten events at UFC 306 will feature Mexican fighters for Mexican Independence Day. It’s also the first sporting event at the Las Vegas Sphere: Sean O’Mally vs. Merab Dvalishvili for the men’s bantamweight title. (ESPN)

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NEWS

Tiger Woods & PGA Tour Officials Meet With Saudi PIF in New York (SI)

Lakers to Honor Jerry West With #44 Patch on Jerseys This Season (B/R)

Steelers Preparing to Start Justin Fields in Week 2 With Russell Wilson Still Injured (FOX Sports)

Mets’ Hall of Famer Ed Kranepool Passes Away at Age 79 (USA Today)

Auburn QB Payton Thorne Says Fans Sent Venmo Requests After 4-INT Game (CBS Sports)

Ex-NFL RB Adrian Peterson Ordered to Turn Over Assets to Address $12 Million Debt (Yahoo! Sports)

Denard Robinson Among Former Michigan Players Suing NCAA & BTN for $50 Million Over NIL (B/R)

Breakdancing Organization Issues Explanation After ‘Raygun’ Tops World Rankings (ESPN)

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SCHEDULE