Tom Brady broke Cam Newton’s record for most yards passing in the first two games of a season. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

The second weekend of NFL games brought what should have been a relatively easy gambling schedule but sadly, some teams *cough* Baltimore *cough* decided not to put forth their best effort. They will be appropriately docked in the Power Rankings.

Best game of the weekend was a toss up between Raiders @ Bills and Eagles @ Falcons. Personally, I really enjoyed the Bills comeback victory even though there was little to no defence in that game at all, particularly in the second half. The Bills scored a touchdown on every drive they had in the second half while giving back several to the Raiders. It was back and forth and the home team prevail. And that is exactly what happened in the Falcons game as well. I think the Eagles were the more impressive team but they really missed Vick in the fourth quarter. The Vick injury was among the flukiest injuries I have ever seen. He got hit lightly and while collapsing smoked his head into one of his offensive linemen. Bad break and hopefully he recovers quickly enough but this is eerily similar to how Kolb lost his job (kidding Kafka wasn’t bad but he’s no Vick either).

There were several impressive victories this weekend and with pardons to the Lions and Jets, the most impressive win of the weekend was New Orleans against Chicago. Most people would have predicted this win but the Saints really took apart the Bears and reaffirm my belief that they are among the elite in the league. Like I said earlier, the NFC South should be an exciting battle.

On to the Power Rankings!

1. New England Patriots (Last Week #2)
Perhaps I moved the Patriots out of first too quickly. It seemed like every time I switched over to this game Brady was leading the Patriots down for another ridiculous drive. The Patriots had a great goal line stand and then followed it up with an impressive 99 yard drive. The Patriots offence is unreal. It pains me to say that he may be playing at a level higher than the 16-0 year. With Manning being injured it’s quite clear that the number 1 QB in the league is Brady. The Patriots next game is against the Bills which could be a barn burner.

2. Green Bay Packers (Last Week #1)A “meh” victory against the lowly Panthers pushes the Packers down a spot in the Power Rankings. Apparently Cam Newton is far more talented than I thought. He gave the Packers defence a lot of trouble through the air. If I were the Packers, I would be worrying about the defence because while giving up 419 yards to Drew Brees is understandable, 432 yards to Cam Newton is questionable even with three interceptions. If Cutler puts up 400+ yards against them next week, I think it would be fair to say that they are in trouble.

3. New Orleans Saints (Last Week #5)
The Saints thoroughly dominated an outgunned Bears team. The Saints defence playing against an inferior team this week feasted on a weak offensive line and sacked Cutler 6 times while limiting Matt Forte to a measly 49 yards on the ground (although he also had 114 yards receiving, so still providing fantasy value). The Saints defence was also particularly effective on third down limiting Chicago to a measly 17% conversion rate. It’s a pretty impressive number. Next weeks match up against Houston will be another measuring stick to see how far this team has come.

< 4. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week #3)
If Vick finishes the game against the Falcons, the Eagles win, end of story (conversely Maclin could have made a relatively easy catch near the end of the game to move the chains but I digress). The Eagles played pretty good for most of that game. The defence looked impressive while stymieing Matt Ryan for the most part. They did allow Turner to have a big game but the secondary has the big play capabilities and should dominate against most passing games. I’m only worried for Philly if Vick is out for more than two weeks because I don’t think they need him to beat the Giants next week.

5. New York Jets (Last Week #6)
Well I didn’t expect that the Jets would crush Jacksonville as well as they did. The Jets defence performed admirably again (giving us our first glimpse of Blaine Gabbert) and the offence played so well they gave Sanchez a break in the fourth quarter. Great teams beat up on cupcakes like Jacksonville and the Jets look like they have the makings of a great team. I am interested to see how their defence is able to handle Darren McFadden this weekend, who may be the best running back in the league.

6. San Diego Chargers (Last Week #7)
The score of the Patriots game didn’t indicate how close this game was. The Chargers were driving to tie the game when Tolbert had a brutal (truly horrific) fumble. Run straight or hold on to the ball! It was ugly but Rivers responded much better than he would have last year. His body language appears to be stronger and I think he is leading this team better. The Chargers had too many turnovers but I think that overall they showed that they can complete with the elite teams in the AFC. And how often will Vince Wilfork make a crazy interception? Not often. San Diego has KC next week which they should destroy.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week #8)
The Steelers took care of business exactly like they needed to. They needed to absolutely destroy Seattle at home and they did. Holding Seattle to zero points and 159 yards passing and a grand total of 30 yards on the ground was exactly the message Pittsburgh’s defence needed to send. Message received Steelers, message received.

8. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week #12)
I watched the entire Sunday night game and I have come to realize that I may have overrated Matt Ryan. Last season ESPN’s new QBR system said that Matt Ryan was the third best quarterback in the league following Brady & Manning. Last night I just didn’t see it. His scrambling ability is weak and the interceptions he threw were on him and no one else. He also seems afraid to air it out deep. I suppose it’s because he doesn’t have the greatest arm strength but he has some great receivers that he should be putting it up to. Instead he’s using Tony Gonzalez as a crutch (this may have been an Eagles specific game plan but still). Michael Turner, at least, looks good. The O-line created some nice holes for him and they mostly dominated the running game. The defence didn’t look great for the second week in the row which could be an issue going forward.

9. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week #4)
The Ravens followed up their significant victory over the Steelers by showing up with the crappiest performance of the week. They got beat by an aging Matt Hasselback and Kenny Britt (who is having an awesome year). Joe Flacco had a miserable game and so did Ray Rice. An offence that was clicking on all cylinders last week was less than mediocre this week. Apparently the Ravens started their Super Bowl hangover after week 1. Wonder which Ravens team will show up against the Rams next week.

10. Houston Texans (Last Week #9)
Didn’t watch a second of their victory over the Miami Dolphins this week but apparently Andre Johnson is a superstar and Miami gave this game away. Will Ben Tate destroy all of Arian Foster’s fantasy value this season? That’s the most pressing question facing the Texans. Well that and how they will perform against the Saints next week.

11. Detroit Lions (Last Week #13)
My first reaction to the Lions game was that Matthew Stafford has really arrived. But that really diminishes how effective the defence was. Detroit’s defence will continue to be a force as they shut down KC’s run (even though Jamal Charles got injured). I think the Lions have a chance to get in the top ten of Power Rankings soon. Their first challenge will be in two weeks against Dallas, as they should handle Minnesota quite easily this week.

12. Chicago Bears (Last Week #10)
Bears suffered a tough loss against New Orleans but they should rebound. The defence will continue to keep them in games even though they got torn up by the Saints. Matt Forte is far more talented than I thought he was and should be the feature of this offence for the season. The O-line remains weak forcing Cutler to make bad decisions. I don’t know who is more to blame between those two. Bears are in tough next week against the Packers.

13. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week #11)
Ugly, ugly win. I feel like the Cowboys can be so much better. It appears that Dez Bryant is a big part of their offense. Also congrats to Tony Romo for playing through a fractured rib but my wife wants to see the X-rays (i.e. doesn’t believe it) and I want Tony Roma ribs!

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week #14)
The Bucs battled back from a 17 point deficit to beat the Viks. Josh Freeman has another fourth quarter comeback (I believe his 8th of his career, very impressive) and Blount ran so much more. I feel less confident about the Bucs now though. I don’t think they’ll be as close to a playoff spot as they were last year.

15. New York Giants (Last Week #15)
The Giants probably didn’t deserve to win that game last night but they are now 1-1 instead or starting 0-2. They did capitalize on the Rams terrible mistakes which included four fumbles (two lost). The Giants defence did step up when they needed to, holding the Rams to 3 field goals early and returning a fumble for a touchdown. The Giants running game also looked reasonably good as they rushed for 119 yards over. However, their quarterback remains mediocre. Their defence will need to come up big again next week against Philly if they want to move to 2-1.

16. Buffalo Bills (Last Week #22)
Solid win by the Bills. The Harvard Man (Fitzpatrick probably deserves a better nickname than that) looked really in control for the majority of the game and Chan Gailey has managed to use his running backs really impressively. On the final touchdown, Gailey used Spiller as the perfect decoy which left David Nelson wide open. The defence still isn’t there but they did manage to limit McFadden to less than 75 yards but if Jason Campbell can throw for 323 yards, how many will Brady put up this week?

17. Washington Redskins (Last Week #18)
The Redskins did their best to try and blow this game. According Grantland’s Bill Barnwell (who does an excellent job covering the NFL) this game was actually a lot closer than it should have been. Everybody agrees that the Redskin’s defence is much improved but Rex Grossman is the most amazing thing about this teams rebound. He appears to be a competent quarterback, which is pretty remarkable. Monday’s battle against Dallas is a good measuring for the NFC East leaders.

18. Oakland Raiders (Last Week #19)
Tough loss for Oakland. With so many injuries on offence the Raiders must have been pleasantly surprise to see Moore breakout with not only 146 yards but also a ridiculous touchdown catch near the end of the game. I wonder how much he’ll be involved in the offence moving forward. Oakland continues to be a fun team to watch even if they won’t seriously challenge for the division title.

19. Tennessee Titans (Last Week #29)
The Titans were the movers of the week. They jumped 10 spots in the power rankings after handling the Ravens at home. Matt Hasselback looked reasonable as a quarterback while Chris Johnson continues to absolutely destroy my fantasy team. I continue to believe that the Titans won’t be an elite team as long as Johnson continues rushing for 2.2 yards per carry. Although Javon Ringer has appeared to be a nice second back.

20. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week #17)
The Cardinals defence remains a predictable mess. They have now allowed Cam Newton to throw for 400+ yards on them and Rex Grossman to throw for close to 300 yards on them. Obviously defence is going to be a problem for them. Larry Fitzgerald continues to enjoy the fact that Arizona brought in Kevin Kolb. If you’re going to be on a terrible team you might as well get a ton of yards and touchdowns.

21. St. Louis Rams (Last Week #20)
The loss last night has to be disappointing for the Rams as they looked like they moved the ball against the Giants fairly well until they hit the red zone. They obviously missed Steven Jackson as Cadillac Williams is not looking like the former star he used to be. I still like the Rams chances to win the division but their schedule doesn’t really soften until Week 9 when they finally start playing their division rivals.

22. Miami Dolphins (Last Week #21)
I just have a feeling that the Dolphins are going to be one of those teams that everyone discounts and they’ll upset some major opponent but follow it up with a stinker. They have some talent but lack the consistency. Daniel Thomas looked good against Houston which led the Reggie Bush seeing a lot of time on the bench. Thomas may be on the way to a very good rookie season.

23. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week #24)
The 49ers are now 1-1 after failing to kill Tony Romo last weekend. They have some talent to stay in games and Jim Harbaugh seems to be a good coach but the lack of a quarterback is really going to kill them in the long run.

24. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week #23)
From everything I’ve heard and seen, it appears that Andy Dalton is outplaying his expectations. The ACL injury to Shipley will really kill them the rest of the season. It will really hurt them because it will enable opposing corners to key in on AJ Green and Jerome Simpson. I think that the Bengals may surprise some people this season.

25. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week #16)
And so ends the Luke McCown era. He was pulled after a memorable 4 picks and 59 yards. Gabbert looked reasonable for the brief period he was in the game and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets the start against the Panthers this weekend.

26. Cleveland Browns (Last Week #28)
Browns beat Colts. An unthinkable headline from the last 10 years that is not as unthinkable when Manning isn’t playing. Still don’t think the Browns are an average team but they should be able to beat the 6 teams below them. Side Note* How hard is it to come up with Browns headlines that don’t include the words shitty? I wouldn’t like to work at a Cleveland newspaper, that’s for sure.

27. Carolina Panthers (Last Week #25)
Cam Newton continues to impress and once again wrote himself into the record books (prior to Brady quickly erasing his name). The Panthers have a great striking ability and held the Packers to fewer points than the Saints but remain a work in progress. Depending on whom the Jags start on Sunday the Panthers could be looking at 1-2.

28. Denver Broncos (Last Week #26)
Denver beat the Bengals yet still managed to fall on my power rankings. That’s an impressive feat. The reason or the fall is that I have this little faith in the Broncos. Von Miller continues to impress but Willis McGahee is their starting running back and they had Tim Tebow line up at wide receiver. Plus their fans still want to see Kyle Orton benched for Tim Tebow. A fan base so stupid doesn’t deserve to win many games. *that felt a little harsh but I’m oddly okay with it*

29. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week #30)
Poor Adrian Peterson. So talented and so rich but he is stuck on a miserable offence. This means defences are keying on him every week. Imagine if he had a good QB behind him. The Vikings are having problems holding onto leads early and it doesn’t get any easier with Detroit next weekend. Side note, I kind of wish Favre was still playing for the Vikings. At least they were bad and interesting. Now they are just bad.

30. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week #31)
Still no Peyton Manning. The only question it seems is when will we see Curtis Painter. Also poor NBC, Sunday night’s match-up between the Colts and Steelers will most likely be an overwhelming disappointment now with Collins at QB instead of Manning. I’ll still watch but this game should have been a lot better.

31. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week #27)
No Jamal Charles. What a devastating injury for the Chiefs who had already lost Berry their best cornerback. This is going to be a long season for Chiefs fans who went from incredibly hopeful and building on last years team to wondering if they’ll be bad enough to get Andrew Luck. Quite the transistion.

32. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week #32)
They are the worst team in the league by estimation. Their offence has no offensive ability whatsoever. At least they still have a kickass home stadium. That’s something, right?