Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Cardinals surge

One week down, 16 to go.

There were a few surprises in the opening weekend of 2020, most notably the Arizona Cardinals going to Santa Clara and knocking off the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers and doing it by beating them at their own game in a lot of ways.

The Cardinals, bolstered by Kyler Murray’s scrambling, out-rushed the Niners and shut them down on third downs. Therefore, the Cardinals are one of the biggest jumpers in our Week 2 Power Rankings.

The Los Angeles Chargers made the biggest jump from the preseason rankings, elevating nine spots after their win over the Cincinnati Bengals, while the Cleveland Browns, who were largely non-competitive in a 32-point loss to Baltimore took the biggest plunge, which was 11 spots.

Arizona Sports Week 2 NFL Power Rankings

1. Kansas City Chiefs (1-0)
Movement: —
The opening win over the Texans lacked aerial fireworks, but CEH looks like the real deal.

2. Baltimore Ravens (1-0)
Movement: —
Lamar Jackson picking up right where he left off last regular season.

3. New Orleans Saints (1-0)
Movement: —
Not a ton of offensive output, but the defense picked Tom Brady twice (including a TD) and sacked him three times.

4. Seattle Seahawks (1-0)
Movement ▲2
Russell Wilson joins Brady and Drew Brees as the only QBs since the merger to have 35 or more attempts, five or fewer incompletions and at least four touchdown passes.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)
Movement: ▲3
Big Ben with his first three-touchdown game since 2018.

6. Green Bay Packers (1-0)
Movement: ▲6
Imagine how good Aaron Rodgers would have looked if the Packers actually drafted a wide receiver in the first round.

7. Buffalo Bills (1-0)
Movement: ▲2
Josh Allen went viral for a ridiculously wild pass, but this may have been his best overall game as a pro.

8. New England Patriots (1-0)
Movement: ▲6
Good debut for Cam Newton, just leave his chain alone.

9. Los Angeles Rams (1-0)
Movement: ▲8
Christened SoFi Stadium with a win, thanks in part to Jalen Ramsey’s subtle flop.

10. Tennessee Titans (1-0)
Movement: —
Not sure why you play for a field goal to win when your kicker was that bad, but Mike Vrabel got away with it.

11. Arizona Cardinals (1-0)
Movement: ▲7
If DeAndre Hopkins is going to be that wide open all the time, look out.

12. Dallas Cowboys (0-1)
Movement: ▼7
Mike McCarthy citing analytics in his decision making? What planet are we on?

13. San Francisco 49ers (0-1)
Movement: ▼9
Shorthanded, yes, but a pretty substandard effort all around by the defending NFC Champs.

14. Los Angeles Chargers (1-0)
Movement: ▲9
Tremendous field goal defense. (Just go with it)

15. Las Vegas Raiders (1-0)
Movement: ▲9
Josh Jacobs might be spending a lot of time in the end zone this year by the looks of the opener.

16. Minnesota Vikings (0-1)
Movement: ▼5
The defense couldn’t get off the field against the Packers — 76-49 play differential and 41:16 of possession time for Green Bay.

17. Philadelphia Eagles (0-1)
Movement: ▼10
Shorthanded or not, they blew a 17-point lead against a seemingly weak team.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1)
Movement: ▼5
How long will Brady’s growing pains last in the Arians offense acclimation?

19. Atlanta Falcons (0-1)
Movement: ▼3
Matt Ryan’s fourth quarter put lipstick on this pig of a loss.

20. Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
Movement: ▼5
Philip Rivers with a big fourth-quarter pick and three straight incompletions in Jags’ territory to end the game. Sound familiar?

21. Houston Texans (0-1)
Movement: ▼2
Good news: David Johnson looked good. Bad news: They may miss Hopkins more than originally thought.

22. Chicago Bears (1-0)
Movement: ▲5
Mitch Trubisky magic!

23. Washington Football Team (1-0)
Movement: ▲8
Sacked Carson Wentz eight times in a gutty comeback win.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)
Movement: ▲8
The Jags squashed talk of going 0-16 early behind Minshew’s incredibly efficient outing.

25. Miami Dolphins (0-1)
Movement: ▼3
Struggled in stopping New England’s new-look running game; six players with 22 or more yards.

26. Denver Broncos (0-1)
Movement: ▼5
Vic Fangio is not very popular in Bronco Country right about now.

27. New York Giants (0-1)
Movement: ▼2
Amazing to see Saquon Barkley with only six yards on 15 carries — his second-lowest total as a pro.

28. Carolina Panthers (0-1)
Movement: ▲1
There might be growing pains, but I think this team will improve quickly under Matt Rhule.

29. New York Jets (0-1)
Movement: ▼1
Were a mess, are a mess and may always be a mess.

30. Detroit Lions (0-1)
Movement: ▼4
Yes, D’Andre Swift dropped the ball, but he didn’t blow a 17-point lead to Trubisky’s Bears.

31. Cleveland Browns (0-1)
Movement: ▼11
Wow.

32. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)
Movement: ▼2
The future could be bright with Joe Burrow, but the future is not now.

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