NFL Power Rankings: Chiefs, Lions, Eagles among early risers

The latest edition of our NFL Power Rankings has the Chiefs, Lions, Eagles and Ravens all making big jumps. Meanwhile, the Seahawks and Cardinals take the biggest falls.

1. Packers (1-0 — last week, No. 5): Aaron Rodgers and his crew take our top spot after a tough win at home against the Seahawks. Good victory against a top 10 opponent. This week: at Falcons.

2. Patriots (0-1 — last week, No. 1): The loss to the Chiefs drops the Patriots down a spot on our big board. Big week looming in Foxborough. This week: at Saints.

3. Falcons (1-0 — last week, No. 3): Atlanta won on the road, but it needed a late stop against an occasionally sluggish Chicago team to get it done. The win is nice, but the Falcons lose points for quality of opponent. That’s why they're holding steady at No. 3. This week: vs. Packers.

4. Chiefs (1-0 — last week, No. 10): One of the big movers this week. Excellent road victory against the Patriots in Foxborough. Hard not to overreact, but Alex Smith looked good. This week: vs. Eagles.

5. Steelers (1-0 — last week, No. 4): A win is a win, but Pittsburgh had to battle to beat the Browns in Cleveland. Like the Falcons, when you consider the quality of the opponent and figure in Kansas City’s big victory, that's why we bumped the Steelers down a notch. This week: vs. Vikings.

6. Seahawks (0-1 — last week, No. 2): That Seattle defense is terrifying. That Seattle offensive line? Also terrifying, but for all the wrong reasons. Yikes. We still like Seattle a lot, but that group needs some help. This week: vs. Niners.

7. Raiders (1-0 — last week, No. 6): It’s admittedly unfair to drop them a spot after a road win, but I still wouldn’t put them over anyone else in the top six, at least right now. Maybe we overrated them a touch coming out of the gate? Regardless, someone has to drop because of the Chiefs, and Oakland drew the short straw here. This week: vs. Jets.

8. Cowboys (1-0 — last week, No. 7): We’d make the same case for the Cowboys as we did for the Raiders — how can you drop a team after a victory? — but less so, because they beat a New York team that was missing Odell Beckham, Jr. at home. This week: at Broncos.

9. Lions (1-0 — last week, No. 16): Nice win over the Cardinals. Is this the beginning of something big for Matthew Stafford? We’re not completely sure just yet, but it was a heck of a start. This week: at Giants.

10. Broncos (1-0 — last week, No. 14): Home win over a division opponent. Not a perfect victory, but at this time of the year, that always counts for something. This week: vs. Cowboys.

11. Eagles (1-0 — last week, No. 19): Good to see LeGarrette Blount roll for some quality yardage in the opener. I maintain Philly is the best candidate this year to pull off this year’s worst-to-first journey. This week: at Chiefs.

12. Giants (0-1 — last week, No. 8): Without Beckham, that offense looks like it could be in some trouble. That offensive line isn’t helping either. This week: vs. Lions.

13. Texans (0-1 — last week, No. 11): Ugly home loss to Jacksonville means we’ll drop them a couple of notches. It’ll be interesting to see if the Texans go with DeShaun Watson. This week: at Bengals.

14. Titans (0-1 — last week, No. 12): Home loss means Tennessee is on a downward arc, at least to start the season. This week: at Jaguars.

15. Dolphins (0-0 — last week, No. 15): Miami kicks off the season Sunday. This week: at Chargers.

16. Bucs (0-0 — last week, No. 13): Tampa Bay didn’t play. Can you really drop them from 13 to 16? I sure can, crazy pirate. This week: vs. Bears.

17. Cardinals (0-1 — last week, No. 9): Loss on the road against Detroit. Lose David Johnson for an extended stretch. A brutal few days for Arizona. This week: at Colts.

18. Ravens (1-0 — last week, No. 23): After a good Week One, this feels a little low for Baltimore. But I’m not sure I’m ready to buy in, at least not yet. This week: vs. Browns.

19. Vikings (1-0, last week, No. 20): So is this the new Sam Bradford? If it is, the NFC North just got a lot more interesting. This week: at Steelers.

20. Panthers (1-0 — last week, No. 22): Good start for Carolina, which went into San Francisco and posted a sharp looking win over the Niners in front of a few hundred family and friends. This week: vs. Bills.

21. Saints (0-1 — last week, No. 18): If you’re a Patriots fan, are you more encouraged about your Week Two matchup with New Orleans after watching what happened Monday in Minnesota? I’d say so. This week: vs. Patriots.

22. Redskins (0-1 — last week, No. 17): Nothing remarkable about their home loss to the Eagles. This week: at Rams.

23. Bills (1-0 — last week, No. 27): Buffalo is in first place in the AFC East for the first time since September 2014. Good for them and the rest of Bills Mafia. Go jump through a table, guys. This week: at Panthers.

24. Chargers (0-1 — last week, No. 21): Dropping them a few spots here seems a little unfair after the showed some scrap on the road in Denver, but we suspect that might even out over the next couple of months. The AFC West is going to be fun to watch this year. This week: vs. Dolphins.

25. Bears (0-1 — last week, No. 26): Chicago gets points for pushing the defending NFC champs to the limit on Sunday. And the Patriots sure could use a guy like Akiem Hicks right about now. This week: at Bucs.

26. Bengals (0-1 — last week, No. 24): Bad start, bad finish. Poor Andy Dalton had a hat thrown at him. (At least that wasn't picked off too.) Not an ideal opening to the 2017 season for Cincy. This week: vs. Texans.

27. Rams (1-0 — last week, No. 29): Excellent start to the season, woeful attendance be damned. And they did it without Aaron Donald, who will likely be back in the lineup for Week Two. This week: vs. Redskins.

28. Jaguars (1-0 — last week, No. 31): The long journey to semi-respectability? It starts with good-looking wins like we saw on Sunday. Too bad Allen Robinson went down for the season with a torn ACL. This week: vs. Titans.

29. Browns (0-1 — last week, No. 30): They get points for making the Steelers a little uncomfortable in the opener. And DeShone Kizer might have a little something. If they get to 5-11, the city of Cleveland should throw them a parade. It’s all about realistic expectations at this point. This week: at Ravens.

30. Niners (0-1 — last week, No. 28): Nothing remarkable about their opening day loss at home to the Panthers. This week: at Seahawks.

31. Colts (0-1 — last week, No. 25): Goodness, that was an awful performance. Indy is in very deep trouble without Andrew Luck. This week: vs. Cardinals.

32. Jets (0-1 — last week, No. 32): The road to 0-16 began with a loss to the Bills in Buffalo. This week: at Raiders.