2013 NFL Power Rankings Week 1

Not one, not two, not three. Seven. Seven is the answer. No, I'm not talking about how many titles LeBron James famously stated he would win in Miami. I am talking about the number of touchdown passes Peyton Manning tossed in a beatdown of the defending Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens during the NFL's opener Thursday night. Seven. Think about that for a moment. That is a video game number. That shouldn't happen. That is exactly what did happen though and the Denver Broncos stampeded to the top of my first Power Rankings. Why don't I do a preseason one you ask? Because those are for chumps. Let's see it out on the field first and go from there. These should be out every Tuesday so if you like what you read, or if you hate it and want to tell me about it, keep coming back for more.

1. Denver Broncos (1-0) ~ Wes Welker looked right at home hauling in nine passes including two scores from Manning. I guess there isn't much of a dropoff if there is one at all when you leave Tom Brady for Manning.

2. San Francisco 49ers (1-0) ~ Last season Colin Kaepernick took the NFL by storm and led the Niners to the Super Bowl. Most of that was done with his legs rather than his arm. That all changed on Sunday as he threw for a career high 412 yards against Green Bay.

3. New England Patriots (1-0) ~ Sure they barely escaped Buffalo with a win but a win is a win and as long as Tom Brady is under center I will not doubt this team. Ever. Which is why I am jinxing them this week as they will be my pick in my last man standing pool. Sorry New England.

4. New Orleans Saints (1-0) ~ Marques Colston became the franchise leader in receptions passing Eric Martin over the weekend. In other news did you know Colston has been in the league since 2006? It doesn't seem like it has been that long.

5. Houston Texans (1-0) ~ San Diego had the Texans right where they wanted them. Then they didn't. Houston stormed back from a 21-point deficit and stole the win from rookie Head Coach Mike McCoy.

6. Seattle Seahawks (1-0) ~ Everyone but me seems to love this team. Is it a west coast bias? I guess it can't be if San Fran is rated higher. Anyway, I feel like they could have put up a stronger effort against Carolina. Now they host those Niners Sunday night. Should be good TV.

7. Atlanta Falcons (0-1) ~ Losing a one score game on the road to a good divisional rival in the return of Sean Payton to the team? Yeah, I'm not going to fault the Falcons for that.

8. Green Bay Packers (0-1) ~ I am willing to bet that if you told Aaron Rodgers he would go into San Francisco in week one and throw for 333 yards and three touchdowns he would be happy with that. I am willing to bet he would also think that would be good enough for a win.
Most weeks it is.

9. Chicago Bears (1-0) ~ An impressive comeback win against a good Cincinnati Bengals team in Marc Trestman's debut. Matt Forte and Brandon Marshall both found the endzone. I have a feeling that will happen a lot for both players this year.

10. Baltimore Ravens (0-1) ~ After the drubbing they took in the opener maybe this is a little high. If Denver keeps playing like that this loss won't seem as bad. Either way the champs round out the top 10.

11. Indianapolis Colts (1-0) ~ Andrew Luck strikes again with yet another comeback victory. In only his second year Luck is making that his calling card.

12. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) ~ The Chip Kelly era exploded in FedEx Field Monday night as the Eagles raced out to a huge lead. They almost coughed it up in the fourth quarter but this offense looked very impressive in its regular season debut.

13. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) ~ I really don't know if there is a better receiver in the game than A.J. Green who hauled in nine passes for 162 yards and two scores Sunday. Calvin Johnson is the only other competition right now.

14. Dallas Cowboys (1-0) ~ Dallas protected their house for the first time against the New York Giants. Barely. They forced six turnovers and this one still came down to the wire. Does that bode well or poorly for this defense?

15. Detroit Lions (1-0) ~ Reggie Bush had one hell of a debut in Detroit totaling 90 yards rushing and a career-high 101 receiving with a score. I maintain my prediction that Bush will break the record for receptions by a running back this year.

16. New York Giants (0-1) ~ Eli joined his brother as the only quarterbacks to throw for more than 450 yards this week. The problem is that he did it in a losing effort while also throwing three interceptions, one of which was returned for the decisive score.

17. St. Louis Rams (1-0) ~ Jared Cook with a monster game of seven catches for 141 and two scores. Just goes to show how deep the tight end class is this year.

18. Miami Dolphins (1-0) ~ Bigger disappointment in a win: Lamar Miller rushing for three yards on 10 carries or Mike Wallace catching one pass for 15 yards? You decide.

19. Washington Redskins (0-1) ~ That's one way to put the RG in rusty game. Last year's offensive Rookie of the Year struggled mightily out of the gate against the Eagles. He did, however, look a lot better in the second half and nearly pulled out the comeback. If RGIII is healthy this team will be in the hunt.

20. Tennessee Titans (1-0) ~ The Titans got the win but their offense was nearly non-existent. They will need more than Rob Bironas' leg if they want to compete in the AFC South.

21. Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) ~ An impressive win for the new look Chiefs who have a new coach in Andy Reid and a new signal-caller in Alex Smith. Jacksonville may be a terrible team but the Chiefs are halfway to last season's win total.

22. Buffalo Bills (0-1) ~ They nearly pulled off the upset by taking down the Golden Boy and New England with a rookie coach and quarterback. The Bills may not be playoff bound just yet but I have a feeling they will be an interesting team to watch this year.

23. Minnesota Vikings (0-1) ~ Reigning MVP Adrian Peterson can only take a team so far. At some point Christian Ponder is going to have to step up or he could be out of a job in Minnesota.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1) The Steelers depleted backfield lost another able body as LaRod Stephens-Howling tore his ACL. The bigger loss would be center Maurkice Pouncey who was also lost for the year after tearing his ACL. They almost don't have a leg to stand on in Pittsburgh.

25. Carolina Panthers (0-1) ~ The defense kept Marshawn Lynch in check by only allowing him to rush for 43 yards. Carolina had a shot to steal this one but could only muster seven points at home.

26. New York Jets (1-0) ~ I can't rank them higher. There's no way. The Jets were dead to rights until a bonehead penalty by Tampa Bay gave them life.

27. Arizona Cardinals (0-1) ~ Carson Palmer will bring Larry Fitzgerald back into the class of elite receivers. With eight catches for two scores on Sunday he is well on his way.

28. San Diego Chargers (0-1) ~ They could not have been set up better to win their opener against a very good Houston team. Then the Chargers did what they always do and bungled it away.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) If they lost to any other team they would be a little higher. A tough matchup at home against the Saints has Tampa looking at a possible 0-2 start.

30. Cleveland Browns (0-1) ~ Little known Jordan Cameron had himself a day with nine catches for the first 100-yard receiving day of his career and he also found paydirt. That is about all that went right for Cleveland this weekend.

31. Oakland Raiders (0-1) ~ Terrelle Pryor set the franchise record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game with 112. That's about all I've got.

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1) ~ To stick with my Florida theme of Free Giancarlo Stanton in baseball I will start the Free Maurice Jones-Drew for football. Only seems right.