Over the course of the 2017 NFL Season, I will be giving you my weekly NFC power rankings. I will also highlight a few teams that stood out to me from the previous week.
The List:
- Green Bay Packers (1-0)
- Seattle Seahawks (0-1)
- Dallas Cowboys (1-0)
- Carolina Panthers (1-0)
- Atlanta Falcons (1-0)
- Minnesota Vikings (1-0)
- New York Giants (0-1)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0)
- Detroit Lions (1-0)
- Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)
- Washington Redskins (0-1)
- New Orleans Saints (0-1)
- Los Angeles Rams (1-0)
- Chicago Bears (0-1)
- Arizona Cardinals (0-1)
- San Francisco 49ers (0-1)
Highlights:
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks have high hopes for the 2017 NFL season. While there is no shame in losing a close game to the Packers at Lambeau (the reason they are still second in my power rankings), a problem that could haunt Seattle all season manifested itself during the game. The offensive line is just plain bad. Russell Wilson had little time to throw and took a few more shots than the team would like. If that trend continues, it is hard to see Wilson playing all 16 games healthy.
Atlanta Falcons
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Atlanta came into week one as the defending conference champs. They left with a win, but some fans are a little concerned they couldn’t make easier work of the Bears. In the defense of the Falcons, the Bears are better than most people expected, especially on defense, and they were also at home. As the game went on, Matt Ryan got more comfortable and started to pick the defense apart. I expect the Falcons to get better each week, but playing in a competitive division may derail their title defense.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams came into the season with hope as well as some questions. Some of those questions started to get answered in week one. New head coach Sean McVay called a good game, helping second year QB Jared Goff play his best game to date. The hopes of Rams fans rest with these two individuals. The defense played well (albeit against Scott Tolzien) and should get even better as Aaron Donald, who may be the game’s best defensive player, should be back in the next week or so.
Arizona Cardinals
This Cardinals team had a good run. Since 2014, Arizona has had a stout defense while handing the offense over to QB Carson Palmer. With Palmer’s skills seemingly rapidly declining, RB David Johnson is out until December, and a defense that is older and has lost pieces, it feels like we are watching the team crumble. While things can turn around quickly, I do not like the outlook for this team going forward.
Chicago Bears
It’s a strange time to be a Bears fan. I actually attended the week one game against Atlanta, and the improved defense stood out immediately. Tarik Cohen was obviously the revelation of the week, with a 46-yard scamper as well as a receiving touchdown. Unfortunately, the injury bug seems to have made his way into the Bears locker room already. Kevin White will miss the rest of the season with a broken collar-bone, while Jerrell Freeman was also placed on IR with a pectoral injury. While it will be next man up for the Bears, both sides of the ball will have to get creative with their schemes to account for these losses. All that being said, Chicago looked like a much better team than we saw take the field in 2016. Let’s hope they continue to trend upwards and rise in the power rankings.