NFL Week 2 Power Rankings: Steelers Climb After Opener; Colts, Rams Slide

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Opening weekend of the 2016 NFL season was rich with drama, as 11 of the 16 games were decided by seven points or fewer and four were decided by a single point.

Here’s a look at where each team stands in NESN.com’s NFL power rankings as we head into Week 2. (To see our Week 1 rankings, click here.)

1. New England Patriots (Week 1: 1): The kings stay the kings in these rankings after upsetting the Cardinals on the road in Jimmy Garoppolo’s first NFL start.

2. Arizona Cardinals (2): Despite what general manager Steve Keim might believe, Arizona’s loss to Garoppolo & Co., while surely disappointing, was not the end of the world. The Cards will be a tough out all season.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (6): Playing without the suspended Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers shook off a slow start Monday night to trample the Redskins 38-16 behind 143 rushing yards by DeAngelo Williams. It was the second-largest margin of victory of any game on opening weekend.

4. Green Bay Packers (5): A touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams in the final moments of the first half put the Packers ahead for good as they held off a pesky Jaguars squad in Week 1. Rodgers accounted for all three Green Bay touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in a 27-23 win.

5. Seattle Seahawks (3): We won’t overreact to one game, but needing a last-minute touchdown to beat the Dolphins as 10 1/2-point favorites wasn’t how the Seahawks wanted to begin their season.

6. Carolina Panthers (4): The beatdown the Broncos put on Cam Newton bordered on unsettling. The Panthers’ franchise quarterback is a physical freak, but Carolina can’t have him taking those type of hits week in and week out.

7. Denver Broncos (9): Trevor Siemian looked … actually pretty good in his real taste of NFL action. If he can maintain that, the Broncos will climb this list in a hurry.

8. Cincinnati Bengals (7): Andy Dalton was sacked seven times but still managed to carve up the Jets’ defense to the tune of 366 passing yards, his highest total since Week 3 of last season.

9. Oakland Raiders (10): Twenty-two points in the fourth quarter, a gutsy two-point conversion and the tweet of the weekend? That’s enough to earn Oakland a one-spot bump.

10. Kansas City Chiefs (9): Like the Raiders did, the Chiefs fell into a massive hole early before staging a wild comeback. The AFC West rivals combined to score 45 points in the fourth quarter and overtime of their respective season openers.

11. Houston Texans (13): Quarterback Brock Osweiler, running back Lamar Miller and rookie receiver Will Fuller all looked solid against the woeful Bears.

12. New York Jets (11): The Jets only lost to the Bengals by one point, but A.J. Green’s demolition of Darrelle Revis has to concern Gang Green supporters.

.@ajgreen_18 when covered by Darrelle Revis today…very impressive. #CINvsNYJ pic.twitter.com/64edP0OuI6

— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2016

13. Baltimore Ravens (15): Baltimore held old friend Rex Ryan and the Bills to a single score in a 13-7 win.

14. New York Giants (16): Eli Manning’s troops did just enough to beat the Tony Romo-less Cowboys.

15. Minnesota Vikings (14): Minnesota’s defense was ferocious in a win over Tennessee, but failing to score a single offensive touchdown would result in a loss against most NFL opponents.

16. Washington Redskins (12): The Redskins led the Steelers 6-0 20 minutes into their Monday night matchup. They were outscored 38-10 the rest of the way.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars (18): The Jags hung right with the Packers all game. They could surprise some people this season.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (22): The Bucs’ climb up the rankings has begun after Jameis Winston’s four-touchdown performance against the Falcons.

19. Detroit Lions (21): Neither the Lions nor the Colts deserved to win their Week 1 matchup…

20. Indianapolis Colts (17): But Indy definitely deserved to lose after falling behind 21-3, rallying all the way back to take a 38-35 lead with less than a minute remaining and then immediately squandering it by allowing a game-winning field goal in the final seconds.

21. Buffalo Bills (19): Through one week, the Bills rank last in the NFL in yards and passing yards and second-to-last in points.

22. Atlanta Falcons (20): The Falcons just look destined for mediocrity this season.

23. Miami Dolphins (26): Kudos to Miami for hanging tough with Seattle. That front seven has the potential to be seriously disruptive this season.

24. Dallas Cowboys (23): C’mon, Terrance Williams. Just run out of bounds, man.

25. Chicago Bears (24): See: Falcons.

26. San Diego Chargers (27): We’re just going to leave this here:

27. San Francisco 49ers (30): The Chip Kelly era got off to a rollicking start Monday night, hence the slight rankings bump.

28. New Orleans Saints (28): Saints defense: Still bad.

29. Los Angeles Rams (24): Rams offense: Possibly even worse.

30. Philadelphia Eagles (31): Is Carson Wentz the real deal? He certainly looked like it in Week 1, albeit against the miserable Browns.

31. Tennessee Titans (29): Three turnovers and dearth of offense in the second half doomed the Titans against the Vikings.

32. Cleveland Browns (32): The Browns lost to the Eagles in an early-season Toilet Bowl, and their quarterback already is on injured reserve. So, business as usual in Cleveland.

Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images

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United and City make Manchester power play

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Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Featuring the rekindling of Pep Guardiola’s rivalry with Jose Mourinho, an all-star supporting cast and a host of tantalising sub-plots, Saturday’s Manchester derby could be the most feverishly anticipated ever.

The two clubs have competed on an even footing since around 2010, two years after Manchester City’s acquisition by the Abu Dhabi United Group, but they have never hogged the limelight quite so selfishly.

Both have boosted their ranks with big-money signings, both have won their first three games and both see Saturday’s match as an opportunity to stake an early claim for the Premier League title.

“We can sense the expectation all around the city from our supporters,” says City’s German winger Leroy Sane.

“I’ve played in derby games in Germany, but this should be a great match and one I’m really looking forward to, especially because Pep Guardiola is taking on Jose Mourinho.

“It’s going to be exciting and I hope I can play some part and help us bring back three points.”

The Premier League trophy spent four consecutive years in Manchester between 2011 and 2014, Manchester United winning it in 2011 and 2013 and City in 2012 and 2014.

But the Manchester clubs could not match Chelsea’s pace in 2015 and fell off the title map altogether last season, prompting seismic managerial changes on both sides of town.

Guardiola and Mourinho are two of the three best-paid managers in world football — along with Carlo Ancelotti, Guardiola’s successor at Bayern Munich — and they were quick to get to work.

Both have renovated their squads in pointed fashion. Both have hit the ground running.

Up to five City players could get their first experience of the derby at the same time as Guardiola.

Among them, close-season signings Sane and Ilkay Gundogan are now fit, while goalkeeper Claudio Bravo could make his first appearance since arriving from Barcelona to supplant Joe Hart.

Captain Vincent Kompany and right-back Bacary Sagna are also at Guardiola’s disposal after groin and hamstring injuries respectively.

– Rashford raring to go –

But the City manager will go into his first meeting with former Real Madrid nemesis Mourino since 2013 without Sergio Aguero.

The Argentina star, scorer of eight derby goals, is suspended after elbowing West Ham United’s Winston Reid, which could yield a starting berth for teenage Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho.

United, the hosts, are set to offer a first taste of derby action to Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and world-record signing Paul Pogba.

It will be Pogba’s first major test since his 89 million pounds ($ 118.4 million, 105 million euros) return from Juventus, while Ibrahimovic will relish coming up against Guardiola again.

The pair clashed during the Swedish striker’s time at Barcelona, Ibrahimovic describing Guardiola as a “spineless coward” in his autobiography.

Left-back Luke Shaw and midfielder Marouane Fellaini are both due to play despite injury scares on international duty.

However, Henrikh Mkhitaryan — another high-profile recruit — is a doubt with a thigh problem.

The combined value of the two starting XIs is expected to be in the region of 600 million pounds, but a player occupying the thoughts of United’s supporters ahead of the game did not cost a penny.

Marcus Rashford settled the most recent derby, earning United a 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium in March, and rose from the bench to net a stoppage-time winner at Hull City on their last outing.

Having also notched a hat-trick on his England Under-21s debut against Norway in mid-week, the 18-year-old academy graduate is advancing a strong case for a place in Mourinho’s team.

“Marcus will get opportunities in the first team because he’s that good,” Nicky Butt, head of coaching at the United academy, told The Times.

“Lee Sharpe was the best player in the country as a youngster, but you couldn’t hold Ryan Giggs back much longer.

“If Marcus keeps doing what he’s doing with his pace and directness, it’s impossible to hold him back.”

The post United and City make Manchester power play appeared first on World Soccer Talk.

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