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Week 2 NFL Power Rankings: The week of the walking wounded

Through two weeks of the 2020 season, the NFL has done a remarkable job of keeping its players, coaches, and staffers safe in the COVID era — to the point where, as unimpressive as Roger Goodell tends to be in most aspects of things, you’d almost think we’d be better off were he running the country.

However, the NFL’s injury spread in Week 2 was just about as bad as we’ve seen in a very long time.

You could almost field an entire winning team out of the guys who lost the rest, or at least parts, of their seasons to various maladies on Sunday:

Broncos quarterback Drew Lock and receiver Courtland Sutton;

49ers defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas, running back Raheem Mostert, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo;

Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey;

Colts safety Malik Hooker;

Giants running back Saquon Barkley…

And on and on. Several NFL teams will have to soldier on through at least large parts of the season without some of their most important players. It happens every week and every season, but Week 2 just seemed to bring it at a different pace.

That said, here’s where all 32 NFL teams stand after two full weeks — at least, what’s left of those teams.

32. New York Jets (Last week: 32)

(Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com-Imagn Content Services, LLC)

Last week, when we ranked the Jets dead last in the NFL, we took several well-deserved shots at head coach and offensive “play designer” Adam Gase. Well, this week, as the Jets maintain their status as the league’s worst team, we turn our attention to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, and the alleged run defense he trotted out against the 49ers.

First, there was this 80-yard Raheem Mostert touchdown run in the first quarter, in which several Jets defenders appeared to make “business decisions…”

Mostert set an NFL speed record on that one.

Then, in the third quarter, the 49ers were backed up with third-and-31 at their own 11-yard line, at which point halfback Jerrick McKinnon toasted Williams’ defense for a 55-yard run. This was after Jimmy Garoppolo had been injured and backup Nick Mullens was in, so you’d think the Jets would be reading run here.

And how unusual is that?

Meanwhile, how was Gase doing this week? Well, down 24-3 in the third quarter, he ordered a 25-yard field goal from the 49ers’ seven-yard line. It was good, but so what? And when will Jets ownership do what needs to be done?

31. Detroit Lions (Last week: 26)

(Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports)

Give Matt Patricia this: The Lions’ head coach is now a part of NFL history. On Sunday, the Lions blew an early 14-3 lead to the Packers, and in doing so, became the first team in the 100-year history of the league to blow double-digit leads in four straight games (per the Elias Sports Buerau). Last week, they made Mitchell Trubisky look like Aaron Rodgers in the fourth quarter with their injured secondary and misbegotten man coverage. This week, Aaron Rodgers didn’t need any help looking like Aaron Rodgers. The Lions cashiered Jim Caldwell after the 2017 season because they were tired of 9-7 results. Patricia is 9-24-1 in his third season. Outside of Adam Gase, there isn’t a more fireable coach in the NFL right now.

30. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 30)

(Jerry Habraken-Imagn Content Services, LLC)

The Eagles no longer reside in Wentzylvania. Not that it’s all his fault, but for the second straight week, Carson Wentz put together a disastrous outing, and for the second straight week, the Eagles lost. In their 37-19 defeat at the hands of the opportunistic Rams, Wentz threw two ghastly interceptions that revealed a quarterback out of tune with his own timing, rhythm, and mechanics.

This third-quarter interception to cornerback Darious Williams, intended for J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, gave the receiver the additional insult of getting ‘faced by safety Jordan Fuller.

The Eagles are 22-8 when Wentz is their quarterback and he doesn’t throw an interception; they’re now 10-18 when he throws at least one. Based on what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s injured, because I’ve never seen him look this bad.

Another problem: Philly’s defense, which has allowed four touchdowns and has no interceptions. Nickell Robey-Coleman was the primary huckleberry on Sunday, allowing six receptions on six targets for 71 yards, 58 yards after the catch, a touchdown, and an opponent passer rating of 155.6. Wentz is the primary problem right now, but there isn’t enough good happening to make up for anything but quarterback perfection.

As a result, even the virtual Eagles fans are typically unimpressed!

29. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 23)

(Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)

With 4:54 left in the second quarter of Minnesota’s 28-11 loss to the Colts, Kirk Cousins was sacked in the end zone for a safety. It was Cousins’ only appearance on the scoring portion of the stat sheet — he completed just 11 of 26 attempts for 113 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions. After a Week 1 outing in which Cousins completed 19 of 25 passes for 259 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, but could come nowhere near the aerodynamics of Aaron Rodgers. Cousins and his team find themselves on the wrong end of an 0-2 start with little relief in sight — they have to deal with the Titans on Sunday. Without a remarkable comeback performance from their quarterback, the Vikings could see their season go down the drain before October begins.

28. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 27)

(Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)

In 2019, when he authored the greatest single season any quarterback has ever had in NCAA history, Joe Burrow completed 44 of 78 deep passes (20 or more air yards) for 1,689 yards, 1,276 air yards, 22 touchdowns, and two interceptions. It took him a while to get the hang of the deep pass in the NFL, though. Burrow was 0-for-5 with deep passes in his professional debut against the Chargers, and early on against the Browns on Thursday night in a 35-30 loss, he threw a nice deep sideline pass to A.J. Green… but the throw was just out of bounds. Burrow had been especially erratic when trying to spot deep passes in the end zone.

But finally, with this 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end C.J. Uzomah in the second quarter, Burrow got his deep groove back, and got himself off the schneid.

That said, it’s still a problem. Through two games, Burrow has completed just that one deep pass on 12 attempts. Given that the Bengals have shown little ability to stop anybody on defense (Cleveland’s Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt ran all over them on Thursday night), Burrow had better be able to make those big-time throws if his team is to compete with the NFL’s better squads.

27. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 20)

(Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

Sooooo… how was your Sunday? Better than Dan Quinn’s, we’re pretty sure. The Falcons’ head coach, the same guy who watched his team boot a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI saw his team blow an historic lead all over again. Dallas gave up the ball four times in the first quarter alone, leading to 20 unanswered Falcons points. The Cowboys blew two fake punts in this game. Atlanta had a 29-10 lead at halftime.

And then, as it tends to do with this team, all hell broke loose. Dak Prescott threw for 450 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns. Both Amari Cooper and rookie CeeDee Lamb had 100-yard games. And when it was time for the previously inept Cowboys special teams to attempt the onside kick that ultimately secured their victory… well, this happened.

It takes a lot of consecutive ineptitude to walk away from victory to the jaws of defeat as the Falcons did here, but this might have been even worse than 28-3.

26. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 29)

[ALLEN EYESTONE/The Palm Beach Post]

Only the Eagles have a worse total DVOA than the Dolphins after two weeks, but Miami was surprisingly feisty against a Bills team that is certainly surprising on offense, especially in the passing game. More on that later. The Bills won, 31-28, but Brian Flores’ team overcame a 17-7 second-quarter deficit to make it competitive. Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 31 of 47 passes for 328 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions against one of the NFL’s better pass defenses, and tight end Mike Gesicki had a career day with eight catches for 130 yards and a score. The 2020 Dolphins seem to be about where the 2019 Dolphins were — overmatched against most teams, but at least in the mix against superior opponents due in large part to Flores’ coaching and ability to instill belief in his players. Maybe that’ll pay off in more wins at some point in time.

25. New York Giants (Last week: 28)

(Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports)

We’ll give Joe Judge’s Giants points for resiliency — after getting crushed by the Steelers last Monday night, they came back to at least make their 17-13 loss to the Bears a bit closer. Yes, Big Blue’s defense made Mitchell Trubisky look better than he is in the first half (13 of 18 for 159 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions), but the G-Men were able to at least make the loss respectable this time around.

Two problems going forward: Saquon Barkley is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, and Daniel Jones has completed just 63% of his passes this season for two touchdowns, three interceptions, and 6.4 yards per attempt. Jones’ acumen under pressure is particularly troubling — under pressure is where he’s thrown both of his picks, none of his touchdowns, and where he’s completed just 42.3% of his passes for a passer rating of 27.4. To put that in perspective, per Pro Football Focus, Lamar Jackson is the only quarterback whose pressure per dropback rate is higher than Jones’ 41.1%, and Jackson has a passer rating under pressure of 117.6.

24. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 24)

(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Matt Rhule’s squad is in the first steps of a long-term rebuild, which means you can’t expect them to be competitive in 2020. With Christian McCaffrey now out for 4-6 weeks with a high ankle sprain, it’s going to be a real challenge for this team to do much of anything. While Carolina did limit Tom Brady to 217 yards and one passing touchdown in Tampa Bay’s 31-17 Sunday win, Buccaneers rushers and receivers also conspired to deny Brady at least 100 yards and two more touchdowns with a series of drops. The bottom line? The Panthers, who have the Chargers and Cardinals as their next two matchups, are in for a rough go.

23. Denver Broncos (Last week: 22)

(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

The Broncos did not escape Sunday’s injury bug; in their 23-21 loss to the Steelers, they lost quarterback Drew Lock for 2-6 weeks with a sprained AC joint, and receiver Courtland Sutton for the rest of the season with a knee issue. The good news was that backup quarterback Jeff Driskel somehow put up 18 completions in 34 attempts for 256 yards, two touchdowns, and one interceptions against one of the NFL’s best defenses. And with Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, and Noah Fant, it’s not like Driskel will be suffering for targets. Driskel, who started three games for the Lions last season after Matthew Stafford hurt his back, has the Buccaneers’ defense to deal with next Sunday.

22. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 31)

(AP Photo/David Richard)

Last season, no quarterback was more efficient on boot-action throws (where the quarterback shows play-action and then rolls outside the pocket in designed fashion) than Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins. Cousins completed 40 of 56 boot-action throws for 663 yards, 333 air yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions. Cousins’ offensive coordinator? Now-Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. One assumed Stefanski would bring his boot-action acumen to Baker Mayfield, who could use it. In 2019, Mayfield threw just 14 boot-action passes, but he completed 13 of them for 261 yards, 201 air yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

But in Week 1 of the 2020 season, Mayfield attempted just one boot throw against the Ravens — it was an incompletion, and Mayfield was below-average in a 38-6 loss.

Against the Bengals in a 35-30 Thursday night win, Stefanski was much more proactive in this regard, and it paid immediate and consistent dividends. Mayfield attempted three boot-action throws, completing all three for 78 yards, 71 air yards, and a touchdown.

There was this 27-yarder to KhaDarel Hodge…

…and this rather nice 43-yard touchdown pass to one Odell Beckham Jr., who could also use some schematic assistance.

There’s no reason that Mayfield shouldn’t have 100 boot-action attempts this season. For whatever reason, it gives him a sense of structure he tends to lack when he’s in the pocket, and it’s up to Stefanski to make things better for his under-development quarterback.

21. Houston Texans (Last week: 17)

(Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)

Speaking of coaches who appear overwhelmed by their teams’ liabilities, let’s check in on Texans head coach/general manager/shot-caller Bill O’Brien after his team’s all-too-predictable 33-16 loss to the Ravens:

You know what you don’t hear a lot out of the likes of Belichick, Carroll, Reid, and Payton? “Y’know, I dunno.” But you hear it out of O’Brien far too often. Yes, he’s faced a relative Murderer’s Row in the Chiefs and Ravens in the first two weeks of the new season, but the extent to which his team has looked overwhelmed and unprepared should give pause for anyone in the Texans’ front office who thinks this is the guy to right the Texans’ 0-2 start.

Check that: The Texans travel to Pittsburgh for a real pier-sixer next Sunday. Hello, 0-3?

20. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 25)

(AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

Get ready to hear Matt Eberflus’ name after this season when it’s time to talk about coordinators becoming head coaches. Indy’s defensive coordinator has become one of the most respected in the league, and that’s reflected in the Colts ranking fifth in Football Outsiders’ Defensive DVOA after two weeks. Losing safety Malik Hooker for the rest of the season to an Achilles tendon injury is a blow, but it’s not like Eberflus hasn’t had to plan around Hooker’s injury absences before. From cornerback Kenny Moore II to linebacker Darius Leonard to edge-rusher Denico Autry, the Colts’ defense is stacked with top-tier, underrated talent, and all that talent conspired to make Kirk Cousins’ life absolutely miserable on Sunday. Eberflus and his crew have a relatively easy go against the Jets next Sunday.

19. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 18)

(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

“Sometimes when you win, you really lose, and sometimes when you lose, you really win, and sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie, and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic mechanism, from which one extracts what one needs.”

You’ll forgive 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan if he has Gloria Clemente’s wise words to Billy Hoyle in White Men Can’t Jump on his mind today. After a Week 1 loss to the Cardinals, San Francisco bounced back with a 31-13 thrashing of the pathetic Jets, but the price paid was severe. As we said in the intro, Nick Bosa, Solomon Thomas, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Raheem Mostert dealt with injuries during the game. Add this to existing injuries to tight end George Kittle and cornerback Richard Sherman, and one wonders just what the 49ers will have to go with when they face off with the Giants next Sunday.

As for updates to those injuries… well, they’ll have to wait a bit.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 19)

(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Among quarterbacks with at least 50% of their teams’ snaps this season, nobody has suffered a higher drop rate than Tom Brady. The Buccaneers’ targets have dropped a full 11.3% of Brady’s passes this season; Kirk Cousins’ receiver drop rate ranks second at 9.8%, per Pro Football Focus.

Against the Panthers on Sunday, it looked a little like this — Brady’s guys dropped at least two touchdown passes, and maybe three.

Head coach Bruce Arians has Had Enough.

“They’re never expected and they’re never accepted,” he said of the drops, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I mean, if you’re a professional football player and you play receiver, you’re supposed to catch the damn ball. So, Tom, it’s like any quarterback. You drop a couple more, you ain’t getting it any more. He ain’t going to throw it to you. Same thing in practice. You drop the ball in practice, he probably isn’t coming to you on Sunday. It’s not something you overreact to. Luckily we won the ball game, but we left a lot of offense out there.”

Indeed, and Brady has enough trouble getting the hang of a new offense without this happening.

17. Washington Football Team (Last week: 15)

(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

Yes, that would be your Washington Football Team leading the free world in Football Outsiders’ defensive efficiency metrics. How is this possible? Pass rush, for the most part. Each of the team’s five first-round defensive linemen (Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Daron Payne, Ryan Kerrigan, and Jonathan Allen) has at least a sack and multiple pressures this season, though most of that came against the Eagles’ ill-prepared offensive line in Week 1.

The problem, especially as it pertained to Washington’s Week 2 loss to the Cardinals, is that the offense is working far behind the data curve — it ranks 30th in those same metrics, and you’re not going to beat Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury if your quarterback (one Dwayne Haskins) can manage just 19 completions in 33 attempts for 233 yards and one touchdown.

16. Chicago Bears (Last week: 15)

(Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports)

“As a result, we still have no earthly idea what Trubisky is. Perhaps the Giants can provide clarity next Sunday. Perhaps not.”

That’s what I wrote in last week’s Power Rankings regarding Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who was so bad in the first three quarters against the Lions, you couldn’t have blamed head coach Matt Nagy if he’d pulled Trubisky for high-priced backup Nick Foles. But then, Trubisky threw three fourth-quarter touchdowns against Detroit’s injury-depleted secondary, and all was relatively right with the world. Trubisky continued that hot streak through the first half of Chicago’s 17-13 win over the Giants, with 13 completions in 18 attempts for 159 yards, two more touchdowns, and no interceptions.

So, what do we think of Trubisky now? There are still matters of concern, but as my Touchdown Wire colleague Mark Schofield pointed out on Monday, Trubisky has made advances when it comes to pre- and post-snap recognition. Which could be a career-saver.

Next Sunday, Trubisky faces a Falcons defense that is just as hard to define as he is, with fewer bright spots in the 2020 season.

15. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 11)

(AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

The Jaguars couldn’t quite keep up with Ryan Tannehill in their 33-30 loss to the Titans, but that was not the fault of one Gardner Flint Minshew II. Both of his interceptions against Tennessee’s defense were deflected, and only the first, an attempt to receiver Collin Johnson, could be called a bad throw. Still, Minshew completed 30 of 45 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns a week after completing 19 of 20 passes for 173 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 142.3 in a 27-20 win against a Colts defense that spent this Sunday putting Kirk Cousins through a woodchipper.

Where does that put Minshew in the Quarterback Pantheon for the 2020 season so far? Crack open a can of your favorite discount beverage, crank some Boston, and check this out:

 

14. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 21)

(Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

You may well wonder why the Cowboys aren’t higher in this week’s power rankings after overcoming a 29-10 second-quarter deficit to beat the Falcons, 40-39 in one of the most improbable comebacks in recent NFL history.

Well, they did move up from 21st to 14th, so there’s that. And this is a tribute to Dak Prescott’s day — he passed for 450 yards and ran for three touchdowns. Why they aren’t higher has to do with the miscues they had to put them in a position where they needed to come back in the first place — we’ll start with the four first-quarter fumbles that allowed Atlanta to take a 20-0 lead. There was also the two botched fake punts. Had the Cowboys played against a team less prone to internal implosions, they’d be standing at 0-2 right now, and Jerry Jones would be reaching out to college coaches.

13. Los Angeles Chagers (Last week: 13)

(AP Photo/Emilee Chinn)

If “Hard Knocks” didn’t convince you that Anthony Lynn has everything it takes to be a great head coach (and it should have), think about how many head coaches would have melted down had their starting quarterback been made unavailable just minutes before a game against the defending Super Bowl champs, to be replaced by a rookie who had no preseason reps. That was the challenge Lynn faced when Tyrod Taylor was hospitalized with a chest injury, and there was no choice to go with Herbert.

The Chargers lost 23-20 in overtime, but Herbert completed 22 of 33 passes for 311 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also ran for a touchdown, becoming the first rookie to throw and run for a touchdown in the first half of his first NFL game since Bob Clatterbuck of the Giants did it in 1954. His interception was a horrid throw into triple coverage, but regardless of Herbert’s growing pains, kudos to Lynn for handling the situation with aplomb, as seems to be his way.

12. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 7)

(Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Next Gen Stats defines their Completion Probability metric as “The probability of a pass completion, based on numerous factors such as receiver separation from the nearest defender, where the receiver is on the field, the separation the passer had at time of throw from the nearest pass rusher, and more.”

Next Gen Stats also has an Expected Completion Percentage metric, which it describes as “Using a passer’s Completion Probability on every play, determine what a passer’s completion percentage is expected to be.”

And finally, Next Gen Stats has a Completion Percentage Above Expectation (+/-) metric, which it defines as “A passer’s actual completion percentage compared to their Expected Completion Percentage.”

What’s the point of all this? Through the first two weeks of the 2020 season, the worst starting quarterback in the NFL in terms of Completion Percentage Above Expectation is Drew Brees, who has an Expected Completion Percentage of 71.9%, and a Completion Percentage Above (or in this case, Below) Expectation of -8.4%. Only Dwayne Haskins and Carson Wentz fare worse in this stat in 2020.

Brees finished his night with 26 completions in 38 attempts for 312 yards, one touchdown, and an interception that wouldn’t look out of place on backup Jameis Winston’s lowlight reel from 2019.

Yes, the Saints missed the injured Michael Thomas, and no, nobody else was able to step up, but there are things wrong with Brees this season that aren’t answered by the loss of one receiver, no matter how great he is.

11. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 14)

(Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Network.)

Why do we have a picture of former MLB slugger Dave Kingman here instead of, say, Ryan Tannehill? Because in both 1979 and 1982, Kingman led the major leagues in both home runs and strikeouts, and right now, that’s the best way to describe Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski. In the 2020 season opener against the Broncos, Gostkowski missed three field goals before kicking the game-winner. In the follow-up against the Jaguars on Sunday, he missed an extra point, but managed to make both of his field goals, including the 49-yard game-winner with 1:43 left. Gostkowski has to be giving head coach Mike Vrabel all kinds of heartburn with his strikeouts, but he does manage to hit the home runs when they’re required.

By the way, Tannehill riddled the Jaguars’ defense for four touchdown passes on just 24 attempts. So, here’s a picture of him.

(Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)

10. Las Vegas Raiders (Last week: 12)

(AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

Both Jon Gruden and Sean Payton entered Monday night’s game at Las Vegas’ new Allegiant Stadium ready to coach their 210th regular-season games. Each coach has won one Super Bowl, and the two worked together for the Eagles in 1997 when Payton was the quarterbacks coach, and Gruden was the offensive coordinator. It’s an amazing game-participation similarity given Gruden’s 11-year hiatus from the sidelines, and right now, it seems that Gruden’s Raiders have the edge over Payton’s Saints as far as momentum is concerned.

The Raiders christened their new home with a 34-24 win over New Orleans in which Gruden’s offensive line was dominant for the second straight week, even with injuries to left guard Richie Incognito and right tackle Trent Brown. Running back Josh Jacobs, who led the league with 69 missed tackles forced in the 2019 regular season and added 10 more in Week 1 against the Panthers, gained 88 tough yards on 27 carries, and quarterback Derek Carr managed to throw three touchdown passes when he moved past his early indecisions. Tight end Darren Waller proved impossible to defend no matter who was defending him. Oakland’s defense isn’t great, but it didn’t have to be as Drew Brees had clear issues throwing any longer than five yards downfield.

It’s a great 2-0 start for Gruden’s team. But things don’t get any easier; Las Vegas has the Patriots, Bills, Chiefs, and Buccaneers in their slate over the next month.

9. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 10)

(Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK)

How stacked is the NFC West right now? Well, they have three of four teams in the top 10 of this week’s power rankings, the division’s teams have a total positive point differential of +72, and only the 49ers have lost a game so far — to the Cardinals. Kliff Kingsbury’s team extended its good fortune against a Washington Football Team that has the best Defensive DVOA in the NFL after two weeks, as Kyler Murray completed 26 of 38 passes for 286 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He added two rushing touchdowns for good measure. Murray didn’t need to do more than that, because Arizona’s defense kept Dwayne Haskins in check. Murray was pressured fairly mercilessly by Washington’s dominant front, and he didn’t respond well — 16 of his 43 dropbacks resulted in pressure, and his one interception did, as well.

Murray had issues with defenders jumping his routes last season, so this is something to watch.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 6)

(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

All hail Mapletron! In the Steelers’ 26-21 win over the Broncos, rookie receiver Chase Claypool, a 6-foot-4, 238-pound athletic freak who ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, made some history for his country with this 84-yard grab-and-go from Ben Roethlisberger.

Claypool, a native of Abbotsford, British Columbia, now has the longest play from scrimmage of any Canadian-born player in NFL history.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that after Broncos quarterback Drew Lock was injured, Pittsburgh’s generally top-flight defense allowed 256 passing yards and two touchdowns to something called Jeff Driskel. Gotta downgrade for that just a bit. We suspect that an opportunity to host the Texans next Sunday should right that particular ship.

7. New England Patriots (Last week: 3)

(Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

Yes, the Patriots are debited because they lost, 35-30 at Seattle, but not too much. Devin McCourty did get a pick-six out of Russell Wilson, and Cam Newton completed 30 of 44 passes for 397 yards and a touchdown, adding 47 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. And Newton was just one yard away from winning the game, had the Seahawks not arisen at the perfect moment for a bit of Super Bowl XLIX karmic glory.

The problem for the Patriots was clear: Just as their pass defense was nearly impenetrable in 2019, Wilson ripped it to shreds on Sunday night. Wilson completed 21 of 28 passes for 288 yards and five touchdowns, and the pick-six bounced off tight end Greg Olsen’s hands before McCourty got it. Wilson is a different breed of cat, however, and the Raiders with Derek Carr do not present a similar challenge next Sunday.

6. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 9)

(Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

It’s not as pejorative as people think to call a quarterback a “system quarterback.” In truth, all quarterbacks are that to a greater or lesser degree. Buffalo’s Josh Allen, though, seems intent on breaking the system with plays like this.

Still, it’s important to note that Allen is not the same quarterback we saw vomit the ball all over the field in the Bills’ playoff loss to Houston last season. It’s come against two really bad defenses in the Jets and Dolphins, but through his first two games of the 2020 season, Allen is the fourth quarterback in NFL history to rack up at least 700 passing yards, six touchdown passes, and zero interceptions in his team’s first two games.

The other guys? Peyton Manning in 2013, Tom Brady in 2015, and Patrick Mahomes last season. We’ll wait and see how sustainable this is against stronger competition, but the Bills have a ton of targets for Mr. Allen, and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is creating nightmarish matchup issues for opposing defenses. Buffalo faces the Rams next Sunday, which should be a better test.

5. Los Angeles Rams (last week: 8)

(Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)

The Rams’ offensive turnaround through the first two weeks of the season is pretty remarkable, given the extent to which the rest of the league appeared to figure Sean McVay out and turn Jared Goff into a pumpkin as a result. Last season, even Goff’s beloved play-action passes weren’t paying dividends, as he threw four touchdowns and five picks out of play-action after posting 16 touchdowns to two picks with play-action the year before.

This season, McVay has been more multiple and creative with pre-snap motion, which has helped Goff clear the muddy defensive pictures, and as a result, he absolutely killed the Eagles with play-action in a 37-19 win.

Add that to a defense that demolished Carson Wentz, and you have a team that has rolled out of the gate as a more formidable opponent than many expected.

4. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 5)

(Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wis-Imagn Content Services, LLC)

The last two teams to score at least 40 points in their first two games? The 2009 Saints and the 2013 Broncos. Both of those teams made the Super Bowl in those seasons, and the Saints won. The last teams to total more than 80 points and more than 1,000 yards in the first two games of a season? The 2019 Ravens, the 1998 49ers, and the 1991 Bills.

Which is to say, you really have to pick and choose your teams when matching what the Packers have done in the first two games of the 2020 season. Any issues Aaron Rodgers may have had syncing his talent to Matt LaFleur’s offense are decidedly out the window, and LaFleur’s run-based balanced offense is far more than three yards and a cloud of whatever. Aaron Jones, who led the NFL in total touchdowns with 19 in 2019, is proving that once again with 312 total yards and four touchdowns so far. Jones was the star of Green Bay’s 42-21 dismantling of the hapless Lions with his 168 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, and 68 receiving yards and one touchdown on four catches.

3. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 1)

(Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)

Last season, Patrick Mahomes was great against just about every defense… but there was something about the Chargers that gave him fits. In 2019, Gus Bradley’s defense was the only one in the NFL who picked Mahomes off more than once, and Mahomes completed just 61.4% of his passes in two games against his AFC West rival.

Of course, since Mahomes is Mahomes, the Chiefs won both of those games.

It was similar on Sunday, as Kansas City pulled out a 23-20 overtime win, and Mahomes completed just 27 of 47 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns. The real hero of this victory was kicker Harrison Butker, who booted the 58-yard game-winner after a false start from 53 and an icing timeout forced him to do it from 58 yards more than once.

There’s no rest for Mahomes or the rest of the team, as the Chiefs travel to Baltimore to meet the Ravens next Monday night.

2. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 4)

(Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

In the entire 2019 season, the Patriots’ remarkable man coverage-based defense allowed just four touchdown passes to receivers. All season long. In Seattle’s 35-30 win over New England on Sunday night, Russell Wilson matched that total all by himself. Russ is cooking at an entirely different level than ever before — he has almost as many touchdown passes (nine) as incompletions (11), and at least half of those incompletions have bounced off the hands of his receivers. Wilson leads the league in completion percentage, touchdown passes, Adjusted Net Yards per Pass Attempt, passer rating, and preposterous deep passes. The Cowboys, who allowed Matt Ryan to throw four touchdown passes on Sunday in their comeback win over the Falcons, have to deal with this next.

Good luck, guys.

1. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 2)

(AP Photo/Matt Patterson)

Yes, Lamar Jackson is awesome, but it’s time to start talking about Don “Wink” Martindale’s defense. In Baltimore’s 33-16 win over the Texans, linebacker L.J. Fort returned a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown, and Marcus Peters had another one of his “I wasn’t supposed to be where I was, but I was there anyway” interceptions:

As ESPN’s Jamison Hensley points out, the Ravens have a 13-game streak in which they’ve held their opponents to 21 or fewer points, the longest such streak in the league. They have forced a turnover in 15 straight games, which is also a league high. And the Ravens have scored seven defensive touchdowns in their last 12 games.

So, even when Lamar Jackson isn’t ridiculous, the Ravens still can have your number on the other side of the ball. That’s the kind of thing that forges championships.

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