NFL Power Rankings: Who’s Up and Down? Post Week 2 Analysis

NFL Week 2 2025: Quarterback Analysis and Surprises

After a weekend full of last-minute victories, Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season culminated with exciting matchups on “Monday Night Football.” We analyze how the Buccaneers’ and Chargers’ victories affected our power rankings. Here’s the analysis of all 32 teams heading into Week 3. In addition to the rankings, NFL Nation reporters highlighted the most important things they’ve learned about the starting quarterbacks, or the overall situation of the position, this season. Some of these starters will be affected in the coming weeks, as five quarterbacks face injuries: Brock Purdy of the 49ers (toe and left shoulder), Joe Burrow of the Bengals (toe surgery), Jayden Daniels of the Commanders (knee), Justin Fields of the Jets (concussion), and J.J. McCarthy of the Vikings (ankle). Will the backups be able to keep their teams on the right track? And, how have veterans like Daniel Jones and Geno Smith performed with their new teams so far? Let’s start with team number 1 in our rankings. Our panel of experts, composed of more than 80 writers, editors, and television personalities, evaluates NFL teams and ranks them from 1 to 32. Review the previous rankings: Preseason, Week 2. Jump to a team:

ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN

CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND

JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN

NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF

SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

1. Buffalo Bills (2-0)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Jets 30-10. Ranking in Week 2: 1 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Josh Allen continues to show that he doesn’t need to be Superman. Although Allen sometimes needs to carry the Bills on his shoulders, in the past he has tried to do too much on his own. This still happens sometimes, but the Bills have shown that they don’t need to rely solely on Allen’s arm and legs. This was reflected against the Jets, where Buffalo’s ground attack dominated. James Cook finished with 132 yards and two touchdowns, and Allen didn’t score in a game for the eighth time in his NFL career. Alaina Getzenberg.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (2-0)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Chiefs 20-17. Ranking in Week 2: 2 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Jalen Hurts continues to do what is necessary to win. His passing statistics are far from spectacular, with 101 air yards on Sunday and only one pass of more than 10 yards completed. But Hurts played a mostly error-free game and, once again, made a crucial play when needed, this time a deep pass to DeVonta Smith to set up a key touchdown. He also converted four first downs and scored a touchdown on a “tush push”. With the win over Kansas City, he improved his record to 48-20 as a starter during the regular season. Tim McManus.

3. Green Bay Packers (2-0)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Commanders 27-18. Week 2 Ranking: 4 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Jordan Love still hasn’t found a number 1 receiver. Losing Jayden Reed to a fractured collarbone early in the Week 2 victory won’t help Love identify his primary receiver. After two games, tight end Tucker Kraft leads the Packers with eight receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Among the receivers, Dontayvion Wicks leads in receptions (six), and Romeo Doubs in yards (96). First-round rookie Matthew Golden only has two receptions for 16 yards, but Love missed him twice on what could have been big plays against Washington. Rob Demovsky.

4. Baltimore Ravens (1-1)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Browns 41-17. Ranking in Week 2: 3 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Lamar Jackson remains a favorite for the NFL MVP. The two-time MVP has already positioned himself to win a third award, totaling seven touchdowns and no turnovers. This is the fifth time in the last 20 years that a quarterback has reached that mark in the first two weeks. The previous four quarterbacks to achieve this: Peyton Manning (2013), Patrick Mahomes (2018 and 2022), and Jackson (2019), won the NFL MVP award. Now, can Jackson keep up the pace against a Lions defense that has allowed four touchdown passes and made one interception this season? Jamison Hensley.

5. Detroit Lions (1-1)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Bears 52-21. Week 2 Ranking: 8 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Jared Goff can still perform at an elite level. It goes without saying that the Lions struggled in Green Bay in the season opener, but Week 2 reminded the world that Goff and the Lions can still be dominant. Goff became the first quarterback in Lions history with an 80% completion percentage and five passing touchdowns in a game, also surpassing Bobby Layne (118) for the second-most passing touchdowns in franchise history. If he receives solid protection from an offensive line that is still adapting to new players, there shouldn’t be a drop in Goff’s performance in his tenth NFL season. Eric Woodyard.

2:12 Was Week 1 or 2 an overreaction in fantasy for the Lions? Field Yates, Daniel Dopp, and Stephania Bell examine the Lions’ performance in Week 2.

6. Los Angeles Rams (2-0)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Titans 33-19. Week 2 Ranking: 7 Major conclusion about the quarterback: It doesn’t seem like Matthew Stafford’s back is affecting his game. Despite missing a significant portion of training camp with a disc aggravated in his back, Stafford has played well at the start of the season. Coach Sean McVay said Stafford was “in total control” in the second half of the Rams’ victory over the Titans. And although Stafford didn’t have as much practice time in training camp as he hoped with new wide receiver Davante Adams, the pair demonstrated the chemistry they’ve built on Sunday, connecting six times for 106 yards and a touchdown. Sarah Barshop.

7. Los Angeles Chargers (2-0)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Raiders 20-9. Week 2 Ranking: 9 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Last season was an aberration for Justin Herbert. Herbert began last season with unusually low passing numbers in his first season with Jim Harbaugh. It wasn’t until Week 6 that he had a game with at least 200 passing yards. Part of his slow start can be attributed to the various injuries he suffered. But he threw four interceptions in the Chargers’ playoff loss to the Texans, more than he had during the entire regular season. In Week 1, Herbert had one of the best games of his career against the Chiefs, throwing for 318 yards and three touchdowns, and threw two more touchdown passes in Week 2 against the Raiders. With an improved offense, he seems poised for a dominant year. Kris Rhim.

8. Kansas City Chiefs (0-2)

Result of Week 2: They lost against the Eagles 20-17. Week 2 Ranking: 5 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Patrick Mahomes might have to do it all again. The Chiefs’ support around Mahomes isn’t ideal, especially at the running back position. Consider this ESPN Research statistic: Mahomes joined Cam Newton (2020) as the only QBs since 1950 to record twice as many rushing yards as any other player on their team in each of the first two games. Without receiver Rashee Rice for four more games (suspension), Mahomes has essentially had to be a superhero to get the Chiefs down the field on their four touchdown drives this season. Nate Taylor.

9. Washington Commanders (1-1)

Result of Week 2: They lost against the Packers 27-18. Week 2 Ranking: 6 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Jayden Daniels needs to find his rhythm. Daniels has completed 59.7% of his passes in 2025, after completing 69% last season. The Packers were, as expected, a difficult challenge in pressuring him on 46% of their plays, but the Commanders’ passing game has been notably out of sync in both games, especially the connection between Daniels and receiver Terry McLaurin. The latter missed most of the spring and all of the camp due to a contractual situation, costing the duo valuable repetitions. The second-year quarterback has a passer rating of only 48.4 and a completion percentage of 53.8% when targeting McLaurin, compared to 89.4 and 67.3%, respectively, last season. And Daniels is now dealing with a knee injury, which could sideline him on Sunday and prevent him from finding his rhythm sooner. John Keim.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Texans 20-19. Ranking in Week 2: 10 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Baker Mayfield is a player. Mayfield’s Week 1 performance was shaky, as he completed 53.1% of his passes against the Falcons. But he made plays with his legs when it mattered most, running four times on third down for 39 yards. Then, in the two-minute drill, he found rookie Emeka Egbuka on a 25-yard touchdown pass to take the final lead. He did the same in Week 2, leading an 11-play winning drive in the final two minutes. There was no panic. This is what you want from a franchise quarterback and it was a trademark of his predecessor, Tom Brady. Jenna Laine.

11. San Francisco 49ers (2-0)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Saints 26-21. Week 2 Ranking: 14 Major conclusion about the quarterback: The 49ers can win with Mac Jones. When Brock Purdy missed two games due to injury in 2024, backups Brandon Allen and Joshua Dobbs recorded QBRs of 33.2 and 23.4, respectively, and the 49ers lost both games by a combined total of 51 points. Before Sunday, a quarterback other than Purdy hadn’t started and won with the 49ers since Jimmy Garoppolo in December 2022. But Jones stepped in against the Saints and recorded a QBR of 67.2 with three touchdown passes. San Francisco hopes Purdy returns soon from injuries to his toe and left shoulder, but their confidence in Jones is real if Purdy has to miss more time. Nick Wagoner.

12. Cincinnati Bengals (2-0)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Jaguars 31-27. Week 2 Ranking: 12 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Jake Browning is good enough to take the Bengals to the playoffs. In his own words, Browning was “delirious” on Sunday. Despite throwing three interceptions, he was unfazed as he led the Bengals on a game-winning drive that culminated in a leap over the goal line. Although Joe Burrow is expected to be out for at least three months with a foot injury, there is immense confidence that Browning can lead the team in the future. Bengals coach Zac Taylor said there is still a lot of optimism in the team that the offense can be efficient and effective behind Browning, who helped Cincinnati win four games in 2023 while Burrow was out with a wrist injury. Ben Baby.

1:25 Why Stephen A. believes the Bengals can succeed without Joe Burrow. Stephen A. Smith says the Bengals could still be competitive if Joe Burrow returns later this season.

13. Denver Broncos (1-1)

Result of Week 2: They lost against the Colts 29-28. Ranking in Week 2: 11 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Defenses may have found a problematic point for Bo Nix.

When surveying defensive coaches and personnel executives across the league about the challenges awaiting Nix in year two, some said teams would try to force Nix to work more outside the numbers and keep him away from his more comfortable throws in the middle of the field. On throws outside the numbers this season, Nix has thrown three interceptions and had another possible pick that was dropped. There have also been multiple times a safety lurking behind the receiver in bracket coverage. Jeff Legwold.

14. Indianapolis Colts (2-0)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Broncos 29-28. Week 2 Ranking: 23 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Daniel Jones is playing with extreme efficiency. No QB is averaging more yards per pass attempt than Jones’ 9.3. That was unexpected for a player who had never averaged more than 6.8 in a single season in his career. He’s doing it in two ways. First, Jones is giving the ball to players in position to run after the catch, which they are doing at a high rate (5.5 YAC per reception). Second, Jones was more aggressive on Sunday, delivering more intermediate and deep passes despite a high blitz rate from Denver. Stephen Holder.

15. Atlanta Falcons (1-1)

Result of Week 2: Victory against the Vikings 22-6. Week 2 Ranking: 17 Major conclusion about the quarterback: Michael Penix Jr. will at least keep the Falcons in games. Penix would have been the star in Week 1 with two brave fourth-down runs in the final quarter, the second of which resulted in a go-ahead touchdown. But the Falcons lost the lead on defense, and a missed field goal cost them the game. Penix’s stats didn’t set the world on fire in Week 2, but he didn’t turn the ball over and made important third-down passes when they were most needed in front of a hostile Vikings crowd. The second-year quarterback ranks ninth in the league in success rate (48.6%). Marc Raimondi.