Seton Hall
Chris Schweitzer's week two power five
Date: September 19, 2018By Christopher Schweitzer
Week two in the NFL was another crazy week as we saw a few heavyweight matchups, another tie, and some movement atop the power rankings. A lot of change in the top five as we have a newcomer making their way into the top five, as well as a new team at the top of the league after an unpredictable week two.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
Coming off a week one victory over the New York Giants on the road, the Jaguars knew they had their hands full against the New England Patriots in week two. To make matters worse for Jacksonville, their star running back, Leonard Fournette picked up a hamstring injury and was able to play against New England. The Jaguars were just fine however, as Blake Bortles had arguably the best game of his NFL career and helped take down the Patriots by a score of 31-20.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs have the most explosive offense in the league and they can definitely outscore anybody else in football. They will need to do that however if they want to keep winning because the defense has not been great through the first two games. Only 3 teams have allowed more points than the Chiefs and two of those teams are winless. The Chiefs can’t rely on their offense to put up 40 points every game, but until the offense stops being so effective they will remain one of the best teams in the league.
3. Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams came into this season as legit Super Bowl contenders and they’ve done nothing but prove that to be true. They have the highest scoring difference of any team in the NFL by a margin of 21 points, and they’ve handled both their opponents in the first two games with ease. A 34-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals keeps them in the top five and sees them take over the top spot in the NFC.
4. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings faced a tough challenge when they had to go into Green Bay and face off against Aaron Rodgers on Sunday afternoon. Although they left that game without a loss, they also didn’t get a win either. Minnesota is still one of the most talented teams in all of football, but only leaving a division game with a 29-29 tie isn’t good enough for a team this talented. They stay in the top five because Kirk Cousins has looked fantastic in Purple and Gold, and the defense is still incredible.
5. New England Patriots
The New England Patriots came into week two as my third ranked team in football and the number one team in the AFC. They’ve been atop the AFC for a long time now, but the new kids in town were able to take down the perennial powerhouse. The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Patriots on Sunday by a score of 31-20 but there isn’t reason to panic yet in Foxborough. The Patriots have lost a September game by double digits in each of the last three seasons that they have reached the Super Bowl, and they also made a huge acquisition when they traded for Josh Gordon from the Cleveland Browns to help with the receiving core.
Christopher can be reached at christopher.schweitzer@student.shu.edu
