2013 NFL Power Rankings, Week 2: 49ers Remain on Top

We put together our second NFL Power Ranking of the 2013 season, and the Packers slide a bit (but not much).

By Evan "Tex" Western@TexWestern Sep 10, 2013, 11:00am CDT

The Saints and Falcons were big movers in this week's APC power rankings.

Power Rankings are simultaneously a silly and wonderful thing - they track one person's or a group of people's instant impressions about their chosen league, and are wholly subjective. Similarly, they don't track what the analyst thinks the team will be, but rather what they are at the current moment. After submitting our initial power rankings to SBNation last week as part of their aggregate network ranks, we will post ours here for all to see this Tuesday morning.

But first, here are the rankings from Ryan Van Bibber of SBNation. Note that the Packers dropped two spots in his rankings from 4th to 6th after their loss to the 49ers. You'll see something similar below.

1. 49ers (no change from last week)

I had the Niners as my top team a week ago, and see no reason to move them down. Colin Kaepernick proved that he can make the necessary plays with his arm when defenses scheme to take away his legs, and San Francisco's defense is still pretty damn good.

2. Broncos (NC)

Any doubts about Peyton Manning's arm should have been put to rest, and that defense still looks plenty capable even without Von Miller and Champ Bailey for the time being.

3. Seahawks (+1)

It was an ugly win on the road at Carolina, but they found a way to win despite a trip across the country for an early kickoff, a factor which has caused them issues in the past.

4. Texans (+1)

Houston needed an epic Philip Rivers collapse to win last night's game, but their defense forced it out of them. Also, I don't think I've seen Matt Schaub put up the kind of numbers he had last night in like three years.

5. Patriots (+2)

An ugly win over a rookie QB is still a win. Did anyone really think that Tom Brady wouldn't pull that game out of his hat?

6. Saints (+5)

The Saints with a defense that can make key stops? Ugh. That's suddenly a very dangerous team again.

7. Falcons (-4)

Am I overreacting to a loss in the Superdome, where Atlanta has typically struggled of late? Maybe. But Roddy White is clearly hobbled, and I'm still not sold on Matt Ryan as an elite QB yet.

8. Packers (-2)

If you told me Morgan Burnett and Casey Hayward were ready to play tomorrow, I'd bump them back up to 6, but as is, there are serious issues in that secondary. Hopefully if Burnett can't play next Sunday, the team knows well in advance and can prepare for it.

9. Bears (+4)

The Bears surprised me this week - they somehow kept Jay Cutler upright against a tough Bengals pass rush and pulled out a late win. Plus, despite being torched by A.J. Green, the defense made enough plays to keep it close early on. I don't think they're better than the Packers, but they look solid.

10. Cowboys (+6)

One of my biggest movers this week is Dallas, a team that I didn't believe in before the season. The switch to the 4-3 certainly seems to be working, and though the Giants gave them a ton of bad turnovers, they capitalized.

11. Bengals (-2)

12. Colts (+2)

13. Ravens (-5)

I didn't think they'd win on Thursday in Denver, but I thought their defense would keep them in it. That secondary looked BAAAAAAAD.

14. Rams (+3)

15. Giants (-5)

Turnovers galore - boy, that game was ugly on Sunday night.

16. Redskins (-4)

I'm a little relieved that the Skins' defense doesn't look much improved this year. Hopefully that will remain the case and Eddie Lacy will find some good running room on Sunday.

17. Eagles (+8)

We clearly had Philly way too low last week. I think having minimal tape on Chip Kelly's NFL offense helped them though, and I'm not ready to call them a playoff team yet with that defense.

18. Lions (+2)

19. Chiefs (+4)

20. Dolphins (+2)

21. Titans (+6)

22. Steelers (-7)

Losing to the Titans at home and only scoring nine points? It looks like it could be a long year in Pittsburgh.

23. Panthers (-4)

24. Vikings (-6)

25. Chargers (-1)

26. Jets (+5)

27. Cardinals (+2)

28. Bills (-2)

29. Buccaneers (-8)

30. Browns (-2)

31. Raiders (-1)

32. Jaguars (NC)

There you have it. Where do you disagree? Let us know in the comments below.

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