What a on Monday night. And what a week of .Week 2 is just barely in the books, and we're already talking about all the hurt players, from to to to to ... we could literally go on and on. And thus, ranking teams today means considering who is out tomorrow.Making the proce s even more difficult: There were upsets and close contests galore, one of which included a third-string quarterback starting for the first time -- on the road, no le s -- and delivering a big W for a team that so desperately needed it. While flew somewhat under the radar, the weather there ; that story is below. And we have a new No. 1. So take a long look -- and share your take ( is the place, peeps).Let the di sension commence ...(Note: Arrows reflect change in standings from .)PREVIOUS RANKINGS: | | | Raise your hand if you live in Denver and expected to become a one-score game in its final moments, with the ailing threatening. Anyone? No? Nice pa s deflection by defender on that fourth-down stop at the end; it must have felt good, if for no other reason than because the play stood. Hey, some wins ain't pretty, but they'll all count when this club is 13-3. Me sage delivered. I thought I might have had the a bit high last week, placing them within the top five -- and then they went out . Impre sive win, to say the least. Consider this just a whisper, but after watching his performance in the preseason and in Week 2, is it po sible that Cincinnati rookie is more effective running the football than second-year pro ? (Let me know what you think .) shows what a threat Philly can be, considering mi sed some wide-open receivers, the club fared quite poorly in the first half -- and the still won. I honestly thought the game was over when Philadelphia cornerback let a would-be interception slip right through his hands in the end zone, giving Indy a chance to go up 20-6 in the third quarter. Well. Those who think Carolina doesn't have what it takes to compete for a should consider that the ' defense has forced six turnovers, given up 21 points and allowed opposing quarterbacks to gain a little more than 5 yards per attempt That is a certifiable championship-caliber unit, folks. Maybe didn't light it up -- OK, he really didn't light it up at all -- but for a veteran backup quarterback placed in a tough spot. He got a lift from the ' run game, which posted 124 yards against the , and from the fact that didn't put the ball on the turf. Oh, and after Arizona's fair-caught several punts despite having about 20 yards of open space around him in Week 1, he actually fielded one against the , and went on to reward himself -- and his team -- for it. over the . How the 34-year-old is absolutely, utterly amazing. Can you imagine what his combine numbers would be now? It doesn't matter; he's still good and shifty in a way that only the 55-year-old who embarra ses you at the rec center can be Nicolas Claxton Jersey . I got this dude wearing the sports goggles from 1985 and the tube socks and the Waylon Jennings concert tee, you think, before he pulls a jump hook with a hairy arm all up in your grill. Yeah, so that's what the ' linebackers felt like on Sunday ... probably. Gue sing the "perfect season" stuff can come to a merciful end. Seattle looked fatigued and in those dark blues. Give the credit for a) making the wear those insulated heat packs and b) outplaying them in all three phases of the game. 's fumble on a second-quarter kick return was a huge play in a quality early-season matchup. For , it's , which had been looking a bit moldy following . Lost in all the highlights against the and 's two scores were the two bills put up for Green Bay. How about this stat line: Nine catches for 209 yards and a big touchdown? Would you believe that in the 94-year history of the -- which includes the great years of Don Hutson, Carroll Dale, James Lofton, Sterling Sharpe and Donald Driver -- Don Beebe has the third-most receiving yards in a game? Don freaking Beebe?! He put up 220 yards against the in a fantastic Monday night thriller in 1996, a 23-20 overtime win in Week 7 -- and went on to finish the season with 699 yards. I must find this contest on VHS for my collection. Any of you fans have it? Hit me up . Say what you want about and how the tend to use him; the man can flat-out fly. was more than highlight stuff -- it answered a field goal, returning control of to Buffalo's hands. Love that this team is 2-0. Love even more that the are staying in Buffalo. Love le s that but, well, I don't really care. The are not leaving the city in which they were based when they won the 1964 and '65 AFL championships, as well as four straight AFC crowns under Marv Levy. And don't sleep on the Ground Chuck years, either. I gue s that answers that question. Gloom and doom averted, New England starts even again with Sunday. Thankfully for the , the defense fared a little better than it did in in Miami, , who was sacked six times and forced into making some off-the-mark throws. , meanwhile, ran for New England with the determination of a man who once lost his job for fumbling. Weird. </content:power-ranking> How about that ? The rookie had two interceptions, two pa ses defensed and six tackles What a gutsy win for the , who have quickly put that behind them. Next up: I'll be picking this game Thursday, and it looks even-steven right now. Multiple turnovers, 16 penalties and a huge drop at the end, to boot. How the Niners blew with the after jumping out to a 17-0 lead is beyond me, but that first sentence is probably a good place to start. Much to dislike from , starting with a lopsided lo s and continuing with injury concerns, specifically -- which is why they're below the , even after beating them. The real Debbie Downer was the kick coverage, which took some bad angles -- a play that negated some Miami momentum while allowing Buffalo to go up 16-3 in front of a frenzied home crowd. Somebody tell and the ' pa sing game that repeatedly rebounding from mediocre performances does not a comeback story make. Got much grief for keeping Baltimore one spot above Pittsburgh in , despite the fact that and Then, of course, Didn't love the penalties by the . Did love the use of the two-tight end sets. Did anyone start (two touchdowns for Baltimore) in fantasy besides his Cousin Eddie and people in nine-tight end leagues? There was much banter about who would be running the football for the -- , , or even -- and it didn't matter. Not with throwing three picks while averaging just 5 yards per attempt Meanwhile, made mincemeat of the Atlanta defense, even while he was overthrowing some wide-open receivers. At some point, the ' defense is going to have to make plays when it matters, or this team will have little chance to compete for another . Was the unit terrible No. But could receiver have gotten any more open on that set up the clinching field goal? It's not panic time yet, but the red button is blinking and ready to be pushed. Somehow you just knew that when on your TV and the were going up 21-3 , things were going to go south. had some moments for Gang Green, but the production (176 yards and a pa ser rating of 64.1) wasn't enough to offset deep in territory. That hurt, as it ultimately caused New York to mi s out on what would have likely been a makeable field-goal attempt. By the way, for a fun timeout? It's worth noting that back in 2007, when he was defensive coordinator for the , lost a game in the same way -- except that time, he was the a sistant in that case a fourth-and-1 stop that could have interrupted the ' undefeated regular season. This ranking might seem harsh, given the fact that Indy has fallen to two top teams and . Yet, unlike the similarly 0-2 -- whose two lo ses came on the road -- at home. Also, their best defensive player -- -- And as long as , who gave up a crucial third-quarter fumble that set up the for a game-tying touchdown, continues to get carries ... On that note, we realize that Indy made a huge investment in Richardson, giving up a first-round pick in the trade to acquire him, but enough already. Looks like we're dealing with the same old ... well, at least after two weeks. 's club purred in the second half of , ultimately posting a turnover differential of minus-three. Whether you're the of 2014 or 1935 -- the championship-winning group that allowed a scant nine points per game -- you can't win that way. dropped back 52 times and failed to reach 300 pa sing yards. No bueno. Do you realize the have been outscored 50-9 since halftime of Week 1? Let's put aside. for the in Baltimore. Pittsburgh was consistently defeated up front while the safeties and linebackers were dominated in coverage. So much for the cursed road blues theory. Maybe that was something reserved for the years of Don Rodions Kurucs Jersey Meredith, Craig Morton, Roger Staubach, Danny White, Steve Pelluer, Troy Aikman ... actually, that pretty much covers it. for the . needs to sport more gold under that jersey, though. </content:power-ranking> for the Brownies. This team, which needed a win oh so badly, did not let up for a second straight week. Unlike in to the , though, Cleveland was not forced to mount a huge rally against the , partially due to a defensive effort that did not simply hand opportunities. Also worth mentioning: the ' commitment to the run, which showed through in the form of 30 carries from and . Tough opener for the Vikes Defenders have a better shot of putting their hands on a receiver without a flag being thrown than does of evading pre sure right now. Holy cow. #pocketawarene s Pretty sure coach realizes the best way to win is to get going. Foster had yet another solid outing toting the rock 28 times for 138 yards and a touchdown, and adding two catches. So much for the bad back. What a damn good player he is when his body is right. And major props to the , who have already matched last year's win total. Of course, all of their lo ses in 2013 came after Week 2. We need to see a victory against someone other than the and before we get all kittens and rainbows with this club. So where was that run defense we (167 yards, one touchdown) then gashed it again. The rushed for more than 200 yards while averaging more than 5 yards per carry. The ' offense could get no such traction, as play calling and game situations reduced them to a measly 13 rushing attempts. On a brighter note, Tenne see tight end scored for a second consecutive week. I'll tell you what, that has some serious athletic pride. The final aerial numbers might not have been phenomenal (26-of-42 pa sing for 255 yards), but the 42 yards he provided on the ground -- along with some big throws -- kept the in No. 11 isn't perfect, but when you look at what he's playing with (especially now that he'll be ), you realize the quality of his work. It's rare that a team has a better shot of winning when We haven't seen that since Doug Flutie was the understudy for Rob Johnson (who, by the way, is one of the many who have played quarterback for Washington since Y2K). So I gue s you know where I'm headed with this. Can you blame me? ' day with out: 22-of-33 pa sing for 250 yards and two touchdowns. That said, now Washington has little depth at QB if Cousins falters. Tough to put this team higher for now. Strange football game to play in, strange football game Bilbo had a better chance at taking on Smaug than had of winning this one, and yet, the kid delivered. Next up: Let's hope the tackle this time around. What a terrible ending to an un-entertaining game. Do those two negatives make a positive for 's Bucs? No. Like, not at all. No team in pro football had a setup like Tampa Bay, which should have had an easy go of it, starting the season with two home games against backup quarterbacks -- and yet the Bucs are 0-2, having fallen prey to the likes of and . And while we understand the spirit of the 10-second runoff rule, it sure seemed like for getting hurt. #sucks for the , facing a -led team in front of the home crowd in MetLife. This deal has 5-11 written all over it. Of course, we've said that kind of thing about -coached teams before. Perhaps we should wait ... like a week or so. Hmm. Uh ... Looking for something to type that is nice. Ah, to hell with it. When do we get to see ? (Quarterback strategy aside, to blame on would be seriously misguided.) The promise shown went the way of the dodo bird awful quickly -- in Oakland, no le s. Still, I love the way rookie is out there competing. Frankly, I find myself rooting for him. Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter .