NFL power rankings after Week 2, 2026

Seattle is first under a house rule this ranking failed to apply in Week 1: the reigning Super Bowl champion holds the top spot until proven otherwise, and even a lackluster win over a poor team can cost it the spot. The 13-10 opening win over New England came close to that line. Week 2 settled it. Arizona had just beaten the Chargers by 12 in Los Angeles, and Seattle won 31-7 in Glendale. Drew Lock, starting for the injured Sam Darnold, was 19 of 26 for 235 and three touchdowns, all to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who caught nine for 155 including an 82-yarder. Seattle scored the last 24 points and held Arizona to 151 yards, the fewest by any team this week. The Seahawks have allowed 17 points and 3.75 yards per play, the lowest rate in the league, and both teams they've beaten won their other game.

San Francisco holds second. It's the only team with two wins of 20 or more points, and its Week 1 result gained weight: the Rams, beaten 27-7 on a neutral field in Melbourne, went home and beat the Giants 28-6. Against Miami (0-2) the 49ers scored touchdowns on their first five possessions and went 5 for 5 in the red zone. Brock Purdy was 20 of 22 for 287 yards with two touchdown passes and a rushing score, and Christian McCaffrey ran in two from a yard out. Plus-42 is the best point differential in the league. What keeps the 49ers behind Seattle is the second win: a home rout of a winless team counts for less than a 24-point road win over a team that had won its other game. The gap is narrow, and margin is the case for flipping them.

Buffalo won again and slips two spots, because the win that put it first has lost weight: Houston is now 0-2 after scoring six points at home against Cincinnati. Thursday's win over Detroit (1-1) was convincing. Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and ran for two, going 20 of 31 for 248 with 69 rushing yards; James Cook added 134 on the ground. The Bills scored on their first four possessions, led 21-0 in the second quarter, went 5 for 5 in the red zone and converted 9 of 12 third downs. They sit above Minnesota on how they've won: 7.07 yards per play, the most efficient offense in the league, and no turnovers, against a Vikings team outgained by 231 yards. The defense has allowed 62 points, the most of any 2-0 team, and the two teams Buffalo beat are a combined 1-3.

Minnesota has the best pair of beaten opponents outside Seattle: both are 1-1 and both won their other game, and Chicago had won by 22 on the road in Week 1. The Vikings went to Soldier Field and held the Bears to three points and 297 yards. Dallas Turner had two of the four sacks, including one on the final play; Isaiah Rodgers recovered D'Andre Swift's fumble at the Minnesota 1 and blocked a 23-yard field goal. Aaron Jones ran for 105, and Will Reichard kicked three field goals, the last with 1:09 left. Carson Wentz went 11 of 20 for 143. The box score is why they're fourth, behind Buffalo: Minnesota has been outgained 716-485 over two games and scored no touchdowns this week. Two wins by a combined 23 points over teams that won everything else keep it above Kansas City.

Two home wins, one emphatic and one narrow. Kansas City's 523 yards against the Colts were the most by any team this week: Patrick Mahomes went 32 of 47 for 382 and three touchdowns, Travis Kelce caught nine for 101, and Kenneth Walker III ran for 117. The Chiefs still needed Harrison Butker's 40-yard field goal as time expired in overtime to beat a team that's now 0-2, after Indianapolis kicked a tying field goal on fourth-and-8 instead of going for the win. The Colts scored 30 and ran for 119. Across two games Kansas City has outgained opponents 915-505, which is the best case for putting it higher. It slips one spot because Minnesota's two wins came against teams that won their other game, one of them on the road, while both of Kansas City's came at Arrowhead.

Cincinnati went to Houston and held the Texans without a touchdown: 0 for 4 in the red zone, 0 for 4 on fourth down, 60 rushing yards. Ja'Marr Chase caught two touchdowns, a toe-tap 32-yarder and an 18-yarder, and finished with seven catches for 75; Tee Higgins added 95. Joe Burrow was 20 of 31 for 207 with no turnovers, and Evan McPherson hit from 51 and 57. It wasn't a yardage rout: Houston outgained Cincinnati 374-267 and ran 78 plays. The jump from 13th reflects a two-score road win plus a Week 1 home win over Tampa Bay that reads sturdier now. Both beaten opponents are 0-2, which caps this placement, but they've lost their other games by four and five points. That's why Cincinnati sits a spot above Las Vegas, whose victims lost theirs by 22 and 12.

Two wins by a combined six points over teams that are now 0-2, the thinnest 2-0 resume in the league. Jalen Hurts hit Darius Cooper for three yards with nine seconds left after Tennessee had gone ahead 20-17 with 1:56 to play. Hurts finished 26 of 37 for 264 with two touchdowns and two interceptions that the Titans turned into ten points. Philadelphia held the ball 36:25 and converted 11 of 18 third downs, and DeVonta Smith caught ten for 117. The run game managed 89 yards on 32 carries, 2.8 a try. The climb comes from teams above losing, not from dominance. New England and Chicago each have a stronger single result, but two one-score wins still count for more than one win and one loss, so the Eagles sit at the bottom of the unbeaten group rather than below it.

Chicago's 59-37 win at Carolina looks better than it did, since the Panthers went to Atlanta and won by 31. The home loss to Minnesota (2-0) was the opposite kind of game: three points, 297 yards, no touchdowns, 0 for 3 in the red zone. D'Andre Swift fumbled at the Minnesota 1 on the first drive of the second half, Caleb Williams threw a first-quarter interception and left with a hamstring injury in the fourth, and Cairo Santos had a 23-yarder blocked. Williams was 15 of 26 for 138. The defense did its part, holding Minnesota to 246 yards and nine points. A six-point home loss to an unbeaten team plus a 22-point road win over a team that has since won by 31 puts Chicago at the top of the 1-1 group. The drop from fifth is about the teams that won.

Two road games, two one-possession finishes, and a resume better than 1-1 usually means. After losing 31-30 in overtime at Detroit, New Orleans went to Baltimore and came back from 17-9 down. Tyler Shough threw 21 yards to Chris Olave with 9:42 left, Travis Etienne Jr. ran in the two-point try, and Shough sneaked in on fourth down from the 1 with 1:28 to go. Julian Blackmon intercepted Lamar Jackson with 13 seconds left. Shough was 27 of 34 for 252. The Saints ran 64 plays to 56, held the ball 32:45, converted 8 of 15 third downs and both fourth downs, and didn't turn it over. Baltimore had won by 18 on the road in Week 1. The Saints rank above Detroit despite that overtime loss because they've since won on the road and Detroit has since lost by ten.

New England's resume is a three-point road loss to the top-ranked team and a 17-point home win over Pittsburgh (1-1). The defense won this one: four sacks of Aaron Rodgers, two forced fumbles, and Christian Barmore's strip-sack that Elijah Ponder returned 19 yards for a touchdown. Rookie Gabe Jacas intercepted Rodgers at the Patriots' 17 with under five minutes left. Pittsburgh managed 235 yards and 3.5 a play. TreVeyon Henderson broke a 39-yard touchdown run in his season debut. The offense was modest: Drake Maye 14 of 22 for 208 with an interception, two Andy Borregales field goals, and 0 for 1 in the red zone. The Week 1 loss at Seattle turned on three interceptions. Five giveaways through two games, tied for second-most in the league, is the flaw in an otherwise strong 1-1.

The biggest move of the week, because both halves of the Rams' resume changed value. The 27-7 loss to San Francisco on a neutral field in Melbourne is now a loss to the team ranked second, and Monday's win over the Giants (1-1) was the most lopsided game of the week by yardage: 481 to 182, 8.0 yards a play. Matthew Stafford was 22 of 31 for 327 with four touchdowns and an interception. Davante Adams caught eight for 195 and two scores, one from 31 yards, plus a 64-yard catch that set up another touchdown. Los Angeles was 3 for 3 in the red zone. The Giants lost Jaxson Dart on their seventh snap and Jameis Winston went 11 of 27. That's context, not a discount: the Rams beat the team on the field. Two turnovers kept it from being cleaner.

Baltimore led 17-9 late in the third quarter at home and lost. After sacks by Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green gave them the ball at the New Orleans 49, the Ravens went backward 16 yards and punted; the Saints then scored on consecutive drives, and Lamar Jackson's deep throw was intercepted with 13 seconds left. Jackson was 21 of 31 for 235 with a touchdown to Rashod Bateman and that pick, and Derrick Henry scored from a yard out. The Ravens had two first downs to New Orleans' ten in the fourth quarter. The Week 1 win at Indianapolis by 18 holds up, and Baltimore still has the league's best yards-per-play margin at plus-2.1. But a home loss to a 1-1 team costs more than the Patriots' or Rams' losses, which came away from home against unbeaten opponents.

Jacksonville led 13-3 early in the third quarter in Denver and didn't score again. The Broncos closed on 17 straight points, Cam Little missed from 54 before the go-ahead drive, and the Jaguars never got the ball back after Jonah Coleman's 3-yard touchdown with 7:21 left. Trevor Lawrence was 17 of 29 for 189 with no touchdowns and an interception by Riley Moss that led to Denver's tying score. Denver averaged 9.3 yards per pass. The Week 1 result, 34-10 over Cleveland, carries a little more weight now that the Browns have won at Tampa. Jacksonville ranks above Denver despite losing to it: a seven-point road loss is a closer game than Denver's 21-point loss in Kansas City, and a 24-point win is the bigger win. Plus-17 is the best point differential among 1-1 teams.

Detroit lost by ten in Buffalo and moved up a spot, because a road loss to an unbeaten team costs less than what happened to several teams around it. The Lions fell behind 21-0 in the second quarter and allowed 446 yards, 203 of them rushing, and 34 first downs. Buffalo went 5 for 5 in the red zone and 9 of 12 on third down. Jared Goff was 26 of 38 for 327 and four touchdowns without an interception, and Amon-Ra St. Brown caught nine for 142 and two scores. The final touchdown came after Buffalo had gone up 41-24 with 2:50 left, so the game was less close than ten points. The Week 1 overtime win over New Orleans has gained value now that the Saints have won in Baltimore, and that's why Detroit sits above Green Bay.

Green Bay won on the road in overtime and gained ten spots, partly on its own result and partly because teams above it lost. The Packers trailed 17-7 with 11:04 left, then scored on Jordan Love's 3-yard pass to Christian Watson, a Trey Smack 34-yard field goal set up by Skyy Moore's 63-yard punt return, and Smack's 26-yarder in overtime. It wasn't well played: 199 yards, 1 for 9 on third down, and 14 accepted penalties for 133 yards. Love was 16 of 29 for 145 with two touchdowns. Green Bay's 26 penalties through two games are the most in the league. Both games have been on the road, the head-to-head win is why the Packers sit directly above the Jets, and the 39-22 loss at Minnesota reads better with the Vikings now 2-0.

The Jets outgained Green Bay 285-199, held the ball 37:40, forced four fumbles, and lost at home. Leading 17-7 with 11:04 left after Jason Sanders' 32-yard field goal, they allowed a touchdown drive and a 63-yard punt return that set up the tying kick, then took two sacks and a false start on their overtime possession to face third-and-30. Geno Smith was 27 of 41 for 247 and a touchdown to Garrett Wilson, and Braelon Allen scored from five yards. Thirteen accepted penalties for 156 yards were part of the cost. The Jets have allowed 3.98 yards per play, third-lowest in the league, and are one of two teams without a turnover. The nine-spot drop is about the result: a home loss to a 1-1 team, next to a road win over 0-2 Tennessee.

Denver trailed Jacksonville 13-3 in the third quarter and closed on 17 unanswered points. Jaylen Waddle caught eight passes for 138, rookie Jonah Coleman scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:21 left and ran six times for 31 on the clock-killing final drive, and Bo Nix was 22 of 31 for 288 with a touchdown to Nate Adkins and an interception. Riley Moss's interception set up the tying score. Denver averaged 9.3 yards per pass. The eleven-spot rise reflects a win over a team that had won its opener by 24. Denver ranks four spots below the team it beat because its other game was a 21-point loss in Kansas City with 176 yards of offense, while Jacksonville's other game was a 24-point win. A one-score head-to-head result doesn't outweigh that gap.

Dak Prescott went 26 of 31 for 279 and four touchdowns, passing Tony Romo for the franchise record, as Dallas beat Washington by 17. CeeDee Lamb caught two of the touchdowns and 153 yards, and Jake Ferguson caught the other two. The Cowboys went 3 for 4 in the red zone, 7 of 11 on third down, and didn't turn it over. Brandon Aubrey made a 60-yarder. The defense gave up 182 rushing yards but forced a fumble that Dee Winters recovered inside the Washington 20, setting up a touchdown two plays later. Washington lost Jayden Daniels on the last play of the first half with Dallas up 17-10. The Cowboys sit above the Giants despite losing to them because an eight-point road loss is a smaller miss than the Giants' 22-point loss in Los Angeles.

Monday's loss in Los Angeles was the most one-sided game of the week by yardage: 182 for the Giants, 481 for the Rams, 3.3 yards a play against 8.0. Jaxson Dart left on the seventh snap with a knee injury, and Jameis Winston went 11 of 27 for 111 with an end-zone interception. The Giants were 0 for 2 in the red zone and 3 of 14 on third down, and Cam Skattebo ran 12 times for 36. Jevon Holland forced and recovered a fumble at the Los Angeles 11 before halftime, and it produced only a field goal. The Week 1 win over Dallas still counts, head-to-head included. But a 22-point road loss outweighs an eight-point home win, which is why the Giants fall ten spots and sit one place behind the Cowboys.

A week after allowing 59 points and 552 yards at home, Carolina's defense held Atlanta to three points and 286 yards and forced five turnovers. Devin Lloyd intercepted two passes, returned one 16 yards for a touchdown, and added a sack; Bobby Okereke had the third interception. Bryce Young was 23 of 36 for 287 and three touchdowns, two of them to Darren Waller. The 31-point margin was the largest of the week, and it came on the road. Six takeaways through two games lead the league. The limit is the opponent: Atlanta is 0-2 and has scored 16 points all season. The other anchor is Week 1, a 22-point home loss. Carolina climbs eleven spots out of last place and sits below the 1-1 teams whose losses were closer or came on the road.

The steepest fall of the week. Arizona gained 151 yards against Seattle, the fewest by any team this week, with Jacoby Brissett 17 of 28 for 95, a touchdown to Trey McBride and an interception by Julian Love. The Cardinals ran 47 plays, held the ball 23:27, punted seven times and went 3 of 12 on third down. It was 7-7 at halftime after Seattle failed on fourth down from the 1, and then the Seahawks scored the last 24 points. The Week 1 win at the Chargers by 12 still stands, and the Chargers are now 0-2. A 24-point home loss is the worst result by any 1-1 team this week, which is what moves Arizona below teams whose losses were closer or came on the road.

Pittsburgh scored three points in Foxborough, a 56-yard Chris Boswell field goal at the end of the first half, and its offense has one touchdown in 25 possessions this season. Aaron Rodgers was 23 of 39 for 187 with an interception and was sacked four times; one of those, Christian Barmore's strip-sack, was returned 19 yards for a touchdown by Elijah Ponder. The Steelers averaged 3.5 yards a play, went 2 for 12 on third down and punted eight times. At 3.81 yards per play through two games, they're last in the league. The defense forced two turnovers, including Nick Herbig's strip of Rhamondre Stevenson on the opening drive. The Week 1 home win over Atlanta was by seven, and Atlanta has since lost by 31 at home, so the win holding Pittsburgh up is the softest in the 1-1 group.

Cleveland's first win came on the road, after a lightning delay of two hours and 12 minutes. Deshaun Watson was 24 of 30 for 238 with two touchdowns, no turnovers and a 121.9 rating: a 55-yard catch-and-run by Denzel Boston to tie it at 16, and a 17-yarder to Blake Whiteheart with 3:51 left for the lead. Tampa Bay then reached the Cleveland 13 before a holding penalty and a fourth-and-10 incompletion from the 20. Andre Szmyt made three field goals. The run game was the weak spot, 44 yards on 23 carries. The climb is modest because the win is over an 0-2 team by four points, and the Week 1 loss at Jacksonville by 24 leaves Cleveland at minus-20, the worst differential of any team with a win.

Tampa Bay has lost two games by a combined ten points, which is why it sits at the top of the winless group. This week it led 16-6 in the third quarter at home, then gave up two Deshaun Watson touchdown drives and failed on fourth-and-10 from the Cleveland 20 in the final two minutes after a holding penalty. Chase McLaughlin made four field goals, including a 59-yarder, but the offense was 1 for 4 in the red zone. Baker Mayfield was 21 of 34 for 182 with a touchdown to Emeka Egbuka and an interception that Cleveland turned into three points. The run game produced 137 yards at 5.5 a carry. The Week 1 loss was by six at Cincinnati, now 2-0. Five turnovers in two games is tied for second-most in the league.

Indianapolis went to Arrowhead, scored 30, led 20-17 at halftime, and took Kansas City to the final play of overtime. Jonathan Taylor ran for two touchdowns, one of them from 24 yards, and Tyler Warren caught a score; Daniel Jones was 22 of 31 for 210 with a touchdown and an interception. Facing fourth-and-8 in overtime after the Chiefs' field goal, the Colts kicked to tie, and Kansas City won it on the next possession. A three-point road loss to an unbeaten team is the best loss by any 0-2 team this week, and it moves Indianapolis up two spots. The problem is defense: 523 yards allowed on Sunday, 1,029 in two games, and 7.25 yards per play, the worst rate in the league. The Week 1 home loss to Baltimore by 18 is the other anchor.

Washington has played two road games, losing by two at unbeaten Philadelphia and by 17 in Dallas. It was 17-10 at halftime, with Washington at the Dallas 1 on the final play of the half when Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow. Before that he'd run for 69 yards on seven carries and thrown a touchdown to Stefon Diggs. Marcus Mariota went 11 of 16 for 111 and another Diggs touchdown. Washington ran for 182 yards at 5.7 a carry and gained 389 in all, but Dyami Brown's fumble inside the Washington 20 set up a Dallas touchdown, and the defense allowed four touchdown passes and 7 of 11 on third down. Washington is one of three teams without a takeaway. Playing both games on the road is what keeps it above Houston, which lost both of its games at home.

Two home losses, both to 2-0 teams. The first was by five to Buffalo in a game Houston scored 31; this week it scored six. The Texans reached the red zone four times against Cincinnati and came away with nothing, failed on all four fourth-down tries, including a stop on fourth-and-inches at the Cincinnati 18, and fumbled a punt snap. C.J. Stroud completed 30 of 55 for 353 yards with no touchdowns, and the running backs managed 18 yards. Houston outgained Cincinnati 374-267 and ran 78 plays, so moving the ball wasn't the problem; finishing was. The Texans have no takeaways in two games. They rank below Washington, which played both games on the road, and the fact that both of Houston's opponents are unbeaten is the case for flipping them.

Tennessee led unbeaten Philadelphia 20-17 with 1:56 left after Joey Slye's field goal and lost on a touchdown with nine seconds remaining. Cam Ward ran for two short touchdowns and completed 13 of 20 for 183, and the defense intercepted Jalen Hurts twice, Amani Hooker in the end zone and Marcus Harris late, turning both into points. The Titans had 23:35 of possession and ran 51 plays to Philadelphia's 72, allowing 11 of 18 third-down conversions, so the short clock came from the defense staying on the field. It's a better loss than anything below them, but the Week 1 home loss to the Jets by 13, with 195 yards of offense, is the weight. Both games were at home, and the 0-2 teams above them either played away or lost to stronger opponents.

Two home losses by 12, first to Arizona and now to Las Vegas. The Chargers took a 14-10 lead in the third quarter on Justin Herbert's 10-yard touchdown to Oronde Gadsden and didn't score again. They fumbled six times, losing one, and Herbert threw two interceptions while going 15 of 27 for 192 and taking three sacks. Joe Alt had three false starts and a holding penalty in the end zone for a safety, and Cameron Dicker's 58-yard try on the opening drive hit the crossbar. The Chargers outgained Las Vegas 310-305 and ran for 127, which keeps them above Miami and Atlanta. But 28 points in two home games and five giveaways, tied for second-most in the league, leave them at minus-24 and moving down five spots.

Miami has lost by 14 at Las Vegas and by 22 at San Francisco, two road games against unbeaten teams, and sits at minus-36, the second-worst differential in the league. The 49ers scored touchdowns on their first five possessions and Brock Purdy completed 20 of 22 against this defense. Miami's offense moved the ball, 284 yards and 7 of 15 on third down, but went 0 for 2 in the red zone, settled for two short Riley Patterson field goals and missed a 51-yarder. Malik Willis was 14 of 23 for 197 and took four sacks; the only touchdown was a 77-yarder to Ryan Miller with 2:30 left and the game decided. The schedule has been hard, which keeps Miami out of last, but a 22-point loss is what drops it seven spots.

Last, with the league's worst point differential, minus-38, and its most turnovers, seven. At home against Carolina, Atlanta lost a fumble on its first snap, threw three interceptions, and lost a fumbled snap late; one of the picks went back 16 yards for a touchdown. Cooper Rush, starting with Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa inactive, was 10 of 17 for 86 with two interceptions, and undrafted rookie Jack Strand replaced him late in the third quarter and threw the pick-six. Atlanta averaged 3.7 yards per pass play and never reached the red zone. Nick Folk's 41-yard field goal was the only score. The run game produced 157 yards, with Bijan Robinson at 72. With a seven-point loss at Pittsburgh in Week 1, Atlanta has 16 points in two games, the fewest in the league.