Week 2 Power Poll
Sept 16, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks fans above the north end zone of CenturyLink Field unfurl a banner before kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE
Once again there was a lot of movement in the 12 Man Rising’s power poll. The Houston Texans moved up a spot and claimed first place by only one point over the San Francisco 49ers, who moved up two spots to second. The Patriots slid four spots to fifth after losing at home to the Cardinals who are currently sitting at ninth after moving up nine spots. The Eagles also moved up nine spots after winning a close game against the Ravens, who are now seventh after falling four places.
The biggest movers this week were the Eagles, Seahawks, Bills, and Cardinals all moving up nine spots. The Chargers jumped eight places to 11th. The Panthers also moved up six places to 20th.
The losers in the second week were the Bears and Jets, both sliding down nine places to 17th and 19th respectively. The Chiefs dropped eight after losing to the Bills and now sit at 29th after going 0-2 on the season. The Broncos and Cowboys both suffered hard losses and fell seven places to 14th and 16th, respectively.
Another thing that stands out to me is that there is still a lot of movement week-to-week. This should settle out after teams settle into their “range” and the preseason expectations are met or missed. The NFC West went 4-0 last weekend for the first time in several years and that is reflected in the rankings with each team moving up at least two spots. The NFC West has a much tougher week three schedule with Rams @ Bears, Seahawks vs. Packers, Cardinals vs. Eagles. The 49ers play the Vikings and have the easiest match-up by far. The Vikings rank 30th, while the Eagles and Patriots are top ten, and the Bears are 19th.
If the Seahawks and Cardinals can manage to win this week, I would expect to see them keep climbing, while the Packers would almost certainly slide out of the top ten, after going 0-2 against the NFC West.