Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season kicks off tonight with Green Bay traveling to Washington to face the Commanders. It also marks the first official power rankings of the season, and the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles remain atop them, despite last Thursday’s opening night nailbiter against Dallas. Who else joins the Birds in the 10 best teams in this still-early NFL season?
First, let’s get the obvious out of the way. First game back jitters are always a thing, and they proved to be for the Super Bowl champs, narrowly avoiding a divisional upset at home on banner night no less. The main reason why this one ended up being as close as it was is largely due in part to the Eagles’ struggles in the secondary, running multiple schemes throughout the game, even well after star DT Jalen Carter was ejected right out of the gate for spitting at Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (although some reports have suggested the QB spit first).
Basically, the only big reason the Eagles keep their nest atop the power rankings from last season was because of the Cowboys’ own misfortunes. Now, with a visit to Kansas City for a Super Bowl 59 rematch on the horizon, the Eagles regroup and try to move to 2-0 despite their small holes on defense. Thing is, they’re not super big to begin with, and they are still mostly the same Eagles team from last year. Don’t expect anything less from the Birds.
2\. Bills (def Ravens 41-40)
----------------------------
If you thought the Eagles’ scare against Dallas shouldn’t have put them at the top of this week’s power rankings, you’d be partially right, especially after what Buffalo did in upstate New York on the first SNF of the season against another AFC juggernaut, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Buffalo put up an astonishing 16 points in the final 4 minutes of regulation, and you thought we were getting ready to test out the league’s new overtime rules in just the first week. But Josh Allen did some Josh Allen things, bringing Buffalo back from a seemingly insurmountable 3-score deficit with just 7 minutes left, and Matt Prater’s leg was the deciding factor in a wild SNF duel.
Like the Eagles, the Bills are also dealing with some defensive holes, and on top of that, they may be a little more noticeable than the Birds. Still, this is the AFC East, which Buffalo has possessed an iron grip on for the last few seasons, and things most likely won’t change anytime soon if Allen continues with more late-game heroics later in the season.
If you thought Lamar and Derrick Henry tore it up enough to win last Sunday night and maybe reach the top of the inaugural power rankings, you’d be correct… most of the time, anyway. A catastrophic collapse by the Ravens somehow keeps Baltimore in the top 5 and top 3 even despite the dramatic loss. Probably cause Lamar balled out as much as he usually does, which is what made him an MVP finalist last season (though he absolutely should’ve taken home the hardware).
The running QB proved yet again why the AFC has much more talent under center than the NFC, and don’t even think for a second Lamar lets this defeat hold him back for the next few weeks. As long as he can keep handing it off to Derrick Henry, Baltimore remains a threat in an already massive AFC gauntlet.
4\. Packers (def Lions 27-13)
-----------------------------
The Pack put up a very solid showing in Micah Parson’s first game in green since that blockbuster trade from Dallas, and to do it against the 2nd best team in the NFC last season, the Detroit Lions, is even better. QB Jordan Love also showed some unknown prowess, slinging passes left and right and having an overall solid game except for one outlying series. Green Bay doesn’t get much of a break, as they head to DC to face an opponent Parsons knows well- the Washington Commanders, with QB Jayden Daniels trying to operate a brand new run game.
5\. Chiefs (lost to Chargers 27-21)
-----------------------------------
The 6 game suspension for top wideout Rashee Rice is already hitting hard for Kansas City’s offense, and that was before their 2nd best reciever in Xavier Worthy suffered a dislocated shoulder after some friendly fire from the now engaged Travis Kelce. It basically couldn’t have been a worse night for the Chiefs, and it goes for their fans too. An uncharacteritic sloppy D, multiple unecessary penalties (with much maligned LT Jawaan Taylor being the perpetual flag magnet he is yet again; seriously, why is Kansas City still paying him??), and being outclassed by a divisional rival that could end up giving them a run at their 9 consecutive AFC West titles spelled doom for the NFL’s so-called “Evil Empire”.
Kansas City should be very lucky they’re still in the top 5 power rankings wise, kind of like the Eagles, and it’ll no doubt cause some serious debates in online chat threads regardless. And guess who’s next? The Birds themselves, at home thankfully and nowhere near that New Orleans nightmare in Super Bowl 59.
Rounding out the top 10 of the first official power rankings of the 2025 NFL season are:
* The Buccaneers, who escaped Atlanta thanks to star QB Baker Mayfield’s magic even after a mega slow start
* The Commanders, who fed off a pesky Giants team that kept it close from QB Jayden Daniels’ miscues
* The Lions, who like Washington, were also a little rusty in their first game back with a low offensive output against Green Bay
* The Broncos, who had even more rust than Washington and Detroit, but like the latter, still have plenty of chances to shake it off in Week 2
* The Rams, who had a much better start to a season than the last 2 in a stifling win over the experimental offense Texans
See also: [Fans Praised Josh Allen Even Before Baltimore Duel](https://gridironheroics.com/bills-news-josh-allen-bills-for-what-he-did/)