Week 2 power rankings: ESPN still ranks Colts higher than Lions

The Detroit Lions won a squeaker in Indianapolis to kick off the 2016 season. While almost everyone can admit this was an ugly win, picking up a road victory isn’t easy in the NFL, and it could turn out to be huge come December.

Most analysts around the league took notice and bumped the Lions from the bottom third of the league to right around the middle of the pack. Here’s where the Lions rank in various Week 2 power rankings:

• SB Nation: 22nd (up 5)
• NFL.com: 17th (up 6)
• Yahoo! Sports: 15th (up 3)
• CBS Sports: 16th (up 5)
• Mile High Report: 19th (up 6)
• USA Today: 16th (up 7)
• ESPN: 22nd (down 2)

Everything looks just about right until you get to that last one. I can understand—but don’t agree with—moving the Lions down a couple spots after a shaky win. However, ESPN somehow has the Indianapolis Colts still ahead of the Lions despite losing to them on their home field. Their reasoning for keeping the Colts so high?

The Colts lost in Week 1, but Andrew Luck didn't throw an interception and took only two sacks, so they have to feel good about that.

Matthew Stafford didn’t throw an interception and the Lions only took one sack.

Still, the Lions will continue to have to prove their worth to get rid of the stigma around the team. In almost every power ranking, the Lions had one of the three lowest rankings among 1-0 teams.

They’ll have a good shot at impressing their critics again this week, as they face one of the lowest ranked teams in the NFL. The Tennessee Titans rank 26th (ESPN), 26th (SB Nation), 29th (Yahoo!), 30th (CBS), 30th (Mile High Report), 27th (USA Today) and 26th (ESPN).