NFL Week 2 power rankings: Lions move into top 10

The Detroit Lions, opening up the season as home underdogs, were able to prove a lot of doubters (including myself) wrong in Week 1. Their defense showed up to play, their offense proved to be as potent as ever in the fourth quarter, and they maybe even figured out how to beat a good team.

But did they impress enough to sway the opinions of the NFL media across several publications? It seems the answer may actually be yes.

Overreactions to Week 1 are rampant in the NFL every year. Teams that win tend to be overhyped, while the panic surrounding 0-1 teams is not always necessary. Is that the case with the Lions? Only time will tell, but for now, enjoy the hype.

SB Nation (“hope rankings”): 11th
ESPN: 10th (up 9)
Washington Post: 8th (up 3)
Bleacher Report (Simms): 10th (up 3)
Yahoo! Sports: 18 (up 6)
USA Today: 13th (up 10)
CBS: 9th (up 14)
NFL.com: 9th (up 3)

While not quite every ranking has the Lions in the top 10, most of them have them at least knocking on the door. Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab, for whatever reason, still has them at 18th, but he stubbornly had the Lions at 24th in the preseason, so that may have something to do with it.

Publications like ESPN, USA Today and CBS seemed to correct their preseason errors. ESPN bumped the Lions nine spots into the top 10, while USA Today and CBS both moved the Lions 10 or more spots in just one week.

Still, people are understandably showing some caution with this team. Despite a win over a tough defense, the Lions only managed a high ranking of eighth. Perhaps had it not been for their incredibly slow start, the Lions could have made more believers out of them in Week 1.

The Lions’ Week 2 opponent failed to make a serious impression in opening weekend. The Giants fell to the Dallas Cowboys and, to be honest, didn’t look all that competitive against them. As a result, almost every power ranking has them in the bottom half of the NFL. That’s a pretty drastic change considering this was a consensus top-10 team heading into the regular season.

Giants power rankings:

SB Nation (“hope rankings”): 21st
ESPN: 17th (down 6)
Washington Post: 13th (down 5)
Bleacher Report (Simms): 13th (down 10)
Yahoo! Sports: 14th (down 7)
USA Today: 18th (down 8)
CBS: 17th (down 11)
NFL.com: 13th (down 6)