NFL Week 2 Power Rankings: New England Patriots prove unstoppable

The New England Patriots not only shocked the NFL by signing Antonio Brown, they proved just how good of a team they are without him.

The New England Patriots don’t need Antonio Brown. They proved it Sunday night against his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following a 33-3 beatdown of their conference rivals, the defending Super Bowl champions sit atop NFL.com’s Week 2 NFL power rankings.

Coming in ahead of the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles to round out the top 5, the Patriots showcased they are the most complete team in the NFL.

The Good

With the one question mark coming into the game being offensive line stability, both Isaiah Wynn at left tackle and Ted Karras at center held their own as Tom Brady completely carved up the Steelers’ secondary with 341 yards passing and three touchdowns.

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What was most impressive about the offensive performance was how Brady passed the ball around. Not only did Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon get in the mix, Phillip Dorsett surprised with 90-plus receiving yards and two touchdowns. The team also seen production from undrafted rookie Jakobi Meyers who had a nice catch and receptions out of the backfield from both James White and Rex Burkhead.

As impressive as the offense was, the New England Patriots defense is really the reason why the team is No. 1 in this week’s power rankings. As highlighted by NFL.com writer Dan Hanzus, Bill Belichick’s crew simply has playmakers at every level.

"“The offense was impressive, but it’s the defense that makes you think the Steelers are just the first of many teams bound to be on the wrong end of lopsided final scores involving the Patriots in 2019,” Hanzus writes. “The Pats have playmakers at every level of their D; the secondary wouldn’t even allow Ben Roethlisberger to pile up some decint garbage-time production in the second half. The Pats don’t care that you don’t like them. And they certainly don’t care about your fantasy team.”"

In other words, if you are banking on big fantasy points from Antonio Brown, think again. With this offense, Brady will simply spread the ball around. The team has the kind of roster to beat teams in different ways as highlighted in last season’s Super Bowl run.

The Bad

As bad as Ted Karras’ floating snaps looked during shotguns, the rushing performance of Sony Michel highlighted the ugly. His 14 yards on 15 carries was a bit disappointing with the high expectations the Georgia product has entering his sophomore season in the NFL.

Despite his lack of production, the New England Patriots still almost had nearly 100 yards rushing due to the ground game of both James White and Rex Burkhead, highlighting the team’s depth at the position.

On defense, the only negative was the play of second-year cornerback J.C. Jackson. The former undrafted free agent had a pass interference call and was probably the weakest link in the secondary after throwing some shade at Pittsburgh Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

The (not so) Ugly

There was really nothing ugly about the team’s performance on the field. Unlike previous season, the New England Patriots were ready to play and seem to already be clicking on all cylinders.

Off the field, the team is dealing with the latest Antonio Brown drama, but don’t expect that to disrupt this team from rolling through their 2019 NFL schedule. With the Steelers as their biggest challenge the first nine weeks of the season, expect the defending Super Bowl champions to stay on top of the NFL Power Rankings for quite some time as long as they look as good as they did Sunday night.

New England Patriots: Tom Brady focused on Antonio Brown the player. dark. Next

If they show signs of struggle, or the Brown drama shows to be distracting, a team like the Rams or Chiefs can certainly take over the spot with any signs of weakness.

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