NFL Power Rankings, Preseason Week 2: Zach Wilson gives Jets hope

Zach Wilson, New York Jets. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Zach Wilson, New York Jets. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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2021 NFL Power Rankings
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 22: Tevaughn Campbell #20 of the Los Angeles Chargers makes an interception in front of Deebo Samuel #19 of the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of a preseason game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on August 22, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

. Previous: 12th. Los Angeles Chargers. 12. team. 13.

The Los Angeles Chargers defense came out ready to play on Sunday night, picking off both Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance. This shouldn’t surprise anyone since their head coach, Brandon Staley, rose to prominence as a defensive coordinator with the Rams last season.

Should he be able to get this defense playing well, this is going to be a team to watch. Justin Herbert is coming off a phenomenal rookie season and they have a lot of underrated talent with players such as Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler around him.

Their biggest obstacle is going to be the fact that they play the Chiefs twice per season but they can still make a huge leap this year — and many people (present company included) expect them to do just that.

Previous: 11th. Pittsburgh Steelers. 11. team. 55. .

Big Ben Roethlisberger made his preseason debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend and he didn’t disappoint. Roethlisberger had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 as he completed 8-of-10 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Each of those touchdowns was caught by rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth who could end up being quite the find for the Steelers. They kept playing well even after Big Ben sat down and while the Lions scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough to overcome the 23-0 lead the Steelers jumped out to and in the end, they won it 26-20.