2022 NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Chiefs and Bills make a statement, Cowboys fall on their face
By Randy Gurzi
14. team. 15. . . Previous: 18th. New Orleans Saints
14. New Orleans Saints
It looked for a while as though the New Orleans Saints were going to suffer a loss in Week 1. They were down 26-10 in the fourth quarter, but then kicked it into another gear. Michael Thomas caught two touchdowns and then Will Lutz knocked it in from 51-yards out with 19 seconds to play to give them a 27-26 win.
Free agent addition Jarvis Landry was huge with 114 yards in seven receptions and Jameis Winston continued to deliver for New Orleans. They also had a big game from Taysom Hill, who ran a 57-yard touchdown.
Taysom Hill is still a problem.pic.twitter.com/EgJgVpYz3i
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 11, 2022
They should be happy they got the win but they did struggle with an offense that’s not too imposing, so they need to clean a few things up going forward.
Pittsburgh Steelers. 13. team. 55. . . Previous: 22nd
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin cares not for the predictions. Once again, there were plenty of expectations for the Pittsburgh Steelers to struggle in 2021 after Ben Roethlisberger retired — which didn’t make a lot of sense considering Roethlisberger was a shell of himself the past two seasons. These predictions glossed over Tomlin’s insane resume, which includes 15 years of coaching without a losing record.
On Sunday, he made progress toward yet another positive campaign as they shocked the Cincinnati Bengals with a 23-20 overtime win. The Steelers’ defense forced Joe Burrow to turn it over five times and held the AFC champs to 20 points.
The defense was the key but there’s a serious issue as T.J. Watt suffered an injury that’s feared to have him out for most — if not all — of the season. That would test Tomlin’s coaching ability more than losing Big Ben while past his prime.