Niner Noise
FanSided

NFL power rankings: 32-team overreactions heading into Week 2

By Peter Panacy

FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 09: Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots celebrates after a touchdown by Phillip Dorsett #13 (not pictured) during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 09: Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots celebrates after a touchdown by Phillip Dorsett #13 (not pictured) during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
30 of 33
Next
NEW ORLEANS, LA – SEPTEMBER 9: Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints is grabbed in the second quarter by Carl Nassib #94 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 9, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – SEPTEMBER 9: Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints is grabbed in the second quarter by Carl Nassib #94 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 9, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Previous: . New Orleans Saints. 4. team. 15. . L, 48-40 vs. Buccaneers

What happened, New Orleans? Your defense is supposed to be elite.

OK, a slightly less overreaction to the Saints’ horrific defensive effort against the Buccaneers in Week 1. It was both bad and weird, not unlike a lot of first-week games. And the fact the Saints offense was about as prolific as it ever was last season keeps quarterback Drew Brees and Co. from slipping deep in our NFL power rankings.

Some might argue for a bigger fall, at least out of the top five, and that would be fine. But the Saints have far too much talent on both sides of the ball to justify it. The loss, particularly to a bad Buccaneers team, is more of an anomaly than anything else.

Brees was magnificent, of course, tossing for 439 yards and three touchdowns. But the bigger storylines for New Orleans’ offense were wide receiver Michael Thomas and running back Alvin Kamara, who went off with 180 and 112 receiving yards in the game, respectively. Kamara, who caught one touchdown pass, also added two more on the ground.

We know the Saints offense is good. It’s the defensive lapses that might be a bit of a concern moving forward.

Let’s see if this group bounces back in Week 2 when New Orleans hosts the Browns.