With the first week of the NFL season complete, we can now stop the speculation and begin ranking teams based on their actual performances. After one week the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos did nothing to change their standing as the top two teams in the NFL.
Other playoff hopefuls like the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, and Green Bay Packers ran into trouble in their openers. The Miami Dolphins ran all over the Patriots, the Atlanta Falcons with a healthy Julio Jones back in the fold regained their offensive punch to overcome the Saints and their porous defense, while the Packers ran into the buzzsaw known as the Seahawks.
One bad performance doesn't dash playoff hopes, but one bad game can quickly snowball if problems aren't fixed. The good teams will rebound and in Week 2 we will begin to see those teams do just that.
| Rank | Prev. | Team | Record | Remarks |
| 1 | - | Seahawks | 1-0 | The Seahawks defense shut the Packers down while the offense looked much improved. The champ are off to a great start in defense of their title. |
| 2 | - | Broncos | 1-0 | The offense started off lighting fast but slowed down considerably in the second half. The revamped defense put the game away with a blocked 4th down pass on the Colts' final drive. |
| 3 | - | 49ers | 1-0 | When you lead 21-3 at the end of the first quarter after only running four offensive plays, you know it's your day. The 49ers issues on defense weren't a factor with three interceptions and a recovered fumble. |
| 4 | - | Eagles | 1-0 | It took the Eagles an entire half to get it's season started. After falling behind 17-0 to the Jaguars at halftime, the Eagles offense came alive with 34 unanswered points to pull out the win. |
| 5 | - | Bengals | 1-0 | A 77-yard TD pass late in the 4th quarter from Andy Dalton to A.J. Green, and the Bengals defense stopping the Ravens on fourth down at the Cincinnati 16-yard line with a minute left, clinched a big divisional win on the road. |
| 6 | - | Panthers | 1-0 | With Derek Anderson at QB instead of Cam Newton, the Panthers offense was still effective and their defense was just as good. |
| 7 | - | Saints | 0-1 | Drew Brees and the offense can score all they want, if the Saints defense has regressed they will have a hard time fending off the Panthers and Falcons in the NFC South. |
| 8 | - | Packers | 0-1 | The Packers defense was manhandled by the Seahawks offense, giving up 398 yards of offense. Aaron Rodgers couldn't crack the Seahawks defense with just 189 yards passing. |
| 9 | - | Patriots | 0-1 | Tom Brady is now 6-7 against the Dolphins in Miami. Brady wasn't on his game and the run defense was non-existent. |
| 10 | - | Cardinals | 1-0 | Down two of their biggest defenders, the Cardinals defense stepped up with tremendous pressure on Phillip Rivers and locked down wide receiver Keenan Allen. |
| 11 | - | Falcons | 1-0 | Falcons offense was able to return to form against Saints as Matt Ryan once again had a healthy Julio Jones to target along with Roddy White. |
| 12 | - | Lions | 1-0 | Big Monday night for Matthew Stafford (22-of-32, 346 yards, 2 TD's).and Calvin Johnson (3-of-3, 107 yards). How the Giants could lose sight of Johnson is beyond belief. |
| 13 | - | Dolphins | 1-0 | Big win for the Dolphins as Knoshown Moreno runs through the Patriots' defense for 134 yards. |
| 14 | - | Colts | 0-1 | Colts needed the suspended Robert Mathis against Peyton Manning. Now they won't have him for entire season following Achilles tear during workouts. |
| 15 | - | Chargers | 0-1 | Chargers always seem to find a way to blow 4th quarter leads as offensive miscues allow Arizona to overcome 17-6 deficit. |
| 16 | - | Steelers | 1-0 | Ben Roethlisberger's final drive to set up game winning field goal keeps Steelers from embarrassing loss to Browns. |
| 17 | - | Bears | 0-1 | A prolific offense and improved defense was expected. Instead, same old defense and Cutler miscues showed up against Bills. |
| 18 | - | Ravens | 0-1 | Off-the-field issues could derail season if organization doesn't turn things around fast. Front office not being out in front of RIce issue doesn't help. |
| 19 | - | Titans | 1-0 | Without Jamaal Charles to worry about, TItans shut down Alex Smith easily. |
| 20 | - | Jets | 1-0 | Jets defense solid in win as Rex Ryan goes 8-1 against rookie QB's |
| 21 | - | Texans | 1-0 | Unsettled at QB, the Texans turn to old reliable in Arian Foster as he goes for over 100 yards against Redskins. |
| 22 | - | Vikings | 1-0 | Vikings get 100 yd rushing game from wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, not AP. |
| 23 | - | Bills | 1-0 | Bills shock Bears in Chicago with effective running game. |
| 24 | - | Buccaneers | 0-1 | Tough loss for Lovie Smith in his debut as Buccaneers' offense fails to produce. |
| 25 | - | Chiefs | 0-1 | When did Alex Smith become the offense instead of Jamaal Charles? |
| 26 | - | Browns | 0-1 | Browns, down 24 pts at half,nearly pulled off stunning comeback |
| 27. | - | Cowboys | 0-1 | Tony Romo proved critics right on Sunday with three interceptions. |
| 28 | - | Jaguars | 0-1 | Jags proved in Philly they will be competitive this season. |
| 29. | - | Redskins | 0-1 | RGIII averaged less than 4-yards per completion from pocket. Redskins need to decide how to use RGIII or move on. |
| 30 | - | Raiders | 0-1 | Derek Carr brings hope of better days. Needs running game to step up to handle some of the load. |
| 31 | - | Rams | 0-1 | Austin Who? |
| 32 | - | Giants | 0-1 | Offense is showing no improvement after five preseason games and the regular season opener. |