NFL Power Rankings roundup: How experts view Patriots after upset win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots weren’t given much of a chance to go into Cincinnati in Week 1 and beat the Bengals — a team many experts view as a serious contender to win the AFC and reach the Super Bowl this season.
But the Patriots proved the doubters wrong by playing a fantastic road game. They won the turnover battle, won the time of possession battle, dominated both lines of scrimmage and made more winning plays in a 16-10 victory.
It was actually the largest Week 1 upset since 2018, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Even though the Patriots won a game many people thought they wouldn’t, it’s probably going to take a little more for New England to rise out of the bottom third of many NFL power rankings.
That said, the Patriots have another winnable game against the Seattle Seahawks in the home opener at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon. If the Patriots improve to 2-0 — which they haven’t accomplished since Tom Brady‘s final season with the team in 2019 — maybe people will start to view them a little differently.
Here’s a roundup of expert NFL power rankings entering Week 2.
“The first-year head coach had his team ready to play in Cincinnati after running what nine-year veteran QB Jacoby Brissett said was one of the most challenging training camps he has experienced. Mayo noted that conditioning and controlling the line of scrimmage would be deciding factors in Week 1, and the players responded with a performance that included 39 rushing attempts, two forced fumbles and one fourth-down stop. Mayo received a Gatorade bath on the sideline courtesy of veteran DTs Davon Godchaux and Daniel Ekuale and then received a game ball from owner Robert Kraft in the locker room.” — Mike Reiss
“I’m not sure Jerod Mayo or the Kraft family could have scripted this one any better. On the surface, the Patriots’ win looked like a hard-nosed and hard-fought victory, but a deeper look reveals that they were strangely dominant for the victors of a 16-10 contest, enforcing their will on the Bengals in their stadium and controlling the game flow throughout. New England ran the ball 39 times and dropped back to pass 25. Rhamondre Stevenson (+22 rushing yards over expectation, per Next Gen Stats) kept grinding away at Cincinnati’s defense, and Jacoby Brissett confirmed why he — and not rookie Drake Maye (yet) — is the starter, making one efficient, smart play after another. Is it sustainable? Who knows? For one week, Mayo’s vision came to fruition, and he answered a ton of critics who’d thrown the Patriots in with the league’s bottom-rung teams. Now, they’re a home win away from beginning this new era with a 2-0 start.” — Eric Edholm
“New coach Jerod Mayo deserves a ton of credit for getting this team to beat the Bengals on the road. The defense and running game both impressed.” — Pete Prisco
“Defensive lineman Keion White had 2 1/2 sacks, three quarterback hits and a forced fumble, and Rhamondre Stevenson had 120 rushing yards on 25 carries. Those things make it a lot less important who New England plays at quarterback. Sunday, as expected, it was veteran Jacoby Brissett over the rookie Drake Maye. Brissett threw for 121 yards, and no Patriot had more than 31 receiving yards. Bill Belichick must have loved this game.” — Josh Kendall
“Run the ball, play defense, win games.” — Mike Florio
“Hats off to Jerod Mayo and the Patriots. Plenty of analysts spoke for weeks about how the Patriots would be the worst team in the NFL (hand raised). While this probably isn’t starting a long winning streak, the Patriots played hard and smart in Week 1. The defense was excellent. Mayo deserves a lot of credit for that.” — Frank Schwab
“We did not see this result coming. Could the Patriots not be terrible this season?” — Jeremy Cluff
“Give them credit for the win, especially DE Keion White and RB Rhamondre Stevenson. But they also caught a good team dealing with myriad problems.” — Nate Davis
“It doesn’t matter how disjointed the Bengals are right now. A win over a Super Bowl hopeful is impressive. It might be the highlight of New England’s season, though.” — Taylor Wirth
“Not much about the box score is pretty, but who cares when you go on the road and knock off an AFC heavyweight. This Week 1 formula of swarming defense and an effective run game has won a lot of games, and we now know the Pats can follow it. Their ceiling probably isn’t high, but they can be a pain to play.” — David Helman
