Seemingly everyone has their own NFL power rankings these days, offering a subjective look at how dominant each team is around the league. It isn’t worth much in terms of thoughtful football analysis, but these exercises are useful if you’re curious about a team’s perception in the media, or on a national scale. We’re tracking more than a dozen power rankings each week from national outlets and team blogs throughout the 2022 season.
And the New Orleans Saints helped themselves in a big way by rallying to wipe out a 16-point Atlanta Falcons lead in the fourth quarter. That resilience in a tight spot has given their reputation a big boost — for the most part. Some commentators are rightfully pointing out that the Saints shouldn’t have ended up there in the first place, but there’s something to be said for recovering from self-inflicted problems.
See for yourself. Here’s the average positioning of each NFC South team after Week 1:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3.2 (+0.6 over last week)
- New Orleans Saints: 13.4 (+3.7 over last week)
- Carolina Panthers: 28.1 (-2.5 over last week)
- Atlanta Falcons: 30.2 (+0.3 over last week)
So the Saints have made the largest jump in their perception around the league, while the Panthers saw the greatest fall. The Buccaneers and Falcons are stagnant. Let’s take a deeper look at what’s being said about New Orleans from around the NFL’s media landscape:
Touchdown Wire
Ranking: 18 (18)
Author: Mark Lane
Author’s take:
“The Saints edged one of the worst teams in football to get a win. It doesn’t move them up or down in the power rankings. However, it was a great way to build momentum to inaugurate the Dennis Allen era and welcome back Jameis Winston.”
USA TODAY Sports
Ranking: 12 (12)
Author: Nate Davis
Author’s take:
“Taysom Hill – listed as a tight end, best known as a quarterback and the NFL’s 12th-leading rusher after racking up 81 yards in Week 1. The ultimate fantasy football conundrum.”
The Ringer
Ranking: 17 (18)
Author: Austin Gayle
Author’s take:
“It was a slow start for New Orleans, but the finish was stunning. Trailing 26-10 with 12:41 left in the fourth quarter, quarterback Jameis Winston, who briefly left the game with “pain everywhere,” put together three consecutive scoring drives, ending with two Michael Thomas touchdowns and Wil Lutz’s game-winning field goal. The Saints will be a tough out if they can make their Week 1 fourth-quarter magic a routine.”
The Athletic
Ranking: 9 (20)
Author: Bo Wulf
Author’s take:
“The Saints rallied from 16 points down in the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of Michael Thomas touchdown catches and a 51-yard Wil Lutz field goal. Jameis Winston threw for 213 of his 269 passing yards in the fourth quarter while the defense forced two turnovers. We’ll find out Sunday how powerful their Bucs voodoo really is without Sean Payton.”
NFL.com
Ranking: 12 (13)
Author: Dan Hanzus
Author’s take:
“That’s the type of Jameis Winston performance that will make believers out of doubters. The polarizing quarterback was shut down along with the rest of the Saints’ offense for the better part of three quarters against the Falcons, but Winston went off on back-to-back drives that changed the game in the fourth quarter. Winston was 11 of 12 for 156 yards with two touchdown passes to Michael Thomas during that stretch, capping his day with a final march that set up Wil Lutz’s game-winning field goal. While Marcus Mariota — the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft — self-destructed in the final period, Winston — the No. 1 pick that year — was at his best. An eye-opener.”
Bleacher Report
Ranking: 10 (17)
Author: Gary Davenport, Maurice Moton and Brent Sobleski
Author’s take:
“The New Orleans Saints were a hard team to get a read on entering the 2022 season. They appeared to have the pieces to contend for at least a wild-card spot, but they also had quite a few questions.
Most of those questions remain following Sunday’s squeaker in Atlanta.
After falling behind the lowly Falcons 26-10, the Saints put on a furious comeback fueled by players making their own comebacks. Quarterback Jameis Winston returned from a season-ending ACL tear, while wide receiver Michael Thomas, who caught two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, came back from an ankle injury that wiped out his entire 2021 season. Even kicker Wil Lutz, who hit the game-winning field goal, missed a large portion of last season.
The comeback was great, but how the Saints got there wasn’t. For most of the first three quarters, they couldn’t generate much offense. Star running back Alvin Kamara was a non-factor. And the Saints gave up 416 yards of offense and over 200 yards on the ground.
The Saints will undoubtedly take the win, but with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to the Superdome next week, there’s quite a bit to clean up in the Big Easy.
“The Saints needed three full quarters to jump-start their offense in the post-Sean Payton era, though they managed to pull out a comeback victory over the Falcons,” Moton wrote. “Wideout Michael Thomas scored two late touchdowns, which is a great sign for him after a long road to recovery from multiple ankle/foot surgeries. If former defensive coordinator and head coach Dennis Allen can keep the Saints defense within the top five (or at least the top 10) in points allowed, the offense should be able to score enough points to win most of the games this season. With that said, the coaching staff has to get running back Alvin Kamara involved after he registered just 46 scrimmage yards in the season opener.”
Yahoo! Sports
Ranking: 17 (18)
Author: Frank Schwab
Author’s take:
“The Saints’ trade of versatile defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Eagles was surprising. Gardner-Johnson could become a free agent next offseason, but he could have helped this season and the Saints didn’t get much back (a 2023 fifth-round pick, the lowest of the Eagles’ two 2024 sixth-rounders and a 2025 seventh-round pick). Gardner-Johnson wanted a new deal but it’s not like he’d sit out all season. An odd move.”
ESPN
Ranking: 13 (20)
Author: Katherine Terrell
Author’s take:
“Rookie who stood out: WR Chris Olave
Olave’s debut is going to get overshadowed by the performances of Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry, but that certainly doesn’t take anything away from him. He had the most snaps of any Saints wide receiver and had three catches for 41 yards. Olave, like Thomas and the rest of the offense, didn’t really get going until the third quarter, but he was responsible for catching a key 2-point conversion and had a 20-yard reception. Olave will certainly be used a lot this year as the offense starts to jell.”
Sporting News
Ranking: 15 (20)
Author: Vinnie Iyer
Author’s take:
“The Saints had to be pleased with Jameis Winston coming back strong from his knee injury to bring the more aggressive passing game to life with Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry. He even got a spark from his former QB threat, Taysom Hill. Defensive-minded coach Denis Allen needs to be a bit concerned, however, about his side of the ball.”
Sports Illustrated
Ranking: 12 (17)
Author: Connor Orr
Author’s take:
“Last week: Win at Atlanta, 27–26
Next week: vs. Tampa BayThe first week of the season is weird. As it stands, Daniel Jones is a top-10 efficiency quarterback. That said, Jameis Winston could finish the season as the kind of player he is now: a little older, a little wiser, and still in possession of the raw tools to power this offense.”
NBC Sports Chicago
CBS Sports
Ranking: 6 (6)
Author: Pete Prisco
Author’s take:
“They found a way against the Falcons, but it wasn’t pretty. What happened to a defense that was supposed to be so dominant? They better get it going against Tampa Bay.”
Pro Football Talk
Ranking: 19 (20)
Author: Mike Florio
Author’s take:
“Against better teams, they’ll need to play more than one quarter per game.”
