National Football League

Chiefs, Bills top Nick Wright's NFL tiers entering Week 2

Updated Sep. 15, 2022 5:48 p.m. ET

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The 2022 NFL season is underway, meaning we're figuring out who's for real and who's in for a long season.

Nick Wright and his "Committee" debuted their Week 2 NFL tiers on Wednesday's "First Things First." The Kansas City Chiefs stood atop the rest of the league in the Week 1 edition of the exercise. 

Has anything changed this week?

Here are the tiers, beginning at the bottom.

Those Who Must Not Be Named: Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons

Wright's thoughts: "These teams — apologies Seattle, Chicago and Cleveland, who actually won games, but you're still not ranked. Patriots, lowest rank of all time. They're down there with the Jets and the Falcons."

Chiefs, Bills sit atop Nick's NFL Tiers heading into Week 2

Nick Wright tiers all 32 NFL teams ahead of Week 2.

Happy/Sad to be Here: Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Commanders, New York Giants

Wright's thoughts: "The Cowboys and the Titans can't believe they're already at the bottom of the tiers. Meanwhile, the Steelers, Jaguars, Washington and the Giants are thrilled they're actually ranked, so they're happy-slash-sad to be here."

Need to See More: Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals

Wright's thoughts: "Indy, is this just your typical Frank Reich Week 1 woes, or is it more there? Las Vegas — Derek Carr's worst game of his career. Is that going to continue? Miami, you looked great, but you were playing arguably the worst team in football [Patriots], so who really knows? New Orleans, why were you down three scores in the fourth quarter? And Arizona, you did everything poorly, but you were playing an unmitigated juggernaut, so we just need to see more."

Must-Win Weekend: San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers

Wright's thoughts: "All five of these teams are touchdown or more favorites. All of them except for one are at home, so all of these teams I expect to get wins this weekend. If any of them don't, it is true panic time, but they all should get to 1-1."

Great Start: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings

Wright's thoughts: "All three of these teams got exactly what they wanted out of Week 1. For Tampa, you say does Julio Jones have something left? Maybe. And is the defense even better than it was last year? Maybe. For the Eagles, you spent a first-round pick on A.J. Brown. Is that going to be worth it? It sure looks like it. And for the Vikings, you beat your divisional rival [Packers]. Justin Jefferson looked like he was going to speak it into existence, becoming the best receiver in the NFL, and your defense held up far better than anyone could've expected. An outstanding start."

Simply Stacked: Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers

Wright's thoughts: "These two teams are not right now top-two teams in the AFC, but I think they're better than every team in the NFC. I think the Ravens and Chargers at this moment have no real weaknesses on the roster. They look, while healthy — and the Ravens still need to get Ronnie Stanley back — as talented as any team in the league. The Chargers have an argument that 1-through-53 they have the best roster in the entire league."

No. 1 Contenders: Buffalo Bills

Wright's thoughts: "The question with the Bills is a very simply one: It's not what your ceiling is, it's what your floor is. Are you going to avoid the losses you had last year against Jacksonville or Indy or Pittsburgh or most embarrassingly New England, or are you going to continue to sustain this level of play? Because we know at your best, you can play with anyone and beat literally anyone in football except for the Chiefs in January in Arrowhead."

Favorites: Kansas City Chiefs

Wright's thoughts: "The Committee saw your letters, and took quite a bit of grief for installing the Chiefs as favorites in the preseason. And then Week 1 happened, and, all of a sudden, did the rate of postage go up? Not getting so many letters this week is the Committee."

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National Football League

Kansas City Chiefs

Buffalo Bills

Baltimore Ravens

Los Angeles Chargers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Philadelphia Eagles

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Los Angeles Rams

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

Tennessee Titans

Pittsburgh Steelers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Washington Commanders

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Chicago Bears

Carolina Panthers

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Atlanta Falcons

Nick Wright

First Things First