My Week 3 Power Rankings and last weeks rankings will be in parentheses. We learned a lot about some teams this week in the NFL.
Week 3 Power Rankings:
1. (1) Baltimore Ravens (2-0): The Ravens continue to show they are the best team in the NFL and Lamar Jackson is the best QB. The run defense looked better last weekend against the Texans as well. They get the Chiefs this week so it will be a true who is best test.
2. (3) Seattle Seahawks (2-0): The Seahawks are a great team with arguably the best QB in the NFL. A bad defense, but Russell Wilson can carry them past that defensive issues.
3. (2) Kansas City Chiefs (2-0): Squeezing by the Chargers with a QB who wasn’t prepared for his first career start really worried me a bit. The defense showed inconsistencies and Mahomes looked rough with Kelce shut down. Could we be seeing that without his top target Mahomes might not be as elite? Time will tell.
4. (4) Green Bay Packers (2-0): Yes they only beat the Lions and Vikings, but 21 point win following a dominant win on the road is impressive anytime. This season with a motivated Aaron Rodgers is going to be fun to watch.
5. (8) Arizona Cardinals (2-0): The Cardinals offense with a new shiny weapon is so hard to imagine stopping. The Cardinals defense is pretty decent as well. I would like to see them beat a real test team and see how they do because right now I am a believer.
6. (9) LA Rams (2-0): The Rams look good and I am a believer in everything but their ground game. The weapons at WR and TE combined are hard to imagine most defenses stopping.
7. (6) Buffalo Bills (2-0): The Bills are so damn good. They have in my eyes the best coaching in the league from top to bottom of this roster. Josh Allen at QB is wonderful so far with Diggs and Brown at WR. The ground game is part of a two headed monster that is only going to get better as the year goes on.
8. (15) New England Patriots (1-1): Cam Newton looks good, he is working his ass off, studying hard, and the team is still coached by Bill Belichick. The Patriots might have lost to Seattle but they played close all game long and came within a yard of a win.
9. (12) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1): The Buccaneers are going to be a force to reckon with when they get everything figured out. They looked good this week without Godwin and Fournette was unleashed even with limited carries. I am actually excited to see what happens with this team.
10. (19) Las Vegas Raiders (2-0): I have a hard time believing I am saying this, but the Raiders might actually be legit. Their defense isn’t great and their pass rush is second worst in the NFL, but that offense is efficient. I would like to see them this week with the Patriots.
11. (11) La Chargers (1-1): The Chargers with Justin Herbert are scary as hell. Give this kid an offensive line and some time with the first team and it could be incredibly fun to watch. I honestly just wish Derwin James was healthy to see what else this defense could do.
12. (5) New Orleans Saints (1-1): The Saints are way too 1 dimensional on offense entirely relying on Michael Thomas and we saw that without him Brees looks his age. The defense is great, but unless the offense can function without Michael Thomas the defense will get exposed and exhausted.
13. (7) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0): The Steelers inconsistencies concern me greatly. They struggled to beat the Drew Lock-less Broncos team this weekend and injuries to their receiving corps continues to plague them.
14. (10) San Francisco 49ers (1-1): This team needs to find a way to get healthy if they want to win against top teams. They are still dangerous as their ground game continues to be great and their defense, even without Bosa, is still effective.
15. (16) Indianapolis Colts (1-1): The Colts leaned on Jonathan Taylor and they ran wild on the Vikings terrible defense. Their defense was good enough to shut down Cousins and company. I would like to see them against a tougher test than the Vikings though.
16. (13) Tennessee Titans (2-0): The Titans might be 2-0, but they have no QB play and an elite team will force Tannehill to beat them. I would like to see the Titans, when playing against a low level pass defense help Tannehill by giving him confidence and throw the ball more.
17. (24) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1): The Jaguars are playing with a fire in the belly that is making them a lot more dangerous than anyone expected them to be. They nearly beat their division rival Titans this past week and impressed me from the previous week.
18. (14) Dallas Cowboys (1-1): The Cowboys have talent, but they don’t seem to use it well. The pass rush should be top of the league and it is definitely not even close to that. This week against Seattle should show where Dallas truly stands.
19. (27) Cleveland Browns (1-1): The Browns should have learned from last week that Baker is the worst QB in the division, but they can be effective if they keep him to about 20-25 passes a game and lean on the ground game. The defense has been banged up, but I believe will get better with health.
20. (25) Chicago Bears (2-0): The worst 2-0 team in the NFL simply put. They have played two 0-2 teams and could very easily be 0-2 with how close their games were. I like their offense more than their defense which is new for the Bears.
21. (18) Atlanta Falcons (0-2): YIKES! This team has no pass defense and a weak pass rush. The offense is insanely talented, but can’t carry the team alone they need some help. After imploding last week I am not sure how the special teams coordinator was allowed on the flight home. If they drop to 0-3 expect Dan Quinn to be fired soon.
22. (17) Houston Texans (0-2): DeShaun Watson is the only positive about this teams offense right now. The secondary is weak and continues to get exposed which makes this team easily beatable.
23. (26) Cincinnati Bengals (0-2): Joe Burrow is the reason this team is this high. They are a rebuilding team for sure, but their QB is already a top 10 QB in this league.
24. (21) Philadelphia Eagles (0-2): Health. It truly is that simple, they are the least healthy team in the league every year and yet do nothing to change it. This week I don’t even believe they are lining up with enough WR’s healthy to have 4 out wide if they wanted it. This team is going to struggle to find wins this season.
25. (22) Denver Broncos (0-2): The Broncos are going to struggle without Lock, but as we saw this weekend still be able to compete and sneak out some wins.
26. (20) Washington Football Team (1-1): This team has to find a way to protect Haskins before they can blame him for the ineffectiveness of the offense. Their defense seems to struggle with a mobile QB though and their defense was the one thing I trusted on this team.
27. (23) Minnesota Vikings (0-2): I have said it, Mike Zimmer’s job should be on the line as there is no excuse for the lack of offense and defense this team has put out. He is a good coach but sometimes your time with a team comes to an end. I just look at the talent on roster and can not figure out why they are getting flat out dominated.
28. (30) Carolina Panthers (0-2): The Panthers have talent, but either a rookie coach adjusting or a bad coach has held them back. The Panthers are without McCaffery for a while though so they could easily start the season 0-8 unless Teddy “two gloves” goes off and starts throwing all over the place. They have the weapons for him to do so.
29. (28) Miami Dolphins (0-2): This team has no pass defense, ground game, and Fitz at QB is not going to get better. I think they get exponentially better once Tua takes the reigns of this team.
30. (29) Detroit Lions (0-2): Matt Patricia gets canned after going 0-4 to start the season heading to their bye week, week 5. If this happens the Lions get SO MUCH better as this guy can’t function as a head coach and needs to go back to being just a defensive coordinator. They have the talent to be a playoff team and their constant fails are just inexcusebale.
31. (31) NY Giants (0-2): The Giants are a bad team that just lost Barkley for the season, and will only get worse. Daniel Jones was seen as someone to build around and he could help carry a team, instead he is Danny turnover.
32. (32) NY Jets (0-2): Adam Gase is still the Jets coach. They are going to remain the worst team in the NFL, it truly is that simple.