NFL Power Rankings Week 3

With two weeks down in the NFL season, there are still 10 undefeated teams sitting at 2-0, and 10 teams without a win yet, sitting at 0-2. That alone isn’t alarming, but where some of these teams are sitting is. The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs were both consensus picks to win their divisions, and both are sitting at 0-2. Seven of the 10 undefeated teams sit alone atop their divisions. Teams like the Bills and Eagles, and even the Buccaneers and Packers, aren’t a surprise at 2-0. But the Chargers, Colts, and Bengals are huge surprises, sitting alone atop their divisions at 2-0.

Here are this week’s rankings:

1. Philadelphia Eagles: Rinse, repeat…To be The Man, you have to beat The Man. I correctly predicted they’d go into Kansas City and easily handle the Chiefs last week.
2. Buffalo Bills: Hopefully, the results at the top of this list will last all season, ending in a Bills and Eagles Super Bowl.
3. Baltimore Ravens: They can’t seem to be able to beat the Bills, but when all is said and done, they could spoil the Bills’ season when it matters…in the playoffs.
4. Green Bay Packers: On November 10th, the Packers will face off against the Eagles. Circle the date; Green Bay will be the center of the football universe…both teams could very well be undefeated heading into the game.
5. Los Angeles Chargers: After two weeks, the AFC West has one undefeated team…the Chargers. That isn’t the shocker; what is, though, is that they are already two games ahead of the Chiefs, and hold the tiebreaker, beating them head-to-head.
6. Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals worked hard to get off to a good start. And they have, starting the season 2-0. They are alone atop the AFC North in first place. But the bubble may have already burst; it looks like Joe Burrow is out for the year, with torn ligaments in his foot.
7. Detroit Lions: After a lackluster game against the Packers, the Lions took their pound of flesh out on their former OC’s new team. They put a 50-burger on HC Ben Johnson.
8. Washington Commanders: The issue coming out of this week’s game against the Packers wasn’t that they lost to the 2-0 Packers. The far bigger problem is that they may have also lost QB Jayden Daniels. In the fourth quarter, he scrambled and twisted his knee and is listed as day-to-day. And it remains to be seen if he’ll be playing this week.
9. Denver Broncos: It remains to be seen what the Broncos will end up being this year. They’ve beaten a bad Tennessee team and then lost on the road by a point against a surprising Colts team. For now, we’ll give the Colts the benefit of the doubt and not punish the Broncos too badly.
10. San Francisco 49ers: Don’t look now, but even with their plethora of injuries, the Niners may be back. They are in a three-team tie with the Cardinals and Rams, and face off this week against the Cardinals. The Rams are playing the Eagles, so by the end of the week, there is a very good chance they will stand alone at 3-0.
11. Indianapolis Colts: Being in a weak division, starting the season 2-0 is huge for the Colts. Daniel Jones has been a breath of fresh air for the offense.
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield is quietly moving up the list of active QBs and is one of the most underrated QBs in the game. It’s crazy how big a mistake it was by Cleveland to not keep him.
13. Kansas City Chiefs: This is the first time in Patrick Mahomes’ career that he has lost three consecutive games. But there is no need to jump off a bridge; two of the losses have been against the Eagles, and one was against a very solid Chargers team. And if not for a Travis Kelce drop, they very well may have won this past Sunday. They will still make the playoffs, and probably still win the division.
14. Los Angeles Rams: As long as Matt Stafford stays upright and Sean McVay is on the sidelines, the Rams have a shot. This week against the Eagles will be a benchmark game for them.
15. Arizona Cardinals: And speaking of a benchmark game…If they can go to San Francisco and come out with a 3-0 record, I’ll start to believe in them.
16. Minnesota Vikings: Everything was sunshine and roses for the Vikings after their wk.1 win against the Bears. But they are now sitting at 1-1 and without QB JJ McCarthy for the next two to four weeks.
17. Seattle Seahawks:
18. Houston Texans: If it weren’t for the Kansas City Chiefs 0-2 start, the Texans would be the most disappointing team in the league.
19. Las Vegas Raiders: The Raiders and QB Geno Smith played well against the Pats in wk.1. But this week, in their home opener, they put up a real stinker. It’s tough to win in the NFL when your QB throws three picks. And now they head to DC to play a tough Commanders team.
20. Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys played well in wk.1 and lost to the Eagles. They played lousy this week, but managed an overtime win against the Giants. They go to Chicago this week against a Bears team desperately in need of a win.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Last season, there weren’t many bright spots for the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets team. But one was against the Patriots. This Steelers team is far better. They are coming off a loss and really need the win, with more expectations.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars: In a league of parity and a division that is so tight, every game matters. The Jaguars are playing much better this year and are sitting at 1-1. They may be facing off against the Texans at the worst time. Houston cannot afford to start the year 0-3.
23. New England Patriots: The Patriots got off the schnide. A loss this week against the Dolphins would have been devastating, but they managed to pull out a victory in Miami. It still looks like the Dolphins are a pathetic team, but even when they were good, the Pats never won in Miami…so, a win is a win. This week’s game against the Steelers will be a far better barometer of what this year’s Patriots team is.
24. Atlanta Falcons: They played well against the Buccaneers and then defeated the Vikings on the road. In an NFC South division that always seems to gravitate to .500, this week’s road game against the Panthers will be a loss.
25. Carolina Panthers: For all of us who thought this Panthers team would build off the end of last season, with Bryce Young leading the way, we were wrong. At least we are wrong up to this point. This week’s game against the Falcons has become a must-win situation for the Panthers.
26. Chicago Bears: It’s only been two weeks, but Bears fans are already growing impatient with HC Ben Johnson and second-year QB Caleb Williams.
27. New York Jets: The Jets played very well in wk.1, but were thumped this week against the Bills. They have another tough matchup this week, heading to Tampa Bay.
28. New York Giants: It took two amazing FGs for the Giants to lose this game. Brian Daboll is still very much on the hot seat.
29. Miami Dolphins: I lied…I said that if they lost to the Patriots, they’d be the worst team in the league. The three teams below them are truly awful.
30. Tennessee Titans: I have no faith in Cam Ward.
31. New Orleans Saints: This is a bad team, but both of their losses have been by one score.
32. Cleveland Browns: This is a dreadful team.

There are three very interesting matchups this upcoming week. The Lions travel to Baltimore to face off against the Ravens. Each team is sitting at 1-1, which means one team will end the day below .500 after week three.

In a divisional matchup in the NFC West, the Cardinals travel to San Francisco, and one of them will end the day at 3-0. The same is true in the Rams-Eagles matchup. They are both 2-0, and while it won’t be shocking to see the Eagles sitting at 3-0, it will, if the Rams leave Philadelphia with a victory to go to 3-0.