Week 3 NFL Power Rankings
By Liam McKeone
32. Miami Dolphins (0-2)
Good lord, this team is bad. Even if it’s only Week 3, the only goal this team has is to not go down as the worst team of all time, and that appears to be a tall task.
31. New York Giants (0-2)
Daniel Jones is finally starting. Hooray! Sadly, the rest of the team remains the same, and so does their place in these rankings.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1)
Jameis Winston is making a serious case for the worst No. 1 overall pick of this decade and Mike Evans is really letting me down in fantasy, but that’s neither here nor there. They didn’t win on Thursday, the Panthers lost. Unless something suddenly clicks, this team isn’t winning again any time soon.
29. Cincinnati Bengals (0-2)
The Bengals put up a lot of yards again but significantly fewer points in Week 2. It seems like they’ve got something with Zac Taylor, but the overall roster has too many holes to be competitive this season.
28. New York Jets (0-2)
Fully healthy, this team is league-average. That is not the case as they’ve lost two QBs and several defensive starters, so they are well below-average. Save Le’Veon!
27. Arizona Cardinals (0-1-1)
The Cardinals look feisty! They won’t garner many wins this season, but they will be a fun team to watch, and that’s all AZ fans ask for after last year
26. Denver Broncos (0-2)
The Broncos didn’t deserve to lose to the Bears, but Joe Flacco remains their starting quarterback, and as such they are not a good team until the defense takes a massive step forward.
25. Pittsburgh Steelers (0-2)
The Steelers apparently believe Mason Rudolph will lead them to the promised land after trading this year’s first-round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick. I’m not so certain.
24. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2)
The defense showed up last week, but their best player just requested a trade and we do love Gardner Minshew II but he isn’t going to be the reason they win games.
23. Buffalo Bills (2-0)
Buffalo won comfortably against the Giants and their defense is legit. The offense needs to go up against a tougher opponent to be believed, though.
22. Oakland Raiders (1-1)
The Raiders don’t appear to be the dumpster fire they were last season, but they still aren’t trotting out good units on either side of the ball. Lots to be excited about, but not for this season.
21. Carolina Panthers (0-2)
Carolina looked really bad in Week 2, and now Cam Newton has a foot injury. Hard to imagine a worse start to the season, and it’s hard to see the situation improving anytime soon.
20. Washington Redskins (0-2)
Washington is a feisty team that won’t be easy to beat all season, but it’ll require a lot of luck to come away above .500. That defensive line is downright frightening, though.
19. Tennessee Titans (1-1)
Week 1 was great. Week 2? Not so much. Tennessee needs to find their footing offensively to do anything noteworthy this year, and it remains a work in progress.
18. Indianapolis Colts (1-1)
The Colts gutted out an ugly win in a manner they’re likely to repeat this season. Their ceiling seems set, but the floor keeps rising.
17. Detroit Lions (1-0-1)
Detroit definitely got a little lucky against the Chargers, but a win’s a win. Both units are still coming together, but the outlook is slowly growing more optimistic.
16. Cleveland Browns (1-1)
The Browns did beat the Jets, but until Odell Beckham Jr. busted it wide open with an 89-yard touchdown, it was very bad football. Baker Mayfield was missing his receivers by a lot, and when he didn’t, he was laying them out to dry in the middle of the field. A lot of work yet to be done.
15. San Francisco 49ers (2-0)
There’s that Kyle Shanahan offense we’ve all been looking for! Jimmy Garoppolo is still raw, but the Niners won a game they were supposed to and now can enjoy home field for the first time this year.
14. New Orleans Saints (1-1)
Losing Drew Brees is what we’d call “not good”, but the Saints made Teddy Bridgewater the highest-paid backup in the league for a reason, and Sean Payton remains a great offensive coach. If the defense can get it together, they may not end up suffering too much from Brees’ absence.
13. Minnesota Vikings (1-1)
The offense is slowly starting to come together, but Kirk Cousins continues to turn the ball over at the worst times imaginable. That’s not an easy problem to fix, and I don’t know if they can get around it to become legitimate contenders.
12. Los Angeles Chargers (1-1)
A back-breaking loss to the Lions is an early blow to go along with the series of maladies important players have suffered, as is tradition. Things aren’t dire yet, but each game matters immensely when you’re in the same division as the Chiefs.
11. Atlanta Falcons (1-1)
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins against Philly, but Matt Ryan apparently remembered that he can just throw the ball to Julio Jones and good things will happen. The defense looks like it could be a dominant unit.
10. Houston Texans (1-1)
Houston barely held on against the Jags, which is a point against. But they’re still a strong team if they can keep Deshaun Watson on the field.
9. Chicago Bears (1-1)
Benefitted by a few calls, the Bears came away with another grind-it-out win against Denver. This is as good as they get unless Mitch Trubisky makes any sort of leap at all.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1)
The Eagles likely would have beaten the Falcons if two starting wide receivers didn’t go down. The offense is getting better and their defensive line remains ferocious. The secondary is another story, but Carson Wentz can only go up from here.
7. Green Bay Packers (2-0)
Everything looked great in the first quarter of Week 2, and then everything fell apart. So far, the most encouraging part of this season for Green Bay has been their defense, which borders on the edge of elite. The offense clearly still has some kinks to work out.
6. Baltimore Ravens (2-0)
They didn’t have the most difficult slate of opening games, but the Ravens have been outstanding on both sides of the ball. If Lamar Jackson can throw the ball even half as well as he is now for the remainder of the year, this is one of the best teams in football.
5. Dallas Cowboys (2-0)
Another week, another breezy divisional win for Dallas. Dak Prescott looks fantastic and the defense is strong. They don’t have a true test on the schedule until the Packers come to visit in Week 5.
4. Seattle Seahawks (2-0)
Russell Wilson reminds everyone, for the millionth time, that he is one of the five best quarterbacks in this league. This is a tough team to beat, even with a weaker secondary than they’ve had in years.
3. Los Angeles Rams (2-0)
The Rams are back to their offensive juggernaut selves and it’s business as usual.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (2-0)
Speaking of business as usual, the Chiefs are back to rolling and the defense does look better than last year, even if that’s not a terribly high bar.
1. New England Patriots (2-0)
Well, we’re in trouble. This is the most balanced New England team in a long time, and the offense didn’t even look as good as they could have been in a 43-0 win. With major injuries to some of their fiercest competition, it would appear the Lombardi Trophy is the Patriots’ for the taking… again.