NFL Week 3 Power Rankings

A controversial week 3 has come and gone! Did your team rise or fall in my power rankings this week?

1.   Atlanta Falcons (3-0) – Matt Ryan looks incredible so far this season. He has matured over time and now has complete control of the offense.

2.   Houston Texans (3-0) – The Texans have had a cushy schedule and it continues as they face the Jags and Titans. They should improve to 5-0 before facing the Packers week 6, a potential Super Bowl matchup.

3.   San Francisco 49ers (2-1) – Who expected the Niners to lose to the Vikings? Not me. They should be able to beat the Jets in NY this weekend and show everyone that last week was a fluke.

4.   Baltimore Ravens (2-1) – Words can’t describe the sound of 71k angry fans chanting “BULL S#$T” over and over again at the replacement refs this past Sunday night. Both Ravens and Patriots had their chances to win the game, refs aside, but the Ravens were the ones that came in the clutch and won. The field goal in the final seconds was good, despite many people’s grumblings. Also, props to Torrey Smith.

5.   New York Giants (2-1) – The Giants absolutely embarrassed the Panthers on Thursday night. I actually turned off the game at 17-0. Eli is proving his haters, including myself, wrong each week.

6.   Green Bay Packers (1-2) – The Packers should be 2-1 now, but this is a human game and mistakes happen. Yes, the call at the end of the game was terrible, but the Packers should never have let it come down to that. Their O-line might as well have just stayed home. They must improve in order for this team to have a shot in the postseason.

7.   Chicago Bears (2-1) – The Bears need to improve on third down after only completing 29% last weekend. They have to make up for all of the interceptions Cutler will throw.

8.   New England Patriots (1-2) – Some will complain that I have the Patriots too high after two consecutive losses. The way I see it, the first loss was their one fluke loss for the year (Bills were last year’s) and Sunday night’s game was a hard fought loss. They played very well on offense, tearing through one of the best defenses in the league. Their own defense needs to play better though; they’re a big reason the game was lost.

9.   Arizona Cardinals (3-0) – Who expected the Cardinals to have a better record than the Packers or Patriots? No one. I don’t buy into their record, though. They’ll start losing soon and won’t stop. I had to rank them this high because of their record.

10.   Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) – The Bengals have an underrated offense. Andy Dalton hasn’t showed any signs of a sophomore slump yet.

11.   Denver Broncos (1-2) – Peyton Manning needs to be better. He may throw for a lot of yards, but that means nothing unless they win.

12.   Seattle Seahawks (2-1) – Their defense plowed through the Packers O-line with ease and their secondary should draw some attention. Despite the controversial win, this team is pretty good.

13.   Dallas Cowboys (2-1) – Tony Romo needs to be protected better if the Cowboys want to win. They beat the Buccs in an unimpressive fashion, but a win is a win.

14.   Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) – This team desperately needs Polamalu and Harrison back on the field. Their defense is nowhere near intimidating without them.

15.   Detroit Lions (1-2) – The Lions had a terrible game against the Titans. I know a lot of people who lost money on that game. Mistakes proved costly, and instead of tying the game in OT, they risked it for the win and came up short. This is a good team, but Stafford needs to get back on last year’s track if they want to stay competitive.

16.  Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) – The Eagles may be 2-1, but the way they play their record should be 0-3. This past Sunday they continued to do what they do best, turn over the ball. Andy Reid has lost control of this team.

17.   San Diego Chargers (2-1) – People overestimated the Chargers after their last two wins, enough so that people had them pegged as the favorites in Sunday’s game against the Falcons. The Chargers are good, but not that good.

18.   Buffalo Bills (2-1) – C. J. Spiller was just starting to tear through defenses at ease when he got injured last weekend. I doubt the Bills will be as effective without him and Fred Jackson. Think Ryan Fitzpatrick can outscore Tom Brady and the Patriots this weekend by himself?

19.   Minnesota Vikings (2-1) – Christian Ponder is proving that the Vikings can trust him with the offense. He has yet to throw an interception, but we’ll see how long he maintains this level of play.

20.   Kansas City Chiefs (1-2) – What a great win they had over the Saints! Overcoming an 18 point deficit is no small feat. They must be more efficient in the red zone, though, in order to put together more wins.

21.   New York Jets (2-1) – The Jets would be ranked higher if they didn’t have to go into OT just to beat the Dolphins while losing the best player, Darrelle Revis, for the season with an ACL injury.

22.   Washington Redskins (1-2) – Poor RGIII; He can’t win games all on his own. The play calling needs to better reflect his skills so he doesn’t take as much of a beating as he did last weekend, and this defense needs to improve.

23.   Oakland Raiders (1-2) – Darren McFadden looked great against the Steelers last weekend, but he needs to maintain this performance and his health for the Raiders stand a chance this season.

24.   Carolina Panthers (1-2) – Their defense is bad. Really bad. The Giants tore through them without any sort of resistance. They need to get better for this team to stay relevant.

25.   Tennessee Titans (1-2) – Even though the Titans won last week and Jake Locker played very well, they are still a bit of a mess. Chris Johnson needs to start regaining his mojo or this offense will sputter and stall. 

26.   Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2) – This team just isn’t very good yet and probably won’t be for a while. Their offense has come together a bit, but the defense is where this team is lacking.

27.   New Orleans Saints (0-3) – Just when the Saints thought they had put together a win, the Chiefs overcame an 18-point deficit to win. Sean Payton must have been screaming at the TV from his couch.

28.   Indianapolis Colts (1-2) – Andrew Luck will be great for this team in the long run, but for now this team is terrible. A defense that is mostly non-existent is this team’s biggest hurdle.

29.   Miami Dolphins (1-2) – The injury to Reggie Bush is going to kill this team, and they were already knockin’ on heaven’s door.

30.   Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) – The Jags can be competitive against weaker teams thanks to MJD, but won’t be running with the big dogs anytime soon.

31.   St. Louis Rams (1-2) – The Rams didn’t reach the red zone once last week.

32.   Cleveland Browns (0-3) – Any surprise here? Same old Browns.