NFL Week 3 Power Rankings

Week 2 featured more of the same from week 1.  NFC North #3 Ravens were the victims of a huge upset at the hands of the Titans.  Tom Brady had another outstanding game.  Cam Newton threw for 400+ yards in his second consecutive game.  The Chiefs got blown out again, and in the process lost their pro bowl running back, Jamaal Charles.  The Buffalo Bills looked down and out in the 1st half, then Ryan Fitzpatrick led a furious comeback to continue the Oakland Raiders struggles on the road.  Some big changes this week, so let's look at the rankings:

Cream of the Crop

1. New England Patriots (2-0): The Patriots claim the top spot after a two week reign by the undefeated packers.  Tom Brady looks to be about the best quarterback that has ever played.  Brady is averaging 10.7 per passing attempt.
2. Green Bay Packers (2-0): Struggled a bit in the first half against Cam Newton and the Panthers who ran the ball for a grand total of 11 times.  It looks like Ron Rivera is placing this season squarely in the hands of his rookie QB.  Loss of Nick Collins is a huge hit to this secondary, but the Packers are used to winning with injuries.
3. New York Jets (3-0): Mark Sanchez didn't have the prettiest of games, throwing two picks, but the Jets did what they were expected to do.  Loss of Nick Mangold really hurts their running game.
4. New Orleans Saints (1-1): They jump three spots due to a few losses in 3-7.  A year after throwing for 22 interceptions, Brees has gone a perfect 6 TDs to 0 int's through 2 games. 
5. Atlanta Falcons (1-1):  Atlanta should be thanking God that Michael Vick was unable to play in the 4th quarter, because he looked unbeatable in the second half.  Still, Matt Ryan, who looked ordinary for most of Sunday night's game, staged a terrific rally to score three unanswered touchdowns. 
6. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1): The Eagles are hoping that Vick returns this week in a key divisional match up with the 1-1 New York Giants.  The NFL's new concussion standards are not going to make his return easy.
7. Houston Texans (2-0): Lots of experts have this team ranked higher, but they have not been thoroughly tested as of yet.  They blew out the Manning-less Colts and the hapless Dolphins.  They did, however, look great in both wins without, for the most part, Arian Foster.
8. Baltimore Ravens (1-1): How many people were knocked out of their Elimination/Knockout/Suicide pool this week when they picked the Ravens?  
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1):  Big Ben and the Steelers defense found their pride by shutting out the Seattle Seahawks this week.  No big surprise there. 
10. Detroit Lions (1-1): The Lions put a serious whooping on the Kansas City Chiefs this week.  Everyone's cinderella pick is looking smart.
11. San Diego Chargers (1-1): It's unfair that the Chargers have dropped this far because they lost to the Patriots, but I couldn't justify them any higher.  They could have taken a huge leap to a possible #1 if not for an ill-timed turnover.


Best of the Rest 

12. Chicago Bears (1-1): Even Jay Cutler wonders how long he can put up with the punishment he is undertaking right now.  The loss of right tackle Gabe Carimi to a separated knee cap does not help matters for the most porous offensive line in football.
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1):  Trailed by 17 points in the first half to the Vikings, but with 24 second half points, Josh Freeman and the Bucs avoided an 0-2 start in the tough NFC South.
14. Washington Redskins (2-0): Although it looked like the Redskins wanted to start off 1-1, Rex Grossman shook off a terrible start to this game and came up huge with a 4th and 3 18-yard TD pass to Santana Moss.  They are the only undefeated NFC East team.  Surprise? Absolutely.
15. Dallas Cowboys (1-1): Tony Romo was hit hard and just as the Cowboys PR guy was announcing Romo was out for the game, you saw Romo jogging back out onto the field to lead the Cowboys to an OT win over the 49ers on the road.  With a punctured lung.  Fastest image rehab ever.
16. New York Giants (1-1): It wasn't pretty.  But the Giants got their first win of the season over the St. Louis Rams Monday night.  It was a tale of two Manning's in this game.  At one point he was 13/14 passing, and he finished the game 19/30 with 2 TD's and an interception.  They also lost Dominic Hixon for the second straight season to an ACL tear and Mario Manningham to slight concussion.  Injuries are piling up, again.
17. Buffalo Bills (2-0):  I predict that the Bills lose this week to the Patriots, but I will no longer use them as my knockout pool pick.  That's how much respect I have for Ryan Fitzpatrick.
18. Arizona Cardinals (1-1): Kevin Kolb looks fantastic, and he has the 5th best QB rating in the NFL.  Bad news is the defense cannot stop anyone.  I think they signed last year's Texans secondary.
19.Oakland Raiders (1-1): This team just cannot win on the road.  They are AFC West world beaters, but even with an 18 point lead, they cough it up.
20. Tennessee Titans (1-1): The Titans surprised many people this week, including myself.  There might be more to this team that I can't see right now, but I still think they are in the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes.
21. San Francisco 49ers (1-1): Tony Romo's magic was a tough pill for the 49ers to swallow.  After this tough loss, a road game against one of the worst teams in football might be just what they need.  Good thing it comes in week 3.


Mediocrity and Messes

22. St. Louis rams (0-2): This was one of my sleeper teams, but with the injury to Danny Amendola which greatly impacts both the special teams and the offense, I don't think they will be a threat any longer in the NFC West.

23. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1): Blaine Gabbert will get his first career NFL start on Sunday.  Expect to see a free fall in the coming weeks.

24. Miami Dolphins (0-2): The Dolphins record at home over the last two years is embarrassing.  They are 1-9 at home since the start of 2010.  Wow.

25. Denver Broncos (1-1): history shows that the Broncos can compete in the AFC West.  See Kansas City Chiefs 2010.  Then see Kansas City Chiefs 2011.

26. Minnesota Vikings (0-2): they had the Buccaneers exactly where they wanted them.  Then the offense went stale in the 2nd half and the defense ran out of steam.

27. Cincinnati Bengals (1-1): Andy Dalton has quietly started his rookie campaign with a 105.7 QB rating.  Good for 8th in the NFL.  The Bengals defense will wind up hurting any chance they have to compete for the playoffs.

28. Carolina Panthers (0-2): Cam Newton threw for 432 yards.  He also threw three picks. Such is the life of a rookie quarterback with no running game.  Rivera has shown no faith in DeAngelo Williams.

29. Cleveland Browns (1-1): A nice balanced offensive game plan.  Hillis had a 117 total yards on 31 touches with two TD's.  They played the Colts though.

30. Indianapolis Colts (0-2): The Colts look lost without Peyton Manning.  I take back what I said about them last week.  I am already putting a nail in their coffin.

31. Kansas City Chiefs (1-1): Jamaal Charles' season is over.  Eric Berry's season is over.  The Chiefs season is most likely over.

32. Seattle Seahawks (0-2): The Seahawks didn't step foot in the Steelers territory until the 4th quarter.  Like I said last week: Pitiful offense.