NFL Week 3 power rankings: Saints and Buccaneers skyrocket, Cowboys and Ravens fall

The Carolina Panthers are the worst NFL team and it’s not even a contest. Starting with the Panthers’ defense, which is already responsible for allowing over 700 total yards, 70 points and a third-down success rate over 60 percent. Meanwhile, quarterback Bryce Young has 3 interceptions and barely cracked 200 combined passing yards during this 0-2 start. David Teppe, ladies and gentlemen, this is his masterpiece.

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The biggest takeaway for the New York Giants in Week 2 is the ability to get Malik Nabers the football. That wasn’t a given this season, not with Daniel Jones at quarterback and no other playmakers to threaten defenses. This is still going to be one of the worst NFL teams this season, but the rookie wideout will at least provide plenty of highlights and some great performances in the weeks to come.

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There were no winners in the New York Giants vs Washington Commanders game. Two of the worst NFL teams went head-to-head in a battle of a movable object vs a stoppable force. Unsurprisingly, the Commanders offensive line was atrocious in pass protection and that is going to limit what Jayden Daniels can do through the air all season. Realistically, with this defense and all the offensive issues, the Commanders might only have 2-3 more wins (Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Tennessee Titans) this season.

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NFL teams have no reason to respect the Denver Broncos offense right now. On his first 53 career pass attempts in the NFL, rookie Bo Nix averaged 3.34 yards per attempt. That’s embarrassing for a Sean Payton offense. Of course, Payton is the very coach who hyped up Nix so much, suggesting he felt the same way about Nix as he did Patrick Mahomes when he entered the NFL Draft. If that were true, Nix wouldn’t be on pace for one of the lowest yards per attempt in NFL history.

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The Indianapolis Colts just aren’t a good football team right now. One might see a box score that shows just 16 points allowed in Week 2, but the Green Bay Packers gashed this defense for over 200 rushing yards in the first half. Even Malik Willis – 12-for-13, 122 yards, 1-0 TD-INT – looked solid. So, you have a bottom-10 defense paired with a quarterback in Anthony Richardson who is still making way too many mistakes and can’t even consistently take advantage of holes in the secondary. The Colts made a grave mistake not fixing this secondary in the offseason and baking on a massive second-year leap from Richardson, was probably asking for too much.

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The awful decision-making and the sacks might just be too much with Will Levis. He had another dumbfounding turnover on Sunday and he draws plenty of responsibility for the 4 sacks he took in Week 2. It’s a shame too because this Titans defense is pretty good and the run game is much better than we expected. Quarterback is the most important position in sports, though, and Levis is the Titans’ Achilles hell.

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The New England Patriots didn’t come away with the win on Sunday, but goodness this team is showing a lot of fight. A tandem backfield of Antonio Gibson and Rhamodre Stevenson combined for 177 rushing yards, while tight end Hunter Henry turd 12 targets into 109 receiving yards. The big issue was this Patriots secondary, which allowed DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to combine for 22 receptions for 246 yards. New England wasn’t expected to contend this season anyway, so close losses against competitive teams are worth highlighting.

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Well, that’s a way to bounce back. Investing in this defensive line paid off in a big way for the Las Vegas Raiders, who sacked Lamar Jackson twice in Week 2 and recorded 5 tackles for loss with 2 QB hits. That pressure helped get this Ravens’ passing game out of rhythm and Gardner Minshew came through with a 94.7 QB rating and a clutch fourth-quarter comeback. This was definitely needed after what happened against the Los Angeles Chargers and it should carry over into a victory next week against the Carolina Panthers.

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The Atlanta Falcons won’t move up in our NFL power rankings until Kirk Cousins proves he’s healthy and regains his confidence. Right now, even college defensive coordinators could figure out whether Atlanta is running it or throwing it. That’s an obvious recipe for disaster. Since Atlanta also doesn’t have even a league-average defense, that puts the fate of the Falcons’ season on Cousins’ Achilles. Maybe he’ll look better on Monday Night Football, but that’s far from a given against a Philadelphia Eagles defensive line that will get into the backfield.

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Puka Nacua is out through Week 8, Cooper Kupp (ankle) exited Week 2 and the Los Angeles Rams are missing multiple starters on the offensive line and in the secondary. Other than that, not even mentioning the offseason departures of Ernest Jones and Aaron Donald, everything is fine. The Rams can certainly be a very good team when healthy, but it’s going to be a long time before we see that happen.

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If the Arizona Cardinals had gotten Marvin Harrison Jr. more involved in Week 1, we might be looking at a 2-0 team. Arizona seemingly learned its lesson from the season opener, utterly dismantling the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2. We won’t make sweeping assessments of this Cardinals defense because Los Angeles played without so many starters, but Arizona’s offense has a chance to finish the season top 10 in multiple categories.

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The Doug Pederson era st is’t working out. After this Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense allowed 10 points on the first two drives to the Cleveland Browns, it really locked things down the rest of the way. It didn’t matter, because the Jaguars’ offense once again couldn’t sustain drives. Trevor Lawrence isn’t being replaced and Pederson was brought in specifically to unlock the quarterback. If he can’t do that and he’s more loyal to his close friend, offensive coordinator Press Taylor, then change is necessary.

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On the Cleveland Browns’ opening drive, Deshaun Watson went 7-for-8 with 83 passing yards and a rushing touchdown. Following that series, the Browns’ quarterback went 15-for-26 with 103 passing yards, averaging 3.96 yards per attempt with a 66.7 QB rating. He’s just not the guy and the Browns offensive line isn’t good enough to make him look better. We still love Cleveland’s defense, but that only goes so far with so many great quarterbacks around the league.

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We’ll start with the good for the Cincinnati Bengals. On the road against the best team in the NFL, Cincinnati came three self-inflicted wounds – Ja’Marr Chase’s penalty, DPI and Joe Burrow’s fumble return for a touchdown – away from an incredible victory. Unfortunately, those details don’t matter as much when you come out of Week 2 with a 0-3 record. The odds of making the playoffs aren’t in Cincinnati’s favor, but if any team can do it, it would be Burrow’s Bengals.

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This just isn’t going to work. We had some concerns with the Baltimore Ravens defense coming into the year due to personnel losses and the departure of Mike Macdonald. It’s fair to say this Ravens defense has taken a step back. Even if it returns to elite status, the Ravens offensive line isn’t giving Lamar Jackson and this passing game much of a chance to do anything. Truthfully, we’re feeling increasingly more confident in our prediction that the Ravens won’t make the playoffs this year and if that comes to fruition, the blame falls on Baltimore’s front office.

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If you want to take the glass-half-full perspective, the Chicago Bears kept it a one-score game against one of the best teams in the NFL into the fourth quarter. In a more realistic look, though, moral victories can’t matter for Chicago anymore. Caleb Williams is an outstanding talent but his decision-making and penchant for sacks, all from his desire to make big plays, are making things that much more difficult for the Bears offense right now. It’s a shame because Chicago has a playoff-caliber defense. The Bears’ future is bright, but Williams must figure some things out quickly.

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Without Kenneth Walker, the Seattle Seahawks couldn’t get anything going on the ground (46 yards on 19 carries), but that’s why they pay Geno Smith. Seattle offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb really dialed up some looks with this passing attack, which led to Metcalf and Smith-Njigba combined for over 230 receiving yards on 30 targets (Smith attempted 44 passes). With Tua Tagovailoa out in Week 3, Seattle will have a real chance to start the season 3-0 with head coach Mike Macdonald.

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Are we absolutely sure J.K. Dobbins tore his Achilles last year? Through his first two contests in a Los Angeles Chargers uniform, Dobbins has 266 rushing yards and is averaging 9.85 yards per carry (ESPN). It’s one of the biggest reasons why Los Angeles is 2-0, with both victories by two-plus scores. It’s going to get a lot more difficult from here, however, and we’re not especially confident the Chargers have enough talent right now to stick to this run-heavy approach and keep winning.

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All that matters right now for the Miami Dolphins is Tua Taogvailoa’s future as this situation is so much bigger than football. Tagovailoa has proven to be the perfect fit for Mike McDaniel’s offense and his chemistry with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle is one of the biggest reasons for this team’s success. Ultimately, whether or not he retires is completely up to him and the Dolphins organization is ready to support him. For those interested in standing with Bills Mafia and supporting the Dolphins’ quarterback you can donate to the Tua Foundation here. We’ll have more critical looks of the Dolphins’ outlook in the weeks to come, but right now the focus is on Tagovailoa’s health.

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The New York Jets survived, with plenty of credit going to Titans quarterback Will Levis. New York’s defense allowed four red-zone trips in Week 2, but Levis often couldn’t take advantage either due to turnovers or reckless behavior with the football. As for the Jets offense, it’s not efficient right now and this team is also making plenty of its own mistakes (7 penalties. The Jets certainly have the talent to snap out of this, but New York isn’t particularly impressive right now in its all-in year.

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That’s about as embarrassing as it can get in the regular season for the Dallas Cowboys. What won’t come as a shock is that a backfield of Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott is really bringing nothing to the table. It’s just as alarming to see the Cowboys’ run defense from last season re-appear in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints. We are keeping in mind that Dallas lost by two scores to the Arizona Cardinals last year, but this was brutal to watch. Up next, in what feels like a must-win game for both the Cowboys and Ravens.

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The Green Bay Packers were largely expected to lose every game during Jordan Love’s projected three-week absence, with the hope of pulling out one victory. The win is already here. Malik Willis wasn’t asked to do much on Sunday, but he was fairly impressive. The big difference-maker was the Packers’ ground game, which could be even better when Love returns. However, Green Bay’s defense left a lot fo open space that Anthony Richardson just repeatedly missed. Keep that in mind.

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The recipe is working for the Pittsburgh Steelers and that’s bad news for Russell Wilson. Defensively, Pittsburgh might have the top unit in football and that itself will give this team a handful of wins. If Justin Fields is going to protect the football and really help unlock this run game, there’s a path for the Steelers to be one of the 10 best NFL teams. Pittsburgh’s wins won’t be conventional, but that doesn’t matter in the NFL standings.

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The Minnesota Vikings have a top-10 defense, the best wide receiver in the NFL, and arguably a top-5 play-caller. That in itself puts this team in a position to compete for a playoff spot. If Sam Darnold is going to keep playing like this – consecutive games with 2 passing touchdowns and a 100-plus QB rating – this could be one of the best NFL teams in 2024. There certainly might be some regression coming for Darnold, but the Vikings’ defense, coaching staff and skill group is more than enough to make up for it.

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In hindsight, narrowly defeating the injury-depleted Los Angeles Rams in the season opener might’ve been a warning light. Jared Goff played at an MVP-caliber level at home this season but in 2024, he exits Week 2 with a 1-2 TD-INT ratio with a sub-50 QBR. Meanwhile, this young Lions’ secondary allowed Chris Godwin (117 yards) to feast. The Lions’ roster is still outstanding, but that Week 3 draw on the road against the Arizona Cardinals is far from a guaranteed victory.

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There’s certainly no reason to panic with the San Francisco 49ers and this could easily just be a temporary drop in our Week 3 NFL power rankings. Keep in mind that San Francisco started the 2022 season 1-2, with losses against the Bears and Broncos, then finished 13-4 and reached the NFC Championship Game. With that said, the 49ers also had a lot of injury luck last season and it’s already apparent that won’t be the case in 2024. If that continues, limited depth on a top-heavy roster will start to show.

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Great NFL teams handle their business against bad competition and go on the road and beat some of the best NFL teams. That’s precisely what Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done in the first two weeks. Tampa Bay not might be great defensively and the Vita Vea injury could be devastating, especially with Calijah Kancey already out. With that said, the results matter here and the Buccaneers are 2-0 and just won in Detroit.

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We said if the New Orleans Saints pulled off a surprise against the Dallas Cowboys, they would be catapulted up the Week 3 NFL power rankings. Beating the Cowboys 44-19 checks that box. The Saints offense looks elite under play-caller Klint Kubiak and New Orleans is on fire defensively right now. Maybe New Orleans won’t be near this spot a few months from now, but the Saints are one of the best NFL teams right now.

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Many of the best NFL teams find ways to win in different ways. In Week 1, Josh Allen responded to a 17-3 deficit by outscoring the Arizona Cardinals 31-11 the rest of the way. On Thursday Night Football in Week 2, with Allen unable to get much going, running back James Cook – 95 scrimmage yards and 3 total touchdowns – and the Bills defense led the way to a 21-point road win over the Dolphins. That’s two boxes checked off, but there are some tough tests ahead with the Baltimore Ravens (Set. 29), Houston Texans (Oct. 6) and New York Jets (Nov. 14) looming on the Bills schedule.

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The Houston Texans are just scratching the surface of their potential. An injury prevented Joe Mixon from doing much on the ground and neither Stefon Diggs nor Tank Dell came through. That’s the beauty of this Texans offense, though, multiple offensive weapons can have an off night and someone like Nico Collins will step up. C.J. Stroud isn’t even playing his best football yet and DeMeco Ryans will get more out of this Texans defense as the season moves along. NFL teams have a problem, it’s Houston. Next Sunday’s Texans @ Vikings game is must-see TV.

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With a majority of the teams atop our NFL power rankings losing in Week 2, the Philadelphia Eagles get to move up even before taking the field for Monday Night Football. Without A.J. Brown, this offense would revolve around Saquon Barkley, Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. That in itself is a trio most teams would crave to have. It should be more than enough for Philadelphia to improve to 2-0, but as Week 2 already showed, chaos is inevitable.

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The Kansas City Chiefs survived Week 2. Once again, the Bengals gave them a scare and this game looked over…until the flag. It won’t help the criticism that the Chiefs are bailed out by penalties, but that was legitimate pass interference. The Chiefs are the best team in the NFL and on a week when so many of their top foes went down, Kansas City survived.