NFL Power Rankings Week Three -The Limitations Of Imitations

After two weeks of the NFL season, we once again come to a point where we know absolutely nothing. It’s way too early  to hold on to (or let go of) any of the thoughts we had going into the season. This year has had its share of interesting twists and week three should add even more intrigue.

 

1. San Francisco 49ers (2-0)
San Francisco is averaging 30 points and they’ve allowed an average of 15 points per game. They’ve forced four turnovers and only given it away once this season.

 

2. Philadelphia Eagles (2-0)
The Eagles unleashed D’Andre Swift onto the Minnesota Vikings. He rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown after his lowly week one total (three yards).

 

3. Dallas Cowboys (2-0)
The Cowboys have outscored their opponents 70-10 in two weeks. The Cowboys next opponents is the Arizona Cardinals, who probably won’t be able to put a dent in that scoring gap.

 

4. Kansas City Chiefs (1-1)
The Chiefs’ offense has looked pretty average in two games the year. They scored more points in week one of the 2022 season than they have in two weeks this season.

 

5. Miami Dolphins (2-0)
The Dolphins survive a week two divisional showdown and have won both of their games on the road. The defense showed up, sacking Mac Jones four times and forcing two turnovers.

 

6. Baltimore Ravens (2-0)
Baltimore barely squeaked out a win versus the Bengals on Sunday after a blowing out their opponents in week one. Lamar Jackson is still scheduled to play this week despite a minor hand injury.

 

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0)
The good news after two weeks is the Buccaneers are undefeated in a winnable division. The bad news is there’s two other undefeated teams in the division.

 

8. Detroit Lions (1-1)
The Lions won their first game by a single point and lost their second game in overtime. They’re going to have to figure out a way to seperate themselves from their opponents earlier in these games.

 

9. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1)
Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars’ offense looked a bit stagnant this past weekend, only mustering up three field goals. The Jacksonville defense has at least forced six turnovers so far this season.

 

10. New Orleans Saints (2-0)
Are the Saints really this good? Well, their defense definitely is, allowing an average of 16 points per game.

 

11. Atlanta Falcons (2-0)
Bijan Robinson is making a strong bid for the rookie of the year award after two weeks of play. This week he rushed for 124 yards and caught four passes for 48 yards.

 

12. Cleveland Browns (1-1)
Prayers up for Nick Chubb on a speedy recovery after injuring his knee versus the Steelers. The team will have to get better play out of Deshaun Watson in the passing game.

 

13. New York Jets (1-1)
Jet fans are already sick of Zach Wilson’s play at the quarterback position. Dalvin Cook and Breece Hall combining for eight carries isn’t going to get the job done, either.

 

14. Buffalo Bills (1-1)
Buffalo more than doubled their scoring output from week one on Sunday. They also held their opponents to more than half of the points they gave up in week one.

 

15. Green Bay Packers (1-1)
The Packers held a 12 point lead after three quarters on Sunday. Then they had three drives in the fourth quarter that resulted in a punt, followed by another punt, and then a turnover on downs to lose the game.

 

16. Washington Commanders (2-0)
The Commanders are averaging 27.5 points per game under new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. He’s slowly turning Sam Howell into a legitimate NFL starter.

 

17. Los Angeles Rams (1-1)
Puka Nacua leads the NFL with 25 catches and he has 266 receiving yards in two games. He’s putting together a great rookie season.

 

18. Las Vegas Raiders (1-1)
Jimmy Garoppolo had two touchdowns and one interception in a week one victory. He had one touchdown and two interceptions on Sunday in a loss. And on goes the carousel that is Jimmy Garoppolo as a starting quarterback.

 

19. Seattle Seahawks (1.-1)
Seattle has not turned the ball over in either of the two games they’ve played this season. They forced three turnovers against Detroit and will probably have a good chance for more versus Carolina this week.

 

20. New York Giants (1-1)
The Giants had an offensive outburst and an improbable comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals. Now they get to play San Francisco this week, probably without Saquon Barkley.

 

21. Tennessee Titans (1-1)
The Titans got 129 rushing yards from Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears. They also had two total touchdowns and no turnovers from Ryan Tannehill. This kind of performance is a great formula for winning.

 

22. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)
Kenny Pickett has looked average this season, throwing more interceptions (three) than touchdowns (two). The Steelers need him to be much better if they want a chance at a playoff spot.

 

23. Indianapolis Colts (1-1)
Anthony Richardson is out with a concussion and likely won’t play in week three. Gardner Minshew will have to step in for his first start of the season.

 

24. Cincinnati Bengals (0-2)
“Who Dey” seems like an appropriate moniker for the Bengals, because they seem to have forgotten who they are this season.

 

25. Los Angeles Chargers (0-2)
Head coach Brandon Staley has officially begun the talk of which coach is on the hot seat. For a former defensive coordinator he’s not getting his team ready to play much defense.

 

26. New England Patriots (0-2)
The Patriots are winless, but they look much (much) better than a winless team. It seems like they just need to work out a few kinks and they’ll be headed in the right direction.

 

27. Minnesota Vikings (0-2)
Kirk Cousins has now thrown for 708 yards and six touchdowns this season. Unfortunately his team is winless and he now owns an 11-19 record in prime time games.

 

28. Denver Broncos (0-2)
Denver has lost two games by a total of six points. They’re going to have a hard time against Miami this week if they can’t finish off these games better.

 

29. Chicago Bears (0-2)
I just read an interesting (and ridiculous) statistic on Justin Fields. He’s averaging one pick six a game. Pretty hard to win when you’re helping the other team score.

 

30.  Houston Texans (0-2)
C.J. Stroud threw for 384 yards and two touchdowns, but couldn’t lead his team to victory. His progression is the Texans’ main concern this season, but he has to start finding victories.

 

31. Carolina Panthers (0-2)
Carolina’s defense has allowed a league low one passing touchdown so far this season. The offense hasn’t helped out much, scoring just two touchdowns in as many games.

 

32. Arizona Cardinals (0-2)
The Cardinals fought a hard fight once again, but gave up a lead late in the game. This team will most likely finish with more wins than expected if they play this hard every week.

 

Offensive Player Of The Week
Mike Evans, Wide Receiver – Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  Six catches for 171 yards, one touchdown

Defensive Player Of The Week
Alex Highsmith, Defensive Lineman – Pittsburgh Steelers:  Seven total tackles, one interception, one touchdown