NFL Power Rankings: Week 3 Edition

Now that Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season is over, it’s time for everyone’s favorite meaningful exercise: NFL Power Rankings! Let’s take a look at how all 32 teams stack up. Also: don’t forget to check out my national NFL podcast — The ODDcast — for even more league-wide musings.

BLG’S WEEK 3 NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 - Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 2) - The Ravens have reached 2-0 without breaking a sweat. They’re the No. 1 team in DVOA (by almost double the next team!) and they lead the NFL in point differential (+49). They’re a complete team.

2 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 1) - The reigning Super Bowl champs needed overtime to pull out a win against a rookie quarterback unexpectedly making his first start. KC is only 10th in DVOA after Week 2; their 24th ranked defense is their weak point.

3 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 4) - The Seahawks were on the winning side of a goal line stand against New England this time. Russell Wilson is sensational; he leads the NFL with nine touchdowns and a 140.0 passer rating. This might finally be the year he wins his first MVP trophy. Can’t even imagine what it would be like to be a general manager that passed on Wilson three times in the 2012 NFL Draft.

4 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 5) - The Packers seemed like a regression candidate heading into 2020. They had the easiest 2019 schedule and they finished ninth in point differential. There were questions about Aaron Rodgers. Well, it’s clear that concerns were for naught thus far. Rodgers lead the NFL in QBR after two games and the Packers have outscored their opponents by a combined 30 points.

5 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 6) - A little too close for comfort at the end but they managed to hold on against an inferior opponent. 2-0.

6 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 7) - Some laughed at the contract the Titans handed out to Ryan Tannehill but he’s justifying it so far with the fourth highest passer rating in the NFL. His success last year isn’t looking like a total fluke.

7 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 8) - The Cards avoided a letdown after notching an upset in Week 1. Kyler Murray’s passing stats aren’t special but he’s clearly a dangerous running threat with 21 carries for 158 yards (7.5 average) and three rushing touchdowns. Difficult guy to bring down while he’s scampering around out there.

8 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 12) - Jared Goff had his highest single-game passer rating since October 2018 in a relatively easy victory over Philly. Credit where it’s due: Sean McVay has his team playing well. The Rams could feasibly start 5-0 with some winnable games coming up (BUF, NYG, WFT).

9 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 11) - The Bills had one of the NFL’s easiest schedules last year. They’ve also had an easy go through two games this season (NYJ, MIA). Let’s see if Josh Allen can stay hot as tougher challenges come up next (LAR, LV, TEN, KC). They’re good … but just how good?

10 - Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 16) - The Raiders christened their new stadium with a win to reach 2-0. We’ve all laughed at Jon Gruden before but he has this offense playing good football. Fourth most points scored through two games.

11 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 3) - The Saints showed their age on Monday night. An awful interception from a 41-year-old Drew Brees allowed Las Vegas to tie the game and then take the lead for the rest of the contest. Malcolm Jenkins struggled in both coverage and run defense. You just really hate to the Saints struggle.

12 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 9) - The 49ers are dealing with some serious injury issues. Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas suffered ACL injuries and are out for the season. Jimmy Garoppolo is banged up and might miss a game. Tevin Coleman could miss multiple weeks while Raheem Mostert might at least miss one. To make matters worse for San Fran, the rest of their division is undefeated. The good news is they three winnable games ahead (NYG, PHI, MIA).

13 - New England Patriots (LW: 14) - Didn’t know what to make of the Pats coming into the season. After two games, it’s clear that they’re still a quality team. Crazy to think that Cam Newton was available for the mere price of $1.75 million for one year in late June. He can still play.

14 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 13) - The Cowboys were down 20 to 0. Then they pulled off a big comeback win with some help from some morons in Atlanta. Is this the spark of more success to come or is Dallas a mediocre team that got really lucky?

15 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 15) - The Bucs lost to a good team and beat a bad team. They’re going to need more big days from Leonard Fournette if Tom Brady is going to continue to look cooked. The 43-year-old has the league’s sixth worth passer rating thus far with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

16 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 20) - The Colts rebounded nicely after losing in Week 1. Their defense ranks fifth in DVOA.

17 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 17) - Pretty solid effort for the Bolts to take KC into overtime with a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start on short notice. Justin Herbert did some nice things to inspire hope. LA should stop wasting their time with Tyrod Taylor.

18 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 10) - Kirk Cousins has a 61.9 passer rating after two games. That’s the worst mark in the NFL.

19 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 22) - Gardner Minshew is fun. He’s not perfect but he gives the NFL’s youngest and least expensive team a chance to win. Scrappy group.

20 - Chicago Bears (LW: 23) - Mitchell Trubisky’s job will be safe as long as the Bears are winning. They’re 2-0 but his struggles against New York signal more issues on the horizon.

21 - Houston Texans (LW: 19) - The Texans have the league’s worst point differential after two game. In fairness, they’ve had to face both KC and Baltimore. But it doesn’t get easier with them taking on Pittsburgh this week. Could be looking at an 0-3 start.

22 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 32) - The Browns can score when they get their ground game going. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt logged 32 total carries for 210 yards (6.6 average) and three touchdowns against Cincy. This is probably too big of a jump up for them but it’s just how things shook out with other bad teams losing.

23 - Denver Broncos (LW: 24) - They almost pulled off a win despite losing Drew Lock. Respectable effort but have to imagine things are only going to get worse with Jeff Driskel starting at quarterback and Courtland Sutton suffering a season-ending injury.

24 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 25) - Joe Burrow is definitely good. The rookie quarterback just needs some more help from the team around him. Cincy might be able to pick up their first win in Philly.

25 - Detroit Lions (LW: 21) - The Lions have lost 11 games in a row. They’re 1-14 in their last 15. Methinks it’s time to move on from Matt Patricia.

26 - Washington Football Team (LW: 26) - Just don’t see this team seriously going anywhere with Dwayne Haskins leading the way.

27 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 27) - The NFL’s biggest chokers.

28 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 28) - From what I’ve seen, Dolphins fans are happy their young and inexperienced team is keeping games competitive. So, there’s that. Each loss brings them closer to Tua time.

29 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 18) - I was tempted to put the Eagles at 32. They’re the NFL’s worst team in terms of DVOA and they’re tied for the second worst point differential. Carson Wentz looks awful; he’s seriously struggling with accuracy and decision-making issues. At least the defense is goo— oh, wait, no, the Eagles surrendered 449 yards and 37 points without much resistance despite investing all of their free agency resources on that side of the ball. The Birds are bad.

30 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 30) - Teddy Bridgewater just isn’t going to be the Panthers’ long-term answer at quarterback. There’s going to be even more pressure on him with Christian McCaffrey expected to miss multiple games.

31 - New York Giants (LW: 31) - Well, the Giants had a chance to win it at the end after being down by 17 to 0 … but a Golden Tate penalty ended that hope. The G-Men are 0-2 for the fourth season in a row and the seventh time in the last eight years. And Saquon Barkley is out for the year.

32 - New York Jets (LW: 29) - The Jets’ leading receiver was Chris Hogan, who was signed in mid-August. Their leading rusher was a 37-year-old Frank Gore averaging 3.0 yards per attempt. I think it’s safe to say Sam Darnold isn’t exactly surrounded with a quality supporting cast. Joe Douglas has a lot of work to do and that involves upgrading the head coach as well.