Week 3 NFL Power Rankings

1. Indianapolis Colts, 2-0 (Last week: No. 2): The Colts' win over the Houston Texans looked like Notre Dame playing Charleston Southern. I'm still not convinced of their toughness, but their sophistication under Peyton Manning is obvious.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1-1 (Last week: No. 1):That was a classic smash-mouth game the Steelers lost on the road to a fired-up Jacksonville Jaguars team Monday night, but don't write the obit for the Steelers just yet. With its nasty defensive line, Jacksonville matches up well with Pittsburgh's offensive strength (the O-line), and got just enough of an advantage on the champs to take them out of their running game in the second half. Give Roethlisberger another week or two to get back in the groove, and this veteran team will get back to dishing out whuppins.

3. Chicago Bears, 2-0 (Last week, No. 3): Remember in preseason when all those pundits said we'd be seeing Brian Griese under center for the Bears by Week 2? Turns out they were right: Griese replaced Rex Grossman in the fourth quarter with the Bears leading 34-7, after Rex tossed four touchdowns and picked the Lions apart. The Bears have outscored their opponents 60-7 in 2006, and they haven't even gotten their running game going yet.

4. New England Patriots 2-0 (Last week, No. 5): Two weeks, two weak divisional opponents, two ugly wins. Check.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars 2-0 (Last week, No. 16): Even though I like the Jags, Leftwich and their defensive style of play, I've been "a hater" all season. Time for me to give them some love. That was a gutty performance against the Steelers Monday night, strong enough to vault them into the Top 5 this week. What impressed me: An offensive blocking scheme that let Leftwich -- the longest striding QB in the league -- step up and deliver; an enormous and mobile defensive line; physical and aggressive defensive backs, and three young receivers who repeatedly made tough catches. So why not rank them higher? For starters, because I remember how overmatched they looked against New England in the playoffs, but also because I get the sense that the Jaguars caught the Steelers at the perfect time. Finally, I'm still skeptical that this team is built to do the thing it must: beat the Colts.

 

1. Indianapolis Colts, 2-0 (Last week: No. 2): The Colts' win over the Houston Texans looked like Notre Dame playing Charleston Southern. I'm still not convinced of their toughness, but their sophistication under Peyton Manning is obvious.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1-1 (Last week: No. 1):That was a classic smash-mouth game the Steelers lost on the road to a fired-up Jacksonville Jaguars team Monday night, but don't write the obit for the Steelers just yet. With its nasty defensive line, Jacksonville matches up well with Pittsburgh's offensive strength (the O-line), and got just enough of an advantage on the champs to take them out of their running game in the second half. Give Roethlisberger another week or two to get back in the groove, and this veteran team will get back to dishing out whuppins.

3. Chicago Bears, 2-0 (Last week, No. 3): Remember in preseason when all those pundits said we'd be seeing Brian Griese under center for the Bears by Week 2? Turns out they were right: Griese replaced Rex Grossman in the fourth quarter with the Bears leading 34-7, after Rex tossed four touchdowns and picked the Lions apart. The Bears have outscored their opponents 60-7 in 2006, and they haven't even gotten their running game going yet.

4. New England Patriots 2-0 (Last week, No. 5): Two weeks, two weak divisional opponents, two ugly wins. Check.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars 2-0 (Last week, No. 16): Even though I like the Jags, Leftwich and their defensive style of play, I've been "a hater" all season. Time for me to give them some love. That was a gutty performance against the Steelers Monday night, strong enough to vault them into the Top 5 this week. What impressed me: An offensive blocking scheme that let Leftwich -- the longest striding QB in the league -- step up and deliver; an enormous and mobile defensive line; physical and aggressive defensive backs, and three young receivers who repeatedly made tough catches. So why not rank them higher? For starters, because I remember how overmatched they looked against New England in the playoffs, but also because I get the sense that the Jaguars caught the Steelers at the perfect time. Finally, I'm still skeptical that this team is built to do the thing it must: beat the Colts.

6. Seattle Seahawks, 2-0 (Last week, No. 4): The Seahawks' matchup against the  Arizona Cardinals was billed as a "show-me" game for control of their division. Well, the Seahawks showed they were the more complete team, but they didn't exactly show anyone the kind of verve and slash they demonstrated in 2005. They're playing solid football, but the Seahawks need to step up if they're going to contend for the NFC Championship.

7. Atlanta Falcons, 2-0 (Last week, No. 6): Defense, defense, defense -- and a great running game. For all the talk about Mike Vick as a futuristic QB, their formula for success looks an awful lot like something Mike Ditka would have drawn-up. Or maybe Woody Hayes.

8. San Diego Chargers, 2-0, (Last week, No. 9): After two weeks of warm-up games, new Chargers QB Philip Rivers looks like he's ready for the real games to start. Oh, wait, those were real games? My bad...

9. Baltimore Ravens, 2-0 (Last week, No. 11): Fear the Raven. This team has feasted on two surprisingly weak opponents, but it's balanced, smart, aggressive and dangerous. I want to see how McNair and Co. show up against a quality opponent, but I'm going to have to wait a bit longer. Next week they get Cleveland.

10. Cincinnati Bengals, 2-0 (Last week, No. 7): Cleveland wasn't a tough opponent for the Bengals, and this one wasn't as close as it seemed -- even though Cincinnati doubled the Browns' score in the Battle of Ohio. There's only one problem: Injuries. David Pollack is gone for the year, and several other players emerged in various states of disrepair. Yesterday I figured they were at least a step above the Falcons, Chargers and Ravens, but I've dropped them back for health concerns.

11. New York Giants, 1-1 (Last week, No. 13): That was a pretty cool 4th quarter comeback, wasn't it? Eli Manning played like the quarterback the Giants hoped he would become, and the defense got tight when it really mattered. More significantly, the Giants avoided an 0-2 hole while beating their top division rival on the road. If this means that Eli has advanced his game to the next level, that's big news in football's second-toughest division.

12. Philadelphia Eagles 1-1 (Last week, No. 8): The Eagles blew a 17-point lead in the 4th quarter, at home, to a division rival, and then lost in overtime despite having several chances do do something with the ball. Ouch. Despite all that, I was tempted to rank these guys above the Giants here, and it isn't because I like the Eagles.  Losing Javon Kearse is going to affect their defense, and it knocks them below New York in this ranking.

13. Denver Broncos, 1-1 (Last week, No. 10): OK, the defense doesn't suck. When is the offense going to show up?.

14. Dallas Cowboys, 1-1 (Last week, No. 17): T.O. is out for three or four weeks with a broken finger, but here's the real headline: It doesn't matter. Bledsoe and Glenn have got some special mojo chemistry. Owens is on his way to being an afterthought, and he doesn't handle that very well. There were a lot of things to like in Sunday night's game, and the Cowboys' defensive backfield may have been the best of them.

15. Carolina Panthers, 0-2 (Last week, No. 12): In a gut-check road game against the mediocre Vikings, the Panthers played their way into a gritty lead  -- and then gave it away on a stupid special-teams play. They had opportunities and breaks, but still couldn't win this overtime game. Despite the gloom, here's good news: DeAngelo Williams established himself as their de facto No. 1 RB, and the Panthers now get three weak opponents in a row  -- and a chance to stop this free-fall before it ruins their season.

16. Minnesota Vikings, 2-0 (Last week, No. 19): For the second week in a row, journeyman running back Chester Taylor played like a hero. Brad Johnson looked human again, but the Vikings are playing together and winning ugly. You gotta respect ugly, but you don't have to pretend it's ever going to be beautiful.

17. Arizona Cardinals, 1-1 (Last week, No. 16): Yes, they're mediocre, but that's an improvement. Beating the Seahawks would have been a big step forward, and they're just not there yet.

18. Buffalo Bills, 1-1 (Last week, No. 22):  Beating up the Dolphins like that, after losing a close one to the Patriots, earned these guys some real respect around the league. That's what I think they are: Respectable. Not good enough to reach the playoffs, but respectable. They're certainly improved.

19. Miami Dolphins, 0-2 (Last week, No. 15): We learned something about biology Sunday: These Fish can lay a great big egg even under favorable conditions. Buffalo was a decent but beatable team, and Miami just stunk up the joint. Culpepper isn't the only problem here, either. Will somebody please pass block?.

20. Kansas City Chiefs, 0-2 (Last week, No. 21): Replacement QB Huard threw for a high percentage of completions, but gained only 133 yards passing. Larry Johnson broke the century mark, but fumbled away a key scoring threat. This ain't their year.

21. St. Louis Rams, 1-1 (Last week, No. 18): In Week 1, St. Louis beat the Broncos. In Week 2, the same players lost an important early season game within their division to the 49ers. Will the real Rams please stand up? Well, it says here that we saw the real Rams on Sunday. The defense is good, but not great, and the offensive line stinks.  Marc Bulger looks out of synch, and the stellar contributions of Steven Jackson are being wasted. If Coach Linehan doesn't stabilize this group, it could founder, horribly, in a matter of weeks. I've got a bad feeling about this.

22. Washington Redskins, 0-2 (Last week, No. 20): Unlike the 49ers below them, these guys are terrible. An all-star roster of players and that's the best they can do? The coaching staff is a bunch of former and future head coaches, which is like trying to run a good Waffle House by hiring a bunch of Manhattan bistro chefs to flip eggs and turn bacon. Long may they rot.

23. San Francisco 49ers, 1-1 (Last week, No. 26): I picked these guys to win at home against the Rams, and they made it look easy. Frank Gore had another stellar game, and the Alex Smith-Antonio Bryant connection is turning into one of the league's most dangerous. The defense is better than billed, too, and even old journeymen like Walt Harris are playing above their talent level.

24. New York Jets, 1-1 (Last week, No. 30): Chad Pennington made the home loss to the Patriots interesting, but the game wasn't really as close at it looked. They've shown enough toughness to get some respect, and middle-tier NFL teams should approach them with caution. Here's the thing, though: Pennington is a great QB for a team that has a lead. The Jets aren't going to nurse a lot of leads.

25. New Orleans Saints, 2-0 (Last week, No. 27): That was an excellent game by Drew Brees, who spread the ball around and kept his team on the attack. Reggie Bush didn't get much going on the ground, but he played well as a receiver, as did unknowns like Dervey Henderson and Marques Colston, a surprising rookie who has scored twice in two weeks.

26. Detroit Lions, 0-2 (Last week, No. 24): Word of advice to Roy Williams: Keep your mouth shut next time, OK? Sunday's game at Chicago looked like men against boys.

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 0-2 (Last week, No. 25): The pirate ship is sinking. They can't run. They can't stop the run. Chris Simms can't protect the football. We knew their offensive line wasn't great and Simms was still learning, but I don't think anyone foresaw Gruden's team being this bad. I certainly didn't. My best guess is that the defense, which has been aging, has suddenly gotten old.

28. Green Bay Packers, 0-2 (Last week, No. 31) : At least this loss was competitive. Nobody's confusing the Saints with a good team, but the Packers played them tight into the 4th quarter. One thing worth noting: The run defense here ain't bad. Teams that stop the run and field a Hall of Fame quarterback will at least have a chance to win some weeks.

29. Cleveland Browns, 0-2 (Last week, No. 28): They still can't run, and no matter how hard they want to, they can't hide. There were some things to like about their effort and there are young players to build around -- Braylon Edwards, Charlie Frye, Kellen Winslow and Kamerion Wimbley among them, but these guys just aren't in the same class with the other three teams in their division. It's going to be a long year.

30. Houston Texans, 0-2 (Last week, No. 29): Not only are the Texans bad, they're boringly bad. Yes, they scored some points, but the points were meaningless. You look for something to build around with a bad team, and it's just hard to find much to get excited about in Houston.

31. Tennessee Titans, 0-2 (Last week, No. 31): Let this be a lesson unto the world: Karma is a bitch. The Titans screwed around with Steve McNair in the off-season, then screwed presumptive starter Billy Volek right before opening day. Kerry Collins stinks, and so does this team, its leadership and its direction. (Gee, tell us, Dan: How do you really feel?)

32. Oakland Raiders, 0-2 (Last week, No. 32):  On the bright side, the Aaron Brooks era in Oakland has ended, mercifully, after less than two weeks. On the not-so-bright side, the new quarterback is a second-year player named Andrew Walter. He fumbled three times and threw three interceptions. Oh, and the offensive coordinator is still John Shoop. 

                

Originally posted on Xark! on Sept. 18, 2006.

6. Seattle Seahawks, 2-0 (Last week, No. 4): The Seahawks' matchup against the  Arizona Cardinals was billed as a "show-me" game for control of their division. Well, the Seahawks showed they were the more complete team, but they didn't exactly show anyone the kind of verve and slash they demonstrated in 2005. They're playing solid football, but the Seahawks need to step up if they're going to contend for the NFC Championship.

7. Atlanta Falcons, 2-0 (Last week, No. 6): Defense, defense, defense -- and a great running game. For all the talk about Mike Vick as a futuristic QB, their formula for success looks an awful lot like something Mike Ditka would have drawn-up. Or maybe Woody Hayes.

8. San Diego Chargers, 2-0, (Last week, No. 9): After two weeks of warm-up games, new Chargers QB Philip Rivers looks like he's ready for the real games to start. Oh, wait, those were real games? My bad...

9. Baltimore Ravens, 2-0 (Last week, No. 11): Fear the Raven. This team has feasted on two surprisingly weak opponents, but it's balanced, smart, aggressive and dangerous. I want to see how McNair and Co. show up against a quality opponent, but I'm going to have to wait a bit longer. Next week they get Cleveland.

10. Cincinnati Bengals, 2-0 (Last week, No. 7): Cleveland wasn't a tough opponent for the Bengals, and this one wasn't as close as it seemed -- even though Cincinnati doubled the Browns' score in the Battle of Ohio. There's only one problem: Injuries. David Pollack is gone for the year, and several other players emerged in various states of disrepair. Yesterday I figured they were at least a step above the Falcons, Chargers and Ravens, but I've dropped them back for health concerns.

11. New York Giants, 1-1 (Last week, No. 13): That was a pretty cool 4th quarter comeback, wasn't it? Eli Manning played like the quarterback the Giants hoped he would become, and the defense got tight when it really mattered. More significantly, the Giants avoided an 0-2 hole while beating their top division rival on the road. If this means that Eli has advanced his game to the next level, that's big news in football's second-toughest division.

12. Philadelphia Eagles 1-1 (Last week, No. 8): The Eagles blew a 17-point lead in the 4th quarter, at home, to a division rival, and then lost in overtime despite having several chances do do something with the ball. Ouch. Despite all that, I was tempted to rank these guys above the Giants here, and it isn't because I like the Eagles.  Losing Javon Kearse is going to affect their defense, and it knocks them below New York in this ranking.

13. Denver Broncos, 1-1 (Last week, No. 10): OK, the defense doesn't suck. When is the offense going to show up?.

14. Dallas Cowboys, 1-1 (Last week, No. 17): T.O. is out for three or four weeks with a broken finger, but here's the real headline: It doesn't matter. Bledsoe and Glenn have got some special mojo chemistry. Owens is on his way to being an afterthought, and he doesn't handle that very well. There were a lot of things to like in Sunday night's game, and the Cowboys' defensive backfield may have been the best of them.

15. Carolina Panthers, 0-2 (Last week, No. 12): In a gut-check road game against the mediocre Vikings, the Panthers played their way into a gritty lead  -- and then gave it away on a stupid special-teams play. They had opportunities and breaks, but still couldn't win this overtime game. Despite the gloom, here's good news: DeAngelo Williams established himself as their de facto No. 1 RB, and the Panthers now get three weak opponents in a row  -- and a chance to stop this free-fall before it ruins their season.

16. Minnesota Vikings, 2-0 (Last week, No. 19): For the second week in a row, journeyman running back Chester Taylor played like a hero. Brad Johnson looked human again, but the Vikings are playing together and winning ugly. You gotta respect ugly, but you don't have to pretend it's ever going to be beautiful.

17. Arizona Cardinals, 1-1 (Last week, No. 16): Yes, they're mediocre, but that's an improvement. Beating the Seahawks would have been a big step forward, and they're just not there yet.

18. Buffalo Bills, 1-1 (Last week, No. 22):  Beating up the Dolphins like that, after losing a close one to the Patriots, earned these guys some real respect around the league. That's what I think they are: Respectable. Not good enough to reach the playoffs, but respectable. They're certainly improved.

19. Miami Dolphins, 0-2 (Last week, No. 15): We learned something about biology Sunday: These Fish can lay a great big egg even under favorable conditions. Buffalo was a decent but beatable team, and Miami just stunk up the joint. Culpepper isn't the only problem here, either. Will somebody please pass block?.

20. Kansas City Chiefs, 0-2 (Last week, No. 21): Replacement QB Huard threw for a high percentage of completions, but gained only 133 yards passing. Larry Johnson broke the century mark, but fumbled away a key scoring threat. This ain't their year.

21. St. Louis Rams, 1-1 (Last week, No. 18): In Week 1, St. Louis beat the Broncos. In Week 2, the same players lost an important early season game within their division to the 49ers. Will the real Rams please stand up? Well, it says here that we saw the real Rams on Sunday. The defense is good, but not great, and the offensive line stinks.  Marc Bulger looks out of synch, and the stellar contributions of Steven Jackson are being wasted. If Coach Linehan doesn't stabilize this group, it could founder, horribly, in a matter of weeks. I've got a bad feeling about this.

22. Washington Redskins, 0-2 (Last week, No. 20): Unlike the 49ers below them, these guys are terrible. An all-star roster of players and that's the best they can do? The coaching staff is a bunch of former and future head coaches, which is like trying to run a good Waffle House by hiring a bunch of Manhattan bistro chefs to flip eggs and turn bacon. Long may they rot.

23. San Francisco 49ers, 1-1 (Last week, No. 26): I picked these guys to win at home against the Rams, and they made it look easy. Frank Gore had another stellar game, and the Alex Smith-Antonio Bryant connection is turning into one of the league's most dangerous. The defense is better than billed, too, and even old journeymen like Walt Harris are playing above their talent level.

24. New York Jets, 1-1 (Last week, No. 30): Chad Pennington made the home loss to the Patriots interesting, but the game wasn't really as close at it looked. They've shown enough toughness to get some respect, and middle-tier NFL teams should approach them with caution. Here's the thing, though: Pennington is a great QB for a team that has a lead. The Jets aren't going to nurse a lot of leads.

25. New Orleans Saints, 2-0 (Last week, No. 27): That was an excellent game by Drew Brees, who spread the ball around and kept his team on the attack. Reggie Bush didn't get much going on the ground, but he played well as a receiver, as did unknowns like Dervey Henderson and Marques Colston, a surprising rookie who has scored twice in two weeks.

26. Detroit Lions, 0-2 (Last week, No. 24): Word of advice to Roy Williams: Keep your mouth shut next time, OK? Sunday's game at Chicago looked like men against boys.

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 0-2 (Last week, No. 25): The pirate ship is sinking. They can't run. They can't stop the run. Chris Simms can't protect the football. We knew their offensive line wasn't great and Simms was still learning, but I don't think anyone foresaw Gruden's team being this bad. I certainly didn't. My best guess is that the defense, which has been aging, has suddenly gotten old.

28. Green Bay Packers, 0-2 (Last week, No. 31) : At least this loss was competitive. Nobody's confusing the Saints with a good team, but the Packers played them tight into the 4th quarter. One thing worth noting: The run defense here ain't bad. Teams that stop the run and field a Hall of Fame quarterback will at least have a chance to win some weeks.

29. Cleveland Browns, 0-2 (Last week, No. 28): They still can't run, and no matter how hard they want to, they can't hide. There were some things to like about their effort and there are young players to build around -- Braylon Edwards, Charlie Frye, Kellen Winslow and Kamerion Wimbley among them, but these guys just aren't in the same class with the other three teams in their division. It's going to be a long year.

30. Houston Texans, 0-2 (Last week, No. 29): Not only are the Texans bad, they're boringly bad. Yes, they scored some points, but the points were meaningless. You look for something to build around with a bad team, and it's just hard to find much to get excited about in Houston.

31. Tennessee Titans, 0-2 (Last week, No. 31): Let this be a lesson unto the world: Karma is a bitch. The Titans screwed around with Steve McNair in the off-season, then screwed presumptive starter Billy Volek right before opening day. Kerry Collins stinks, and so does this team, its leadership and its direction. (Gee, tell us, Dan: How do you really feel?)

32. Oakland Raiders, 0-2 (Last week, No. 32):  On the bright side, the Aaron Brooks era in Oakland has ended, mercifully, after less than two weeks. On the not-so-bright side, the new quarterback is a second-year player named Andrew Walter. He fumbled three times and threw three interceptions. Oh, and the offensive coordinator is still John Shoop.