NFL Power Rankings: Week 3

My current NFL Power Rankings of the 2023 NFL season for Week 3. The Falcons and Ravens soar with impressive Week 2 wins.

I’m going to use these rankings as the order for my 2024 NFL Mock Draft during the early stages of the 2023 season. Follow @walterfootball.

NFL Power Rankings updated Sept. 19, 2023

San Francisco 49ers (2-0) – Previously: 1.
Brock Purdy missed two deep touchdowns against the Rams, yet the 49ers were still up by double digits before the very end. It’s hard to argue against the 49ers being the best team in the NFL.
Kansas City Chiefs (1-1) – Previously: 3.
The Chiefs beat a tough opponent by eight despite not playing well at all. They made so many mistakes and couldn’t convert third downs. They’ll obviously improve soon, so their ranking won’t be affected.
Buffalo Bills (1-1) – Previously: 5.
I saw some known football people on Twitter optine that “Josh Allen sucks” after the Bills lost to the Jets in the opener. As it turns out, this was an overreaction, as the Bills absolutely dominated the Raiders, with Allen going 31-of-37.
Miami Dolphins (2-0) – Previously: 4.
I said it during the summer, but if someone told me that Tua Tagovailoa would play the entire year without injury, I’d bet Miami to win the Super Bowl. The Dolphins look great now, but how much longer can Tagovailoa stay on the field?
Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) – Previously: 2.
The Eagles haven’t played their best football thus far, yet they’re 2-0. The question is why? I have to think it’s the new coaching staff. Both coordinators were highly regarded for a reason, so it makes sense that there would be regression with their replacements.
Dallas Cowboys (2-0) – Previously: 10.
The Cowboys have outscored the opposition 70-10 thus far. I’d say things will get tougher now that Dallas is done with the New York, New York portion of its schedule, but the Cardinals are up next.
Baltimore Ravens (2-0) – Previously: 13.
The Ravens were so sloppy in their opening-week win, but that was attributed to looking ahead to their battle against the Bengals. Despite missing two offensive linemen and two key members of their secondary, the Ravens were able to outgain the Bengals by about 130 yards.
San Angeles Chargers (0-2) – Previously: 7.
What a huge disappointment. I liked the Chargers at 30/1 to win the Super Bowl this year, but their defense was an abomination against the Dolphins and Titans. I realize stopping Tyreek Hill is impossible, but why couldn’t they get off the field versus Ryan Tannehill? However, it’s worth noting that the Chargers are two plays away from being 2-0.
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) – Previously: 9.
The Jaguars saw the Chiefs constantly shoot themselves in the foot, yet still couldn’t find a way to beat them with Calvin Ridley enhancing the offense. This has to be a huge disappointment for the Jaguars, who undoubtedly circled that game when the schedule first released.
Detroit Lions (1-1) – Previously: 8.
The Lions had a disappointing loss to the Seahawks. I know that they lost Amon-Ra St. Brown, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and David Montgomery to injury, but how could the defense surrender 37 points to a team missing both of its tackles?
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) – Previously: 11.
The good news is that the Steelers’ defense is awesome again after that horrendous Week 1 performance. The bad news is that Kenny Pickett looks like garbage.
Cleveland Browns (1-1) – Previously: 12.
Are the Browns cursed? It looked like they would improve to 2-0 with wins against the Bengals and Steelers. Instead, they lost to Pittsburgh and saw Nick Chubb suffer a horrible injury.
Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) – Previously: 6.
The Bengals lost by three to the Ravens, but the result wouldn’t have been as close if it wasn’t for a punt return touchdown. The Bengals will continue to disappoint as long as Joe Burrow isn’t 100 percent. Burrow looked better this past week than he did in the opener, but he threw mostly checkdowns.
Atlanta Falcons (2-0) – Previously: 17.
The Falcons could be the best team in the NFC South after signing Calais Campbell, Jessie Bates, and David Onyemata, and then drafting Bijan Robinson. They had a nice win in Week 1, as they did something in that game that they weren’t able to do the past few years, which was rush the quarterback consistently. They then had a great comeback victory versus the Packers. I think this Atlanta team is legit.
New England Patriots (0-2) – Previously: 23.
The Patriots lost their first two games, both of which were at home. However, they’ve battled the Eagles and Dolphins, so even though they’ll be going on the road soon, things should get easier.
Green Bay Packers (1-1) – Previously: 14.
I won’t penalize the Packers for losing to the Falcons because they almost prevailed despite missing Aaron Jones, David Bakhtiari, and Christian Watson. There’s also a silver lining, which is that some of the young receivers played well, including Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks.
Los Angeles Rams (1-1) – Previously: 16.
Credit Sean McVay for kicking a field goal at the very end to reduce the margin from 10 to seven. He knows that good team win, but great teams cover. And the Rams are certainly a great team. I mean, look at what Puka Nacua has done through two games.
Tennessee Titans (1-1) – Previously: 19.
Mike Vrabel somehow always does so well as an underdog. I doubted him against the Chargers because I didn’t think his team could block the San Angeles pass rush, but I was proven to be a fool for doing so.
Washington Redskins (2-0) – Previously: 21.
The Redskins looked like they were doomed to drop to 1-1, but they climbed out of a 21-3 hole in Denver and eventually established a 35-24 lead. They then nearly lost at the end, but they somehow are now 2-0 on the year.
New Orleans Saints (2-0) – Previously: 25.
The Saints’ offense did nothing until Shaq Thompson got hurt. At the very least, they won in Carolina, which is something they hadn’t done in the post-Drew Brees era until Monday night.
Seattle Seahawks (1-1) – Previously: 20.
The Seahawks were terrible metrics-wise late in 2022, so a blowout loss to the Rams was not surprising at all. The win at Detroit, conversely, was absolutely shocking. How did the Seahawks muster so much offense without both of their tackles?
Minnesota Vikings (0-2) – Previously: 22.
The Vikings caught all the breaks last year, but the opposite is happening now. Everything is going against them. Regression to the mean was bound to happen, and I’m not too upset after the Christian Darrisaw injury nonsense that the coaching staff pulled in the Eagles game.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) – Previously: 30.
Before you get excited about the Buccaneers, consider that they were outgained, 369-242, by a sub par Minnesota team, and then basically won by three against a Chicago team featuring a mobile quarterback who refused to run. The Buccaneers will be a nice fade if the public believes in their fraudulent record.
New York Jets (1-1) – Previously: 15.
I’d say I was disappointed with the Jets defense against Dallas, but they were coming off an emotional win. There’s no way they were 100 percent in that game. Then again, would it even matter, given how bad Zach Wilson is?
Carolina Panthers (0-2) – Previously: 28.
I tweeted this, but Bryce Young looks terrible. I get the receivers suck, but he looks terrible. It’s too early to call him a bust, but he looks like a bust.
Indianapolis Colts (1-1) – Previously: 31.
“I don’t think what Anthony Richardson did in his debut is sustainable. He took so many big hits, he can’t possibly last the entire year.” I wrote that last week. This week, Richardson suffered a concussion. The Colts have to be thrilled with what they’ve seen from Richardson thus far, but they have to be concerned about his health.
Las Vegas Raiders (1-1) – Previously: 26.
The Raiders would be 0-2 right now had the Broncos just hit basic kicks. Any optimism from the Denver win had to disappear when the Bills absolutely destroyed them in Week 2.
Denver Broncos (0-2) – Previously: 18.
The Broncos are 0-2 despite playing two home games against the Raiders, who got blown out by the Bills, and the Redskins, who nearly lost to the Cardinals at home in Week 1. So much for things improving under Sean Payton.
New York Giants (1-1) – Previously: 24.
By halftime of the Arizona game, the Giants were on pace to lose 80-0 in their first two weeks. I’m going to guess that no team has started this poorly through two weeks, but it didn’t matter because the Giants were able to bounce back in the second half. It came at a price, however, as Saquon Barkley got hurt.
Houston Texans (0-2) – Previously: 27.
Wow, what happened to this defense? The Texans were ninth in defensive EPA last year, yet looked pathetic trying to stop Zack Moss. C.J. Stroud threw for 384 yards, but much of that came in garbage time.
Arizona Cardinals (0-2) – Previously: 32.
Thank goodness the Cardinals found a way to lose against the Giants, and I say this as someone who bet their under win total and alternate under win total. However, the Cardinals have not looked like the worst team in the NFL. Joshua Dobbs has been competent, while the defense has applied more pressure than anticipated.
Chicago Bears (0-2) – Previously: 29.
The Bears have to be considered the worst team in the NFL, at least until they get Teven Jenkins back from injury. They can’t block or stop anyone, and to make matters worse, Justin Fields isn’t scrambling. You’d think Fields would want to use his best attribute, but he ran just four times against the Buccaneers, which is just baffling.

2023 NFL MVP Projection:

1. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Dolphins
2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers
3. Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins
4. Jalen Hurts, QB, Eagles
5. Micah Parsons, DE, Cowboys

Go to 2024 NFL Mock Draft

NFL Picks - Sept. 22

2024 NFL Mock Draft - Sept. 13

Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 7

NFL Power Rankings - June 2