NFL Week 3 Power Rankings 2023: Bad News Bears edition |
Here is our third power ranking of the NFL season for week 3.
*We decided to explain the top 16 and the Bears* 1. San Francisco 49ers 2-0: San Francisco has one of the most talented rosters in the sport, and rode their best players to another NFC Championship appearance last year. The 49ers had had a topsy turvy season, losing newly named starting QB Trey lance in week 1 — and Jimmy Garropolo later on in the season. But that never stopped the 49ers from winning. Garropolo is now a Raider, Trey Lance is now a Cowboy and Brock Purdy is the starter on a team with one of the best rosters in the NFL, and he has never lost in the regular season, including this past week’s blowout win over Pittsburgh and LA. 2. Philadelphia Eagles 2-0: Philadelphia was one of the league’s best teams from start to finish. A dominating pass rush, a veteran offensive line, all pros all over the field and a newly added AJ Brown gave Jalen Hurts all of the tools needed to make the leap from talented to top-5 QB in the league. The Eagles lost the Super Bowl to the Chiefs but are still loaded with talent, and should be considered favorites to return to the pinnacle next season. The roster truly does not have many holes. They are NFC East champs as look to control that division for now. They lost Miles Sanders but added De’Andre Swift to the bunch and he is a big reason they are 2-0 in the early going. 3. Kansas City Chiefs 1-1: Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs turned a rocky start into a dominating end of the season. Despite losing Tyreek Hill before last season, the Chiefs still dominated the AFC West and won their second Super Bowl in four seasons. Mahomes led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns and won his second MVP. The defense stepped up, Travis Kelce was phenomenal and the Chiefs have cemented themselves as the NFL’s next dynasty. Chris Jones was a big reason why the Chiefs were able to succeed, and he just recently signed a new deal. A week one hiccup agains Detroit will not deter me from the Chiefs bandwagon. 4. Dallas Cowboys 2-0: Dallas has one of the best defenses in the league, but can not seem to get over the offensive hump. Nonetheless, the team is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. The fact of the matter is though, that as long as the Eagles look the way they do, Dallas will be playing for the Wild Card for the foreseeable future. Prescott is getting paid QB1 money, it’s time for him to play like it as well this season. Ezekiel Elliot is no longer in the picture so it is Tony Pollard’s backfield and the Cowboys added Brandin Cooks to a loaded WR room. That all was enough for an impressive 40-0 drubbing and a 30-10 win over the New York Giants and Jets in weeks 1 and 2. 5. Miami Dolphins 2-0: The question surrounding the Miami Dolphins is how good can Tua be, because the offense that features Tyreek Hill, Jalen Waddle, and Raheem Mostert is loaded with speed. Tua looked great early on, but a few scary head injuries not only jeopardized his career but also the Dolphins 2022 season. At the end of the day, they are one of the most exciting teams in football — and a healthy, capable Tua can certainly make them contenders. The Dolphins added Jalen Ramsey to the cornerback room as well, so the defense should be better. Miami certainly turned heads in their thrilling season opening victory over the Chargers and primetime dub over New England. 6. Baltimore Ravens 2-0: Baltimore has one of the league’s strongest rosters but they spent most of 2021 and 2022 as the most injured team in the sport. But this team has speed all over the field, on both sides of the ball, and they know their identity. Led by an MVP in Lamar Jackson, the Ravens have the recipe for success — they just need to stay healthy. The Ravens paid Lamar Jackson, they signed OBJ in free agency and added a WR in the draft in Zay Flowers. This make be the strongest team Lamar Jackson has quarterbacked, so look out for Baltimore. They took care of business against the Texans and Bengals thus far. 7. Buffalo Bills 1-1: The Bills are one of the league’s best teams and had a heartbreaking end to the postseason now three years in a row. The defense took a step back in 2022, but Josh Allen is still one of the league’s best QB’s and leads one of the league’s best offenses. The Bills made some nice moves to shore up the offensive line and are certainly a top-10 team in the NFL, even after the loss to the Jets on Monday night football. They proved that this week against the Raiders. 8. Jacksonville Jaguars 2-0: Trevor Lawrence is showing everybody in the NFL why he was selected with the number one overall pick in 2021. The talented QB led the Jaguars to a division championship and a playoff win — and look primed to only get better as a team. The defense needs some help to take the next step, but the AFC South is Jacksonville’s division to lose for what feels like the first time ever. 9. New Orleans Saints 2-0: The Saints have the luxury of playing in what looks to be the weakest division in the NFL. But they got a lot better in the offseason. The defense still holds Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis, and the offense added Derek Carr, and Jamaal Williams and will get a healthy Michael Thomas back to join Chris Olave and Jarvis Landry in the WR room. The Saints also have the easiest schedule in the NFL. They won week one and two and looked solid in Carr’s debut. 10. Detroit Lions 1-1: The Lions were one of the best stories in the NFL this season. Despite faltering to 1-6 out of the gate, the Lions finished 9-8. They are loaded with young talent and might need a QB change before they are TRUE contenders, but the Lions should be expected to be a playoff contender for the near future. They have a confident coach and young playmakers on both sides of the field. Keep an eye on the Lions moving forward, especially after the week 1 win over the Chiefs. They are still exciting, even after losing to Seattle on Sunday in OT. 11. Cincinnati Bengals 0-2: The Bengals were the AFC’s representative in the Super Bowl two years ago and made it to the AFC Championship again this year, led by Joe Burrow. It’s not always pretty, but the Bengals just win games — and the way their roster is constructed, expect them to continue to do just that. They have won the AFC North two years in a row, and it is Burrow’s division, not Lamar’s. The Bengals added more to the offensive line, paid Burrow, and proved to be a threat in the AFC even after their disappointing 24-3 loss to Cleveland and 27-24 loss against Baltimore to open the campaign. Keep an eye on Burrow’s injury, though. 12. Pittsburgh Steelers 1–1:This may come as a surprise, but the Steelers are in our top half of the league. There is no secret they boast one of the league’s best defenses, the offense played much better down the stretch. The Steelers won six of seven games to end the season, and Kenny Pickett began to come into his own. They may need some help on the offensive line and to open up the run game for Najee Harris — but the Steelers should not be a team that teams are looking forward to playing in 2023, even if they ran into the 49ers in week 1. They showed just that on MNF against Cleveland. 13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-0: Nope, not Tom Brady, it’s Baker Mayfield who has led the Bucs past both the Vikings and the Bears to open the season. They still have a ton of talent on both the offense and defensive side of the ball, and Baker is playing with so much passion. In a wide-open NFC, do not be surprised to see the Bucs' success continue. 14. New York Jets 1-1: While they did not make the playoffs, the Jets 2022 season was their best in years. It was their best season since 2017, and the defense was the best it's been since 2009. The Jets are loaded with young talent on both sides of the ball: including sweeping Rookie of the Year honors for both offense and defense (Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner). With Aaron Rodgers now at the helm, they feel like one of the teams to beat in the AFC. However, a season-ending Achilles injury on his fourth snap makes the playoffs a much more difficult endeavor, even after the thrilling week one walk-off win — and they came back to Earth in week 2. 15. Los Angeles Chargers 0-2: The Chargers may have been one of the NFL’s most disappointing teams. They added Khalil Mack and JC Jackson to a defense that got a healthy Derwin James and Joey Bosa back in 2022 but struggled. On offense, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams battled injuries, as did Justin Herbert, so the offense became Austin Ekeler-dependent. But as the new season approaches, LA should still be one of the league’s most talented teams in the near future. The division they are in still runs through the Chiefs, but the Chargers are contenders for sure, even after their losses to Miami and Tennessee in games that they should’ve won. 16. Cleveland Browns 1-1: It’s a division loaded with talent, but the Browns look primed to contend. The pass rush is elite, the offensive line is top-notch, Nick Chubb is one of the league’s best at his position, and they just dismantled the Bengals in week 1. It’s a loaded division within a loaded AFC, but don’t count out the Browns. 17. New York Giants 1-1 18. Washington Commanders 2-0 19. Minnesota Vikings 0-2 20. Seattle Seahawks 1-1 21. Green Bay Packers 1-1 22. Tennessee Titans 1-1 23. Denver Broncos 0-2 24. New England Patriots 0-2 25. Los Angeles Rams 1-1 26. Atlanta Falcons 2-0 27. Las Vegas Raiders 1-1 28. Carolina Panthers 0-2 29. Chicago Bears 0-2 The Bears went into the season last year with a new coach, a new general manager, a new staff, and a quarterback who many expected to take the next step. Justin Fields did that in a lot of people’s eyes, and the Bears spent the offense improving the defense, adding to the offensive line, and acquiring a WR1 for Justin Fields in DJ Moore. The Bears have battled some injuries in the preseason but have improved enough for the Bears to start showing it in the win/loss column. However, they failed to unleash Fields or show any promise in their week one loss to Green Bay and their week 2 loss against Tampa. Time to turn it around in Chicago, otherwise, it’s time to be concerned. 30. Indianapolis Colts 1-1 31. Houston Texans 0-2 32. Arizona Cardinals 0-2 Stay tuned as we update these rankings every week.
