NFL Power Rankings: Week 3
The NFL's Best Teams And Worst Teams After Two Weeks Of Play
After Week 1 led to copious amounts of confusion, Week 2 brought things into focus a little more and one thing is becoming very obvious: The NFC is looking much stronger than the AFC at this point. Divisional favories and expeected contenders all over the AFC are struggling and no other teams seem ready or fit to take charge. The San Diego Chargers are hurt and reeling. The New England Patriots are 2-0, but have looked less than impressive against two teams that will be lucky to win eight games combined. The Cleveland Browns are 0-2 and looking nothing like a team that was 10-6 a year before. The Indianaoplis Colts were one drive away from being winless and Jacksonville doesn't seem to have enough talent on the line after a rash of injuries.
Best of the best
So where does that leave us? With an NFC-heavy Top-5 this week, of course. First on the list:
The Dallas Cowboys (Last week: No. 1)
The Cowboys proved their mettle in a shootout with the Philadelphia Eagles in prime time. It was a game that was not without mistakes. Tony Romo threw a bad interception in the first half and later flubbed a handoff in the end zone that the Eagles recovered for a touchdown, but down the stretch, he came through with big completion after big completion. Marion Barber displayed just how valuable he is to this team in the second half both on the ground and in the passing game and Felix Jones more and more is looking like an very exciting young player. Until someone beats them, the Cowboys will remain No. 1. Moving up a spot to No. 2 this week is...
The Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: No. 3)
For most of this game, Donovan McNabb looked stelar. But in the face of real pressure, he seemed to fade a bit. Brian Westbrook may not be the absolute best running back in the league, but he's close and he's definitely the one most valuable to his team. DeSean Jackson looks to be a future star in the league if he stops making bone-headed moves like throwing the ball away at the one-yard line while celebrating a would-be touchdown. A tough matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers will be another early-season test. Next on the list...
The Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: No. 2)
Pittsburgh's win last week in the wind and rain was hardly an inspiring one, but the defense was impressive, holding the Cleveland Browns to just over 200 yards of total offense. Ben Roethisberger willed his team to a win, even with a bad shoulder, something he's been doing basically since he got into the league.The defense is allowing less than 12 points per game, but will have its hands full with a Philadelphia team that has scored 75 points over the past two weeks. Moving on to...
The Green Bay Packers (Last week: NR)
The Pack have waited a long time to see what Aaron Rodgers is made of. So far, he's done a masterful job of stepping out of Brett Favre's shadow. A game with Dallas this week could prove to be another shootout, which will go a long way in showing whether or not he's up for the task.
The Denver Broncos (Last week: NR)
This was really a tough call because, let's face it, a controversial sealed the game for them. But Jay Cutler had one of those games that could define his career going forward and a shrewd call by Mike Shanahan to go for two at home proved that this team is not ready to settle for anything. Cuttler has thrown for at least 300 yards in both games this season and Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall are looking like as good a tandem of wide outs as you'll find anywhere in the league.
The worst of the worst
A few teams solidified their spots on this list with equally poor Week 2 performances. Leading off...
The Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: NR)
Can anybody remember the last time Carson Palmer looked like a really good quarterback? He has zero touchdowns, three interceptions and a 50-percent completion percentage aginst two very beatable teams so far this year. With an ankle injury and the Giants on deck, there's no reason to think it'll get better. Next up...
The Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: No. 4 worst team)
They're possibly down to their third-string quarterback and the defense can't stop the run. They allowed almost 6.5 yards per carry last week. Larry Johnson can't do it all, but most likely Herm Edwards will ask him to yet again. The man has already taken several years off LJ's career. Moving down the list is...
The Detroit Lions (Last week: NR)
Every division has its whipping boy. That team in the NFC North is the Detroit Lions. The defense was expected to be bad, but Jon Kitna especially has to make better decisions. However, at this point his career, why would he start now? Our runner up is...
The Miami Dolphins (Last week: No. 3 worst team)
Kurt Warner and company torched the secondary for 165 yards in the first quarter and the Dolphins are already talking about getting Chad Henne some playing time after Chad Pennington's putrid 112-yard performance. And last and certainly least...
The St. Louis Rams (Last week: No. 1 worst team)
This team is simply terrible. The defense has given up a combined 79 points in two games, while the offense has mustered just 16 points. Marc Bulger has been sacked 10 times in that span and when playing from behind all the time, their best player, Steven Jackson, won't have an opportunity to make much of an impact.
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