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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/NFLPowerRankers on 2023-09-26 21:05:50.
Welcome to week 3 of the official r/NFL Power Rankings! 2023 is the year of emotional intelligence in the NFL? Justin Fields seems to be at peace playing for a dumpster fire too big for Smokey, is any team worse? Meanwhile will Sean Payton learn from discovering teams don’t run up the score against respected coaches? Jordan Love’s 4th quarter comeback saved him from the wrath of Lambeau, but what does it mean for the rankings? Was the Cowboys loss a true implosion, or just a blip until it inevitably happens again in the divisional round? Discuss! 31/32 Reporting
| # | Team | Δ | Record | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 49ers | – | 3-0 | The 49ers shone on both sides of the ball on Thursday, turning in a strong 30-12 victory over the NY Giants. Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey shone on offense, and outside of a special teams blunder, the defense held the Giants offense in check for most of the game. The team looks to improve to 4-0 against the Cardinals on Sunday. | |
| 2. | Dolphins | +2 | 3-0 | What happened on Sunday didn’t feel real. A lot of us were questioning what we were watching. How could you not? 70 points and 726 yards of offense in a single game in today’s NFL just seems impossible. Our rookie running back Devon Achane, who was our RB4 coming into the season, pulled a Jonas Gray out of nowhere and racked up 233 yards and 4 touchdowns. Our actual starting running back Raheem Mostert held us back only putting up 142 yards and 4 TDs. Tua was out there throwing no look passes for touchdowns. We’re 3-0 and are finally regarded as serious Super Bowl contenders for the first time in decades. With all of that being said, going into week 4 we’re still seen as underdogs (And deservedly so) headed to Buffalo to face a Bills team that have not only beaten their last two opponents by a combined 75-13, but have forced 9 total turnovers over that two-game span. Something has to give in this battle between an unstoppable offense and an immovable defense, and we’ll find out which side gives this Sunday at 1 pm. | |
| 3. | Eagles | – | 3-0 | There’s been much discussion about the inconsistency of the Eagles offense with Hurts, but two things have kept the Eagles from notching the loss column: one, the rushing attack, especially via Swift, has been stellar behind a top o-line. It remains to be seen whether teams will sacrifice the blitzes that have been successful against Hurts in order to stop the run, but so far the biggest thing to carry over from 2022 has been the run game. And two, the Eagles were expecting to regress along the D-line, and while they likely won’t repeat 70 sacks this year, the front 4 have been outstanding. With losing Hargrave to FA, the idea was that the interior, even with Jalen Carter, would take a step back and the edge rushers would need to generate the majority of the pressure. Through three games, it’s been the opposite: the interior, led by the big three of Carter, who appears to be the next great rookie DT, Davis, who has taken a big leap in year 2, and Cox, who seems to have turned back the clock a few years, have been more disruptive than many hoped. As the Eagles sit at 3-0 on the top of their division, one thing remains clear: games are won in the trenches. | |
| 4. | Chiefs | +1 | 2-1 | I recently watched a video of a grown man terrorizing a small child while playing Among US VR. In hindsight it was probably something that truly traumatized the poor kid, but in a sick sort of way it was incredibly satisfying to watch. That’s about how I’d explain the Chiefs - Bears game. In a weekend with several complete massacres, the Chiefs had the most dominating half of football we’ve seen this year. The Bears were completely outmatched in all 3 phases, all while millions of non football fans watched just to get a glimpse of Trav’s new girl in the stands. Patrick forced him the ball in the end zone saying that he felt pressure to get him a touchdown. Next week the Chiefs play the Jets which should test the team’s new found confidence on offense. On the other side Wilson and company will likely find it incredibly difficult to move the ball against one of the top defensive units in the sport. | |
| 5. | Bills | +2 | 2-1 | Yes, they’ve played three mediocre-to-bad offenses, but man this Bills defense looks stout. The switch from Leslie Frazier to Sean McDermott calling plays is already playing dividends. This defensive front is more aggressive at getting after the QB than it’s been at any point in McDermott’s tenure, and after an ugly week 1, it looks like the offense has come back around. This week will be the biggest test yet though, particularly for this defense. The Raiders and Commanders are one thing, but how will they fare against an offense that just put up 70? | |
| 6. | Cowboys | -4 | 2-1 | Well that sucked. Every team gets one free “oops we shit out pants” game a year, and Dallas decided to play that card extra early this year. There are lots of reasons to completely write it off. Only one offensive line starter repeated from last week, which impacted protection early on. They seemed to get it together later in the game, but it was too late on then. The secondary had a lot of shuffling with the injury to Trevon Diggs and the return of Donovan Wilson, which might explain the communication issues and blown coverages. However, there were some lingering issues that were concerning. Offensive playcalling failed to adapt to defensive playcalling, and red zone production continues to be an issue. Poor gap discipline and an inability to set the edge open huge running lanes. All of these things are fixable, and none of them take away from the talent of each side of the ball, but this game generated some concerns. | |
| 7. | Lions | +1 | 2-1 | This win rests squarely on the shoulders of General Manager Brad Holmes and his ability to draft impact rookies. From the 2023 Draft: Jahmyr Gibbs out-dueled fellow first round RB Bijan Robinson in his first game as the lead back, Jack Campbell had his first NFL sack, Sam LaPorta set a plethora of NFL rookie TE records, and Brian Branch was a heat-seeking missile against the run and the pass. The Lions displayed the defensive dominance Aaron Glenn is capable of dialing up, with SIX different players sacking Desmond Ridder while one of the most dynamic rushing attacks in the NFL were held to 44 yards on 20 carries. This was a breakout for a squad missing both starting safeties and an integral pass rusher, and they absolutely shined in the face of heavy criticism after the Seattle flop. The largest concern for the Lions right now is the tackle spot, where rookie 5th round guard Colby Sorsdal finished the game playing RT. If the defense can continue to play like this, however, the offense will just need to find a splash or two to keep the Lions in the win column moving forward, and as Sam LaPorta showed this week, they are certainly capable of that. | |
| 8. | Ravens | -2 | 2-1 | When assessing the best teams in the league we often get caught up in who has the best quarterback, which team leads in point/turnover differential, who leads in advanced metrics like EPA or DVOA. Sometimes it’s much simpler than all that though; it’s simply “Which teams win the games they’re supposed to?”. In the NFL, every game is hard (just ask the Cowboys) and all the little things make the difference (much like myself finally posting this in the right place for once). It’s easy to scapegoat a fresh off the street FA RB fumble, a backup TE dropped pass, a rare missed Tucker field goal in poor weather, a chaotic game clock conundrum, or some questionable flags/no flags but at the end of the day this is a game we were supposed to win and we didn’t. Get your ice baths ready because up next is back-to-back weeks at Cleveland and at Pittsburgh. | |
| 9. | Packers | +4 | 2-1 | So instead of building a big lead and then folding like we did last week, the Packers played like ass for the first half and then Jordan Love decided that it was time to win the game and then we won the game. Are we a good team? I genuinely don’t know. The defense held the Saints offense to 10 points, but Derek Carr got hurt midway through so idk how much credit to give. Jordan Love showed great poise in leading the comeback, but ideally I’d rather not be scoreless through 3 quarters. The Packers are missing their 2 best skill players and their two best linemen so winning these games is a great bonus, but it’s very unclear when any of them are coming back. Maybe we’re just a young team with the talent to play well but too inconsistent to do so regularly. | |
| 10. | Browns | +4 | 2-1 | Lets be real, Myles Garrett and the Cleveland defense did more to help the win than Watson. Sacking Tannehill five times and holding him to just over one hundred passing yards, the defense did the dirty work. Watson did manage to connect with Ford, taking over for Nick Chubb who is done for the year. The Browns will host the Ravens next week. | |
| 11. | Bengals | – | 1-2 | The Bengals got a much needed win to stay just one game behi… |
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