BoilerMacR's NFL Power Rankings - Week Three

It looked like collegiate football at times yesterday. Single wing formations, direct snaps, trick plays and plenty of stunning upsets. Yet, it was the NFL on one of the more zany Sundays in quite awhile. One thing is for certain as we head into week four, and that is there is a feeling I get that the landscape is shifting.

The formidable powers the past few years are nursing injuries and trying to plug holes, while the younger teams are zipping right by them. Right now it appears that the NFC East is the class of the entire league and everyone else is trying to file in right behind them until lightning strikes.
With that, here are my Week Three NFL Power Rankings, with changes galore. Including at the top.

1.(2) Dallas (3-0) - On the road and against one of the more talented young teams in the NFL, the Cowboys finally powered up in the 2nd half and crushed Green Bay. One of the weapons was heretofore unknown Miles Austin, 3rd wide receiver from tiny Monmouth in New Jersey. He came out of nowhere to give the Packers secondary fits while they were busy keeping tabs on Terrell Owens.

Felix Jones had another game where his impact was felt, and Marion "The Barbarian" Barber was crunching through the Packers all night. Best team in the NFL right now, but like I've said from the beginning of pre-season - if they don't go to the Super Bowl, it's a complete failure of a season.

2.(3) NY Giants (3-0) - Remarkable game that almost left the defending champs with some seriously reddened and embarassed faces from allowing winless Cincinatti to come to town and sneak out a victory. But Eli Manning and the Giant offense responded each time the Bengals scored, and Manning's pass deep into Bengal terrority to Amani Toomer in overtime set up the game winning field goal. The Giants are now 3-0 and hanging right with the Cowboys.

3.(10) Philadelphia (2-1) - The win vs state rival Pittsburgh might be a bit costly. McNabb and Westbrook both are banged up, with Brian the more serious of the two. If they both can be back in action again next week, then the Eagles will obviously be in better shape when they face the Bears in Chicago. The Eagles, Giants and Cowboys all have superb balance on both sides of the football, but with Westbrook and McNabb out of the picture or not 100%, the Redskins can fill the vacuum quickly.

4.(5) Tennessee (3-0) - Once again the Titans use a smothering defense and just enough offense to win. That INT by Cortland Finnegan sealed the deal for the Titans, who now find themselves up by 2 games on division rivals Indy and Jacksonville. Without their franchise QB too. Jeff Fisher must be wanting someone to pinch him. A very interesting game coming up next week as AP and the Minnesota Vikings come in for a visit.

5.(6) Buffalo (3-0) - Great comeback by the Bills after a horrible defensive lapse allowed Oakland to score and go up 23-14 late in the game. The BIlls didn't panic and came back after that 84-yard TD pass from Russell to Johnnie Lee Higgins, getting a Trent Edwards TD pass to Roscoe Parrish. Then they drove down into field goal terrority to give Rian Lindell the game-winning shot, which he drove through the uprights and 24-23 thriller. The Bills are now 3-0 and alone atop the AFC East. Up next is a road trip out west to face the St. Louis Rams.

6.(8) Baltimore (2-0) Joe Flacco isn't ready to go to the Pro Bowl yet, but he has been steady. His first career interception did lead to 7 points for Cleveland, but on this day the defense tormented the Browns all day long so it really didn't matter. The real test is coming next Monday night for Flacco as he makes his inaugural appearance on Monday Night Football. Don't think the Steelers won't be ready with a welcoming plan.

7.(9) Denver (3-0) - This team was on fire early in the game and we knew New Orleans isn't exactly a powerhouse on defense. However, someone forgot to tell Denver about Drew Brees. Or at least it seemed that way as they fought off Brees and the Saints to hold on for a 34-32 win. It marks another "hang-on-it's-gonna-be-a-close-one" victory to move them to a 3-0 overall record. But the Denver D needs some work.

8.(8) Green Bay (2-1) - Is it midnight yet, or was this just one of those games you knew had to happen to Aaron Rodgers eventually? The Packer secondary didn't look to hot against the Cowboys at times, yet managed to pick Romo a couple of times. Turning point of the game was after the long pass to Donald Driver, Packers trailing 13-6 and they had to settle for a FG. At home. Now the Packers return their focus on the NFC North as Minnesota is back on track and the Bears have a dangerous defense.

9. (1) Pittsburgh (2-1) - Big Ben looked like he had shoulder problems, while the entire offense seemed stuck in mud. While the Steeler defense kept it close the offense couldn't muster up enough points and even ended up giving a few away. The biggest question for the next week will be whether or not Big Ben can go against the Ravens on Monday night. Any takers say he won't?

10.(16) Washington (2-1)- A huge win for the Skins. Jason Campbell seems to be getting more and more comfortable in this offense and has his "safety-blanket" receiver in Santana Moss, who had an outstanding game. But the real difference today was the Skin defense who were challenged all game long and only allowed a few big plays to a team that thrives on multiple big plays each week.

11.(11) San Diego (0-2) - If the Bolts win on Monday night, they won't move up. If they lose, they fall waaaaaay down.

12.(21) Arizona (2-1) - This was the opportunity for the Cardinals show the league it was here and ready to assume the role of Super Bowl contender. The stage was set to come into hostile Redskin country, beat a top team from one of the two best conferences in the league and win. However, all the Cards did was allow opportunity after opportunity to slip away and Washington to pull out a victory that gave Arizona their first loss of the season.

13.(7) Carolina (2-1) - The Panthers laid an egg. It was almost the opposite of what happened to Minnesota last week, only with the Vikings down 10-0 early in this one. However, Carolina could not step on the throat of the Vikings to finish them off. Coach John Fox and the Panthers certainly won't enjoy film study tomorrow and then get ready for a fireball in the form of the Falcons from Atlanta.

14.(23) Tampa Bay (2-1) - Brian Griese had a very large measure of revenge against his former team, throwing for over 400 yards and overcoming 3 picks to lead his team to a 27-24 overtime when at Soldier Field in Chicago. The win keeps the Bucs in the hunt within the NFC South, which currently features a three-way tie for first among the Bucs, Carolina and, of all teams, the Falcons.

15.(22) Atlanta (2-1) - Matt Ryan and Michael Turner turned the heat up early on KC and never looked back. Ryan through an 80 yard bomb to Roddy White early in the 1st quarter, while Turner just bullied his way to a 3 TD performance. The defense did some good work as well, holding Larry Johnson down until they were up convincingly at 24-0. The Falcons are starting to gain some confidence and the NFC South is a complete free-for-all right now with three teams at 2-1 and the pre-season favorite Saints, 1-2. Next up for Atlanta is a rugged road game to Carolina.

16.(21) San Francisco (2-1) - Frisco is taking advantage of the big win over Seattle last week by knocking off another divisional opponent. The Lions never stood a chance, as J.T. O'Sullivan and Frank Gore had the offense clicking, while the defense came up with another solid peformance. We'll get the chance to see if the 49ers can keep the momentum going next week when they travel to the Big Easy and face the dangerous Saints.

17.(17) New Orleans (1-2) - Two weeks in a row, two close losses. This time it was some questionable play-calling that might have cost the Saints. Drew Brees was hitting on about any pass to anyone in a gold uniform. So with just over 2 minutes left, in Denver terrority and trailing by two points, coach Sean Payton decides to deploy the conservative play calling raft.....which promptly deflates on 3 consecutive running plays, including a 3rd and one handoff up the middle to Pierre Thomas that resulted in a 3 yard loss. That forced a Martin Gramatica field goal from around 45 or more, which he promptly sent wide right and left the Saints 1-2 on the season. If that wasn't bad enought, TE Jeremy Shockey is out with a groin injury for several weeks.

18.(12) Chicago (1-2) - For the entire first half the Bear offense basically went three and out. In the 2nd half, following a Kyle Orton QB sneak for a first down, the former Boilermaker hit nearly every pass en route to a 24-14 lead against division rival Tampa Bay. Matt Forte and the Bear defense were the main story, but Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd connected on some big plays to ignite the offense. Someone forgot to tell Brian Griese that this had all the makings of a "Bear" day. The defense played great most of the game, but the boneheaded personal foul penalty in OT sealed the Bears fate.

19.(4) New England (1-2) - Many predicted the Patriots were just "time" away from a loss. Sure, that's a pretty easy prediciton to make considering the large impact Tom Brady has made on that team the past few years. But really, did anyone think it would be Miami? At home? No....no one did. Nor could they imagine an absolute butt-whipping even if the Phish did happen to score an upset win. But it happened. The lone bright spot is the fact it is bye week and the Patriots have two weeks to prepare for a West coast trip to meet the 49ers.

20.(14) Jacksonville ( 1-2) - A very close call for the Jags who were precariously close to falling to 0-3. If it weren't for a rather questionable pass-interference call against a frozen Colts linebacker with under a minute to go, it would've been their third straight loss. As it is, the Jags get their first win of the year and travel back home to face the improved Houston Texans who feature a better run defense than Indy.

21.(13) Indianapolis (1-2) - This team is between a rock and a hard place. Offensive line injuries force massive shuffling and either protection or run blocking problems, or both. The defense has injuries that have reduced the overall depth and other bumps and bruises have affected other key players. Plus they can't tackle very well - which might be because they were on the field against Jacksonville for 41 minutes. And then there's Peyton Manning, who is still finishing off a 3-game pre-season run during the regular season and still is obviously not running at peak efficiency. They are fortunate to be 1-2, but until the entire team is healthy I'd say they're precariously close to leaving their fate in the hands of a wild card berth.

22.(18) NY Jets (1-1) - If the Jets win close on MNF, I will bump them up a few notches. If they do like Miami and blow the Chargers out, they jump up to #17. If they lose, they stick at #22.

23. (20) Houston (0-2) - Matt Schaub's least favorite team to play against causes nightmares again for the Texans. Tennessee pressure created bad passes, interceptions and other assorted problems. The Texans are probably still trying to re-focus in light of the circumstances surrounding hurricane Ike. They need to do it quickly as hurricane Jaguar is up next.

24.(25) Seattle (1-2) - No one was expecting this Seahawk team to put up 37 points (even on St. Louis) with all the injuries to the receiving corps and the question marks surrounding their running game. But the Rams really must suck that badly. Jerious Jones and T.J. Duckett made St. Louis look like a college team by racking up over 200 yards rushing and 3 TD's between the two of them. Meantime Matt Hasselbeck throws for over 170 yards and a touchdown - to a guy named Bumphus. No, seriously. He's a 5-11 rookie out of Washington St.

25.(26) Minnesota (1-2) - The Vikings, ahead 15-0 last week to the Colts, blew the lead and lost the game. This week, they spot Carolina a 10-0 lead and storm back for a 20-10 victory. It was a much needed win as there was much consternation among the faithful right after the Panthers went up by 10 in the first half. But Antoine Winfield's game changing sack and fumble recovery for a touchdown sparked the Vikings. Then Gus Frerotte played his normal steady game, passing for over 200 yards while letting the defense do the rest, giving Minnesota it's first win of the year. And not a moment too soon.

26.(27) Oakland (1-2) - Excruciating loss for the Raiders and Lane Kiffin. They battled and baffled the Bills all day long, and looked to have locked the game up on the 84-yard TD pass from Jamarcus Russell to Johnnie Lee Higgens. Perhaps that is exactly what happened - the Raiders thought it was over. Speaking of "over", I am wondering if it is that time now for Kiffen, or will Al let it drag out until the bye week. One thing is certain: the Raiders aren't too far away from being a playoff team if someone named Al would leave the coaching staff alone.

27.(31) Miami (1-2) - This team isn't a bottom-dwellar any longer. Not with that backfield and the emerging offensive line we witnessed against New England. Coach Sparano may have reinforced a new trend in the NFL with direct snaps to his running backs. The only problem I see with it is having a guy like Chad Pennington split wide right....no one is buying that for a moment. But it still worked. And now Chad and Chad have a backup QB in Ronnie Brown. Extremely impressive and important win for this franchise.

28.(24) Cleveland (0-3) - Can you say "Night-night" Cleveland? Okay, well maybe not "Night, night". Maybe just "Lights low" for right now. The entire Brown team seems extremely out of sync. The weather was fine and there were no excuses today - the Ravens just took it to them. This creates the dilema of pushing Brady Quinn in at QB to provide some sort of spark, because it is obvously the offense that cannot get untracked. Or should I say Derek Anderson cannot get ON track. His two pick 6 passes in the 3rd quarter blew the game open for Baltimore. They might catch a break as they face the Bengals next week, though it's on the road.

29.(30) Cincy(0-3) - Wow....talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It was good to see the effort put forth by the Bengals in this game, but moral victories can't count any longer as the season begins to slip away. Perhaps a victory in the Buckeye State Bowl next week will get things turned around. Riiiight. It's going to be a photo-finish as to what coach gets canned first this year. My guess is Marv is right behind Linehan and Edwards.

30.(31) Detroit (0-3)- All I want to know is how the hell is Matt Millen still a General Manager? That's all I want to know. Oh, and why was it Mike Martz was fired? Oh, and can I apply for the GM job? I guess maybe that's asking a little too much.

31.(29) St. Louis ( 0-3) - Just when you thought it couldn't get any uglier. When you allow T.J. Duckett to score on you - twice - you know you have work to do. Not that Duckett is a bad player. But he's about 43 years old isn't he? At any rate, the Rams are just a shade better than KC, so they would probably win the Show Me Bowl.

32.(27) Kansas City (0-3) - Sheesh KC....at least PRETEND to try and find a QB.....oh, I know, how about Daunte Culpepper? I heard he wasn't doing much these days. Herm? Your job is slowly slipping away, so what would it hurt to get in touch with Pep? It ain't like Thigpen is going to keep you in the hunt for at least a .500 season. The battle of pro football in Missouri continues