It’s that time again! The national media outlets have done their power rankings with Week 3o f the 2024 NFL season now in the books. If you wanted respect for the Seattle Seahawks, you’re getting plenty. Frankly, it’s a little more than I’d anticipated given the set of opponents the Seahawks have beaten.

ESPN began the season ranking the Seahawks at No. 21. Now they’re into the top five. This is an aggregate ranking based off of ESPN’s panel, so either a lot of people view Seattle highly or the assignment has been misunderstood. This is insanely high given how the Seahawks have actually performed against generally weak competition.

4. Seattle Seahawks (3-0)

Week 3 ranking: 10

Biggest issue on offense: Pass protection

The Seahawks rank 30th in pass block win rate (46.1%) and 23rd in allowing pressure (33.0%). They’re 16th in sacks allowed per dropback (7.1%), but that comes with the caveat that QB Geno Smith is getting the ball out at the sixth-fastest rate of any quarterback (2.66 seconds on average). Life won’t get any easier for Seattle’s offensive line now that it’ll be down to its third option at right tackle for the foreseeable future. Stone Forsythe is replacing George Fant, who had been filling in for Abraham Lucas before landing on injured reserve. Lucas isn’t expected to come off the physically unable to perform list until midseason at the earliest. — Brady Henderson

The Athletic has the Seahawks just outside the top five.

6. Seattle Seahawks (3-0)

Last week: 10

Sunday: Beat Miami Dolphins 24-3

Surprise: This team leads the NFC West by two games

It’s not the 49ers. It’s not the Rams. It’s Geno Smith and first-year head coach Mike Macdonald. Smith is second in the league in completion percentage (74.8) and is playing as well as any passer in the league. Only four quarterbacks have more than his 823 passing yards. On top of that, the Seahawks defense is the stingiest in the league, allowing just 3.9 yards per play.

Up next: at Detroit Lions, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

NFL.com’s Eric Edholm is bullish enough on the Seahawks to bump them way up from 19th to 11th.

It’s hard not to see the potential of Mike Macdonald’s defense after it disrupted the Dolphins all day in Week 3, but it comes with the caveat of whom Miami had at quarterback. That carries on with the theme through the first three games: The results have been impressive, but the competition level is about to spike. There’s also a rash of injuries up front, with DLs Byron Murphy II and Leonard Williams both getting hurt on Sunday and Uchenna Nwosu still out. The offense would love to get RB Kenneth Walker III back soon, but Seattle’s not in great shape on the offensive line. There were too many missed assignments and penalties up front, and both of Geno Smith’s interceptions came amid pressure. A rookie coach starting his career at 3-0 is nirvana, but the Seahawks are about to be tested heavily.

Identically to Edholm, Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr has the Seahawks up to 11th from 19th.

I am really not sure where to put this team after wins over Denver, New England (in overtime) and Miami sans Tua Tagovailoa. While this isn’t a Jigsaw chamber of fear type schedule, the NFL has been absurdly weird this year with Baltimore losing to Las Vegas and then Las Vegas falling to Carolina. So, 3–0 is 3–0 and I think it speaks to Mike Macdonald’s ability to handle the roller coaster. The Lions on Monday Night Football this coming week feel like perfect timing to get a measuring stick on where, exactly, this team is at.

Yahoo’s Frank Schwab still has the 1-2 San Francisco 49ers at 5th, but he’s got the Seahawks rounding out his top 10.

Geno Smith has played well. Two interceptions on Sunday vs. the Dolphins, including a bad one under pressure deep in his own end zone, were concerning. But overall, Smith looks like a great fit in new coordinator Ryan Grubb’s offense.

The 33rd Team praises the Seahawks defense in their explanation for why Seattle is now at 7th (up from 17th).

Previous Ranking: 17

The Seattle Seahawks have had some luck in terms of their early-season opponents and injuries, but they have taken care of business in all three games.

The most encouraging thing for Seattle is that its defense looks fantastic under Mike Macdonald. It didn’t take him long to turn around that unit and make them one of the best in the league. We’ll see how it looks against better offenses, but so far, so good for the 3-0 Seahawks.

Next Game: Monday, Sept. 30 vs. Lions

USA Today’s Nate Davis has neither the 3-0 Seahawks nor 3-0 PIttsburgh Steelers in his top five. Pittsburgh is 8th, while Seattle is… 15th. I hope the Lions think the Seahawks game is on Sunday like Nate does.

15. Seattle Seahawks (20): They’ve feasted on a trio of teams each sporting a single win. Sunday’s game at Ford Field will be the first legitimate test for the early NFC West leaders (by two games).

Lastly, our old pal at CBS Sports, Pete Prisco, has the Seahawks at 4th.

At 3-0, they are one of the best teams right now. But they haven’t faced a tough schedule. We will find out more about them this week against the Lions.

Just imagine what will happen if the Seahawks beat the Lions on Monday… and really imagine what happens if they beat the Giants and San Francisco 49ers for the first ever 6-0 start in franchise history? At that point, you’ll care less about power rankings and more about whether Seattle can push for homefield advantage in the NFC.