Week 3 On SI NFL Power Rankings: Surprising Saints and Buccaneers
Week 3 of the NFL regular season saw a resurgence of quarterbacks Malik Willis’s and Justin Fields’s young careers, the arrival of Jayden Daniels’s, all while former first pick Bryce Young sat on the bench watching Andy Dalson lead the Carolina Panthers past the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills are clearly the best teams in the NFL. But who did enough this week to make up ground in our Week 4 On SI NFL Power Rankings? Let’s go!
The Chiefs’ win over the Falcons won’t linger long in KC’s memory, as Kansas City’s defense put up another solid performance while the offense struggled to turn yards into touchdowns. The Chiefs can only truly prove themselves down the stretch. In the meantime, all they can do is keep winning games to hold on to the AFC’s No. 1 seed. —Joshua Brisco, Kansas City Chiefs On SI
The Bills dominated on both sides of the ball for the third week in a row, jumping out to a 34-3 halftime lead in a Monday night rout of the hapless Jaguars. Allen was magnificent, with five straight touchdown drives and four touchdown passes to open the game. The Buffalo defense was also exceptional, creating two turnovers and recording five sacks as they held Jacksonville to 2-13 on third down. Three tough road games now await the Bills: at the Ravens, Texans and Jets, layering on some caution for Bills Mafia. —Chris Pirrone, Buffalo Bills On SI
For the second week in a row, the 49ers didn’t show up. The Rams played decidedly harder than they did. Brock Purdy and Jauan Jennings were outstanding but the rest of the team was flat. The 49ers seem like an old, tired team that missed its shot. Maybe this was the loss it needed. —Grant Cohn, San Francisco 49ers On SI
The Lions got back to what has made them successful, including running the football early in the game. The defense is becoming a strength while the offense steadily improves. —John Maakaron, Detroit Lions On SI
After a couple of shaky weeks, the Eagles’ defense looked cohesive and was able to subdue the Saints’ high-powered offensive attack in a 15-12 battle of willpower. Jalen Hurts & Co. struggled but came up clutch with a come-from-behind, game-winning touchdown with just over a minute to go. — Scott Neville, Philadelphia Eagles On SI
The offense is roaring along without Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. How good are they going to be once fully healthy? It’s scary — almost as scary as the defense that has made Brock Purdy and C.J. Stroud look pedestrian the past two weeks. Any more doubters out there? —Joe Nelson, Minnesota Vikings On SI
After Jordan Love suffered a sprained MCL during the final seconds of the season-opening loss, the Packers were staring at the possibility of an 0-3 start. Stunningly, Malik Willis, who was acquired a day before Cutdown Day, helped the Packers beat the Colts and Titans. Safe to say, he saved the season and resurrected his career. — Bill Huber, Green Bay Packers On SI
The Ravens claimed their first win of the season, but avoiding a fourth quarter collapse wasn’t the convincing statement they wanted to make. On both sides of the ball, this team has things to work on, and their potential is still unknown until things are fixed. —Noah Strackbein, Baltimore Ravens On SI
The Texans had their worst game of the DeMeco Ryans era against the Vikings, an undefeated team on the road. The panic button shouldn’t be pressed in Houston, but this is a wakeup call to clean up some areas that will help out in the long run. —Jeremy Brener, Houston Texans on SI
The Steelers have found their offense and it seems as if they’re just getting started. This team is 3-0, might have the best defense in the NFL, and have a quarterback (Justin Fields) who’s getting better by the week. They’re quickly becoming a team to watch. —Noah Strackbein, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI
Subpar offensive line play and penalty issues continue to be significant concerns, but a stifling, relentless defense that has allowed 14 combined second-half points through three games has the Seahawks two games out in front in the NFC West. —Corbin Smith, Seattle Seahawks On SI
New Orleans fell to a very good Eagles team on Sunday because of failing to execute critical plays in the fourth quarter. It’s the club’s first taste of adversity after two big wins to start the season. How they respond on the road against Atlanta will tell us if the Saints are true contenders. —Kyle T. Mosley, New Orleans Saints On SI
Woof. The Buccaneers didn’t just get beat by an inferior opponent, but got annihilated by the Broncos—at home. It’s too early to say that they’re frauds, but this team has to improve on its weakness before it gets to the hardest part of their schedule. —River Wells, Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
Justin Herbert, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt all left Sunday’s loss to the Steelers due to injuries, and Herbert continues to struggle with a high ankle sprain. He was seen after the game wearing a walking boot. The Chargers will have their hands full Sunday when they will host the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. —San Diego Chargers On SI
The Jets got their first “statement” win of the Aaron Rodgers era. While they won in Week 2, this game was a symbolic turn of the page as the offense finally clicked and decimated a stout Patriots defense. Watch the Super Bowl contender whispers slowly grow into a roar. —Kade Kistner, New York Jets On SI
The Bengals had their most disappointing loss of the season on Monday night. Joe Burrow played well, the offense scored 33 points and it wasn’t enough because the defense couldn’t stop Jayden Daniels. Cincinnati is 0-3 for the first time in Burrow’s five-year career. —James Rapien, Cincinnati Bengals On SI
Another home game, another disappointing result. Dallas’s 28-25 loss to the Ravens was not as close as the score indicated. Baltimore raced out to an early first-quarter lead and never looked back. Once again, the Cowboys defense had no answers as the Ravens’ rushing attack, led by Derrick Henry’s 151 yards and two touchdowns, put up 274 yards and three touchdowns on 6.1 yards per carry. To make matters worse, the Cowboys passed on Henry, a Dallas native, in free agency, while their running back-by-committee put up just 51 yards and one touchdown on 16 attempts. Changes must be made. —Josh Sanchez, Dallas Cowboys on SI
The Cardinals once again hung with one of the NFL’s best teams but fell short. Even when they played considerably off from their potential, they lost by one possession—which is encouraging—but they’re still discovering the small margins that determine the difference between moral victories and actual wins —Donnie Druin, Arizona Cardinals on SI
The Falcons were supposed to have the easiest schedule in the NFL. Their opponents are 6-0 against teams not named the Falcons through three weeks. The offense is a work in progress, but the defense has proven it can keep them in any game after losing a heartbreaker to the Chiefs. —Scott Kennedy, Atlanta Falcons on SI
Things keep getting worse for the Dolphins, whose offense looked feeble with Skylar Thompson at quarterback and not much better after Tim Boyle replaced him. This is a team in crisis with a major quarterback issue with Tua Tagovailoa on IR. —Alain Poupart, Miami Dolphins On SI
The Browns lost only by six points to the Giants on Sunday, but don’t let that score fool you. That was not a good performance. Injuries are decimating the offensive line, the Browns are showing no commitment to developing the running game, Deshaun Watson played fine (but not like the star he’s paid to be) and Myles Garrett appears to be injured worse than we probably thought. Things aren’t looking good right now for a Browns team that had major aspirations this year. —Brendan Gulick, Cleveland Browns On SI
The Rams were without Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp and still found a way to beat the 49ers on Sunday. Kyren Williams had a big day to save the season for L.A., rushing for a pair of touchdowns. Meanwhile, Tutu Atwell had four catches for 93 yards, including a 50-yard reception to set up the tying score. Now the Rams get the Bears on the road and the No. 1 pick in the draft, Caleb Williams. —Los Angeles Rams On SI
The Commanders upset the Bengals on Monday night with a 38-33 win, but they didn’t do anything those watching them up close and personal didn’t know they were capable of. While the defense continues to be a work in progress, the offense has quietly put together 14 consecutive scoring drives (not including kneel-down possessions). —David Harrison, Washington Commanders On SI
The Raiders (1-2) had an embarrassing collapse against the lowly Panthers in which coach Antonio Pierce minced no words. While it is only Week 4, the Raiders are in a critical phase of the 2024 season. —Hondo S. Carpenter, Sr., Las Vegas Raiders On SI
The Jaguars are in complete disarray after another brutal showing; this time, it was the worst loss of the Doug Pederson era on a primetime stage. The Buffalo Bills’ backup offense scored as many touchdowns as the Trevor Lawrence-led offense, making this an untenable situation. —John Shipley, Jacksonville Jaguars On SI
The Colts finally got a win, and it was a complete 180 from how they looked prior. They’d been reliant on Anthony Richardson being perfect to win (he wasn’t) while mistakes were made around him, and the defense completely crumbled. Sunday against the Bears, almost everything EXCEPT Richardson was clicking. Winning when your QB has arguably the worst game of his career is honestly promising. —Jake Arthur, Indianapolis Colts On SI
The Broncos stunned the league by upsetting the Buccaneers on the road. Bo Nix showed a calm, steady hand, flashing the traits that drew the Broncos to him in the first round of the draft. If this is the new status quo, Sean Payton’s about to win some games. —Chad Jensen, Denver Broncos On SI
The New England Patriots have work to do, and if there’s any positive that came out of Week 3, it was that everyone learned Drake Maye should not be starting behind this current offensive line. There’s a long way to go before this team is ready to build with a young quarterback. —Noah Strackbein, New England Patriots On SI
If the Bears are going to go through the season with D’Andre Swift averaging 1.8 yards per carry, then Caleb Williams can expect many more sacks. They need a running game to slow the pass rush and so far none has surfaced. —Gene Chamblerain, Chicago Bears On SI
Washington Commanders On SIThe Commanders took a step in Week 2 and secured an NFC East Division victory. With the Eagles and Cowboys imploding, that puts them in first place and in line to be the next underdog winner on Monday Night Football in Cincy for Week 3. —David Harrison, Washington Commanders On SI
The Panthers looked like they might go 0-17 heading into Week 3 against the Raiders, but their dramatic change at QB proved to be a masterstroke. With Bryce Young watching from the sidelines, Andy Dalton delivered the best game of any quarterback so far this season, posting 319 yards and three touchdowns in Carolina’s first win of the year. The Panthers also looked much sharper all around, inspiring hope that this team might not be so hopeless afterall. —Tim Weaver, Carolina Panthers on SI
Things aren’t getting any better for the Tennessee Titans or their quarterback Will Levis. Until he can get his turnover struggles under control, the offense will have a hard time keeping up with any team. With Mason Rudolph having a history of stepping in and performing well, the pressure is on Levis to turn things around. —Noah Strackbien, Tennessee Titans On SI
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