NFL Power Rankings - Week 3
LeGarrette Blount #29 of the New England Patriots is tackled by Davon House #31 of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium on September 27, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
(Sept. 27, 2015 - Source: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images North America)
1. (1.) New England Patriots (3-0)
Another great performance from QB Tom Brady who led the Patriots to a 51-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. RB LeGarrette Blount rushed for 78 yards on 18 carries and 3 touchdowns.
2. (2.) Green Bay Packers (3-0)
Green Bay’s pass rush put pressure on Kansas City’s QB Alex Smith all night, resulting in 7 sacks. LB Clay Matthews led the team with 2.0 sacks.
3. (3.) Arizona Cardinals (3-0)
Arizona’s secondary picked off San Francisco’s QB Colin Kaepernick 4 times. FS Tyrann Mathieu intercepted 2 passes and returned one of them 33 yards for a touchdown.
4. (4.) Denver Broncos (3-0)
The defense sacked Detroit’s QB Matt Stafford 4 times and held the Lions to a mere 28 yards on the ground.
5. (6.) Cincinnati Bengals (3-0)
WR A.J. Green caught 10 passes for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Bengals won at the Baltimore Ravens 28-24.
6. (7.) Seattle Seahawks (1-2)
The Chicago Bears were the right opponent at the right time to get the Seahawks back on Super Bowl track. RB Marshawn Lynch’s hamstring injury does not seem to be too serious, though he is day-to-day for now.
7. (10.) Atlanta Falcons (3-0)
Second-half adjustments helped turn an 11 point deficit into a 39-28 win at the Dallas Cowboys.
8. (8.) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1)
Depending on the severity of QB Ben Roethlisberger’s MCL sprain Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes may be hanging by a thread.
9. (5.) Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
The Cowboys played a good first half but were unable to stop Atlanta’s comeback in the second half. RB Joseph Randle ran for 87 yards on 14 carries and 3 touchdowns.
10. (12.) Carolina Panthers (3-0)
TE Greg Olsen caught 8 passes for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints as the Panthers remain undefeated. And no, I’m not going to mention the Cam Newton – Ed Hochuli dispute. Oops, I just did.
11. (9.) Kansas City Chiefs (1-2)
Good news for the Chiefs; next week’s opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, will be the last undefeated team they are going to play for a while.
12. (19.) Buffalo Bills (2-1)
The Bills bounced back from last week’s pounding at the hands of the New England Patriots by outclassing the Miami Dolphins 41-14 at Sun Life Stadium.
13. (14.) Indianapolis Colts (1-2)
It must be a relief for the Colts and their still underperforming QB Andrew Luck to avoid a 0-3 start to the season, however, the Tennessee Titans were just as good, or bad, as the Colts.
14. (15.) Minnesota Vikings (2-1)
RB Adrian Peterson rushed for 126 yards and his first 2 touchdowns of the season as the Vikings beat the San Diego Chargers 31-14.
15. (16.) Philadelphia Eagles (1-2)
Getting off to a 24-0 lead before the two-minute warning all the Eagles had to do was run the ball; and they did. RB Ryan Mathews amassed 108 yards on 25 carries as the Eagles won 24-17 at the New York Jets.
16. (11.) New York Jets (2-1)
The Jets committed 4 turnovers and suffered their first loss of the season against the winless Philadelphia Eagles.
17. (13.) San Diego Chargers (1-2)
RB Keenan Allen rushed for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns as an otherwise rather ineffective Chargers team lost 31-14 at the Minnesota Vikings.
18. (24.) Oakland Raiders (2-1)
This was an overall impressive performance on both sides of the ball as the Oakland Raiders end an 11-game losing streak on the road by defeating the Cleveland Browns 27-20.
19. (25.) New York Giants (1-2)
For once the New York Giants didn’t give up a lead and end up beating the Washington Redskins 32-21. WR Rueben Randle caught 7 passes for 116 yards and 1 touchdown.
20. (23.) Houston Texans (1-2)
The Texans rushed for 186 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. RB Alfred Blue led the team with 139 yards and 1 touchdown.
21. (18.) Baltimore Ravens (0-3)
WR Steve Smith Sr. had a great day against the Cincinnati Bengals, though it was not enough to get the win. The 36-year old caught 13 passes for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns.
22. (17.) Detroit Lions (0-3)
The Lions rushed for a total of 28 yards, surrendered 4 sacks and committed 3 turnovers. It should come as no surprise that the team is still winless.
23. (20.) Miami Dolphins (1-2)
It took the Dolphins almost 40 minutes to get on the scoreboard at home against the Buffalo Bills.
24. (21.) St. Louis Rams (1-2)
At least the pass rush did a good job against the Pittsburgh Steelers, sacking QB Ben Roethlisberger and QB Michael Vick 5 times. LB Alec Ogletree recorded 2.0 sacks.
25. (22.) San Francisco 49ers (1-2)
QB Colin Kaepernick laid the foundation for a blowout early in the first quarter; only he did it for the opposing team. Eventually he ended up throwing 4 interceptions and wound up with a passer rating of 16.7.
26. (26.) Cleveland Browns (1-2)
The pass protection needs to improve if the Browns want to be effective with the aerial attack. QB Josh McCown was sacked 5 times against the Oakland Raiders.
27. (28.) Washington Redskins (1-2)
I am moving the Redskins up despite a loss because New Orleans’ further drop was long overdue.
28. (29.) Tennessee Titans (1-2)
The Titans put up an admirable fight against the Indianapolis Colts but could not hold on to a 27-14 lead after 3 quarters.
29. (27.) New Orleans Saints (0-3)
QB Drew Brees is back in training throwing and hopeful to start in week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys.
30. (30.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2)
You won’t win many games if you rush for a total of 57 yards and complete only 47.2% of passes.
31. (31.) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2)
At times, approximately 48 minutes of the game, the Jaguars looked as if they didn’t belong on the same field as the Patriots.
32. (32.) Chicago Bears (0-3)
On a positive note, the Bears didn’t commit any turnovers at the Seattle Seahawks and the pass rush got to QB Russell Wilson 4 times. But how many games do the Bears intend to win with 48 passing yards?
