Week 3 NFL Power Rankings (2019)

Week 2 was the week of high-profile injuries, which makes these rankings all the more difficult. Ben Roethlisberger is done for the season, while Drew Brees is expected to miss six weeks with a thumb injury on his throwing hand. The Patriots have outscored their opponents 76-3 through two games, and the team already has people talking about 16-0. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are off to a historically bad start that already puts them in the mix for the worst team in NFL history.

Deposit $50 at PointsBet and get a free $100 bonus! >>

32) Miami Dolphins (Prev: 32)
The Dolphins have been outscored 102-10 in their first two games of the season. That’s abysmal. Things don’t get easier as they head on the road for the first time to take on the Dallas Cowboys.

31) New York Giants (Prev: 31)
For the second straight week, the Giants’ opening drive resulted in a Saquon Barkley touchdown. And just like in Week 1, New York failed to keep momentum. For those on Daniel Jones watch, Eli Manning was 26-45 for 250 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

30) Cincinnati Bengals (Prev: 28)
The Bengals gave up a whopping 572 yards of total offense and 27 first downs in their home opener on Sunday. They also rushed the ball 19 times for 25 yards, for an average of 1.3 yards per carry.

29) New York Jets (Prev: 25)
After Trevor Siemian went down with a leg injury, the Jets turned to third-string quarterback Luke Falk, who saw the first NFL regular-season action of his career. He was slightly more effective than Siemian, but mainly because the Browns’ defense was playing prevent against him. The Jets’ offense is going to struggle until Sam Darnold is able to take the field.

28) Washington Redskins (Prev: 30)
The one good thing for the Redskins in Week 2 was rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who again hauled in five receptions and a touchdown. He’s been the offensive bright spot for a team that has struggled to score at critical times to keep games within reach.

27) Denver Broncos (Prev: 23)
With 31 seconds left, Emmanuel Sanders scored a touchdown and then converted an improbable two-point conversion to give the Broncos a one-point lead. All the Denver defense had to do was not give up a 4th and 15 with nine seconds left. Unfortunately for the Denver faithful, they gave up a 25-yard pass and left enough time for the Bears to kick the game-winning field goal and send Denver to 0-2.

26) Oakland Raiders (Prev: 29)
The Raiders’ loss looks much worse on paper than it actually is. They jumped out to a 10-0 lead on the Chiefs, before giving up 28 points in the second quarter, but they were then able to shut out Mahomes and company the rest of the game. That’s actually a very impressive feat. The offense got yardage but failed to get points. If they start converting, this could be a surprisingly dangerous team.

25) Carolina Panthers (Prev: 21)
The Panthers are in trouble at 0-2, with both losses coming at home. The game against the Rams is forgivable, but the loss to the Bucs could be an early-season backbreaker. When Christian McCaffrey isn’t clicking, neither is the offense. Thursday night proved that.

24) Arizona Cardinals (Prev: 26)
The Cardinals hung tough with the far-superior Baltimore Ravens, and one can only wonder how important the fourth quarter against Detroit was for Kyler Murray’s confidence. The rookie was 25/40 for 349 yards and didn’t record a turnover in his first road game.

23) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Prev: 27)
After a rough Week 1 performance, the Bucs had zero turnovers in their Week 2 victory at Carolina. We still didn’t see the expected offensive onslaught, but the defense was able to shut down Christian McCaffrey and had what could be a season-defining goal-line stand in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

22) Buffalo Bills (Prev: 24)
The Bills win the battle of New York, winning two road games in the same stadium en route to a 2-0 start. The ageless wonder, Frank Gore, scored his first rushing touchdown since 2017, while his counterpart in the backfield, rookie Devin Singletary, ran six times for 57 yards and a touchdown. That’s an average of 9.5 yards per carry.

21) Pittsburgh Steelers (Prev: 17)
As if 0-2 wasn’t bad enough, the Steelers also lost Ben Roethlisberger to a season-ending elbow injury on Sunday. Mason Rudolph will take over an offense that suddenly looks very thin across the board. In relief on Sunday, Rudolph was 12-19 for 112 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

20) Detroit Lions (Prev:22)
After a tie that felt like a loss, the Lions survived a sloppy performance and found a way to knock off the Chargers at home. The defense gave up 424 yards, but they forced a huge goal-line fumble and lucked out with two missed field goals. The Lions had special teams problems of their own, with Matt Prater missing a 40-yard field goal and an extra point.

19) Jacksonville Jaguars (Prev: 16)
Gardner Minshew II looked comfortable in his first start for the Jaguars, finishing 23-33 for 213 yards and a touchdown. Doug Marrone will be questioned all week for his decision to go for two rather than the game-tying extra point at the end of regulation.

18) Atlanta Falcons (Prev: 19)
It wasn’t pretty, but the Falcons found a way to win on Sunday night. Julio Jones took a little screen pass on 4th and 3 to the house, and the Falcons’ defense was able to hold off the Eagles’ final strike. If Atlanta wants to be a contender, Matt Ryan needs to clean up his play. He threw three interceptions in the victory.

17) San Francisco 49ers (Prev: 20)
The 49ers’ offense was running on all cylinders in Cincinnati on Sunday, putting up 572 total yards. It was a balanced attack with 313 pass yards and 259 rushing yards. It’s a solid 2-0 start to the season in which the 49ers have yet to play a home game.

16) Cleveland Browns (Prev: 15)
Baker Mayfield connected with OBJ for an 89-yard touchdown reception, and Browns’ fans got a glimpse of their future. The Browns still haven’t looked great this season, despite how dominant the defensive performance looks on paper, after Monday night’s beatdown of the injury-riddled Jets.

15) Houston Texans (Prev: 14)
The Texans were great against New Orleans in the Superdome last Monday, but this week they found themselves one controversial play call away from blowing a divisional home game against a rookie quarterback making his first-ever start. The Texans are a question mark at the moment, but so is the whole AFC South.

14) Tennessee Titans (Prev: 13)
The Titans managed just 242 yards of total offense, and despite turning the Colts over twice on Sunday, they failed to put Indianapolis away and lost a huge divisional matchup. Derrick Henry continued to look impressive in the defeat with 16 carries, 81 yards and a touchdown.

13) Indianapolis Colts (Prev: 18)
After a near-miracle victory over the Chargers last week, the Colts managed to steal one on the road against Tennessee on Sunday. Jacoby Brissett hasn’t always had the best numbers, but for the second-straight week, he was able to lead a key drive when it mattered, finding T.Y. Hilton for a huge touchdown.

12) Chicago Bears (Prev: 11)
What has happened to the Bears’ offense? They netted just 273 total yards, and Mitchell Trubisky threw for only 120. Luckily for Chicago, they have found a kicker in Eddy Pineiro, whose game-winning 53-yard field goal saved the Bears from an early-season disaster.

11) Baltimore Ravens (Prev: 12)
Lamar Jackson is putting up video game-type numbers right now, yet there are still questions surrounding this Ravens team. Despite all the yards, Lamar Jackson accounted for 392 himself, the Ravens let the Cardinals and rookie Kyler Murray hang around and stay within striking distance all game long.

10) Seattle Seahawks (Prev: 9)
The Seahawks got the win, but I’m still dropping them a spot because frankly, they haven’t looked good yet this season. It was a hard-fought road victory, but Mason Rudolph was able to go down the field on the defense a few times, which is cause for concern. With how the Bengals looked this week, I’m not sold on any of Seattle’s victories yet.

9) Los Angeles Chargers (Prev: 5)
The Chargers need to get healthy. Michael Badgley missed his second-straight game, and punter Ty Long missed two field goals as his replacement. Austin Ekeler also fumbled on the one-yard line, which would have resulted in a touchdown that probably would have put the game out of reach.

8) Minnesota Vikings (Prev: 8)
Dalvin Cook continues to look like a stud, recording 20 carries for 154 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown run that gave a little bit of life to the Vikings’ offense. They had their chances late, but the 21-0 hole they dug themselves proved to be too much to climb out of. Still, they showed some resiliency Sunday, and with a crowded NFC, that could go a long way.

7) Philadelphia Eagles (Prev: 6)
The Eagles rushed for just 49 yards on Sunday Night Football, against a defense that allowed 172 yards on the ground in Week 1. The defense giving up a 54-yard touchdown on a 4th down bubble screen probably won’t give Eagles’ fans much confidence moving forward.

6) New Orleans Saints (Prev: 4)
Drew Brees is set to miss at least six weeks with a thumb injury on his throwing hand. That means Teddy Bridgewater will be taking over as the starter. He has proven himself capable in the past, but will he be able to lead the offense the way Brees has been able to for so many years?

5) Dallas Cowboys (Prev: 10)
The Cowboys have opened the season 2-0, but more importantly, they won two in-divisional road games in the process. The offense has been outstanding, scoring over 30 points and amassing over 470 yards in each game.

4) Green Bay Packers (Prev: 7)
The Packers’ offense looked great early, but they failed to do anything after the second quarter. The defense stood tall, however, and for the second straight week, the Packers managed to knock off a division rival.

3) Los Angeles Rams (Prev: 3)
It’s hard to judge the Rams after their game against the Saints since Drew Brees went out so early, but still, something feels off. The refs made a terrible call on a clear fumble return for a touchdown that would have put the Saints up 10-3. I’m not saying had things gone differently the Rams would have lost, I’m just saying they don’t look as dominant as last season even after a 27-9 win over who many expected to be their biggest challenger for the NFC crown.

2) Kansas City Chiefs (Prev: 2)
Pat Mahomes’ second quarter was something to behold. He threw for four touchdowns and 276 yards, the most since Drew Brees threw for 294 in 2008. The rest of the game didn’t go as smoothly for the Chiefs, as they failed to score in any other quarter. The defense started sluggishly, but they cracked down and pitched a shut out for the final 49 minutes and change.

1) New England Patriots (Prev: 1)
The Patriots defense had two Pick-6’s against Ryan Fitzpatrick in an absolute rout in Miami. Heading into Sunday, Miami was 5-1 in their last six games at home against the Patriots. Antonio Brown had 4 catches for 56 yards and one touchdown in his first game with New England.

Deposit $50 at PointsBet and get a free $100 bonus! >>

Philip Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Philip, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.