1. Pittsburgh Steelers 3-0 (8)
For the 4th straight week there is a new team atop the power rankings. The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been lights out so far this season, and the Steelers have started 3-0 despite currently playing with their 4th string QB. Rashard Mendenhall has been great so far, and once Big Ben gets back the rest of the offense should kick it up a notch. That's a scary proposition for the rest of the league, especially since Pittsburgh has already beaten 2 good teams in the Falcons and Titans with almost no passing attack.
2. Indianapolis Colts 2-1 (3)
The Colts defense is giving up large chunks of yards, but luckily for them their offense seems to always do enough to outscore the opponent. It's looking like Manning is going to have to have a career year for the Colts to win the Super Bowl, and he's on pace to do just that.
3. Green Bay Packers 2-1 (1)
Green Bay played a sloppy and mistake-ridden game on Monday and still almost won on the road against the undefeated Chicago Bears. They were still in it at the end despite a franchise record 18 penalties for 152 yards, and if it weren't for a careless fumble on their last drive they probably would have escaped the windy city with a big-time division win. They will get these problems straightened out and be a legitimate threat to win it all.
4. Atlanta Falcons 2-1 (9)
I have to admit I'm very surprised the Falcons were able to beat the Saints in New Orleans. The Falcons dominated time of possession and capitalized on 3 Saints turnovers, as well as a missed 29-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley that would have won it for the Saints in overtime. Very impressive win for the Falcons.
5. New Orleans Saints 2-1 (2)
The Saints blew a big opportunity to take the driver's seat in the NFC South despite being outplayed by the Falcons at home. I still think they will be okay, but we've yet to see the offense click on all cylinders like it seemed to all last season.
6. Tennessee Titans 2-1 (11)
The Titans were out-gained by a bunch against the Giants, but played a turnover free game while capitalizing on 3 New York miscues. Chris Johnson is picking up right where he left off last year, and this team looks like a contender in the loaded AFC South.
7. Philadelphia Eagles 2-1 (18)
Michael Vick has taken the starting role and run with it (very, very quickly I might add). Andy Reid is nuts if he puts Kevin Kolb back in as the starter, as the Eagles are clearly a better team with Vick at the helm.
8. Baltimore Ravens 2-1 (5)
Baltimore didn't pummel the Browns nearly as bad as I expected, but the passing game broke out of its funk and Anquan Boldin caught 3 TD's. They really need to take advantage of the situation this week at Pittsburgh, because if they lose to a Steelers team with Charlie Batch calling the shots, their hopes of winning the division are all but finished.
9. N.Y. Jets 2-1 (6)
The Jets picked up a big road win @ Miami on Sunday night, and still I dropped them 3 spots in this week's rankings. They were outgained by the Dolphins, and I'm just not convinced that LT can hold up all season long. Shonn Greene didn't even get a carry on Sunday, and the Jets are going to need him late in the season if they are going to compete for a championship.
10. Houston Texans 2-1 (4)
The Texans had 3 turnovers and were thoroughly beaten at home by a Cowboys team in desperate need of a win. Star WR Andre Johnson also re-injured his ankle in the game, and is questionable this week. The Texans can't afford to lose Johnson, who is arguably the best receiver in the game.
11. Miami Dolphins 2-1 (13)
The Dolphins played well in out-gaining the Jets on Sunday, but their attempt to tie the game with less than a minute to go in the 4th quarter ended on a 4th down interception. The AFC East battle should be a fun one to watch, and the Dolphins are definitely in the mix.
12. Chicago Bears 3-0 (17)
The Bears got a big win at home on Monday night against the Packers, but still nearly lost despite a franchise record amount of penalties by Green Bay. It's a great start for Chicago, but I still don't think they're in the same class as the Packers.
13. Minnesota Vikings 1-2 (16)
The Vikings got a much needed win against the Lions, but their brutal early season schedule only gets tougher from here with a game @ the Jets coming up next, followed by a home game against Dallas before 2 more tough road tilts against the Packers and Patriots. Minnesota will need more of a contribution from the passing game if it's going to win any of those games, and the return of Sidney Rice can't come soon enough.
14. N.E. Patriots 2-1 (7)
The Patriots struggled mightily with the lowly Buffalo Bills, and that's enough to drop them significantly this week. Anyone who gives up 30 points to that offense can't possibly be in the top ten.
15. Kansas City Chiefs 3-0 (15)
The Chiefs are 3-0 and look much improved from the past few years, but we will get a chance to see just how good they really are with a trip to Indy next up on the slate.
16. Dallas Cowboys 1-2 (21)
The Cowboys got a much needed victory over the Houston Texans on the road, taking advantage of 3 Texans turnovers to cruise to an easy win. That performance is much closer to what I was expecting to see coming in to this season, and I look for them to rise up the rankings in the coming weeks.
17. Cincinnati Bengals 2-1 (19)
The Bengals didn't look great against a sad Panthers team on Sunday, but they got an easy win nonetheless. Carson Palmer and the passing game need to find some traction soon, or they risk falling way behind in the AFC North.
18. N.Y. Giants 1-2 (10)
The Giants are extremely talented, but they can't afford to turn the ball over 3 times against good teams and expect to win. They are falling fast, and desperately need to stop the bleeding with a home win against the Bears this Sunday night.
19. San Diego Chargers 1-2 (14)
The Chargers put up 518 yards and nearly doubled Seattle's output, but their 5 turnovers sent them back home to San Diego with a loss. This team can be pretty dangerous if it can clean up its mistakes.
20. Seattle Seahawks 2-1 (27)
The Seahawks were handed a win by the Chargers last week, and have a big opportunity to get to 3-1 this week in St. Louis. Seattle has won both home games, but they looked like a totally different team in their road tilt against the Broncos, and need to improve drastically away from the friendly confines of Qwest Field. Pete Carroll has done a great job bringing a winning mentality to this team this early into his first season.
21. Washington Redskins 1-2 (12)
Looks like blowing the game late against the Texans in week 2 had the dreaded hangover effect. The Redskins have quickly gone from looking like a possible favorite in the NFC East to potential obscurity after a loss to the Rams. Huge game at Philadelphia this week, as their next 3 opponents are the Packers, Colts, and at the Bears. Tough to find many wins in there.
22. Denver Broncos 1-2 (20)
Kyle Orton threw for 476 yards, and the Broncos still lost to the Colts by 14 points. The total lack of a running game without Knowshon Moreno really hurt them, and if they're not careful they could quickly find themselves at 1-5 with their next 3 games being @ the Titans, @ the Ravens, and home against the Jets.
23. St. Louis Rams 1-2 (29)
The Rams got a great win at home against the Redskins, and with a wide-open division and a favorable schedule this team could find itself in contention in the NFC West.
24. Oakland Raiders 1-2 (30)
The Raiders really should have beaten the Cardinals last week, but like they have done for several years now, they simply found a way to lose. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski missed 3 field goals, including a 32-yarder to win the game as time expired, and the team had 123 yards in penalties. This team has improved drastically with the change at QB to Bruce Gradkowski and the emergence of RB Darren McFadden, but they haven't quite shaken the losing mentality of the past few years just yet.
25. Arizona Cardinals 2-1 (26)
The Cardinals were the benefactor of yet another choke job by the Oakland Raiders. Arizona was clearly outplayed and turned the ball over 3 times, but penalties and a horrible day from the Raider kicking game gave the Cardinals their 2nd win of the season. No one in the NFC West is very good, so somehow this team could hang around in the division race all season.
26. San Francisco 49ers 0-3 (22)
After 3 weeks it appears this team is pretty formidable at home, and a complete pushover on the road. RB Frank Gore has started the season very strong as usual, but the rest of the team fails to follow his lead away from Candlestick Park. With such a weak division, this team still has time to recover.
27. Detroit Lions 0-3 (25)
This team can't catch a break. After 2 narrow losses, the Lions lost their star rookie RB Jahvid Best to a toe injury and dropped another game to the Vikings. Doesn't get any better this week as the Lions travel to Green Bay, where an angry Packers team coming off a sloppy loss awaits.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-1 (24)
The Steelers brought Tampa back to Earth with a 38-13 beatdown at Raymond James Stadium. The 2-0 start was nice, but I expect many more losses are on the way for the Bucs.
29. Jacksonville Jaguars 1-2 (23)
Pathetic. That's the only word to describe this offense right now. The Eagles nearly doubled them up in total yardage, and the Jags only put up a measly 3 points at home. It's gonna be a long season for Jacksonville.
30. Cleveland Browns 0-3 (28)
The Browns hung tough before dropping a close one to the Ravens on Sunday. This team just lacks the talent to win many games in the NFL, and with their next 6 games all coming against winning teams, the near future doesn't look very bright for the Browns.
31. Buffalo Bills 0-3 (32)
The Bills fought their way out of the last spot in the rankings with a valient effort at New England on Sunday. The switch at QB from Trent Edwards to Ryan Fitzpatrick really jump-started the offense, as the Bills reached the 30 point mark for the first time in recent memory. Despite the moral victory, the Bills still lost, and I don't see them beating the Jets this week either.
32. Carolina Panthers 0-3 (31)
Things can't get much worse for my team. The Panthers were awful again on Sunday, as they failed to put anything together all day and turned the ball over 4 times. Carolina has to get back to pounding the ball with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, but if the defense can't make a tackle and the passing game continues to struggle this badly, it probably doesn't matter.
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