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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Tim Weaver

NFL Week 3 Power Rankings: Seahawks rise 3 spots, new team on top

USA TODAY Sports NFL Seahawks USA TODAY Network Corey Perrine Dale Zanine Denny Simmons Isaiah J Downing Jenna Watson Jim Dedmon

Week 1 of every NFL season is usually the most unpredictable. Many teams are still in preseason mode and as a result the games can be sloppy, beset by turnovers, miscues and chaos. Week 2 typically isn’t a whole lot better, but at least we know twice as much about each team than we did a week ago – and a whole lot more than we did heading into the regular season.

While we should expect a lot more movement early in the year, let’s see if we can sort it all out going into Week 3. Here’s how we rank all 32 NFL teams after two weeks…

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Who’s at the bottom?

The Arizona Cardinals remain at the bottom spot in our rankings. Despite racking up a 20-0 lead at halftime against the New York Giants they still found a way to lose. While we can only rank them as low as No. 32 the reality is they may be closer to Georgia and Michigan than the top contenders at this level.

The Carolina Panthers are also looking pretty weak, and they’ve replaced the Tennessee Titans at the second-lowest spot. Carolina only scored 17 points in their Monday night loss to the New Orleans Saints and there doesn’t appear to be a WR1 or a WR2 on their roster. That’s good news for the Seattle Seahawks, who host the Panthers next week.

Where do Seahawks belong?

Speaking of Seattle, this was one of the most-difficult teams to rank this week based on what we have seen thus far this season. In a vaccuum, going on the road and beating a Detroit Lions team in overtime is a huge deal and worth a significant jump in the rankings. However, they got extremely lucky with turnovers and poor officiating and were lucky to escape with a win, so we have bumped them up only three spots and still have them lower than the Lions and the Los Angeles Rams, who beat them handily Week 1.

The surprise 0-2 teams

Every year there are several teams that surprise you – and not always in a good way. This year there seem to be more than normal, as we have a host of 0-2 teams that were supposed to be far better this year. The best of them is the Cincinnati Bengals, followed by the Los Angeles Chargers, the Minnesota Vikings, the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots. These teams are scattered somewhat throughout our rankings based on how strong we believe their rosters/coaching are and their chances of bouncing back.

The surprise 2-0 teams

There are also a few teams who were supposed to be terrible this season that have gotten off to a 2-0 start. The most-pleasant surprise is the Atlanta Falcons, who have a ton of talent and are punching above their weight considering their QB situation. The undefeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also a pretty big shock after they were expected to be among the NFL’s worst clubs this year. The Washington Commanders and the New Orleans Saints are also 2-0, but they also haven’t beaten anybody who matters yet – which is why they’re lower than the Seahawks.

A new number one

At the top of our rankings there’s a new team, even though it feels wrong to penalize the Philadelphia Eagles even though they haven’t lost a game yet. However, the truth is neither of their wins were all that convincing and more importantly Jalen Hurts isn’t playing nearly as well as he was in 2022. So, Philly has dropped a few spots to make room for the two NFC teams that are clearly far superior to the rest of the league right now…