1. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0, +3)
There’s no question right now that this is the top defense in the NFL. We said before that if they could survive and go 2-2 in Roethlisberger’s absence they’d be okay. If they can beat the Ravens next week, no one in the AFC will be in better shape.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2-1, +3)
Their week one loss is looking more and more like a minor speed bump. Denver is one of the tougher places to play in the NFL and they controlled the game once again. Consider them back on track after the Texans caught them off guard.
3. New York Jets (2-1, +6)
Two huge wins in a row for the Jets as they were both against AFC East rivals and both without Revis for the most part. Whether Braylon Edwards should or should not have played, he helped the Jets earn a huge victory.
4. Atlanta Falcons (2-1, +8)
They knocked off the defending champs and looked damn good doing it. Matt Ryan looks like he’s recovered from the sophomore slump and Michael Turner appears to be healthy again. They’ve only lost to the Steelers, and you know how we feel about them.
5. New Orleans Saints (2-1, -4)
Only a field goal separated them from the Atlanta Falcons in a game that went to overtime. Atlanta is by far one of the toughest teams to play the road, so save the “Super Bowl hangover” talk for a few more weeks.
6. Chicago Bears (3-0, +1)
LB took the Power Rankings last week and shot the Bears up 19 spots. I thought he was insane and let him hear about it, but it looks like he was on to something. Jay Cutler looks much better than last year and a win over the Packers on Monday night was huge.
7. New England Patriots (2-1, -1)
The Pats are exactly what everyone thought they’d be at the moment — a potent offense with a below-average defense. Their secondary has a ton of holes as evidenced by their allowing the Bills to score 30 points.
8. Green Bay Packers (2-1, -7)
Tough Monday night loss to the Bears in Chicago but they still looked pretty good. If I had to take one quarterback to build a team around starting right now, I’m taking Aaron Rogers without even having to think about it.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1, +10)
I’m really high on the Eagles right now, but why shouldn’t I be? Their defense is smothering the quarterback and Michael Vick is playing better than he has at any point in his career. He makes Philadelphia a real contender.
10. Baltimore Ravens (2-1, -2)
Kind of an uninspiring win over the Browns, but that can happen when you’re playing a terrible team. They’d better come ready to play this Sunday or the Steelers will slap them around. Ray Rice’s injury is something to keep an eye on.
11. Kansas City Chiefs (3-0, +10)
The Chiefs demolished the 49ers on Sunday in all three phases of the game. While the Niners don’t look very good, the Chiefs look like they could be for real as far as we’re concerned. They look like an AFC West contender.
12. Miami Dolphins (2-1, -2)
Tough Sunday night loss probably tells us more about the Jets than the Dolphins. Revis or no Revis, Chad Henne looked pretty sharp against a New York defense that loves to bring pressure. The AFC East is sure to be a three-team battle the whole year.
13. Tennessee Titans (2-1, +5)
The Titans are another team whose only loss came at the hands of the beast that is the Steelers’ defense. Vince Young bounced back nicely and managed to not turn the ball over after an abysmal performance against Pittsburgh.
14. Houston Texans (2-1, -11)
The Texans started out with a bang, but if not for a Graham Gano missed field goal against the Redskins they might be 1-2 right now. They were unfortunate in running into a desperate Cowboys team on Sunday.
15. Cincinnati Bengals (2-1, +2)
Took care of business against a terrible Carolina Panthers team on the road. Their passing game still has a long way to go, however. Carson Palmer has not looked sharp. His receiving corps is plenty good enough that he should be looking better.
16. Dallas Cowboys (1-2, –)
Went in to Houston and did what they desperately had to do to save their season — win. Teams usually hate a bye week this early in the season, but it may already be needed for the Cowboys.
17. Seattle Seahawks (2-1, +8)
Managed to knock off the Chargers thanks in large part to Leon Washington’s two kick returns for touchdowns. With the Niners falling flat on their face, Seattle has a legitimate shot at winning what could be the weakest division in the history of football.
18. San Diego Chargers (1-2, -7)
Special teams killed them against the Seahawks. If you’re the Chargers, you had to be thinking 3-0 to start off the year when you saw the schedule come out. They’re 1-2 after what should have been an easy stretch in their season.
19. Minnesota Vikings (1-2, -5)
You might wonder how they moved down five spots after a win. Plenty of teams came up with much-needed victories on Sunday. The Vikings’ win just happened to be over Shaun Hill and the Lions.
20. New York Giants (1-2, -5)
The Giants haven’t looked very good to this point. They got blown out by the Titans on Sunday and killed by the Colts the week before. They don’t appear able to stop the run (Titans) or the pass (Colts) at the moment.
21. Arizona Cardinals (2-1, +8)
Their record is deceiving as they’ve sandwiched a blowout to the Falcons between close victories over the lowly Rams and Raiders. That being said, 2-1 is better than most of the bottom feeders can say at this point.
22. St.Louis Rams (1-2, +9)
A win is a win at this point for the St. Louis Rams. Defeating the Redskins was big. For once, they aren’t looking like one of the two worst teams in the league. Sam Bradford is going to be a good NFL quarterback at some point.
23. Washington Redskins (1-2, -10)
Losing to the Rams will cost you 10 spots on a power ranking. They desperately need to find some consistency if they’re going to contend in the NFC East, because the Eagles look like they aren’t messing around.
24. Denver Broncos (1-2, -2)
Kyle Orton has looked pretty good, but the inability of Knowshon Moreno to stay healthy has been costly. Their defense doesn’t have the play-makers it once had with aging superstars Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1, -2)
The Bucs were owned by a Steelers team that had Charlie Batch starting his first game since 2008. Coming off two victories over two of the worst teams in the NFL, Tampa Bay was finally given a whiff of reality.
26. Detroit Lions (1-2, –)
Like the Texans, the Lions ran into a team that desperately needed its first win of the season. Losing Matthew Stafford hasn’t helped their cause. Detroit is the definition of a team that shows promise but just isn’t quite there.
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2, -7)
The Jaguars completely embarrassed themselves at home against Michael Vick and the Eagles. Without a passing game or a defense, they’ll never build enough of a lead to be able to utilize MoJo effectively.
28. San Francisco 49ers (0-3, -4)
Aside from the Cowboys, the Niners may be the most disappointing team so far in 2010. After hanging tough with the Saints last Monday, the wheels completely fell off against the Chiefs. They’re headed in the wrong direction.
29. Oakland Raiders (1-2, -2)
Sebastian Janikowski cost Oakland a game that it needed to win badly. If they want to prevent themselves from becoming the laughing stock of the NFL yet again, they’ll need to beat teams like the Cardinals.
30. Cleveland Browns (0-3, -1)
Gave the Ravens a surprisingly close game and lost the first two games by a combined total of five points. Their next six games: Bengals, Falcons, Steelers, Saints, Patriots and Jets. Can you say uh oh?
31. Carolina Panthers (0-3, -1)
The Panthers have scored 14 points in the last two games. They’re quarterback play has been so bad that the two-headed monster of Jonathan Stewart and D’Angelo Williams has been rendered ineffective. It will only get worse from here.
32. Buffalo Bills (0-3, –)
Sorry, Bills fans. We can’t bring ourselves to give you credit for only losing to the Patriots by eight points. Ryan Fitzpatrick looked a lot better than Trent Edwards, but New England has a way of making below-average quarterbacks look like Tom Brady.
