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NFL Power Rankings Week 3: Broncos and Seahawks flip spots, but will it last?

The Denver Broncos just don't look like the best team in football right now, but with everyone else losing I really don't have a choice here. We'll find out in five days if they deserve this top spot or not.
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There was plenty of upheaval in the rankings this week, which is to be expected as we all figure out which teams are for real and which are complete frauds. That picture got a little clearer after last night and unfortunately includes our own Denver Broncos who have yet to figure out their identity on defense.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Chargers lit up the vaunted Seattle Seahawks defense, which bumped the 12th Man out of the top spot for at least a week. Elsewhere, some teams are surprising us all early, but it is still to early to know if these shockers are really as good or as bad as they have been in the first two weeks of the 2014 NFL Season.

Check out last week's rankings, but there is a column to track how the teams changed from last week.

RNK
TEAM
INSTANT ANALYSIS
CHG

1

Denver Broncos

Yes, Peyton Manning was near flawless and the Denver Broncos won the game, but I just can't get over how disappointing this defense is. In fact, somewhere in the second half I had gotten so fed up that I came up with a new nickname for this defense. And it gave me a sad face.
Maybe I am just panicked, because Chris Harris Jr. sent out a Tweet to calm the masses. Here's to hoping he is right and they get things going within the next few days!

+1

2

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks certainly look mortal outside of CenturyLink Stadium, but unfortunately, the Broncos must go there to play them. The Chargers exposed that defense repeatedly on Sunday, which is only going to be annoying next weekend when that defense is once again back to its championship form for Peyton Manning. If I were a baby, I would piss and moan some more, but I'm not, so I won't. You're welcome.

-1

3

Philadelphia Eagles

Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles had another shaky start to a game before exploding in the final quarter to secure victory, becoming the first team ever to be down by 14 or more points at halftime and win both games to start a season 2-0. That kind of play will eventually result in a loss, but both comebacks were impressive enough to vault them into third in our power rankings.

+2

4

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are quietly dominating their opponents and may just have the most impressive 2-0 record in football right now. First, the went into Baltimore and put a thumping on the Ravens in a stadium where they rarely have success, then hosted the red hot Falcons and just smothered them in a rout. Andy Dalton may just be taking that next step. This is a dangerous football team.

+2

5

New England Patriots

As long as Tom Brady is in the NFL, his team is going to be somewhere in the Top 10 or Top 5 of power rankings. It's the same with Peyton Manning. I knew after a bad loss on the road in Miami, the Patriots would come out focused and angry. My heart certainly hoped they would fall flat on their face, but I suspect the Broncos will be meeting them twice again this year. They ended up waxing the Vikings pretty good, but that game was closer than it appears.

+2

6

Carolina Panthers

If you want to talk about a legitimate defense, then look no further than the Carolina Panthers. These guys need a nickname. It does help when the quarterback you are facing is 2-27 against teams with winning records. The Panthers suffocated Matthew Stafford and the Lions to earn that 2-0 record - along with sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

+5

7

San Diego Chargers

The biggest move of the week was awarded to the San Diego Chargers who charged back into the Top 10 with an impressive offensive show against the Legion of Boom. Philip Rivers and the Chargers are a serious threat to the Broncos quest for a fourth consecutive AFC West crown. Damn them.

+11

8

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers won, but how they played against the Jets was laughable. Aaron Rodgers isn't playing well, but that could be due to offensive line issues or injuries on the defense. Who knows, but this franchise has too much talent to be squeaking by at home to the lowly Jets. Does anyone want to win the NFC North? The Bears did finally come out of their hibernation, so maybe they want it.

--

9

San Francisco 49ers

Due to some terrible fantasy drafting decisions, I ended up with a slew of awesome skill players and Colin Kaepernick. I usually draft a quarterback fairly early, but I got stuck on a path that led to Kap late in the draft. Fortunately, I snagged Kirk Cousins during the game on Sunday, so now I have no reason to complain. The San Francisco 49ers of the preseason definitely showed up in that second half against the Bears. It's hard to tell what this team is. One thing is sure for me, Kaepernick is a one-read quarterback.

-6

10

Indianapolis Colts

Andrew Luck seems to have lost some of his magical abilities in 2014 as his Indianapolis Colts have now come up short two weeks in a row with the game on the line. Blowing that two touchdown lead was helped along by several horrible refereeing, but at the end of the day, the Colts had a chance to win late and could not find a way to execute. I may just replace them with the Houston Texans next week!

-1

11

Arizona Cardinals

With no bit of hilariousness, the national media was beginning to condemn Eli Manning and the Giants early in the game after the Arizona Cardinals jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Not long after the Giants were up 14-10, but the Cardinals got their act together to finish with victory of 25-14 and a perfect 2-0 record. Yes, that means the Seahawks are in third place in the NFC West.

+2

12

New Orleans Saints

At 0-2, the New Orleans Saints are in the kind of hole that few teams ever win Super Bowls from. Drew Brees will need to light a fire under this offense, because the defense just isn't good enough to help win football games. I find it hard to believe Champ Bailey's play has dropped off that much in just a couple of seasons that he couldn't make the roster of this defense.

-8

13

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears exploded with three touchdowns in the final quarter to beat the 49ers 28-20. Jay Cutler looked like his ho hum self early on, but then I noticed something. He began using good mechanics for a change and we all say the superior talent he could possess if he was more consistent with those mechanics. In other news, I benched Brandon Marshall in my fantasy league because Adam Shefter was 75% convinced he wouldn't play. Thanks a lot there Adam. 

+5

14

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans defense definitely has an identity the Broncos defense lacks and is showing it on the field of player. After dominating the Redskins in the season opener, they traveled to Oakland to embarrass the Raiders in their own house, 30-14. I'm starting to think these guys could get into the playoffs this year. And J.J. Watt ... seriously?

+5

15

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens lit it up on Thursday Night Football with their first double digit win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in several years. The defense dominated and maintained a high level of energy all night long. At 1-1, I definitely peg the Ravens as second best in the AFC North with the Steelers and Browns equal in record, but not in talent.

+5

16

Atlanta Falcons

Honestly, I expected a little more from Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons this week than the 24-10 beating they took. I still thought the Bengals would win, but it wasn't even close. It certainly looks like the NFC South will not be the division I thought it was going to be heading into this season.

-5

17

Detroit Lions

I learned an important lesson on Sunday. Never pick the Detroit Lions or Matthew Stafford if they are facing a .500 football team. Stafford is now 2-28 against such teams in his career. That is bad.

-5

18

Buffalo Bills

It appears the Buffalo Bills have finally figured out how to properly use C.J. Spiller, which is annoying because I snatched him up quickly each of the last two seasons in fantasy football. Of course, I gave up on it this year and now he is tearing it up. The Bills are 2-0 and in sole possession of first place in the AFC East. It's like its 1993 again!

+4

19

Pittsburgh Steelers

Once upon a time, the Pittsburgh Steelers were a fearsome defensive team, but that time has long since passed. As a group, they have the fewest turnovers of any team in the NFL since 2011 and that isn't going to bode well for a team with an offense that is horribly limited right now.

-3

20

Washington Redskins

It sucks that Robert Griffin III got injured, but his injury could be a Drew Bledsoe kind of moment for the Washington Redskins organization. Kirk Cousins now has a chance to overcome the draft status of RGIII and lead his team to a winning record. A 41 point explosion against the lowly Jaguars certainly makes me think it could happen.

+7

21

Miami Dolphins

That is two weeks in a row the Miami Dolphins have burned me, but in reality my first instinct was correct. The Dolphins are not very good. If I am wrong, well, they'll probably burn me again next week! However, that was a good old fashioned beat down they received on Sunday in Buffalo.

-7

22

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings had a lot of spunk early on against the Patriots, but quickly wilted away as Tom Brady and the Patriots defense and special teams came up with some huge plays to suck the life out of their opponent. Fortunately, it appears cutting Adrian Peterson isn't even on the table, so the Vikings can get their star child beater back on the field soon.

-7

23

Cleveland Browns

They did it! The Cleveland Browns just won their Super Bowl by taking down Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints at home, 24-23. Brian Hoyer is the real deal and the worst part is that I can't make fun of them anymore. Oh well, I can still make fun of Johnny Football sitting on the bench rolling his twenty dollar bills in tightly wound straw-like devices.

+9

24

Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo takes a lot of crap from people, but he is a fairly above average quarterback. He will continue to struggle to beat good football teams and though the defense played well on Sunday, they should regress back to the mean most of the team. You have got to give them credit for going into Nashville and embarrassing the home team.

+7

25

Tennessee Titans

My gut told me the Tennessee Titans would lose to the Cowboys, but my brain overrode that and switched my picks over. Naturally I screwed myself over, but more importantly, the Titans have matchup problems with elite passing attacks. This is why they dominated the Chiefs and struggled mightily against the Cowboys. It's going to be an up and down year for this club.

-4

26

Kansas City Chiefs

I actually didn't like dropping the Kansas City Chiefs two spots for losing to the Broncos. Alex Smith played a great game and the team came together to nearly slay the dragon in its own lair. Of course, it took a lot of help from sloppy Broncos play and pretty much pure awesomeness from their own players - such as this play.

-2

27

St. Louis Rams

Who is this Austin Davis? He finished 22 of 29 for 235 yards against the Bucs, which is fairly efficient. The problem is, where is the talent on this team? They barely beat another bad football team, so I am going to say the Rams are still a fairly bad football team.

+1

28

New York Jets

I'm not sure how Geno Smith and the New York Jets scored all those points early in Green Bay, but they quietly faded away into a loss. Barely beating the Raiders at home is all I need to know about this football team right now. Maybe that changes, but so far I haven't been impressed. This might be an overreaction, but we'll see.

-5

29

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The preseason hype machine that was the national media has quietly stopped pounding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a good football team. The truth is out and this team isn't very good. Losing at home to the St. Louis Rams is almost comical given how bad the Rams are.

-4

30

New York Giants

Poor Eli Manning and the New York Giants. They are not a good football team, but after listening to Coach Tom Coughlin's post game presser, I think they will find a way to band together for some better football ahead. The question is, do they wake up before starting the season 0-6 again this year? We'll see.

-4

31

Oakland Raiders

One of the highlights on Sunday was watching the Oakland Raiders get embarrassed in their home opener. My poor sister switched loyalties from the Broncos to the Raiders because of her fiance and was lamenting why the Raider players don't play harder when she screams harder. Well sis, they suck and you should have stuck with your original team, so you are getting what you deserve. :P  How exciting was this play for you? Ha!

-2

32

Jacksonville Jaguars

Congratulations Jacksonville, your Jaguars have reclaimed the spot they owned all last season. This disrespect will continue as long as you start Chad Henne over Blake Bortles. You let the Washington Redskins backup quarterback drop a forty-burger on you. Yikes! One thing is certain, stubborn coaches who refuse to play the better quarterback usually end up unemployed by the beginning of the next season.

-2