NFL Week 3 Power Rankings

Five Quick Hits

* Any CBS affiliate outside of Kansas City and Philadelphia that showed the Chiefs/Eagles blowout instead of a real game should lose its right to select games.

* Rookie WR Mike Wallace had a breakout game for Pittsburgh this week. Wallace has clearly passed Limas Sweed as the team's third receiver. Sweed, a college star and first-day draft pick, has been a monumental disappointment.

* Where were the pass rushers on Monday night? Carolina's Julius Peppers and the Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware were virtually invisible. Each had one solo tackle and no sacks in Week 3. Last season, Peppers and Ware combined for 34.5 sacks. This year, they're on pace for a combined total of 5.

* One day, crowds will learn to be quiet for their team's offense. Dallas drew a pre-snap penalty on 4th-and-goal from the one, with the home crowd roaring the whole time, and had to settle for a field goal.

* A round of virtual applause for Donald Driver and Reggie Wayne, both of whom made fantastic one-handed receptions on the sideline this week.

***

Last week, the Dolphins nearly upset Indianapolis by grinding out first downs and controlling time of possession with the Wildcat offense. Call it a gimmick, but the Wildcat has been effective, and it's not going away any time soon. This offseason, though, a more dynamic Wildcat was the subject of intense speculation. Rather than snapping the ball to a running back, what if the snap went to a true run-pass threat, like Michael Vick or Miami rookie Pat White? Add that extra dimension to the Wildcat, and it would give defenses nightmares.

Three weeks into the season, it hasn't worked out that way. The "traditional" Wildcat with a running back has been more effective, and these game-changing players and formations have fizzled. This experiment isn't over — there's too much potential, too much upside — but the revolution may have to wait a little longer. Let's get to this week's Power Rankings. Brackets show previous rank.

1. New York Giants [1] — The extent of their dominance against the Buccaneers cannot be overstated. The Giants outgained Tampa by more than 300 yards, held the Bucs to five first downs, and won time of possession by over 27 minutes. The G-Men also solved their red zone woes, scoring touchdowns both times they had goal-to-go. Eli Manning is off to the best start of his career. Playing with a cast of unheralded receivers, he's third in the NFL in passer rating, trailing only Drews Brees and brother Peyton.

2. New Orleans Saints [2] — Through three games, Brees is 67-of-97. Peyton Manning is 66-of-96. Peyton has more yards; Brees has more touchdowns. They are separated by 0.4 of passer rating. Almost as impressive for New Orleans is their opponents' passer rating: 58.0. The Saints are one of four teams holding opponents below 60, and the team's success is due almost as much to an improved defense and rushing game as to its quarterback's other-worldly play.

3. New York Jets [5] — Best defense in the league so far. I know Denver has better statistics, but Denver hasn't played anyone. The schedule doesn't get any easier in Week 4, when the team travels to New Orleans to face the top-ranked offense in the league. Kris Jenkins is an unparalleled disruptive force on the interior defensive line, though there is reason to question whether he can maintain that for 16 games.

4. New England Patriots [6] — A close first half gave way to a second-half blowout, with New England gaining almost 200 more yards than the Falcons, and doubling their first downs and time of possession. Is Tom Brady turning into a second-half QB? The same sort of thing happened in Week 1 against Buffalo. Next weekend features another big matchup, with the Pats hosting Baltimore. Look for Brady to have a big day against the Ravens' vulnerable secondary, but expect Joe Flacco to light things up, as well.

5. Baltimore Ravens [7] — Outgained the Browns by 300 yards and won by 30 points. Baltimore is top-five in every major offensive category, including second in both yardage and scoring. After years of focus on its defense, this team has quietly assembled a number of offensive weapons, including Derrick Mason, who briefly retired this summer but now once again leads the team in receiving yardage. Joe Flacco is still available in 14% of Yahoo! fantasy leagues. If you're in that 14%, pick him up. He might be better than your starter, and he's certainly better than your backup. Willis McGahee (10%) is a good pickup, as well.

6. Indianapolis Colts [8] — Before the SNF game, Tony Dungy showed NBC viewers how Peyton Manning rotated a running back to his right to learn about the defensive scheme he was facing. In the middle of the fourth quarter, we saw exactly that situation play out. Manning motioned Donald Brown to his right, then physically took him by the arm and dragged him back to the left when no one on the defense moved. Thanks, Tony.

7. Dallas Cowboys [4] — Maybe this is strange to say of a team that ranks third in the NFL in yardage and fifth in scoring, but it doesn't look like they really have the weapons on offense. Dallas leads the league in rushing yardage, but it's not getting big plays in the receiving game. TE Jason Witten has more catches than any other two Cowboys combined. RB Felix Jones, easily the most explosive player on the offense, was hurt on Monday night, though the severity of his injury isn't clear yet. On defense, they need a more consistent pass rush.

8. Atlanta Falcons [3] — Last season, they were 7-1 at home (.875), but just 4-4 on the road (.500). This year, they're already 2-0 at home, but failed their first road test. Pass defense may be a concern. They got burned by Steve Smith (131 yards) in Week 2, and Randy Moss (116) in Week 3. Those are great receivers, but in this league, you have to contain great receivers. Part of that is on the secondary, of course, but a better pass rush would help, too. The Falcons only have one sack in the last two games.

9. Minnesota Vikings [10] — Looking at the schedule, it's hard to see them missing the playoffs, even if their quarterback fades down the stretch the way he did last season. They have an imposing trio of games right before the bye, but other than that it mostly looks like smooth sailing. That means they can afford to monitor Adrian Peterson's workload and save him for the most important situations.

10. Chicago Bears [14] — Face the Vikings in Weeks 12 and 16. That's plenty of time for Jay Cutler to get more comfortable with the offense, and for Minnesota's QB to turn 40. I think the wait benefits Chicago. Cutler threw one touchdown pass in the opener, two TDs last week, and three on Sunday. At that rate, he'll toss 28 against the Vikes. Most of the touchdowns will probably be to Devin Hester. He's becoming a real weapon on offense.

11. Philadelphia Eagles [17] — Q: Who needs the starting QB and running back? A: No one who is playing against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles have a much-needed bye next weekend.

12. Denver Broncos [20] — Last year, they ranked 29th in yards allowed and 30th in points allowed. So far this season, they lead the NFL in both categories. New defensive coordinator Mike Nolan obviously deserves some credit for that. So does OLB Elvis Dumervil, who is coming off his second straight multi-sack game. Dumervil has 14 solo tackles (one short of the team lead), 6 sacks (one short of the NFL lead), and 2 pass deflections. Dumervil has never made the Pro Bowl, despite his monster 2007 season. I think that might change this year.

13. Cincinnati Bengals [24] — I made a lot of big changes in this week's rankings, none larger than Cincinnati's 11-spot leap to this position. Partly that's because there were a number of upsets in Week 3, but a lot of it relates directly to the Bengals. Denver's Week 1 victory is looking more and more impressive (+8), Green Bay's Week 2 loss doesn't look so bad any more (+4), and Pittsburgh apparently doesn't deserve to be ranked ahead of the Bengals (-7). Carson Palmer played well — better than his statistics suggest — against the Steelers this week. Antwan Odom, who leads the NFL in sacks, needs to make sure he doesn't overpursue. The Steelers ran at him a number of times on Sunday.

14. Green Bay Packers [18] — This is a downfield passing offense, not a dink-and-dunk West Coast game. Aaron Rodgers ranks 26th in completion percentage (56.7%), but seventh in yards per attempt (7.93). This passing game is geared toward the big play, and the Packers are one of only three teams with two WRs over 200 receiving yards. Downfield passing is normally high-risk, high-reward, but Rodgers has thrown 148 consecutive passes without an interception, the longest active streak in the league. Marc Bulger and Kyle Orton are the only other starting QBs without an interception this year. Green Bay is a league-best +8 in turnovers.

15. San Diego Chargers [15] — Quick, who leads the NFL in passing yardage? Who ranks second in receiving yards? If you answered Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson, you're probably ... well, honestly, you were probably tipped off by this being the Chargers summary. Rivers, Jackson, and Antonio Gates have stepped up to help carry San Diego to a 2-1 record, but this team needs a running game and a pass rush if wants to make a serious Super Bowl push. Shawne Merriman, limited by a fresh injury, has had little impact.

16. Pittsburgh Steelers [9] — This is not the same defense without Troy Polamalu. It's not that the Steelers are giving up a ton of yardage — they aren't — but the big play isn't there. No one else has an interception, and the team is not generating an effective pass rush. The Steelers! Not generating an effective pass rush! That's just wrong.

17. San Francisco 49ers [16] — A fluke play away from 3-0, but the major concern is obviously Frank Gore's ankle. The injury is currently being described as a ligament strain, which usually doesn't cause players to miss a ton of time, but Gore will be out for at least two weeks, and that hurts this team. Glen Coffee replaces him in the lineup.

18. Tennessee Titans [12] — Lost the battle of the Titans. In an homage to the old AFL, Tennessee dressed as the Houston Oilers and lost to the Jets, dressed — in the ugliest uniforms known to humanity — as the old New York Titans. 0-3 teams don't get much better than this. They've lost by 3, 3, and 7, all to teams we think are pretty good (except maybe Houston). The running game is very strong — Chris Johnson is the only running back you compare to Adrian Peterson right now — but Kerry Collins finished Week 3 by throwing 13 consecutive incompletions.

19. Arizona Cardinals [13] — Strange offensive play-calling against the Colts' vulnerable rush defense: 12 runs, 58 passes. I know Beanie Wells had some fumble issues last week, but Arizona drafted him in the first round precisely for games like this one against the Colts. Wells had two carries. Did you see the way Indy's pass rush terrorized Kurt Warner all night? That's what happens when you don't run the ball, and the defense knows what's coming. Wells, by the way, has an awesome picture in the link above. "Chris, one of these days your face is going to freeze like that."

20. Houston Texans [11] — Worst run defense in the NFL. They're giving up 205 yards per game and opponents are averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Both figures are the worst in the league, the former by a wide margin. Matt Schaub continues to play well, but he and his receivers can't win games by themselves. Frank Bush and Bill Kollar need to get more out of this defense. DT Amobi Okoye, in particular, needs to play at a higher level.

21. Seattle Seahawks [21] — Second-year LB David Hawthorne had a monster game filling in for Lofa Tatupu: 15 solo tackles, a deflected pass, and an interception. Rookie Aaron Curry also notched his first sack of the season. The Seahawks are dealing with a lot of injuries right now, but if they can stay close to Arizona and San Francisco until everyone is healthy, this team could make a postseason run.

22. Buffalo Bills [19] — I hate to sound like Michael Irvin or Deion Sanders, and I don't even like mentioning Terrell Owens. But if you're going to sign him and deal with all the accompanying headaches, shouldn't you at least use him? I know Owens had a couple of drops this week, and I'm not talking about the tragic end of his beautiful streak. But it doesn't seem like he's really a big part of the gameplan, and that doesn't make sense to me.

23. Jacksonville Jaguars [28] — Huge game for Maurice Jones-Drew, but I hope they'll be careful with his workload. Prior to this season, MJD never touched the ball more than 40 times in the first three games. This year, he's already at 70. That's not outrageous, but it's a steep increase. Jones-Drew will face a stiff test in Week 4, when Jacksonville hosts Tennessee and its top-ranked run defense.

24. Carolina Panthers [22] — For the last four seasons, Steve Smith has been their primary weapon. When he has a good game, they usually win. When Smith gets shut down, they usually lose. Since 2005, the Panthers are 24-10 (.706) when Smith has at least 80 receiving yards. They are 14-19 (.424) when he doesn't. They're 22-8 (.733) when Smith scores a touchdown, 16-21 (.432) when he doesn't. A swing of .300 is gigantic. This season, Smith has fewer catches, yards, and touchdowns than The Other Steve Smith (NYG). In his one big game, at Atlanta in Week 2, the Panthers scored more points than in their other two contests combined, and lost by less than 10 for the only time all season. I'm not saying they need to throw to Smith more. But if they don't, the team needs to come up with some other weapons, or they're going to lose every time the opponent has a good cornerback.

25. Miami Dolphins [23] — Chad Pennington, whose veteran leadership and strong play (97.4 passer rating) helped Miami to a division title last season, injured his throwing shoulder and is likely to miss the rest of the season. In a 10-year career, Pennington has never had two healthy seasons in a row. The injury is the final nail in the coffin for the Dolphins' 2009 season. They're not good enough to overcome an 0-3 start.

26. Detroit Lions [31] — Won a game, and we're all happy for them. But the defense is still wretched (Jason Campbell had 340 yards and a 97.6 passer rating), and RB Kevin Smith injured his shoulder in the victory. The extent of Smith's injury hasn't been made clear, and it's possible that he might play against Chicago this week, but Detroit needs him out there. Smith keyed the offense against Washington, rushing for 101 yards on just 16 carries before the injury.

27. Washington Redskins [25] — Came to Detroit knowing they were going to lose. At halftime, Michael Strahan was visibly agitated in the FOX studio: "Washington looks like they quit." This offense, built around its running game, needs more balance (13 runs, 44 pass plays). The defense needs to get off the field on third down. Washington is the only team in the league allowing opponents to convert more than half of their third downs.

28. Oakland Raiders [26] — JaMarcus Russell owns by far the worst passer rating in the league (39.8). He is also the only QB in the league to start three games and pass for fewer than 400 yards. Russell should not be playing right now.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [27] — This ranking may be too high — it's entirely possible that the Bucs are actually the worst team in the NFL. They have been outscored by 50 points this season, worse than the Chiefs (-37) or Rams (-49). The loss this week resembled an early-season NCAA tune-up game more than an actual NFL contest. You know, the Giants vs. Florida Atlantic.

30. Kansas City Chiefs [29] — Inauspicious start in the first of four consecutive games against the NFC East. Mortal language has not created words sufficient to explain how badly they were beaten down by the Eagles (though it was still better than Tampa Bay against the Giants).

31. St. Louis Rams [32] — They rise one position not because of anything they did right, but simply because Cleveland is so remarkably terrible. The Rams have lost 13 consecutive regular-season games, the longest active streak in the league.

32. Cleveland Browns [30] — I realize that moving anyone behind the Rams is controversial, but the Browns are an absolute train wreck. They've been outscored 95-29 so far (an average of 32-10), the worst margin in the NFL. The defense is terrible, the offense is even worse, and there are already rumors that head coach Eric Mangini has lost the team. I never advocate firing coaches this early in the season, and Mangini deserves a real chance, but whose bright idea was it to replace Romeo Crennel with one of his disciples? When you fire a coach, don't you normally look to go in at least a slightly different direction?