NFL Power Rankings, Week 3: AFC is completely unpredictable
By Grant Tuttle
27. Las Vegas Raiders (1-1)
Last Week: 23 (-4)
After a nice showing last week on defense against the Broncos, the Raiders showed their true colors against the Bills. Buffalo took it to the Raiders and showed the NFL that Las Vegas is not ready to compete this season. Now the question will be whether or not the Raiders can pick up a few wins here and there to save Josh McDaniels for another year.
28. Houston Texans (0-2)
Last Week: 29 (+1)
There is a lot going on here. CJ Stroud looks like he might be the real deal, but they are clearly lacking talent all over the field. While I like the direction they are headed, they will likely live in the basement of the power rankings every week.
29. Denver Broncos (0-2)
Last Week: 25 (-4)
The Broncos are embarrassing. Even with Sean Payton running things, they look overwhelmed on both sides of the ball. Despite nearly coming back to tie on a hail mary pass, the Broncos have no business calling themselves a contender. Will Russell Wilson be given continued grace, or will Payton start thinking about giving Jarrett Stidham a shot?
30. Chicago Bears (0-2)
Last Week: 27 (-3)
Again, I will ask the question. Are we sold on Justin Fields? The Bears look like they have less fight than the Cardinals and I'm not sure whether I would take Fields or Joshua Dobbs at this point. The Bears should be tanking for Caleb Williams.
31. Carolina Panthers (0-1)
Last Week: 31 (-)
I'm not going to lie, the Panthers defense has some real talent. They can get after the quarterback and they have speed at linebacker which can give running backs some trouble. The problem is, they might have the worst offense that I have ever watched. That is not an exaggeration. Bryce Young is hopelessly looking for receivers that have no real chance of getting open on every passing play and is getting pressured at an alarming rate. It is clear that they are not going to be climbing these rankings any time soon.
32. Arizona Cardinals (0-2)
Last Week: 32 (-)
KEEP ON FIGHTING, CARDINALS! This team is certainly not the worst unit that I have ever seen, but they seem to be on a collision course with the Bears and Texans for the first overall pick next year.
manual