NFL Power Ranks: Week 3

Another wild week in the NFL is in the books, and the biggest ranking swings this week in both a positive and negative direction centered around one game: the Dolphins shocking rout of the Patriots in New England. The Patties dropped 12 spots, from #4 all the way to #16, while the Dolphins rose 9 spots, from #27 to #18. Are the Dolphins really the 18th best team in the NFL? Probably not, but the Patriots could be the 16th best team especially since Randy Moss is about to go on a long vacation and the defense is finally starting to show their bitterness over losing the Super Bowl....Super Bowl XX to the Bears, that is.

The NFC East has been extremely impressive so far this season, as many had predicted. The 4 teams are all in the top 8 spots and the division is 8-0 in games against non-division opponents. The Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles have all shown they have top offenses while the Redskins, Eagles, and Giants have top defenses. The Redskins also lead the NFL in turnover ratio.

The defending Super Bowl champ Giants still hold a commanding lead on the #1 spot despite a narrow win over the Bengals this week, while the surprising Bills are #2, the defensive beast Titans are #3, and the Cowboys and Eagles are #4 and #5. Seattle and Minnesota crawled out of the bottom 5 this week by getting their first wins. Replacing them are absolutely miserable Cleveland and Houston (but they had a hurricane and are at least only 0-2). Here are the ranks:

1. Giants - 85.45 - Even
2. Bills - 76.61 - +3
3. Titans - 75.59 - +3
4. Cowboys - 75.57 - +7
5. Eagles - 74.75 - +5
6. Broncos - 73.76 - +3
7. Ravens - 68.94 - +5
8. Redskins - 68.60 - +5
9. Cardinals - 67.76 - -7
10. Falcons - 65.73 - +7
11. Panthers - 59.10 - -8
12. Packers - 58.56 - -5
13. Buccaneers - 58.44 - +2
14. Steelers - 56.16 - -6
15. 49ers - 52.47 - +4
16. Patriots - 50.18 - -12
17. Bears - 48.06 - -3
18. Dolphins - 44.96 - +9
19. Chargers - 44.68 - +5
20. Saints - 42.58 - -2
21. Jaguars - 41.29 - +5
22. Vikings - 40.80 - +6
23. Raiders - 39.52 - -3
24. Jets - 37.24 - -8
25. Seahawks - 34.86 - +6
26. Colts - 30.08 - -5
27. Bengals - 26.03 - -4
28. Browns - 22.99 - -6
29. Texans - 20.88 - -4
30. Chiefs - 16.31 - -1
31. Lions - 13.36 - -1
32. Rams - 12.90 - Even

The Week 5 Power Ranks

Week 5 is in the books, and at the end, there are 3 undefeateds left standing. Not many people would have New England ranked 3rd of those 3 teams, but my formula puts them there. They've been impressive against their opponents, but none have been very impressive in the win column this season. Also, they are well on their way to getting 6 easy wins against a terrible division this year. I'm interested to see how the Pats do against the #2 Cowboys this weekend. The Colts will likely remain on top during their bye week, but the winner will have a commanding hold on 2nd. The biggest gainers this week were Washington, who destroyed a feisty Lions team and jumped all the way up to #5 overall and Chicago, who knocked off the previously unbeaten Packers in Lambeau, with Brian Griese no less! The biggest loser was Seattle, who dropped 7 spots after being shut out by the Steelers and falling into a first place tie with the Cardinals. Meanwhile, two former top 10 teams, Denver and San Francisco, continue their spiral into the pit of despair at #25 and #26. The 3 winless teams each came close to winning this week, and stayed in the order they were in last week. The Dolphins are .08 points behind the Saints, so Ryan suggests all they need to do is get drunk next week to climb out of last. On to the ranks....

1. Colts - 90.70 - Even
2. Cowboys - 81.56 - Even
3. Patriots - 79.85 - +1
4. Steelers - 71.89 - +1
5. Redskins - 71.55 - +7
6. Titans - 71.07 - +2
7. Jaguars - 70.69 - +2
8. Packers - 67.38 - -5
9. Giants - 62.07 - +4
10. Texans - 60.44 - Even
11. Buccaneers - 57.70 - -5
12. Cardinals - 56.72 - +2
13. Ravens - 56.54 - +4
14. Seahawks - 51.19 - -7
15. Panthers - 48.09 - +1
16. Bears - 47.46 - +8
17. Lions - 47.03 - -6
18. Raiders - 46.42 - Even
19. Browns - 46.39 - -4
20. Eagles - 46.13 - +2
21. Chargers - 42.09 - +5
22. Chiefs - 41.51 - -3
23. Vikings - 38.53 - Even
24. Bengals - 37.21 - +1
25. 49ers - 35.34 - -5
26. Broncos - 32.96 - -5
27. Bills - 28.69 - +1
28. Falcons - 28.29 - -1
29. Jets - 25.81 - Even
30. Rams - 17.05 - Even
31. Saints - 14.14 - Even
32. Dolphins - 14.06 - Even

Power Ranks: Week 3

I'm back again with the latest power ranks following the week 3 games. The shocking #1 from last week, the Houston Texans, got toppled by the #2 Colts, who took a commanding hold on the #1 position. The Texans, however, only sank to #4. Patriots fans everywhere will still probably be upset with them remaining at #5, but right now they are still a victim of their weak division and ice cold opponents so far. If they wind up going 16-0, they'll raise up the list...trust me. On the flip side, the AFC South has started off so incredibly strong that all 4 teams are ranked in the top 8. The biggest gainers this week were Jacksonville and Philadelphia, who both ousted undefeated teams in impressive fashion. Denver, Chicago, and Arizona took the biggest falls this week. The Bears beatdown at home by the Cowboys was the obvious reason for their fall, but Arizona's was mostly from coming up on the short end of a lot of teams being bunched up. So, here are the new ranks with their gain/loss from the week before....

1. Colts - 92.06 - +1
2. Steelers - 84.35 - +2
3. Packers - 82.63 - Even
4. Texans - 75.44 - -3
5. Patriots - 74.03 - Even
6. Cowboys - 73.27 - +4
7. Titans - 65.12 - +4
8. Jaguars - 64.11 - +9
9. Ravens - 57.22 - +5
10. Panthers - 56.90 - +3
11. 49ers - 56.77 - -5
12. Redskins - 56.61 - -4
13. Lions - 54.89 - -6
14. Buccaneers - 53.23 - +7
15. Seahawks - 51.98 - +5
16. Eagles - 50.12 - +8
17. Broncos - 48.78 - -8
18. Bengals - 41.25 - +1
19. Giants - 40.85 - +6
20. Bears - 39.52 - -8
21. Vikings - 39.04 - -5
22. Browns - 38.89 - -4
23. Chargers - 38.06 - -1
24. Cardinals - 37.78 - -9
25. Raiders - 35.64 - +4
26. Chiefs - 35.51 - Even
27. Jets - 29.23 - +1
28. Rams - 23.27 - -5
29. Bills - 15.08 - +1
30. Saints - 14.44 - -3
31. Falcons - 14.23 - +1
32. Dolphins - 12.70 - -1