NFL Power Rankings, Week 3: Confidence in Bears beginning to fade

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— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 15, 2024

18. Chicago Bears (Last week: 16)

The Bears appear to have gone back in time to 2006, as they are fielding an elite, playoff-worthy defense currently held back by an anemic offense. Hopefully, a trip to the listless Colts in Week 3 will be the kind of “get-right” game Caleb Williams and Co. desperately need.

19. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 21)

It may not matter whether Jordan Love is an elite quarterback or not, Matt LaFleur can get wins with just about anyone at quarterback. Sure, the Colts are a team teetering on a full-on collapse, but winning with a former backup quarterback who just recently joined the team is impressive.

20. LA Rams (Last week: 9)

The Rams take the biggest tumble this week, and it may get even worse. Injuries are killing this team, as both Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp are set to miss several weeks. That would be bad enough if it were just those two, but they are merely the latest in a long line of Rams players who are IR candidates. Sorry, Rams fans, but this looks like a repeat of the 2022 season.

21. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 24)

The Seahawks have gotten off to a nice start in 2024 but haven’t faced a real test yet. After defeating the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots, their point differential is only +9.

22. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 23)

The Steelers have just one offensive touchdown through two weeks, which came against a bad Broncos team. Whether it’s Justin Fields or Russell Wilson starting for Pittsburgh, they’re not a team you can trust right now.

23. Las Vegas Raiders (Last week: 26)

It may be a fluke, but beating the Baltimore Ravens is impressive. The Raiders get a small, well-earned bump for this week.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 20)

I’ll let Trevor Lawrence summarize the Jags” season so far.

#Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence: “We suck right now.” pic.twitter.com/teCDCsYLHf

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 15, 2024

25. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 15)

Through two games the Colts are 0-2 and have given up a whopping 474 rushing yards. To make matters worse, star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner left Sunday’s game and will likely miss Week 3’s tilt with the Bears. The only silver lining right now is that Chicago’s run game has been abysmal, giving Indy’s defense a chance for a “get-right” game.

26. New England Patriots (Last week: 27)

After defeating the Bengals and nearly toppling the Seahawks, I think we can begin to consider that maybe we were wrong about the Patriots this year. Thursday night’s matchup against the Jets should give us some definitive answers.

27. Washington Commanders (Last week: 29)

The Commanders picked up their first win of the season on Sunday, but it wasn’t pretty. All 21 of their points came from field goals. That won’t cut it against tougher competition than the Giants, who seem to be circling the drain already.

28. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 19)

As good as their defense is playing, there’s no way they can beat a serious team with Will Levis under center. The way head coach Brian Callahan has talked about Levis, you have to wonder if the Titans are already contemplating a quarterback change.

#Titans HC Brian Callahan on Will Levis’ fumble: “I was upset. It was dumb. It was the same exact thing he did last week, and he cost us points in the red zone. He’s a grown-up and he knows better, and I was really irritated that he cost us three points in a game that we probably… https://t.co/ioHnAbxwwY pic.twitter.com/Erc9StWrWc

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 16, 2024

29. Denver Broncos (Last week: 28)

That was an ugly loss to Pittsburgh, but the Steelers’ defense has laid low much better teams than the 2024 Broncos. Unfortunately for Denver, the schedule doesn’t get any easier in Week 3 as they take a trip to Tampa Bay to face the unbeaten Buccaneers.

30. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 31)

The Browns got their first win of the season, but quarterback Deshaun Watson was still dreadful. Make no mistake: this is still a bad team, and it will be for as long as Watson is their starter.

31. New York Giants (Last week: 30)

It takes a truly special team to lose a game in which the offense scored three touchdowns while the opponents couldn’t get the ball across the goal line once, but that’s what the Giants did. Daniel Jones’ days as the starting quarterback are numbered.

32. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 32)

Is there a way to make the Panthers lower than 32? This is a team with no direction, no present, and no discernable future. Bryce Young has been bad, but benching him two games into the Dave Canales era doesn’t make much sense in the grand scheme of things, and it doesn’t help that Canales refused to reveal how much sway David Tepper, the notoriously micromanaging owner, had over that decision.