Written by Chris Burke at SI.com
Hit the reset button.
The No. 3 and No. 6 teams in our previous Power Rankings (Pittsburgh and Houston, respectively) were absolutely throttled in Week 3. Teams Nos. 4 (Carolina), 5 (Arizona) and 7 (Cincinnati) were pushed around in losses. Some of you would be quick to point out that shows a flaw in our Power Rankings, and to those of you I say, “Thank you for your tweets.”
What it also shows is that there is a very thin line between being great and just average in this league, with not many teams clearing that height.
How will this week’s Power Rankings hold up?
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1NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTSLAST WEEK: 1RECORD: 3–0“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …” That’s inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, of course, but it’s also how Bill Belichick answers the question, “Whom could you win a game with as your quarterback?”
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2DENVER BRONCOSLAST WEEK: 2RECORD: 3–0Trevor Siemian’s four-touchdown performance in Cincinnati drew him a QB rating of 132.1 for the game, a mark hit only once the past two seasons by either Peyton Manning or Brock Osweiler (Manning, 135.4 in Week 11 of 2014). If the Broncos turn dangerous through the air, go ahead and pencil them in for another AFC title game appearance.
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3MINNESOTA VIKINGSLAST WEEK: 9RECORD: 3–0The only team with fewer yards of offense than the Vikings’ 796 is Los Angeles, which in a roundabout way tells you all you need to know about Minnesota’s defense. The Vikings not only generated eight sacks and three turnovers but also forced Carolina into four holding calls (one declined). Mike Zimmer’s defense is sensational.
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4PHILADELPHIA EAGLESLAST WEEK: 14RECORD: 3–0On the Jim Schwartz fist pump rating scale, the three-pump flurry he unleashed following Philadelphia’s final defensive stand Sunday ranks right up there with that time he tried to punch himself into another dimension after an OT win with Detroit. Schwartz’s defense is as much of a factor in the Eagles’ 3–0 start as Carson Wentz.
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5KANSAS CITY CHIEFSLAST WEEK: 13RECORD: 2–1That strange apparition you saw during the Chiefs-Jets game was Ryan Fitzpatrick’s soul leaving his body. The Chiefs intercepted six Fitzpatrick passes Sunday—four times during a surreal seven-minute stretch in the fourth quarter.
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PITTSBURGH STEELERSLAST WEEK: 3
RECORD: 2–1
Given the Steelers’ awful history in Philadelphia—they have lost nine straight games there, including Sunday’s 34–3 abomination—we probably can assume their 2017 draft in the City of Brotherly Love will be a disaster, too. The good news? Le’Veon Bell is back this week, just in time for a key matchup with Kansas City.To continue reading this article, click here.
