I haven’t gotten around to my Week 3 recap as yet, but I’ll hit some of my talking points in this post. I’ll probably forgo a full-on Bears post this week, and just blend a few notes in here and there.
Here are this week’s power rankings. Last week’s rank follows the team name in parenthesis.
1. New York Giants (1) – Another dominant win for the best team in the game. With the Chiefs and Raiders in their immediate path, I wouldn’t look for a drop-off anytime soon.
2. Baltimore Ravens (2) – Blowing out the worst franchise in the league does not a champion make. However, this next stretch just may: at New England, vs. Cincinnati, at Minnesota. If Baltimore is 6-0 after that stretch, we could be looking at something really special.
3. Indianapolis Colts (4) – Picking up one spot this week for knocking off the NFC champs from a year ago. Arizona might not be the team they were last year, but the way the Colts imposed their will upon the Cards, I have a little more faith in them than I do in the Saints.
4. New Orleans Saints (3) – They didn’t deserve to lose one spot – that was about Indy, not them – but there was no reason not to do what they did (and more) against the Bills. Here comes an interesting pair of home games for Nawlins: vs. Jets, vs. Giants. The true test looms.
5. New York Jets (5) – I gave them very little chance against the Titans, who should’ve been (and perhaps were) in desperation mode after an 0-2 start. The Jets took care of business. Now the test in New Orleans, followed by – get this – at Miami, vs. Buffalo, at Oakland, vs. Miami, vs. Jacksonville. I still am not entirely sold on this team (I’m a little closer this week than I was last week), but at this point an 8-1 start wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
6. Minnesota Vikings (9) – Big jump for purple this week. They squeaked by a tough 49ers team with a little Brett Favre magic. There is a lot to like about this team’s chances, but not their sked: vs. Green Bay, at St. Louis, vs. Baltimore, at Pittsburgh, at Green Bay. Other than the Rams, there’s no gimmie in this stretch.
7. New England Patriots (7) – That’s a little more like it. Solid win over the Falcons, heading into this fearsome match-up with Baltimore, which will really test their mettle.
8. Dallas Cowboys (8) – Facing Carolina seems like just the tonic a solid-but-not-great team would need after that heartbreaking loss to the Giants the previous week.
9. Chicago Bears (not ranked) – They’ve played three very solid defensive games, and if Jay Cutler doesn’t throw eight hundred interceptions in the first half of week one at Green Bay, this is a 3-0 team. That said, the running game remains a concern, even if the defense is surprisingly not one.
10: Cincinnati Bengals (not ranked) – Okay. The Bengals go into Lambeau and knock off the Packers in fine fashion. A blowout at the hands of the Steelers looms, right? Wrong. Carson Palmer & Co are back in business, and this time, he appears to have a functional defense complimenting his talent.