It was a wild Week 3 in the NFL, to say the least, after we saw epic comebacks, crazy coaching decisions, and a blowout the likes of which we haven’t seen in years. Now that the dust has settled, only three undefeated teams remain, while four teams are still searching for their first win.
One of those undefeated teams is the Miami Dolphins, who rocketed to the top of this week’s power rankings after their unbelievable blowout victory against the Denver Broncos. They jumped other teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, despite both of them having stellar weeks. But who else rose and fell this week?
Buy Bears TicketsThis season, Bears Wire will unveil the power rankings of all 32 NFL teams. Here are the rankings entering Week 4.
1. Miami Dolphins (3-0)
- Week 3 result: 70-20 win vs. Denver Broncos
- Last week’s ranking: No. 4
We haven’t seen a beatdown like what the Dolphins did to the Broncos in a long time. Even without one of their star offensive players, Mike McDaniel’s squad cannot be stopped right now.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (3-0)
- Week 3 result: 25-11 win at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Last week’s ranking: No. 3
Once again, the Eagles dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and have a formula that continues to work. Even with Jalen Hurts throwing two interceptions, it will take a lot to knock the Eagles off their game.
3. San Francisco 49ers (3-0)
- Week 3 result: 30-12 win vs. New York Giants
- Last week’s ranking: No. 2
Through three games, the 49ers aren’t playing their best football, but are still winning games with ease. That’s good enough for the time being, however, when you have a team full of Pro Bowlers.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 41-10 win vs. Chicago Bears
- Last week’s ranking: No. 5
Was it the presence of Taylor Swift or the matchup against the Bears that finally got the Chiefs going this season? Regardless, this was a get-right game for Kansas City and they accomplished that and then some.
5. Buffalo Bills (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 37-3 win at Washington Commanders
- Last week’s ranking: No. 6
Josh Allen doesn’t need to do much when his defense is carrying the load. Buffalo dismantled Washington and quarterback Sam Howell last week and they’re cruising after a rough start.
6. Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 16-28 loss at Arizona Cardinals
- Last week’s ranking: No. 1
It’s been a tough week for the Cowboys. First, they lose star cornerback Trevon Diggs in practice. Then, the pesky Cardinals got the best of them yet again. All the good vibes from the first couple weeks vanished just like that.
7. Seattle Seahawks (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 37-27 win vs. Carolina Panthers
- Last week’s ranking: No. 9
The Seahawks are officially back on track after starting the season 0-1 and had plenty of help from their fans as they threw the Panthers off their game. Now with Jamal Adams set to return, this team could remain a top contender in the NFC.
8. Detroit Lions (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 20-6 win vs. Atlanta Falcons
- Last week’s ranking: No. 13
Detroit eliminated the Falcons greatest strength and they had no rebuttal. The Lions cruised to an easy win behind their impressive defensive performance and finally look like the team many thought they could be.
9. Baltimore Ravens (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 19-22 loss vs. Indianapolis Colts
- Last week’s ranking: No. 7
Baltimore is lucky to have only dropped a couple spots. This game was served up on a silver platter for them after the Gardner Minshew safety and they still lose in overtime. Not one of John Harbaugh’s best days.
10. Green Bay Packers (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 18-17 win vs. New Orleans Saints
- Last week’s ranking: No. 15
Would the Packers have still won if Derek Carr hadn’t exited the game? It doesn’t matter because they did and Jordan Love willed them to victory in the fourth quarter. That’s a big moment for the young QB.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 23-18 win at Las Vegas Raiders
- Last week’s ranking: No. 17
Are the Steelers back on track? Their second win in a row was once again thanks to their defense, but Kenny Pickett rebounded in a big way with two touchdowns.
12. Cleveland Browns (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 27-3 win vs. Tennessee Titans
- Last week’s ranking: No. 18
Don’t look now, but Cleveland might have the best defense in the league. It helps when Deshaun Watson is actually playing decent football (meme-worthy throws aside). The Browns might finally have something going for them.
13. Cincinnati Bengals (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 19-16 win vs. Los Angeles Rams
- Last week’s ranking: No. 16
The Bengals finally get the monkey of their back with their first win of the season, but it wasn’t a clean game by any means. At some point, the talent on this roster is going to have to take over even if Joe Burrow is banged up. They get the benefit of the doubt for now, but time is ticking.
14. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 17-37 loss vs. Houston Texans
- Last week’s ranking: No. 8
Speaking of talent, the Jaguars have plenty of it but cannot seem to put it all together. Too many missed opportunities as of late have them now at 1-2. It also doesn’t help your chances when you’re unable to stop a kickoff return touchdown from a fullback.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 11-25 loss vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Last week’s ranking: No. 14
Tampa finally played some real competition and got served a big slice of humble pie. The good news is they were still in the game for the most part and had positive moments. But this group can’t hang with the elite teams in the league.
16. Washington Commanders (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 3-37 loss vs. Buffalo Bills
- Last week’s ranking: No. 10
Sam Howell was a disaster for the Commanders on Sunday, throwing four interceptions and coming back to reality after a solid start. Nothing went right for Washington and now they’re set to face an equally ferocious defense when they travel to Philadelphia next week.
17. Atlanta Falcons (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 6-20 loss at Detroit Lions
- Last week’s ranking: No. 12
Atlanta can only go so far with their running game before Desmond Ridder needs to start making plays. If the Falcons are one-dimensional on offense, this team won’t be making much progress going forward.
18. New Orleans Saints (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 17-18 loss at Green Bay Packers
- Last week’s ranking: No. 11
The bad news for Saints fans? This team would probably be 3-0 if Derek Carr hadn’t gotten hurt. But at least we all get to watch Jameis Winston again and that’s a treat, win or lose.
19. Los Angeles Chargers (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 28-24 win at Minnesota Vikings
- Last week’s ranking: No. 20
Brandon Staley really did his best to choke this game away. Had it not been for the Vikings having worse levels of ineptitude, that would have certainly happened. But even when the Chargers win, they lose as Mike Williams is out for the year with a torn ACL.
20. Indianapolis Colts (2-1)
- Week 3 result: 22-19 win at Baltimore Ravens
- Last week’s ranking: No. 27
Gardner Minshew’s mental lapse in the endzone aside, this Colts team might have something here, no matter who is playing quarterback. They won’t be a contender but likely will be better than most thought going into the season.
21. New England Patriots (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 15-10 win at New York Jets
- Last week’s ranking: No. 25
You can always count on a matchup with the Jets to get the Patriots going again. Bill Belichick just has a way of making young Jets quarterbacks look even more inept than they already are.
22. New York Giants (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 12-30 loss at San Francisco 49ers
- Last week’s ranking: No. 19
This Giants offense was kind of a mess even when Saquon Barkley was on the field. When he’s not, however, they’re awful. There’s no passing game whatsoever and the protection is suspect at best.
23. Los Angeles Rams (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 16-19 loss at Cincinnati Bengals
- Last week’s ranking: No. 21
The Rams are playing teams hard to start the year and might have even had another win if not for a questionable call. But too many self-inflicted wounds kept this one out of reach at the end.
24. New York Jets (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 10-15 loss vs. New England Patriots
- Last week’s ranking: No. 22
Robert Saleh is already having to give Zach Wilson the vote of confidence and it’s only the first month of the season. A couple more losses and the dreams of making a deep playoff run before the season will have already vanished.
25. Houston Texans (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 37-17 win at Jacksonville Jaguars
- Last week’s ranking: No. 31
C.J. Stroud is balling out to start his career and the Texans got a big first win in Jacksonville. If they can get their line healthy, who knows what this team could look like in a few weeks. It’s been a decent start, though.
26. Tennessee Titans (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 3-27 loss at Cleveland Browns
- Last week’s ranking: No. 23
Tennessee had no answers for the Browns pass rush and totaled under 100 yards in the entire game. Even worse, they made Deshaun Watson look like a competent quarterback again.
27. Minnesota Vikings (0-3)
- Week 3 result: 24-28 loss vs. Los Angeles Chargers
- Last week’s ranking: No. 24
The Vikings couldn’t be stopped in one-score games last year. Now they’re on the other side of them this year and things are beginning to spiral out of control. It’s especially bad when Brandon Staley tries to guarantee your victory and you can’t take advantage of it.
28. Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 28-16 win vs. Dallas Cowboys
- Last week’s ranking: No. 30
Jonathan Gannon wanted killers but little did he know he was already on a team of Cowboy killers. The Cardinals manhandled Dallas and continue to dominate them, no matter who is on the team.
29. Carolina Panthers (0-3)
- Week 3 result: 27-37 loss at Seattle Seahawks
- Last week’s ranking: No. 29
You can do much worse at backup quarterback than Andy Dalton. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter who is under center if your team can’t stop committing pre-snap penalties. The Panthers had a chance but shot themselves in the foot too many times.
30. Las Vegas Raiders (1-2)
- Week 3 result: 18-23 loss vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Last week’s ranking: No. 29
The Raiders might be an average team is Josh McDaniels wasn’t in charge. The head coach couldn’t even get his math right when deciding to kick a field goal to make a one-score game a one-score game.
31. Chicago Bears (0-3)
- Week 3 result: 10-41 loss at Kansas City Chiefs
- Last week’s ranking: No. 32
The Chicago Bears failed on every level last week and truly don’t deserve to climb out of the last spot. But they didn’t allow 70 points so they’re spared for a week.
32. Denver Broncos (0-3)
- Week 3 result: 20-70 loss at Miami Dolphins
- Last week’s ranking: No. 26
The Broncos allowed 70 points and it should have been more. That’s all that needs to be said.
