PFT’s Week 3 2022 NFL power rankings

Tennessee Titans v Buffalo Bills
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1. Bills (2-0; No. 1): An unexpectedly huge test is looming in Miami. It’s hard to see them not passing it.

2. Chiefs (2-0; No. 2): The offense is great, and the defense is good enough to step up on the nights the offense isn’t playing that way.

3. Buccaneers (2-0; No. 3): The offense is pretty good, and the defense is good enough to step up on the afternoons the offense isn’t playing that way.

4. Eagles (2-0; No. 5): The offense is great, and the defense is pretty damn good, too.

5. Rams (1-1; No. 4): They still have plenty of work to do to get back to where they were last year.

6. Dolphins (2-0; No. 12): TuAnon is going mainstream.

7. Packers (1-1; No. 8): They got the win, but are they ready to compete with the Bucs? We’ll find out on Sunday.

8. 49ers (1-1; No. 9): The Trey Lance experiment will be delayed for a year. The team is good enough to win plenty of games without him.

9. Ravens (1-1; No. 6): John Harbaugh-coached teams aren’t supposed to blow big leads.

10. Cowboys (1-1; No. 17): Every win with Cooper Rush is money in the bank for Dak’s return.

11. Bengals (0-2; No. 7): It’s not panic time yet, but panic time is coming quickly.

12. Chargers (1-1; No. 11): If they can stay healthy, they can be great this year.

13. Titans (0-2; No. 10): The Ryan Tannehill era isn’t over yet, but they’re holding the rope on the curtain.

14. Patriots (1-1; No. 20): It wasn’t pretty. Most of their wins this year probably won’t be.

15. Steelers (1-1; No. 13): The Steelers aren’t good enough to drop interceptions and muff punts.

16. Cardinals (1-1; No. 21): Let Kyler cook.

17. Raiders (0-2; No. 15): Mark Davis made the right decision to skip Sunday’s game.

18. Jaguars (1-1; No. 31): First place in the AFC South? First place in the AFC South.

19. Jets (1-1; No. 32): Garrett Wilson is going to be a star in this league.

20. Saints (1-1; No. 19): One team woke up after the brawl, and the other did not.

21. Giants (2-0; No. 25): Early wins under a new regime gets the players to buy in.

22. Browns (1-1; No. 16): If Jets-Browns had been played in prime time, Kevin Stefanski would have been getting the Nathaniel Hackett treatment all week long for the late-game clock management.

23. Vikings (1-1; No. 18): Changing coaches fails to make Kirk Cousins better in prime time.

24. Seahawks (1-1; No. 22): The only thing this team has in common with the ’72 Dolphins is its overall approach to offensive football.

25. Broncos (1-1; No. 24): Even a win feels like a loss when the coach is a deer in the headlights.

26. Lions (1-1; No. 30): The Lions have a chance to get everyone’s attention this weekend in Minnesota.

27. Washington (1-1; No. 23): They played well in the one half of the game they decided to show up for.

28. Bears (1-1; No. 27): It wasn’t as bad as the final score would suggest, but it still wasn’t good.

29. Falcons (0-2; No. 28): They’ll remain in this zip code until they start winning.

30. Texans (0-1-1; No. 29): “Work in progress” may be the T-shirt slogan, for a while.

31. Panthers (0-2; No. 26): Matt Rhule will do well at Nebraska next year.

32. Colts (0-1-1; No. 14): Maybe the problem wasn’t Carson Wentz.

92 responses to “PFT’s Week 3 2022 NFL power rankings

  1. TuAnon is going mainstream? How about we just all admit we have no idea where Tua’s ceiling lies?

  2. Rams 5th? Niners top 10? What a joke. What have the Rams shown to justify that 5 slot after getting blown out by the Bills and almost losing to one of the worst teams in the NFL whose QB hasn’t started in years?

  3. If only these rankings were based on how the teams have played and not on preseason expectations.

  4. The Steelers are tied for first in the AFCN! They will be be all alone in first after taking care of business against the Browns on Thursday night and the Pats beating the Ravens. GO STEELERS!

  5. Colts: You made your quarterback the scapegoat then went out and lost to the same team but even worse without said scapegoat. Karma, is that you?

  6. Either Philadelphia is rated too high or Detroit is way too low.
    If Eagles defence is that good, then Lions dropping 35 on them last week should give rise to the thought that their offence is going to score a lot of points this year. And that surely means a higher spot than at 26 below a bunch of teams that can’t score or defend.

  7. Rams got shellacked by the Bills and barely scraped by the Falcons and they’re at 5?
    No, just no. Last season is last season. They’ve looked awful in both their games so far.

  8. Chiefs offence looked great?
    That’s only true if you ignore the numerous drops that opposing defences have had against Mahomes. That offence is going to sorely miss Hill, and the cracks are already showing.

  9. Giants are probably a mirage at 2-0, but you simply can’t have them below the 0-2 Titans after beating them in week 1.

  10. Vikings look outclassed in every way against Iggles. But after that put-down of Green Bay the week before, where does that leave the Packers? Sunday vs Tampa Bay will tell us a lot.

  11. Way to go Dolphins and Eagles! As I said in the summer, your QBs are really good and won’t get the respect they deserve.

  12. You are being way too kind to the Ravens. You put up 38 points you should win. That defense was atrocious. And they still have to play Josh Allen, Brady and Burrow twice.

  13. I’m the furthest thing from being a Vikings fan, and I can tell you they’re rated much too low.

  14. Steelers are way higher than 15. We would be 2-0 if it wasn’t for the officiating. Ridiculous to have them that low.

  15. “Either Philadelphia is rated too high or Detroit is way too low.
    If Eagles defense is that good, then Lions dropping 35 on them last week should give rise to the thought that their offence is going to score a lot of points this year. And that surely means a higher spot than at 26 below a bunch of teams that can’t score or defend.”

    —————————————————————————————-
    Eagles probably deserve to be at 4, but the Lions certainly deserve to be MUCH higher than 26. That team looks pretty darn good after 2 weeks. That offense looks really good and the defense, although lacking talent on the back-end, makes up for it with an aggressive style of play.

  16. Not sure what evidence there is to support Titans at 13. Terrible offseason, winless on the year and just no-showed against a conference rival. Titans will be picking top 10 in the 2023 draft.

  17. That (KC) offence is going to sorely miss Hill, and the cracks are already showing.
    ==========

    They’re the #2 offense in the League.. 32 points per game…….

  18. citizenstrange says:
    September 20, 2022 at 9:33 am
    The Steelers are tied for first in the AFCN! They will be be all alone in first after taking care of business against the Browns on Thursday night and the Pats beating the Ravens. GO STEELERS!

    ———————-

    Steelers fans more chirpy about the Pats vs Ravens than Pats fans?

  19. Tampa Bay’s defence is ” … good enough to step up …” ??? Wow. Faint praise. The Buccaneers’ defence is elite, the best in the league, and will carry the team until bulk of the receiving corps returns from the M.A.S.H. unit.

  20. Detroit should definitely be ranked higher. I’m looking forward to seeing them play against their division rivals.

  21. inozwetrust says:
    September 20, 2022 at 9:47 am
    You are being way too kind to the Ravens. You put up 38 points you should win. That defense was atrocious. And they still have to play Josh Allen, Brady and Burrow twice.
    ____________________________________________

    Ravens are working through a new defensive scheme. Burrow, ha-ha. Talk to me when he is above .500-for his career.

  22. hawkkiller says:
    September 20, 2022 at 9:30 am
    Rams 5th? Niners top 10? What a joke. What have the Rams shown to justify that 5 slot after getting blown out by the Bills and almost losing to one of the worst teams in the NFL whose QB hasn’t started in years? /////////// How bout them Seahawks!!!!

  23. Sweet , plenty of spots for the Commanders to jump up after they throttle Philly next week , Built! Not bought baby !

  24. Remember way back last week when the Vikings fans thought that they should be top 5?! Always so so foolish!

  25. hawkkiller says:
    September 20, 2022 at 9:30 am
    Rams 5th? Niners top 10? What a joke. What have the Rams shown to justify that 5 slot after getting blown out by the Bills and almost losing to one of the worst teams in the NFL whose QB hasn’t started in years?
    ___________________________________

    You are going to be disappointed for a long time. Welcome back to reality. Rams and 49ers were the last teams standing in the NFC last year, both deserve these spots and your Seahawks are going nowhere.

  26. Football says:
    September 20, 2022 at 9:33 am
    When was the last time the Jets were as high as #19? Give them some credit here.

    ***********************************************
    I think you should give Joe Woods credit for this win.

  27. “That’s only true if you ignore the numerous drops that opposing defences have had against Mahomes.” Ever notice how people only want to count the drops against Mahomes and not their QB? Weird.

  28. There’s no “c” in offense…. As in the side of the ball that has a QB. There is a “c” in offence, when you’re talking about QB’s like Watson or receivers like Ruggs.

  29. As a Jets’ fan I’m not sure how you jump them all the way to 19 based on 2 minutes of play in the last game. Are they the worst team in the league, no. Are they moving in the right direction, yes, but let’s pump the brakes until they string together a couple of good games.

    As to the Bills (being old enough to have seen them lose 4 SBs) they look like a complete team that will certainly compete for the SB but a lot of things happen before you get to lift the trophy (like your kicker missing only ONE FG all year but it was the most important one).

    As to the Fins, don’t buy the hype from Miami fans, according to them they are winning the SB every year and their last one was when? Tua was a very good college QB. He is an excellent athlete but he isn’t (like Lamar and Watson) an NFL QB. It takes talent to win in the NFL but for a QB the most important talent is their football brain and Tua has yet to exhibit that.

  30. Most posters are right on here, except for those hilarious Steeler fans. Steelers might be better by the end of the year. Well coached teams typically improve but #15 probably flatters them right now.
    Eagles could be at #3. I see them getting stronger as the year goes on. Not sure about the Bucs, definitely some cracks appearing there.
    Rams, 49ers, Ravens, Cowboys, Bengals all too high. Chargers, Saints, Vikings and Lions are all too low.
    Who could be the big surprise this year, like last year’s Bengals? In my eyes that’s the Chargers. Great QB and they will only gel over time with the number of personnel changes made. Chargers are already great fun to watch and should already be ~ #7 at worst.

  31. “Matt Rhule will do well at Nebraska next year.” Ha Ha….probably take him at least a couple years to do well at Nebraska…

  32. As a Lions fan, watching them hold tight against the Eagles, and watching Eagles proceed to steamroll the Vikings gives me hope the Lions are really putting together a good product and have a great chance to compete in the division.

    St Brown is an absolute stud

  33. David Tepper is so stupid for taking this long to fire Matt Rhule at the dumpster fire aka the Carolina Panthers.

  34. I had to double check, I can’t believe they actually ranked the Dolphins correctly for the first time ever.

  35. gronkhof says:
    September 20, 2022 at 11:16 am
    Titans at 13? You drafted this list before last nights game for sure!

    ———————

    The media has spent 6 months bashing the Pats, people are conditioned to believe every other soup du jour AFC team is somehow better (when they’re not).

    Tenn dealt AJ Brown due to cap hell and now are really one dimensional team.

    They’re overpaying Tannehill and Henry. Way too many bloated contracts like that and those kinds of teams keep whistling past the graveyard.

  36. Umm the eagles have 1 player on the starting offense they didn’t draft, the defense has a few. Teams are built through draft & free agency and if you’d prefer the commanders roster to the eagles, you’re saying you’d prefer a team that can contend over a team that can’t…typical for Washington.

    chastain00 Says:
    September 20, 2022 at 10:31 am
    Sweet , plenty of spots for the Commanders to jump up after they throttle Philly next week , Built! Not bought baby !

  37. Bengals fans must be extremely disappointed. They’re expecting a Super Bowl return and they lost against 2 teams they expected to rack up as wins. If they don’t beat the Jets this week,… the sportswriters will be brutal on them and the fans will be outraged.

  38. Can’t wait for the Bills/Dolphins game this week. Should be a great one. And I’m happy for the Jets. I think they found their guy in Saleh.

    LOVE seeing the AFC East be a competitive division again, with some real rivalries. That was a boring 20 years w/ the division title basically being a coronation for the Pats, and usually by November at the latest.

  39. Will be interesting to see how the Bills do if a team can erase Diggs. Obviously way easier said than done… Don’t think their run game is that great.

  40. I have no problem with my Colts at 32, but the Titans should be 31 then. Losing at home to the Giants and then getting demolished 41-7 hardly seems likes the 13th best team in the league.

  41. billsrthefuture says:
    September 20, 2022 at 12:32 pm
    Can’t wait for the Bills/Dolphins game this week. Should be a great one. And I’m happy for the Jets. I think they found their guy in Saleh.

    LOVE seeing the AFC East be a competitive division again, with some real rivalries. That was a boring 20 years w/ the division title basically being a coronation for the Pats, and usually by November at the latest.

    —————————-

    Even as a Pats fan Ill agree on that. Sure its nicer when your team is the one getting crowned by November, but believe it or not that gets old. When you are the team that is always supposed to win you wind up watching games just hoping nothing goes wrong. What we are going through now, all the doubt and angst going into games, is much more fun. And winning games you are not supposed to is in fact very satisfying.

  42. inozwetrust says:
    September 20, 2022 at 9:47 am

    You are being way too kind to the Ravens. You put up 38 points you should win. That defense was atrocious. And they still have to play Josh Allen, Brady and Burrow twice.
    __________________________________________________________________

    I agree with the being ranked a little high, at the same time, I’m not going to jump off the ship this early. The defense was decimated with injuries last season, and you have all these players trying to work their way back in. You have Marcus Peters who was limited in his first game back. Humphrey was on a pitch count and didn’t play the 4th Qtr. I challenge you to look at the stats of the Dolphins passing game when Humphrey was in, as oppose to that 4th Qtr without him. The Ravens were also without CB3 and CB4 in that game, lost CB5 in the 4th Qtr, and started playing safeties at CB. I haven’t even mentioned their 2 starting OLBs in Bowser and OJabo who have yet to play a snap this season. You had a lot of inexperience in that secondary combined with an experienced D Coordinator and it showed. As Rex Ryan said, the D Coordinator should’ve went conservative/simple in the coverages or put a guy back on the goal line if he had to. They all will learn from this and be better for it.

    As far as the run game goes, once Dobbins and Edwards are back and get a few games under their belt, It’ll get better. A little concerned with the OL’s run blocking, but there were a couple of times in that game Ravens RBs had angles for big runs and didn’t take them. That’s something Dobbins and Edwards would not miss.

    I could see the season starting slow for the Ravens, but catching fire in the 2nd half which is what you want. They just need to stay around .500, and for the love of God get and stay healthy.

  43. Next season? Why next season when this season is still in vogue? Look, me about 100,000 other panthers’ fans would be willing to donate to Nebraska so they can close out their current coach’s contract to get Rhule coaching there next week. Say the word Tepper, we’ll help you make this happen

  44. Bills dont need a run game… everyone stop saying that.
    ==========

    How do you intend to move the ball after November in that weather?

  45. “They played well in the one half of the game they decided to show up for” seems just as appropriate for the Cardinals, apart from them stinking for closer to 3 quarters Sunday.

    “Let Kyler cook” is funny, as he had the whole game to “cook” but couldn’t get anything going until late. Highlight plays distract from how much of the game, and season so far, he has been effectively useless.

    Miraculous escape from the hole you’ve dug yourself into won’t cut it against better teams. The test for Murray is being great and staying there. Let’s see if he can measure up to the bar he just created.

  46. I think it is safe to assume an AFC south team will hold the bottom spot for the remainder of the year. What a horrible division, the NFL should be ashamed.

  47. “49ers > Packers with Jimmy G”

    Maybe, but the Packers have no plan to dump Rodgers and trade for Jimmy G.

  48. dspyank2k11 says:
    September 20, 2022 at 2:11 pm
    Bills dont need a run game… everyone stop saying that.

    ————————

    They need more because when their opponents are running from them in terror they need guys that can give good chase.

  49. WOW! Saints ranked that low? Tie game with the Bucs up until the wheels feel off after Ingram’s fumble at the Bucs’ 10 yard line and the brawl. 5 turnovers including a pick six and still only a 10 point victory.

  50. The team that woke up after that brawl in New Orleans Sunday was also the team that immediately started getting the “referee special” after the Brawl. I guess the refs also woke up and remembered they’re not supposed to let Brady be humiliated. Without a doubt, the Saints offence was pathetic…but so was the Bucs until the refs stepped in. Would’ve been nice to see how it would’ve played out without their interference.

  51. If for whatever reason they don’t meet in the playoffs, I’m sure we can all agree it would be the best game of the season if the Chiefs and Bills meet each other undefeated.

  52. A cold bucket of reality just got dumped down Kevin O’Connell’s back. Now is when man’s greatest enemy – doubt – rears its ugly head. All that positive talk is meaningless when the result is as embarrassing as what we saw on the field last night. But at least when the players return to practice this week they won’t fear the coach not saying, “Hi.” to them in the hallway.

    And as I laid my head upon the pillow last night I swear I could hear the faint cry from the direction of the midwest. I could just make out the weeping of “Harbaugh!!!”

  53. Cowboys at 10? That is laughable. Get real. That’s not a top 15 team let alone a top 10. I say that even with Dak healthy.

  54. I feel bad for the Bengals and their fans. Ownership/management had one job after last season, and everyone knew it: to build the best OL possible and protect their QB. They didn’t and everything is imploding.

    How they can have the good fortune of landing Burrow and not make protecting him paramount is baffling.

  55. Tony Awesome says:
    September 20, 2022 at 12:21 pm
    Bengals fans must be extremely disappointed. They’re expecting a Super Bowl return and they lost against 2 teams they expected to rack up as wins. If they don’t beat the Jets this week,… the sportswriters will be brutal on them and the fans will be outraged.
    ______________________________________

    Not sure how this one-hit wonder team got so much fanfare. Bengals were never that team. A lucky playoff run and now they are back to being the Bengals. I hope Burrow can finish out the season with that once again bad o-line. Money not well spent.

  56. nite2al says:
    September 20, 2022 at 4:23 pm
    Tony Awesome says:
    September 20, 2022 at 12:21 pm
    Bengals fans must be extremely disappointed. They’re expecting a Super Bowl return and they lost against 2 teams they expected to rack up as wins. If they don’t beat the Jets this week,… the sportswriters will be brutal on them and the fans will be outraged.
    ______________________________________

    Not sure how this one-hit wonder team got so much fanfare. Bengals were never that team. A lucky playoff run and now they are back to being the Bengals. I hope Burrow can finish out the season with that once again bad o-line. Money not well spent.

    Sounds like fear- usually the precursor to not respecting a formidable opponent. You refuse to give Burrow credit or the team as a whole. It’s apparent haven’t watched a single down of a Bengals game. Maybe you have and just don’t understand football. It’s not their talent, it’s their scheme – look the word up- I haven’t the time nor the patience to spoon feed you football knowledge.

  57. iamturdferguson says:
    September 20, 2022 at 5:49 pm
    nite2al says:
    September 20, 2022 at 4:23 pm
    Tony Awesome says:
    September 20, 2022 at 12:21 pm
    Bengals fans must be extremely disappointed. They’re expecting a Super Bowl return and they lost against 2 teams they expected to rack up as wins. If they don’t beat the Jets this week,… the sportswriters will be brutal on them and the fans will be outraged.
    ______________________________________

    Not sure how this one-hit wonder team got so much fanfare. Bengals were never that team. A lucky playoff run and now they are back to being the Bengals. I hope Burrow can finish out the season with that once again bad o-line. Money not well spent.

    Sounds like fear- usually the precursor to not respecting a formidable opponent. You refuse to give Burrow credit or the team as a whole. It’s apparent haven’t watched a single down of a Bengals game. Maybe you have and just don’t understand football. It’s not their talent, it’s their scheme – look the word up- I haven’t the time nor the patience to spoon feed you football knowledge.
    ____________________________________________

    I watched these last two Bengal games more than another team because I will thoroughly enjoy watching them get beatdown game after game this year. Talent, scheme, who cares? They suck! So, I guess you were impressed with Burrow’s 4 picks in week 1 or 6 sacks in game 2? Tell me exactly what impressed you about this doormat? They won’t have benefit of Ravens’ injuries this year. Talk to me when Burrow is above .500 or not laying on his backside game after game.

  58. The Seahawks’ ridiculous 4-back formation plays near the goalline didn’t fool anybody. I was embarassed for them, and they’re my team. “Cute” plays only work when a defense has to respect the offense. And they weren’t earning a ton of offenive respect. It’s going to be a rough (but necessary) season

  59. The top 3 are spot on imo. After that, theres no way any of this makes sense. jets are to high, lions to low, Rams to high, Bengals to high, colts might be a bit to low but not much based on these last 2 games.

  60. I guess the Chargers will have to be #32, since they lost by more than the Colts did and did so at home.

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