With Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season in the books, it’s time for everyone’s favorite meaningful exercise: NFL Power Rankings! What sets these rankings apart from the others is that they are the only truly accurate ones in the entire universe. So let’s take a look at how all 32 teams are doing leading up to Week 3.
BLG’S WEEK 3 NFL POWER RANKING
1 – Buffalo Bills (last week: 1) – The Bills played the first two weeks against the reigning Super Bowl champions and the reigning No. 1 in the AFC. The results? A 2-0 record and the best points difference in the NFL at +55. That’s 29 points better than second place. Buffalo is a juggernaut.
2 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 2) – Patrick Mahomes by two games: 7 TD, 0 INT, 127.9 passer rating. A win over the Bolts puts the Chiefs on a favorable path for their seventh straight AFC West crown.
3 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 3) – Although they are 2-0, it’s hard to say that the Bucs were super impressive to start this season. Tom Brady has a slow start, especially by his standards. That said, Todd Bowles has played this defense quite well. Tampa has allowed only 13 points so far.
4 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 6) – Tua Tagovailoa has had many doubters. The Dolphins were seemingly among them given their previous rumored interest in Deshaun Watson and Tom Brady. But it looks like the light is finally coming on for Tua. Having Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle certainly helps. Still, six touchdown passes in a comeback win over Baltimore…that’s really impressive. The dolphins are real.
5 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 10) – The Eagles are arguably the best team in the NFC. The case can be made sure that they are. I can’t place them there yet; there needs to be some baking the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Brady and the Bucs. But the Birds are undoubtedly legitimate Super Bowl candidates if Jalen Hurts can continue to shine as he did Monday night. The NFL MVP may be playing below center in Philadelphia.
6 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 4) – It is possible for a team to beat another team and still lose. That happened to the Bolts on Thursday evening. The Chargers beat the Chiefs, got fewer penalties, checked the clock longer, converted third/fourth downs with greater efficiency… and still lost. Because of course they did. Very on brand for the Chargers. It would be nice if Justin Herbert could get a little more support. Brandon Staley twice punting at 4th and 2nd in Chiefs territory was bad.
7 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 5) – Matthew Stafford has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in two games. He doesn’t look very well. The Rams as a whole aren’t as scary as they probably should be. They threatened to blow a 28-3 lead to Atlanta.
8 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 6) – This inflated lead could come after them when it comes to placing in the AFC playoff photo. Still plenty of time to recover, but this was a missed opportunity to give themselves a more comfortable lead in the AFC North.
9 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 8) – Kirk Cousins is not the worst quarterback in the NFL. He is the worst quarterback in the NFL. The Vikings ceiling with him is a solid regular season team capable of making the playoffs in a weak NFC. The realistic best scenario is one win after the season.
10 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 9) – A win over Chicago proves that the sky doesn’t fall in Green Bay. But the Bucs defense will be a tough test for Aaron Rodgers. Let’s see if the Packers can pull it off and prove it’s going to be okay.
11 – Denver Broncos (LW: 13) – I feel like I have this team too high. Russell Wilson may have been cooked. Struggling to beat Houston wasn’t good for them after their Week 1 loss to Seattle. They need to turn things around quickly given their fierce divisions.
12 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 17) – Trey Lance’s injury is unfortunate, but Jimmy Garoppolo’s return raises their floor. It also lowers their ceiling.
13 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 18) – Well, the Cowboys aren’t dead yet. Getting a win over Cincy will help them tread water better until Dak Prescott returns. Micah Parsons remains a problem. He’s guaranteed to join the quarterback several times a week.
14 – Detroit Lions (LW: 19) – The Lions should not be taken lightly. Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson does a good job of maximizing the talent he works with.
15 – Washington Commanders (LW: 15) – Carson Wentz’s fumble in the end zone cost the commanders nine points (safety and subsequent landing). The commanders lost in Detroit by … nine points. Wentz is up to 67 fumbles in 87 games. It’s a problem that never goes away.
16 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 16) – Jameis Winston can still be a turnover machine.
17 – New York Giants (LW: 22) – It’s not hard to argue that the G-Men are the worst 2-0 team in the NFL. They are 11th in the points difference, behind five teams with 1-1 records. They have two close wins over uninspiring opponents. That said, the Giants of yesteryear don’t win those games. New York has a legitimate chance to advance to 3-0 with a home game against Dallas next.
18 – New England Patriots (LW: 24) – The Pats deserve some credit for taking a win in Pittsburgh to keep them from falling to 0-2. That offense isn’t very inspiring, though.
19 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 11) – We’ve seen enough of Mitchell Trubisky. It’s time to make the switch to Kenny Pickett.
20 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 12) – The reigning AFC champions are 0-2 after losing to Cooper Rush. Yaks. So much for the Bengals’ offensive line… they’ve allowed 13 sacks and 20 quarterback hits in two games. Not good!
21 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 25) – Things looked bad for them trailing 20-0, but they rallied to win in overtime. This is a team that desperately needed to show some struggle. Now see if they can build on that.
22 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 14) – Taking a 20-point lead and losing in extra time is a pretty painful way to fall back to 0-2. Given the small margin of error in the AFC West, they can probably say goodbye to winning the division already.
23 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 20) – Without a late collapse it could be 2-0 now. They really need to rebound with a win over Pittsburgh as they try to enter water until Deshaun Watson returns.
24 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 29) – Doug Pederson went 2-0 over Frank Reich with an impressive 24-0 win. Jaguars players love Dougie P. Great to watch.
25 – New York Jets (LW: 31) – They needed an unlikely comeback to beat the Browns… but hey, they did it! Could this be the spark the Jets need? Then they get a faltering Cincy team. And then Pittsburgh. Some winable games ahead.
26 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 23) – The bad news is they are 0-2 and AJ Brown doesn’t walk through that door to save them. The good news is they play in a pretty bad division. It’s too early to put a fork in it. But Ryan Tannehill will have to look over his shoulder as Malik Willis waits in the wings if the Titans continue to disappoint.
27 – Houston Texans (LW: 26) – The Texans are neither interesting nor good.
28 – Chicago Bears (LW: 27) – More than one thing could be true. Justin Fields is not set to succeed. Justin Fields isn’t good either.
29 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 28) – Week 2 was a reality check for the Seahawks after an unlikely win in Week 1. They are not going anywhere fast with Geno Smith leading a juiceless attack.
30 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 21) – Matt Ryan has one touchdown pass to four interceptions during his first two games in Indy. The Colts have overcome slow starts in Frank Reich’s tenure before and the AFC South sucks, so it’s not like all hope is lost. But they got off to a really bad start. While Tennessee has a worse record, they are at least 0-0 in the division while the Colts are 0-1-1.
31 – Atlanta Falcons (LW:30) – If they really made the comeback from 28 to 3, maybe that would have broken the curse? We can’t know for sure because they didn’t let it happen.
32 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 32) – Terrible vibes. There just isn’t much to really feel good about with this group. It’s all just a waste of time.