Updated: September 18, 2013, 2:17 PM ET

2013 NFL Power Rankings: Week 3

Week:
ESPN.com

Maybe San Francisco isn't the class of the NFL after all.

VIDEO PLAYLIST video

On the heels of an impressive season opener, the 49ers supplanted Seattle as the No. 1 team here a week ago. Well, now the roles are reversed. After manhandling Colin Kaepernick & Co. on Sunday night, the Seahawks were a nearly unanimous choice among our voters (John Clayton, Ashley Fox, Dan Graziano, Jamison Hensley, Mike Sando and Kevin Seifert) for the top spot.

The 49ers dropped to No. 3, while the Broncos moved to No. 2. Houston and Green Bay round out the top five.

In addition to Seattle's ascension, Week 2 was notable because of who's trending downward. The significant fallers include the Eagles (minus-5), Redskins (minus-5) and Giants (minus-4). Yes, the NFC East has seen better days.

Will these teams continue to slide? Will a No. 1 hold serve for the first time in 2013? The intrigue builds as we head into Week 3.

Note: The comments below are provided by ESPN Stats & Information.

• Reporters' analysis | Why the Giants are struggling | Rank 'Em | Mike & Mike Listen | Team Power Rankings charts since 2002

2013 Power Rankings: Week 3
RANKTEAM / RECORD TRENDINGCOMMENTS
1
1
Last Week: 2		The Seahawks have allowed a league-low 10 points this season against offenses led by Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick. Hosting the Jaguars Sunday might get ugly.
2
1
Last Week: 3		Denver's plus-40 point differential is tops in the league after convincing wins against the Ravens and Giants. The way the Broncos have played, hosting the Raiders Monday night doesn't seem scary.
3
2
Last Week: 1		Colin Kaepernick was 4-for-9 with two interceptions targeting Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis on Sunday. Boldin's first catch didn't come until 9:45 in the fourth quarter.
4
2
Last Week: 6		Ben Tate has picked up the pace. Tate had his sixth-career 100-yard game Sunday, and the Texans' 5.2 yards per rush average ranks second, even without Arian Foster in peak form.
5
2
Last Week: 7		Packers wide receivers have had 37 catches without a drop this season. Green Bay receivers had 21 drops last year, fourth most in the league.
6
2
Last Week: 4		Julio Jones was a monster Sunday, but injuries mounted for the Falcons. Impact starters Steven Jackson, Sean Weatherspoon, Kroy Biermann and Asante Samuel all missed the second half.
7
2
Last Week: 5		After catching a 39-yard TD pass on his first-career target, Aaron Dobson's three drops cost his team 79 yards last Thursday night, not counting yards after catch.
8
--

Last Week: 8		Jimmy Graham posted or tied career highs with 10 catches on 16 targets for 179 yards and seven first downs Sunday. Graham is the only TE with at least 20 targets.
9
--

Last Week: 9		Jay Cutler is loving the Martellus Bennett experience so far. Bennett's three touchdowns this year, including the game-winning score Sunday, equals the total of all Bears tight ends last year.
10
--

Last Week: 10		Giovani Bernard offered a nice change of pace for the Bengals. Cincinnati averaged 7.2 yards per play on Bernard touches and 4.9 yards per play not involving Bernard Monday.
11
--

Last Week: 11		Joe Flacco is 2-for-13 on throws deeper than 20 yards downfield this season with twice as many off-target throws (eight) as he had in last year's entire playoff run.
12
5
Last Week: 17		Mike Wallace is probably happier after grabbing a career-high nine passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Even better, his team is 2-0 with both wins on the road.
13
7
Last Week: 20		Why are the Chiefs 2-0? Start with Kansas City's defense, which leads the league with 35.4 expected points added in the Chiefs' first two games.
14
2
Last Week: 12		Andrew Luck was 1-of-4 targeting Reggie Wayne deeper than 10 yards downfield Sunday, the first time in Luck's career he didn't complete multiple throws to Wayne at that distance.
15
2
Last Week: 13		Tony Romo was 3-of-8 targeting Jason Witten in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs, the duo's second-worst single-game completion percentage in a game over the past five years.
16
10
Last Week: 26		Philip Rivers showed up in a big way Sunday. Rivers was 7-of-9 against extra rushers in the fourth quarter, including the crucial TD to Eddie Royal.
17
Rams
1-1
2
Last Week: 15		Sam Bradford completed 19 of his career-high 35 passes (54 percent) 5 yards downfield or fewer Sunday. The worst team last year completed 58 percent of those throws (Jets).
18
--

Last Week: 18		Sunday marked the 12th game of Calvin Johnson's career with at least 100 receiving yards and no teammate reaching 50. Imagine what he'd do without the entire defense's attention.
19
5
Last Week: 14		There's the track meet everyone expected. Philly averaged 20.4 seconds per play, more than five seconds faster than last week, and gained 8.8 yards per play Sunday.
20
4
Last Week: 16		Yikes. Ten turnovers and seven interceptions both lead the league. Big Blue heads to Carolina in a battle of disappointing 0-2 teams.
21
4
Last Week: 25		What happened to the Cardinals' pass rush? Arizona has one sack this year, tied for the lowest in the league. Arizona had multiple sacks in 10 games last year.
22
--

Last Week: 22		Houston needed overtime to beat the feisty Titans, who host the Chargers in Week 3. Only the Seahawks (plus-5) have a better turnover margin than the Titans (plus-4) this season.
23
2
Last Week: 21		Stay in your lane, AP. Adrian Peterson has 200 yards on 40 rushes inside the tackles this season and four rushes for minus-7 yards outside the tackles.
24
5
Last Week: 19		Robert Griffin III is facing at least five rushers twice as often this year (42 percent of drop-backs) as last year. Defenses will stay aggressive until he shows he's healthy.
25
2
Last Week: 23		From 2009-12, the Steelers sacked opposing quarterbacks on 6.9 percent of dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the league. Pittsburgh's 1.4 sack percentage ranks 30th this season.
26
3
Last Week: 29		EJ Manuel was 6-for-8 for 51 yards, including the game-winning TD pass, on the final drive Sunday. Mario Williams' team-record 4.5 sacks helped, too.
27
3
Last Week: 24		Opposing quarterbacks have completed 72.2 percent of passes this year against Carolina, second highest in the league. Opponents average 3.03 seconds in pocket, fourth highest in the league
28
Jets
1-1
1
Last Week: 27		Geno Smith's minus-3 TD-INT differential is the worst in the league, but his 53.4 completion percentage is better than Tom Brady's -- and two other qualified quarterbacks, too.
29
2
Last Week: 31		It's early, but Terrelle Pryor's 46.6 Total QBR is 21st in the league and ranks higher than Super Bowl winners Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger.
30
2
Last Week: 28		As uncertainty grows about his future, Josh Freeman's 45.3 completion percentage is the worst in the league. The Bucs' 9.4 drop percentage of attempts (second worst) hasn't helped either.
31
1
Last Week: 30		Brandon Weeden has been under fire so far this season. Weeden has been sacked a league-high 11 times through two games. Only nine quarterbacks have even half of Weeden's total.
32
--

Last Week: 32		If the 49ers managed three points against Seattle, what will Jacksonville do? The Jags have a league-low 11 points this season and haven't gained 250 yards in a game.
  • Biggest Jump:
  • 10
  • Biggest Drop:
  • 5
Make your own
Power Rankings
Glossary
The rankings were determined by a poll of six voters on ESPN.com's NFL staff: writers John Clayton, Ashley Fox, Dan Graziano, Jamison Hensley, Mike Sando and Kevin Seifert.

Comments

Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.


Find Tickets:

Season tickets or single game tickets, all the best seats are here.

See all tickets