NFL Power Rankings Week 3 - National Football League

Power Rankings: Cowboys, others up; 0-2 teams down

Week:

By Mike McAllister
ESPN.com

Sorry, Giants. And Jets. And Eagles, Saints, Rams, Bills, Dolphins, Chiefs, Raiders and Falcons. By starting out the season 0-2, your chances of making the playoffs have just dropped dramatically. Of the 30 playoff teams in the past three seasons, only one -- last year's Kansas City Chiefs -- began the season 0-2.

ESPN.com's Power Rankings
The rankings were determined by a poll of ESPN.com's NFL staff -- writers John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli, Matt Mosley, Jeffri Chadiha and Mike Sando; Scouts Inc. Insiders Jeremy Green and Keith Kidd; and ESPN.com NFL senior editor Mike McAllister.

Oh, that's not to say those 10 0-2 teams should just roll over and play dead for the rest of the season. A longer slice of history offers a little more encouragement. Since 1990, 18 teams have started out 0-2 and reached the playoffs. In fact, the Patriots were 0-2 in 2001 and won the Super Bowl; likewise, the Cowboys were 0-2 in 1993 and won the Super Bowl (of course, it helped that Emmitt Smith ended his contract holdout after Week 2).

But a quick start -- like the 10 teams currently sitting at 2-0 -- can often set the tone for the rest of the campaign. And it can also set the tone in the Power Rankings. Teams such as the Cowboys and Steelers are getting more top-five votes -- in fact, Dallas vaulted to No. 3 ahead of the Chargers -- while the Packers and Texans are getting top-10 mentions by some of the voters.

BIGGEST RISE: Houston Texans from 25th to 11th. BIGGEST DROP: New Orleans Saints from 11th to 19th.

(Editor's note: LW indicates each team's ranking last week.)

2007 Power Rankings: Week 3
	RK (LW)	TEAM	REC	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Patriots	2-0-0	So, did you think the Patriots were really going to be negatively affected by the spy controversy? Whatever. Distractions are for young teams. The Pats have a bunch of veteran players, and they weren't distracted, just mad enough to rout the Chargers.
	2 (2)	Colts	2-0-0	Questions about the lack of good clock management and other miscues and errors prevented the Colts from feeling great about their win over the Titans. But that's what happens when you seek perfection every week.
	3 (5)	Cowboys	2-0-0	For the first time this decade, the Cowboys have won their first two games of the season. Maybe that means nothing. Maybe it says volumes. Either way, the Cowboys' offense is being heard loud and clear. But the real test comes this week at Chicago.
	4 (3)	Chargers	1-1-0	Is last season's MVP already out of the running to repeat this season? Of course not. LaDainian Tomlinson won't be stuck in neutral all season. But he has just 68 yards rushing this season, ranking him 39th in the league.
	5 (9)	Steelers	2-0-0	The good news: The Steelers are 2-0 for just the second time this decade. The bad news: Those throwback uniforms they wore while beating the Bills. Throwbacks might work for the Chargers, but in Pittsburgh, just stick to the current classic.
	6 (4)	Bears	1-1-0	The Bears' offense has scored one TD this season ... and it was by an offensive tackle! Rex Grossman and Co. need to hurry up and find a way to produce points, given that the Bears face the high-scoring Cowboys in an NFC showdown this week.
	7 (7)	Ravens	1-1-0	QB Kyle Boller, making his first start since 2005, was solid in place of the injured Steve McNair. But for the second straight week, coach Brian Billick made a questionable play call. At least this time it wasn't fatal.
	8 (10)	Broncos	2-0-0	The Broncos' offense has produced 911 yards in the first two games but just three touchdowns to show for it. Of course, the Broncos should probably be 0-2 but instead are 2-0 thanks to a couple of dramatic late-game moments.
	9 (8)	Seahawks	1-1-0	So, does the blame fall on Matt Hasselbeck or Shaun Alexander concerning the botched handoff exchange that led to the loss to Arizona? Evidently, Alexander and others failed to hear Hasselbeck's fake audible, causing mixed signals.
	10 (15)	49ers	2-0-0	Props to Frank Gore, who played with a heavy heart Sunday following the death of his mother earlier in the week. Gore scored twice, including a 43-yard run, in the 17-16 win at St. Louis.
	11 (25)	Texans	2-0-0	Wow, the Texans got good in a hurry, didn't they? But with a 2-0 start, they'll have a stern test this week against the defending champs. To make things tougher, star wide receiver Andre Johnson is doubtful due to a sprained knee.
	12 (17)	Packers	2-0-0	So, if you had to guess which team has the longest active regular-season winning streak in the NFL, would you pick the Packers? Probably not, but they've now won six straight dating back to last season. To get to No. 7, they'll have to beat the Chargers.
	13 (6)	Bengals	1-1-0	Outside of Arena Football, the CFL and six-man football in high school, there probably aren't many teams that have produced 531 yards of offense and 45 points in one game ... and lost. The Bengals' defense will be hiding in shame for the next few days.
	14 (19)	Redskins	2-0-0	Can the Redskins continue to win despite their rash of injuries along the offensive line? First, they lost RT Jon Jansen to a broken leg. Now RG Randy Thomas has a torn left triceps. Still, the protection has been good for QB Jason Campbell.
	15 (14)	Titans	1-1-0	Head coach Jeff Fisher must be feeling pretty good. He's set to have his contract extended through 2011 ... and, barring an unexpected development, he'll have Vince Young as his quarterback during that time.
	16 (12)	Panthers	1-1-0	The Panthers have a great player in WR Steve Smith. But on Sunday, they didn't have much else. After taking a 14-0 lead on two Smith TDs, Carolina saw the Texans pull into the fast lane and score the next 34 points, eliciting boos from the home crowd.
	17 (16)	Jaguars	1-1-0	The offense has produced just 23 points in two games, and the rushing game has yet to get revved up. Had it been anybody other than the Falcons last week, the Jags might be sitting at 0-2.
	18 (21)	Lions	2-0-0	Lions third-string QB Dan Orlovsky, speaking about Jon Kitna, told the Detroit Free Press: 'Indy can have Peyton and New England can have Tom, but we wouldn't trade this guy for anyone in the world.' Uh, Orlovsky won't be a GM anytime soon.
	19 (11)	Saints	0-2-0	The Saints have been outscored a combined 72-24 in the first two weeks. But does this mean they've returned to being the Aints? Should fans start wearing bags over their heads again? Of course not. But being throttled by the Bucs is definitely unnerving.
	20 (13)	Eagles	0-2-0	Donovan McNabb's taking heat for his tentative play. Andy Reid's taking heat for his decision-making. At 0-2, the Eagles are in the same spot as they were in 2003, when they went to the NFC title game. Hard to imagine this team doing the same.
	21 (23)	Cardinals	1-1-0	Edgerrin James rushes for 128 yards. Matt Leinart throws for nearly 300. While the Cardinals got the late-game break on Seattle's botched handoff, they certainly can claim they deserve to win. Now about blowing that 17-0 lead ...
	22 (24)	Vikings	1-1-0	Tough day for Vikings QBs in the OT loss to Detroit. Tarvaris Jackson threw four interceptions before leaving with a groin injury. His backup, Brooks Bollinger, had an exchange problem on a snap, leading to the fumble setting up Detroit's winning FG.
	23 (28)	Buccaneers	1-1-0	Jeff Garcia completed just 10 passes, but check out his yardage: 243. He had three passes of 40-plus yards, including a 69-yard TD pass. That led to a 145.8 QB rating for the game. This guy might be the most underappreciated QB in the league.
	24 (18)	Jets	0-2-0	It wasn't enough that WR Justin McCareins dropped a sure TD pass in the last two minutes. But did he have to drop another one roughly 40 seconds later? To make matters worse, Laveranues Coles also failed to come up with a potential TD pass.
	25 (20)	Rams	0-2-0	Opening the season with two home games, the Rams were hoping for a fast start. Instead, they're now 0-2 and facing a schedule that includes six of the next eight games on the road. Head coach Scott Linehan is taking the blame. And the heat.
	26 (32)	Browns	1-1-0	The Browns look like geniuses, don't they? The trade of Charlie Frye moved Derek Anderson into the starting quarterback's role. The offense responded by putting 51 points on the Bengals. Guess no one will call for Brady Quinn this week.
	27 (22)	Giants	0-2-0	The Giants are 0-2 for the first time since 1996, the last year that Dan Reeves coached the team. And the 80 points given up in the first two games is the most allowed since the first two games of 1966. Tom Coughlin says his team is embarrassed. Indeed.
	28 (27)	Dolphins	0-2-0	In just his second game as the Dolphins QB, Trent Green did what he had done only one time in 112 previous games prior to this season -- throw four interceptions. This is what happens when you assume the starting QB's role in Miami.
	29 (26)	Bills	0-2-0	QB J.P. Losman, who had just 23 passing yards in the first half at Pittsburgh, wants the Bills to open up the offense early in the game. Speedy WR Lee Evans also needs to get untracked; he has just four catches for 23 yards in the 0-2 start.
	30 (29)	Raiders	0-2-0	Gotta feel bad for the Raiders (hmm, don't hear that very often, do you, Al?). A winning 52-yard FG was negated by a late Broncos timeout call. Then Sebastian Janikowski's next kick had plenty of distance but kissed off the upright. Tough loss to swallow.
	31 (30)	Chiefs	0-2-0	After the loss to Chicago, Tony Gonzalez told the media: 'It's not OK to be 0-2. There's no silver lining. It's not clicking. It's not working. Something has to be done. ... I'm at a loss for words right now.' Could've fooled us.
	32 (31)	Falcons	0-2-0	Two games. Ten points scored; 13 sacks allowed. Even we know that's a bad ratio in football. Kicker Matt Prater, whose missed 26-yard FG attempt nearly sailed out the SIDE of the end zone, has been replaced by Morten Andersen.

Glossary

TG - Tim Graham (AFC East); JW - James Walker (AFC North); PK - Paul Kuharsky (AFC South); BW - Bill Williamson (AFC West); MM - Matt Mosley (NFC East); KS - Kevin Seifert (NFC North); PY - Pat Yasinskas (NFC South); MS - Mike Sando (NFC West)