NFL power rankings entering Week 3 of the 2024 season (previous rank in parentheses):
1. Kansas City Chiefs (1): The bid for an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat remains on track – even with an average margin of victory of four points, albeit against two perceived AFC contenders. (And when you’ve got backup OT Wanya Morris snatching TDs, it doesn’t matter if TE Travis Kelce is averaging fewer than 20 receiving yards per game.) Still, this does feel like a flimsy perch given the serious injuries to WR Hollywood Brown and RB Isiah Pacheco.
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6. New Orleans Saints (24): They destroyed a bad team in Week 1, then destroyed a decent one Sunday. New OC Klint Kubiak’s system has certainly suited QB Derek Carr (league-best 5 TD passes and 142.4 passer rating while leading team to points on his first 15 drives of the season) and RB Alvin Kamara (league-best 5 TDs and 290 yards from scrimmage). Amazing how apparently declining vets can be revived by a fresh approach.
8. San Francisco 49ers (3): RB Christian McCaffrey is on IR, WR Deebo Samuel is going to be inactive the next few weeks with a calf strain, and WR Brandon Aiyuk has only been a notch better than inactive as he continues to work his way back from an inactive summer spent on angling for his new contract. And Pro Bowl S Talanoa Hufanga (ACL) still hasn’t been quite ready to return. Otherwise? All’s splendid here.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (5): They looked more comfortable in South America than they did in South Philly given the ways HC Nick Sirianni’s decision-making, RB Saquon Barkley’s hands, the secondary’s general ‘coverage’ and QB Jalen Hurts’ game-sealing interception produced a collective failure Monday night.
10. New York Jets (12): On the plus side, DE Will McDonald IV had a career-best three sacks, matching the total from his rookie year (2023), in Sunday’s win. On the down side, DE Jermaine Johnson is lost to a torn Achilles. Sure seems like time to forge a breakthrough with holdout LB Haason Reddick.
11. Green Bay Packers (16): One of the league’s oldest franchises became its first to win 800 regular-season games. That century-plus of history side, for the second straight year, the Pack feature the league’s youngest roster – the players with an average age of 24.91 years in 2024 … including a 25-year-old quarterback (Jordan Love) who doesn’t seem like he’ll be sidelined by his MCL injury for long.
14. Los Angeles Chargers (18): The schedule’s been Charmin soft yet conducive to launching redemption tours for RB J.K. Dobbins, WR Quentin Johnston and OLB Joey Bosa. The Bolts are half the equation to a .500 start from the Harbaugh brothers in 2024.
16. Cincinnati Bengals (14): A faceplant against an inferior team and a near miss against the Chiefs mean an 0-2 record in Cincy as well. Yet the issues here have the potential to linger much longer if disgruntled WR Ja’Marr Chase continues to come unglued.
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25. Miami Dolphins (13): Between WR Tyreek Hill and QB Tua Tagovailoa, not many opportunities to focus on football for a franchise with a very uncertain outlook moving forward after Tua’s latest concussion.
29. Tennessee Titans (29): Rookie HC Brian Callahan didn’t get into this business to entertain us. But his unsparing criticism of, well, football-irresponsible QB Will Levis has at least been refreshing.
31. New York Giants (32): Unclear if it’s possible to overuse a rookie wideout, but the G-Men might be testing that notion – the Rams’ injured Cooper Kupp the only one in the league with more targets than Malik Nabers’ 25.
32. Carolina Panthers (31): If Joe Flacco could come off the couch to save the Browns at age 38 a year ago, why shouldn’t Andy Dalton be able to do it at age 36 by simply turning his clipboard, er tablet, over to Bryce Young after the team stunningly pulled the ripcord on him after two 2024 starts?
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.
