2021 NFL Power Rankings Week 3: Everyone still chasing Buccaneers

The second week of the 2021 NFL season has come and gone (mercifully behind us if you are a Miami Dolphins fan). The teams around the league are all still trying to sort out what they will be for this season. A team that dominated in Week 1 was suddenly decimated in Week 2. A team that could not put together a drive to open the season suddenly went on a scoring binge this past weekend. And defenses that did not show up in the season opener shutdown teams in their second try.

Early season power rankings are fun, as teams jump up and fall down based on each performance. A game that maybe in midseason can be explained as a tough loss to a good team, early in the season seems like a referendum on the failures of a team. A dominating performance propels a club up to the top of the charts, only to have everyone realize it was one win in a 17-game season.

Unless, of course, you are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who seem rooted into the top spot of our The Phinsider Power Rankings for Week 3. The defending Super Bowl Champions respectively, appear set for a collision course with the championship game again.

Our power rankings on The Phinsider are slightly different than other places around the web. Instead of just taking last week’s rankings, moving teams that won up and teams that loss down, we start with a clean slate every week. Then, Josh Houtz and Kevin Nogle alternate picks in a draft-style rankings, answering the question, “Who will win the Super Bowl?” It can lead to some dramatic changes in the rankings sometimes, but it can also lead to a team staying in place, despite maybe a poor showing the previous weekend.

Nogle has the odd picks this week, while Houtz has the even selections. On to the rankings:

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Change: —)
2. Los Angeles Rams (+1)
3. Kansas City Chiefs (-1)
4. Arizona Cardinals (+1)
5. Baltimore Ravens (+5)
6. Cleveland Browns (-2)
7. Buffalo Bills (+1)
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (+1)
9. Green Bay Packers (+2)
10. Dallas Cowboys (+3)
11. San Francisco 49ers (+1)
12. Seattle Seahawks (-6)
13. Las Vegas Raiders (+5)
14. New Orleans Saints (-7)
15. Tennessee Titans (+1)
16. Los Angeles Chargers (-1)
17. Carolina Panthers (+4)
18. Miami Dolphins (-4)
19. New England Patriots (-1)
20. Denver Broncos (-1)
21. Philadelphia Eagles (-1)
22. Washington Football Team (+3)
23. Minnesota Vikings (+1)
24. Chicago Bears (+3)
25. Cincinnati Bengals (-2)
26. Indianapolis Colts (-4)
27. New York Giants (+3)
28. Houston Texans (—)
29. Detroit Lions (+2)
30. Atlanta Falcons (-4)
31. New York Jets (-2)
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (Change: —)