Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season is in the books. It was capped off by two elite teams, the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions, dueling in an incredibly entertaining Monday Night Football game.
This weekend was loaded with amazing games, many of which had bizarre endings that you don’t see very often. Others ended how you’d expect while some ended in major upset.
Following Week 3, here are our latest power rankings, which features plenty of movement.
The Contenders
1. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 1)
2. Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 2)
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 5)
4. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 7)
5. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 6)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 8)
7. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 3)
8. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 9)
9. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 4)
The contender tier took a major shake this weekend. The Green Bay Packers lost to one of the worst teams in the NFL. There were two matchups between teams that made it out alive in this tier, and nobody is truly without any question marks at this time.
The Minnesota Vikings, without J.J. McCarthy, won by multiple scores over the Cincinnati Bengals (who dropped out of this tier) with Carson Wentz under center. Minnesota’s roster is so good that it doesn’t matter who plays quarterback for them. As long as they aren’t truly awful and lose the game by themselves, Kevin O’Connell will give them a chance to win the game with this roster.
Of the nine teams listed here, the one to worry about the most is the 1-2 Baltimore Ravens. Of course, both of their early-season losses came to the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions, but are you actually a contender if you can’t beat the best even once? We’ll see how they bounce back next week against the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s not the playoffs, so the Ravens have a chance to bounce back.
Three of the four teams in the NFC North are in this tier. If the Chicago Bears ever find a way to make themselves into a contender before one of these teams drops off, it will be one of the greatest divisions of all time.
Teams to Watch
10. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 11)
11. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 14)
12. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 13)
13. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 15)
14. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 10)
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 17)
16. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 12)
17. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 18)
18. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 20)
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 22)
The Bengals, after a big loss, fell out of tier one this week. The long-term injury to superstar quarterback Joe Burrow plays a role in their fall. With the defense they have, it is going to be hard to win without their franchise player for months.
The Washington Commanders, despite winning, also fell out of the contender tier for now. They didn’t fall as far as the Bengals, mostly because they weren’t dismantled, but also because Jayden Daniels won’t be out for nearly as long. We’ll see if he misses any more time.
Like the Commanders and Bengals, the Denver Broncos fell out of the elite tier as well. Unlike those teams, injury has nothing to do with the fall. It is simply because they haven’t been nearly as good as they can be yet. Bo Nix is off to a bad start, and they must bounce back on offense to get back to their winning ways. Right now, a lot of people’s sleeper pick is sleeping.
Although the Kansas City Chiefs finally won a game, they looked very sloppy against the now 0-3 New York Giants, who are near the bottom of this list. If they play like that against the Ravens this weekend, it won’t be close, and they’ll be 1-3.
Don’t look now, but the Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-1. Is Trevor Lawrence back to being a top-10 quarterback as he was a couple of years ago? He is very young with a lot of football left to play, so we’ll see if they can keep the good time rolling.
The Indianapolis Colts, who are right outside the contender tier, are another huge performance away from truly gaining the respect of the power ranking. It is rare for a 3-0 team not to make that tier, but Daniel Jones and company have to show just a little bit more.
A Lot to Prove
20. Chicago Bears (Last Week 30)
21. Houston Texans (Last Week 16)
22. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week 21)
23. New England Patriots (Last Week 23)
24. Carolina Panthers (Last Week 26)
25. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week 19)
26. Cleveland Browns (Last Week 29)
27. New York Giants (Last Week 24)
28. New York Jets (Last Week 25)
29. Tennessee Titans (Last Week 28)
30. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week 27)
31. Miami Dolphins (Last Week 31)
32. New Orleans Saints (Last Week 32)
The Bears have bounced around a lot over these first four weeks. Are they good? Maybe. Are they lousy? That is also a very real possibility. They didn’t just beat the Dallas Cowboys, however, they dismantled them. Speaking of the Cowboys, they continue to find themselves in this bottom tier, and it may only get worse. If it wasn’t for a weirdly blocked field goal, they’d be 0-3.
You know who else is 0-3? CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans. Remember when the Bears made a huge mistake passing on Stroud? Well, things are sinking fast for the Texans. Good thing they play in the AFC South, right? Just kidding, the Colts and Jaguars look really good. The New York-branded teams are a combined 0-6 for the first time since 2020. It shouldn’t be that recent, but it’s the way football has been going over there in New Jersey.
The Cleveland Browns climbed out of the basement for a week with their big win over the Packers. Are the teams currently at the bottom, specifically the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints, ever going to have a win like that? The Dolphins tried their best against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football but ended up falling short again.
As for the Saints, 0-17 is not totally unrealistic. Arch Manning’s grandfather did play for the Saints. The only problem there is that he may not enter the draft after his own rough start. The NFL never fails to have drama to go with great storylines. This year is no exception.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: NFL Week 4 power rankings: Buccaneers rise, Falcons fall
