NFL Top 10 Power Rankings Through Week Three

Week Three just closed late Monday night with a dominating performance by the Dallas Cowboys who got their first win in the billion-dollar Cowboys Stadium over the Carolina Panthers 21-7.

This means when we all wake up on Tuesday to turn on ESPN, Jerry Jones will not have fired head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett in the heat of rage from losing two consecutive national TV games in the new building. So for now, they are both safe.

This week saw a couple of top-tier teams stay at 3-0, and most of the good teams are sticking around at 2-1.

A big surprise of the week was watching the two teams from Super Bowl XLIII in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals both drop to 1-2 and look like they are in some trouble.

But the biggest and maybe most shocking news was the Detroit Lions ended their 19-game losing streak dating back to 2007 with their 19-14 victory over the terrible Washington Redskins, so the fans in Detroit will not have another 0-16 season on their hands.

Lets look at who is on top of the NFL through Week Three.

10. Cincinnati Bengals (UR) (2-1, Won 23-20 over Pittsburgh Steelers)

If one tipped pass to Brandon Stokley doesn't occur in Week One, the Bengals are actually 3-0, but that's the luck of the NFL. The Bengals are surprisingly 2-1 after big-time upsets over two playoff contender-type teams in the Packers and Steelers.

Carson Palmer led his team down field with less than a minute to go and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to defeat the defending Super Bowl Champions.

It gets better for the Bengals next week as they play the hopeless 0-3 Browns, who has a town and team ready to kick Eric Mangini out of the city. It'll be a disappointment if Cincinnati isn't 3-1.

9. Atlanta Falcons (4) (2-1, Lost 26-10 over New England Patriots)

It's always tough going into Foxboro and trying to knock off Tom Brady and the Patriots, so consider this a big-time NFL lesson for Matt Ryan and the Falcons.

They were right with the Patriots at halftime as they were only down 13-10. But, the Patriots apparently woke up in the second half and remembered they were in their own building.

It's not a terrible defeat for the Falcons, but they can't afford to take too many loses with the Saints still undefeated.

They get next week's bye to rest any injured players and gear up for the long stretch of 2009.

8. New England Patriots (10) (2-1, Won 26-10 over Atlanta Falcons)

Tom Brady wasn't exactly at his best in this game. He overthrew a ton of receivers down field and still didn't look 100 percent comfortable. It could be Brady trying to get used to playing full time with the surgically repaired knee.

The Patriots, however, were able to take control in the second half and run the ball very well with Fred Taylor, who looks revitalized in his new colors after playing so long in Jacksonville.

The Patriots will have the Ravens next week in one of Week Four's top games.

7. Denver Broncos (8) (3-0, Won 23-3 over Oakland Raiders)

Never in a million years did I think the Broncos were going to start out 3-0 and on top of the AFC West, but they are. The bigger question is, how long can Denver stay on top of that division?

They're 3-0, so they make it into the top rankings for now, and they've done it with their defense, which has only surrendered 16 points in the first three weeks. Defensive coordinator and former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan has done an outstanding job with that unit.

On offense, they're scoring enough to win. Granted it's been against the Bengals, Browns and Raiders, but you still have to win your games in this league, which Denver has done so far.

They will be put to the test on Sunday when the Cowboys come into town.

6. Minnesota Vikings (7) (3-0, Won 27-24 over San Francisco 49ers)

The Vikings were two seconds away from being 2-1 and the 49ers were two seconds away from being 3-0 and having their name in this spot.

But because of some Brett Favre magic and great footwork by Greg Lewis, Favre threw a game-winning pass downfield that was caught in the back of the end zone.

Favre has pulled off his first comeback victory in purple. This was the type of magic that Brad Childress put his repuation on the line for when bringing over Favre in the summer, and so far, it's working.

All eyes will be on the Monday Night Football game as Favre's former team, the Packers, will come to the Metrodome and play Favre for the very first time in his career. You can expect all the hype from the media for that game.

5. Indianapolis Colts (6) (3-0, Won 31-10 over Arizona Cardinals)

On Sunday Night Football, it was a battle of two potential Hall of Fame quarterbacks, but in the end, it was Peyton Manning who looked superior and dominant, throwing for 379 yards and four touchdown passes.

The Colts are still missing Anthony Gonzalez with his knee injury, but that hasn't slowed down the Colts or Manning for one second, as newer Colts like Donald Brown and Pierre Garcon have become key players in the high-octane Colts offense.

The Colts will have the Seahawks at home next week, and if all goes to plan, should be 4-0 for new head coach Jim Caldwell, who has done a fine job in his first season.

4. New York Jets (3) (3-0, Won 24-17 over Tennessee Titans)

OK, so the Jets defense isn't completely perfect and they are able to give up yards and big plays, but nobody really expected much from the Jets in 2009, so anything they do this year is much better than we anticipated.

They had the Titans come into the Meadowlands 0-2 and very desperate for a victory, but Mark Sanchez continues to improve every week and did a great job with his game-winning touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery.

Kerry Collins wasn't able to get into a good rhythm and the Titans offense relied on the running game, which racked up over 100 yards behind Chris Johnson and LenDale White.

Next week, the real test for the Jets comes on the road against the high-octane Saints offense and Drew Brees. It's time to see how "for real" Rex Ryan's defense is against New Orleans.

3. New Orleans Saints (2) (3-0, Won 27-7 over Buffalo Bills)

For the second week in a row, the Saints went on the road and took care of business and continue to remain a top-tier NFL team.

Drew Brees didn't have his typical 400-yard, five touchdown pass day against the Bills, he only threw for 172 yards. It was the running game behind Pierre Thomas and his two touchdowns that were the big part of the Saints day.

What was even more impressive for the Saints defense was they held Terrell Owens to zero catches and zero yards. It was the first time since 1996 and 185 games where T.O. didn't have at least one catch.

The Saints have the Jets next week in the Superdome in another top game of Week Four in an "explosive offense against dangerous defense" matchup.

2. Baltimore Ravens (5) (3-0, Won 34-3 over Cleveland Browns)

For years, the Ravens were known as a strong defensive unit. Last year, they got accomplished as a strong running team with three running backs who can dominate a game. Now, the Ravens are becomming a strong passing team.

Joe Flacco threw for 342 yards and a touchdown in a slaughtering of the Browns. Willis McGahee had two running touchdowns for Baltimore, and the Browns couldn't attempt to stop Baltimore.

In fact, Brady Quinn was so bad (6-for-8, 34 yards, one interception), he was benched for Derek Anderson (11-for-19, 92 yards, three interceptions), who was not any better.

The Ravens won their first three games (Chiefs, Chargers, Browns) easily. They will be put to the test against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. The Ravens have the potential to shock the world with a major upset on the road.

1. New York Giants (1) (3-0, Won 24-0 over Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Going into the game, the Giants defense was banged up. Kenny Phillips is out for the season with a major knee injury. Aaron Ross and Kevin Dockery were out for a second straight game, as was Chris Canty, and Justin Tuck was not starting, but was playing in a limited role.

That didn't stop the remaining Giants defense from flat-out dominating the Buccanneers offense and holding them to just 86 yards of total offense and five first downs. Tampa didn't get their first one until the third quarter. It was the first road shutout for the Giants in over 20 years.

The Giants re-established the running game with 104 yards from Ahmad Bradshaw and 92 yards and a touchdown from Brandon Jacobs and both look to be back on track.

Eli Manning had two touchdown passes (one to Steve Smith and one to Sinorice Moss), and didn't even need to play in the fourth quarter.

The Giants should be able to go to 4-0 next week by going to Arrowhead Stadium and playing the 0-3 Kansas City Chiefs, who are a mess of a team right now.

That wraps it up from Week Three and those are the top 10 teams in the NFL. This also will complete the first month of the season as Week Four will be kicking off the month of October, so the weather might start to drop a little, maybe more on the East Coast.

Hope everyone has a great week and see you back on Sunday and Monday for more exciting football games.