NFL Power Rankings Week 3: 2016 Standings, Reaction for All Teams Post-MNF

The second week of the 2016 NFL season is now complete, and while it might not have brought quite as much excitement as Week 1, there was still enough action to satisfy football fans. The second week of action concluded on Monday night as the Philadelphia Eagles manhandled the Chicago Bears.

We got to witness some close contests, rivalry games, a couple of upsets and a couple of downright routs this past week. Despite a few surprises and twists, though, every game had something in common.

They gave us the opportunity to see each team in action for a second consecutive week.

This is important because while the season is still quite young, we're beginning to see glimpses of some trends that could carry on throughout the season. For example, Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz still isn't looking like a rookie, while the Denver Broncos defense still looks like a championship-caliber unit.

This past week also shook up some of what we thought we learned in Week 1. For instance, those Jacksonville Jaguars that played so well against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1 were absolutely thumped by a San Diego Chargers team that suffered a monumental collapse a week ago.

All of this adds up to give us a better idea of which teams are going to be good and which are not in 2016. Today, we're going to give out power rankings heading into Week 3 and examine some of what we learned in Week 2.

Rank	Team	Record
1	Denver Broncos	2-0
2	New England Patriots	2-0
3	Carolina Panthers	1-1
4	Pittsburgh Steelers	2-0
5	Arizona Cardinals	1-1
6	Houston Texans	2-0
7	Minnesota Vikings	2-0
8	Cincinnati Bengals	1-1
9	New York Jets	1-1
10	Kansas City Chiefs	1-1
11	New York Giants	2-0
12	Green Bay Packers	1-1
13	Seattle Seahawks	1-1
14	Philadelphia Eagles	2-0
15	Baltimore Ravens	1-1
16	Detroit Lions	1-1
17	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1-1
18	Atlanta Falcons	1-1
19	Oakland Raiders	1-1
20	Dallas Cowboys	1-1
21	San Francisco 49ers	1-1
22	San Diego Chargers	1-1
23	Tennessee Titans	1-1
24	Indianapolis Colts	0-2
25	Los Angeles Rams	1-1
26	New Orleans Saints	0-2
27	Jacksonville Jaguars	0-2
28	Miami Dolphins	0-2
29	Washington Redskins	0-2
30	Chicago Bears	0-2
31	Buffalo Bills	0-2
32	Cleveland Browns	0-2

Notable Rankings

1. Denver Broncos

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

The defending Super Bowl champions remain at the top of our rankings, not only because the team is still undefeated, but because the team actually seems to be improving.

Denver escaped with a last-second victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 thanks to a missed field goal. In Week 2, though, the Broncos absolutely dominated the Indianapolis Colts. Denver's defense was especially impressive in the contest.

The Broncos held quarterback Andrew Luck under 200 yards passing, sacked him five times and scored two defensive touchdowns. If this defense isn't more dangerous than it was a year ago, it seems to be just as potent.

Pro Football Focus rates the Broncos fourth in overall defense, but it's worth noting Denver has played against two explosive offenses to open the season.

Meanwhile, quarterback Trevor Siemian seems to be finding his groove as a passer. He didn't throw a touchdown against the Colts and did toss one interception, but he looked like a poised and efficient signal-caller through much of the contest.

Siemian finished 22-of-33 for 266 yards against Indianapolis.

Up next for Denver is a challenging AFC battle with the Cincinnati Bengals. If the Broncos can come out of that contest at 3-0, there will be no doubting the team's place at the top.

13. Seattle Seahawks

Harry How/Getty Images

A week ago, the Seattle Seahawks were in the top 10, but it's virtually impossible to keep them there after another embarrassing offensive effort. 

Russell Wilson and Co. mustered a mere three points against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2, which gives Seattle a grand total of 15 points on the year. Even the woeful Cleveland Browns have scored more often.

Much of the blame can be placed on Seattle's reworked offensive line, a unit that could be the worst position group in the entire NFL—regardless of what head coach Pete Carroll might think.

“I don’t think it’s the offensive line," he said after Sunday's loss, per John Boyle of the team's official website. "I just think we have to do better. We have to come out and be a little more complete, we’ve got to convert on third down like we like to, like we did in the second half last year—we’re a little behind schedule there."

If the line isn't to blame, it certainly isn't helping matters. Pro Football Focus rates the group 30th in run blocking and dead last in pass blocking.

Whatever the issue actually is, the Seahawks need to get it corrected soon if they have any hopes of making a significant playoff push this season.

31. Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills took a tumble this week after being effectively dominated by the offense of the New York Jets. The Bills are supposed to be a defense-oriented team, especially with Rex Ryan calling the shots, but they certainly didn't look like one against New York.

Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick carved up the Bills defense to the tune of 374 yards.

A late touchdown allowed Buffalo to pull within six points, but the game wasn't as close as the final score might indicate. The good news is that while the offense still appears a bit out of sync, it was good enough on Thursday night to produce 24 points. The bad new is that the defense—which did score a touchdown—allowed 31.

Naturally, Ryan's reaction was to fire offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

According to Alex Marvez of Sporting News, Ryan may have been pressured into firing Roman, as the Bills front office wanted Ryan to make a "make a significant change in hopes of appeasing a disgruntled fanbase."

Considering how things unfolded against the Jets, Ryan may have fired the wrong coordinator. If he did so simply to maintain continuity on his favorite side of the ball, Ryan may have sealed his eventual fate.

Two seasons ago, the Bills looked like a borderline playoff team. Now they're an absolute mess. If Ryan cannot right the ship quickly, he could be out of a job before the regular season comes to an end.