NFL Power Rankings: Which Teams Are Already in Midseason Form?

Joseph HealyJun 7, 2018

Getting into midseason form is tough enough as it is. For teams to get there, they have to have every player on board playing well. With so many players involved in any given week, that's tough to achieve.

This 2011 season will be even tougher for teams to reach this form because of the lockout. Teams were not able to prepare like they normally do and all the blowout games are an indication of how far off some teams are.

There are a select few teams, though, that seem like they are already in midseason form. Chief among them are the following three teams.

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Green Bay Packers

If the Green Bay Packers are struggling to get back into top form, they don't show it. They came out strong in an opening-week win over New Orleans and they haven't looked back.

Teams so far this season have won by bigger margins and in more spectacular fashion, but no team has looked as steady as the Packers. Aaron Rodgers is picking up where he left off, his receiving targets are all at the top of their respective games and the defense has been doing its job.

If you had to nitpick, you could say that Ryan Grant has been disappointing coming off of an injury, but the team did fine without him last season and James Starks is a good replacement for Grant.

New England Patriots

The Patriots dropped a game to the Buffalo Bills this past week, but to me that has more to do with the Bills playing really well and less to do with the Patriots falling short. They certainly didn't look bad in that loss.

Tom Brady threw four interceptions, but he won't do that every week of course. Plus, those tipped ball interceptions will just as often fall incomplete. Some of it can be chalked up to bad luck.

The Patriots have to be considered the favorites to come out of the AFC, particularly as long as Pittsburgh looks less than inspiring in their games.

Buffalo Bills

It remains to be seen just how good the Bills will be, but it's hard to imagine that they could play much better than they are right now. Their first two wins were nice, but they were against the Chiefs and Raiders, respectively. Their win this past week over the Patriots gave us a great idea of what they can do at their best.

They are a team that is greater than the sum of their parts, but that's not to say that they don't have talent. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a budding franchise quarterback and Stevie Johnson is an elite receiver. Fred Jackson, David Nelson and Scott Chandler are all nice complimentary pieces.

They will go as far as the defense takes them. They are certainly better in this regard than they were last season, but there are still questions to be answered on that side of the ball.

Joseph Healy's NFL Power Rankings After Week 3

1. Green Bay Packers

2. New England Patriots

3. New Orleans Saints

4. Baltimore Ravens

5. Pittsburgh Steelers

6. Philadelphia Eagles

7. San Diego Chargers

8. New York Jets

9. Detroit Lions

10. Buffalo Bills

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers