NFL power rankings after Week 3, 2026

Minnesota takes first because of where it has won. Two of the three wins came on the road, and the one at Chicago, 9-3, was against a team that's now 2-1 and just beat Philadelphia by 20. At Tampa the Vikings won 23-16 with 230 total yards, fewer than the Buccaneers' 243, and the defense covered it with six sacks and two interceptions. Kyler Murray went 15 of 29 for 168 yards and Myles Price returned a punt 86 yards for a score. Minnesota has the fewest total yards in the league at 715 and has allowed 41 points, second fewest behind Jacksonville. Kansas City has the better differential, plus 38 to plus 30, but the Chiefs' best win came at home and Minnesota's came on the road.

Kansas City is 3-0 with the second best point differential in the league at plus 38, and the trip to Miami was the road test. Patrick Mahomes went 20 of 24 for 246 yards and two touchdowns, Kenneth Walker III carried 18 times for 70 yards and a score, and the Chiefs won by 14 while holding the ball for only 25:39. That's scoring quickly, not stalling: Kansas City gained 334 yards to Miami's 329 in nine fewer minutes of possession. The reason they're second and not first is the venue split. The wins over Denver and Indianapolis both came at Arrowhead, and the road win came against a team that's 0-3. Minnesota's win at 2-1 Chicago is the better single result.

San Francisco has the best point differential in the league at plus 48 and hasn't lost, and it still slips a spot, because of who it has played. The three opponents are a combined 2-7 and none of them has a winning record. Brock Purdy threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns on 15 of 27 against Arizona and hasn't been sacked all season. The 49ers held the ball for 21:16 and won by six, which is the scoring quickly version of low possession rather than the three and out version, since they gained 437 yards on 27 pass attempts. The Melbourne win over the Rams was at a neutral site, so San Francisco still hasn't played a true road game.

Buffalo leads the league in points scored with 101 and is still unbeaten, and it drops a spot because Week 3 was the messiest win of the round. The Bills turned the ball over five times against an 0-3 Chargers team and won by eight anyway, outgaining Los Angeles by two yards, 350 to 348. Josh Allen went 16 of 26 for 204 yards with no touchdown passes and two interceptions, and ran for two scores. James Cook carried 24 times for 154 yards. The resume rests on the 41-31 home win over Detroit, now 2-1. The other two wins came against Houston and the Chargers, both 0-3, which is why plus 23 is the smallest differential among the five unbeaten teams.

Jacksonville has allowed 36 points in three games, fewest in the league, and its plus 46 differential trails only San Francisco. The Week 1 win over Cleveland, 34-10, reads better now that the Browns are 2-1, and the 35-6 win over New England came with the Jaguars actually being outgained, 317 yards to 315. Three New England turnovers and a Drake Maye benching covered that gap. Trevor Lawrence went 19 of 29 for 182 yards and three touchdowns, and Bhayshul Tuten ran 15 times for 73 yards and a score. The one loss is 20-13 at Denver, on the road against a 2-1 team. Both wins came at home, which is the argument for Chicago ahead of them.

Chicago's Monday night win was the most one sided result of the week against a team with a winning record. The Bears held Philadelphia to 248 yards, forced three turnovers, outgained the Eagles 375 to 248 and held the ball for 36:53. Case Keenum, the third quarterback on the depth chart, went 24 of 34 for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Add the 59-37 road win at Carolina and the only blemish is 9-3 at home to Minnesota, a six point loss to the team ranked first here. At plus 36 Chicago has a better differential than three of the five unbeaten teams. The case for putting the Bears above Las Vegas is real, and record is still the first cut.

The house rule gives the reigning champion first place until its results say otherwise. This week they did, so the rule broke: Seattle lost at Washington, a 1-2 team, and a loss is exactly the case the rule allows for. The Seahawks had 437 yards to Washington's 258 and still lost by two, because they turned it over three times and Kain Medrano returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown with 3:57 left. Sam Darnold went 31 of 45 for 379 yards and four touchdowns, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 10 balls for 128 yards and two scores. All three Seattle opponents are 1-2, so the wins over New England and Arizona don't cushion the fall much.

Baltimore won on a neutral field in Rio de Janeiro on Tyler Loop's 56 yard field goal, set up by Lamar Jackson's 27 yard throw to Zay Flowers with a second left. Jackson went 15 of 20 for 186 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers, and Derrick Henry carried 26 times for 89 yards and two scores. The Ravens were outgained 415 to 378 and won because Dallas turned it over and they didn't. The rest of the sheet is a 41-23 road win at Indianapolis and a 24-17 home loss to New Orleans. Every Baltimore opponent so far is 1-2, so plus 14 is doing more work in this placement than opponent quality is.

Cincinnati falls four spots because the two wins came against Tampa Bay and Houston, now a combined 0-6, and the one game against a team with a winning record ended in a loss. At Pittsburgh the Bengals lost by three on a Chris Boswell field goal with 2:15 left, after Derrick Harmon's strip sack. Joe Burrow was efficient, 28 of 37 for 282 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and Ja'Marr Chase caught nine for 98 yards and a score, but Cincinnati turned it over twice and was outgained 411 to 352. A three point road loss to a 2-1 team isn't damaging on its own. The thin win column underneath it is.

Denver has won two straight at home and one of them, 20-13 over Jacksonville, is a win over a 2-1 team that sits sixth here. Against the Rams the Broncos were outgained 482 to 257 and won anyway, because Talanoa Hufanga intercepted two passes, one of them a 66 yard return for a touchdown, and Denver sacked Matthew Stafford four times. Bo Nix went 17 of 34 for 186 yards and two scores. What keeps Denver at 11 is the arithmetic underneath the record: a minus 10 point differential and a 31-10 loss at Kansas City in Week 1. Two of the three games have been at Empower Field, and both wins were by single digits.

The biggest rise of the week, 11 spots, on the strength of beating a 2-1 Cincinnati team by three at home. Aaron Rodgers went 19 of 34 for 292 yards and three touchdowns, Jaylen Warren ran for 127 yards, and Pittsburgh outgained the Bengals 411 to 352. Add the 20-13 Week 1 win over Atlanta and the Steelers have two home wins, over teams that are 2-1 and 1-2. What keeps them at 12 is the middle game, a 20-3 loss at New England, a 1-2 team, in which Pittsburgh scored three points and lost by 17. The differential is still negative at minus seven, and both wins came at Acrisure Stadium.

Detroit has scored exactly 31 points in all three games and has allowed 95, the most in the league. The Jets win was the pattern: 381 yards, no turnovers, three sacks, and Jahmyr Gibbs accounting for three touchdowns, with 99 rushing yards on 20 carries plus seven catches for 65 yards including the clincher with 2:25 left. Geno Smith threw for 321 yards and three scores against that defense anyway. Jared Goff went 25 of 32 for 269 yards and two touchdowns and still hasn't thrown an interception this season. Both wins came at Ford Field against 1-2 teams, one in overtime, and the loss was 41-31 at unbeaten Buffalo.

The Giants won a game in which they gained 238 yards and scored no touchdowns. Dominic Zvada kicked four field goals, Jameis Winston went 14 of 22 for 118 yards without a turnover, and the defense held Tennessee out of the end zone until Wan'Dale Robinson's catch with 5:35 left. Tennessee actually outgained them, 262 to 238. It counts as a win over an 0-3 team and not much more. The better result is Week 1, 28-20 over Dallas at home, and the worst is 28-6 at the Rams, a 22 point road loss. Two home wins and one road blowout defeat is how a 2-1 team ends up at minus nine.

Philadelphia drops seven after the most lopsided loss of the week by a team with a winning record. The Eagles gained 248 yards, turned it over three times, held the ball for 23:07 and were beaten by 20 in Chicago. Jalen Hurts went 16 of 25 for 153 yards with an interception and no touchdowns, and Saquon Barkley carried 15 times for 82 yards. The two wins underneath that are a 24-22 home win over Washington and a 24-20 win at Tennessee, margins of two and four over teams that are 1-2 and 0-3. That's a 2-1 record built on six points of total cushion, and the differential is minus 14.

Cleveland has won two straight by a combined seven points and sits last among the 2-1 teams because of how those wins look underneath. Against Carolina the Browns were outgained 360 to 259 and won on Deshaun Watson's 14 yard touchdown to Harold Fannin Jr. with 1:48 left plus the two point conversion. Mason Graham had two sacks. Watson went 16 of 30 for 144 yards and two scores. The 23-19 win at Tampa Bay came against an 0-3 team. The 34-10 loss at Jacksonville is what drags the differential to minus 17, the worst of any team with a winning record. Close wins are still wins, and both of these were close.

New Orleans has the only road win over a team with a winning record by any 1-2 club, 24-17 at Baltimore, and it gave this one away. The Saints led 27-16 late in the third quarter and turned it over four times in the fourth. Tyler Shough went 29 of 42 for 255 yards and four touchdowns with an interception, Chris Olave caught nine for 107 yards, and New Orleans outgained Las Vegas 381 to 340 while holding the ball for 32:28. The other loss is 31-30 in overtime at Detroit. So the sheet reads: a road win over a 2-1 team and two defeats by a combined nine points, at minus two on the season.

The Rams lead the league in total yards with 1,253 and they're 1-2. At Denver they gained 482 to the Broncos' 257, held the ball for 34:29 and lost by four, because Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions and one came back 66 yards for a touchdown. Stafford went 30 of 55 for 390 yards and two scores, and Davante Adams caught seven for 137 yards. The win is 28-6 over the Giants at home, a 22 point beating of a team that's now 2-1, and the best single result anywhere in this range. The other loss was 27-7 to San Francisco at a neutral site in Melbourne. Two losses, both to teams that are 2-1 or better.

New England has played nothing but 2-1 teams and has one win to show for it, and that win counts: 20-3 over Pittsburgh at home, a 17 point margin. Jacksonville was the opposite. Drake Maye went 14 of 25 for 199 yards with two interceptions and was pulled in the fourth quarter, the Patriots turned it over three times and lost by 29 despite outgaining Jacksonville 317 to 315. Week 1 was a 13-10 loss at Seattle, a three point road defeat. New England has scored 36 points in three games, tied with Miami for fewest in the league. The schedule earns credit here. The scoring doesn't.

Washington beat the reigning champion at home while being outgained 437 to 258, which is the kind of result that moves a team seven spots and still leaves it 20th. Marcus Mariota went 19 of 31 for 183 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, Terry McLaurin caught six for 77 yards and a score, and Kain Medrano returned an interception 50 yards for the clinching touchdown with 3:57 left. Seattle turned it over three times. The rest of the record is a 24-22 loss at Philadelphia and a 37-20 loss at Dallas, and the differential is minus 17. One win over a good team doesn't outweigh two road defeats.

Carolina holds at 21st with a plus six point differential, tied with Dallas for the best mark among 1-2 teams. The stated tiebreak is quality of wins, and Carolina's is a 34-3 road win at Atlanta, a bigger margin at a harder venue than Dallas's 37-20 home win over Washington, which is what puts the Panthers a spot higher. At Cleveland they outgained the Browns 360 to 259 and lost by three, with Bryce Young going 26 of 48 for 291 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The 59-37 home loss to Chicago is the outlier on the sheet: 22 points, at home, and the single worst result by any team in this range.

Dallas has lost two games by a combined 11 points, both to teams that are 2-1, and won the other by 17. In Rio de Janeiro the Cowboys gained 415 yards to Baltimore's 378 and lost on a 56 yard field goal, after allowing a 27 yard completion with one second on the clock. Dak Prescott went 25 of 40 for 276 yards and a touchdown, CeeDee Lamb caught seven for 112 yards, and Javonte Williams ran 19 times for 98 yards and a score. The 37-20 win over Washington is the best thing on the sheet. Carolina sits one spot higher on the stated tiebreak, because its best win came on the road and by more.

Atlanta jumps nine spots after the most complete road performance of the week. The Falcons ran for 242 yards to Green Bay's 17, gained 498 to 328, and held the ball for 37:05. Bijan Robinson carried 29 times for 194 yards and two touchdowns, Drake London caught nine passes for 194 yards, and Michael Penix Jr. went 18 of 25 for 256 yards. That is a 21 point road win over a 1-2 team. What keeps Atlanta this low is the 34-3 home loss to Carolina, a 31 point defeat that one road win doesn't erase, and a differential still sitting at minus 17. The Week 1 loss at Pittsburgh was 20-13.

The Jets have a positive differential at plus three and the weakest win of anybody in this range, 23-10 at Tennessee, a team that's 0-3. At Detroit they came back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter and fumbled the last possession away. Geno Smith was excellent, 31 of 37 for 321 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and Garrett Wilson caught 10 for 107 yards and a score, and New York still lost by seven while being outgained 381 to 335. The other loss is 20-17 in overtime at home to Green Bay. Two one score defeats and one win over a winless team is a thin sheet.

Arizona lost by six at San Francisco, the team with the best point differential in the league, while holding the ball for 38:44 and committing no turnovers. Jacoby Brissett went 38 of 52 for 280 yards and two touchdowns, Michael Wilson caught 11 for 89 yards and a score, and Jeremiyah Love ran 21 times for 90 yards. That's a respectable road loss. It doesn't cancel the other one, a 31-7 home defeat to Seattle in which Arizona was beaten by 24 and gained nothing of note. The win is 26-14 at the Chargers, who are 0-3. Minus 18 on the season, with the only victory coming against a team that hasn't won.

Indianapolis got its first win and stayed put, because the win was by two points over an 0-3 Houston team. The Colts turned it over three times, gained 300 yards to Houston's 223, held the ball for 35:13 and needed Spencer Shrader's 43 yard field goal with 16 seconds left. Daniel Jones went 24 of 36 for 235 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Jonathan Taylor carried 23 times for 68 yards. The best result on the sheet is still Week 2, a 33-30 overtime loss at Kansas City, which is a competitive road game against an unbeaten team. The 41-23 home loss to Baltimore is what put the differential at minus 19.

The biggest fall of the week, 11 spots, after a 21 point home loss to a team that came in 0-2. Green Bay allowed 242 rushing yards and gained 17 on the ground. Jordan Love threw 53 times for 312 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, which is what playing from behind looks like in the box score. Christian Watson caught seven for 96 yards and a score, and Matthew Golden five for 100 and a score. The only win is 20-17 in overtime at the Jets, and the Week 1 loss at Minnesota was 39-22. At minus 35 the Packers have the second worst point differential in the league, ahead of only Miami.

Tampa Bay is the best of the winless teams because of how the three games went: losses by six, four and seven, all one score, against opponents who are now 2-1, 2-1 and 3-0. Against Minnesota the Buccaneers outgained the Vikings 243 to 230 and lost by seven, giving up six sacks and throwing two interceptions. Baker Mayfield went 17 of 34 for 217 yards with a touchdown and a pick, and Bucky Irving carried 15 times for 46 yards. Minus 17 on the season is better than three teams that have won a game. Nothing here is a good result, but nothing is a blowout either, which the other four winless teams can't say.

Houston has lost by five, 14 and two, and the two point loss at Indianapolis is the one that counts against the record: the Texans gained only 223 yards, committed no turnovers, and lost on a field goal with 16 seconds left. C.J. Stroud went 16 of 27 for 167 yards and a touchdown and still hasn't thrown an interception this season. The Week 1 loss was 36-31 at home to Buffalo, which is the closest any winless team has come to an unbeaten one. The 20-6 home loss to Cincinnati is the worst of the three. Fifty four points scored in three games and a minus 21 differential is where this sits.

Tennessee has scored 37 points in three games, ahead of only New England and Miami at 36 apiece. At the Giants the Titans gained 262 yards to New York's 238, which is the rare case of outgaining an opponent and still losing by five, and they did it by turning the ball over twice and staying out of the end zone until Wan'Dale Robinson's catch with 5:35 left. Cam Ward went 23 of 36 for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Tony Pollard ran 17 times for 74 yards. The other two losses came at home, 23-10 to the Jets and 24-20 to Philadelphia. Close hasn't accumulated into anything.

The Chargers took the ball away from Buffalo five times and lost by eight. That's the season in one line. Justin Herbert went 20 of 34 for 226 yards with a touchdown and an interception, Los Angeles sacked Josh Allen twice, and Buffalo still outgained them by two yards, 350 to 348, and scored 24. The Chargers have scored 44 points in three games and allowed 76. Both home games were 12 point losses, to Arizona and to Las Vegas. The schedule has been hard, with two of the three against unbeaten teams, but minus 32 is minus 32 and the closest result all year is an eight point defeat.

Miami has played three unbeaten teams, the hardest slate in the league, and has been beaten by 14, 22 and 14. The minus 50 point differential is the worst in the league by 15 points. Against Kansas City the Dolphins held the ball for 34:21 and gained 329 yards to the Chiefs' 334, and scored 10, which is the version of possession that comes from moving the ball and not finishing drives. Malik Willis went 20 of 36 for 210 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, and Ollie Gordon II ran for the only touchdown. Thirty six points in three games ties New England for fewest in the league. The schedule explains some of this, not 50 points.