JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser's pre-Week 3 2021 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are …

Rank.Team (record) | Prev. | Comment

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) | 1 | Could be a long run at the top
2. Los Angeles Rams (2-0) | 4 | Good teams win losable road games
3. Las Vegas Raiders (2-0) | 13 | Two games, two victories over 2020 playoff teams
4. Baltimore Ravens (1-1) | 17 | Huge victory over defending AFC Champion KC Sunday
5. Kansas City Chiefs (1-1) | 2 | Sunday Night loss to Ravens feels like a blip, but stay tuned
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) | 5 | Second consecutive slow start too much versus Raiders
7. Buffalo Bills (1-1) | 7 | Big response to Week 1 = big AFC East victory over Miami Sunday
8. Cleveland Browns (1-1) | 8 | Lone loss versus KC In Week 1
9. San Francisco 49ers (2-0) | 12 | Two games, two gutty conference road victories
10. Arizona Cardinals (2-0) | 10 | Up next: Jaguars in Duuuval
11. Carolina Panthers (2-0) | 19 | Complete victory over NFC South rival New Orleans Sunday
12. Denver Broncos (2-0) | 21 | Two games, two victories over 0-2 opponents
13. New Orleans Saints (1-1) | 6 | Fewest yards Sunday – 128 – in any game in Sean Payton era
14. Green Bay Packers (1-1) | 14 | Because he's still Aaron Rodgers
15. Miami Dolphins (1-1) | 9 | Oof
16. New England Patriots (1-1) | 15 | Belichick D versus rookie QB usually a mismatch
17. Tennessee Titans (1-1) | 16 | Ran their way back to a huge comeback victory Sunday
18. Seattle Seahawks (1-1) | 3 | Last place in NFL's toughest division
19. Dallas Cowboys (1-1) | 23 | Most impressive D in Big D in a long time
20. Los Angeles Chargers (1-1) | 11 | Oh so close to 2-0
21. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) | 20 | Feels like a team that could contend this season
22. Chicago Bears (1-1) | 26 | QB will be the story here until it's not
23. Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) | 22 | Oh so close to 2-0
24. Washington Football Team (1-1) | 24 | Your first-place Washington Football Team
25. Indianapolis Colts (0-2) | 18 | Really close to 2-0 is still 0-2 in Indy
26. Minnesota Vikings (0-2) | 25 | Two games, two gut-punch/last-second losses
27. Houston Texans (1-1) | 27 | Short week, new quarterback, 2-0 opponent=tough task this week
28. New York Giants (0-2) | 29 | So many chances to win Thursday, but still 0-2
29. Detroit Lions (0-2) | 30 | Close and impressive at GB … for a half
30. Atlanta Falcons (0-2) | 28 | Haven't been competitive yet
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) | 31 | That's what rookie quarterbacks do
32. New York Jets (0-2) | 32 | That's what rookie quarterbacks do