NFL Week 3 power rankings: Ravens fall, Chargers on the rise

The Chicago Bears (1-1) were defeated by the Houston Texans (2-0) on Sunday Night Football in Week 2. Despite all of the struggles on offense, the Bears still had a chance to win the game on the final possession, but they couldn't pull it out.

It was a great game for the average NFL fan, and it was one of many from a great weekend. The NFL is loaded with talent right now and it is helping create tons of exhilarating matchups.

After two weeks, it seemed like the top four teams in the league were pretty standard but now that is in question. The entire top 10 is in flux and it doesn't stop there. This is known to be a week-to-week type of league and that is showing in the early going this year.

Going into Week 3, this is a lot of movement in our power rankings. Where do the Chicago Bears rank? Here is how everything is shaking up, including a drop off of the Baltimore Ravens and a rapid climb of the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Contenders

1. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 1)

2. Buffalo Bills (Last Week 5)

3. Houston Texans (Last Week: 6)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 11)

5. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 3)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 20)

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 12)

8. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 8)

9. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 2)

There was some serious movement at the top of this power ranking. Some of it is because of injury to key players and some of it is because some teams decided not to show up over the weekend.

For the San Francisco 49ers to drop from 2 to 9, you know that there has to be more than just one bad game. Christian McCaffrey is sounding worse than initially thought and now Deebo Samuel is going to be out for a handful of weeks with a calf strain. They were stunned by the Minnesota Vikings and now sit at 1-1. They will probably be okay by January but for now, they sit at nine.

After terrible losses, the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Los Angeles Rams have to drop out of the "contender" tier right now. For Miami and Los Angeles, injury has a little bit to do with it. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is going to be out for a while (or longer) with a concussion and the Los Angeles Rams, who were already missing receiver Puka Nacua, will now be without receiver Cooper Kupp for a few weeks.

Despite still having their question marks, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers are 2-0 and have looked great. They deserve to be feared right now with the way that they've opened up the season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Detroit Lions in a crazy game this weekend. They jumped them by one position as a result. These two teams look like they could be contenders in the NFC this season, and it should be incredible watching both all year long.

The Philadelphia Eagles are getting the benefit of the doubt after blowing their Monday Night Football game against the Atlanta Falcons in the final seconds. However, if they start to show more weakness as the year goes along, it will be easy to move them down the power ranking.

Teams To Watch

10. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 26)

11. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 25)

12. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 4)

13. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 19)

14. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 7)

15. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 15)

16. New York Jets (Last Week: 17)

17. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 18)

18. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 9)

19. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 22)

20. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 23)

21. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 21)

22. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 16)

23. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week: 29)

Every team in the "Teams to Watch" tier could become contenders again at a moment's notice. A few big weeks in a row are possible for all of them and it wouldn't be that surprising. They can't all be contenders, but they all have the base of a team that could win any game they play.

A good example is the Las Vegas Raiders, who were down by multiple scores in the second half of their game against the Ravens. They came back and won to earn some respect from around the league. They should be proud of that win.

The Vikings and New Orleans Saints are both shockingly 2-0 and they have some quality wins under their belts now. They each beat up the worst two teams (Carolina Panthers and New York Giants, respectively) in Week 1, but came out and beat some very good teams (Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers respectively) in Week 2. Now, they are on the cusp of being in the contender tier.

Can the Ravens or Cincinnati Bengals bounce back from 0-2? Each of them took a close loss to the No. 1-ranked Kansas City Chiefs so it is plausible to think that they could still end up being contenders. They do need to kick it into gear fast now though as the season comes at you quickly.

The Atlanta Falcons pulled out the aforementioned big win over the Eagles on MNF. Maybe they should be higher, but they waited until the final quarter of the game to wake up against a good Eagles team and they have a hard schedule coming up. They had a lot of hype coming in so we'll see how things go the rest of the way.

As for the Bears, they had to move down from 16 this week. Their defense was great, but the offense wasn't able to outscore the Texans, so they lost the football game. Can Caleb Williams get them going again in Week 3? Only time will tell.

Plenty to Prove

24. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 10)

25. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 14)

26. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 30)

27. New England Patriots (Last Week: 24)

28. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 27)

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 13)

30. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 28)

31. New York Giants (Last Week: 31)

32. Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 32)

There are a few 1-1 teams here but there is a whole lot of 0-2, as well. There are disappointing teams like the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars as some expected them to be good but it hasn't clicked yet. Some teams should be legitimately focused on rebuilding. The New York Giants and Carolina Panthers fall under that category with how they have played so far this year.

Despite where these teams are ranked, they all have reasons to tune in every week. That is a testament to how great the NFL is right now.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: NFL Week 3 power rankings: Ravens fall, Chargers on the rise