Steelers continue to climb NFL power rankings while AFC North rivals tumble

The NFL had quite an interesting Week 2. There were upsets in a number of games as a few teams rebounded from an early loss.

In the same breath, teams like the Ravens, Rams, and Bengals are unexpectedly 0-2, leaving them tumbling down the rankings.

Let's see hwo the NFL landscape stacks up heading into Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season.

The Chiefs continue to show why they are the premiere franchise in the NFL. Sure, the Bengals showed up for the contest but wins like the one Kansas City enjoyed last week is exactly why they believe so strongly that they are destined for a three-peat.

After every team ahead of them lost, the Texans are justified to jump up to the No. 2 spot in this week's power rankings. The Texans square up with a surprising 2-0 Vikings squad this week and with a win, Houston can establish itself as one of the best teams in the NFL without question.

San Francisco gets the biggest benefit of the doubt after losing on the road in Week 2 to the Vikings. The 49ers have some things to clean up on offense, but the injuries to Nick Bosa and Charvarius Ward will complicate things on the defensive side.

The Bills are sneaking back to the top after securing a couple of victories. Buffalo still has offensive question marks and wins over the sprouting Cardinals and the Dolphins don't light the world on fire. A Monday night date with Jacksonville won't do much either unless they put on a dominant performance. Nonetheless, as the Bills stack early wins, they only get more dangerous as the team comes together.

The Lions got away from the trusty rushing attack and paid for it with a home loss to the Buccaneers. Detroit should get back to the ground game against the Cardinals while their improved defense battles with a flashy Arizona offense.

The Buccaneers are a fun team with the offensive weapons surrounding Baker Mayfield, who's playing some of the best football of his NFL career. The defense is a touch better than expected too, which will go a long way in the NFC South as the New Orleans Saints make a push.

Speaking of the Saints, it sure looks like they're for real. The offense is explosive enough to make up for some holes in the defense that stuck out against Dallas. Nonetheless, walking into Jerry World and stunning the Cowboys is no small feat, so their reward is the largest jump in the rankings so far this season.

Philly dropped a heart-breaker to Kirk Cousins and the Falcons in primetime. The Eagles have come back down to earth a bit from their Super Bowl pursuits, but they are far from out of the picture. Still, they walk into New Orleans with a tall task to match the Saints offense without AJ Brown.

Baltimore isn't running the ball nearly as much as they should nor as effectively as they'd hoped despite what some inflated stats may say otherwise. A date with Dallas won't ease their offensive troubles. On the other side, the defense was shaky against the Raiders at home. Where can Baltimore inspire confidence if not their defense? There are too many questions in Baltimore to feel confident that they will return to a dominant presence in the NFL in Week 3.

The Chargers lone question mark is the right ankle of Justin Herbert. If he's good to go, so is LA. Regardless of the outcome in Pittsburgh, the Chiefs loom in Week 4 as the defense gets its first real test.

Pittsburgh is winning exactly how they want to: protect the ball and play elite defense to squeeze out a tough and ugly victory. The consistency on offense is promising, but there are still hints of inexperience in the offense holding them back. Regardless of whether Justin Fields keeps the job or not, the Steelers have to score more points to be a true playoff contender.

Dallas got blindsided by the New Orleans Saints along with the rest of the NFL. They can recover quickly with a win over Baltimore back at home. Dallas's defense still has boom or bust elements, but the offense lacks any real excuse to fall behind in a shootout environment. The Cowboys are better than what they showed in Week 2, but they have to prove it at some point.

Not many NFL fans outside of the state of Minnesota thought the Vikings would be 0-2 to start the season, but here we are. Sam Darnold is playing the best football of his career, and Justin Jefferson is a big part of that. Jefferson says he'll play against Houston in what could be one of the most fun games on the slate Sunday.

Green Bay relied on the run game in the first outing without Jordan Love as the starting quarterback and it worked out well. Their defense also played lights out against Anthony Richardson. A repeat performance against Tennessee will help hold them in a comfortable position as they await Love's return.

The Seahawks are the Steelers of the West with a less impressive defense. They'll grind out wins in tight contests and similarly lose some surprising games. They escaped a loss to New England and will likely do the same against Miami this week.

The Bengals at least looked more like the Bengals in Week 2, but they did come away with another loss. An 0-2 start isn't the end of the world, but it's a clear indication that Cincinnati isn't the dominant force they have been in recent years. They can make some progress against Washington, but the Commanders aren't exactly a cupcake opponent either.

The Jets aren't much different than expected in the preseason and that's why they are the only team that hasn't moved in the power rankings so far this season. Their Thursday win against the Patriots doesn't move the needle much despite how well New England has played to start the season. Nonetheless, a few more convincing wins will put the Jets right where they want to be.

The Cardinals are as fun as advertised. Sure, they beat up on a banged-up Rams squad, but their efficiency on offense is noteworthy. Arizona played Buffalo close, and they can very well do the same against Detroit. With home field advantage on their side, the Cardinals can turn the NFL on its head with a win over the Lions.

That game-winning drive from Kirk Cousins has Atlanta Falcons fans excited, but there is plenty of reason to temper expectations. The Falcons are still growing as an offense and Cousins is still getting comfortable on his Achilles. The Week 2 win points them in the right direction, but Kansas City stands in their way of building upon that

The Raiders offense woke up against Baltimore. Without a doubt, the upset win was impressive and will keep the rest of the league from overlooking Las Vegas. Still, it's hard to feel confident about an offense led by Gardner Mishew to be consistent week-in and week-out.

Deshaun Watson played relatively well against Jacksonville, but it was again the defense that led the way for Cleveland. The Browns should handle the Giants in Week 3, but we still haven't seen enough from Cleveland to see them as a threat in the AFC race.

The Bears took a step back in their loss to Houston. Still, Chicago matches up well with Indianapolis and could sneak away with another win if the Colts replicate their Week 2 performance. Chicago would be wise to lean on their defense and rushing attack more as Williams gets acclimated. The talent is there in Chicago once everything comes together.

While Miami isn't exactly unstoppable with Tua Tagovailoa, their offensive prowess drops tremendously without him. Getting bullied by the Bills (again) hurts, but the team could play inspired by their fallen quarterback. Either way, the Dolphins will be relying heavily on their defense for the foreseeable future.

The Rams are better than 0-2 - when healthy. It's tough to overcome the injuries Los Angeles has sustained this early in the season. Matthew Stafford is going to have to create some real magic in the coming weeks to keep LA afloat until the injury list shrinks.

Washington is solid, though not exactly inspiring. Jayden Daniels has been fun and he gives the Commanders a spark when they need it most. Until they give us reason to believe they are in the NFC East race, they'll hang around among the best of the worst.

The Patriots are tough. Of course, this ranking was crafted a bit late, so the loss to New York doesn't impact their ranking here, but even still, the Patriots aren't synonymous with awful, and that's about as good as it can get with the talent on their roster.

The loss to Green Bay is pretty inexcusable for Indianapolis. Still, this was one of the first times we saw some growing pains from Anthony Richardson. The Bears provide an interesting challenge this week, but Richardson has to play better to keep Indy from spiraling early.

Jacksonville continues to trip over its own feet. Things won't get easier with a trip to Buffalo on Monday night. With the whole world watching, we'll see if Jacksonville is close to turning things around or if they have to start asking some serious and uncomfortable questions.

Like their Jaguar rivals in the AFC South, the Titans cannot get out of their own way, specifically Will Levis. Outside of his bizarre turnovers, Levis hasn't been awful. Tennessee just has to clean up the mental gaffs to get back into the thick of things in the middle of the AFC. Until they show they are capable, they'll hang out just outside of the basement of the power rankings.

The Bo Nix experience was sure to include growing pains even if many fans in Denver didn't want to believe it. While there are some flashes, it won't be enough to contend in 2024 in any meaningful capacity.

The Giants probably should have beaten the Commanders last week, but without a kicker, they came up short. There's a glimmer of hope peaking through the result of that game that New York can turn things around, but there's little doubt that the ceiling on the Giants' 2024 campaign is pretty low.

The Panthers are proving to be one of the most laughable franchises in sports. The benching of Bryce Young is unlikely to have a positive impact on the team and the losses are going to just keep coming. All of the inexplicable front-office decisions over the past few years are haunting them in real time.