Let’s face it: Reputation matters in the NFL.
There are 10 winless teams after two weeks, and it’s easy to assume eight of them are headed nowhere because they missed the playoffs last season. Actually, the bottom of the NFL standings so far looks a lot like the top of the 2025 NFL Draft order.
One of the other two is the Texans, who have won back-to-back AFC South titles, so don’t discount them just yet.
And then there are the Chiefs.
How do you evaluate the team that has been to three straight Super Bowls?
Is this the beginning of the end of a dynasty? Or just a bad start against a tough schedule while a couple of key playmakers are sidelined?
Are you ready to write off a Hall of Fame head coach, Hall of Fame quarterback, Hall of Fame pass-catcher and one of the greatest defensive coordinators of all time?
Here are The Post’s NFL power rankings for Week 3, where the Chiefs are not like all the other 0-2 teams:
Sidelined by a bloody nose for two plays, Josh Allen returned and played second fiddle to James Cook in a 30-10 victory against the Jets. Cook ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Even with Ed Oliver sidelined, the defense allowed its fewest yards (154) in a road game since 1990.
The defending champions won the Super Bowl rematch as Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley ran for touchdowns in a 20-17 victory against the Chiefs. The Eagles improved to 17-1 in their past 18 games, including seven straight wins, despite Hurts passing for just 101 yards. Jake Elliott’s 58-yard field goal before halftime was big.
Jordan Love passed for 292 yards and led a pair of first-half touchdown drives covering 90-plus yards apiece in a 27-18 win against the Commanders. Tucker Kraft had six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. Micah Parsons had one of the Packers’ four sacks and three hurries as the revamped defense allowed no touchdowns through the first three quarters.
Starting against former mentor Joe Flacco, Lamar Jackson shook off a slow start — the Ravens had four first downs in the first half — and threw four touchdown passes in a 41-17 rout of the Browns. Four of the Ravens’ five touchdowns were either scored by the defense or set up for a short field for the offense. Devontez Walker scored twice.
By beating the Raiders, the Chargers started 2-0 (both division wins) for the second time in as many seasons under head coach Jim Harbaugh. The Chargers had just one 2-0 start from 2007-2023. After looking washed up for the Bears last season, Keenan Allen looks revitalized in his return to catching lasers from Justin Herbert.
After Ben Johnson helped revitalize Jared Goff’s career as a play-caller, Goff threw five touchdown passes against the Johnson-coached Bears in a 52-21 victory. Three of Goff’s scores went to Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Lions averaged a team-record 8.8 yards per play. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery also ran for a touchdown apiece.
With the loss to the Eagles, the Chiefs dropped to 0-2 for the first time since 2014. Patrick Mahomes threw for just 187 yards as his B-list cast of receivers struggled to gain separation. Mahomes threw an interception off of Travis Kelce’s hands at the goal line but was the Chiefs’ leading rusher with 66 yards and a touchdown.
Rachaad White not only dove on a Baker Mayfield fumble for a recovery, but he also scored the game-winning 2-yard touchdown run with six seconds left in a 20-19 victory against the Texans. Mayfield threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns and directed the game-winning 80-yard drive. The defense answered the fourth-quarter bell after a blocked punt.
Trailing by three points late in the third quarter, the Rams ripped off 20 straight points to take command of a 33-19 win against the Titans. Matthew Stafford threw for 298 yards and a touchdown to his new big-time target Davante Adams. Puka Nacua totaled 134 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Byron Young had two sacks, including a strip fumble.
Given a second chance to win the game after missing from 60 yards as time expired, Spencer Shrader made the Broncos pay for their penalty by drilling the game-winning 45-yarder in a 29-28 victory. Daniel Jones had his first 300-yard passing game since Sept. 17, 2023, for the Giants. The Colts have no punts and no turnovers through two games.
Underdog is where football fans become winners.
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The Giants’ ninth straight loss to the Cowboys was sealed when Brandon Aubrey became the first kicker in NFL history with a field goal as time expired in regulation and another as time expired in overtime. Fourteen penalties for 160 yards and five consecutive scoring possessions allowed was enough to negate Russell Wilson’s 450-yard passing day in a 40-37 defeat.
Pump the brakes on the Justin Fields hype. One week after his stellar dual-threat performance, he went 3-for-11 passing for 27 yards and managed only one long run before exiting with a concussion in a blowout loss to the Bills. The Jets did not convert any of their first 11 third downs before a garbage-time touchdown drive.
