Atlanta Falcons: NFC Power Rankings, Week 3

Somehow the Washington Redskins got out of Tier IV this week with their 24-10 home victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. It sounds almost insane, but now that RGIII isn’t the starting quarterback anymore for Washington, the team has the fewest amount of burning questions of any team entering Week 3 in the NFC East. New York and Philly are winless and Dallas has had a terrible bout with the injury bug. The running back tandem of Matt Jones and Alfred Morris should make for an easier workload for new starting QB Kirk Cousins. The Redskins are probably not a contender in 2015, but they are better than a few teams in the NFC by comparison entering Week 3.

No head coach in the NFL is more on the hot seat than Tom Coughlin. After two tough losses to Dallas and Atlanta, I think this will be the last year we see this incarnation of the New York Football Giants. Surrendering a 20-10 lead and losing 24-20 to an Atlanta Falcons team that was notorious for not closing out games won’t sit well with the Mara Family. Their offense seems to live and die by the Manning to Beckham pass. New York needs to get Victor Cruz back or have Rueben Randle factor in the receiving game if the G-Men want to contend in the NFC East this season.

More from ATL All Day

• Atlanta Braves: Felix Has Already Shown Enough to Win a Rotation Spot
• Atlanta Braves Implode Late To Phillies, Cole Hamels Remains Sidelined
• Kyle Wright Shines As Folty Struggles In Atlanta Braves Loss To Red Sox
• Atlanta Hawks Sweep Back-to-Back Games Over Weekend
• Atlanta Braves: Grapefruit League Play Check Up

The Philadelphia Eagles offense is a disaster. DeMarco Murray has looked like Atlanta Falcons’ Steven Jackson in the first two weeks. Though Sam Bradford has remarkably stayed healthy at quarterback, HC Chip Kelly might now have second thoughts about trading former starter Nick Foles to the Rams for Sam. Byron Maxwell isn’t playing like the shutdown corner Philly paid for. When will the Eagles fan base start clamoring for Mark Sanchez to quarterback their football team? Philly may have looked good in the preseason, but the front office decisions have not panned out for the Eagles in the first two weeks of the regular season.

I can’t figure out this Detroit Lions team. Yes, they’re 0-2, but I like the two teams they’ve already played in San Diego and Minnesota. Detroit certainly has talent on both sides of the ball to contend for an NFC Wild Card Berth. However, being down two games to the Packers in the NFC North and losing the first of two to the Vikings makes for a very rough start to the 2015 NFL Season for the Motor City Cats. I love the Stafford to Johnson connection in the passing game and I have confidence that Detroit will continue to score points at will in 2015. Then again, being the 3rd best team at the moment in the NFC North doesn’t sound all that promising in getting back into the NFC Playoffs.

Next: Tier II: NFC Wild Card Contenders