Atlanta Falcons: NFC Power Rankings, Week 3

Dallas was a decent pick to win a Super Bowl this year and are still the favorites to win the NFC East, but what is HC Jason Garrett going to do now that both QB Tony Romo and WR Dez Bryant will miss at least 18 combined games for the Dallas Cowboys? The defense, which looks great, will have to keep the Cowboys afloat while the playmakers on offense recover. I expect veteran TE Jason Witten to become the leader now on offense for the Dallas Cowboys in Romo’s absence. Will Brandon Weeden play decently enough to keep Dallas ahead of their struggling NFC East rivals? Dallas has three things that give them the edge: LB Sean Lee, K Dan Bailey, and the best offensive line in football. The NFC East may look shaky entering Week 3, but I have faith that the Cowboys will still finish above .500 and win the East in 2015.

Though Atlanta didn’t beat great teams in either Philadelphia or New York, they did win on Monday Night Football and then next week in the Falcons’ House of Horrors that is MetLife Stadium. Atlanta is now a team that refuses to quit, with back-to-back 4th quarter comeback victories. The defense has improved and the offense has done enough to win close games for the Falcons. Where Atlanta really benefits is that after Dallas on Sunday, their schedule starts to get very, very favorable (Houston, Washington, and New Orleans Weeks 4-6). Sure, Atlanta will have a hiccup, but a 6-2, 7-1 first half of the season seems very realistic at this point. Atlanta is playing with the poise of a NFC Playoff team entering Week 3.

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Of any team in the NFC, nobody has impressed me more than the Arizona Cardinals. Yes, they beat the Saints and the Bears in the first two weeks of the season, but they did so in a physical and convincing fashion. The defense is still feisty and Carson Palmer has looked great under center after undergoing season-ending ACL surgery midway through 2014. The Cards were banging on the door for a while now to become the team to beat in the NFC West. Entering Week 3, I would say that they are most certainly there. Arizona is a legitimate NFC Championship contender in 2015, assuming that they can stay healthy.

Green Bay is the team to beat in the NFC now that they knocked off the Seahawks at Lambeau Field on Sunday Night Football. When you have the best player in the game in QB Aaron Rodgers, good things tend to happen. Even without Jordy Nelson the whole year, Rodgers has found a familiar target in James Jones to put the Pack Aerial Attack back on the map. The defense seems more cohesive than last year and Green Bay is seemingly unbeatable at home with Aaron Rodgers under center. Green Bay should win the NFC North and play for a trip to the Super Bowl this year. Anything less is not good enough for a team of this caliber. Green Bay is now the favorite to represent the NFC in Super Bowl 50.

Next: Atlanta Falcons: Best Team in the NFC South?

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