Chris's take: Winners and losers of this NFL season

10/02/09 - Week three in the NFL once again proved the theory that any given Sunday any team can win in this league.Just three weeks into this young season the standings have been shaken up quite a bit as some teams are proving the naysayers wrong while other teams are left with many questions to answer for the rest of the 2009 season.

There have certainly been more than a few surprises so far. Nobody had the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and even the New Orleans Saints at 3-0 and nobody had the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers at 0-3 and the defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers at 1-2. The Cincinatti Bengals have also come out surprisingly strong and could definitely be 3-0 if not for a fluke last-minute play against the Broncos.

Oh and before I forget, the Detroit Lions yes the Lions, finally ended their drought and brought their fan base off life support as their young cast delivered their first victory since week 16 in the 2007 season.

Now I know it's only week three and it's too early to really tell how good some of these teams are, but I think it's still necessary to take a moment to chat about the seven undefeated teams focusing on the two most unexpected. First off let's start with the Broncos, who are in my opinion the most surprising of the seven teams.

After their disappointing 2008 season in which they basically handed the struggling San Diego Chargers the division, the Broncos began there offseason of controversy by firing head coach Mike Shanahan, who coached them for 14 seasons while delivering two Lombardi trophies. They brought in the 32 year old New England offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, to become the youngest head coach in NFL history.

Then the controversy escalated when reports came out that he wanted to trade the franchise quarterback in Jay Cutler for his quarterback Matt Cassel. The Broncos didn't end up with Cassel, but instead shipped Cutler off to Chicago for Kyle Orton, two first round picks, and a third rounder. This in turn upset star wide receiver Brandon Marshall, which led to some training camp drama.

However, despite all the issues they have somehow miraculously gotten off to a 3-0 start. The reason may be that their defense currently ranks No. 1 in the league allowing just 16 points over three games ( I bet you didn't know that unless you stalk the fantasy football waiver wire) or it could be that they have played Cincinnati, Cleveland and the Oakland Raiders who have a combined 3-6 record. We shall see.

The Jets are also turning some heads off to their best start since 2004. Rex Ryan and rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez have this squad sitting atop the AFC East with three impressive victories over the Houston Texans, New England Patriots and Titans.

Ryan has his blitz-happy defense wreaking havoc as they rank third in the NFL.

Sanchez has looked impressive completing 59 percent of his passes. His arm strength looked impressive and has revived this Jets offense after Brett Favre left them out in the cold with a disappointing finish and since moved on to the Minnesota Vikings. But, who remembers that now?

The Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, Saints, Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants are not surprising since each of these teams' quarterbacks rank in the top 10 and the defenses all rank somewhere in the top 12.

As we move into week four I'll conclude with my predictions about the undefeated teams and power rankings. I think that three of the undefeated teams will go down this week. By default at least one will lose since the Jets are set to square off against the Saints at the Superdome.

I think Ryan finally slow down Drew Brees and the Jets steal a late victory. I also see the Broncos losing to the Dallas Cowboys and Ravens dropping a tight game at New England. That will leave the Jets, Colts, Vikings and Giants as the four remaining unblemished teams. Overall for the season I think the Colts will last the longest.

For my power rankings I won't do every team, but instead narrow it down to the top and bottom five. My top five teams: Giants, Colts, Jets, Saints, and Vikings. My Bottom five: Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Bucs, St. Louis Rams, and Cleveland Browns. On the outside looking in: Patriots, Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. Week three delivered some last minute thrillers, another Favre comeback, a Lions win, and left seven undefeated teams as well as seven winless teams. Which end of the spectrum will last the longest?