Wednesday, September 20, 2023

New England Patriots Week 3 NFL Power Rankings Roundup

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 3 roundup for the New England Patriots in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 24

Player: OLB Matthew Judon
Current contract situation: Under contract through the 2024 season

Judon signed a four-year, $56 million deal in March of 2021. After an adjustment this year that boosted his 2023 pay by borrowing from his 2024 salary, Judon is likely to be back at the negotiating table in the offseason for another adjustment because his 2024 base salary is just $6.5 million. The Patriots had a similar situation with CB Stephon Gilmore in 2020. Judon totaled 15.5 sacks last season and 12.5 in 2021, becoming just the fourth player in Patriots history to post back-to-back seasons with double-digit sacks. -- Mike Reiss

NFL.com -- Rank: 25

The Patriots are 0-2 with a pair of home losses against two possible (likely?) playoff teams, but spinning a "they could be 2-0" narrative would seem odd to me. Is a team with a piecemeal offensive line and a penchant for falling into double-digit holes worthy of such respect? Sure, we're only two games into the season, but how has this been any different from the past few campaigns in New England? The Patriots came back from big deficits only to suffer close losses last season, too (against the Raiders in Week 15 and the Bengals in Week 16), and it was hard to cull major positives from either those games or this year's defeats. There has just been a dark cloud following this team for some time now. As in their games, the Pats face a steep climb back to contention. Again.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 28

They are 0-2 for the first time since 2001. They won a Super Bowl that year. They won't this season.

USA Today -- Rank: 20

They're 0-2 for the first time in 22 years, though the previous instance wound up with New England winning its first Super Bowl. But this New England squad will have to figure out matters on the road, where it will spend four of the next six weeks after dropping its first two in Foxborough.

The Athletic -- Rank: 23

No one wants to talk about the New England offense, do they? But did you see that field-goal block? Everyone is going to be doing that this next week. True, all kickers have to do is change their pre-kick routine to disrupt it, but do you know what kickers hate? Changing their pre-kick routine.

FOX -- Rank: 23

I agree with Matthew Judon: this is not a bad team. The Patriots have played within a touchdown of the Eagles and Dolphins, who look like two of the league's best. But they've got to find a way to start faster. Philly jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first quarter last week, and this week New England went to halftime trailing Miami, 17-3. It's hard to work your way back from those kinds of deficits.

Yahoo! -- Rank: 20

Rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez was a great value at the 17th pick of the draft, and he's paying off. Gonzalez played really well against the Dolphins' speedy receivers on Sunday night and had a fantastic interception. He's getting praise from Bill Belichick. The Patriots are beat up at cornerback, but Gonzalez's fine start helps.

PFT -- Rank: 26

It feels like a changing of the guard is happening, even if the old guard isn't willing to step away.

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