ESPN unveiled their Week 3 NFL Power Rankings today and, somewhat unsurprisingly, the New England Patriots are the No. 1 team in the league, according to voters.
What began as an offseason of mystery and doubt thanks to Tom Brady's looming suspension regarding Deflategate has become one of the team's most exciting starts in recent memory. New England opened up the season with a 28-12 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, an impressive playoff team from a year ago. This past weekend, they dropped 40 points on the Buffalo Bills who boast one of the best defenses in the entire NFL. Combined, the two victories add up to the No. 1 spot in ESPN's power rankings.
"Tom Brady has seven TD passes and no interceptions to start the 2015 season. That's Brady's best TD-INT differential in the first two games of a season for his career."
If Brady is playing at a career-best level at age 38 then the rest of the league better prepare for a repeat performance from the reigning Super Bowl champions. Overall, Brady is completing 69.2 percent of his passes and has thrown for an NFL leading 754 yards an impressive 8.29 yards-per-attempt average. Tight end Rob Gronkowski is continuing his dominant ways as well, ranking third in the NFL in receiving with 207 yards and a league leading four touchdown receptions.
The downside is New England's defense, which ranks 29th in the league in yards allowed per game (406.5). Luckily it's still early in the season and Bill Belichick has plenty of time to get things sorted out on that side of the ball.
The Green Bay Packers (No. 2), Arizona Cardinals (No. 3), Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 4) and Denver Broncos (No. 5) round out ESPN's top five.
The Patriots will host the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) this Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.
