Niner Noise
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NFL power rankings: 49ers stay even, Patriots fall entering Week 3

By Peter Panacy

JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots walks off the field during the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on September 16, 2018 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots walks off the field during the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on September 16, 2018 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers shake hands with Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions after their game at Levi’s Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 16: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers shake hands with Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions after their game at Levi’s Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Week 2 of the 2018 season is a wrap, meaning it’s time to look at the San Francisco 49ers and all other 31 teams to see where they stand in Niner Noise’s NFL power rankings entering Week 3.

Who would have thought ties would become something of a regularity this early in 2018?

Last week, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers ended with a 21-21 tie, only to be followed by a hyped-up 29-29 tie between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers against their NFC North division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings.

Yeah, ties can throw some monkey wrenches in our NFL power rankings.

A number of teams managed to pull off their first wins of 2018. The San Francisco 49ers held onto a 30-27 victory over the visiting Detroit Lions who, despite a valiant fourth quarter, fell to 0-2 in head coach Matt Patricia’s inaugural season. The Dallas Cowboys pulled off a Sunday Night Football win over their rivals, the New York Giants, while the Atlanta Falcons dropped 31 points on the Carolina Panthers to end an early notion their offense was in trouble.

Needless to say, this will shift things up a bit in Niner Noise’s NFL power rankings compared to last week’s analysis.

So will losses by last season’s conference champions, the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. Seeing those two teams lose, albeit in interesting fashion, spices up our analysis entering Week 3.

Yet we know there are some bad teams in the league right now, so let’s kick things off with a new cellar-dweller shut out in Week 2, the Arizona Cardinals.