The Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers are both 3-0, but are they actually two of the NFL’s elite teams or just the last ones standing after a chaotic Week 3?
Colin Cowherd revealed his latest Herd Hierarchy, featuring a new team at No. 1 and three fresh additions to the top 10 after another big week in the NFL. Beyond the new arrivals, several former mainstays completely played their way out of the rankings.
Here are Cowherd’s Week 3 Herd Hierarchy rankings:
Record: 3-0
Previous ranking: N/A ↑
Cowherd’s thoughts: I think the Raiders look like a really, really well-coached team with one great edge rusher. Kirk Cousins, the only quarterback in the league with three touchdown passes each game. Brock Bowers, they’re putting him all over the field. He’s a nightmare. The defense leads the NFL in takeaways. We’ve said it before. You put a Ben Johnson, a Klint Kubiak, a smart offensive guy, you can turn things around quicker. I think the Raiders look like a very, very well-coached team. They’re about one more draft away from being like a high-end team, but I like what I see. I think they’re legit.
Record: 2-1
Previous ranking: 10 ↑
Cowherd’s thoughts: The Lions are weird. Worst scoring defense in the league, yet they’re second in sacks to the Vikings. But this is about Jahmyr Gibbs. This is about Jared Goff. Only team to score 30 plus points in every game, but they’re going to have to win by track meets. So I think their floor is incredibly high. I don’t know if their ceiling is as high as I thought going into the season.
Record: 2-1
Previous ranking: 7 ↓
Cowherd’s thoughts: The Rams should have beaten the Broncos. 16-0 at the half and outgained them by 225 yards. Some really bad penalties. Listen, here’s the reality about the Rams though. If you count the playoffs, they’re 4-5 in their last nine [games], and they’re not a very good road team. Again, physicality. Puka [Nacua’s] not there, a physical player. Myles Garrett not there, physical player. Aaron Donald’s good, but he’s not what he used to be. There is a component about physicality and toughness that wins on the road.
Record: 2-1
Previous ranking: N/A ↑
Cowherd’s thoughts: The Bears, number one, number five scoring offense, number three total offense, but the number one rushing team. That’s what I love about Ben Johnson. Everybody thinks, ‘oh, it’s Caleb [Williams] running around.’ They run the football against physical defensive fronts, and Caleb’s going to be back in three to four weeks. But they’ve held opponents, and this is coaching, under 10 points back-to-back weeks. I thought last night was one of the greatest coaching mismatches I have ever seen.
Record: 2-1
Previous ranking: N/A ↑
Cowherd’s thoughts: They may just be a great regular season team, but the Jags 10-1 in their last 11 regular season games. If they get on you, they’ll put a foot on you. They’ll blow you out if you’re not prepared and ready to go. So I think Liam Coen is the best coach nobody talks about in this league. They have the number one scoring defense. You can’t run at them for several yards. Trevor Lawrence, seven touchdown passes. I think he’s playing the best. Again, if this team was in a New York market or a Chicago market or Philadelphia, we talk about them every week. The Jags are well coached. Trevor Lawrence has time. You can’t run on them. They’re good at home. I have them at six.
Record: 2-1
Previous ranking: N/A ↑
Cowherd’s thoughts: The Broncos are a one-half offense. The good news: it’s the second half. But Bo Nix’s 11th game-winning drive. Unfortunately, they shouldn’t be trailing this often late in games, they spent the third least amount of time leading in the league this year—nine minutes. Only the Titans and Dolphins have led less, so they’re doing what I predicted they couldn’t do. I said you can’t do what they did last year: trail 15 times and win 14. Now they’re doing it, but here come the 49ers, here come the Seahawks, here come the Chiefs, and I don’t think you can do it against those three teams.
Record: 3-0
Previous ranking: 4
Cowherd’s thoughts: Oh, Mahomes has a run game. Do you know what he is on play action this year? Because you have to be honest against the run game. He is 22-of-24 in play action, 158.3 passer rating. It’s amazing when you give a quarterback a run game. Travis Kelsey looks 26, and Mahomes now has to bite on the play action. You didn’t for four years. I think it’s totally changed their offense, their defense, and they’ve always drafted defense well. They move off corners. They always find a corner. I have them at four.
Record: 2-1
Previous ranking: 1 ↓
Cowherd’s Thoughts: The little disturbing problem for the Seahawks. It’s not the loss, but they’re not running the football. Why are they such a great road team? What travels? Toughness, coaching, and run games. They’re not running the ball. They were number one graded run team last year, number one rated. This year they’re 28th. Kenneth Walker’s not there. [Zach] Charbonnet hasn’t been healthy. It’s a real thing. The reason they are so good on the road is they kill the crowd. They run the ball. Not this year, and that is something to keep your eye on.
Record: 3-0
Previous ranking: 3 ↑
Cowherd’s Thoughts: Well, they start every year and it feels like three and zero, but I’m going to give them credit. Brock Purdy plays like an MVP. Trent Williams is back. He’ll play. Mike Evans will play against Denver. So they’re injured. [Nick] Bosa will be back soon. Mike Evans. Listen, this is a franchise. You cross your fingers on health, but it’s one of the smartest, most functional offenses: [Christian] McCaffrey, Trent, [George] Kittle, Brock, Shanahan. It is a handful. Will it be a handful at Thanksgiving when half the guys are banged up?
Record: 3-0
Previous ranking: 2 ↑
Cowherd’s Thoughts: When you can win with 10 penalties and five turnovers, that has a ‘Seahawk vibe’ from last year. I’ll make it Buffalo [at No. 1], averaging 34 points a game. The offense is humming. They’re punting on 15% of their drives. I just think they feel like it’s the most complimentary Bills roster yet. [Dalton] Kincaid, slot receiver D.J. Moore, James Cook. They drafted a defensive tackle out of Kentucky in the fourth round. The guy’s a beast, so they take some heat. Their GM does. That guy was a steal, so this is finally a complimentary roster in Buffalo. At least the most complimentary they’ve been.
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