The top team’s in the NFC are looking fierce thus far in 2023.
Peter King of NBC Sports released his first set of NFL power rankings of the 2023 season and identified the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles as the top-3 teams through Week 2.
The Cowboys have been a dominant force thus far into the season, outscoring opponents 70-10. They cruised past both teams that call MetLife Stadium home and King compared linebacker Micah Parsons to the legendary Lawrence Taylor.
“Micah Parsons is the closest thing I’ve seen to Taylor in terms of being able to collapse the pocket with a bull-rush and turnstile a tackle with unblockable speed,” King wrote.
The Cowboys will take the early momentum into Week 3 against the 0-2 Arizona Cardinals and may be the early favorites to reign supreme in the hyper-competitive NFC East.
King anointed the 49ers as the league’s No. 2 team but acknowledged that the difference between them and the Eagles is minuscule. He praised the team for solid quarterback play from Brock Purdy and elite talent on offense, with an extra nod to running back Christian McCaffrey.
He also called the defensive unit “brutish” and noted that opening the season with two road wins is a huge accomplishment. The 49ers will face the New York Giants in Week 3 in their home opener before taking on an Arizona Cardinals team fresh off of playing the Cowboys.
The Eagles registered third on the list despite two performances that may not have been up to their standard. The Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 25-20 in Week 1 and the Minnesota Vikings 34-28 in Week 2 in games that should not have been as close as they were.
While pure talent won over those games, that is not a bad sign. The Eagles remain a strong presence even as they shake off rust and the defending NFC champions boast tremendous depth to go along with high-end talent.
“I chortled at an Eagle-fan friend who was verbally wringing his hands to me Friday,” King wrote. “Told him his team is running it great, has a top-five quarterback who will soon strafe foes, has young road-graders on the defensive front who are the envy of the league, and has the best 1-to-53 roster in football.”
The Eagles will travel south to take on the 2-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 but will need to show some more polish in order to take down the Cowboys later in the season.
King had the Miami Dolphins as the highest ranked AFC team at No. 4 on the list and rounded out the top-10 with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and a two-way tie for 10th between the Detroit Lions and the aforementioned Buccaneers.
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