Dolphins stake claim as true AFC contenders after rallying past Ravens

Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun will rank all 32 NFL teams. The rankings will take into account not just weekly performance, injuries and roster depth, but how well each team measures up as Super Bowl contenders.

Here are the rankings heading into Week 3:

Super Bowl favorites 1. Buffalo Bills (2-0, No. 1 last week) 2. Kansas City Chiefs (2-0, No. 2) 3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0, No. 3)

The Bills aren’t losing their top spot this week. Buffalo throttled the Titans, 41-7, on Monday night behind four touchdown passes from Josh Allen — including three to Stefon Diggs — and another dominant performance from the defense. The 2019 Ravens finished with the highest point differential in NFL history (+249), but Buffalo is on pace to break that record.

For all the talk about how much the AFC West improved this offseason, it’s still the Chiefs’ division to lose. Kansas City made an early statement with a 27-24 win over the Chargers on Thursday night by getting production from an unheralded group of players. Rookie seventh-round draft pick Jaylen Watson returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown, while veteran running back Jerick McKinnon and fourthround wide receiver Justin Watson caught touchdown passes from Patrick Mahomes. This Chiefs team looks deep and ready to compete for the top seed in the AFC.

In the NFC, the Bucs still look like the class of the conference despite missing some key players. Even with receivers Chris Godwin and Julio Jones and top left tackles Donovan Smith and Josh Wells sidelined by injuries, Tampa Bay made enough plays down the stretch to secure a 20-10 win over the Saints. While quarterback Tom Brady struggled for most of the game until hitting former Ravens first-round pick Breshad Perriman for a go-ahead 28-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, the Bucs forced five turnovers, including a 68-yard pick-six by Mike Edwards to ice the game. Brady doesn’t have to be perfect to keep winning behind this dominant defense.