Week 2 gave PFM another full game of evidence to evaluate. Carolina bounced back from a brutal defensive opener, New Orleans won a tight road game behind Tyler Shough, and Las Vegas followed its Week 1 win by knocking off a division opponent.
PFM’s Latest Ranking Changes page shows the September 22 update for all 32 teams. This article focuses on the biggest risers and fallers by PFM Team Score, while also showing where each team moved in the 1-through-32 rankings.
Those two measurements do not always move together. New Orleans climbed five spots, the biggest jump in rank, while Carolina posted the largest Team Score gain. Among the fallers, the Chargers dropped four places, but Washington took the slightly larger hit to its overall score.
Week 3 snapshot: These moves compare PFM’s September 15 Week 2 update with the September 22 Week 3 update. The full board remains available in the 2026 PFM NFL Team Rankings.
| Team | Team Score | Change | PFM Rank | Rank Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Carolina Panthers |
71.77 73.89 | Up 2.12 | No. 30 No. 29 | Up 1 |
 New Orleans Saints |
72.90 74.74 | Up 1.84 | No. 29 No. 24 | Up 5 |
 Las Vegas Raiders |
73.62 74.66 | Up 1.04 | No. 28 No. 25 | Up 3 |
 Washington Commanders |
78.88 76.81 | Down 2.07 | No. 19 No. 21 | Down 2 |
 Los Angeles Chargers |
82.72 80.74 | Down 1.98 | No. 12 No. 16 | Down 4 |
 Chicago Bears |
83.68 81.73 | Down 1.95 | No. 9 No. 12 | Down 3 |
One useful distinction: New Orleans jumped five spots, the biggest move up the Week 3 board, while the Chargers dropped four spots, the biggest move down among these six. Carolina and Washington lead the list because their Team Score changes were larger.
1. Carolina Needed a Defensive Answer. It Got One.
Biggest riser · +2.12 · No. 30 to No. 29
Carolina’s offense was not the biggest problem after Week 1. The Panthers had scored 37 points, but giving up a franchise-record 59 to Chicago made it impossible to trust the other side of the ball. One week later, the response could not have looked much different.
Bryce Young threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns in Atlanta, while Carolina forced five turnovers and allowed only three points. Devin Lloyd intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown, Tetairoa McMillan topped 100 receiving yards and Darren Waller caught two scores. The Panthers did not need one side of the ball to cover for the other.
Carolina is still No. 29, so one dominant afternoon did not erase the concerns that put this roster near the bottom of the preseason board. It did answer the most urgent question coming out of the opener: the defense can give Young a chance to play a normal game.
2. Tyler Shough Is Giving New Orleans a Different Ceiling
Riser · +1.84 · No. 29 to No. 24
Shough showed plenty in the opener, but New Orleans still lost a 31-30 game in which the rookie quarterback turned the ball over three times. Week 2 was the cleaner version PFM needed to see.
Shough completed 27 of 34 passes for 252 yards, threw a touchdown to Chris Olave and scored the go-ahead touchdown himself with 1:28 left in Baltimore. The Saints also held the Ravens to three second-half points before Julian Blackmon intercepted Lamar Jackson on the final drive.
Our week 3 update specifically credits Shough’s firmer hold on the starting job and an improving young core, while limited 2026 cap room still weighs on Franchise Direction. New Orleans is not suddenly being treated like a complete contender, but a five-spot jump says the quarterback question looks very different than it did two weeks ago.
3. Las Vegas Backed Up Week 1 With a Better Win
Riser · +1.04 · No. 28 to No. 25
The Raiders’ first win showed that Klint Kubiak could get functional offense from a young roster. The second one carried more weight because it came on the road against a Chargers team PFM had ranked No. 12 entering Week 2.
Kirk Cousins threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Tre Tucker turned five catches into 119 yards and a score, Cody White caught two touchdowns and the defense intercepted Justin Herbert twice before forcing a late Omarion Hampton fumble. Las Vegas moved to 2-0 without needing a perfect game from Cousins.
Las Vegas is still No. 25 because PFM is not throwing out the questions about roster depth, quarterback age or a difficult AFC West. Two straight wins do change the evidence, though. The offense has looked organized for two weeks, and the Raiders just beat a team that entered the game much higher on the board.
4. Jayden Daniels’ Elbow Injury Changes Washington Immediately
Biggest faller · -2.07 · No. 19 to No. 21
Washington’s drop is bigger than a 17-point loss in Dallas. Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow on the final play of the first half, and the Commanders now have to prepare around Marcus Mariota while Daniels’ availability is uncertain.
The week 3 update shows exactly how much Jayden Daniels means to the team. QB Stability fell from 84.7 to 77.6, a 7.17-point drop, and Recent Performance also declined. Offense Strength actually improved from 82.0 to 82.5, but that was not enough to offset the quarterback change and a game in which Dak Prescott threw four touchdowns and CeeDee Lamb had 153 receiving yards.
That is why Washington fell only two places even with the week’s largest Team Score decline. There are still pieces PFM likes on offense, but the quarterback carrying that offense is now the biggest short-term variable on the team.
5. The Chargers Have Scored 14 Points Twice. PFM Cannot Ignore It.
Faller · -1.98 · No. 12 to No. 16
The Chargers could write off Week 1 as a bad opener. Week 2 made that harder. Los Angeles scored 14 points for the second straight game and fell to 0-2 after losing at home to a Raiders team that entered the week 16 spots lower in the PFM rankings.
Justin Herbert finished with 192 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Omarion Hampton ran for 94 yards, but his late fumble near midfield helped Las Vegas put the game away. The offense has now had two chances to show the rhythm PFM expected around Herbert and Mike McDaniel, and it has not done it yet.
Herbert and Jim Harbaugh are why this is a fall to No. 16 rather than a full collapse. PFM still has reasons to trust the quarterback and coaching baseline. The Chargers now need the offense to stop making every drive feel harder than it should.
6. Chicago Went From 59 Points to 3, Then Lost Caleb Williams
Faller · -1.95 · No. 9 to No. 12
Chicago opened the season by scoring a franchise-record 59 points. Seven days later, the Bears managed three against Minnesota even though they outgained the Vikings 297-246.
Caleb Williams threw for 138 yards and added 42 on the ground before a non-contact right hamstring injury ended his afternoon. The PFM update dropped QB Stability from 84.2 to 80.0 and Recent Performance from 80.4 to 79.3. The defense actually improved from 80.0 to 80.6 after holding Minnesota without a touchdown.
That split is important. Chicago did not suddenly lose everything PFM liked after Week 1, and the Bears remain No. 12. The concern is whether Ben Johnson can keep the offense near its early ceiling if Williams misses time, because the difference between 59 points and three showed how wide the range can be.
What Week 2 Actually Changed for PFM
The three risers did more than add a win. Carolina’s defense answered the exact problem that overwhelmed the opener. Shough followed a productive but messy debut with a surprising road win in Baltimore. Las Vegas showed that its Week 1 offense was not a one-game flash by beating a better-rated division opponent.
The fallers are different. Washington and Chicago now have quarterback uncertainty layered on top of losses, while the Chargers have repeated the same offensive problem for two weeks.
Two games are still a small sample, and PFM is not erasing the preseason baseline every Tuesday. Week 2 gave teams a chance to answer what happened in the opener. Carolina, New Orleans and Las Vegas did. Washington, Los Angeles and Chicago came out of the weekend with bigger questions than they had going in.
See every Week 3 change, not just the six biggest moves.
Sources and PFM Data
- PFM 2026 NFL Team Rankings
- PFM Latest Ranking Changes
- Reuters: Panthers beat Falcons 34-3
- Reuters: Saints rally past Ravens
- Reuters: Raiders beat Chargers 26-14
- Reuters: Cowboys beat Commanders 37-20
- Reuters: Jayden Daniels elbow update
- Reuters: Vikings beat Bears 9-3
- Reuters: Caleb Williams hamstring update
Leave a comment