Buccaneers Climbing The Power Rankings Following Undefeated Start

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 2-0 after wins over the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. Week 3 presents a difficult matchup when the Philadelphia Eagles come to town for Monday Night Football, but the Bucs have started climbing up the league's power rankings.

After basically being written off prior to the season starting, the Buccaneers are starting to surprise many around the league. This is evidenced by where Tampa Bay currently stands in nationwide power rankings. We rounded up the top rankings to see how the national media views this Bucs team.

NFL.com

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (24)

Mike Evans is still dusting defensive backs. Shaquil Barrett remains a backfield wrecker. Baker Mayfield is out there slinging tough passes and barreling for first downs as a runner. Who are these guys? Well, the 2-0 Bucs are in some ways who they’ve been, even as the Tom Brady-led teams naturally kept their identity under his umbrella.

But the way Mayfield is playing -- fearlessly and decisively -- makes me think this team should compete in the wide-open NFC South. Mayfield has always had the ability to make game-changing plays, but his negative ones seemed to sting a bit more in the past. Through two games, however, he’s taken one sack (spinning out of several) and thrown zero interceptions. That’s a winning formula.

ESPN

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (24)

FOX Sports

12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20)

If Baker Mayfield keeps playing like this, the Bucs are a very real threat. Most of the badasses from that Super Bowl defense are still in Tampa, and they still look plenty — well, badass. If Mayfield is spreading the ball around and avoiding turnovers, they can stack some wins. Philadelphia comes to town in Week 3, a big chance for the Buccaneers to prove their credentials.

CBS Sports

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (17)

Baker Mayfield has led this team to a 2-0 record as one of the surprising early teams. The defense has made a lot of big plays in two games.

NBC Sports

14. Buccaneers (2-0, No. 19)

The post-Tommy Bucs are quickly becoming a great story.

Yahoo

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0, LW: 25)

The Buccaneers have played two bad defenses, but Baker Mayfield has been very good. He has completed 69.1% of his passes for 490 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. That's the continuation of a strong preseason, too. Mayfield has to keep doing this against tougher competition, but the Buccaneers should be pleased so far.

USA Today

22. Buccaneers (22): Good luck finding something more touching in the NFL space than OLB Shaq Barrett dedicating his season to his 2-year-old daughter, who drowned in April. His emotions were evident Sunday when he scored his first professional TD on a pick-six, then looked skyward.

Where do you have the Bucs stacked up against the rest of the league? Does any outlet have them too high or too low? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

You can follow JC Allen on Twitter @JCAllenNFL.

Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage, news and analysis throughout the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2023 season.

Follow BucsGameday on Twitter and Facebook