It is hard to take the NFL standings too seriously after only three games played this season, but there are a number of surprises already.

Starting with the NFC East, the two top teams in the division last year -- the Giants and Redskins -- are now sitting on the bottom, winless, after incredibly rough starts to the year. The 2-1 Cowboys have a narrow lead over the 1-2 Eagles at the top of the division heading into the fourth week.

In the NFC North, the 3-0 Chicago Bears are atop the division as one of the three remaining undefeated squads in the NFC thanks to a convincing 40-23 triumph over the Pittsburgh Steelers this past weekend. The second place Lions are magically off to a 2-1 start and they have already won half of their 4-win total from a season ago.

The New Orleans Saints in the NFC South and the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West make up the rest of the undefeated NFC teams. The Saints are glad to have head coach Sean Payton back on the sidelines following his season-long suspension a year ago while the Seahawks have picked up where they left off last year.

Moving to the AFC, there are two divisions with multiple undefeated teams. The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins are perched atop the AFC East as they hold on to their one game lead over the Jets.

In the AFC North, the Cincinnati Bengals bounced back nicely from a season-opening loss to the Bears by winning a big primetime game against division rival Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2. Another win in week 3 has the Bengals tied for first place with the defending champion Baltimore Ravens.

The AFC South features three relevant 2-1 squads followed by the always-dismal 0-3 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Texans, Titans, and Colts share a three-way tie for first.

Finally, the AFC West is clearly owned by the red-hot Denver Broncos, and that likely won't be changing anytime soon. Peyton Manning threw three more touchdown passes on Monday night to notch an NFL record 12 touchdowns after three weeks. The Kansas City Chiefs, now led by coach Andy Reid, have somehow managed to stay neck-to-neck with Denver en route to a 3-0 record.

The standings tend to bounce around from week to week, but we have some big surprises early on. In the coming weeks, we can expect to see even more flip-flopping in the ranks with several undefeated teams set to square off against others in their own divisions.