NFL Power Rankings
So a preface to this power rankings piece. The rankings are not indicative of overall record nor should they be. Whilst some teams have better records than others above them on this list, the list is attempting to factor in strength of schedule, the ease of victories and the health of the team moving forward. For instance, we’re unsure of when Tua will return for the Dolphins which results in them being ranked significantly lower than they otherwise would be. Likewise, a team like the Jags is ranked rather highly given how they’ve won and lost their games which leads me to believe they’re better than their record indicates. Power rankings aren’t predictors of future performance but it would be ignorant to not factor in current performance whilst projecting a little towards the future. This is a piece attempting to dissect how the first month of the season has gone and where it might go.
The Elite
1: Buffalo Bills
Yes the undefeated team isn’t in first place so get your outrage/ “your just a Dallas fanboy” anger out the way now because it’s only going to get more spicy from here. The Bills haven’t had a perfect season, far from it in fact. After dominating the defending SB champs in week 1 and the number 1 seed in the AFC last year in week two, things haven’t gone smoothly for the Bills since. Against the Dolphins in Week 3, they had every opportunity to close that game out and couldn’t do it despite dominating the time of possession in the second half. They even got lucky with Miami defenders seemingly dropping about 5 errant Allen INT’s. The Baltimore win isn’t incredible either given they were a play away from potentially losing that game at the end and rallied against a team who themselves blew a large lead to the Dolphins. Despite that, they’re the most proven high performing team at the moment who’s had an incredibly difficult start to the season. They’ll get healthier too as Tre’Davious White is set to come back soon, Oliver is getting healthier and they still have players like Jordan Phillips and Xavier Rhoades who will return at some point. Come week 9, they have a fairly cushy schedule and should cruise to the playoffs if they can survive the onslaught until then.
2: Philadelphia Eagles
The only unbeaten team remaining in the NFL, it’s the team every NFC East fan loves to hate, the Eagles. They’re an unusual unbeaten team they aren’t your typical fraudulent unbeaten squad that wins their first 4 or 5 games before going on a losing streak and finishing with a record of 7-10. Nor are they this uber dominant team that strikes fear in the hearts of opponents everywhere and will pummel most teams into the dirt on-route to a near perfect season. Instead, they lie somewhere in the middle. They are most certainly a great team as their defence is dominant in all facets despite not having Derek Barnett. Darius Slay looks as good as ever and the addition of James Bradbury flew under the radar in the offseason in terms of the impact he’d go on to have for this squad. In almost every significant defensive statistic, the Eagles are top 10 in. The offensive potential of this squad is what stops them from being first however. Hurts can be streaky at times. Twice out of the four games this season, he’s started with 5 straight incompletions. While he goes on to fix his accuracy issues later in games, his QB play is something that’s still something of a question mark. The Eagles have yet to play a strong defensive team. Their most impressive win is this past week against the Jags but that game was a sloppy mess where Trevor Lawerence seemingly just discovered that rain makes a football slippery. None of that is the fault of Philly but until they prove it against stronger competition, it’s hard to place them above the battle tested Bills. They’ll get few chances to play good teams as well given their extremely cushy strength of schedule. The two Dallas games and one Packers game may be the only real challenges they face all season. Don’t be surprised if the Eagles have the best record in football by seasons end, though it’s possible that will be a little deceptive.
The Contenders
3: Kansas City Chiefs
After the performance against Tampa, I suspect this one may raise some eyebrows. Yes, the Chiefs are merely contenders and not part of the elite squad. Not yet anyways as they’ve been incredibly hit and miss through the first 4 weeks despite a 3-1 record. It started off great for Mahomes and Co as they crushed the Cardinals in ways they did during their SB runs. The following week however was far less convincing as they won a game they really should have lost against the Chargers. While wins are all that matter at the end of the day, it was the type of performance that reminds you that this isn’t the Chiefs of those SB runs. Tyreek Hill’s departure is still felt on this team and Kelce is their only real legitimate threat on offence anymore. Whilst CEH and the run game does look improved in spurts, it’s not consistent enough to think that’ll it be there come playoff time. For the two impressive and dominant wins they have, the Chiefs also have an uninspired, ugly victory and one pretty abysmal loss to the Colts. The rest of the schedule isn’t dramatically difficult fortunately and a week 6 matchup against the Bills will likely answer a lot of questions we have about just how much of a threat is this Chiefs team.
4: Green Bay Packers
Well week one isn’t everything it seems. It couldn’t have started much worse for the Packers as they got blown out by the Vikings in a game they were never really competitive in. Since then however, they’ve returned to form and taken the unusual identity of a run first team whose defence has come back to life. After destroying the Bears, the Packers won a hard-fought game against Tampa despite not being able to run the ball. Rodgers is slowly forming more trust with his young receiving core and won by leaning on rookie standout Romeo Doubs. Given Tampa’s middling success, this could seen as a negative but to be able to win a close game despite your primary method of attack being taken says something to the versatility of this squad. The passing offence will only improve as the season goes on as Rodgers develops more and more chemistry and trust with his young receivers and the run game should act as a stabilising force until then. The defence is strong though there may be some cause for concerns on the defensive line given just how dominant the Pats were at running the ball despite it being their only viable method of attack. Likewise, the schedule is far from easy as they have the Bills, Lions X2, Cowboys, Eagles, Rams and Sota again. But given Rodgers and Green Bay’s history, it seems foolish to doubt they’ll stumble too much across these games and miss the playoffs. Sota will contend with them for the division title but this Packers team will only continue to get better as the season progresses.
5: Baltimore Ravens
Another instance where we’re breaking the actual record vs power rankings configuration is with the Ravens. It’s kind of unbelievable that this squad sits at a 2-2 record given they had a 21-point lead in the 4th against the Dophins and had a 17-point lead against the Bills in the 2nd. It’s certainly where the case starts and end for placing them lower in the rankings. While they get big leads against strong opponents, their inability to keep them is rather alarming given the Ravens ability to run the ball in prior seasons. But this isn’t prior seasons as Lamar had 316 yards rushing and is by far and away their leading rusher (second closest is Justice Hill with 125). So why do they have such a high ranking you ask? Well it’s simple really. They’re good enough to gain those large leads against great teams, Lamar is having an MVP type season on a contract year and that offence is only going to continue to improve as Dobbins and Gus Edwards return from injury. That WR core also has some real potential as the season goes along given the speed it possess. Duvernay and Bateman are a light version of Tyreek and Waddle while Andrews is always a persistent threat. The loss of Kyle Fuller in the secondary is concerning but their schedule gets noticeably easier after this week’s game against the Bengals. Baltimore are a flawed team, there’s no doubts about that, but if they can fix the run game, it seems likely they won’t blow the leads they’ve achieved against some great squads even if their secondary can’t stop a QB with a blindfold on.
Outside Looking In
6: Minnesota Vikings
Probably the hardest team to rank on this list, the Vikings are the pretender team I was referring to earlier in the Philly section. Although they possess a 3-1 record including a dominant win against the Packers, this team doesn’t pass the sniff test. Philly absolutely dominated them in every aspect in their one loss of the season while they were down the entire game to Detroit before rallying at the end (trust me, we’ll get to that leaky lions D later). They did get up against the Saints in the London game this past week but that was yet another game they were down in until the very end. Perhaps all this is unwarranted scepticism given I essentially gave the Ravens a pass for blowing leads while I’m criticising the Vikings for actually fighting back to gain leads. But none of their play this season passes the eye test. Their inability to incorporate Jefferson into the offence for two straight weeks is suspect (especially against the lions D), the run game isn’t as good as it’s been in previous years and Cousins isn’t even fooling people with the stat sheet for once. The record and the talent on that roster is the reason they’re placed so high as well as their comically easy schedule through the rest of the season. But like the Titans of last year, don’t be surprised if this is a pretender squad that losses quickly and easily in the playoffs.
7: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A team that wandered into the season with a sky-high predicted record, the Bucs are a team that I actually think have performed to season expectation thus far. The injuries to the offensive line and WR core as well as Brady’s increasing age was always going to limit this team this season and it shows. After a couple of incredibly ugly and offensively inept wins against Dallas and the Saints, they’ve stumbled the past two weeks against the Packers and Chiefs. Funnily enough, the Packers loss is their most impressive game of the season. They were able to shut down the Packers offence and lost a razor close game. Moving forward, that’s going to be the recipe for success for Tampa as if that defence can replicate performances like that, they’ll be in the hunt in an otherwise middling NFC. Of course, KC blew that defence apart but the only offence that will likely threaten to do the same in the NFC is the Eagles. As a result, Tampa is in pretty decent shape despite not being as a good a team as they’ve been the past couple seasons. If their WR group ever gets healthy, the offence will likely progress as Julio looked revitalised in the one game he appeared in. Godwin still obviously needs more time to heal but they should be able to lean on the defence until they get healthy offensively. Finally, the schedule isn’t all too difficult for them either given the NFC South looks far from dominant. If Tampa is able to reach 10 wins, they’ll likely win the division yet again and get a playoff berth.
8: Jacksonville Jaguars
Probably the most controversial ranking on this list alongside the Vikings and Giants, the Jags are a team that people should be taking notice of despite all evidence to the contrary over the past few seasons. Through 4 games, they’ve accumulated a 2-2 record with two dominant wins, one ugly loss and one head scratching loss. In the opening week, they play the fairly abysmal Commanders and lost with Wentz just torching the defence alive. I’m willing to chalk that loss up to week one madness given everything we’ve seen since though it’s something to take note of if they end up underperforming for the rest of the season. The other loss on their record came this past week against Philly in an absolute mud bowl of a game. It’s convenient to chalk this game up as another fluke loss but it’s hard to put a ton of stock into it unless you believe Lawrence will continue to fumble the ball in the rain at a historic rate. Much like the Bears-Niners game in week one, sometimes weather conditions take over and make it difficult to ascribe any particular meaning out of a game that will likely not have it’s conditions replicated throughout the season. In the two wins they’ve had, they absolutely pummelled the hapless colts as the pass rush sacked Matt Ryan 5 times whilst offensively they played a pretty balanced attack. James Robinson is back and although he wasn’t efficient on the ground that game, his return has been critical for the offence. Likewise, the addition of Christian Kirk has given Lawrence his first reliable WR1 and while he came at a premium, you can’t deny the impact he’s had across 4 games, averaging 81.8 YPG. The Chargers victory was even more lopsided. While it was against a wounded Herbert and Co, the balanced offence had the Chargers in all sorts and laid out the path for success moving forward for the Jags. Gone are the days of passing 56 times a game under Urban Meyer. Perhaps the only thing holding this team back is the surprisingly tough schedule as their non division games are rather difficult. Still, the AFC South appears to be in it’s usual state of disarray and the Titans are no longer the dominant team they were last year. It may not be the prettiest road to a division title but the Jags appear to be a young upstart team on the rise.
9: Los Angeles Chargers
Everyone’s pre-season darling, the Chargers have not at all had the start anyone was expecting. Entering the season, it would be fair to say the bar was set at being a top 5 or 6 team by this point of the season. As it stands, they’re 2-2 and there isn’t a ton of optimism moving forward. Injuries are killing this squad as Bosa landed on IR this week while Herbert will likely battle with his ribs the rest of the season. Other injuries include the always banged up Keenan Allen, solid WR 3/4 Jalen Guyon on IR as is starting RT Rashawn Slater. That greatly limits the Chargers moving forward with the one saving grace being a pretty comfortable schedule for the rest of the season and it killed them in week 3 against the Jaguars. The two wins they possess are far from pretty as they beat what appeared to be a solid Vegas team at the time who may also not be who they thought we were while beating the winless Texans in last week. Of course the KC loss was unfortunate given they looked set to win that game in the second half but did everything in their power to hand the game over in what must have given Chargers flashbacks to years past. Looking at SB aspirations is equally as tough. It’s unlikely Herbert’s ribs will heal properly by seasons end and his offensive line without Slater has been leaky at times. They can’t lean on the run game either as it was non existent until they played the Texans. All is not lost for them as they still have an incredibly talented roster even with the crop of injuries but it does limit the potential of a team looking to make a SB this season.
10: Miami Dolphins
Speaking of teams with SB aspirations that’s been halted due to injury, it’s a squad that everyone was incredibly sceptical of entering the season. All of the scepticism was squarely on Tua’s shoulders as Miami built themselves a stacked squad in the offseason. Additions to the team include Tyreek Hill, Raheem Mosert, Chase Edmonds, Connor Williams and Melvin Ingram among others. Through 3 weeks, those additions looked to be game changers as they blew past the Patriots in week one, had an incredible rally against the Ravens in week 2, clung desperately to a lead against the Bills in week 3 before losing the Bengals this past week. It’s worth noting before moving onto Tua that the defence is worrisome as they just bleed 414 yards per game, good for 28th in the league. Of course, we have to discuss Tua and his injury. Regardless of what truly happened against the Bills the week before, there’s no denying the terrifying sight of him being in the fencing response against the Bengals this past week. Tua’s already been ruled out for week 5 and I hope for his sake, it’s a lengthier rest than that. That’s not the only injury Miami is dealing with either as both starting corners are banged up with no definitive answer as to their status. But all playoff and SB aspirations boil down to if and when Tua will be back. If he returns this season, they’re a contending team as while their wins haven’t exactly been convincing, it's hard to ignore the quality of opposition they’ve beaten and the roster they possess. While some scepticism remains about Tua’s ability at QB, it’s hard to ignore just how well he’s played prior to the concussions. Looking ahead, the schedule gets much easier for them until December where Tua may return. If Bridgewater is able to submit some good backup QB performances, there’s no reason to think Miami won’t be in the playoff hunt and perhaps challenge division rivals the Bills come playoff time if they’re able to somehow fix that leaky defence.
11: Dallas Cowboys
We arrive to the team I support. If you had asked me week one where I’d rank Dallas, I’d have likely given a wildly overreactive answer and said bottom 10, maybe even bottom 5 given the utter stinker Dallas had against Tampa even with Dak at QB for most of the game. Since then however, things have improved significantly. A combination of Lawerence, Parsons and Armstrong has created a terrifying pass rush combination alongside new addition Donte Fowler. Likewise, the secondary has seen improvement with Trevon Diggs having an improved year in coverage while Donovan Wilson might be the answer at safety that the Cowboys have been looking for all these years. They aren’t a team without injuries however. Tyron Smith is likely done for the season, Jourdan Lewis is banged up as is Jayron Kearse. James Washington is TBD on his return and Prescott has already been ruled out ahead of week five. But positives exist for Dallas this season despite those injuries. Rookie Tyler Smith has done an outstanding job at LT filling in for Smith while Cooper Rush has done an admirable job filling in for Prescott at QB. Since losing to the Bucs, Dallas have won ugly, using that great pass rush to hold the Bengals to just 17 points, the Giants to 16 and the Commanders to 10. Cooper Rush meanwhile has done just enough for the offence to move the chains and score… Well mostly FG’s but there’s the occasional TD tossed in there too. The QB controversy idea is totally overstated as Rush’s best game hasn’t even matched Prescott’s career average but he’s performed well enough for a backup QB behind a great defence. Even the coaching has improved as Kellen Moore has put Lamb back into his natural role as a hybrid slot and X receiver while Noah Brown filled in for Gallup as a prototypical X. The rushing attack still leaves something to be desired. I’m not sure we’ll ever see Zeke have a run longer than 30 yards ever again and Pollard can’t block a paper towel but between the two them, a competent rushing offence has formed. Moving ahead, the schedule gets rather dicey in October and I suspect Cooper Rush’s perfect starting record is going to come to a grinding halt soon enough. But if Prescott is able to return by week 7 or 8, they’re in a good enough position to attempt a wildcard berth as it’s unlikely they’ll win the division over Philly this season. The ceiling is still capped on this team while Mccarthy is the head coach but all hope is not lost in Dallas for this season it seems.
The Super Bowl contending teams of last year
*I was initially going to lump the Bengals, 49ers and Rams into the outside looking category. You could certainly argue they belong in that spot. This category itself isn’t even necessarily a downgrade. These three teams were just too hard to separate from each other and all seem so interchangeable in the rankings that a separate category had to be made.
12: Cincinnati Bengals
First off the “who the hell knows” rack is the SB losers of last season. Cincy seemed so poised for a leap this year given the fresh new additions made in the offseason that includes La’el Collins, Alex Cappa and Ted Karris to bolster the offensive line. Only instead of helping burrow stay on his feet, they’ve carved a clean path to the ground as Burrow has accumulated 16 sacks across 4 games which includes a one sack game against Miami. It all started against Pittsburgh as despite turning the ball over 5 times, Cincy somehow only lost in OT. Burrow was sacked 7 times, Mixon averaged 3 YPC across 27 rushes and the picture was painted as to how the Bengals season may turn out. It certainly seemed that way the next week against Dallas as Burrow was sacked 6 more times while the run game stayed as inefficient as ever. Fortunately they played a Jets team the following week that’s… well the Jets as the notched their first win. Likewise in the game against Miami, Tua went down and cincy abused that banged up secondary on route to their second win. A 2-2 record with at least one win against a good team shouldn’t necessarily be that alarming but it is given what we’ve seen across those four games. The Oline is still horrific even if the Sacks didn’t come against lesser defensive lines. Mixon is averaging an atrocious 2.7 YPC across 82 carries while Burrow’s numbers have been salvaged over the past two weeks to lesser defences. This may all come across as harsh but the expectations for this team couldn’t have been to be 2-2 with a loss against two backup level QB’s and two “fine” wins against an aging Flacco and Teddy Bridgewater. So with all that said, why rank them so high? Most of that stems from potential. This roster is theoretically improved, they still posses the best trio of WR’s in the league and the defence has shown to be remarkably stout against the aforementioned backup QB play of their opponents. The month of October should prove to be a good test for exactly where this squad is at as they play the Ravens, Saints and Falcons. Should they emerge 2-1 or 3-0 from that stretch, chatter will begin again about a potential playoff run and AFC rematch with the Chiefs in the playoffs.
13: San Francisco 49ers
The Rams and Niners are arguably practically inseparable given the quality of wins and losses across the four weeks but the Niners get the nod here after the win against the Rams on MNF. It couldn’t have been a worse start to the season for the Niners as they were forced to play a game in a monsoon against the Bears. That game didn’t go their way but it’s hard to hold a game played in such difficult conditions against them even though they blew a game they largely controlled until the 4th quarter. The following week however… yikes. Trey Lance sadly went out with an ankle injury in the first quarter that sees him out for the year and Garrapolo did an okay job filling in although he wasn’t exactly replicating the form that lead this team to the NFC title game last year. To Jimmy GQ’s credit, they blew Seattle away but you couldn’t help but walk away from that game questioning the future of this Niners team. There’s a reason Shannahan was ready to move on to Trey Lance as Jimmy is a QB good enough to win a SB if everything just so happens to break right. That was reflected in the rather ugly loss to Seattle where the Niners converted just one first down out of 10 attempts and Garrapolo fumbled the ball after getting sacked on the final drive of the game. That leads us to this week and the future of the team. It wasn’t an impressive performance at QB but Deebo Samuel and Jeff Wilson made two great plays while the Niners played steady, mistake free football and won comfortably against their division rivals the Rams. More importantly, the stout defence continues to shut opposing offences down as they haven’t let a single team score 20 points or more this season. This despite a stack of injuries to the defence as the Niners rank in the top 3 of almost every major statistical category. But defence wasn’t the reason they lost in the NFC title game last year (although conceding 13 points in the 4th certainly didn’t help). It was the offence’s inability to score when needed that has held this team back from an elusive SB victory. That doesn’t appear to have changed currently as they rank 27th in points scored. Perhaps the defence will carry this team again and Jimmy will make just the right amount of necessary plays this time to take them to the promised land but it would be foolish not to be sceptical of that. Fortunately, their schedule doesn’t appear to be exceedingly difficult looking ahead and they’re in the driver’s seat for winning the division and obtaining a playoff berth. But like every other ranked team outside the top 5, it appears that there’s a ceiling on this squad that may not be able to be overcome.
14: Los Angeles Rams
Well, the good news for the Rams is that Cooper Kupp still appears to be the best offensive skill player in football. The bad news for the Rams is everything else. After an embarrassing blowout loss to the Bills in week one, the Rams survived a late comeback scare by the Falcons to hang on and go 1-1. Not an impressive win but the Falcons have proven to be far feistier than anyone expected and that win may age better than most expect as the season wears on. They followed that up with a cruisy win over the always shaky Cardinals. Again, it wasn’t an impressive win but when you force an opposing QB to throw 58 times and not notch a single TD, it’s safe to say you’ve done something right. The cause for concern with this Rams team comes in it’s two losses. Against the Bills, Stafford was sacked 7 times. Against the Niners, the exact same thing occurred as he was sacked 7 times. In both losses, the Rams offensive line showed it’s incapable of holding up against anything close to a premier pass rush as that line has collapsed with the departure of Andrew Whitworth. While in the two wins this season, Stafford has only been sacked one time a piece. That’s the be all and end all for this team moving forward. If they’re incapable of blocking for Stafford, this team has no chance to become repeat SB champions. Of course, there’s other things influencing this including injuries to the offensive line. Another problem is a lack of receiving talent outside of Kupp. Van Jefferson is on IR and replacing OBJ with Allen Robinson has gone disastrously. As it stands, Kupp is the only offensive weapon in their arsenal as he’s set to repeat and best his triple crown effort from last season. With a porous offensive line to go along with a forgettable rushing attack however, it won’t matter how good Kupp is this year. Their schedule is a mixed bag moving forward and a game against the Chiefs in week 12 will likely be the true test of where this team stands in an attempt for a playoff bid.
If things break right, a playoff appearance may emerge
15: Seattle Seahawks
Who the hell needs Russell Wilson it seems. After trading away their franchise QB for a draft pick haul, the Hawks are 2-2 and find themselves with a pretty good offence behind the play of Geno Smith. Never thought that sentence would ever be uttered but welcome to the 2022 NFL season. The schedule makers in week one in their infinite wisdom, saw fit to have Wilson play his old team in what was meant to be the beginning of a new era. And a new era it was, just not for Wilson as Geno Smith played picture perfect cautionary football, letting Denver bury themselves in their own mistakes while escaping with a win in a game they possessed the lead throughout. Week two wouldn’t be so kind as we saw the limitations of this team. The top tier niners defence demolished Seattle’s run game and dared Geno to throw which he was unable to do, notching 197 yards off 30 pass attempts. Beyond the lack of offensive firepower this game, the real cause for concern coming out was the inability of the defence to get stops. This Niners squad is far from elite on offence, practising their own form of patience whilst relying on the defence. Despite that, the Niners had the ball for 17 more minutes and scored the most points they have all season long thanks to a weak defensive line. In the following game against Atlanta, the defensive line would once again fail to show up as the Falcons ran all over them and once again, Seattle lost the time of possession battle. This time it was to the tune of 12 minutes. So, what do you do when you’ve been dominated in the time of possession battle two straight weeks? You play the Lions of course in what has to be the wildest game of the season to this point. With a final score of 48-45, it’s hard to know where to even start with this game. Both these teams possess pretty terrible defences at this point so let’s focus on the offence. Rashad Penny had his breakout game, exploding for 151 yards at a hilarious 8.9 YPC and 2 scores. While Geno would continue to keep his sky high completion percentage, throwing for 320 yards at a 23/30 clip. All numbers losing meaning in a game that features over 1000 yards of total offence but Seattle did manage to force the only two punts of the game and won the time of possession to boot. Projecting the season moving forward, it’s likely that Seattle will prevail against teams with sub-par defences as Geno nickel and dimes his way whilst playing mistake free football. When they play competent offences however, it seems likely that the defence will get eviscerated and the truth behind Geno’s ludicrous stat sheet will be revealed. Luckily for Seattle, they don’t play many of those teams the rest of the season and in a division where everyone is 2-2, a division title and subsequent playoff berth is well and truly up for grabs.
16: Atlanta Falcons
In a tier full of teams that are kind of unbelievable for one reason or another, the Falcons are perhaps the team that stands out the most in this tier. A fun as hell team playing a style no one else would even really consider, Atlanta have managed to carve out a 2-2 record with every single game being decided by four points or less. The season started out in classic fashion for Atlanta, blowing a 16 point lead in the fourth quarter to a team that’s looked rather inept on offence through four weeks. It’s safe to chalk this game up to a bit of mistaken identity however as Mariotta threw 33 times and notched a prolific 0 TD’s and 0 Int’s while running for 72 yards and a score. Those rushing numbers are important as coach Arthur Smith started to piece together the idea that this offence should resemble a run first offence and only shift towards passing in times of desperation. Unforutantely for the Falcons, it would take them another week to fully realise this vision as they lost to the rams despite outscoring them 17-3 in the 4th. A Ramsey INT would seal the victory in that one as Mariotta continued to prove why there was never a QB controversy in his time in Vegas. Things would turn around for the Falcons though as they played the surprisingly competent Seahawks and won a tight game off the back of Cordalle Patterson rushing for 141 yards at 8.3 YPC. Mariotta would go on to throw 20 times for 229 yards but the discovery of the game was clear. Run the ball, dominate time of possession and only throw when necessary. Arthur smith carried that lesson well into week 4’s win over the browns overcoming a poor Mariotta performance who completed only 7 of 19 passes for 139 yards with 0 TD’s and 1 INT. Despite Patterson being banged up, the Falcons would rush for 202 yards to bring their record to .500. It’s clear that there’s a ceiling for this team. Defensively, they rank in the bottom 10 of every category while Mariotta has more INT’s on the year than TD’s. Still, it’s hard to discount the rushing attack of this squad. No other team in the league has a more versatile running back core and despite ranking 29th in total passing yards, this team is 8th in points scored on the year. Now it’s highly unlikely this is a recipe for long term, sustainable success but if they’re able to stay within one score of most games, you tend to get a few things to bounce your way. Losing Patterson to IR is a huge blow for the season however both Algier and Huntley handled his absence quite well last week. In a division that lacks a true front runner, Atlanta stands a chance at creeping into the playoffs with their schedule only being moderately difficult the rest of the way.
17: Tennessee Titans
Remember The Titans of last year? Weren’t those the days, back when they went 12-5 on route to a one seed in the AFC. Well, those days are long gone as this year’s squad is 2-2 through four weeks with their only saving grace being the division the always ordinary to bad AFC South. The season started about as nightmarishly as possible for Tennessee, losing to the giants in week one despite having the lead for all but the final minute of the game. It was an ugly affair from both squads though it had to be especially traumatic for Titans fans as despite sacking Daniel Jones 5 times, they’d still go on to lose the game. This gave flashbacks to last year’s AFC divisional round game against the Bengals where they lost despite sacking Burrow 9 times. It didn’t get any better the following week either as they got blown out 41-7 against the Bills with both starting QB’s being taken out before the end of the third quarter. Tanehill was especially awful that game, going for just 117 yards, 0 TD’s and 2 INT’s. Fortunately for Tennessee they’d bounce back against the (at the time) winless Vegas Raiders and possess the lead throughout the whole game. Of course it did come with a scare as a failed 2pt conversion stopped that game from going into OT in a game that neither team played particularly well. Speaking of not playing well, who needs to play well at QB when you have a Derrick Henry. Despite Tanehill throwing for just 137 yards, Tennessee would go on to once again control the lead from start to finish off the back of Henry and bring their record to 2-2 against their division rival Colts. Like many other teams on this tier, it’s been an ugly start to the year and yet you can’t complain about the results. Whether the Titans are good or not, they possess a 500 record, tying the Jags within the division. Unlike other teams on this list however, the cause for concern is far, far more clear. Rookie WR Treylon Burks is banged up, LT Taylor Lewan is on IR as is Harold Landry. Also unlike the other teams in this tier, the Titans play a first place schedule that becomes alarmingly difficult once November rolls around. Perhaps the team finds it’s identity between now and then but the poor play of Tanehill as well as the injuries leaves a lot to be desired and if the Jags wind up being a legitimate up and coming team, it may prove difficult to secure a wild card spot.
18: Arizona Cardinals
The team that I dreaded writing about finally arrives here in the 18 spot. Arizona…. are not what they’re record indicates. Were not to drive me mad about writing so little, I’d leave it there. Instead, let’s dive into the mouth of mediocrity. In week one, Kliff Kingsbury and Co got fed to the… well not the Lions. The Chiefs. Where they got pummelled into oblivion and faced a starting 4th quarter score-line of 37-7. Arizona would go on to notch a couple garbage time scores and pretty the final score a little but suffice to say, week one showed it’s going to be an uphill battle for the Cardinals this season. Muarry attempted 34 passes for 193 yards as the offence looked incapable of moving the ball without the presence of Deandre Hopkins. Week two didn’t appear to be any better initially as they faced a 23-7 deficit with just 12 minutes left to go in the game. But Vegas would blow that game in a comically absurd fashion as Zona scored to bring it to 8 and a chance to tie the game on the final possession. Kyler would pull off the miraculous, scoring a TD as time expired before getting the 2pt conversion on a play that seemingly lasted an eternity. Arizona would punt on it’s first possession of OT but a fumble 6 by a concussed Renfrow would finish off the comeback and get the Cardinals it’s first win. Sanity would return the following week as the Cardinals lost to their division rival and arch nemesis Rams in a game that showed a lack of polish from both teams. Kyler would attempt 58 passes, completing 37 of them for 314 yards but had neither a TD nor an INT with the final score finishing up at 20-12. Lastly, the Cards finally grabbed their first convincing win of the season over the hapless Panthers. All of this is to say, Arizona is a bizarre team as they tend to dominate time of possession but are unable to do anything with it most of the time, ranking just 14th in points scored this season. Muarry has played acceptable football but hasn’t achieved a level of play that resembles the contract extension he earned this offseason. If one were to look for optimism for the rest of the season, it would be that they’ve sustained few injuries to key players thus far (although to Kyler’s credit, he’s been without Rondale Moore and Hopkins throughout the season so far). The schedule isn’t as forgiving however as they’ll play some tough teams the rest of the season, starting this week with the Eagles. Perhaps once Hopkins is back, this team will right the ship but we’ve seen little so far to indicate that this team will overcome a difficult schedule and win out in a division they haven’t won since 2015.
19: Cleveland Browns
The bad news Browns are… still pretty bad. It couldn’t have started worse any worse for them however as during the offseason as their shiny new QB was suspended for 11 games, fined 5 million dollars and looked pretty average/bad in the few preseason outings we saw. This coming from a guy who they traded an absolute haul for. Just to refresh your memory, this is what the Browns gave up: A 2022 first-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick, 2023 first-round pick, 2024 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick and in return got Watson and a 6th round pick. It doesn’t end there either as they signed to him a whopping 5 year, $230,000,000 deal, including a $44,965,000 signing bonus with all $230,000,000 guaranteed. In his absence though, the Browns have actually performed rather well, going 2-2 with Jacoby Brissett under centre. Now admittedly, they’re schedule has been rather easy as they haven’t played a single team that currently holds a winning record. In week one, they beat a fairly abysmal Panthers team by a late second 58 yard FG and almost blew that game despite possessing a 20-7 lead entering the 4th quarter. It was the only game in which Baker Mayfield has thrown for over 200 yards in as well just to add insult to injury. It didn’t get much better in week two as they fell to the Jets despite possessing a 13 point lead with just 1:55 to go left in the game. Once again, that Browns defence let another washed up QB have a career resurgent day on them with Flacco going for 4 TD’s and over 300 yards. Fortunately for the Browns, Mitch Trubisky was their week 3 opponent as the Browns finally played a complete game on both sides of the ball. That brings us to last week where despite dominating the time of possession (35 minutes to 24), they couldn’t overcome the absurd triple option offence of the Falcons and lost a 3 point game. Through four games, the Browns haven’t faced a single competent QB and yet they routinely find themselves sweating out games against lower tier competition. While this is likely a result of their own poor QB play, it doesn’t bode well if Watson resembles anything like his preseason self. To be fair to Cleveland, the defence is extremely banged up as Greedy Williams and Chase Winovich are both on IR while Clowney and Garett are both battling injuries. Likewise, the run game for the Browns has been excellent with Nick Chubb having a career year as he’s 2nd in the league in rushing yards so far. So there is some cause for optimism as the season progresses for the Browns but they’ll need to improve long before Watson comes back as their schedule gets brutally difficult throughout the rest of the season. It’s likely that the Browns view this year as a way to test the waters, get Watson comfortable with playing again and the following year will be the playoff and SB push. But they don’t have the draft picks nor the cap space to make substantial wholesale changes to this squad. If this team underperforms once Watson returns, there has to be real cause for concern moving forward in a division that’s been consistently strong year to year.
I mean….. Maybe? But really?
20: New England Patriots
All hail the Bailey Zappe reign of dominance. With the recent announcement that Hoyer is heading to IR, Rookie Zappe is now the starting QB for a franchise that has won 11 conference championships since 2001. Through four weeks, the Patriots are last in the AFC East, holding a 1-3 record through four weeks. To be clear, this isn’t a knock on the Pats. They’ve played one of the hardest schedules so far and were competitive in every game barring the first. But it’s still jarring to see Bellicheck coach a team that isn’t currently above 500 a month into the season. Week one featured their largest loss of the season and the only game they weren’t really competitive in. Going against a Dolphins squad that’s always given them fits, the Pats defence held up remarkably well against what’s proven to be a high powered offence. A fumble 6 by Mac Jones would give the Dolphins an early 10-0 lead before an incredible play by Waddle would force NE into a17-0 half time deficit. From there, the rest of the game was academic as the Patriots defence would stay strong but the offence would be unable to play mistake free football, committing 3 total turnovers that resulted in a 20-7 loss by the final whistle. It would get a lot uglier the following week against the Steelers with a 17-14 final score. Opposing QB mitch trubistky would turn 33 pass attempts into just 168 yards. Mac Jones wouldn’t play all that much better but combined with the rushing attack of Harris, it was enough to hold onto a 17-6 lead entering the 4th.
Unfortunately, you can’t always play Mitch Trubisky and the Patriots had to play MVP candidate Lamar Jackson. Jackson, who’s having a career year, would escape constant pressure from the Patriots and although he was sacked 4 times, churned out an impressive performance. NE was able to abuse the banged up secondary of the Ravens, with Jones throwing for over 300 yards but did so while throwing 3 crippling INT’s. It speaks to the Patriots defence that they were only down 1 at half time and even took the lead to open the third quarter. But uncharastic mistakes by a Bellicheck coached team sealed this one despite a late attempt at a rally. With Jones ruled out to a back injury, there was little hope for NE heading into Lambau field. Especially once Hoyer got ruled out early with a concussion, ushering in the Bailey Zappe era. A Rodgers pick 6 however would assist the Pats into a surprising 10-7 halftime lead. From there, an offensive battle appeared. Three long drives in the third quarter would see the game tied 17-17 entering the 4th before both teams seemingly lost interest in winning the game in regulation. That would extend into the first two possessions of OT although it was NE who made the critical mistake. Facing a 4th and 5 at GB’s 46, they opted to punt instead of going for it and potentially winning the game off a FG should they have converted. Instead, Rodgers got the ball and did what he does best, driving the field and scoring the game winning FG. All of this is to say that despite a 1-3 record, the Patriots are still a legitimately decent team that’s hamstrung by it’s offence. Despite averaging almost 130 yards per game on the ground, NE only averaged 18.5 points per game. Defensively, the numbers indicate a pretty poor Bellicheck led defence however given the quality of opposition they’ve faced, you can’t take the numbers at face value. While they play a high powered offence this week in Detroit, the rest of the season fairs far better and it seems likely that come seasons end, the Pats will come within a game or two of 500. The bigger issue for NE is that the AFC East is rather good for the first time in a long time. They must contend with two potential SB teams now and must do so without a clear cut answer at QB in the long term. Even if Bailey Zappe performs admirably this season in Mac’s stead, it’s unlikely he’ll be the answer. In the short term, they’ve been battered with injuries and need help at OT and WR despite the resources dedicated to those positions. Its going to be a hard year for NE but through four weeks, the record isn’t reflective of the overall team quality.
21: Detroit Lions
The team I wished I could’ve put higher on this list, it’s the most entertaining team in football that has the first ranked offence and the last ranked defence. Through four weeks, the Lions sit at 1-3 while scoring 35 points per game and letting in 35.3 points per game. They haven’t lost by more than 4 points all season and kicked off the year by losing a 3-point game to Philly. To put this Lions offence into the correct perspective, Philly has allowed 36 points combined in it’s past 3 games. In week one alone, Detroit put up 35 points and were a 4th and one stop away from potentially coming back from a 17-point 4th quarter deficit. That’s been the story of Detroit this season as the following week, they’d drop 36 on the Commanders but concede 27 to a pretty lacklustre offence. Against their week 3 opponents in the Vikings, Detroit would stumble with some suspect play calling (as well as some rubbish referee calls) and “only” score 24 points in a game they controlled throughout most of the 2nd half. But the Detroit defence would ignore the existence of Vikings WR KJ Osbourne, conceding two massive plays in 25 seconds and giving up the lead (and the win) with just 45 seconds to go in the game. The final game of this month-long stretch was the absurdly entertaining game against Seattle that’s already been covered in detail in the Seattle section so I won’t touch on it too much here. Needless to say, it’s hard to win games if your defence is conceding 48 points. Detroit’s defence ranges from 30th to 32nd in every major statistical category whilst it’s offence is 5th in passing yards, 6th in rushing, first in points and 18th in third down conversions (yikes). This has led to Goff having a career resurgence, throwing for 1126 yards, 11 TD’s to 3 INT’s although it’s only at a 60.9% clip. To be clear, none of the statistics I’ve thrown at you will likely continue. Although the defence could continue to be historically bad, it’s far more likely they come down to something a bit more reasonable as the season wears on. Likewise for the offence as although they’ll play a few more terrible defences (especially in the ground game), everything we’ve seen from Goff to this point indicates he’s more turnover prone than he’s shown thus far and teams will find ways to pressure Goff and force turnovers. But if Swift can return healthy, they do have a schedule where it’s feasible that they eek out a winning record and maybe, just maybe, grab themselves a playoff spot should GB or the Vikings stumble.
22: New York Giants
I know what your going to say. “You’ve got two 1-3 teams ahead of a 3-1 team, how on earth can you call this a power ranking”. That’s a perfectly legitimate critique as at the end of day, you are what your record is. Buuuut that’s not totally correct as their quality of wins is rather ugly and when faced with half decent competition, they weren’t able to do much. But hey, they started off the season with a win against the former AFC one seed so how bad can they be? Well, they were down the entirety of that game until there was a minute left and were still one missed 47 yard FG away from losing that game. Jones was sacked 5 times against a pedestrian Titans pass rush while Saquon Barkley was the one saving grace for that squad. None of this is to dismiss Danny Dimes efforts by the way. While the 17 of 21 completions is a bit misleading, the Giants offensive line somehow appears to be even worse this season and it’s a credit to him that he performed as well as he did. NY’s second victory wasn’t much prettier as it was all tied with the lowly Panthers entering the 4th. The Giants would seal that one up with a 7-minute drive and a FG but a 19-16 victory in a game that was razor close throughout is far from inspiring from a supposedly good team. Of course, when they finally did face a competent team in the Cowboys, it… well, it was still an ugly affair. It’s truly a credit to Jones’s ability that the game was even remotely competitive as Dallas pressured him on seemingly every drop back and would sack him 5 times in one half. But entering the 4th quarter, Jones had avoided taking any more sacks and the game was tied. That’s where the good news would end though as Dallas would finally break through and gain a 10-point lead. Jones did have a chance to tie but would throw a remarkable ball to… Trevon Diggs that would seal the lone loss for the Giants this year.
We then finally arrive to this past week against the Bears and a significant reason as to why the Giants sit so low on this list despite winning the game and having a winning record. As per the course, it was an ugly game marked by mostly FG’s instead of TD’s as NY grinded away a 20-12 victory. The victory itself, came how you’d expect. Fields looked inept on offence, the Bears run game did fine but Barkely would go on to destroy that defence in a way few RB’s can. It was a victory that came at the cost of both Daniel Jones as well as Tyrod Taylor’s health as both of them would bow out as a result of injuries leaving Barkley of all people, the healthy carrier of this entire offence moving forward. Before you start, I’m aware Danny Dimes is suiting up this week but with limited mobility, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be effective in future games as the offensive line looks god awful. The next three games aren’t QB friendly either and they’re in a division featuring two teams far better poised to win the division than themselves. If there’s any constellation prize in this season for the Giants, it’s that Barkley finally looks 100% and they possess at least one start offensive lineman in Andrew Thomas at LT. You may be what your record is but by seasons end, it seems far more likely that the Giants record is going to be a lot worse than a 3-1 record.
23: Las Vegas Raiders
The duality of man and the duality of football. In week one, this Vegas team looked really good in spite of a loss against a Chargers team we all thought was going places. They looked so good that I wrote this about the game:
“The Raiders did give the chargers all they can handle though despite the critical mistakes thanks to a terrific run stuffing defence that never allowed the Chargers to produce a balanced offensive attack. All of this amounts to two strong teams in a loaded division.”
That’s pretty high praise for a team that never had a lead in the game and faced a 17-3 halftime deficit. It spoke more to the quality of both teams that the Chargers won that game while Vegas battled to stay in it. But things aren’t built to last and a week later, this is what I wrote of that same Vegas squad
“Now a week later while the mistakes are still rectifiable, they do appear to be a bit more systemic. Up 20-0 at half-time, the game appeared all but over as the raiders chewed the clock on the opening drive before scoring on of their following possessions. With 12:31 left to go in the game, Vegas had a 16-point lead and the ball. It wouldn’t last however as Vegas looked inept on offence whilst Muarry played some remarkably impressive improvisational football and tied the game on the final play, after having an absolute age on game tying 2-point conversion. Vegas still had a chance to win as the Cardinals punted it away on the first possession of OT. Once again, the Raiders blew this opportunity after Renfrow fumbled it not once, but twice and Arizona returned it for a score and the victory. Derek Carr would go on to have a total of 31 passing yards in the 2nd half and OT period (with a 47-yard pass interference penalty tossed in) while Devante Adams turned in 7 targets for 2 catches and 12 yards. So much of this is utterly inexplicable and while Carr played mistake free football, he did the one thing he’s always been criticised for in that he failed to produce when his team just one final score.”
Yeesh. It only got worse the following week as the Titans ran off to a 24-10 halftime lead and Carr was unable to nail the 2pt conversion at the end to tie the game. Carr wouldn’t play terribly in that game and you could certainly argue that his defence deserves the lions share of the blame for that loss. But Vegas had two other drives in the 4th quarter that could have drawn the game closer and they only walked away with 3 points as Carr thew a red zone INT on the other possession. They’d finally go on to beat a struggling Denver squad in week 4 and did so rather soundly but if they got credit for their performance despite the loss in week one, then they don’t deserve much credit in a win against a Denver team that’s floundering. While Devante Adams had himself a day, Carr still played some rather uninspired football in this one and it was the excellent running of Josh Jacobs that fuelled the offensive output for their first victory of the season. Vegas stands as a middling team in just about every category. The defence is slightly below average whilst the offence is slightly above it. None of that inspires confidence in a division that features the Chargers and Chiefs whilst at the bottom of the division standings. Given the nature of that division, they don’t possess an easy schedule either and although they haven’t dealt with many major injuries yet, this team doesn’t seem poised to pull out a wildcard appearance in a season that started with so much optimism.
24: New Orleans Saints
There’s something about the NFC and perplexing teams. Were there a TBD category in these rankings, the Saints would be firmly placed in it as the recent news of Winston being out and Dalton being in may actually prove to be a benefit for a squad struggling desperately on offence. It all started fine however as the Saints rallied late in the 4th to win a game that only the Falcons are capable of blowing. Kamara got banged up early in that one but despite that, the passing game looked solid as Jarvis Landry appeared to be a great addition and Michael Thomas finally returned and proved to be what the Saints have been missing these past two years, grabbing himself a couple TD’s. The lack of a run game should have set off more alarm bells though as the Saints lost an absolute stinker to Tampa in a game that lacked TD’s until the 4th quarter. Jameis got sacked 6 times and threw 3 INT’s in that game, ironically showing why Tampa moved on from him in the first place. History would repeat itself the following week as Winston would throw a couple more INT’s and lose a game they were never really in to the god awful Panthers.
And then there was the London game. Where every player hates playing and madness always ensues. Madness did indeed occur as the loss of Jameis would prove to be instrumental in… no well, the Saints still lost this one but it was close throughout and the Dalton rallied the team to take the lead in the fourth and again, tie it in the fourth. A quadruple doink was all that stopped the Saints from getting their second win and going 2-2. Despite the record (and the terrible loss to Carolina), the Saints aren’t as bad as they appear. Not with Dalton at the helm anyways. If Kamara returns healthy, there’s a path to victory for this team if they’re able to play mistake free football. Defensively, this squad is solid but the mistakes have forced them to defend in short fields. While the offence finally has some weapons again with the addition of Olave. Unfortunately for the Saints, Landry, Kamara and Thomas have all been banged up this season, limiting the offensive output alongside Winston’s turnover proclivities. Likewise, the schedule is rather tough for the Saints and losing games to Carolina and Minnisota the past two weeks may end up crippling their playoff chances in a tight NFC South race. But the addition of Dalton in at QB may be the change this team needs moving forward in order to have a chance at the playoffs.
There’s always next year
The rest of these teams I’m going to keep short and sweet as until proven otherwise, these teams are looking for bright spots this year while hoping for more next season.
25: New York Jets
Again, I get it. A team is 500 a month into the season and they’re being relegated into the next year category does seem a little absurd. But let’s be real. The Jets aren’t about contending for this year. It’s about seeing if Zach Wilson is the future at QB, if the rookies develop and if the Offensive line can hold despite Becton and Fant out on IR. So far, we haven’t seen much of Wilson due to injury while Breece Hall and Garett Wilson both appear to be great weapons for Wilson to utilise. A Flacco revival was a fun story for a couple weeks but will be forgotten about come seasons end. Wilson is finally back though so we’re finally about to get some answers as to the future of this team in what’s bound to be a sub 500 season despite the solid start.
26: Indianapolis Colts
Another year, another aging veteran QB and another down season for Colts fans. After banishing Carson Wentz to Commie hell, Indy has tried to hold on to… SB aspirations I guess, via another veteran QB only it hasn’t worked. It all started dreadfully as they drew against the Texans in a game where they were down 20-3 with 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Despite that, Indy would finally discover that you need to move the ball football forwards in order to reach the opposing end zone and score 17 points while controlling the ball for total 10 minutes in the quarter as the game went to OT. It’s here where the game went from comical to absurd as Rodrigo Blakenship would miss a game winning 42 yards FG before the Texans would punt on 4th and 3 from Indy’s 49 yard line, ensuring we got our first tie of the season in week one. Sadly enough for Colts fan, this would turn out to be the most impressive offensive display by them all season as Ryan only took a couple sacks while throwing for 352 yards, Jacob Taylor would rush for 161 yards at 5.2 YPC and Pittman would go for 121 yards and a score. All of this is to say that everything that should’ve made this squad competent entering the season did actually show up. But 4 Ryan fumbles (one lost) gave an early indication of the mistake ridden football that would follow over the next three weeks. In week two, they got shut out by the Jags 24-0 where Ryan got sacked 5 times, fumbled it once more and failed to hit 200 yards off 30 pass attempts. Week 3 had the most bizarre result of the season, as they beat the Chiefs 20-17 despite yet another 5 sacks of Ryan and two more fumbles (one lost). This game defies all logic and reason as on two potential game winning drives, KC would miss a FG before Mahomes threw and errant and dumb INT to give Indy it’s only win through four weeks. Reality and reason returned in week four as Ryan committed even more fumbles (two with one lost) and the Titans escaped with a 24-17 victory, keeping the hapless Colts scoreless in the 4th quarter despite it being just a one score game. Fortunately for Indy fans hoping for a high draft pick and an eventual successor for Luck at QB, their team has been devastated with injuries and the division apart from the winless Texans, actually appears to be competent. This will hopefully result in a high draft pick come next May as the tank for stroud campaign begins in October.
27: Pittsburgh Steelers
RIP the Mitchell Trubistky era in Pittsburgh, we hardly knew ye. For the first time in seemingly ever, Tomlin may coach a squad to a 500 or better record. Trubitsky performed as terribly as we all expected, the offensive line is every bit as awful as it was last year and round 1 rookie QB Kenny Pickett is now set to start for the rest of the season. All I can say is good luck. Pittsburgh barely beat the Bengals despite a 6 turnover advantage, lost TJ Watt for the season and subsequently, lost all hope for the season. They’ve lost three straight games with their best effort being an admirable loss to the Patriots but now face a significantly harder part of their schedule over the next month. Like others on this tier, the hope is that there’s a reason to look forward to next season but playoff and SB aspirations appear to be in the rear view mirror.
28: Denver Broncos
There’s little to say of Denver that hasn’t been said already. Especially after the disaster against the Colts that I’ll ignore for now given that this is meant to reflect the first four weeks of play. Instead, I’m going to plagiarise myself from my week two winners and losers column that sums up the season pretty succinctly.
“This couldn’t have been the start Russell Wilson was hoping for. Heading into this season, it was all positive thinking and a championship mindset as he left his former team for the mile high city. Instead, we’ve bore witness to what may be the end of Wilson’s run of being a championship calibre QB. Denver gave up the farm to acquire Wilson, trading Drew Lock, Noah Fant, Shelby Harris (who’s looked fantastic for Seattle), two first round picks (2022 and 2023),two second-round picks (2022 and 2023) and a 2022 fifth-round selection for Wilson and a 2022 fourth-round pick. In return, Wilson has delivered a two-game cumulative stat line of: 559 yards, 2 TD’s, 1 INT at a 58.9% clip.”
Almost nothing has changed since I wrote that. Denver gave Vegas their first win while Wilson pulled off a Cousins inspired deceptive box score. As of week four, a victory against the Niners is the sole highlight of the season with their other win coming against the winless Texans. More could be written about the game against the Colts but I’ll save that for next week.
29: Chicago Bears
Yeahhhhhh, the Fields era may be done after just a couple years. They may have a 2-2 record but their two wins are a monsoon-esque win over the niners and a 3 point victory over the winless Texans. That tells you all you need to know but if your desperate for more, here it is. They’re third in the league in rushing which is great. They average 97.5 yards per game passing which is not so great. They’re 4th in the league in passing defence which is great. They’re 32nd in the league in rushing defence which is not so great. Still need more? Fine. Fields has attempted 67 passes through 4 games, completing 34 of them while throwing 2 TD’s and 4 INT’s. Despite so few passing attempts, he's been sacked 16 times for a loss of 81 yards. All hope for this team centres around losing more games and acquiring professionally trained offensive lineman and a professional QB.
30: Washington Commanders
Peaking right at the start of the season, the Commies somehow pulled off a win against the jags before facing reality and losing 3 straight games that they were never competitive in. The Wentz experiment hasn’t worked and Terry McLaurin must be losing his mind having yet another bad QB that’s throwing him god awful underthrown balls. The defence still isn’t great despite seemingly having loads of talent and it could very well be the last ride for coach Ron Rivera. If your looking for bright spots commies fans, it’s that Curtis Samuel has been a great addition and your getting Brian Robinson back this week which should bolster the offensive output. The schedule is also remarkably comfortable all things considered so they may grind out more wins than you’d otherwise think. A playoff berth is out of the question but a 7-10 record is at least feasible.
Abandon all hope
I’m going checklist these final two into pro’s and cons given neither squad are worth the time or effort.
31: Carolina panthers
Pro’s:
The defence appears competent, especially the young pieces in the secondary as well as Brian Burns on the defensive line
McCaffery looks healthy and every bit as great as he was a couple seasons ago
Robby Anderson appears to be a solid addition
They’ve only won a single game so far
Cons
They don’t own their 2023 3rd round pick
The offensive line is still bad
Baker Mayfield is far from the answer and is quite possibly the worst QB they’ve fielded the past two seasons
Mcaffery will get another year older and accumulate more miles on the odometer
Matt Corral may not have a chance to play this year
Fans are excited about the return of Sam Darnold
32: Houston Texans
Pro’s:
Keep losing, draft a QB in a strong class.
Damon Pierce looks awesome
You can’t go 0-17
Brandin Cooks will still somehow get another 1000 yard season
Stingley looks good
Jerry Hughes is still somehow really good
You aren’t committed to anyone long term
You aren’t last in any category
Cons:
Your division is bad enough that you may win more games than you otherwise should, thus screwing up your draft pick status
The Browns have already won 2 games without Watson
Davis Mills isn’t the answer
If you can name the entire offensive line, you’re a god damn liar
Your paying Watson 16 mill in dead cap money and Zach Cunningham 12.8 mill in dead cap money
Your current cap space is 1.8 million
That’ll do it folks. If you’ve read everything up to this point then give yourselves a pat on the back. There won’t be a winners and losers coloumn this week given how much time this piece took. But it’ll return next week. Whether the power rankings will return is TBD but if it does, it’ll likely come back in a shorter format that more or less builds upon everything that’s been written here. Until then, I’ll catch ya next time
Kurtis Wenban