Written By Jordan Rosas
1. Green Bay Packers (7-1)
Last Week: 3
High: 1
Low: 20
The Green Bay Packers just beat the top team in football, and they did it without their top 3 receivers… On the road, too. By handing the Cardinals their first loss of the season, the Packers now hold the longest active win streak in the NFL. The NFL is perhaps the pinnacle of “What have you done for me lately,” and very few teams can match Green Bay’s recent track record. Week 1’s disastrous meltdown is little more than a distant memory. We can finally stop talking about it. We’ll see if they can retain their place at #1 without Aaron Rodgers this weekend.
2. Arizona Cardinals (7-1)
Last Week: 1
High: 1
Low: 6
After 8 weeks of anxious anticipation, the ’72 Dolphins can finally pop the champagne, as they remain the only perfect team in NFL history for at least another year. It was a tough week for Arizona. Not only did they end their undefeated start, but they lost some players to injury including JJ Watt. Green Bay was a very vulnerable team, playing on the road, but Arizona struggled more than they should. Still, the Cardinals are just one boneheaded play by AJ Green away from 8-0. That’s more than anyone else can say.
3. Dallas Cowboys (6-1)
Last Week: 4
High: 3
Low: 10
Dallas has been terrific this year. If not for a last second field goal in week 1, they’d be undefeated. That makes them one of the very few teams that can legitimately make their case as the best team in the league. It was impressive to see a team so heavily tied to their star QB pull out a win with a very green backup. That’s what good teams do though; they rally around each other and pick up the slack. That being said, with how things went last year, I don’t see them going very far in the post-season with Cooper Rush at the helm, so I need to see Dak Prescott back healthy before I move them any higher. Word is that he’s pretty much good to go already, but this started as a minor calf issue, and it kept him out of a game despite having an entire bye week to recover.
4. Buffalo Bills (5-2)
Last Week: 6
High: 1
Low: 11
Consistency is becoming an alarming issue for the Bills. There’s no question that the firepower is there. They put up 23 points just in the second half. However, they were tied 3-3 at halftime, playing at home against a bottom 5 team. Their defense is fantastic, and leads the league in fewest points against, at 109. The next best team has allowed 128. They also have the best point differential at +120. The next best team is +108. It’s important to note though, that the Bills have only played 2 teams that are .500 or better, and they lost both games. They have a very easy schedule, so they should cruise into the post-season, but playoff games aren’t decided by their ability to run up the score on bad teams. If they don’t come prepared to play 60 minutes against good teams, they’ll be a prime one-and-done candidate.
5. Los Angeles Rams (7-1)
Last Week: 8
High: 1
Low: 8
Don’t let the final score fool you. The Rams pitched a 38-0 shutout through 3 quarters against Houston. Then, with the game safely secured, they took their foot off the gas and the Texans scored 22 garbage time points. This team is firing on all cylinders, and they just traded away a couple picks in exchange for the twilight years of perennial pro-bowler and former Super Bowl champion Von Miller. This team may be allergic to draft picks, but they’ve got all the pieces and then some to be a Super Bowl favorite. They’re all in.
6. Las Vegas Raiders (5-2)
Last Week: 9
High: 5
Low: 20
Even on a bye week, the Raiders managed to stay in the headlines, as WR Henry Ruggs III was involved in a fatal DUI car accident. The team has released him, but it has to be a tough time, especially for Maxx Crosby and Darren Waller, who have been vocal about their struggles and inspirational champions of sobriety. On the field though, several high ranking teams had dud weeks, which moved the Raiders up by default.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2)
Last Week: 2
High: 1
Low: 9
I wanted to move the Bucs below the Saints after a head to head loss, but the Saints swept the regular season series before Tampa beat them in the playoffs, on their way to a Super Bowl win. This team is expected to get healthier as the season progresses, and at 6-2, they still have the better overall record. I’m still moving them down, because the Saints were a vulnerable team that the Bucs should have been able to put away. Instead, they gave up 36 points to an offense that played most of the game with a 3rd string QB.
8. New Orleans Saints (5-2)
Last Week: 16
High: 2
Low: 23
I struggled to put the Bucs over the Saints after the Saints just beat them, but I had to consider the status of these two teams moving forward. It was a close game, but while the Saints won, QB Jameis Winston suffered a season ending injury, and WR Michael Thomas, who has spent all season on the IR so far, just announced he suffered another setback, which will keep him out for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, Tampa is expecting to get WR Antonio Brown back soon, and Rob Gronkowski is expected back as well. The Saints can still be a formidable team, especially if QB Taysom Hill gets healthy enough to play. Even if he can’t go, third stringer Trevor Siemian is still better than plenty of backup QBs. That being said, it’s tough to view them as serious Super Bowl contenders going forward.
9. Baltimore Ravens (5-2)
Last Week: 10
High: 2
Low: 14
The Ravens had a bye to think about what they do well and what they don’t. It hopefully gave them time to integrate rookie 1st round WR Rashod Bateman into a passing attack that has been the best we’ve seen out of Lamar Jackson. They could also benefit from fine tuning the connection between Jackson and WR Marquis Brown. Hollywood is getting plenty of targets, but if they can cut down on the incompletions, it would mask a lot of their issues in the run game.
10. New England Patriots (4-4)
Last Week: 12
High: 10
Low: 26
Folks, don’t look now, but that old wizard on Foxboro seems to have a few tricks up his half sleeves. The Patriots still aren’t quite a barnstormer, but they’re playing much better than anyone in the league should be comfortable with. They just beat a good Chargers team, a week after one of the most dominant wins over the division rival Jets in franchise history. Remember, they barely lost to the Bucs. Mac Jones was his usual self: unremarkable (18/35, for 218 yards and no TDs), but the key is no interceptions. Bill Belicheck had a hard time with Cam Newton because of his tendency to play hero ball. The ups and downs are exciting, but ol’ Bill prefers basic, precise, mechanical execution. Jones has been a humble rookie who doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight with his teammates. It’s not that Mac Jones is the best rookie QB, but rather that he’s found himself in the perfect system to succeed.
11. Los Angeles Chargers (4-3)
Last Week: 11
High: 3
Low: 14
Like Mac Jones, Justin Herbert was 18/35, throwing for 223 yards, just 5 more than Jones. However, while Jones had no TDs or INTs, Herbert had 2 of each. They had success on the ground, but those turnovers opened the door for Belichick to do what he does best. This is still a good team, but they’re in a bit of a skid right now. They’ll look to get right next week against the Eagles.
12. Tennessee Titans (6-2)
Last Week: 5
High: 5
Low: 27
Yes, I know this is pretty low for a 6-2 team. It also doesn’t seem fair to move them down so far after a win. However, in winning the battle, the Titans may have lost the war, as generational stud RB Derrick Henry suffered an injury that could sideline him for most of, if not the rest of the season. No team in the league is more tied around a single non-QB player than the Titans, so I’ll need to see that they can win without him in order to move them back into the upper echelon. Julio Jones is still hurt, and when they had to play without their top 2 WRs, they lost to the Jets.
13. Philadelphia Eagles (3-5)
Last Week: 19
High: 13
Low: 23
I’m not going to give a lot of credit for beating a winless team. I will give credit for very nearly delivering a 40 point shutout against an NFL team. The Eagles were a late Lions TD away from a nearly flawless game. A week after Miles Sanders went down with an injury, 2 different Eagles RBs each popped off for 2 TDs on 12 carries, averaging 4.8 and 5.0 ypc. The passing game became unnecessary pretty early, and the team finished with 46 run plays to just 16 passing plays. This team has been up and down all year, but this week was about as up as it gets.
14. Seattle Seahawks (3-5)
Last Week: 24
High: 8
Low: 25
Hopefully for Seattle, the worst is over. They came up with an impressive 31-7 victory over an admittedly weak Jags team, but they now limp into their bye where they’re poised for a terrific recovery. QB Russell Wilson is likely to return, and Alex Collins, who has outperformed his role on the team, could definitely use some time to rest up. Geno Smith played well enough that they don’t need to rush Wilson back though, as the veteran went 20/24 for 195 yards and 2 TDs.
15. Indianapolis Colts (3-5)
Last Week: 13
High: 13
Low: 27
The king of the AFC South has fallen and the division is up for the taking. Unfortunately, the Colts still lost to the Titans in OT, so they fall 3 games behind. Since they already have a losing record, that’s going to be pretty tough to make up in the backstretch of the season. There’s still the wildcards of course, but those figure to be hotly contested as well.
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3)
Last Week: 17
High: 7
Low: 21
The Steelers won an important divisional game over the Browns. It was a defensive slugfest, and Pittsburgh came out on top. The Browns have been dealing with injuries the past few weeks, so if the Steelers want a chance at winning this division, they need to exploit the winnable matchups like this. Offensively, no one played particularly great, but sometimes a team just has to win however they can.
17. Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)
Last Week: 7
High: 7
Low: 19
The Jets??? The Jets???? Are you kidding me? Not only did the Bengals lose to a dumpster fire team, they gave up a 400 passing yard game to a former 5th round pick in his first career start. They didn’t just struggle, they gave up a historically great performance to a backup QB. The Bengals are still a formidable team, but their division is way too tight to lose such winnable games.
18. Minnesota Vikings (3-4)
Last Week: 15
High: 13
Low: 23
In a low scoring affair, the Vikings fell short of the Cowboys. They only scored 1 TD, but they deserve some credit for holding a potent Dallas offense to 20 points. Dalvin Cook was held under 100 yards and kept out of the end zone, but the now healthy star RB averaged 4.3 yards on 18 carries. This team feels like it could be better, but I’ve said for a while that with a decent, but not great QB, they’ll only go so far.
19. San Francisco 49ers (3-4)
Last Week: 20
High: 13
Low: 25
Elijah Mitchell averaged a jaw dropping 7.6 yards per carry as he rushed for 137 yards and a TD on just 18 carries. Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 322 yards, most of them to Deebo Samuel, and ran it in for 2 scores as the Niners beat the Bears 33-22. This was the type of win to be expected from this team. They’re right in the midst of the wildcard race, which is impressive, considering how good their division is. In order to reach the post-season though, they need to come out on top in winnable games like this, especially against other conference wildcard contenders.
20. Cleveland Browns (4-4)
Last Week: 14
High: 3
Low: 20
The Browns aren’t bad, but they’re simply not as good as they could or even should be. Kevin Stefanski won coach of the year last year, and yet Odell Beckham Jr is barely an afterthought in this offense. Sure, they seemed to be in trouble when they lost their both of their RBs, but the emergence and immediate success of D’Ernest Johnson confirmed for many that the real beating heart of their run game has been the O-Line all along. Johnson even outperformed Nick Chubb in his limited carries, putting up 22 yards and a TD on just 4 carries, while Chubb averaged under 4 ypc. Now, there are even rumors that they may simply release OBJ, who they paid a pretty penny to acquire.
21. Kansas City Chiefs (4-4)
Last Week: 26
High: 1
Low: 26
Let me start by saying that I’m not impressed by a narrow victory over the 2 win Giants. Next, let me point out that allowing 17 points against counts as one of their best defensive performances of the season. I’d also like to quiet the naysayers trying to crap on Patrick Mahomes. He’s not an MVP candidate this year, but let’s not pretend like he’s suddenly washed up. We’ve seen every great QB have down years, this just happens to be one for Mahomes. I like the trade for Melvin Ingram, because this team should not yet concede to a rebuild. I still think this defense can be better than what we’ve seen this season, and Ingram should help. Until that translates to wins and production on the field however, they belong in this region of the power rankings.
22. Denver Broncos (4-4)
Last Week: 25
High: 11
Low: 25
After a 4 game skid following their 3-0 start, the Broncos got back to .500 with a 17-10 win over Washington. This is right around where they belong, as a hodge podge of NFL players at various levels and points in their career. Trading Von Miller made sense for the franchise, but with how little the Rams value their first round picks, I’m surprised that the Broncos couldn’t get one back in exchange for 1 of only 10 defensive players to ever win Super Bowl MVP. The Miller move signifies a reoccurring issue with this franchise. For years now, they haven’t fully committed to a rebuild or going all in and as a result, they’re usually right around this no man’s land between contenders and elite draft picks at the end of the season.
23. Chicago Bears (3-5)
Last Week: 23
High: 16
Low: 25
Justin Fields continued to be so-so as a passer, but he exploded as a runner, finishing as the team’s leading rusher, with 103 yards and a TD on just 10 carries. Chicago’s other 26 rushing plays totaled 73 yards. The Bears are in a bind and have some serious decision making to do. Their defense, which had been elite for the past 5 years, is now aging out, but the still don’t have an offense capable of being the dominant side of the football. They were very quiet at the trade deadline, which could turn out to be a massive mistake. They have plenty of players that I have to think provide more worth to the team via trade value than their on-field production.
24. New York Giants (2-6)
Last Week: 18
High: 18
Low: 30
They’re not winning games, but they are staying competitive, despite major depth issues and holes in their roster. Poor Saquon Barkley just can’t catch a break. Just when we thought the start RB was finally going to make his return, he tested positive for COVID. This defense is littered with spare parts and rejects from other teams, but they’re meshing together and they’ve been playing very well over the past few weeks, epitomizing the “greater than the sum of its parts” mantra.
25. Carolina Panthers (4-4)
Last Week: 27
High: 7
Low: 27
The Panthers finally got a win without Christian McCaffrey, whose timetable for return is still cloudy. It was a divisional win over the Falcons, but it won’t matter much in the grand scheme unless they can build off the win and fight for a wildcard. Sam Darnold was again good on the ground, but still struggled as a passer. 13 points against is usually a very good defensive performance, but the Falcons were a bad team playing without perhaps their best playmaker.
26. Atlanta Falcons (3-4)
Last Week: 21
High: 21
Low: 30
It’s never good to be the team that ends another team’s losing streak, but it’s even worse when it’s against a divisional opponent. Somewhat surprisingly, the Atlanta defense held up well. The offense struggled and will likely continue to do so as long as Calvin Ridley is out of the lineup while dealing with personal issues. At least Atlanta fans have a World Series to celebrate. Hopefully the dreaded choking curse is over now.
27. Washington Football Team (2-6)
Last Week: 22
High: 15
low: 27
10 points on offense rarely wins a football game, and that was the case for this Football Team this week. UDFA rookie Jaret Patterson led the team with 11 carries, with an impressive 4.2 ypc. Fellow RB JD McKissic was the team’s leading receiver, with 8 catches for 83 yards. This team has usually kept games close, which is about all that can be asked from a team that looks to be going nowhere this year.
28. New York Jets (2-6)
Last Week: 32
High: 28
Low: 32
DO WE HAVE A QB CONTROVERSY IN NEW *JERSEY*??? And by that I mean, does Zach Wilson get an opportunity to battle for the starting job when he’s healthy again, or do they just hand him a clipboard? Mike White looked and played better than Wilson ever has as a pro. His 37 completions set the NFL record for most by any QB in their first career start, and he joins Cam Newton as the only other QB since 1950 to record 400 passing yards in their first career start. The man’s played 1 full game and they already put his jersey in Canton. It’s only been 1 game, but generations of Jets fans are dreaming of a White Christmas, just like the ones Joe used to throw.
29. Miami Dolphins (1-7)
Last Week: 30
High: 12
Low: 31
To give the Dolphins credit, they held the Bills tied at 3 heading into halftime in Buffalo. They got outscored in the second half 23-8, but they at least held their long time rivals in check for a bit. At this point in the power rankings, that moral victory is enough to be a difference maker. They ultimately decided not to trade for Deshaun Watson, so they’ll roll with Tua Tagovailoa going forward. The run game was abysmal, as they put up just 68 yards on 23 carries. Any QB would struggle with that lack of production, but Tua at least ran for the team’s only score of the game.
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6)
Last Week: 28
High: 27
Low: 32
Trevor Lawrence threw the ball 54 times, but it wasn’t enough to out-duel *checks notes* Geno Smith… The Jags have had a rough year, but they’ve been competitive in more games than they’ve won. They just got blown out by a sub .500 team though. James Robinson got hurt, and without him, the team looked the way they did when they were underutilizing him early on.
31. Houston Texans (1-7)
Last Week: 31
High: 25
Low: 32
Texans fans can pretend that this game was as close as the score made it seem, but the truth is, this team only scored because the Rams took their foot off the gas. They were on pace to lose 50-0 heading into the 4th quarter. They’ve been smoked plenty of times already this year, but this one was especially bad. Until garbage time, the Texans couldn’t get anything right and the Rams couldn’t get anything wrong. Their point differential of -122 is not only the worst in the league (by 12), but it’s also the most extreme, as Buffalo leads the other end of the spectrum at +108. They didn’t deal Deshaun Watson before the trade deadline, but the sheer awfulness of this season compared to their numbers with him at the helm may be the biggest justification for their high price tag.
32. Detroit Lions (0-8)
Last Week: 29
High: 24
Low: 32
Detroit has had some competitive games, and they’ve come reeeeally close to winning a few of them. At this point in the season though, it’s hard to justify putting a winless team above anybody. No one has given up more points than the Lions (244) and they have the second worst point differential in the league, just 10 points ahead of the awful Texans. This week was brutal though, as they got curb stomped 44-6 by an Eagles team that, even after this win, is still 2 games below .500. Not only that, but the Lions didn’t score until garbage time. Jared Goff wasn’t horrible, but the run game was. Detroit’s 4 rushers combined for a miserable 3.2 yards per carry, although the ground game did produce their only TD. So far, Dan Campbell has had these guys playing tough, but even the most optimistic players have to be feeling the temptation to check out of this season. Between Matt Stafford‘s last 4 games as a Lion, and Jared Goff’s first 8, the longest active losing streak in the NFL extends now to 12 games.
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