Here we are facing another week in the NFL. You might be getting ready to place your bets on some of the games and that means you are waiting on a couple of things. You are waiting on our staff picks for the week AND the definitive NFL power rankings from yours truly! Well, let’s get the power rankings out of the way first and I will be on my way. Let me know what you agree with and what you disagree with!
1.Pittsburgh Steelers (7-0) – I’ve been saying for weeks that this is likely the most well-rounded team in the league. It doesn’t really matter what you thought about the game against the Ravens – there was a statement made once the clock hit zero. That statement is this team is the best in the league right now.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (7-1) – They beat the Jets. By a lot. Not a big deal, but you have to win the games on your schedule and the Chiefs continue to take care of business.
3. Seattle Seahawks (6-1) – I’m one of those guys that used Jimmy G as a streamer in fantasy football last week. Kyler Murray was on a bye and the Seahawks defense is quite suspect. He got me 3 points before going out with an ankle injury. It will be interesting to see if they can get this ship heading in the right direction on the defensive end.
4. Tampa Bucs (6-2) – They may have struggled to beat the Giants on Monday night, but I’m giving them a pass here as that had trap-game written all over it. They have an outstanding offense and that frisky Tampa defense, and right now they are the 2nd best team in the NFC.
5. Green Bay Packers (5-2) – They should probably be a little lower on this list, but there are some guys getting healthy that will absolutely help this team. They lost to the crappy Vikings, but really only to Dalvin Cook. I need to see a little more of this team to see if they should fall a few more spots here.
6. Baltimore Ravens (5-2) – Man does this team look out of whack or what? That being said, they are still 5-2 and they will have a chance at redemption later on this year against the Steelers. I figured we would see at least some regression from Lamar Jackson, but this offense doesn’t look anywhere near what it looked like last year.
7. Tennessee Titans (5-2) – I’m going to use the word frisky again. Not about the Titans, but about the Bengals. They exposed the Titans defense even more and the pulled out the win and probably angered many a parlay gambler. The offense is not the problem here, so they really need to figure out the defensive end of this thing.
8. Arizona Cardinals (5-2) – Coming off the bye week, these Cardinals should be refreshed and ready to make even more moves on this list. The Cardinals are for real and the Seahawks would be wise to get things going on defense before they find themselves looking up at this team in the standings.
9. Buffalo Bills (6-2) – I am having trouble figuring out of this Bills team is any good or not. I mean I see their record of 6-2 and yes, I have them in the top 10 here. The problem is they aren’t passing the eye test. It makes me wonder how much better the winner of the AFC East will be compared to the winner of the NFC East.
10. New Orleans Saints (5-2) – They took care of the fraudulent Chicago Bears last week so it wasn’t all that impressive. They get a real test this week against the Bucs. This will be round 2 for them and they beat the Bucs pretty handily, but Brady and the Bucs are playing a different level of football this time around.
11. Indianapolis Colts (5-2) – The Colts might be the most boring 5-2 team out there, but they are still 5-2. This defense is going to keep them in every game and the hope is that Rivers limits his mistakes and they continue to win.
12. Los Angeles Rams (5-3) – A loss to the Miami Dolphins is no longer the embarrassment it once was. Goff had one of those games that he will have every now and then – the Rams just hope that those kinds of games are few and far between. It’s vital at this point as the Seahawks and Cardinals continue to win games.
13. Las Vegas Raiders (4-3) – Yeah, I wrote Oakland first. This team isn’t world-beaters, but they have been playing well and they took care of the Browns last week. The issue with this team is that they are the Raiders – we are used to them having zero expectations. Actually, the more I think about it, that might be more helpful for them than anything else.
14. Cleveland Browns (5-3) – I hate having this team so high, but they leave me no choice. They lost to the Raiders last week, but they remain in a good position based on their schedule moving forward which includes the Jets and Giants.
15. Miami Dolphins (4-3) – They cracked the top 15! They looked really good against the Rams, but Tua’s debut was lackluster for him. There is no doubt that the future of this team is bright and will only get brighter. I have a feeling they will end up being higher on this list soon.
16. San Francisco 49ers (4-4) – I hate Jimmy G and his stupid 3 points he gave me last week. I won, but I don’t need to sweat these games out. The team looked awful against a crappy Seahawks defense for the most part.
17. Chicago Bears (5-3) – The official cologne of the Bears is called Fraudulence. This team is not going anywhere and won’t be a threat. They just can’t with that offense. Nope.
18. Carolina Panthers (3-5) – They lost to the Falcons last week. I don’t even know if they deserve to be this high, but they get McCaffrey back this week, and what team wouldn’t get a jolt from him?
19. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1) – After they tied the Bengals, I said that the tie is really going to work in their favor. It turns out that they are the favorite in the division simply because they are the team with the strongest pulse and seems to be showing life. They are in the driver’s seat for the hapless division.
20. Minnesota Vikings (2-5) – They got Dalvin Cook back and you can see how that worked out for them. Getting Cook back helps the offense with both the run and the pass even when he isn’t involved. It is the fact that he is a massive threat that makes the life of Kirk Cousins that much easier.
21. Denver Broncos (3-4) – The Broncos were just the latest team to hand the Chargers a late loss. Drew Lock is playing as well as you can expect him to play and is starting to feel like a decent option at QB.
22. Los Angeles Chargers (2-5) – This is such a comical situation to anyone not rooting for this team. It’s as if the Chargers and the Falcons meet (on Zoom) every week trying to figure out new and unique ways to lose football games. Herbert is doing all he can do, but it just doesn’t seem to be enough right now.
23. New England Patriots (2-5) – It gives me a certain amount of joy to have the Patriots low on this list. It’s mostly towards their fans who think their shit doesn’t stink. I couldn’t care less about the team – they bring back some good memories for me.
24. Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1) – Joe Burrow seems to be adjusting to the NFL well. Last week’s win against the Titans was beyond impressive. That being said, don’t get too excited as if this team was going to do something this year. We mustn’t forget how awful their defense is.
25. Detroit Lions (3-4) – The Lions are not a very good football team. Stafford has COVID-19. They ran into a buzzsaw of a defense in the Colts last week so we can give them a pass for that one. The Lions play the Vikings this week and I suppose we get Chase Daniel and not Matthew Stafford.
26. Houston Texans (1-6) – This team is so frustrating. They have more talent than a 1-6 team has. They aren’t even interested in tanking as their first-round pick is with the Dolphins. The thought was that they may trade off assets at the deadline, but it just didn’t happen.
27. Atlanta Falcons (2-6) – I made some money off their win last week, so thanks goes out to the Falcons! I actually chose the Panthers for our picks and put money on the Falcons last minute. I just had a feeling. That and Michael Strahan picked them and you never go against Michael Strahan.
28. New York Giants (1-7) – Remember, this is the definitive list so don’t argue with me. It is what it is. The Giants stood toe-to-toe against the Bucs on Monday night and fell a non-call short of tying the game. I said it. The defense continues to impress and the offense continues to be below average.
29. Dallas Cowboys (2-6) – Have you ever seen a defense worse than the Cowboys right now? It is rough to watch even through a big smile on my face. Ben DiNucci is all that you need to know.
30. Washington Football Team (2-5) – Another team in the nightmare that is the NFC East. This team doesn’t have much to write home about, but their defense has been pretty decent.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6) – Remember when things were getting interesting a few years ago with the incredible Jags defense? Those days are now long gone and if not for the clear worst team in football, the Jags would be dead last on this list.
32. New York Jets (0-8) – There isn’t much to say about this team that is positive so I won’t even try. Once upon a time, a Jets/Patriots Monday night game was intriguing. Now it is something you skip and tell your wife you are giving up Monday Night Football to spend some time together!