Ranking the 0-1 Teams
The "Holy Fuck" Uno
17.) Buffalo Bills (0-1 = 3-47)
Yeah, that was ridiculously bad. The Ravens can do that to a team (see Week 1 last year), but it isn't good when the QB that goes 6/15 with a pick is by far the better of the two QB performances. The offense is a disaster. The defense should be better. I hope Bills fans' savored last year's wild card appearance a lot. It may be a while before it happens again.
The "They just aren't that good" Trio
16.) Tennessee Titans (0-1 = 20-27)
15.) New York Giants (0-1 = 15-20)
14.) Cleveland Brown (0-0-1 = 21-21)
Again, I find this year to be more competitive than most top-to-bottom. I see few real bottom feeders (and admittedly, didn't realize the Bills were going to be so bad). These three I all had ranked pretty bad, and while none got blown-out (there were precious few actual blowouts yesterday). The Titans ranking is based on some of the injuries they received, and a general slopiness that does not surprise me with my continuing skepticism of Matt Vrabel as a head coach. The Giants I guess look better than expected on offense, but I still have massive skepticism of Eli Manning and that OL. The Browns didn't lose, but they also barely tied a game they won the turnover margin in by 5. I honestly think they should play Mayfield immediately.
The "Disappointing, but let's not overreact too much" Quatro
13.) Arizona Cardinals (0-1 = 6-24)
12.) Oakland Raiders (0-1 = 13-33)
11.) Houston Texans (0-1 = 20-27)
10.) Dallas Cowboys (0-1 = 8-16)
All four were disappointing in Week 1, maybe none more so than Arizona - the team that, admittedly has the least expectations. Arizona was awful in that game on offense - then too I think should start Rosen sooner rather than later at this point. The Raiders started strong and consistently moved the ball well. Carr can't be so skittish though. Sadly, that defense looks as bad as advertised. The Texans defense played fairly well despite not getting much pressure, but Watson was awful. The Cowboys are basically the Texans, with a decent defensive performance negated by terrible offense. The more interesting case with Dallas is how they'll adjust to not being able to grind teams out on the ground for once. That said, I think these are the four teams we may most easily overreact to. The Cardinals still have a good defense. The Texans should get a better Watson and Watt here on out. The Cowboys had a particularly tough matchup against Carolina. The Raiders looked bad, but maybe the Rams are just really good and the Raiders strengths may play up more in the softer AFC.
The "Maybe the young QB isn't going to necessarily get better" Duo
9.) Chicago Bears (0-1 = 23-24)
8.) San Francisco 49ers (0-1 = 16-24)
Before the season, I thought four teams were being overhyped because people were assuming good things from their young QBs. Kansas City proved my skepticism wrong, and I covered Houston already. For the Bears and 49ers, I saw exactly what I thought may happen. Honestly, I don't get the Trubisky hype. I realize John Fox's 1970s schemes held him back, but yesterday we saw a QB still way too inaccurate and, at times, skittish. With Garroppolo, I saw the same, though the Vikings defense is special. Both teams are talented enough on defense to still make them good wild card contenders (DeForest Buckner was great), but these QBs aren't necessarily going to improve just because we want them too.
The "Maybe the older great QB isn't going to solve every problem" Quatro
7.) Detroit Lions (0-1 = 17-48)
6.) Indianapolis Colts (0-1 = 23-34)
5.) Los Angeles Chargers (0-1 = 28-38)
4.) Seattle Seahawks (0-1 = 24-27)
Unlike the Bears and 49ers, we know the QBs here will keep their teams competitive, but what we saw in Week 1 may be a real indication that the rest of the team is still not good enough. Stafford was one of the main problems for the Lions, but can't see him continuing to play that badly - anyway it seems the Jets had some keys down that the Lions should fix. The bigger issue is their overall slopiness. I have to assume that was the worst we'll see of them. Andrew Luck's first game was mostly a success, and if not for the Doyle fumble, I think the Colts were in good position to steal it. The offense was far more controlled and impressive under Reich than it was at any point in the post-Arians Pagano years. The Chargers probably should have won the game if they had any answer for Tyreek Hill. If their defensive week 1 performance is an anomaly, they can be a great team. The Seahawks are really at this point Wilson, Thomas and little else, but Wilson is still great.
The "Yeah, they're still good" Trio
3.) Atlanta Falcons (0-1 = 12-18)
2.) Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0-1 = 21-21)
1.) New Orleans Saints (0-1 = 40-48)
Sometimes, you loose week 1 and it doesn't really matter. The Falcons looked good outside of the red zone, and while that is a continuing problem that may not have a solution, their problems are more fixable, or less glaring, than those I ranked below them. The defense continues to look very good. The Steelers had their annual game from hell and didn't lose. Now, they need to get the Bell situation resolved asap, but the defense looked good and continued its recent trend of creating tremendous amounts of pressure. The Saints defense, let's remember, got uber-torched in Week 1 last year as well and fixed themsleves. I don't know if they will this time, but I'm willing to see if they can fix what happened.
The "They won but I don't care" Uno
15.) Miami Dolphins (1-0 = 27-20)
I still don't think they are good, but Ryan Tannehill looked better than I was expecting. It was a bit jarring to see them being competent at that position. I still don't think long-term they are a good team, but they may not be a bad one.
The "They won but maybe I do care" Duo
14.) Denver Broncos (1-0 = 27-24)
13.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0 = 48-40)
The Broncos started 3-1 last year with great defense and competent offense. They started 1-0 with the same, with Von Miller still being brilliant, with Case Keenum being good. It will be interesting to see if they can continue that level. Keenum seems like a ticking time bomb to fall apart, but maybe their calculated gamble here worked. For the Bucs, that game was a reminder of the talent on hand on offense, but also how badly coached their defense is. You have to expect the offense scoring 48 is a far more significant outlier than the defense giving up 40.
The "It can go either way" Quadro
12.) Cincinnati Bengals (1-0 = 34-23)
11.) New York Jets (1-0 = 48-17)
10.) Kansas City Chiefs (1-0 = 38-28)
9.) Washington Redskins (1-0 = 24-6)
The Bengals probably should have lost, but overall I saw a lot of good signs. Firstly, the health of Tyler Eifert,, the offense looking strong again. On defense, they are deep, but I do wish they could have generatead a bit more pressure. The Jets were obviously incredible, but let's take a step back. They aren't going to get 14 points in return TDs every week, and a 62-yard rush TD is unrepeatable. The best show was the defense staying good and Darnold overcoming the early pick to hvae a decent game. The Chiefs are probably still a bit overrated in my book - the defense was bad, and special teams heavily swung the game (that said, special teams is more repeatable for them seemingly). Mahomes 4-td game is really a 2-td game, so let's not go too crazy here. With the Redskins, I think that game may have said more about the Redskins being good rather than the Cardinals bad, specifically with Smith leading a safe offense. Turnovers killed the team last year, that shouldn't happen this time around.
The "If only we could combine" Duo
8.) Green Bay Packers (1-0 = 24-23)
7.) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0 = 20-15)
The Packers OL struggles, their defense is about average, their receivers are aging and some of them will invariably get hurt. Of course, they have superman at QB, so it doesn't matter one bit. The Jaguars are good at all those things the Packers struggle at, but they have the opposite at QB. Both teams know exactly what they are, from the Packers reliance on Rodgers and a blitz-happy high variance approach, to the Jaguars incredibly low-variance approach on offense supporting a brilliant defense. Both teams are strong, but their ceilings seem somewhat limited by how great their great aspects can possibly be to outweigh the other side.
The "Thrilling feeling of competency" Trio
6.) Carolina Panthers (1-0 = 16-8)
5.) Los Angeles Rams (1-0 = 33-13)
4.) Baltimore Ravens (1-0 = 47-3)
The Panthers offense through one game is not perfect, but Newton looks energized, he threw the ball really well, McCaffrey was the best version of himself, and Norv looks like a good gain. The defense, of course, is as good as ever, with six more sacks and incredible run play on all but a few carries. For the Rams, I was a bit worried early on when the defense was getting shredded, and I'm still not good they are great, but they have enough impact playmkakers to complement what is still a dynamic offense. The Ravens have done this before and still waltzed back to a 9-7 finish, but the offense looked good. The OL particularly, the return of Marshal Yanda really helping. The Ravens WRs looked good in that offense, and Flacco for once was accurate. Just one game, to be sure, but their ceiling is way higher than I thought.
The "A cut above at the moment' Trio
3.) New England Patriots (1-0 = 27-20)
2.) Minnesota Vikings (1-0 = 24-16)
1.) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0 = 18-12)
The Patriots didn't play great, turned the ball over twice, and still won fairly easily. There will be tougher tasks than a skittish Deshaun Watson (we'll see one this week), but in an AFC that looks worse than ever, it may not come close to mattering. The Vikings look great with Cousins. I wish they were a bit more aggressive in the second half to keep the offense going well after a great start - this is something that has happened too often in the ZImmer era. The Eagles escaped a test, but if they can remain plus-.500 with Foles, it will keep them right in line for when Wentz gets back like a conquering hero.
Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games
16.) Cleveland Browns (0-0-1) @ New Orleans Saints (0-1) (1:00 - FOX)
15.) Los Angeles Chargers (0-1) @ Buffalo Bills (0-1) (1:00 - CBS)
14.) Oakland Raiders (0-1) @ Denver Broncos (1-0) (4:25 - CBS)
13.) Arizona Cardinals (0-1) @ Los Angeles Rams (1-0) (4:05 - FOX)
12.) Detroit Lions (0-1) @ San Francisco 49ers (0-1) (4:05 - FOX)
11.) Miami Dolphins (1-0) @ New York Jets (1-0) (1:00 - CBS)
10.) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) (1:00 - FOX)
9.) Houston Texans (0-1) @ Tennessee Titans (0-1) (1:00 - CBS)
8.) New York Giants (0-1) @ Dallas Cowboys (0-1) (SNF - NBC)
7.) Indianapolis Colts (0-1) @ Washington Redskins (1-0) (1:00 - CBS)
6.) Seattle Seahawks (0-1) @ Chicago Bears (0-1) (MNF - ESPN)
5.) Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0-1) (1:00 - CBS)
4.) Carolina Panthers (1-0) @ Atlanta Falcons (0-1) (1:00 - FOX)
3.) New England Patriots (1-0) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) (4:25 - CBS)
2.) Minnesota Vikings (1-0) @ Green Bay Packers (1-0) (1:00 - FOX)
1.) Baltimore Ravens (1-0) @ Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) (TNF - NFL Network)
The "Holy Fuck" Uno
17.) Buffalo Bills (0-1 = 3-47)
Yeah, that was ridiculously bad. The Ravens can do that to a team (see Week 1 last year), but it isn't good when the QB that goes 6/15 with a pick is by far the better of the two QB performances. The offense is a disaster. The defense should be better. I hope Bills fans' savored last year's wild card appearance a lot. It may be a while before it happens again.
The "They just aren't that good" Trio
16.) Tennessee Titans (0-1 = 20-27)
15.) New York Giants (0-1 = 15-20)
14.) Cleveland Brown (0-0-1 = 21-21)
Again, I find this year to be more competitive than most top-to-bottom. I see few real bottom feeders (and admittedly, didn't realize the Bills were going to be so bad). These three I all had ranked pretty bad, and while none got blown-out (there were precious few actual blowouts yesterday). The Titans ranking is based on some of the injuries they received, and a general slopiness that does not surprise me with my continuing skepticism of Matt Vrabel as a head coach. The Giants I guess look better than expected on offense, but I still have massive skepticism of Eli Manning and that OL. The Browns didn't lose, but they also barely tied a game they won the turnover margin in by 5. I honestly think they should play Mayfield immediately.
The "Disappointing, but let's not overreact too much" Quatro
13.) Arizona Cardinals (0-1 = 6-24)
12.) Oakland Raiders (0-1 = 13-33)
11.) Houston Texans (0-1 = 20-27)
10.) Dallas Cowboys (0-1 = 8-16)
All four were disappointing in Week 1, maybe none more so than Arizona - the team that, admittedly has the least expectations. Arizona was awful in that game on offense - then too I think should start Rosen sooner rather than later at this point. The Raiders started strong and consistently moved the ball well. Carr can't be so skittish though. Sadly, that defense looks as bad as advertised. The Texans defense played fairly well despite not getting much pressure, but Watson was awful. The Cowboys are basically the Texans, with a decent defensive performance negated by terrible offense. The more interesting case with Dallas is how they'll adjust to not being able to grind teams out on the ground for once. That said, I think these are the four teams we may most easily overreact to. The Cardinals still have a good defense. The Texans should get a better Watson and Watt here on out. The Cowboys had a particularly tough matchup against Carolina. The Raiders looked bad, but maybe the Rams are just really good and the Raiders strengths may play up more in the softer AFC.
The "Maybe the young QB isn't going to necessarily get better" Duo
9.) Chicago Bears (0-1 = 23-24)
8.) San Francisco 49ers (0-1 = 16-24)
Before the season, I thought four teams were being overhyped because people were assuming good things from their young QBs. Kansas City proved my skepticism wrong, and I covered Houston already. For the Bears and 49ers, I saw exactly what I thought may happen. Honestly, I don't get the Trubisky hype. I realize John Fox's 1970s schemes held him back, but yesterday we saw a QB still way too inaccurate and, at times, skittish. With Garroppolo, I saw the same, though the Vikings defense is special. Both teams are talented enough on defense to still make them good wild card contenders (DeForest Buckner was great), but these QBs aren't necessarily going to improve just because we want them too.
The "Maybe the older great QB isn't going to solve every problem" Quatro
7.) Detroit Lions (0-1 = 17-48)
6.) Indianapolis Colts (0-1 = 23-34)
5.) Los Angeles Chargers (0-1 = 28-38)
4.) Seattle Seahawks (0-1 = 24-27)
Unlike the Bears and 49ers, we know the QBs here will keep their teams competitive, but what we saw in Week 1 may be a real indication that the rest of the team is still not good enough. Stafford was one of the main problems for the Lions, but can't see him continuing to play that badly - anyway it seems the Jets had some keys down that the Lions should fix. The bigger issue is their overall slopiness. I have to assume that was the worst we'll see of them. Andrew Luck's first game was mostly a success, and if not for the Doyle fumble, I think the Colts were in good position to steal it. The offense was far more controlled and impressive under Reich than it was at any point in the post-Arians Pagano years. The Chargers probably should have won the game if they had any answer for Tyreek Hill. If their defensive week 1 performance is an anomaly, they can be a great team. The Seahawks are really at this point Wilson, Thomas and little else, but Wilson is still great.
The "Yeah, they're still good" Trio
3.) Atlanta Falcons (0-1 = 12-18)
2.) Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0-1 = 21-21)
1.) New Orleans Saints (0-1 = 40-48)
Sometimes, you loose week 1 and it doesn't really matter. The Falcons looked good outside of the red zone, and while that is a continuing problem that may not have a solution, their problems are more fixable, or less glaring, than those I ranked below them. The defense continues to look very good. The Steelers had their annual game from hell and didn't lose. Now, they need to get the Bell situation resolved asap, but the defense looked good and continued its recent trend of creating tremendous amounts of pressure. The Saints defense, let's remember, got uber-torched in Week 1 last year as well and fixed themsleves. I don't know if they will this time, but I'm willing to see if they can fix what happened.
The "They won but I don't care" Uno
15.) Miami Dolphins (1-0 = 27-20)
I still don't think they are good, but Ryan Tannehill looked better than I was expecting. It was a bit jarring to see them being competent at that position. I still don't think long-term they are a good team, but they may not be a bad one.
The "They won but maybe I do care" Duo
14.) Denver Broncos (1-0 = 27-24)
13.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0 = 48-40)
The Broncos started 3-1 last year with great defense and competent offense. They started 1-0 with the same, with Von Miller still being brilliant, with Case Keenum being good. It will be interesting to see if they can continue that level. Keenum seems like a ticking time bomb to fall apart, but maybe their calculated gamble here worked. For the Bucs, that game was a reminder of the talent on hand on offense, but also how badly coached their defense is. You have to expect the offense scoring 48 is a far more significant outlier than the defense giving up 40.
The "It can go either way" Quadro
12.) Cincinnati Bengals (1-0 = 34-23)
11.) New York Jets (1-0 = 48-17)
10.) Kansas City Chiefs (1-0 = 38-28)
9.) Washington Redskins (1-0 = 24-6)
The Bengals probably should have lost, but overall I saw a lot of good signs. Firstly, the health of Tyler Eifert,, the offense looking strong again. On defense, they are deep, but I do wish they could have generatead a bit more pressure. The Jets were obviously incredible, but let's take a step back. They aren't going to get 14 points in return TDs every week, and a 62-yard rush TD is unrepeatable. The best show was the defense staying good and Darnold overcoming the early pick to hvae a decent game. The Chiefs are probably still a bit overrated in my book - the defense was bad, and special teams heavily swung the game (that said, special teams is more repeatable for them seemingly). Mahomes 4-td game is really a 2-td game, so let's not go too crazy here. With the Redskins, I think that game may have said more about the Redskins being good rather than the Cardinals bad, specifically with Smith leading a safe offense. Turnovers killed the team last year, that shouldn't happen this time around.
The "If only we could combine" Duo
8.) Green Bay Packers (1-0 = 24-23)
7.) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0 = 20-15)
The Packers OL struggles, their defense is about average, their receivers are aging and some of them will invariably get hurt. Of course, they have superman at QB, so it doesn't matter one bit. The Jaguars are good at all those things the Packers struggle at, but they have the opposite at QB. Both teams know exactly what they are, from the Packers reliance on Rodgers and a blitz-happy high variance approach, to the Jaguars incredibly low-variance approach on offense supporting a brilliant defense. Both teams are strong, but their ceilings seem somewhat limited by how great their great aspects can possibly be to outweigh the other side.
The "Thrilling feeling of competency" Trio
6.) Carolina Panthers (1-0 = 16-8)
5.) Los Angeles Rams (1-0 = 33-13)
4.) Baltimore Ravens (1-0 = 47-3)
The Panthers offense through one game is not perfect, but Newton looks energized, he threw the ball really well, McCaffrey was the best version of himself, and Norv looks like a good gain. The defense, of course, is as good as ever, with six more sacks and incredible run play on all but a few carries. For the Rams, I was a bit worried early on when the defense was getting shredded, and I'm still not good they are great, but they have enough impact playmkakers to complement what is still a dynamic offense. The Ravens have done this before and still waltzed back to a 9-7 finish, but the offense looked good. The OL particularly, the return of Marshal Yanda really helping. The Ravens WRs looked good in that offense, and Flacco for once was accurate. Just one game, to be sure, but their ceiling is way higher than I thought.
The "A cut above at the moment' Trio
3.) New England Patriots (1-0 = 27-20)
2.) Minnesota Vikings (1-0 = 24-16)
1.) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0 = 18-12)
The Patriots didn't play great, turned the ball over twice, and still won fairly easily. There will be tougher tasks than a skittish Deshaun Watson (we'll see one this week), but in an AFC that looks worse than ever, it may not come close to mattering. The Vikings look great with Cousins. I wish they were a bit more aggressive in the second half to keep the offense going well after a great start - this is something that has happened too often in the ZImmer era. The Eagles escaped a test, but if they can remain plus-.500 with Foles, it will keep them right in line for when Wentz gets back like a conquering hero.
Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games
16.) Cleveland Browns (0-0-1) @ New Orleans Saints (0-1) (1:00 - FOX)
15.) Los Angeles Chargers (0-1) @ Buffalo Bills (0-1) (1:00 - CBS)
14.) Oakland Raiders (0-1) @ Denver Broncos (1-0) (4:25 - CBS)
13.) Arizona Cardinals (0-1) @ Los Angeles Rams (1-0) (4:05 - FOX)
12.) Detroit Lions (0-1) @ San Francisco 49ers (0-1) (4:05 - FOX)
11.) Miami Dolphins (1-0) @ New York Jets (1-0) (1:00 - CBS)
10.) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) (1:00 - FOX)
9.) Houston Texans (0-1) @ Tennessee Titans (0-1) (1:00 - CBS)
8.) New York Giants (0-1) @ Dallas Cowboys (0-1) (SNF - NBC)
7.) Indianapolis Colts (0-1) @ Washington Redskins (1-0) (1:00 - CBS)
6.) Seattle Seahawks (0-1) @ Chicago Bears (0-1) (MNF - ESPN)
5.) Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0-1) (1:00 - CBS)
4.) Carolina Panthers (1-0) @ Atlanta Falcons (0-1) (1:00 - FOX)
3.) New England Patriots (1-0) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) (4:25 - CBS)
2.) Minnesota Vikings (1-0) @ Green Bay Packers (1-0) (1:00 - FOX)
1.) Baltimore Ravens (1-0) @ Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) (TNF - NFL Network)
