Tier I - The "Arch in Teal" Uno
Well, I hope they enjoyed the bye before we return to theri season of sadness. Anyway, let's just move on. It will be fun in their inevitable two wins.
Tier II - The "Dark Days Ahead" Duo
31.) Tennessee Titans = 1-5 (84-129)
30.) Los Angeles Chargers = 0-6 (90-151)
Yes, to me the Titans are still here - a fluke win over the Colts (the fluke being the punt block) doesn't change that. Cam Ward still just does not look good. I realize he is trying hard, seems to be a respected leader, but at some point production has to be there. For the Chargers, this disaster of a season just gets worse. Herbert is completely broken. I don't know why they are continuing the McDaniel experiment when it is ruining their only positive asset. Harbaugh seems like a dead man walking. We have to get ready for a full reset.
Tier III - The "Trust Us, We're Better Than our Record" Duo
28.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers = 1-5 (119-138)
27.) Arizona Cardinals = 2-4 (126-178)
For teh Bucs, it truly is impressive that they have built a passable offense with Jalon Daniels. Yeah, it requires a lot of broken plays and tomfoolery, but with their defense playing better, it is keeping them in these games. The division hasn't fully left them yet (a win this week over Carolina will really help things) but at least they aren't hopelessly boring. I do think teh Cardinals are the worst of this bunch, as the ceiling is just too low with Brissett, but once again they seem to try hard
Tier IV - The "Yuck" Quinto
26.) Indianapolis Colts = 2-4 (144-164)
25.) Washington Commanders = 1-4-1 (132-172)
25.) Philadelphia Eagles = 2-4 (106-137)
24.) New Orleans Saints = 2-4 (152-178)
23.) Atlanta Falcons = 2-4 (142-153)
What's interesting this season is there is a startling lack of 3-3 teams. As in just two of them. Granted, there are two more sitting at 3-2, but still a really low number. That has resulted in this giant glut of 2-4 teams (with a few more to come). Generally two to three 2-4 teams end up in the playoffs, but really don't think it will be any of these. For the Colts, a full piece around the Ballard era finally, mercifully ending will come later this week, but needless to say they are in a pathetic place. The Commanders look decent at times with Jayden but also a bit worried about pocket presence. The team is still playing hard and will be feisty - and hell, in the NFC East they probably aren't out of it, partially because of the teat I'm about to talk about. For teh Eagles, similarly so with the Hurts news. I hope he recovers fine, but I do think with him out and the offense so clearly broken, thsi will probably spell the end of the Sirriani era. For teh Saints and Falcons, they have their moments, but are falling behind the Panthers right now, and their high variance play is hitting the low end too often for me to trust them any more.
Tier V - The "New York.... New York...." Duo
22.) New York Jets = 2-4 (112-122)
21.) New York Giants = 3-2-1 (136-140)
21.) New York Giants = 3-2-1 (136-140)
It's fun to keep ranking these teams similarly because while neither are good, they are both better than they have been in years (save for that fake 9-win 2022 Giants team). The Jets and Giants are both professional outfits but just a bit too lacking in talent across the board. There are pockets of excellence - Garrett Wilson, Abdul Carter, but too little there. I will say I do think the Giants should just go with McCarthy. We know what Jameis is at this point. Now, we probably know what McCarthy is as well, but there is a greater chance there is room for improvement there than with Jameis who truly looks like he has no control of the ball when throwing whatsoever. Oh, adn the Jets, maybe learn how to pick up a yard in short yardage. If you could, as that may have allowed them to get an upset brewing.
Tier VI - The "Spoilers and AFC North Pretenders" Quadro
20.) Las Vegas Raiders = 3-3 (162-162)
19.) Dallas Cowboys = 2-4 (151-159)
18.) Cleveland Browns = 4-2 (106-122)
17.) Pittsburgh Steelers = 4-2 (137-128)
The Raiders showed a lot in the home losses to the Chiefs adn Bills - first, they have a great knack of scoring late TDs to make 10-point losses into 3-point losses, and second, they have a strong home field. Truly, Vegas took a while but it is Raider country now. Most evident when they leave the cozy confines and seem to get hammered (in New England, for instance). For the Cowboys, a bit of the same old, same old. Still not sure why we were all expecting a Brian Schottenheimer team to do well. For the Browns and Steelers, credit both I guess for being 4-2, but I don't believe any of it. Particularly Cleveland taht has needed mini miracles to beat backups QBs, and whose best win is against the other team I'm calling fake here. For the Steelers, Rodgers still ahs no pocket mobility and if their opponent can block, they can easily win.
Tier VII - The "Ships Passing Through the Night" Duo
16.) Los Angeles Rams = 2-4 (135-138)
15.) Houston Texans = 2-4 (144-143)
The Rams and Texans are both 2-4, adn both were seen to be top teams coming into the season, but man is the commentary around these two so different right now. The Rams are broken, and now even more inured. They desperately need Garrett back and also McVay to live up to his reputation. For the Texans, if their defense plays up to its talent (which is a crazy thing to say) they can be a playoff team again. The division might be out of reach (though beating Jacksonville in their in theory Jags "home" game helps). The best piece of news from this year may be CJ STroud finally looking like the killer he was as a rookie. Again, if that defense can just play like it should, this could get interesting.
Tier VIII - The "Good, Bad Team or Bad, Good Teams" Duo
14.) Carolina Panthers = 3-2 (146-123)
13.) Cincinnati Bengals = 3-2 (128-109)
13.) Cincinnati Bengals = 3-2 (128-109)
Both with their early byes make it heard to really know waht to think. The Panthers and Bengals offense have both been generally quite strong - the Panthers ridiculously so. The defenses are a combination of injured or somewhat questionable. They are kind of the conference versions of each other at this point. The big plus for the Panthers is the lack of competition in that division compared to Cincinnati, but both of these are teams that could go on little runs here, and especially so if the Panthers start getting their horses back on defense.
Tier IX - The "Hard To Know" Quadro
12.) Green Bay Packers = 4-2 (127-125)
11.) Denver Broncos = 4-2 (114-125)
11.) Denver Broncos = 4-2 (114-125)
10.) Detroit Lions = 3-2 (164-148)
9.) New England Patriots = 4-2 (136-113)
These four teams are all probably good. They all have decent shots at the playoffs. That all said, hard to really know. The Packers have now won three straight, but two were against backup QBs, and that game was a classic "The Packers look dominant on offense but somehow only score 23 against a bad defense" performance. The run game is still so inept. The Broncos whole offense is inept, but of course the defense is back to playing great and they keep winning. Something has to give here with Payton and that offense. The Lions may be the best of the bunch, but still hard to trust their defense - at some point we may start hearing about Goff as an MVP candidate given his level so far. Finally with New England, that was a weird game - AJ Brown back, Maye safe with teh ball, easy win, but they were outplayed on a per-play basis and had another few guys go down. Still, three straight wins, including taht fairly boring staid one, is a good sign.
Tier X - The "Your Reputation Precedes You" Duo
8.) Seattle Seahawks = 3-3 (148-122)
7.) Baltimore Ravens = 4-2 (156-132)
I still think both of these teams are good despite some troubling signs. First the Seahawks continued inability to play offense with that shell of a running game and the old Darnold. Granted, Darnold had some rough games last year and the defense remains fantastic. For the Ravens, much the same - I'm not going to get overly attached to the whole "same old blown leads" problem when they are playing a backup QB. Just let's hope Lamar gets back soon, please.
Tier XI - The "Top of the NFC North" Duo
6.) Minnesota Vikings = 5-0 (109-64)
5.) Chicago Bears = 4-2 (150-119)
Really, it is super hard to rank the four NFC North teams right now, but for now these are the best two for me. The Vikings defense is still on an all time heater (that should continue this week...), and Murray gave some sign of life to that offense last week. If that lasts at all, they are a really dangerous team. The Bears look so composed in that game - they neutralized what had been a great Falcons pass ruhs, and Caleb looked composed and calm. Really promising sign ahead of what should be a great test against the Pats.
Tier XII - The "Flawed, Great Teams" Duo
4.) Buffalo Bills = 5-1 (197-171)
3.) Jacksonville Jaguars = 4-2 (154-104)
The Bills have the leageu's second best offense (the best is yet to come). Allen is playing about as settled as ever. The run game looks great. They are scoring on drives (TD or FG) at a historic rate. All of that is 100% necessary because the defense sucks. Jim Leonhard has done seemingly nothing for the team, and truly at this point it seems clear to me they should have just kept McDermott who at least had some interesting tricks up his sleeve. For teh Jags, their big issue is penalties. They were slightly more composed this week but then also less physical - maybe they need to play on the edge a bit more. Still, both are great teams.
Tier XIII - The "Let's Run It Back" Duo
2.) Kansas City Chiefs = 5-0 (140-83)
1.) San Francisco 49ers = 6-0 (177-110)
It became an early joke that we are in for a repeat of Super Bowls LIV and LVIII again but at this point that looks very, very realistic. The Chiefs dominated that game by way more than the 16 point score. Even missing guys, Mahomes looks great and of course the dominatn run game helps make it all hum. It is amazing how they unlocked the pass offense with a dependable run offense. The defense still needs to be way more consistent with the pass rush, but at their best, this could be the best Chiefs team since 2019. For the 49ers, I really hope Mike Evans is not out long term - they have a fairly mild game against Atlanta and then the bye coming up, so hopefully he can be back after that. If not, if they can find some other vertical option. The defense is playing above its level adn should improve if/when Bosa gets back, and the offense is still something special, but them turtling late in the second half was somethign to at least watch out for.
Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games
Byes: Buffalo Bills (5-1), Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2), Washington Commanders (X-X-1), Los Angeles Chargers (0-6)
14.) Cleveland Browns (4-2) @ Tennessee Titans (0-6) (1:00 - CBS)
13.) New York Giants (3-2-1) @ Houston Texans (2-4) (1:00 - FOX)
12.) Miami Dolphins (0-5) @ New York Jets (2-4) (1:00 - CBS)
11.) Indianapolis Colts (2-4) @ Minnesota Vikings (5-0) (1:00 - CBS)
10.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-5) @ Carolina Panthers (3-2) (1:00 - FOX)
9.) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) @ New Orleans Saints (2-4) (9:30am - NFLN)
12.) Miami Dolphins (0-5) @ New York Jets (2-4) (1:00 - CBS)
11.) Indianapolis Colts (2-4) @ Minnesota Vikings (5-0) (1:00 - CBS)
10.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-5) @ Carolina Panthers (3-2) (1:00 - FOX)
9.) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) @ New Orleans Saints (2-4) (9:30am - NFLN)
8.) Denver Broncos (4-2) @ Arizona Cardinals (2-4) (4:05 - CBS)
7.) Dallas Cowboys (2-4) @ Philadelphia Eagles (2-4) (MNF - ESPN)
6.) San Francisco 49ers (X-X) @ Atlanta Falcons (2-4) (1:00 - FOX)
5.) Los Angeles Rams (2-4) @ Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) (4:25 - FOX)
4.) Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) @ Baltimore Ravens (4-2) (1:00 - CBS)
3.) Green Bay Packers (4-2) @ Detroit Lions (3-2) (4:25 - FOX)
2.) New England Patriots (4-2) @ Chicago Bears (4-2) (TNF - Prime)
1.) Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) @ Seattle Seahawks (3-3) (SNF - NBC)
5.) Los Angeles Rams (2-4) @ Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) (4:25 - FOX)
4.) Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) @ Baltimore Ravens (4-2) (1:00 - CBS)
3.) Green Bay Packers (4-2) @ Detroit Lions (3-2) (4:25 - FOX)
2.) New England Patriots (4-2) @ Chicago Bears (4-2) (TNF - Prime)
1.) Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) @ Seattle Seahawks (3-3) (SNF - NBC)
