NFL 2022: Week 15 Power Rankings & The Rest

Tier I - The "That's the Best Type of Loss" Uno

32.) Houston Texans  =  1-11-1  (211-314)

The Texans are in no real jeopardy of losing the #1 pick at this point. They've got it fully locked down. But even then, why take a chance. The Texans though for once gave their fans a nice little game, came remarkably close to beating a far better team. I don't know if this solves anything other than just proves that benching Davis Mills was one of the most meaningless QB decisions ever. Anyway, the real fun begins with if they'll fire a coach again, and if they pick Bryce Young and who gets to coach him up/

Tier II - The "Just Playing out the String" Quadro

31.) Chicago Bears  =  3-10  (270-333)

30.) Los Angeles Rams  =  4-9  (218-296)

29.) Denver Broncos  =  3-10  (194-238)

28.) Indianapolis Colts  =  4-8-1  (209-298)

There's little pockets of interest for all of these teams, from the Bears with Fields to see if they can continue to grow on some of the momentum they were having before his injury hit, to the Rams to seeing if the Mayfield experience can subsist even longer. The Broncos finally got some sign of life from Russell Wilson, so even though this is a completely lost season, it will be worth watching if it can continue past the one week and maybe give the Broncos something to build on for into next season. For the Colts, I guess it is just seeing if Saturday can have any staying power as head coach (let's all hope the answer is no to that one)

Tier III - The "Sad, Miserable" Quadro

27.) Pittsburgh Steelers  =  5-8  (227-293)

26.) XXXXXXXXXX

25.) Cleveland Browns  =  5-8  (300-323)

24.) Las Vegas Raiders  =  5-8  (308-313)

I'll give the Steelers this, they are good enough to play bad teams (or good teams down to a backup, if not 3rd string QB) close. Pickett to Pickens shows some signs of life every week. XXXXXXXXXX. The Browns already are looking ahead to next year when they get Watson for the entire season. They have to hope that Watson with a little playing time and a full offseason looks better than he does so far, with a total of 1 offensive TD over two games. Of course, outside of Browns fans, no one in the world wants to see that improvement. The Raiders ridiculous loss to the Rams starting a QB who just got there, probably slams the door shut on any potential wild card chance they may have thought they had. 

Tier IV - The "NFC South" Quadro (yes, this is slightly gimmicky)

23.) New Orleans Saints  =  4-9  (265-297)

22.) Atlanta Falcons  =  5-8  (288-312)

21.) Carolina Panthers  =  5-8  (260-290)

20.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  6-7  (224-254)

Yes, this is a bit gimmicky. The worst of these four probably belongs in the group above, and hte best in the group below, but to be real, I think its deserved to clump these teams, and if not for say Mark Ingram stupidly going out of bounds a yard short of the sticks, all four teams would be 5-8. The Saints are just a coaching mess - interesting to hear some reports that it might be a Payton reunion? The Falcons may live to regret the haste move to change to Desmond Ritter, as they have some semblance of a chance still. Both they and the Panthers get the Bucs one more time. For the Panthers, every week it becomes a bit more true that they're gamble to not burn it down, and hold onto all their non-CMC best players, is fully paying off. Finally for the Bucs, it turns out that two drives against a bad coached team who is choking, to win a game 17-16 against said same bad team that is now 4-9, does not suddenly mean everything is fixed. They're just a bad team right now.

Tier V - The "Live Spoilers" Duo

19.) Green Bay Packers  =  5-8  (263-302)
18.) Jacksonville Jaguars  =  5-8  (294-294)

I guess the Jags have an outside shot of winning the division, especially with a Week 18 matchup against Tennessee, but I think the Jags are too high variance to be comfortable there. The Packers offense has been good for about a month now when Rodgers is in there, and enough so to the point the rumblings of Love wanting a trade have started. For the Jags, they're back at an even point differential, and the great prophecy of mine of them being the 2016 Eagles, is looking as true as ever. Lawrence has really settled down over the past five weeks, and while the defense needs a lot of improvement, if Lawrence continues to improve and be a true starting QB, it enables the Jags to invest most of their draft capital on the defensive side.

Tier VI - The "Soft Middle" Quinto

17.) Los Angeles Chargers  =  7-6  (295-326)
16.) New York Giants  =  7-5-1  (267-300)
15.) Tennessee Titans  =  7-6  (241-276)
14.) Detroit Lions  =  6-7  (349-347)
13.) Seattle Seahawks  =  7-6  (342-334)

The Chargers got a big win yesterday, but their fundamentals, from their bad point differential, and porous defense (yesterday excluded) still have me a bit worried about their staying power. Herbert quieted a bunch of skeptics with his play, but the offense is still just not dynamic enough. For the Giants, they have a huge game this week to right the ship, but the lack of weapons for Jones is increasingly more nad more rearing itself as a problem they can't overcome. For the Titans, its basically the same as the Giants, but in their case they have enough of a cushion to very likely hold onto the division anyway. Tannehill's interceptions are becoming a real problem. For the Lions, they have a pretty clear path to the playoffs, but the defense has to play better. Minnesota self-inflicted wounds handed that game to Detroit. They'll need a couple more like that. Jameson Williams being back was a huge boost. For the Seahawks, there's a bit of a sense that the clock is striking midnight, but even through the loss and the interceptions, Geno is still playing really well. Carroll just has to get that team playing the run better, as all their recent losses share that underlying theme of them getting overwhelmed on the ground.

Tier VII - The "Great AFC East Race" Trio

12.) XXXXXX

11.) New York Jets  =  7-6  (264-243)

10.) Miami Dolphins  =  8-5  (316-312)

XXXXXXXX. The Jets defense is truly excellent, but are there enough easy games for the Mike White (if not Joe Flacco) offense to score enough to clinb back into the playoffs? Even if ultimately they find themselves outside the playoffs, this has been a great year to establish Saleh's place as a trusted head coach for them. For the Dolphins, we've all lauded priase of Mike McDaniel, and for good reason, but now he gets his first real test. His offense looked fallow two straight weeks, including against a bad Chargers defense. Can he pivot back? Can Tua settle down if things are going perfectly per the script? These challenges always come to you eventually in the NFL.

Tier VIII - The "Quasi-Contenders" Trio

9) Washington Commanders  =  7-5-1  (253-256)
8.) Minnesota Vikings  =  10-3  (312-313)

7.) Baltimore Ravens  =  9-4  (301-250)

The Commanders defense surging, and skill position players all healthy, and a relatively light schedule gives me a lot of confidence in them. Win this week hosting the Giants and they're basically locked into the playoffs. For the Vikings, oddly I leave that game feeling ok about them. Their offense was as good as ever. Justin Jefferson is an absurdity as always. The OL looked better. That defense is way too dependent on turnovers though. For the Ravens, they're basically locked into a playoff spot so they really shouldn't rush Lamar. That said, if they're now down to the 3rd string guy, retaining the division could be a real challenge. They have to do 1-game better than Cincinnati ahead of their Week 18 game in the Jungle. Without Huntley, and truly even with him, that could be a problem. The Ravens are very fortunate that their schedule is so soft.

Tier IX - The "I Still have Some Question" Trio

6.) San Francisco 49ers  =  9-4  (317-197)

5.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  9-4  (335-265)
4.) Dallas Cowboys  =  10-3  (360-229)

The 49ers are just a machine right now, and Purdy gives them an element of verticality that they didn't have with Jimmy. Losing Deebo for a bit will hurt, but that's also part of the reason you got McCaffrey, to still function if there were further injuries. For the Bengals, the defense has shorn up well in recent weeks, and while there's a revolving door at wideout in terms of health, Burrow has reached just a stable level, and their system with going all-in on shotgun has given them a very high floor to subside while Higgins and Boyd heal themselves up. For the Cowboys, I'm always ok giving a team a bit of a pass when in the long stretch of a season they play an unexpectedly poor game. In their case, they still won. The division is still probably not going to happen, but the Cowboys also face a bit of a challenge right now with the OL injuries and losing Steele for the season.

Tier X - The "I Will Not Be Taking Any Questions" Trio

3.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  10-3  (384-298)
2.) Buffalo Bills  =  10-3  (353-221)

1.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  12-1  (386-248)

For the Chiefs and Bills, these weren't the cleanest of games. The Chiefs looked amazing in going up 27-0, but far less so when they let the dormant Broncos offense wake up. Some of this is just taking the foot off the gas, more so on defense. This should scare the Chiefs a bit as it was a common occurrence say in 2020, when they went 14-2 but had a poor point differential for that gaudy a record. The Bills offense is in a low period, and Allen needs to get more from Gabriel, McKenzie and Knox. Especially against teams that, like the Jets, can single up a good corner to slow Diggs. The defense however has done tremendously well building a pass rush even without Von. For the Eagles, there's really no real questions right now except posing hypothetical scenarios, your "well, how's it going to look when they're down 14-0 against a good team" types of discourse. They survived their own low period a couple weeks back and are back to hammering teams, with an offense that is getting more impressive each week.

Projecting the Playoffs

AFC

1.) Buffalo Bills  =  14-3

2.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  14-3

3.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  12-5

4.) Tennessee Titans  =  9-8

5.) Baltimore Ravens  =  11-6
6.) Miami Dolphins  =  11-6

7.) New York Jets  =  10-7

NFC

1.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  15-2

2.) San Francisco 49ers  =  12-5

3.) Minnesota Vikings  =  12-5

4.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  9-8

5.) Dallas Cowboys  =  13-4

6.) Washington Commanders  =  10-6-1

7.) Detroit Lions  =  9-8

Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games

16.) Arizona Cardinals (X-X)  @  Denver Broncos (3-10)  (4:05 - FOX)

15.) Pittsburgh Steelers (5-8)  @  Carolina Panthers (5-8)  (1:00 - CBS)

14.) Los Angeles Rams (3-10)  @  Green Bay Packers (5-8)  (MNF - ESPN)

13.) Philadelphia Eagles (12-1)  @  Chicago Bears (3-10)  (1:00 - FOX)
12.) Kansas City Chiefs (10-3)  @  Houston Texans (1-11-1)  (1:00 - CBS)

11.) Baltimore Ravens (9-4)  @  Cleveland Browns (5-8)  (Sat, 4:30 - NFLN)

10.) Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1)  @  Minnesota Vikings (10-3)  (Sat, 1:00 - NFLN)
9.) New England Patriots (X-X)  @  Las Vegas Raiders (5-8)  (4:05 - FOX)

8.) Atlanta Falcons (5-8)  @  New Orleans Saints (4-9)  (1:00 - FOX)
7.) Cincinnati Bengals (9-4)  @  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7)  (4:25 - CBS)
6.) Dallas Cowboys (10-3)  @  Jacksonville Jaguars (6-7)  (1:00 - FOX)
5.) San Francisco 49ers (9-4)  @  Seattle Seahawks (7-6)  (TNF - Prime)
4.) Tennessee Titans (7-6)  @  Los Angeles Chargers (7-6)  (4:25 - CBS)
3.) Detroit Lions (6-7)  @  New York Jets (7-6)  (1:00 - CBS)
2.) Miami Dolphins (8-5)  @  Buffalo Bills (10-3)  (Sat, 8:15 - NFLN)
1.) New York Giants (7-5-1)  @  Washington Commanders (7-5-1)  (SNF - NBC)

Top 20 TV Shows of 2022: #5 - #1

5.) Better Call Saul (Season 6, AMC)

May seem low, and maybe if I ever rewatch Saul years from now I may kick myself for this. But all said, I have one main question with the season that slightly hurts it in my eyes: the ending of three straight episodes on "Gene Takovic" world in gray. Certainly we ew we were going to get the resolution to that particular story at some point, and the show cleaned up all other business in excellent, and beautiful ways - capped with the stunning shot of Lalo and Howard staring face to face, dead in a dug grave in the basement of what would become the superlab. If the show ended in that instant, it is probably higher. In a way it did, as from the next episode we went to Gene world, and some of that was beautiful, as well as unexpected, such as the return of Marie. But in the end, it became just a bit too jarring. It's great that Kim didn't die, but her neutered and Gene/Saul/Jimmy taking the fall was a slight letdown. In the end, Better Call Saul never for me reached the heights that Breaking Bad did, but that is as little an insult as humanly possible. The show did so much else so well, even in this season, showing with painstaking detail the beauty in people acting, thinking and executing in painstaking detail over and over again against an ever bueatiful vista of Mexico and New Mexico. I have no idea what Vince Gilligan will do next, but I believe him that he's leaving Albuquerque behind, and doing os in stly.e

4.) Only Murders in the Building (Season 2, Hulu)

This was my #1 show last year, and to be honest it remained more or less as good. I think this is to fairly say I do think TV was slgihtly better in 2022 as it was in 2021, but in the end they were always going to have a hard act to follow and did a damn good job. The side plots this year felt a bit more weird than normal, particularly everything to do with Martin Short's character realizing Teddy was the real father of the person he thought was his son. But the actual plot was amazing, it weaved people like Tina Fey's character excellently, and as always our various sojourns to view the world through other people in the Arconia's eyes were great as always. At the end of the day, the fact that Steve Martin and Martin Short, in their golden years, are slaving away putting together one of the sharpest, funniest, best constructed shows on TV is amazing enough, but the fact that they've simultaneously revived Selena Gomez's career, and seem to be a magnet for great guest stars (Amy Schumer being this year's Sting) makes it all the greater. More than anything, I don't want this magical pearl of a show to end. It still amazes me it was made at all, but every moment, every episode is just a pure joy in the Arconia.

3.) Winning Time (Season 1, HBO)

As a basketball fan, yes there were some odd inaccuracies, such as key games that they somewhat changed the ending for, and them messing up the cutting of Spencer Haywood, but I'll give them some artistic license. Winning Time had to do arguably the toughest job of any show since maybe People v. OJ Simpson, portray not only real world people, but people who are supe rfamous. If anything, it was even tougher in this version because they had to get people to play basketball reasonably well. Somehow they nailed it, casting incredible talents and people that strikingly resembled, if not acted like, Magic Johnson and Kareem. Even the most stunt-casty of them in Adrien Brody started morphing into Pat Riley the second he slicked back his hair. I'm so curious how long this show plans to go for, but for a first season, and one that truly was dramatic from Jerry Buss buying the team despite being close to broke, and him sexing up the Lakers, to everything to do with Jerry West, they made the thing work. Some of this high ranking may be me admittedly givint them a bit of extra credit for just how challenging a task the show was to pull off, but by God did they pull it off with something that was incredibly heartfeft, funnyEleven , bombastic, sleazy-in-the-right-way, and so much else. 

2.) The Dropout (Hulu)

I'm a sucker for a well told story of failure, of hubris, of all the stuff we want to wish would be bestowed upon the thousands that have thought of, led and profited off of get rich quick schemes, and while some may have prefered the shows this year about Uber or WeWork, for me, the one on Theranos was perfect, mostly because of how good a show it was. It told the stoy fairly, it told the story honestly. It casted excellently, with Amanda Seyfried doing an amazing job protraying Elizabeth Holmes, and the actor who played Sunny being every bit as frenzied and conniving as you would want. More than anything though, the show explained so well how so many people can be led astray beleiveing what they wanted to hope was true.

It was such a frustrating watch, in a good way. How many times did I just yell at the screen "Make her test the damn thing for you". The fact that this show came out the same year that she was convicted to 10+ years in jail made it even more poignant. It may seem a bit trite to hyper-focus on one person's fall from grace, but as the show so beautifully exposed, she knowingly built a house of cards and never could find a way to pull the plug. I hope we get more of these types of shows in the year to come. And I hope if and when we do, they are made as emotionally-charged and nauseatingly true as The Dropout.

1.) Stranger Things (Season 4, NETFLIX)

Look, I get that this would get some blowback. There's enough people that consider Stranger Things a bit too fluff and bombast, and I get it. Yes, there was a lot of hand-wringing, some deserved, about the ridiculous run times of the last few "episodes". But what I say is I don't care. Nothing I watched was better, made me more intensely caught up in it all, made me "feel" more, than Stranger Things. The show somehow was able to pivot away from kid-focused stories in perfect way, doing a season that was straight up horror, and doijng it very well.

Yes, the disconnected plots were rough at times, particularly everything with Hopper in Russia - but the payoff, with him killing the Demogorgon at the same time Robin, Nancy and Steve were killing the last vestiges of Vecna, with Running Up That Hill playing. I don't think any show has used music this well since The Young Pope. They just crafted and mined the hell out of the season's storyline, from the painstakingly slow reveal that Vecna was Henry Creel and more than that the "One" to Eleven's "Eleven". That was perfect. 

The long run times in the end don't bother me, just pretend they were two 45-minute episodes instead of a 90-minute episode and you are fine. The show earned all of that anyway. It was able to showcase a considerable amount of acting talent, using the now teenage actors, aside from maybe Will, really well. I was a lover of Stranger Things from its first season, and stayed with it through a largely uneven third season, for a perfect payoff here, and I can't wait for its finale in 2024.

Top 20 TV Shows of 2022: #10 - #6

10.) House of the Dragon (Season 1, HBO)

The first episode was an intriguing primer, but hot damn the second the old GoT theme played to start the second I was all the way back in. This show answered the age old question of what if Game of Thrones was jsut more focused on one or two plots instead of 5-10. Well, the answer is it ends up pretty damn great. Yes, the time jumps were jarring at times (mostly on who didn't change actors or appearance), and there were certain elements that were maddening, but there are some aspects of the show that remain peerless, exhibiting the best parts of its forebearer. First, writing just incredible villains. The Greens are right up there with the Lannisters and it took no time for that to happen. The actual shooting was excellent (admittedly, I didn't have the dark-screen issues many seemed to), and everything with a dragon was great. In theory this season was all preamble to the real war to come, and if they can pull it off - and given how involved GRRM seems to be, I would bet on them doing so - I expect future seasons of this to fly up the list. I was always really interested as to how this show would be received given how woefully the last season of GoT was, but what shows is that if you tell a good story, tell it with clarity and conviction, you can make up pretty easily for past mistakes.

9.) The White Lotus (Season 2, HBO)

It's hard to compare seasons of anthology shows, but also it could be argued its besides the point. But Mike White's brilliant show invites it by being the same structure, with the season opening up with an unknown dead person, and then you meet a whiole host of mostly rich, white, weirdos (but in Italy). But then we got that kind of attuned version of the theme song, and away we went into some incredible stuff. Not all of it worked as well, particularly there was no Armaund replacement this year, but the story of the two whores scamming Albie had a good conclusion, and everything with the two couples worked, specifically the ambiguity of how it all wraps up, with the uncertainty of how cheated on who, and who knew what. Of course, its hard to talk about The White Lotus without the end of Jennifer Coolidge's arc, and I think it encapsulates everything with this season. It was a bit wornout in the early episodes, but man did it come together super well. If anything, to summarize the sophomore season, I think it was better crafted plot, but less just in the moment brilliance that the first season had.

8.) Righteous Gemstones (Season 2, HBO)

Somehow we went from 2019 to 2022 without the show returning (granted, I know perfectly well why, as there was this whole pandemic thing). It was such a great return though, with them fine tuning everything that made the first season great, accentuating all the positives, such as making the Kelvin and Judy Gemstone characters even better than before, and while using him less than I would ahve liked, saving Baby Billy for some amazing work. They created this world that combined very real issues with teh church (the shameless grifting, the ability to squirm away from scandal, the actual murder main plot) with such craziness that Eric Andre, at basically his most Eric Andre-ness, could seamlessly fit in. Again, my only real qualm was that I don't think there's a level of Baby Billy I am against, so any time he wasn't involved was a missed opportunity. In the end, the show has what could be a very troublesome plot to work with fine tuned to a science, and contineud to mix truly great comedy with about as dark as storylines as you can get in what is on its face a 30-minute comedy.

7.) We Own This City (HBO)

I'm a sucker for anything David Simon, it is fair to say. Add in a return to the Baltimore Police Department, and a show that featured a whole lot of people that were on The Wire (including some hilarious casting, like Marlo as a cop), and I was fully bought in. My only true quibble was the time jumping was very hard to follow, but admittedly that's a small price to pay for what was an incredible series. One of the few criticisms often levied at The Wire was it portrayed an idealized version of cops. I never fully bought this but for whatever truth there was in that, We Own This City broke that down squarely. This was all about crooked cops, about a task force let to do whatever it pleased and run havoc on a city, and how everyone enabled it in the name of stats. There were a lot of similarities to The Wire in the way it was crafted - the way it was shot, the realness of the scenes and the dialogue, but this had a hyperfocus to tell one story (granted a few threads, like a less effective one about government employees trying to monitor a consent decree) and do it with aplomb. Two things about the show, first it made me immediately start rewatching The Wire (in Season 4 right now, and man is it heavy with those damn kids), and second, it shows that as good as David Simon is at telling very different stories (Treme, The Deuce), Baltimore is his main muse.

6.) What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5, FX)

I think its official (though I'm doing this without really looking at the list ahead), What We Do in the Shadows is the best pure sitcom on TV. I know for a fact one of my higher ranked shows is very funny, but there's zero real meaningful plot in this show other than to service about as absurd, but brilliant a cast of characters put on tv. It took a while to admit this, but truly it is true. The writing is incredible, and some of the ideas, like to make Colin reborn an grow from a newborn to a surly teenager over the course of one year, was inspired. But really the performances are what makes this, particularly none better than Matt Berry. I will never not laugh at his ridiculous line read of "New York Citaaaayyyy" in the House Hunters episode. Nandor with the genie was an endless source of laughs. Like another slightly absurdist, but sharper than you think, comedy on FX (Always Sunny), I honestly think this show could go for 10+ seasons easily without losing its sharpness and effectiveness. I truly never want this to end. They've even figured out a way to use Kristen Schaal really well, which can be a challenge, but much like everything else, they excelled at it.

My Top 18 US & Canadian Cities

 **Updating this after a few years, as I can add a few onto the list and also re-evaluate a few decisions.**

Not eligible becuase I live too close / can't speak to as a tourist attraction: New York City (obviously would be really high), The entire rest of the Northeast Corridor (Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Washington), Jacksonville, Houston

Not eligible because my time there was limited to work: Raleigh, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale

18.) Atlanta (2017)

I went to Atlanta once, on a bachelor party of a family friend. It was a great time, and sure it may be hard to separate the city from the bachelor party-ness of it all (a good one is about as good a long weekend as possible), but the city itself seemed like a better, not as hot, Dallas. Really nice restaurants featuring southern cooking. We ventured out to a couple nice suburbs for meals as well. Of course, there are a few aspects of the city that make it a particularly apt Bachelor Party spot - some that are basically cultural mileposts. Won't say more. The only thing keeping it from being higher is the lack of historical importance and natural beauty; most of the cities on the list have one or the other.


17.) Orlando (1998, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2016)

Removing Disney and Universal, Orlando wouldn't be anywhere close to this. I have visited Orlando a couple times without really touching either park system and found it decent, with good shopping and decent restuarants/bars. But we can't just ignore that those two monster park systems, in Disney's case, a literal city. Those parks to have some magic to them, changing enough each half decade to not get fully old (haven't really visited any since 2009). Disney is quite a bit magical, and despite the cost, the crowds, it is one of the world's best destinations.

16.) Houston (many times)

It's hard to really judge Houston as a tourist destination because it hasn't been one too often for me, going there mostly for work our to visit my cousin and his family - both of those two drawing me more to The Woodlands, a posh Houston suburb that beacuse of Houston traffic is far away. That said, I've spend a decent time downtown and while Houston is as sprawling as we think, there's many cool neighborhoods, many great night spots, and it might be one of the best food cities in North America. Truly they have great food of many cuisines, having some of the best Mexican food of any American city, and extending that to Vietnamese, Nepalese and so many others. There's not too much to "see" but tehre's a lot to eat and do, which makes up for it.

15.) Portland, ME (2021)

Portland will always remain in my mind as the place I went to first during the pandemic, with four of us taking a group trip. While there were some restrictions, it was also a way to see the city and the surrounding area in the height of the fall colors without it being too busy. The place though had a lot to offer. Really nice restaurants with a great mix of high brow cooking without the fuss. A lot of great breweries, including some really great set-ups in converted warehouses. The night scene was pretty good, with its few cobblestone alleys lined with pubs and bars and the like. In the end, we had a nice time in Portland, and my only real quibble (other than the ridiculous cost of lobster rolls) is that the sights, including Acadia Park, are a bit too far away.

14.) Vancouver (2018, 2020)

Vancouver is beautiful, that much is obvious. With the mountains to the north a constant presence above a great modern North American city. If anything, I'll hae to give more reasons for not ranking Vancouver higher than this. The city is quite big, with potential traffic issues. There are a few nice neighborhoods, but they are hard to reach from the outsides of the city. The nice nature is a little too far. Anyway, if you have time, and a car, the city is great. The food, especially the various asian-inspired bistros, are great. The nature is wonderful, particularly if you have time to drive up the Coast.


13.) Austin (2002, 2016)

May seem low, but that more speaks to the strengths of the cities above it, which include truly unique factors, great restaurant & beer cultures, and/or historical relevance. Austin has some of these things, if not all, but not at the high degree of some of the others. The best aspects probably are the barbecue and live music, but there's other cities that do each, if not both in one case, at a reasonably good level as well, without the added heat and sprawl. Either way, Austin is a fantastic city, but is starting to get slightly too popular and slightly overcrowded to add to the fact that American does indeed have a lot of great cities.

12.) San Francisco (1999, 2008, 2014, 2017)

San Francisco actually somewhat proves my point about Calgary maybe needing another go. Had I not spent a long weekend there in November, it would likely be higher, but there is a couple glaring issues I found this time around, mainly the almost unimaginable homeless problem driven mostly by opiods and drugs. There are streets deep inside SF's main area that are basically unwalkable. It disfigures what is a great city outside of that, with incredible food, a world-class art and drinks culture, good museums, great sightlines and parks, and so much more. The only other negative to me might be the price, which is somewhat unescapable. Either way, San Francisco has a few black marks on it that hurt it from being a truly brilliant city..

11.) Minneapolis (2022)

The only downside I can think of about Minneapolis is that they didn't have a lot of hiking, something that I probably would have realized with a bit more research ahead of time. Anyway, with that little exception, I found the rest of Minneapolis quite lovely. Great food, with some really upmarket restaurants, like an excellent tasting menu experience at Travail. Beyond that, of course there's umpteen increedible breweries that were all amazing. This wasn't a surprise at all, I was expecting some amazing brews in Minneapolis. What was more unexpected was a truly great Art museum, beyond just the normal fare with a bunch of surprisingly great Asian art. Also the city was eminently drivable, which I'm starting to think is more a localized NE problem (of course add in places like Chicago, LA).resta

10.) Portland (2017)

I went to Portland three weeks before I went to San Francisco in 2017, and found it quite a bit better. They are similar in some ways, but Portland is cheaper, with the same asian influences. Also in Portland's favor is a truly astounding craft beer culture, and great food all around, from Pok Pok's wings, to incredible biscuit sandwhiches. You also get some beautiful, remote, scenery in teh 1-2 hour perimiter of the city, from the Mt. Hood region to the East and the Tillamook Forest to the West. It's a truly beautiful city with a great sense of what it is; one of the few cities in America that define everything that a unique American city should have. 

9.) Chicago (1998, 2001, 2005, 2015)



I need to go to Chicago again, because while I did go for three days in 2015, that wasn't a long enough trip to formulate a changed opinion. My memories of Chicago are more from childhood, where I remember it being somewhat a perfect American city. They have arguably the best collection of museums of any American city. They have a beach. They have incredible sports to witness, including a cathedral that is Wrigley Field. I'm sure they have food and great bars and all the rest as well. The largest four cities in the country for as long as I can remember have been NYC, LA, Chicago and Houston (just city, not metro area), and Chicago seems the least like a true sprawling Metropolis.

8.) San Diego (1999, 2017)

We all get the jokes about San Diego, the perfect weather, the laissaz faire attitude that made a whole community do a shrug emoji when they lost their football team. The perfect nature of the city. All of it. It is all true, because we are all just jealous that a city with a perfect year-round climate was made and we don't all live there. I went in March, it was 70 each day and sunny. The city has history, with old churches and military history like the aircraft carrier musuem. It has great food - including multiple great restaurants lining the Gaslamp district. There is a great beer culture highlighted by two of the most successful craft breweries in the US in Ballast Point and Stone. And of course there are some great hiking trails and parks and sports. The city is a perfect place to live, but it isn't too bad to visit either.

7.) Toronto (2008, 2016, 2017)



I almost put The Six in the groups of cities that I can't rank as I did a project in a suburb for four months, close enough to go into the city many times, but I liked it too much to keep it out. Toronto is great, easily the best (NY excluded) mega-tropolis I've been to in the US. The positives in Toronto are endless, from the CN Tower, to the Island, to the bevy of incredible food options, and neighborhoods from Downtown, to the Distellery District, to Yorkville, to so many others. The food is great. The beer is great. The bars are great. The city is large but never has the traffic or urban sprawl problems that other huge USA cities have to deal with. Toronto also has a great comedy and music since (Drake aside), and has as much culture of its US counterparts. It's a lot larger than people realize, and still has all the cultural charms of the secondary cities, A rare combination.


6.) Phoenix (2021, 2022)

The only negative I have to say of Phoenix is that there are limited things to do. There are nice hikes and walks in nature, but its blisteringly hot. The Grand Canyon is a bit too far for me to include it and be fair to other places that I would leave out a site 3 hours away. That said, parts of Phoenix are phenomenal. Secretly, I think its one of the best food cities in America, with just superb Mexican food without the frills of SoCal (or even Texas). There is just great Mexican food everywhere. There's a surprisingly strong beer culture, including some great bottle shop/beer bars. There are some sites, including one of the better 'single focus' museums I've been to in the Heard Museum on Native American history. It's a fast growing city but still eminently drivable. There's a real lot to like, just go between October and April. **After coming back twice since writing this, my impression of Phoenix has only increased. It is the most drivable metropolis in the US, the food and beer are excellent, and the hiking within an hour of the city is great. It is also oddly one of the more green cities in America.**


5.) Salt Lake City (2018)

Of course, Salt Lake City encompasses the cottonwood canyons, and the Great Salt Lake in this ranking. I don't know if there is a US metro area that mixes urbanity and nature quite like Salt Lake (other than maybe the city at #2). The food in Salt Lake was great, with a burgeoning foodie scene. The alcohol options are more varied than you would think. The city is amazingly walkable and easy to transit around. Finally, those views, those hikes, that natural beauty. Salt Lake City's bevy of close by hiking options, all within an hours ride from downtown, are astounding. All double as great ski slopes in the winter as well, for those that like that aspect of the world. My first trip to Salt Lake City took me by surprise, and truly I can't wait to go back.

4.) Denver (2015, 2019, 2020, 2021)



This is somewhat re-written after my trip in 2021, but Denver as a whole is still an incredible city but has grown a bit too big since my first trip in 2015. The food scene is still great, the natural beauty arond it in every direction is still great. The city remains really drivable and workable, and has some great night spots (the best club I've been to in the US - though granted with covid-impacted crowd control restrictions which helped). There's really no down side to Denver. The only reason it's dropped in my mind since my first visit (after which I had it at #2) is because another city leaped over it (a city that share's a lot of similarity to Denver) and because the craft beer which was such a large part of my initial ranking is something that many other cities have caught up to.

3.) Calgary (2005)

This is re-written as the first time I did this list I was only going off my trip in 2005. I went back in 2019, to experience the city itself and the surrounding area again. At the time I was worried if I overrated Calgary (I had it like 10th), having gone back, I seriously underrated it. Calgary is incredible drivable, despite being a metro of 2mm people. It has excellent food including great use of Calgary beef. The night spots were all excellent, from great and relatively low priced cocktail bars to one of the better clubs I've been to in North America (sadly, Habitat Living Social seems to have closed...). The weather is incredible (summer only, obviously), and Banff is every bit as magical as it's made out to be with Carribean-blue water mixed with incredible scenery. It truly is North America's underrated little jewel that I just wish was easier to get to.

2.) Nashville (2016, 2017)



Live music has many homes within the US, but I would argue none touches Nashville, from mainstream spots like the Grand Ole Opry or Bluebird Cafe, to the many great spots that litter Broadway on both sides, to even the others that espouse Rock and Blues. Nashville owns all cities I've been to when looking at music. Of course, that isn't where Nashville's positives ends. There are great restaurants, from BBQ to hot chicken, to a truly special burger place in Pharmacy Burger. The cities' increasingly built up outskirts push the number of restaurants and bars even further higher, The city, nestled nicely in the Appalachian plateau's even rarely gets too hot. What a great slice of Americana.



1.) Montreal (many, many, many times)

Yes, I've been to Montreal a lot, mostly during its annual Jazz Festival it hosts in the Place des Artes area - a tremendously run festival visited by millions. But even outside the festival, Montreal is an amazing city. It has sites, from Mont Royal to the various churches and buildings, to the Old Town,. It has incredible food, from French Canadian staples to world known Smoked Meat. It has a great bar culture, with some great breweries. It has live music even when you remove the Jazz Festival. It has great parks and open streets and little crowding, and crepes, and everything else. Having such a seemingly foreign city, where French reigns supreme, so close to home is fantastic, and i'm blessed to be able to visit it somewhat-annually.

Top 20 TV Shows of 2022: #15 - #11

15.) The Flight Attendant (Season 2, HBOMax)

I believe the show is done for good, and if so it was a great, frantic, tense, taut two year run. Yes, there were a lot of trappings of silliness, and the plot stretches thin at times, especially anything to do with Rosie Perez's character, but I found the large mystery of the season to be a great slow reveal, and all of the introspection into Kaley Cuoco's Cassie's history and alcoholism, and depression, all to real and well done, even if the internal monologue scenes were a little much. I don't know what Kaley Cuoco's plan is next, but for this as her first real post Big Bang Theory vehicle, it was a home run and I wouldn't mind her playing similar frantic cahracters in future that show the range of her ability: far better dramatic work than you would think, and a consistent form of laughs.

14.) The Rehearsal (Season 1, HBO)

I should probably put a whole separate post on everything The Rehearsal. I was an unabashed Nathan For You fan, and the show had so much promise. Ranking #14 is a sign that it was still incredible, with some incredible comedy, some perfect Nathan-esque moments of awkwardness, and some lasting "it becomes funnier and funnier everytime" images, like the fake snow around the fake house that he was living. I have no real thoughts on the "controversy" at the end with people wondering if Nathan was psycologically traumatizing kids, and I am all in on the idea that this is all a ruse, from the show, to the "real" people in teh show, to the replacements for the actors, and everything in between. My only real quibble is that I wish they had a couple more episodes that just focused on the gimmick itself - like the premier of the man breaking to his bar trivia team that he was not as educated as he made it seem. But even then, for moments like Nathan dressed as another character listening to fake Nathan teach "the method", to again that damn image of the fake snow, and I'm brought in all again.

13.) Minx (Season 1, HBOMax)

Of course a lot of media attention to Minx was the generous amount of, in the words of every It's Always Sunny cast member, "hanging dong", and fair enough given the inequal amount of female nudity to male nudity over the years. But hidden behind that whole piece was an excellent little show about an enterprising woman, a surprisingly heartful skeevy shag-mag exec, and a whole host of weirdos. Namely a comedy - and it was plenty funny - it was to me better in its dramatic moments, in its hyper-focused look on the rise of feminism in America in a more subtle way (so compared to Ms. America in 2021, which hit you over the head with it). Every moment between Ophelia Lovebond's Joyce ad Jake Johnson's Doug was gold, but so were the scenes Bambi and Richie and all the rest at Minx. There will be a seaosn two, with Minx surviving the HBOMax purge, and I couldn't be happier for that.

12.) The Bear (Season 1, FX)

Admittedly, I was squarely in the target audience for this show, about the inner workings of a low-down restaurant, which featured a whole series of close-up shots of chefs doing their mise-in-place, and enough Michelin-star flourishes to make it worth my while as a home cook. But even for someone who doesn't know a pan from a griddle, this was an incredible show, showing mania, tension and anxiety better than any I've seen. The whole show was shot in such an intentionally frazzled way, nothing better than the 28-minute episode shot in a oner-style, showing the whole restaurant coming apart at the seams when they try to service online orders. Yes, there was a sense of "really, another problem they somehow get over" to it, but the characters also were so well drawn, from the pastry-chef-to-be, to everything with Carmie and Sydney's relationship, to everyting with Cousin Richie did. The show ended its season in a satisfying place, and I can't wait to see the focus turn a bit more to fine dining. At the end of the day, I'm a foodie watching a show that is great for all, but even better for foodies.

11.) Andor (Season 1, Disney+)

Yes, I'm not a full on Star Wars fan, to where I'm sure I missed a whole lot of Easter Eggs. Yes, I generally hesitate to put these Disney+ shows on this list. Yes, as someone who is not a Star Wars fan, the various names that are all vaguely similar becoming super hard to follow. All of that is true. It is also true that Andor was an incredibly well told, and more than anything well shot show. Maybe it is true that in this day and age, stuff that is on the periphery and has nothing to do with anything Skywalker, can kind of be treated as a standard piece of art, and this was beautiful. The acting was great. The story itself, cresting with the grand finale funeral, was touching. The action was great. I couldn't believe I was tearting up during the scene of the breakoaut from prison, with Cassian and others jumping into the sea. There was still a patina too much "The Empire" and the senate and the rest of that gobbledygook but at the end of the day, Andor could've been a one-off story that had nothing to do with the larger Star Wars universe and it would've been super enjoyable anyway. For once I'll say this: truly well done, Disney.

Top 20 TV Shows of 2022: #20 - #16

Changes from 2021: There were more than usual this year, an everpresent sign of the pace and volume of TV these days. But I will say there is also one small piece that is becoming more and more present: shows taking a year off in between airing seasons. So we have stuff on the list this year that last aired in 2020 (or in one case, 2019), and some stuff that is off the list after being on in 2021 that is likely to reappear in 2023. There's a lot of "new normal" going on in TV these days.

Show Ended / Was in a Miniseries: Modern TV is going to have a lot of these that are just miniseries. Many will be successful enough to become recurring series (generally a bad idea) but we'll always have a set. I do think 2021 had more shows that ended, from Pose and Narcos, to Gentified being cancelled.

#20 - Beartown

#17 - Gentified

#12 - Lupin

#11 - The Serpent

#9 - Maid

#8 - Pose

#6 - Mare of Easttown

#5 - Narcos: Mexico

Didn't Air in 2021: This is what I'm talking about. With the exception of Curb, which will come back only if Larry wants it to, all of these shows are likely to air a new season in 2023.

#19 - Invincible

#18 - Loki

#14 - I Think You Should Leave

#13 - Curb Your Enthusiasm

#7 - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

#4 - The Great

#3 - Succession

Wasn't As Good / Didn't Watch in 2021: Honestly, I don't know what I'm waiting on here in watching it. To my defense, it only just came out.

#15 - Mythic Quest (didn't watch S3 yet)

Anyway, with that run through the ones that get chopped off the list, let's get to the actual list.

20.) The Old Man (Season 1, FX)

I wanted to like this more, something of 2022's version of "The Trust", another FX show that I watched because it was on FX. And the bar is high enough there that the show was still good. The acting was great, with Jeff Bridges putting a top-tier "Jeff Bridges" type leading performance. The action shots were quite good, though a bit repetitive with all the shootouts. There were some nice, small, quiet, tense moments that could evoke a Breaking Bad. Just the plot was intentionally slow. The first season ended in an interesting place, and I'll be back to watch more, but this was the rare show that, while still more than good, ended up less than the sum of its parts. 

19.) Irma Vep (HBO)

I never watched the original movie that came out in the 90s, so I won't get into any comparisons of it vs. this show. But what I read about it seemed interesting enough, and that word "interesting" is a great descriptor for Irma Vep. The plot is loosely a grizzled French Director trying to ressurect an old 30s movie of Irma Vep (a Vampire), with the leading star being played by Alicia Vikander, who is playing a famous actress trying to go "gritty". It's hard to really describe though what exactly the show is, other than to say it is weird, it is emotional, and it was a great performance by the French director who played one of my favorite random characters in a while. The aimlessness utlimately hurt it for me, but the show was always a bit entertaining and wild.

18.) Hacks (Season 2, HBOMax)

Hacks was one of the few returning shows. It dropped a bit in my list, but mainly because the focus on the side characters, particularly Marcus, was a bit more muted this time around. Of course, Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder are still both brilliant, and the story itself is still quite touching. Stakes aren;t super high, and it is a bit cool to watch the fake life of a old coming on the road. The comedy itself was a bit more muted this season as well, which left more time for the relationship between Deborah and Ava to be examined and torn apart even more. There's more to come, and I'll be ready when it does.

17.) The Gilded Age (Season 1, HBO)

I'm sure The Gilded Age isn't the first show to focus on high society New York in the turn of the 20th Century, but its the first I've watched, and the first that doesn't focus on the underwold (at least not as the primary focus). The story of social climbing, of the palacial estates, of life back then, of what I guess is New York City in an unrecognizable form. The normal people you expect to be great like Carrie Coon and Christine Baranski were great as expected, but I found myself really growing to appreciate Morgan Specter as George Russell trying to go good. The shows plot couild be tighter, and maybe it will grow into it in its future seasons, but for exposing a time period in America that I haven't seen get a spotlight on, puts it on the list.

16.) Peacemaker (Season 1, HBOMax)

Man how I loved everything about John Cena, who immediately became one of my favorite wrestler turned actors ever, with his amazing leading performance here. THe rest of the main gang was pretty good itself, and James Gunn's writing was as sharp as ever. This is, to me without a close second, the best thing DC has ever put out. Yes the story was a bit convoluted and silly, but everyone from Cena's Peacemaker, to the other ARGUS members, to even the strechiest role of Freddie Stroma as Vigilante, played in straight, honest, and hilarious. I rarely find these superhero shows tight and well crafted enough to put on the list (a few exceptions, like Loki last year), but Peacemaker was just brilliant for what it was, a 30-minute suspension of belief each week. Also, Jesus Christ that dance number opening is just sensational, my favorite opening in terms of music and action since Pope Lenny's walk and wink in The Young Pope.

NFL 2022: Week 14 Power Rankings & The Rest

Tier I - The "Just Draft Bryce Young Already" Uno

32.) Houston Texans  =  1-10-1  (188-287)

As their slide into a truly memorably bad season is just sad. In reality, by point differential they are just a run of the mill bad team, but at least by point differential, the league is fairly close together. They are just awfully bad, but you know what's a nice bit of fun news: Their biggest hole is at QB, and there is a great one in the draft. I've fallen for QB prospects before, from the good (big time Burrow guy) to the bad (Jake Locker - yeah that was a weird time). Well, I'm all in on Bryce Young.

Tier II - The "A Lost Year" Trio

31.) Los Angeles Rams  =  3-9  (201-280)

30.) Chicago Bears  =  3-10  (270-333)

29.) Indianapolis Colts  =  4-8-1  (209-298)

For the Rams, they are almost certainly going to have the worst year for any defending Champion ever. They already have tied the 2003 Buccaneers in losses, so its inevitable. What I don't want to do is pan their roster building approach. Yes we can quibble it was high risk, high reward, but we can't then quibble when the "reward" side of that hits. Also it seems like they've intentionally been careful with Kupp, Stafford and Donald. This team is far better on paper than record when looking ahead. For the Bears, maybe we can see the same, but the Fields experience has died down a bit. The defense still has so many holes to fill. They have to hope that Eberflus, much like say Robert Saleh, has the defensive impact more show up in Year 2. For the Colts, this is rock bottom, but the funny thing again is through three quarters they were hanging with the Cowboys in Dallas, two weeks after nearly beating the Eagles. But that 4th Quarter just quitting cannot be simply overlooked.

Tier III - The "Sad Sack Spoilers" Quadro

28.) Carolina Panthers  =  4-8  (230-266)

27.) Denver Broncos  =  3-9  (166-204)

26.) Pittsburgh Steelers  =  5-7  (213-277)

25.) Arizona Cardinals  =  4-8  (264-321)

As I've reached the point where I have no real use for these teams. Yes, there are little bits of fun hidden in each. The Panthers with their defense and players like Brian Burns, who is just fantastic. For the Broncos, it is seeing how good can their defense be and still win 5-6 games. Its beyond fun to chuck dirt at them for the Wilson trade, and now I've gotten to the point where I'm straight up annoyed that they've wasted this great defensive performance. For the Steelers, the only bit of fun is seeing if they can keep Tomlin's >.500 streak alive. It will require a 4-1 finish (or more funnily, a 3-1-1 finish). It's very unlikely, but let's give credit even if he coaches this disaster up to 7-10. For teh Cardinals, they are probably highest in the list in terms of schaudenfreude in watching them, but it pains me to see Nuke Hopkins, and the last vestiges of the great JJ Watt, play for this mindless franchise.

Tier IV - The "Just Not Good Enough" Duo

24.) Atlanta Falcons  =  5-8  (288-312)

23.) Green Bay Packers  =  5-8  (263-302)

The league gave the Falcons and Packers everything; every chance. But it just isn't enough is it. For the Falcons, they've gotten a terrible division, with a team just so ready to let it slip, but they can't stop themselves from scoring <20 points against the Commanders and Steelers. It isn't surprising that their smoke-and-mirrors performance had a natural ceiling, but sad all the same. For the Packers, Rodgers's latest nightmare for Bears fans is not enough really to get them back in this in a conference where their two closest wild card contenders just tied themselves. What a disgrace.

Tier V - The "Semi-Live Spoilers" Trio

22.) New Orleans Saints  =  4-9  (265-297)
21.) Cleveland Browns  =  5-7  (290-300)

20.) Jacksonville Jaguars  =  4-8  (258-272)

The Saints are not a good team, but they're also one that doesn't help themselves. Dumb plays like Ingram stepping out of bounds right before the 1st down line. Dumb punts and FGs on short yardage when you specifically have Taysom Hill to do that stuff. This was a winnable division. They lost it. For the Browns, what a world we live in when all the takes work here. We can absolutely point otu that Watson played hilariously badly given the team he was playing. But the Browns still won due to three non-offensive TDs. of course that sucks, but then let's remember this is one more step in basically cementing that the Texans will get the #1 pick. For the Jaguars, they finally have a negative point differential! That game to me was more about the Lions, but to continue my aimless comparison of this Jags team to the 2016 Eagles (Pederson's first year there), on the exact same day (Dec 4th) they lost 32-14 to a mediocre Bengals team!

Tier VI - The "Not So Muddled Mess of the League" Quadro

19.) Detroit Lions  =  5-7  (315-324)
18.) Las Vegas Raiders  =  5-7  (292-296)

17.) Los Angeles Chargers  =  6-6  (272-309)

16.) New England Patriots  =  6-6  (249-229)

What came up when doing these rankings is how little I care about any of the bottom 13 teams in my rankings, but starting with #19, and onwards, I'm kind of bought into all of them. They all have something at least approaching playoff potential. For the Lions and Raiders, it will require a truly great finish, but that 7th seed is not unreachable. The Lions offense has stabilized again. The Raiders defense is the unit that has come alive, with more well timed blitzes in recent weeks. For the Chargers, they have to just stop getting behind in every game. Also they need a new playcaller, a new something. At some point, the production has to match the talent. But then again - Holy Shit that talent. And for the Patriots, I guess you can say that they generally keep things semi-interesting against good teams and will blow out any team less than good (that weird Bears game excepted). And I can't believe I'm saying this, but my one wish with them is that they end up with a better record than the Buccaneers.

Tier VII - The "Soft Underbelly of the NFC" Quadro

15.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  6-6  (217-219)

14.) New York Giants  =  7-4-1  (245-252)

13.) Seattle Seahawks  =  7-5  (318-304) 
12.) Washington Commanders  =  7-5-1  (253-256)

For the Bucs, they escaped another loss that gives them a 1.5 game lead in the division, but in reality they could've lost that game and still slepwalked to the division. All that really matters now is can they beat the Cowboys on Wild Card Weekend, a game that seems completely inevitable at this point. Miss me though with the Brady hosannas when he needs to fire late TD passes to beat 4-9 and 3-9 teams by scoring 17 points. The Giants are just so well coached. They have issues at receiver that are just glaring, and a super high variance (in a bad way this time) OL but continuously put up decent points. The tie is so much better than a loss for them. For the Seahawks, that was a testy win, and yes we should see them more easily beat a bad Rams team, but Geno continues to just be great with Lockett and Metcalf and they have a clear path to a Wild Card given the infighting the NFC East is going to be doing with each other the next five weeks. For the Commanders, tough tie, as it puts them now outside the playoff picture with a bunch more NFC East games as well, but the defensive continues to play well and players like Dotson showing up more and helpful. They should sneak in.

Tier VIII - The "Equally Soft Underbelly of the AFC" Duo

11.) Tennessee Titans  =  7-5  (219-240)
10.) New York Jets  =  7-5  (252-223)

I guess you can argue that with the Vikings, Eagles and 49ers beating their AFC foes yesterday that the NFC flexed its muscles, but it also should be said all those AFC teams went on the road. Anyway, the Titans got smacked around, but Philly just does that right now. What was stunning was to watch the Eagles passing offense go off. For the Jets, that was a close loss on the road, showing the Mike White offense has some staying power right now. The defense continues to play well, and they're likely three wins away from locking up a playoff spot again.

Tier IX - The "Who Knows Anymore" Duo

9.) Baltimore Ravens  =  8-4  (285-236)

8.) Miami Dolphins  =  8-4  (299-289)

John Harbaugh's exclamation that while Lamar's injury is not season-ending, but is "days or weeks" isn't too reassuring. They have a fairly soft schedule, but what makes that schedule a lot less soft is Huntley and not Lamar. Huge win though to at least win that game. For the Dolphins, they have to come back from their worst offensive game of the season, but when their "worst" game is 400 yards on the road against the league's best defense, it is clear what level they are normally at. Both teams have a huge range of outcomes, though that variance is in particular injury related for the Ravens and Lamar.

Tier X - The "It Wasn't Supposed to be This Way" Duo

7.) San Francisco 49ers  =  8-4  (282-190)
6.) Minnesota Vikings  =  10-2  (289-279)

As it burns me to rank the Vikings ahead of the 49ers, but the 49ers incredible defense, and great season is all but doomed with the loss of Garoppolo. Major credit for them beating a good Miami team basically without him for the entire game. For the Vikings, yes it's ludicrous how many 1-score wins they have, but at some point, beating the Patriots and Jets and Bills over hte course of a month, means something. Their top players are generally very good. Yes, this is all set-up for them to lose miserably at home in teh playoffs (in a way that could easily resemble the way they lost to Dallas. For the 49ers, Purdy was fine, and for years we've heard that Kyle Shanahan can scheme up anyone. Well, then here is his chance.

Tier XI - The "Elevation Incoming" Duo

5.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  8-4  (312-255)
4.) Dallas Cowboys  =  9-3  (333-206)

The Bengals win over Kansas City can be seen as many things, but to me it was just a sign that they are just a good team. They played within themselves, even made a few mistakes (the 4th down mishap in the 1st half, two long drives that ended in field goals) but still beat the heretofore best team in the AFC. Because they are nearly as good as them. It's strange to think the team that made the Super Bowl with a terrible OL and then spent a lot to invest smartly in upgrading it is now better! For the Cowboys, it's hard to read too much from that game, given they were letting a bad Colts team hang aroud and then did the 2021-22 Cowboys Greatest Hits in micro-speed in the 4th quarter. They are a great team but almost assuredly going to be a Wild Card. A tough life, but fun in a way where you can almost immediatley start prepping for Cowboys @ Buccaneers in Wild Card Weekend. And right now there is absolutely no reason to favor the Buccaneers in that game.

Tier XII - The "Tippy Top of the League" Trio

3.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  9-3  (350-270)
2.) Buffalo Bills  =  9-3  (333-209)
1.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  11-1  (338-226)

Projecting the Playoffs

AFC

1.) Buffalo Bills  =  13-4

2.) Kansas City Chiefs  =  13-4

3.) Cincinnati Bengals  =  11-6
4.) Tennessee Titans  =  10-7
5.) Miami Dolphins  =  12-5

6.) Baltimore Ravens  =  11-6

7.) New York Jets  =  10-7

NFC

1.) Philadelphia Eagles  =  14-3
2.) Minnesota Vikings  =  13-4
3.) San Francisco 49ers  =  11-6

4.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  =  9-8

5.) Dallas Cowboys  =  13-4

6.) Washington Commanders  =  10-6-1

7.) Seattle Seahawks  =  10-7

Looking Ahead to Next Week's Schedule

Byes (Last ones!!): Atlanta Falcons (5-7), Chicago Bears (3-10), Green Bay Packers (5-8), Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1), New Orleans Saints (4-9), Washington Commanders (7-5-1)

13.) Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)  @  Los Angeles Rams (3-9)  (TNF - Prime)

I call it "Amazon, How you like me now!?" Thursday, as Amazon just gets a beautiful game this late into their first season. Al Michaels has already made some comments on how meh the TNF slate remains - and did you guys at Amazon really think otherwise? You knew what you were signing up for bro. Granted TNF gets Seahawks @ 49ers next week so it isn't all bad.

12.) Houston Texans (1-11-1)  @  Dallas Cowboys (9-3)  (1:00 - FOX)
11.) New England Patriots (6-6)  @  Arizona Cardinals (4-8)  (MNF - ESPN)
10.) Cleveland Browns (5-7)  @  Cincinnati Bengals (8-4)  (1:00 - CBS)
9.) Kansas City Chiefs (9-3)  @  Denver Broncos (3-9)  (4:05 - CBS)

I call it "Bad vs. Good" Sunday and Monday, as we get a 4-spot of games with a bad team playing a good one. Granted I guess I'm stretching by calling the Patriots "good", but hte Cardinals are just a chore to watch most days and they have the exact type of offense that the Patriots in recent years tears apart limb from limb. Speaking of, man that Cowboys/Texans game may get ugly. I put the Chiefs @ Broncos highest because oddly I feel highest about the potential of an upset there. The Broncos defense remains good and at some point Wilson has to have a decent game, right?

8.) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8)  @  Tennessee Titans (7-5)  (1:00 - CBS)

7.) Carolina Panthers (4-8)  @  Seattle Seahawks (7-5)  (4:25 - FOX)
6.) Minnesota Vikings (10-2)  @  Detroit Lions (5-7)  (1:00 - FOX)

I call it "Oddly Interesting?? I'm a Weirdo" Thursday as we get three games that I like for various reasons. For hte first, I just have a soft spot for this Jags team - maybe it stems from spending a lot of time over hte last month in Jacksonville. For the Panthers, it will be fun to watch their defense try to stop the Seahawks offense, and they definitely have the personnel to do it. The Vikings are clearly not 10-2 good, and the Lions are arguably not 5-7 bad, and their late season rise has been really fun to watch. I can absolutely see them being able to beat the Vikings.

5.) Baltimore Ravens (8-4)  @  Pittsburgh Steelers (5-7)  (1:00 - CBS)

I call it "Nostalgia Baby!" as we get the first Ravens / Steelers game in the post Ben era, which sadly won't include Lamar in all likelihood. Of coure, because Lamar isn't playing, the game is more appealing as it's likely to be closer. Anyway, call me a person whose love of football crested from 2006-2010 - these Ravens vs. Steelers games will never not be enticing.

4.) Miami Dolphins (8-4)  @  Los Angeles Chargers (6-6)  (SNF - NBC)

I call it "Are we flying too close to the sun?" Sunday, as we get the Dolphins and Chargers FLEXED INTO SNF! Now granted, reportedly NBC wanted Jets @ Bills (again, that is weird too!), but CBS blocked it. In the end, the get an entertaining one. The Chargers are maddening but generally still high scoring and entertaining. The Dolphins are mostly the same and you know will come out strong after being undressed a bit by the 49ers. Should be a fun one, even if Miami fans will outnumber Chargers fans 3:1.

3.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6)  @  San Francisco 49ers (8-4)  (4:25 - FOX)

I call it "Of course Brady gets the 49ers right after Jimmy G goes out" Sunday, as what was a super appetizing matchup (in a perverse way) is now far less so. Granted, I think the 49ers are more than good enough to keep it close, and the Bucs have lost to worse teams than the Purdy-led 49ers. But it's just amazing that in the worst season in two decades for a Brady team, they're gifted with the worst division and games like this.

2.) Philadelphia Eagles (11-1)  @  New York Giants (7-4-1)  (1:00 - FOX)
1.) New York Jets (7-5)  @  Buffalo Bills (9-3)  (1:00 - CBS)

I call it "New York, New York" as we get the most fun version of two New York rivalries. First the best Eagles/Giants game in bascially a decade (since maybe the DeSean punt return TD game?). The Eagles have to be favored, but the Giants have an ability to play these games close - see their Thanksgiving loss in Dallas. For the Jets and Bills, there's a reason why CBS protected this one. Granted, there is a chance the Bills blow them out, partially because they're better than the Jets, and partially to avenge their loss a few weeks back. But still, whether it's NY State or NYC, New York is in prime position this week.