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New Year, Everybody, It is our first twenty twenty four edition of the NFL Power Ranking Show, presented to you by Energizer from our studio in Los Angeles. My name is ANDREWS. Siciliano. On the other side of the screen at the home of the first pick of the twenty twenty four NFL Draft, Eric at home, Happy twenty twenty forty you.
Yeah, all my neighbors seem very excited about that fact. Bears are playing well. Times are good around here.
Yeah. What's worth more? Trading justin fields or trading the number one pick or maybe he knows anyway, we'll get to that in a little bit. And to nobody's surprise for the new year, the Baltimore Ravens, who molly wopped the Dolphins are still number one, followed by the team the molly wop last week. The forty nine or two are two. Then the Cowboys, who are up three somehow, the Dolphins, who are down only one despite getting laughed
at in Baltimore. The Lions are five, the Bills are six, the Browns are seven, and the Kansas City Chiefs are number eight. The team of the week, not surprisingly at home the Baltimore Ravens. The Team of the week is presented by Truest. They're the team of the week. They're the team of the year, the year being twenty twenty four. I honestly, Eric, don't know who can beat them.
Yeah, that's the question we're sort of left to ask ourselves. Right, you start with all these teams in playoff contention, you say, not that one, that one's already lost to them, and you go down the list and it is hard to find them.
Right.
We know the Browns have beaten we know the forty nine Ers got to whip by him a few weeks ago. Maybe a rematch in the super Bowl looks a little different. But still, as you said, I just think the list is very small, and that's what makes them the clear cut number one, even though I still feel like they are kind of in their own tier with the forty nine Ers being second, but not as far down as the number three team.
I know this is the power ranking show, not the MVP ranking show, But do we agree that Lamar locked up the MVP on Sunday's is?
I think it is? Yeah? He's sort of the big favorite now anyway. But yeah, people need to see that big performance. They got it two weeks ago against the Niners. They got it again Sunday against the Dolphins. So when you stack those big performances like that and you play the position he does, you start winning over the people who for years have denied that Lamar should be a second time MVP. He's gonna get it done this year.
I suspect and they say it's going to be different than it was in twenty nineteen with last he won the MVP. That's good. They are at home. They only have to play two games to get to Vegas. I just can't see anyone going in there. The only team that really has done that is the Browns this year. We'll get to them coming up at a second. The team that the Ravens ripped on Christmas Night, Eric, let's get to them. Are the one seed in the NFC.
The Niners wrapped their home field advantage up as well on Sunday because they want and obviously the Eagles lost to the Cardinals. The Eagles are in the B block TV term of this show. Wow, we'll get to them at a second here. The forty nine ers have their injuries though, which is what derailed them middle of the season for that three game losing streak. They say, McCaffrey's not that bad, but Eric, he's going to sit out Week eighteen because it means nothing.
Yeah, that's why I think it was so huge for the obviously for them to win, but also for the Philly aspect, for them to be able to clinch in Week seventeen. They can go into this game probably would have done it anyway, but they can go into this game knowing they don't need to play Christian McCaffrey. You'll have an additional week after that, you know, defense, offensive line, other spots, and it's another chance for Elijah Mitchell to
get an opportunity. I mean, remember, he had a really nice rookie season has been kind of lost in the shuffle since CMC came on board. But it's a player they may need to lean on at some point, so I think it's important for him to build off what he did last week. And again, I just felt like that clinching scenario last week was a nice little bonus, even though a lot of us figured it would eventually happen. So they get an extra week essentially to play.
With, and now they get the Rams in Week eighteen. The annual Rams Niners Week eighteen game does not mean that much, although the Rams could fall to the seven if they were to lose and the Packers were to win. Right now, it looks like la which is not in your top ten understandably but is in, could be going to Detroit in the first round. Detroit lost to Dallas, and the Cowboys are your number three team. They are
up three. So if Taylor Decker had reported properly, or maybe if Brad Allen had heard through the noise and gotten the call right and who was reporting properly, would they be up three to three?
Yeah, I thought about moving Miami below Detroit. I couldn't quite do it. I mean, I have a thing about moving teams up after they lose. It can happen, right, But yeah, that's probably as close to a victor as you can come with that actually winning. Everyone knows the story controversial play, you know, some feel like the Lions were kind of jobbed on this thing. Whatever the case, they went toe to toe with him, and Dallas is still a good football team. I want to remind people
of that. I understand they lost a close one at Miami. I understand they got beaten pretty badly at Buffalo, but I still think with their road now changing, Philly losing in the NFC East, almost falling into their laps, so to speak, look, that benefits them greatly. We know how much better they've played this year and last year for that matter, in Dallas as opposed to on the road. And so you know, you've got you know, Lamb breaking records,
You've got Cooks coming up with clutch catches. So let's look at the other side of the coin, which is that Dallas played pretty well and I think out played Detroit for more of that game than Detroit did.
And Mike McCarthy still to throw on second down, giving Dan Campbell an extra forty seconds to then call the play to have the wrong guy report eligible, take the back, the right guy report eligible, the wrong guy was reported. You get what I'm saying. We talked this thing out
a thousand times. But what it does mean is that if the Cowboys, as you point out, hold serve here and they beat the Commanders, they do get the two seed and they don't have to go on the road until potentially they get that two to one NFC Championship game in San Francisco against a team that whooped them two months ago in San Francisco. So the Cowboys are three, the Dolphins are down one to four after getting just
demoralized in Baltimore. The Bills are five. I'm sorry, the Lions are five, but let's look at four to six here, because the Bills are six, and we get the Dolphins and Bills again. This is the final game of the year on NBC on Sunday Night. It's for the AFC East title. If the Dolphins win it, obviously they are the two seed here. But if the Bills lose it, Eric, there's a chance they don't make the playoffs.
And that's one of the reasons why I've kind of held back from promoting them all the way up to number three. I've even seen them an other power ranks as high as number two, ahead of the Niners. So you know, I mean, look, I get how dangerous this Bills team is, but there's also a scenario where they miss out. Yes, there's a scenario where they got a home playoff game too, So so many permutations at stake here.
Such a wide swing in a wide range of outcomes, So you know, again it fits in with in line with the season. They've been living on the razor's edge all year long. We've seen Josh Allen torch people the last two weeks kind of come back to earth a little bit. And I don't know how much that first meeting matters, but it was only a close game for about twenty minutes, and then the Bills absolutely bote raced him. So, you know, does does Jalen Ramsey help in covering Stefan
Diggs who killed him in that first matchup? Does you know, do any of the other players who are missing from that matchup affect the outcome? Probably yes, And I think we'll get a closer game, but fascinating one for sure.
I'll be honest with you. I don't have a lot of faith in the Dolphins. I've said it all year. They had a good chance against a premium opponent. The Ravens are the best team in football, and they got whooped. I mean, they were close in the first half. The second half was just demoralizing, and then you lose Bradley Chubb. Now, the Bills nightmare scenario, for those who need to know,
goes like this. If the Steelers win, the Jaguars win to take the AFC South, and the Texans and Colts do not end in a tie, then the Bills need to win the division and beat the Dolphins to get in, because if those other things happen and they lose, then the Buffalo Bills, who some think could and should win the Super Bowl, will be out. All right, let's double back to the Lions here. You don't have them moving.
They are still your fifth best team, although that loss was really deadly to them when it comes to their playoff standings.
Yeah, obviously a lot of people are talking about what it means to the city to have one home playoff game, but the difference between one and two potentially would obviously be huge as well. So, you know, a lot of things have gone right for Dan Campbell since that that awful start last season. He has turned this thing around. You probably had a you know, a game that he should have won on Sunday. Do they use this as fuel?
Do they use this as motivation that you know, us against the world type of thing, perhaps, But you know, all the good things that came out of that game, Goff's great final drive. You know, Laporta. I'm on Ross Saint Browns, fake punt. A lot of good stuff just wasn't there in the end, though, And uh, you know, you hope the results are better for them because you know the arrow has been porting up so high for them.
All right, Let's get to the best team in football at home here, and they are seven, I'm kidding, seven in your rankings, and that would be God's team, the Cleveland Browns. They're the only team of the NFL to beat the two teams with the home field. They beat the Niners, and they beat the Ravens and they did they beat the Ravens in Baltimore. Yet you have them at only seven. I've been cheating on You'll be honest. I looked at somebody else's power rankings. Oh site that
rhymes with athletic. They are number three. Yeah, you have them seven? Is it about me?
It is every week I try to slip in at least one barb in your direction. And the Browns thing has been working so well. I wanted to ride it until we get off the rails here. But in reality, I mean, you know, obviously they've had losses to the Rams where you know Flacco's first start and they were just getting adjusted. I don't think Flacco's interceptions have hurt
them yet. He's got a fairly beefy total through his five games, but at some point they might now his You know, you got to live with the low completion percentage at times. You got to live with the fact the run game may not be there every single week, you know. But again, like you said, when it comes to those elite matchups, they've been able to stay in toe to toe with some of the best. And I think if there's one team the Ravens, I wouldn't say fear, but no can come into their building and do it.
It's the one that's already done it in Cleveland. So you know, I'm prepared to be proven wrong on this one. I do have slight reservations, But to me, the difference between three and about nine really isn't that big.
Right now, I'm kidding, it's not about me. I don't know why I made it about it it is. I'm not the host that always makes it about himself. But they are a team that I think could beat anybody, and they did beat the Niners, and they did beat the Ravens. They're the only team of the NFL that beat both of those teams. Granted, when they beat the Ravens in Baltimore, it was with Deshaun Watson. He played a perfect second half, didn't have it incompletion, rallied them back.
The defense helped a little bit, and that was his final game of the year because it was revealed two days later that he had a broken shoulder. The Browns are the five seed. They cannot move. They will be on the road wild card weekend at whomever wins the AFC South, which will be the Jaguars they are winning in and if it's not the Jaguars, then it's the winner of the Colts and Texans game on Saturday. And then we get the Kansas City Chiefs. Eric they are
number eight. They put together a second half when it looked as if all was lost. They beat Jake Browning of the Bengals, and they are up one as AFC West champions.
Yeah, small move up. Yeah they were good. Obviously, Bucker was great in the second half. Defense, didn't allow touchdown the last thirty six minutes or so. Isaiah Pacheco, I really think he's got to be a bigger part of the offense. I know he missed a game a couple of weeks ago, but if he's back, I mean, look, no offense to Patrick Mahomes. In the passing game, we saw Rice do some good things. Watson had a big play,
but really has to be about Pachecko. He really took control of that game early on and made his imprint and helped finish it off in the second half. So I'd love to see him be a twenty five touch gay going forward.
The Chiefs are locked in as the three seed in the AFC, and I think eight feels right because they have now won eight consecutive AFC West Crowns. They will play I think the sixth seed in the AFC Wildcard weekend, which could be the Dolphins. By the way, if the Bills win that game in Miami, wouldn't that be bonkers for a wild card game? You know who we haven't hit on yet. The Philadelphia Eagles, the defending NFC champions, were the first time all year they are not in
the A block of this show. Where are they? That's revealed next on the NFL Power Ranking Show for zenebi Energizer. It is the NFL Power Ranking Show presented by energizer again. The QR code on the left of your screen can get you to NFL dot com and get you the rest of the rankings, which had the Eagles for the first time all year. This is week eighteen, dropping out of our first portion of the show. They are now
number nine. They are down five spots after losing at home to the fighting Jonathan Gannons and then the Rams at ten, the Texans at eleven. Rams are in Jaguars, Colts, Bucks, Steelers, and the Green Bay Packers at home. If you had told me six weeks ago that the Tuesday of Week eighteen, Nick Sirianni would be on the radio in Philadelphia being asked about his job status, I would have laughed at you.
I'm laughing at you right now because, first of all, I can't believe it's still happening. But you're right, obviously, it's been a horrible December one in four record outscored by forty two points over that span one and two at home. And I don't care how you spin Sunday's loss. You know, Jonathan Gannon knows their personal blah blah blah. Look, I thought that was obviously horrible, especially having the lead you know, scoring a ninety nine yard defensive touchdown, the
whole bit, and now DeVante Smith's injured. I mean, we don't know his status right at this moment. The run defense is supposedly a team's strength, has been really tested the last three games, especially Sunday. James Connor absolutely ate him up. So a host of problems. Now. A year ago, they weren't playing their best football in December, but they cranked it back up for the playoffs. Can they do it again, sure, but we just haven't seen much evidence
of it in the last five weeks. Has been bad football by a very talented team.
Yeah, and they're gonna have to go on the road now, obviously barring something truly unforeseen with the Cowboys lose and they win, and we can flip it again in the NFC East, they're gonna go on the road, and they're gonna go on the road to the four seed the NFC South champion. So you could have like Philly and Tampa, which is what we had a couple of years ago when Hurtz was just a kid. You could have Philly in New Orleans. You could have Philly in Atlanta. I mean,
imagine that for a wild card game right now. The Eagles haven't proven they could beat good teams or bad teams in the last month, so they got to turn things around. They are number nine. The team behind them is exactly the opposite. Right now, they are beating good teams and bad teams, although probably a little bit too close for comfort with the Giants. This past Sunday at home, the Rams are in. They are in the postseason, and they are number ten this week.
Yeah, we didn't even know it when the game ended, right and eventually they secure the playoff spot. The last three games have been a little bit bizarre where they've gotten out to big leads. Had to kind of hold on for dear life. Especially Sunday came down to a they know pretty well and Mason Crosby had him in and you know, highlights their kicking issues too. They've got to make another move there. It's obviously been a big
problem for weeks now. But don't forget. I mean, they went toe to toe with the Ravens in Baltimore, played them very well, went to overtime. It's a team that has been super competitive. Kyron Williams coming back huge difference. Puka Nakua all season long. I love so many elements about this team, including Matthew Stafford, who you know. You and I were talking about what about if he had to go to Detroit. I think he'd handle himself great. I think he'd be outside in that spot.
Yeah, he might have to.
You're right, there are flaws, but something fascinating about this team that I don't think will be an easy out in any way possible.
No, nobody wants to play the Rams period. Yeah, maybe the Lions do. They would love it. I think they would welcome that challenge for those two quarterbacks. Going back at it here, But Kyron Williams has fifteen touchdowns in twelve games. He has been hard to stop. The Rams. If they had a kicker, I mean, they might be looking at the three seed here. Yeah, obviously that would mean winning the division and beating the forty nine ers. But they have missed fifteen kicks this year, fifteen field
goals and extra points. That is just bonkers. Tell you what another team, Eric, Nobody wants to play the Houston Texans. Now that CJ. Stroud is back, you have them at eleven.
Yeah, past the eye test, I thought, I mean just watching him back everything seemed to flow much more rhythm than it had with his replacements in there. So I think they go into this game against the Colts with a little bit of an edge because Stroud is back. He ripped him for almost four hundred yards in Week two, his second NFL game, so you know, it's the most they've given up to anybody in the NFL this season. I think he'll come and prepared, But Colts are tough too.
I mean, this is not a Texas team that goes out and dominates people on the regular, so fascinating to see if he can rally them on the road in a huge game in Week eighteen.
Yeah, this game in September was so much different. Here you have the Texans ahead of the Jaguars and the Colts at twelve and thirteen. The Jaguars are winning, they get the division. If they lose, however, then the winner of the Texans and the Colts will take the AFC South. The Bucks are at fourteen. They are down at four
because they could not close out the NFC South. And then the Steelers, who are going with Mason Rudolph, who are somehow still alive, are number fifteen at home up to unbelievable.
I had him dead and buried. I'll be honest, right, I really didn't expect them to crack this part of the of the list here. Mason Rudolph's played well. The question is why didn't he go instead of Trubisky in the first place. You can hold that against Mike Tomlin fairly, I think. But Tomlin obviously with the win nine and seven guarantees yet another non losing season. Only a few guys in NFL history have had more consecutive non losing seasons, and he's done it from the start of his head
coaching career. I get it, haven't had a playoff on in a while, but he's found a way to motivate them late in the season. Is it too late, We'll see. But again, another pretty good late season coaching job, even if there have been a lot a lot of issues along the way. And this quarterback situation Andrew is just fascinating to me.
Yeah, isn't it. It's also fascinating that, seemingly now the Packers have found their guy because Jordan Love was just slinging it all over the yard of New Year's Eve. He was your New Year's Eve fireworks and the Packers are win and in now week eighteen, Eric.
Pretty big one, right Bears they met in week one. We know the history there. Justin Fields is playing well. Love as you mentioned, so obviously Jordan Love, I don't think it's gotten the respect nationally. Obviously missing you know, missing passes early in the year, thirty touchdowns. Now he's getting everything going. One of the best statistical seasons by a Packers rookie ever. Yeah, it's all there for them when we didn't think it was possible, Jay r Alexander Misses.
The defense played well last week. So again another team that's been topsy turvy but has the firepower to get in the playoffs and in this massive game on Sunday on CBS.
Speaking of topsy turvy, how about the NFC South rules dictate somebody has to win it and somebody gets a home playoff game. How about the Bucks and the Saints? Where are they? How do we make sense of them? Coming up on the NFL Power Ranking Show fors ed by Energizer. The NFL Power Ranking Show presented by Energizer continues here with the Saints up six after ruining the
Buccaneers party. They are seventeen Bengals, eighteen Hawks, nineteen Bears are at twenty, Vikings, Broncos, the Raiders, and then the Falcons at twenty four, who somehow might host a playoff game wild Card Weekend. The team making power moves though, up six those power moves are presented by Energizer are the New Orleans Saints. The Buccaneers had a chance. The Saints just ruined it for them.
Eric, Yeah, they sure did. I probably admittedly had them a little too low. Outside of that Rams game, they've played pretty good football. I know, wins over the Giants and Panthers don't get people all louthered up. Almost beat the Lions though, Remember so you pair that with a pretty dominant first three quarters against the Bucks and it reminds you they have a defense. They have Derek Carr,
who look pretty good on Sunday. They have Juwan Johnson, the guy we've been wanting to break out this season. He did on Sunday. So still an open door. Obviously they need a little luck, but there is a path for them to get into the postseason. I mean, we'll see. They've at least timed it up where they've played their best football when they absolutely had to have it.
It's not actually that difficult a path here for them to get in. They win the South if they beat the Falcons and the Buccaneers lose to the Panthers, although that seems unlikely. They also have a path in as a wild car. They are seventeen, the Bengals are eighteen. The Seahawks are down three to nineteen. They also have a pretty clear path into the postseason. But that was not a good look for them against the Steelers at home.
It was a lot clearer had they taken care of business, win and then win an eighteen, they would have been okay. Instead, they lose and they lose it. They lost the physical battle, which again for Pete Carroll can't sit very well. I think he's always sort of prided his teams on being more physical upfront. Didn't see it. Sunday. We saw the Steelers really get that run game cranking early and then the one crucial turnover in the second half. G know
smith sacked deep in their own end zone. Just couldn't get enough going here. So there are a lot of things to like about the Seahawks team. We saw the Drew Loka step in last week and have an emotional game. This one didn't turn out quite as well, and so I don't know what. I'm not sure what to make of this team. They've been outscored on the season, have some things working against them. They got to get that defense tightened up if they have a shot.
They're in the wild card waiting room in the NFC. If the Packers win, they are in. If the Packers were to fall, the Seahawks could get in with a win over the Cardinals. The rest of the power rankings here real quick twenty five on down the Jets, the Titans, the Chargers, the Giants, the Arizona Cardinals, the New England Patriots, the Washington Commanders, and then the Carol Aada Panthers. Who are they are? And the worst record of the NFL.
And as mentioned earlier, Eric, those fireworks on New Year's even Chicago were because the Bears wrapped up the number one pick.
So that's what was getting everybody, keeping everybody awake. I got you now, Yeah, the arrow's pointing up for Matty Eberfluss, for Justin Fields, for Chicago Bears draft fans. I mean, they've played their best football down the stretch. They have a ton of ammunition, but also a lot of key decisions. What do they do with Justin fields? I say they keep them. Not sure where you stand.
We have four months to figure this out. I'm not going to commit to an answer right now, but I can't commit to this. We're back for the playoffs. This isn't the final show. We're going to rank them in the playoffs. We are back super wild Card Week next week for Eric Ahola andrews Aciliano, Happy Near, Everybody So Long.
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