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The season was over, the super Bowl was glorious.
We are all back in our respective homes, minus the studio in Los Angeles High and Andrew Eric at home over there, No over there camera. Andrew is in his home in Chicago. But yes, because you asked, and not you, Eric, I mean everyone listening and watching, watching, and because you begged, and because you tweeted at us and wrote us dms on Instagram and Facebook and TikTok, we are here for a post super Bowl edition of the NFL Power Ranking Show, presented by Energizer.
A very special episode.
Right, like you said when we were kids, Right, That's what they always said, it for everything.
So I'm happy to be here. Even if it's a one off. This is great.
We have one last chance to tell the people what the what the rankings are.
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I know there was a lot of drama as to who would be number one. If you guess the Chiefs, you'll right, number two, the forty nine Ers, the Ravens and Lions. The two teams that lost in the conference championship games are three and four. And then it's kind of a missmash of playoff teams. The Bills made it to the divisional round. The Cowboys were out in the wildcard round. The Texans beat the Browns in the wildcard round. They are seven, the Texans, that is, and the Browns
are eight. But let's open Eric with the team that you opened the season with at number one. Kansas City didn't go wire to wire. But the team that you had in September is the team that hoists the Lombardi Trophy in February.
Yeah, I took a dip in Week one, right, They lose to the Lions and immediately had to drop them in the rankings, but they found their way back in classic contender style. I mean, look, I'll be honest that at no point during this season up till about Christmas when the Raiders came in and spoiled the holiday for Kansas City, did I think this was going to be the same kind of team that we'd seen in past
Chiefs champions. It just didn't feel like the points were adding up, you know, it didn't feel like the defense was going to be able to continue to carry the load.
And yet here they are.
Incredible road performances to get to the super Bowl and then obviously beating the Niners, who spent a long time at number one as well. So an incredible postseason run just got to get hot at the right time. And you also have to have Patrick Mahomes and one of the best defense in the NFL. It's, you know, just two things that every team wants to get right now.
Yeah, and during the season a couple of times that it feels like Mahomes is inevitable. The inevitable though it took a while to get rolling. They lost those five out of eight. The Christmas Day game was to me a sign that they were done.
I didn't think they would be here.
I talked to Patrick Mahomes from Disneyland Monday on NFL Total Access after he and Brittany and the kids flew there from Vegas, and I asked him, was there ever a time in which you really doubted that you would be here? And he said no, but at the same time he knew there was so much work, and I thought it was also interesting. I asked him point blank, have you ever told Tom Brady you know how badly
you're gunning for him? You know, you mentioned Brady to Chris Rose on Game Day final on the field Sunday night, And he didn't say yes, but he did say seven is the goal. It's obviously the goal, is what he said. And as long as he is there, Eric, you're dumb, not you, you meaning the football world dumb not to pick him.
Yeah, And that was how I happened to pick the Chiefs in the game itself. I would finally stop, you know, denying what my eyes were seeing. The best player on the field.
Still got to.
Get Chris Jones signed if they can. Still got to get the Jerry Snee there's some issues there. Love to see him get a little more wide receiver. Help after what we saw last season. But yeah, absolutely, you have Mahomes, you have a chance, I think yep.
And now they got to figure out Chris Jones Lgerious Snead. As you said, it's free agency time and the forty nine ers have to figure out how to move forward and get over this hump again.
It's like, if Mahomes is there, how do you beat him? Again?
Eric, they had the opportunity with a lead in the second half, so they are number two, But I don't know that they have an answer now of how to rework this team or tweak this roster to finish out this game.
That's a great question, right, You're not competing in the same division as Patrick mahone, but like you said, he's inevitable. Right, You almost have to factor in that one of these great AFC quarterbacks, and Mahomes being the leading candidate right now based on history.
Is going to get to the Super Bowl.
How do you defeat that type of quarterback, whether it's Josh Allen, whether it's Lamar Jackson, whether it's Mahomes, somebody else on that list. That's really I think got to be at least part of the offseason focus. I mean Rock Party played pretty darn well. Left some points on the field, no doubt those field goals are you should have been touchdowns in some cases, or you'd like him to be anyway. But they have McCaffrey, they have all those offensive stars, They have the core of a title
contending team. The question is, like you said, what gets them over the top. Is there anything they can do? And they've been aggressive in past offseasons to change that, to alter the little chemistry they have in that locker room to just get over the top.
Wouldn't you argue that the Ravens face a similar challenge. As we moved down to number three on the power rankings, Baltimore is up four from where they began the season. You had it at seven, they finished at three. But Lamar Jackson now has as many MVPs eric as he has playoff victories at twenty seven.
Yeah, and obviously I mean that, you know they're gonna continue to build around Jackson and pin their hopes on him.
That's why they signed him last offseason.
But you know, for instance, look at what the Philadelphia Eagles had to face this year. They had Jalen Hurts in a Super Bowl that they should have won a year ago, had the vast majority of a great team a year ago. Coming back looked strong much of the year, and then everything kind.
Of fell apart.
And I worry about that bit. Ravens defense too, in the sense that I don't know they're gonna be able to have everything in place, and also they're gonna have a defensive coordinator and Lewis Orr who's gonna be, you know, younger than some of the guys who are lining up on the field.
For him, so that may not be a huge factor.
The Ravens have a core in place, but I agree there's still that question of is there They're a sort of a glass ceiling for this team. That's that's kept them from moving on from that point.
And with all these teams, they have all these questions, especially in the top ten, because they were all good enough to be there, but at the end fell a little bit short. Some with higher expectations than others, Baltimore being one of them.
Zach Orr.
If I get thrown a little guse me the new DC not to be confused with Syracuse legend Lewis or Yes, the Booie and Louis show coming to an NFL stadium near you.
Number pologies, Oh, don't apologize.
Thanks for putting it, you know, into Syracuse basketball parlance for yes, truly here number four of the Lions again NFC Championship game. You know, a couple of weeks ago we talked about Dan Campbell's decision making. They have a decision now on Jared Goff. I think he has earned that new contract. His number coming into twenty twenty four is about twenty seven million.
He has outperformed that.
And if Brad Holmes keeps drafting like he has the last two years, who maybe they're in New Orleans next year.
Yeah, and all those great draft picks they've had are and they're going to be in their second, third, fourth year, so you can just see the core of this team kind.
Of growing up.
They won't have as many cracks at bat this year in the draft, not as many high picks as they did a year ago, but they do have some cash to spend, and if there is a golf deal that may even clear up some space in the short term. So I think they're gonna be hyper aggressive and attacking that defense. You know, it's not all the fault clearly of blowing the twenty four to seven lead. There was the fumble, there were other loss plays on offense on fourth downs, but still the defense put them in a
tough spot at times throughout the season. Right, So I think that's obviously going to be the focus there. Get Aaron Glenn, some more talent. They've got Ben Johnson coming back for another year. Look, I think we're all kind of graduated. You know, we've graduated the Lions to contender status right now. But how will they handle Andrew being in the spotlight, being that you know, they're not the little kids on the block anymore. That's a new challenge I think for Dan Campbell and that staff.
And it's also a challenge coming up in Buffalo here Sean.
McDermott lives to see another day. This team won a playoff game.
It just didn't get by the Ravens in their own bill. I'm sorry, the Chiefs rather big accord in their own building, and they two are fifty million in the red. There's a Stefan Diggs question. Really, they might have to rebuild the entire defense, and even if you go back, I think to the end of season. Pressers from McDermott and Brandon Bean eric I sends to a tone of we're not sure if we're ever gonna get Trey White back the way he used to be. I mean they have big question.
Marks, absolutely right, Matt Milano arguably their best most valuable defensive player coming off a season ending injury. Those safeties are aging a little bit too, And you mentioned it. I mean, who do you turn to at wide receiver if Stefan Diggs is not part of your future?
Right?
That whole position I think needs a little bit of an investigation.
Khalil Shakir, it's got a future.
Everybody else either not under contract or they have some kind of status issue right now. So yeah, with Allen's cap number going up, it's a lot harder for them to manipulate things the way they have in the past few years.
So the window is it closed?
But I think you're right the way they framed it, or at least the way that we read that the words from the Buffalo hierarchy, there hard not to think that their odds have shrunk a little bit, even as great as Alan could be in those big moments.
Brandon Bean spoke at his end of season presser about obviously Josh Allen is a drawing card. Free agents want to come to Buffalo to play with Josh Allen, but with his number going up, how much money and how much of a discount are these guys willing to play for As they try to rework that roster, they may have to go younger and cheaper around a high priced quarterback. Same kind of issue in Dallas, Dak Prescott final year, however,
final year of guarantee. Let me rephrase that they are in a massive balloon year on Prescott's contract where they need to do something. The likely answer is redo it, give him another massive deal and clear up some money.
But Jerry Jones said.
That he wants to go all in, like he's not gonna nickel and dime free agency. He wants to go all in because he is so desperate to win.
Yeah.
I mean, obviously for many years they had to kick the can down the road financially a little bit, and always, you know, spend this time of year Adam Pasifka, their cap guy, cleaning things up, and you know there's gonna be plenty of work to be done.
If Jerry Jones does have that.
Level of desperation, knowing that Mike McCarthy's in the final year of his deal. Knowing like you said that Dak is coming up on a critical season, even though he played terrific for the most part last year.
They've got to make a call on him.
They've got to decide the future of the quarterback position, the future of the head coaching spot. I'd say there's a lot on the line here. So yeah, maybe there is a different level of aggression if they can find the money and if they can find the right pieces to move out and supplant with the more accountable ones, more dependable versions of the of those players who have maybe aged or not worth their salaries anymore.
I thought one of the biggest headlines, and Emmitt Smith has shared with both of us, I think over the last year his frustration. But when our friend McLevin asked Emitt Smith, why is Mike McCarthy still the GM and he or the coach? He responded, because I'm not the GM. Okay, time nowt for power moves here presented by Energizer. The other team in Texas made a huge move. The Texans finished at seven eric they opened at thirty one.
Wow, Yeah, I mean you can't now maybe I have him a little higher than some people do it at number seven. But even if we put him at ten or twelve or eleven or whatever, that is an incredible one year jump. Now, if you love CJ. Stroud and Will Anderson coming out, maybe you had better vision of
this than I did. I certainly thought Stroud was the best quarterback in last year's draft, but not by the measurable distance that he appeared to show in year one versus Bryce Young or the field for that matter.
A rookie quarterback, so.
Special quarterback, special defensive talent if he can stay healthy, special head coach in Demiko Ryans possibly. I mean, look, obviously it's a feel good stories coming back home to save the franchise. Year one couldn't have gone better, getting that defense shaped up a little bit better, cleaning up some issues on the offensive line, and they still have a first round pick from the Deshaun deal. So look, I mean it's not as if they're going to be
overly punished this offseason or anything. I mean, they're in a great position to keep building what they started this year. Playoff win just another you know, sort of launching point into the offseason, and you know.
They could add a running back May not cost them that much.
And somebody who's pretty good, you know, considering their salaries. So I'm excited to see what their plans are soft season given everything we've seen up to this point in the last year.
They are seven in your final power rankings, one ahead of the team they knocked out of the postseason, the Cleveland Browns, who swept almost every major award.
They had four awards.
I mean, obviously didn't win the MVP, but Schwartz got an award, Miles Garrett got awards to Fanski got an award, and what's the other one I'm forgetting. Oh and Joe Flacco Comeback Player of the Year, and he will likely not be coming back to the Browns. He could be, in all certainty going somewhere else. What do you think about them?
Yeah, I mean, obviously I tried to measure postseason success in regular season success.
Obviously, what they did during the regular season.
What earned Stefanski Coach of the Year I suspect over guys like Damiko Ryans is the fact that Deshaun Watson, even when he was healthy, was a question mark. Flacco comes in off his couch in mid November and somehow leads them to the playoffs. They had a ton of injuries. I mean a million crazy things happened last season. So I'll be fascinating to see once they get all their talent back.
Could this team be even better? Sure?
But you know again, they have to repeat a tremendous performance on defense again next year. They've got to find more offensive threats. And I think they've got to find a way to get Watson right whatever that means right, is it mental.
Physical, fitting the scheme to the player.
It's a lot of things that they have to ensure this offseason that they're better at quarterback with him.
With Ken Dorsey now as the OC, and we don't yet know, as you point it out, whether or not he is calling plays coming up next. We don't yet know how the new look Eagles will look in twenty twenty four with two new coordinators. Where are they in our final power rankings? That's next on the NFL Powerranking showpers and by Energizer. It's the NFL Power Ranking Show Everybody, presented by Energizer. But wait, there's more. The Green Bay
Packers exceeded Eric's late summer expectations. They finished up twelve at nine the Eagles plummeted down eight to ten. They were one and done in the postseason. Dolphins eleven Rams, twelve Bucks thirteen. Look how much those.
Two teams exceeded expectations of eighteen and fifteen.
Steelers were what we thought they were. The Saints are the best non playoff team in Eric's size, and then the Jaguars here sitting at sixteen. It's open to the Green Bay Packers because I think Jordan Love, when you saw him take off the second half of the year, gives this team so much reason for optimism. They blow out Joe Barry, they bringing Jeff Haffley. There's an interesting college football conversation there as well. But you'll like Green Bay moving to twenty twenty four.
Yeah, I mean, I have to.
I think with all the talent on offense, especially wide receiver and tight end.
I mean, one of the reasons why I kind of held back on him and hedged.
This offseason was thinking, how are all these these young guys gonna mold with a young quarterback who's got you know, one start and a handful of games under his belt.
But it ended up working beautifully.
A lot of those guys had built chemistry behind the scenes and obviously had flourished eventually even after some tough patches this year. So assuming they take the next step and Christian Watson stays healthy because I think he could be their number one, or Jayden Reid possibly, but you know, they have something really special built if Jeff Hafley can build up that defense, especially that secondary. I think safety and corner, you know, two spots that need to be fixed.
And you know, look, I mean the division with the Lions improving, the Bears at least taking a big step this year and having a lot of ammunition this offseason. You know, the Vikings, you figure are going to be closer to the thirteen win team than the team that had quarterback issues after Kirk Cousins got hurt, so the competitions raised. You can't assume they're going to take a big step forward. But the Packers look pretty good on paper going in the off season.
The old financial disclaimer past performance not necessarily indicative of future games to me fits perfectly with the Eagles at ten. I mean, they're down eight from where you had them at two to begin of the year, But like I don't know who they are.
Yep, I had trouble putting them. You know, I didn't know where exactly they deserve to be in the in this rankings. Like you said, if we did a week twelve power ranking, they were up number one. I believe after that point you could argue they belonged amongst the Arizona Cardinals of the world. That's a team that beat them, right, So you know, it really is a fair question to wonder what was the what was the cause of all their problems down the stretch and is it fixable in
the future. You still have Jalen Hurts, you still have DeVante Smith, AJ Brown and some really good players on defense, but hasan Redicks As for a trade, we don't know where AJ Brown is headspace wise. Is he happy with the arrangement there? You know, there's still a lot to figure out. And oh, by the way, Andrews second straight season with two new coordinators.
That's that's not typical Eagle community that we usually see.
Yeah, yeah, by my count, and I count maybe off, but I checked it a couple of times.
If you include the new head.
Coaches everywhere and turnover include obviously a new DC technically in Buffalo as well. Of the sixty four offensive and defensive coordinator positions in the NFL. Thirty two of them will be new in twenty twenty four to two with the Eagles, one with the Rams as well as Kris Shula takes over for Raheem Morris. You have the Rams at twelve, Eric, that's up eighteen from week one where everyone thought they were tanking.
Yeah.
If I put you at thirty, thirty one or thirty two and next year's power rankings, is a good chance for going up because I underestimated the Rams and what they could do defensively. I mean Byron Young, Kobe Turner, two great picks for them. Special teams were a mess, but it didn't really cost them too much. They were able to salvage a three and six start and make the playoffs. This is success, great coaching from Sean McVay.
You know, Stafford's back for another year, and you know maybe has some magic with with Cooper Cup and the KUPA and all these weapons. But there's still a need I think to build up both sides of the ball, and I would say the defense would maybe be the one that they focus on. But my question is, too do they consider drafting a quarterback early? Given Stafford's age and injury history, that's just gonna be one of those interesting little little debates we have this offseason.
They did it last year with Stetson Bennett not early, but they took him, and at the work out, Stetson's working through some stuff and who knows.
Obviously who the next man up would be.
Finally, here in this segment, the Jaguars who opened at nine, they finished at sixteen.
Another team. Eric were like, I don't.
Know, yeah, and I don't know really even about Trevor Lawrence, Like this is supposed to be the number one known quantity of.
This team this year. Yeah, they side, they don't have to.
They don't have to. They could.
This is the opening of the window to sign them to an extension. I wonder if they don't take the two attack of Iloa approached with the Dolphins there where they say, let's just wait because if you look at the numbers, and I'm only using him because he was with Doug Peterson, but go check out Carson Wentz his first three years. Then look at Trevor Lawrence's numbers. Is
a boy, you know, eerily similar in some ways. And I'm just saying the turnovers and Trevor knowses have to stop that killed him down the stretch, that derailed a potentially very good season.
So there's a lot of promise here. I just am worried.
Whether they can get that momentum back, especially with I think, you know, the tech improving Colts other teams.
It's not a joke of a division anymore.
It's not a division.
Is infinitely better right now than we thought it was going to be Week number one coming up next on the NFL Power Ranking show for is hated by Energizer. The Bears control the draft, do they control the off season power rankings? How big of a leap could they make in two months?
Coming up?
All right, let's get the other teams in here. The NFL Power Ranking shoppers out of by Energizer. The Colts are up twelve, they finish at seventeen, Bengals down thirteen, they finish at eighteen, and then the Seahawks, the Raiders, the Bears, the Vikings, the Broncos, and the Jets. Eric let's focus on the team at twenty one, the Chicago Bears. They have two top ten picks, including number one. If we were to do this after the draft, they might be a lot higher than twenty one.
I agree, Yeah, I mean, let's see where all the dust settles.
But I mean, I think the feeling I have right now is that Justin Fields is a trade candidate and then they're gonna use that number one pick or possibly move down. You never know, right, but one of those high picks on a quarterback in this draft. So whether it's you know, Williams, whether it's May, whether it's Daniels, I think one of those top three guys ends up in Chicago, and they'll be fascinating to see how quickly they can integrate, how much they can get out of
the Field's trade and keep bolstering this this team. I still think that you know, they could go wide receiver at nine, but they really got to get the infrastructure of this team in good shape as well, like I said, a tough division.
So I'll be fascinated to see if what ends up happening. I don't know.
It's one of these great debates that until we year.
I think we'll be be lingering all off season.
And when you say trade candidate, you don't mean trunk candidate the former rams.
Yeah, that's right.
How about that? All right, the Jets are twenty four.
Look, if Aaron Rodgers plays well and he's healthy again, they could be a lot higher some point next year.
Yeah, it's a risky obviously proposition rolling it back right, what you wanted to do is like last year was a giant false start. Now, you know Rogers coming off the Achilles. I know he was practicing at the end of the year and looks to be on a good track health lives, but going to be forty one in December, Like, that's something they have to factor in. And what he Johnson said it they need a backup quarterback. So sorry Zach, sorry Trevor Simon, whoever's still on the roster. They need
somebody else behind Rogers. Is that a rookie? Is that a veteran? You know how they handle that? I mean, so much pressure on Robert Sala and Joe Douglas right now to get the right formula while using the same template they did last year. I just there's a lot of risk there. But if it works, praise to them and they deserve their flowers.
Yeah, the second overall pick in the draft, Zach Wilson and Woody Johnson said on the Red carpet.
We didn't have a backup quarterback class. Oh oh boy.
All right, the end of the rankings. We have some final numbers here for you. The bottom of the barrel. The Chargers with the new head coach, they'd be moving up. The Titans, the Falcons, the Giants, the Cardinals, the Patriots A thirty eight, the Commanders, and then the Carolina Panthers. Hey, Eric, you're a saint. You're writing the long article every week and then allowing me to sit here and poke holes in it.
Thank you for everything you do. Appreciate you, my friend.
Thank you to you, and thanks for all our viewers this year. It was a pleasure. I love doing the Power Rankings and I hope to do it again next year. So for the student.
If you watched us on the Fast channel of the TV, thank you to you. If you listen to us on the podcast, hey keep subscribing. We're going to come back in the off season. Do other episodes. Draft whatever. I'm Andrew. That's Eric bye buying.
NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts