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Let's rank some teams. Everybody.
Welcome to NFL Power Rankings, presented to you by Energizer from our studios here in Los Angeles. My name is Andrew Siciliado. We are here every week on the NFL Fast Channel on a podcast as well, where Eric.
At home, whose new rankings.
Are right now for you to look at and get excited about and get angry about on NFL dot com. Eric ip out was a pretty great week of football. Week one was fine.
Week two is the over correction. We get angry. Week one, we overreact. Week two is just kind of settling in.
Agree with you.
I think we two, like you said, did sort of level the level, think wee things a little bit and give us at a little more perspective at a one game average, give usation in week one, sort of evidence of what the steam in any case is going to be.
So yeah, I liked Week two.
Actions seemed a little better, and also we had some a little more about what these teams actually are.
Go to NFL dot com and you see the two and o forty nine ers a win in Pittsburgh gonna win here in La Over, the Rams are your number one team. There's no change there, with the Chiefs, the Eagles, the Cowboys, and the Dolphins rounding out the top five. But Eric, evidently you don't watch all the screaming head shows and you hate America and hate America's team because
you have the Dallas Cowboys who are going to go undefeated. Eric, who had a plus sixty scoring differential through two weeks, you.
Have them as the fourth best team.
What can I say? The fun please strike again. But I'll let you in on a little secret. I know it's only week three here, but I do want to give you a little inst to what I'm thinking here is always play both sides of the.
Brand, Andrew.
I picked the Cowboys to win this in the preseason, Freddy, and now I've gotten hedged a little bit, you know, down a little bit hardly number two. Sure I could make that case, but right now they're at four. Their sitting comfortable for us, a pretty lofty spot. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and I'll admit it. I think they're really good, and I thought they'd hit their streak at the end of the season and not play as dominant. Certainly, you know,
last week's an impressive offense for him. It's really you know, rounded them into formal. It's a little a dominant defensive performance in both games.
Obviously, I was thinking sarcastically here and I tried to take away from any of the teams ahead of the Cowboys, the three teams ahead of the Cowboys. But they are dominant, and that's what stands out from the Cowboys and those other three teams. If they go to Arizona this week, Eric and they blow out the Cardinals like they have blown out the Giants and the Jets, do they climb higher or do you need to see the teams ahead of them take a step backwards?
I will say, I know Arizona's on the far end of the power rankings right now, but they've played pretty competitively. Right They gave the Commanders a game in Washington. You know, they had their best offensive output last week. Let's not talk about Arizona second half. But still, this is a better football team, at least competitive wise, then I think a lot of people realize.
So we'll see.
Obviously, Josh Dobbs gave a little spark in the first half. Maybe he can do something. But I suspect that Dallas defense is going to dominate. And if they do, absolutely, that'd be three dominant profuit forms on that side of the ball. And let's see what the offense does. They do have some injuries of the offensive line.
Yeah, and the Chiefs also have a suspect offensive line. I want to double back to them. Donovan spit Jowan Taylor. He either played a great game they survived though in Jacksonville. To me, Eric, we could talk all we want about Travis kelcey and make the Taylor swift jokes.
By the way, go to my TikTok.
That Travis kelce video is taking off now and it is a month old, not that I want to shamelessly promote any other social media platform. That said, Chris Jones was the most important player on that field in.
Jacksonville, I agree.
Yeah, you saw him obviously kind of hovering above the stadium. He's in week one. I'm sure a lot of Chiefs were ready to escort him down on the field level. It didn't happen. Obviously, they played pretty well, but you could tell the difference he made. That fourth down sack was a huge play in the game had a pass defended as well. You know, had that pressure on Trevor Lawrence on the ball he threw backward that went out
of bound. So yeah, Chris Jones was all well over to the field and you know, it makes you wonder, how could they not have avoided this this you know, the correct dispute, but it happened they last week one, they were back with a semi vengeance and guess what that defense I thought was pretty darn good. And even if Jackson will have their opportunities.
That defense now gets to face justin fields and a Bears offense actually just the Bears all the way around. That's an absolute mess right now. And that game is coming up at Arrowhead this week. You could have this conversation about how how high they should be. Next week, Let's get to Future Champion about the power ranking show that's presented to you by Fan Duel, and let's get to the Dolphins by showing you the odds in the AFC East. Right now, the Dolphins at two and zero
after winning in Foxborough on primetime. I an ensured too on that final lateral. Are the favorites in the AFC East? Eric, you have them at number five. This week they get the Broncos coming into Miami. You know, I felt like Bart Simpson needing to write on the chalkboard Sunday night, I will no longer question Tua. I will no longer question Tua. I am now a believer And so far they have enough defense with Vic Fangio to keep on winning a.
Big starts of the season for the two and on crowd right, he's been terrific and he looked in control. I thought when they took away, you know, the obvious Tyreek Hill element. Any time you play New England, they're gonna, you know, throw the kitchen sink at him.
He just ran with it.
He threw to Braxton Barrios and keys situations. He wasn't afraid to check down to a second, third, or even fourth options on a couple plays. So you know, this was this was high level quarterbacking. Even with some mistakes here and there. They let those playmakers, even the lesser known ones, make their you know, their presence felt, and one took what was there. And that's I think the way to beat New England. And guess what, they have six ro games left and nine home games and they're
two and up. Both with conference victories. This is an amazing start for the Miami Dolphins. With all the question we had about two was Mike Bigdale, you know the right guy for this job. Vic Fangio comes in and makes his imprint felt, especially in Sunday night, I felt against the Patriots, So yeah, he can't ask for a better start from the from the Dolphins. So I think we absolutely have to consider Super Bowl contenders at this.
Point, especially when you look at the rest of the AFC East.
Here was a Patriots at oh and two for the first time in over twenty years. Twenty two years actually to be specific. The Jets fighting through at least for now with Zach Wilson at quarterback, and the Bills, I haven't figured them out yet. I know they are still a very good team. The Bills and Dolphins matchups. We have two of them scheduled coming up later. I know both will be great. But that to me is the AFC East. AFC North is a bit of a mess.
I still think it's the best division in football. Even with out Nick Chubb. You have the Ravens here, Eric moving up three to number seven. They went into Cincinnati. They did a job on Joe Burrow and that Bengals offense more and that a little bit later, the defense without Marlin Humphrey with out Marcus Williams, the offense with out JK. Dobbins, John Harbaugh found away again this was.
Kind of a classic Ravens win. Right. I think even Harbaugh said something to that effect. I mean, you know, the running the football without JK. It was a great committee work there. Offensive line seemed to play a little bit better there. Yeah, I mean I loved what I saw out of this offense. Whereas we've won, I kind of exited thinking, hey, this is still a work in progress. They're trying to figure out Todd Munkins system, how best to use these playmakers a little too. Zay Flowers to
pennwek one Lamar spread the ball around. When he had his opportunities to run, he took him and really beat up a good front seven for the Bengals, right. And you can say their secondaries young for the long what have you. That's fair, but I mean he was running circles around him. And then defensively, as you pointed out, without those those great defensive backs, they did a number on those receivers at least in the first half, and gave themselves a chance to win. So a total victory
I thought for Baltimore. Kind of hanging on, but still an impressive one in Sinci.
Yeah, and there are more injuries too, not just the ones that we listed. They did that without Ronnie Stanley and without Tyler Lindebaum, so without their left tackle and without their center. Not just average left tackles or centers either, very very good players. And Lamar had time to throw. He had time in this new offense to find his third read even when Odell Beckham Junior didn't play in the second half. And to me, that's the most encouraging thing to take away from this. The Bengals are a
mess again. As I mentioned, we'll do them a little bit later. Lamar looked like the quarterback that they wanted Todd Mounkin to develop. I say developed. It's year six. I realize char is not a rookie. He's not that he Richardson, who comes into Baltimore this week. If he's able to play, he's in concussion protocol. I mean, that's what they thought they were getting when they brought Monkin in.
I agree. I mean all the stuff we thought Georgia with Stetsu Betted. I mean, he's translating a lot of that to Lamar.
Now.
Lamar adds his own little spice and his own little flare to it, because he's an improvisational genius. Even he doesn't know what he's going to do at the start of some places, but he makes him work. And so within the framework, they've made a jump from week one against Houston, you know, I thought who defended him well at times to week two what we saw against Cincinnati, it was a step up. Now we'll see can they keep it going and really developed that identity that Monk has brought.
And say this too about the AFC and North.
The Ravens have the best quarterback situation right now heading into week three in the entire AFC. No North, and it's not even close, not even close. And I don't know that anyone, as much as we love Lamar would have thought that. We could have said that as definitively as we can say it. Heading into week number three, we roll on the NFL Power Rankings here presented to
you by Energizer. Coming up next, I admit I did not see the Seahawks winning in Detroit what that does for the rest of the NFC and the power rankings coming up next. Power rankings presented by Energizer on NFL dot Com. Right now, Eric at Holmes teams nine through sixteen.
The Jaguars are down two to nine.
The Saints are up four into the top ten, followed by the Jets at eleven, the Bengals and Browns at twelve and thirteen, the Falcons at fourteen, the Seahawks and somehow the zero to two Chargers are at sixteen.
I want to focus on the Saints here, Eric, because they.
Are one of seven counting seven two and oho teams through two weeks in the NFC, which is the most we've had since the merger. The Saints are making shall we call it power moves. They're making a power move presented to you by Energizer. They won in Carolina against a rookie quarterback and you still have them up for why.
Spend too much time? I go, Andrew, There's no question about it.
But yeah, no, beyond my love for the city of New Orleans, I mean this Saint stanief have been tremendous, right They go one hundred and eighteen plus minutes without allowing their first touchdown of the season. It comes in not exactly garbage time, but when they were in a prevent defense, and that's now ten straight games that they've held their opponent under twenty. That's a pretty good bar to set for this league, even if scores maybe down a little bit. So look, I know that Derek Carr
is still settling in. I know it took them really three and a half quarters to kind of get the deep passing game going. We saw Chris o'lavee on the deep shot. We saw Rashid Shaheed. I want to see more of that, right I'm a little worried about the injury to Jamal Williams, the thinness in the backfield until Kamara gets back. But Ton Jones did step up in the short yardage game scored a couple touchdowns.
So it's a pretty good football team right now.
If I just had to see them play the Falcons, I imagine they'd probably win by a field goal or a touchdown. I mean, I think they're just a little ahead of Atlanta right now and clearly outpacing a team like Carolina that they dispatched on Monday.
There are three teams in the NFC South.
Three teams in the NFC East that are two and oh Saints obviously one of those teams. You mentioned the stat about holding the opposition under twenty it's now ten straight games under twenty one. There is where the bar is and the Patriots. The Patriots, just to put it in perspective the last decade, are the only team with a streak longer than that. Their streak was eleven a
couple of years ago. The Saints have now done that ten consecutive games and getting ready for Game Day Final on NFL Network on Monday night, I stumbled upon this as well, which blew me away. The last five years, the Saints are the best road team in the NFC. Matter of fact, there's only one team better than the Saints in all of the NFL on the road the last five years, and that's Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Never in a million years would I have guessed that
they've cycled through quarterbacks now when Drew Brees retiring. Right now it's Derek Carr's team, and this week it's the Saints on the road at Green Bay, which is going to be fun because Jordan Love's actually playing well. Joe Berry's defense, though that would be another issue. All right, let's get to the rest of it here. After the Saints got the Jets at eleven, we have eric the Bengals and Browns at twelve and thirteen. The Bengals are zero to two. The Browns beat the Bengals. That said,
the Browns now have Nick Chubb. You still have them, though below the team that they beat up week one.
I think had Chubb not gotten hurt Monday night, I think had Deshaun Watson not played as poorly as he did, I can I certainly make a case for them being above them now the Bengals, obviously, we don't really know what they are at this point.
So it's a fantastic debate.
I wouldn't really stand in your way if you argued the other way was true. The Brown's gonna be out of responds to this injury, right, what does Jerome Ford give them? Is there somebody outside the building who's gonna help? And biggest question, Andrew, you know this team very well.
What is going on? Sean Watson?
I mean, there are times when things are working pretty well, but there are other times when balls are sailing four yards out of bounds, or you know, trying to be too fine turning the ball over. Obviously, he gifted him fourteen points. So look, there's a lot to figure out right now for this quarterback whose contract anchors Simon Cleveland.
I'll be honest, I don't think he has it anymore. I watched him.
I don't see it. I just don't see it. I see the ball sailing, I see his accuracy down. I see his eyes down feeling the rush and not seeing some wide open receivers. I know it's only two weeks, but you take these two weeks with the last six weeks of the twenty twenty two season, I think they're in trouble the quarterback. I'll be honest with you. They also have to go find a running back. I like Jerome Ford. I loved him last year as well, in the very limited time that we saw him, I would say,
go trade for cam Akers. I made that point as well on the Instagram and the Twitter. That's what I would do. I still think they're a playoff team of the playoff defense, but they have a quarterback issue right now.
Period. All right, let's get to a team that we trust.
The team that we trust today presented to you by truest bank. The team that we trust is in Seattle. The Seahawks are number fifteen. Eric, you had them up three after going into Detroit, and I did not see this coming, beating the Lions in.
Overtime, Nor did I even though we had some evidence of that type of game Week four last year when these two teams met.
I think it was what forty eight to forty.
Five last time, a little lower scoring this time, but I was impressed with the resolve of the Seahawks losing that game in Week one by what three scorers and not looking very impressive and doing so. Maybe the Rams are a little bit better opponent than we thought coming into the year.
At least that I thought.
But Seattle, the way they stepped up, and even without some key guys out there. They were down to Trey Brown at defensive back after Reeke Woollen got hurt, Brown gets a sack on a couple of plays later. Really loved the way Gino played the sack at the end. Okay, not the greatest play in his career, but everything else almost was on point. He looked like the quarterback that deserved that extension of the offseason. The only played so
well last year, so big season saving. I mean, I would argue that this was as big a victory as you could imagine for you know, a team that plays in San Francisco's division and can't afford a ton of losses like that.
Yeah.
Absolutely, They did it without their starting left tackle and their starting right tackle, and Gino Smith was only hit once the entire game, and that one hit came out of play. He should have thrown it away. He was trying to milk the clockdown before the two minute warning. He's running backwards like he's Aaron Brooks. He almost threw the ball backwards like kid.
He didn't.
But they won that game, and they protected that quarterback against the Detroit defense.
That has some issues.
Now loses Chauncey Gardner Johnson as well, and the Seahawks go home and they get a rookie quarterback in Bryce Young and Seattle potentially they go to two and one. So yeah, I would argue it would save their season. The Chargers, let's get to them, Eric now badly need to save their season. They are zero to two on the road this week against an equally desperate zero to
two Minnesota team. The Chargers fell four. You still have them at sixteen after losing a game yet again that they should have won, this time in Tennessee at overtime.
That's the frustrating part, Andrew. I see this team. I see a roster full of talent.
I see a team that should be better than it is right now, and maybe that's coloring my view of what they actually are. It's possible they deserve to be in the twenty somewhere based on how they've played so far.
At least the pass rush stepped.
Up, but I've got major questions about how they're covering on the back end. The secondary once again was picked on against the Tennessee team that was very much humbled, at least offensively in Week one at New Orleans.
Couldn't get anything going. Played very conservatively out.
Of respect maybe to the Saints, not so much respect for their Week two opponent. The charters continue to give them opportunities to move the football in big chunks, large tracks of land at the time, not what you want to do defensively. Especially his philosophy, Brandon Staley supposed to be the kind of guy that makes you work to get down to the end zone. It just didn't happen on Sunday and.
Will it ever?
You know, now you got to stop Kirk Cousins justin Jefferson.
I don't know is that possible.
Tennessee's not a big strike team. Brandon Staley puts an umbrella at the top on that defense. And when Ryan Tannehill had to stretch the field and get big plays, they did it in the fourth quarter and in overtime.
That's not Brandon Staley's defense.
And now that defense that traditionally has not stopped the run goes to Minnesota to face the team that hasn't even tried to run these last two weeks. They don't even try with Alexander Madison there.
I know.
They fell in the whole in Philadelphia on TNF and Kirk Cousins rallied them back. Who knows what that game is going to be like two assistants who know each other as well now as head coaches to be with the Rams in Kevin O'Connell and Brandon Staley. So they're no secrets here and both teams badly, badly need that game. In Minnesota. They are zero and two. They are still in the top half of the power rankings. We are halfway through coming up on Power Rankings here presented to
you by Energizer, the best of the rest. How about that team in Washington? And what do we make of the Titans? Now that's right around the corner, right, everybody you're watching the NFL Power Ranking Show presented by Energizer, are also listening on a podcast.
I shall read these names to you.
At seventeen, Eric Atholm has the Pittsburgh Steelers up too. He has the Packers down three to eighteen, followed by the Commanders, the Titans, the Bucketeers at twenty one, the Vikings, the Broncos, and the Rams.
At twenty four.
Eric, let's talk about the Washington Commanders and a big Sam Howell second half rally and then a hold on for dear life win in Denver.
Hey, sometimes you need.
Those, right, I mean, these are the kind of victories that a team gets when they kind of turned the corner a little bit.
We'll see, right. They have Buffalo next week. A lot still to figure out, but I love the way they played in.
The second half, both defensively shutting down Russell Wilson Marvin Mims had beaten him twice in the first half, and then offensively as well, Sam Howell had got beaten up a little bit, took some lumps in the first half, really spread the ball around. How about that beautiful ball
to Terry McLaurin in the end zone. I just think this Sam Howell thing is really interesting all of a sudden, if the offensive line can hold up and again next week, we'll really tell us how far off am I on their rankings.
So they have better football team that what I'm putting them at right now.
When they get the Buffalo Bills coming into FedEx Field in week number three. I have said it really all summer. Sam Howe has some nice pieces around him.
Mm hmm.
He could deliver the football pretty well downfield. That strike to the end zone was just ridiculous. He's interesting. Here is Ron rivera get's career victory number one hundred as a head coach. Let's power through some of these. You have the Titans at number twenty Eric. They are up to They go to Cleveland to face a Browns team gutted emotionally and on a short week.
Yeah, and obviously the Titans were kind of humbled in Week one, came back, picked themselves up, won a big overtime game even if it came against the Chargers team that we've panned a lot. I mean, look, Ryan Tannhill's improvement one week to the next I thought was pretty stark. He was great on Sunday, and they had to have that, right, They had to have somebody who can make those big throws and key times they're down eleven to nothing, they
called the deep ball. So also some evidence that Mike Brabel understood, Hey, our season might be on the line here. They win an overtime, huge one for them. How great a team are they? I don't know, but I think they've got good coaching, smart players, and some real toughness to it.
They are one spot ahead of the Buccaneers, who are up three to twenty one. The fighting Baker Mayfields are two to zero for the third consecutive season. Eric, but the first time with Baker Mayfield and not Tom Brady.
Yeah.
And I think everybody looked at the Bucks this offseason and said, Okay, they're rebuilding. It's a bad division, blah blah blah. Look, they kept a lot of their high end players. Obviously, Mike Evans was out there dusting people on Sunday and he.
Could still do it. Certainly. Chris Godwin.
Shaq Barrett had an unbelievable game as well, finishing off the Bears there at the end with the interception and run back. And this is a really interesting club here, right. If they can pressure defensively, they have success. If Baker Mayfield plays with the kind of confidence he does he has in the first two weeks, and back to that kind of swashbuckling version of him that we saw early in his career, we saw in college football. Maybe the
Bucks are better than we realized. So we'll find out a lot when they go up against Philly, and that's gonna be a good test to see where they stand. What kind of barometer are we gonna be able to give them next week?
That is a Monday night game. I'm smiling and laughing here. You said swashbuckling, He quite literally. Now Baker has a pirate on the side of his helmet. It's right, he's mister Ebor City. I think it fits all right, Let's get twenty five to thirty two in here. The rest of the rankings all available on NFL dot Com. It's the Patriots at twenty five, followed by the Raiders, the Panthers, the Giants, your dreadful Bears at twenty nine, the Colts,
the Texans, and the Arizona Cardinals. Can you pick a team here, Eric, with about two minutes to go, a minute and a half to go, that you think can maybe climb out of this mess?
Yeah.
On the one hand, you might sort of pick one of the young quarterbacks that could make a case for the way Anthony Richards has played, but he's gotten hurt in both games.
That scares me.
Bryce Young haven't seen a lot out of him to this point. I would say that my best bet, as unsexy as sound, probably New England. Look they could have been, they could technically be two and zero at this point. They came down to the last few plays in both games, the loss against the Eagles and Dolphins, and I could make a case for the Eagles and Dolphins being top five teams. They're in my rankings, so that's probably the
team I would pick. Bill Belichick coaching and maybe some improvement of not shooting themselves in the foot in these games, that would be a good start.
Imagine this conversation next week if the Patriots lose to Zach.
Wilson, and I hear you, I hear you.
Imagine they are always with you time since two thousand and one and Drew bledsoe. Yeah, imagine if they go zero and three, that's going to do it. For the NFL Power Rankings presented by Energizer for Eric at home in very Sad Chicago. My name is Andrew Siciliato and kind of happy and content Los Angeles, every Tuesday on the NFL channel or on the podcast See You Later, Guys.
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.