NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in partnership with I Heart Radio. He's bad. What have everybody? Welcome to Power Rankings, brought to you by Energizer. I'm calling Wolf and a hearty, hearty Welcome home, Dan Hansas, he returns victorious from England, from London, I mean your country thanks you for your service, like America. Yes, I know that it was rough city paperwork that I get something a good frame and put in the living room.
I can I can have something drawn up for you. Yeah, maybe a plaque. Who knows, I don't. I have to start on a negative note. What how dare you Daniel Jeremiah in the studio? Well, listen, how dare you you know that we are very good friends at this point?
Jeremiah just thought that. Well yeah, actually after last week me and DJ he has moved up my power rankings of fresh like watching Padres games together straight over you, Dan, But since you weren't here, I'm sure you didn't get a chance maybe to listen, not yet, but I planned to study it. Well, how about right now shall we? The blood feud runs pretty deep with Dan. Yeah. You know a lot of people when they get contracts and
they get them redone. They put in special perks, and maybe that's a wardrobe budget, maybe that's flying first class on the road. Mine is I will only appear on a Dan Hands new show if he is out of the country. I wish you weren't a liar, Dan, but here we are right now. Dolphins are number three. Yeah, I mean he's not a man of his word. Spoiler alert, I mean raise your hand if you're not shocked by that, Okay, that would be me. Can we put a QR code?
Can we put a few R code on the screen and you can just scan it and get Dan's real time reaction? Perfect? That's what I want. I would love that. We're going to effort it, see if we can get it by the end of the show. I will go back to Ken Dorsey real quick, though. I haven't seen somebody that upset since Hand just woke up the morning and one of his two T shirts that he wears was dirty. That is another level of anger that we
saw up there in the booth. Well, first of all, I was so excited when I heard there would be a Hard Knox podcast and I heard you were going to be involved in and I was like, I'm in, count me in, and I'm like, oh my gosh, they've got hands this with her. But episodes because Dan, no, but you, but you subscribe a little bit, but just your part, just to your part. And then fast forward like a little like fifteen or thirty second fast forward button.
Usually have to push it multiple times, you know, goes on and on and on. Yeah, Oh my gosh, Dan, the look in your eye now of just anger. I travel across the world to promote this brand of American football, and that happens back home. That is a sneak attack. The wholesome assassin Daniel Jeremiah with his fancy little shirt and his little digs. I will have my vengeance. I declare vengeance. Daniel Jerem Maya beware, no one in San
Diego is safe. That fancy little shirt he was wearing, he told me before we started the show that he specifically wore that shirt because you have the same one. So just letting you know. My favorite dig was that I have to T shirts I have. I'm like one of those guys. I have seven thousand T shirts, including every T shirt I've had since about nine And my wife wonders why do you have all these shirts? Guys
can't throw out their T shirts. No, it's it's difficult. Well, why don't you put your top five on a T shirt? Let's throw it up on I don't know why I would do that because this changes every week, so that would be well maybe just for this week. We before, we got the Eagles at number one, no change there, no change for the Bills at two, the Chiefs up two spots at three, the Packers standing pad at four, and then the Niners up six spots at number five.
We're gonna talk about them too, but let's start with the Eagles. I'm not freaking out you are, Dan. You know, two weeks in a row for the Eagles. They're the only undefeated team in football at this point at four and now. And that was an interesting little test for them, wasn't it. It was so you had a situation where they fall behind fourteen nothing. It's the first time there's any level of adversity for them and their defense, and Miles Sanders are the ones that kind of get it done.
Miles Sanders, I think it has been excellent all year long. A buck thirty four and two touchdowns on twenty seven carries. If you remember, there are a couple you know, a couple of years ago when he first broke out, he looked like a superstar in waiting, and then last year
never scored a touchdown. But the fact that he's able to be the lead of a ground attack that had over two hundred yards and then with the defense did did poor Trevor Lawrence who we were you know, we were ready to see him make the leap in week four and he's still very well. May I'm really a little bit out Connie on everyone needs to judge Trevor Lawrence every week about whether or not he's living up to the hype. But yeah, having five turnovers and four
lost fumbles, there's no way to go through life. It's sort of like what was previously going through when every single start last year it was he was being judged on every single mistake was so magnified. So Trevor Lawrence kind of takes over that spot. But it was an emotional game. It was a messy game for the Eagles, the fact that Doug Peterson was back in the building.
It was raining, It was ugly, but like the win itself was ugly too, And they've showed that they can win a variety of ways, whether it's a shootout, whether it's a come from behind when like this, the defense did a really good job. Hassan Reddick, Like, what a great pickup that was in the off season. But I'm a little worried about some of the injuries that are starting to pile up for the team. But you are
standing standing on your ground here. The Eagles are the top team in the NFL, not just because of the record, but just because of it is not the power standings, it's the power ranking. So yeah, it's the fact that they've won in all sorts of ways, and even when Jalen Hurts comes back to earth a little bit, they still find a way to reel off twenty nine unanswered points. I don't like that their new end zone font is a rip off of the old Jets logo from the eighties, Like,
you guys don't to be doing that. I'm not a huge fan of the funny. I don't know what's going on with that. But yeah, and you have the number two team, the Bills, who were so awesome obviously on Sunday night, And it did cross my mind, Connie, since you're bringing up. Were they good enough and impress him enough against the Bucks to take back the one spot from the Eagles. But ultimately I said, that doesn't seem
right the Eagles. I think the Jags are not the Jags of last year, and I thought that was a really impressive showing in that game. Yes, so there we have the number one spot, um, and we will continue to see how they do. They have the Cardinals next week. The Eagles do it is especially after what we've seen from that you guys, Boo, Doug Peterson. I'll get to that a little later in the show. I hope you do. Listen.
We are a good We're good people from Philadelphia. All right, as I sit here in all of my Phillies gear. Let's go to your number four team, the Packers. They stay at four, so now they're in the top five. Still pretty high for a team that almost lost to Bailey Zappy in overtime. Yeah, that was a very strange game because I don't think the Packers were playing poorly, and I don't think even Bailey Zappy was playing well like it was in him going off and and shocking
the world. He made a couple of throws, but for the most part, he was exactly what you would think from a third string rookie quarterback with no experience at all.
So I think when you saw when the field goal kick goes through the uprights by Mason Crosby and the Fox cameras cut to Matt Lafleur pulling off his headset with like a look of just relief etched across his face, it was because I don't think anyone expected that game to go the way it went, and you kept expecting Green Bay to pull away, and um, yeah, if you want to quibble a little bit, and sure I will,
that's part of the job here. It wasn't so impressed with the defense, his inability to really take that game over for some three and outs for Zappy into a killer you know, interception or a pick six, something that would give them breathing room. But instead the Pats kept on answering the rod, the Rogers marches, and then finally they step up and overtime get the stop near midfield and then kicked the field bill. So it was a
nice little test and unexpected test for the Packers. So it was enough to park them where they were, but it wasn't huge on Romeo Dobbs dropping. Yeah, I know it was very close, but that's now the second time we've seen one of these young wide receivers failed to pull in what would have been a huge touchdown for the pack I hate when I don't survive the ground, like every single time, never surviving, I hate it. But it just shouldn't have been so difficult for the Packers
in that game. I understand when you have a game like the Bills and the Ravens did like that is an absolute test, that's like a final exam almost in the regular season, and you know it's going to be difficult and it's going to come down to the end. But this really should not have And I guess it was nice that the wide receivers for the Packers ultimately came through at the end so they could get the game winning field goal. But there are some problems there
and it's not sustainable that the way that they're winning games. Yes, well, that word is the word that Aaron Rodgers used on Sunday after the game. This is the quote. This way of winning. I don't think it's sustainable because it puts too much pressure on our defense and obviously I've got to play better and will play better. And here's the thing, Rogers, for all the Criticison gets on certain subjects, is being modest here because I thought he was excellent in that game.
He puts some throws on the money that there are very few quarterbacks that can do what he does and what he did in that game. And that's why it was such a strange game for me. It's almost like I would want to go back and watch it again because because I was in like an England Hayes where I'm sleeping to two hours a night with supreme jet
leg Because I didn't think the Packers played bad. I thought, really maybe a testament at Bill Belichick and them coaching up that team to hang against a much better opponent. But the Packers held serve like the Eagles tested in a surprising way, got the dub and their schedule coming up, they have the Giants, Jets, and Commanders, so they could have six wins. So Giants so that's win. Jets lost two or three before they get the Bills. How about
your number five team. You absolutely love this team. You loved them from week one when I think you had them ranked three, the Niners at five. You're really trying to make the Niners a thing right now, and honestly, like some of us are about to remember that Monday night football game against the Broncos, that's ancient history that feels like it was a hundred years ago. I know it wasn't. But this is the version of the Niners that can win a Super Bowl. This defense is absolutely legit.
Sacking Matthew Stafford six times, you got the game. I sing pick six by Telenoa Hufanga, who has been awesome all year. The Niners have this ability and it's underrated to continually unearth these gems on their defense. And they're not always high drafted guys. They are these players. They just their development machine of impact players on defense, and you just see it. When they have health and they have these guys on the field, they are really tough
to mess with. It Also, I think this building, Levi Stadium doesn't always get a lot of love, but that was loud last night. I thought that was a good vibe there. So the defense is the reason they won that game, and I think taking it to Sean McVeigh and the Rams in that way had to be super warding. After the playoffs, Matthew Stafford was sacked seven times and
that I was just looking it up. But you also have Deebo Samuel and just the touchdown run that he had was he had so many trying I'm like closing my eyes so I can visualize it right now. There were so many miss tackles and the Rams are usually that is their department. They're so good and nobody can tackle sam So you had that insane run and then Jeff Wilson just was like shot out of a cannon at one point, just the acceleration that he had. There was just so much yak in this game. Yeah, and
that's what this is about. And that's why you could say, maybe I'm a little overly bullish putting them into the top five. But when Jimmy Garoppolo is playing within himself, he doesn't have to do as much as some of the other quarterbacks of big time teams in the league right now. He just needs to get it out on time, on target, and let them do the work. After the game, he was interviewed on the field and he said it
we're getting the Yacht Bros. Back and nearly three quarters of his passing yards yesterday thirty nine came after the catch. Oh my gosh. So it's like you can say, oh, yeah, but he can't attack teams downfield. Look at what he has and the way they could play offense, that's fine. And then if you have a defense like that, come on, you're telling me what the team you saw last night dismantle the Rams? And I know the Rams haven't been good this year, but that's not the top five team
to you right now? Well, we're close to it. I don't know, because watching them against the Broncos it just felt different. Now. I know that was Jimmy's first start and he really hadn't had a ton of work with the starters before that, But I think that you do have a point when you talk about the defense and the way that they're able to win games with this offense, with the yak yards and everything else. That's how they made their playoff run last year, So why couldn't they
do it again this season? Especially now Jimmy g is not playing with a bad throwing shoulder, so I think Garoppolo could get them in the end. I get that. I think the reason why I had them at number three to start the years because I did buy into it this idea, But what if you took a supreme talented player like Trey Lance, and if the coaching staff leaves in him, if he's great, they're going to be unbelievable.
That didn't work out, unfortunately because of the injury. But now you have this team, and I think this team is still plenty good enough to win. Yeah, so they have the Panthers to win it all, Connie to win it all? Perhaps, whoa, you're telling me that version of the Niners in January. The Eagles welcomed them into the link. You're not a little concerned, Not at all. I'm feeling great, great about. Let's go to teams six through ten and your rankings. At six, we have the Bengals up four spots,
the Ravens at seven. At eight, you have the Bucks they remain unchanged, as well as the Vikings at nine, and then the Dolphins down seven spots at ten. I want to talk about a team right outside of the top ten, though, the team that lost to the Niners. While we're kind of coming off that game, the Rams. They have a lot of issues going on their offensive line in the relying way too much on Cooper Coup.
Everything is going through him. Let's just look into the future though here for a second, because they started at two, then they fell to four, then they slipped to six for two weeks. Now they're outside the top ten at eleven. If they lose to the Cowboys on Sunday, how much further do they fall, Well, it depends what kind of loss it is, But if it's if it's a performance like this, the one on Monday night, they're all of a sudden probably in that six to eighteen range, which
is crazy. But listen, the reason why they're on a steady decline on this list is because they haven't played well all year. There was only one moment in the season where I felt legitimately good about the Rams is when they were twenty seven three on the Falcons, and even that game on the Falcons, and even that game became a nail bitter at the end until Jalen Ramsey
high pointed an interception in the end zone. Yeah. I just thought the offense is hard work for them right now, And you could definitely point to the offensive line and all the injuries that they've had along that front, and that's causing maybe the reason why they're refusing to throw downfield is because they don't trust their line to hold up for Stafford, who's a veteran quarterback who's been dealing with issues of his own. There's probably a lot of
different factors, but you're right. I don't think any offense where you're just throwing it over and over to Cooper Cup. I mean the game I pick six by who founda who do you think he's targeting the Cooper Cup. Of course, defenses are going to react and say, you need to beat this with someone else. And that's why this Allen Robinson situation has been It's approaching. I wrote it in the Power Rankings on NFL dot Com because I love
just writing the word. We're approaching Connie Boondoggle status with this acquisition. I it's I'm so upset about it. I really wanted to be upset about what I wanted this for Allan Robinson, Like I was so excited that he was finally freed, he was out of Chicago. We thought it great for him and this and it doesn't. This isn't necessarily a reflection of Alan Robinson himself, but of course he's probably got something to do with it. Maybe
he has a lot to do with it. But I remember around the NFL went to Rams camp in the summer and Jordan and Rodrigue who covers the ramps of the athletic We love Jordans. She was one of the many beat writers that we're saying, Man, this guy Allen Robinson, he is bawling out. People are coming up to me and just saying, hey, keep an eye strangers at the grocery store. Strangers. Well, I think it was a camp,
but I like that idea. Jordan's buying oranges in the grocery store and someone just can't get enough of Allen Robinson and conversation about his career, or it was Colleen's like college, what are you doing here? You even live in this neighborhood? Are you following me? And so it's gone from that to this, and part of it's a reminder. It's like the summer is kind of annoying in football because you could talk and talk and talk, but you can't manifest it. He needs to do it on the field.
They need to find a way and they also need to pick up the phone and see how what Dell's needs doing. That's true, that's a great point. I'm a little worried about Sean McVeigh. I wonder how he is doing just like mentally right now, because I'm sure he's not. He has to watch, he has to, and I'm sure
he did it last night. He used to watch that game film, and I wonder when he watches that what his thoughts are about Matthew Stafford and how much of the offensive issues go back to him or is I'm sure he's obviously watching at McVeigh from all levels in terms of studying the offense as he understand that the protection issues and the inability to have a sustained run game, and the lack of a trust here with Stafford and
these other receivers. It seems like it's all kind of a messy stew And this is the first time after watching this games like, Oh, I'm worried about the Rams. It's hard to repeat. It doesn't happen, it happens last time, it happens like twenty years ago. And right now the Rams don't look anything like they were by the end of last year. No. And meanwhile, Jared Golf, though he doesn't have the wins, is playing pretty well. We'll get
to the lines a little later on the show. I don't know if they're Yeah, I still think there are two and two are probably worse if a golf is here, But you're right here. He you know, he wasn't. Here's the thing. He wasn't the problem either. In Los Angeles. It was when the supporting cast came back to earth a little bit, including Todd Gurley, who went from superstar to just a guy overnight. He was exposed a little bit. Golf Stafford. Is he being exupposed a little bit right now?
I don't know. I don't know what's happening. I don't know. It's a weird team to figure out right now. They can't figure themselves out Teams eleven through fifteen, as we just mentioned, I think I should have dropped him out of the top ten. You think it's too harsh by the old zuer No, I think you're right watching them. What did I mess up in the top ten? Did I botch anything in the top ten? Two? Let's see,
I'm looking well. I don't know if the Niners the Packers maybe should get dinged a little bit because it was just such a tough win for them against Bailey's Appy, But overall I kind of nailed it eleven, very good, the Rams down Titans at twelve. They remain the same, The Cowboys remain the same at thirteen, Chargers up one at fourteen, and then the Raiders at fifteen. But that spot that is just so difficult to figure out. It's
a little bit of the twilight zone. Two weeks in a row, the Cowboys have been your thirteen ranked team. The defense is carrying the team. It's a little bit like a Cooper Rush effect going on. How do you feel about them right now? Are they really that difficult they are to understand? You know what, They're a little different than the typical thirteen twilight zone really because I don't think you're difficult to figure out right now within
the context of they're pretty good. They are pretty good. They're not a team's usually the numbers. What are we doing? Like? Who are they? What makes them kind of an interesting team to try to figure out? To me, Connie, is are they actually really good? Are they the team that went through last year and entered the playoffs and then fell on their face? But it was like, Okay, this is a good Dallas team. It's a team here mouse, Connie.
They are going to contend for the NFC East this year because as good as Cooper Rush has been, and he has been, he's really done great work and I really liked even in the game on Sunday he was attacking downfield throws at the game in hand late He's he's fearless out there. He knows this is his opportunity. It is the defense that is not going to change unless they get hit by injuries, and that that's a defense that has given up one touchdown in each of
the first four games. Even the Eagles are going to struggle against this defense, well, well we'll see. We'll see about that. A great job getting after Carson Wentz. They stacked him twice, intercepted him twice. Everybody does that. It's been all year for for Dallas, and Michael Parsons is not stuffing the stat sheet so far. But this is even without him going off and just taking over the league for a six week stretch, which is possible as well. So the mystery to me is are they a potential
elite NFC team. I'm already now back in that they're good. How good are they? And again we're wrong all the time in the show. I don't like to tell anyone that, because I thought they were cooked after week one. But the Cooper Rush thing was a revelation that he was able to come in and hold things down, and the defense has been maybe the best in the league. Was that a baby's head that just flew by? Or is that just you know your jet like that? There's the baby.
It's a doll head, colleague, not an actual human baby. There. It is E equals MC squared, a clock spinning grandfather clock, just going around and around. We are in not the Twilight zone, because that's someone else's intellectual property. Yes, what is this aversion? It's the twilight area? Okay, yeah, twilight corner. Well no, because space is vast right, the twilight vacuum. It's pretty good. Okay, you know what else? I see team sixteen through two. Okay, Broncos will be clear with
the I p on that. We'll chat. We in the clear. It's check with our Cardinals at seventeen, up three, the Saints of one at eighteen, the Giants up three at nineteen. Can I say one more thing about the previous grouping the Jags of the one and the Falcons of go ahead? Did you plan to talk about the Raiders on today's show before we said goodbye. I want to on the Raiders quickly. They're up six to fifteen. But it's not like I watched the game against the Broncos and thought,
oh man, they are on the rise. It's this whole middle of the league right now is very foggy. Well, yeah, there's so if a team like the Raiders wins one game, they're gonna shoot up. Even if I'm out that high on them. Now you look at the rest of them, you just say, I got the Broncos down to the Cardinals. I don't like the Cardinals at all. But then look who's beneath the Cardinals. The Saints, who are one of
three and very nearly owing four. The g Men, who, yes they're three and one, and I get I moved them up three spots, but I'm not love with them. The Jaguars just gave up twenty nine straight points of the Eagles and their young quarterback at five turnovers. The Browns keep finding ways to lose. And then I got the Falcons up to twenty two, and maybe they should be even a little higher, you could argue, but I
don't love the Raiders. But look at all these teams. Connie, I feel like we just took a saw and opened up your head and looked inside of your brain. You're delirious. Imagine flying over like Scotland and Ireland and then the ocean and then Nova Scotia, and then I'm over Bozeman, Monte And it's like, oh, Dan, keep you know, pound out your power rankings, figure all this out, as like my body clock is exploding inside. But I still, by the way, Hashtago have a gift for you. What hey, Dan,
you know what presented by energized right moving up? And one of those teams is the Giants now at nineteen. Then well week one, they actually came in at that's where we started at the beginning of the season. Yes, so really almost you know, almost last one of the worst teams in the league, it seemed on paper before we began the game. So they beat the Titans and moved up to one. They beat the Panthers and moved
up to nineteen. They lost to the Cowboys, dip them back back to yeah you have to correct there, and then to the Bears. They won this past week and now they are nineteen. So listen, only the Eagles and the Vikings have made bigger leaps since Week one, but at nineteen, like, you're still not really sold. No, And
you know it's interesting to me. Usually when there's a team and I'll use the Panthers as an example last year or the Dolphins this year that gets off to a fast start, and if I don't immediately move them high up the power rankings, the fans of that team will come into my Twitter and just say, I don't know what I'm doing. How dare you ignore what they're accomplishing. Usually, wait, let me guess they can understand how you have a job right, you should be fired, you should be this.
It's like whatever, bros. And then usually those teams, because they're not actually as good as those fan bases think despite the early record, they fall back to the pack. With the Giants, I've done the same thing. I'm kind of slow playing them a little bit because I'm not buying in totally. But I'm not hearing Giants fans pushing back. I'm not seeing it as my because I think Giants man's also understand that this three and one start well
not fake by any stretch. This is a team that has played very close games and all three of the wins, se Kwan Barkley has been the difference and pretty much all of them. The Cowboys game, which was like kind of the first big test in prime time at home with Dak Prescott injured, they weren't able to get it done and that kind of said, okay, that was a
little bit of a heat check for them. So while there, nineteen rise is notable and three and ones great and there's little juice in New York for the football teams, which is nice. I can't say when I look at their schedule. Connie at Packers in London in London with Daniel Jones maybe out, he's not the ankle issue, and we don't know about Tyrod Taylor because the concussion right Ravens at home at Jaguars at Seahawks. I'm not in on that yet. I think that's it. After that stretch
of four games, they'll probably be five below. But listen, they've already surprised a little bit. Maybe they'll surprise the more. Yeah, the Daniel Jones getting knocked out with the ankle and then he didn't throw a pass the rest of the game after he had to come in. Tyrod Taylor was knocked out, So who knows if it's going to be Davis Webb starting in London for the Giants. But this week we had the wide receivers combining for three receptions in twenty five yards. Kenny Golladay zero I know, I
don't even know at this point. He came out of that game and he's been injury zero catches before he was knocked out late in the game. But this is a team that Alan, I know what you're doing. I know what you're saying. You're like, oh, this is total bogus there, Bologny, I don't believe in them, and I kind of agree with you, but this is a very hard spot for them going to London to play Green
Bay shorthanded. But se Quon Barkley has been one of the best running backs in the league and that is something I did not see coming that changed their fortunes in a lot of ways this year A D forty six rushing yards for him, outstanding. He's been a bright spot. So that's great for the Giants fans. They can hang their hat on that. You know, how magnanimous of you. I know, this is what I do. Anyway, we got
teams twenty three through seven, just patted her hair. After that, I'm patting myself on the back of the Seahawks at five to twenty three. The Lions, Oh, the Lions were gonna talk about them in a second down eight at the Patriots down one at five, the Jets up five at twenty six, the Steelers down one at seven, got there, Kenny pick it in. He'll be the guy moving forward. But this brings us to power failure. I just mentioned
the Lions and it was so sad. It was so sad watching the look in Dan Campbell's eyes at the end of that game as he watched on after his team. This is a forty eight to forty five game against the Seahawks. Geno Smith came out of nowhere. This is this is so sad. Why does they didn't even have Aman Rossi Brown? This is the sad power failure music, sad jams. This is a sad jam. I don't know
what to do because you know this team cently. We recovered the Hard Knocks Lion season on the podcast this summer. That was a great time and we had so much hope and in particularly you know this county, like Aaron Glenn was m dude, former Jets cornerback who just seemed to be the type of coach that anybody would want on their staff at defensive coordinator, smart um, leader of
men type, guy that lived and breathed it. And yet they're on pace to give up more points than any team ever through four games and after the lost, Dan Campbell without calling out Aaron Glenn, you know, made it clear that we have reached the stage where we need to change some things and we need to be asking questions about why this isn't working. So the offense giving up fifty five yards to Geno Smith and the Seahawks, that doesn't uh. There's a major issue here. So they
gotta get a fixed. They got to find a way. We talked about it all through the summer on the Hard Knocks podcast that this defense was a question mark. And Rodrigo for instance, having the second highest selling jersey, the undrafted where the seventh round rookie linebacker. They don't have a lot of star talent and even Jeffer Couta making a jump at cornerback, they don't have enough pieces
touch there now. But it's it's a problem. Is it's a power failure for the height machine around the Lions because you do need tangible appreciation, you need you need to take the next step, and they haven't done it yet. The offense has. The offense shows that they can score points. They didn't have Iman Ross at Brown, they didn't have d jhark in this game. Jamal Williams, he's showing that he can be a reliable back for them. Jared Golf
is actually flourishing with Ben Johnson. They're creative. D J. Hockenson has been for them. They're averaging thirty five points a game on the nose. The problem is they're allowing thirty five point three points. It is the highest hot number of points to under anyone of any team ever as well. So I want to talk about the twilight zone,
the team that doesn't make sense. I don't know what to make of the lines, but let's just hope that this is not an aberration with the offense because of the Lions offense comes back to earth a little bit. The defense is not gonna be able to pick up the slack. I just need a couple of wins for Dan Campbell. Yeah, you know who else needs its Dan Campbell. Ah, that's the next The Colts the Cults don't need the
Lions to win. For Dan Campbell, the Colts started at twelve this year, and you know how much I loved them. Then they tied the Texans, so they filled a fifteen and then they lost to the Jags, so they fell to twenty six, plummeted to six. They beat the that's when Peter Scheger said they should be thirty two. I remember on Good Morning Football after the Jags game, after the Jags loss, who had looked worse at that point, which is a fair point at that sid, but I
didn't want to bury him that far. Well, you bumped him up three spots when they beat the Chiefs, and then shows that that was the right move. Got me because if I would have put them all the way down to thirty two and then they beat the Chiefs exact, I would have looked like, so here we are now. They've fallen sixteen spots since week one. It's it's a tough team and Matt Ryan he's having issues with turnovers. They can't run the ball. This is not what I
was sold during training camp. No, no, what I sold to everyone else, right, And it's a bad beat for Connie. I understand that. But when I was walking into the studio today and behind the glass was our colleague, producer Jason Klemman, big Rams fan, and I said, hey, Jason, so what's up the ramps? They stink? And we had a conversation about it. I have have the same conversation about the Colts. Are we just there with the Colts? Bad? Is that? What's the problem? Like, what's wrong with the Colts?
How do we fix the cults? Maybe this is actually a deeply flawed roster, and with the offensive line not being nearly as good this year, that blows everything up that it was so sensitive the roster that it needed to be held um and everything needed to be strong upfront or everything else falls apart. And because it hasn't been strong up front, Matt Ryan looks old and has
and ineffective and and turnover plagued. And Jonathan Taylor is getting stuck at the line of scrimmage over and over again, and now he has a high ankle sprain with a Thursday night game coming up, and yet it all up It's like, you know, have I mentioned Keel Leonard just broke his nose and was ruled out with a concussion. I don't like anything about where the Cults are right now. They're lucky to be one two and one because they feel like a team that could have been owned for
as bad as things went. But this is not a team that I feel good about rising. I think the Titans are a better team, clearly. I think the Jaguars have surpassed them, and they're more closer cousins to the Texans in the a f C South, which I'm with you, I can't believe that. I think I picked them as a playoff team, maybe even to win the South, but that has not been the team that showed up to play.
The Cults are now oh two and one in the division, and they have Jacksonville and Tennessee again coming up in the next three weeks, so that is a rough schedule. Yeah, and I think Frank Reich, knowing how angry ownership was at the end of the last season, it this thing continues to spiral. I know everyone's saying Matt Rule is going to be the first guy out. Frankreid could be
in trouble here if this season truly goes off the rails. Yeah, it's that's not a place that you want to struggle, especially with Jim Mercy and the way that everything went down last year with Carson Wentz getting run out of town. Kind of owner would you be? Would you be that type of be a well liked owner? You would, yeah, but I would think I would probably be reactionary. Would you be the type of owner that would fire people
all the time and demand results? And it's tough because all that power, you know, right, That's what I'm saying. I kind of feel like you might be, Yeah, that might be your thing. That's a your that's your job is to win, all right. Yeah, I'd be very calm, almost passive, but also wisdom. It would be like everybody
would know. I would carry around a big stick, a literal stick, like, oh, that's his wisdom stick, and I would think about things like Winston Churchill and World War two and then come to decisions that would lead my organization to the you know who has a new owner at the Broncos, let's go to them. Nice Transition one have fallen eight spots since week one. Wisdom stick. They went from eight to sixteen to seventeen to fourteen to sixteen. So here we are now this offense is we saw
a little bit more this week with Russell Wilson. But this team, now they lost Javonte Williams, it's difficult to figure out. Yeah, the fact that I have them at sixteen that feels generous as well, but again speaking to what we're talking about earlier, it's so it's so hard to figure out this area of the power rankings right now.
It's usually the have a spot to figure out. Is that the teenagers as we'll call them for the Power Rankings at thirteen to nineteen group and the Broncos are right near the top of the list, and I don't know what they're gonna do. This Javonte Williams injury is terrible. It was worse than you would have imagined when you saw it happen. So he's got a long road back, and the fact that they have to put Melvin Gordon
and back in the lineup at running back. I got its fumbled four times, including lost one for a fumble last week in a in a big game. That's not good. That's not good. And then you put in Boone in that game and he drops the pass that would have kept them alive against the Raiders late. So they're they're running back situation is brutal. You know, got the Randy Gregory injury. I'm we'll say this positively about the brocas Russell Wilson starting to look a little bit more like dangerous.
He's doing a little more freelance work the last drive against the Niners and Sunday night, and then he made some really kind of good throws that reminded you of the old days, and scrambling a little bit more against the Raiders. He certainly was not the problem against Las Vegas, but Denver in general, Yeah, I think it's safe to say even a two and two, which is hardly a disgraceful record, I would say that they're a pretty big
disappointment when going down that list in the ACU. So they play Thursday night, as we mentioned, against the Colts, and right, nice set up for them because Jonathan Taylor, even if he plays, is going to be severely limited, and you take Jonathan Taylor out of that lineup, the Denver defense should be able to eat there even with
Gregory out. So we'll see how that game goes. But we were talking about Frank Reich and when we were talking about the Colts and the fact that he could you know his seat might be getting warm a team who has a head coach with the hottest of hot seeds. I feel like already Matt Rule the Panthers. They have fallen eight spots since week one. They have bounced from twenty three down to twenty nine, down to thirty one and then thirty one. They are really hovering just around
like the worst possible spots. So this is Baker Mayfield. He has looked awful. He is not the guy I mean, I wonder at this point are they going to turn to Sam Donald? Is that they will? They will turn to Sam Donald because this is not sustainable and is it better? Probably not. But that's the problem. That's the Matt Rules sich ouation, which is the one that nobody wants to be in right now. He knows his jobs on the line here and he is already he knows
just like every Panthers fan. And you could hear him in Charlotte on Sunday booing the quarterback. They know he is not the answer Mayfield. I always kind of thought this that he was a product of his system in Cleveland, and when there was a lot around him, he was able to make some things happen. But once you take some things away, this is what you get. And Donald probably won't do any better, let's face it, but they
needed at certain point make a change. And the fact that mc coral, the rookie, went out with the foot injury in August, so he's not even an option. So rules like stuck with Baker right now. And there was a report that came out this week that Donald's not close to coming back yet from the high ankle spring that he suffered. You're just stuck with Baker. But can I say one thing about the offense. Few years back, Teddy Bridgewater was the quarterback and they were better. But
you know who else is better, Christian McCaffrey. And you know why why he they were better? It wasn't just because McCaffrey is a different guy now, because I think he's the same guy that would use him a lot, like throwing down field and pass patterns, and he was kind of used in a dynamic way and now it's just like they're just hammering him through the middle of the line as a between the tackles runner with an
occasional screen pass. He's your dude, like, find ways to make the quarterbacks job easier by using the best player on your team, and that's creative. I did share with the audience that Ben McAdoo looks like my neighbor Nate around the NFL, and and again it didn't maybe track with the entire audience, but I'm gonna essay on another show. That's a cool thing though, that he kind of looks
like my neighbor. Small audiences really showed him in the box and I was like, Oh, that looks like my neighbor. Let's go to that's my Ben McAdoo analysis. In case your neighbor. I remember when Ben might as well be I remember when Ben mcdoo was the Giants coach and he couldn't figure out to do with his hair, and then he slicked it back, and I think he's found something. Now, all right, you don't want to talk about you brought him up? Are the Colts at twenty eight? We just
mentioned them down five? At twenty nine, we got the Commanders taking command one spot up from last week, the Bears at thirty down three, the Panthers down to a thirty one, and then unchanged matters moved up. So that tells you if the commanders can get beat and look bad doing it and technically move up a spot. The teams below them are in a bad place. Really, that's very bad place. So you don't want to be in this spot. And so the Cults, you know, they just
have an edge on the Commanders. But the Bears. The justin fields thing is that's another that's another issue because you you could tell that Mattiraflus does not feel like you can trust fields right now or run the offense. He set a season high on Sunday and twelve lost of the Giants with eleven completions. Well not so that's an issue, all right. So let's get to the best of their rest here. We're gonna put thirty seconds on the close like that's an issue, Dan, It is an issue.
You know what. Else, there's a lot of issues here in terms of teams that are difficult to figure out. Which is the hardest to figure out, know, they put me on a clock with jet leg go ahead, go Alright, hardest team to figure out is the Dolphins. I got the middle eleven. Now, Dolphins fans are upset about that. They say, how could you do that to us? We
lose one game and you're dropping us eight spot. Well, you also lost to a and everything that went around the loss of twah And you know the NFL now is taking a much more serious crack here about how they're handling concussions. Teddy Bridgewater against the Jets. I like Teddy, but the Dolphins are a big question mark to me right now. They are How can they not? A lot of people? Hey, time's up? Good job? How about this one. Shouldn't the Falcons thirty seconds on the clock be above
the Browns after beating them? Isn't that how that works? Well? Uh? Maybe, but again, I was on a plane. I didn't write these. Someone did. Someone on my laptop, someone that looks like me wrote these, But it wasn't me. No. I do think the Browns. Yeah, I think the Browns are a better team than the Falcons. The Browns could be four and oh if they just execute better at the end of a couple of game games. Um, the Falcons have surprised me. I liked them. I think they're certified frisky.
But if you tell me who I like better, I mean, twenty one and twenty two County. Can we calm down a little bit? And it's not the power The rankings let's go to the next one. Okay, we got there's your job. I apologize. I apology accepted. That's fine. So let's go Bengals at six, Ravens at seven. Are you tipping your hand for next week? Oh? Good? One games? Where's the game in Baltimore? Is it in Baltimore? Got check? Now, let's check that. Uh yeah, yeah that is. I guess
you would Technically I would have. I would have to say no, I wouldn't. I could say whatever I want. I like the Ravens at home, but I also say, since Thenati has their swagger back. They liked what I saw from the Bengals the last couple of weeks, and Joe Burrow went out of his way after the game to compliment that offensive line and say, hey man, you do that, you protect me. We're gonna do all right. I still want to get the running game going, but
I do like the Bengals in Baltimore. Alright, So again that game at the Ravens Sunday night football too, that time. That's exciting. Joe Burrow is gonna ball out in prime time. I know he's going to show up in some amazing outfit. He had this floral suit on last week's swagging thirty seconds. Will the Jets yo yo continue in the rankings? I am excited to watch the Jets. Do you emotionally I don't. Sometimes when I'm writing about them, I emotionally write about them,
but I try to be even keeled with the rankings. Yeah, I thought that was really nice to see Zack wilson um lead That comeback in the fourth quarter. Was an excellent win. That's their second like crazy comeback in three weeks. I think they're still a very flawed team. But like I said, I think the Dolphins are a big mystery with Bridgewater and all the drama that has been around them,
and the Jets beat Miami. They're teenagers baby like nineteen Yeah, but they have to play well, which They've never been teenagers in the time I've been doing power rankings. But now all of a sudden, you are coming to I'm seeing Dan kind of like right now for the Hay it's gone. Okay, you're done, You're off the hook from ranking things. I'm going to rank some stuff real quick. Yes,
we get out of here. That's the name of the sem You you know you think your jet leg is bad, Let me tell you about my jet leg because I also had an amazing week in London. I've been all over the place. My husband, John J. Pollis is over there. For what am I drinking? That's ginger? Yeah, So I hung out with you guys. This was a great night.
We were at the pub together. We were supposed to go to a game Crysonal Palace and so we just yeah, we went to the local pub and enjoyed the company of each other and John, who's a great husband and a great hang. We had a fun time together in London. Did take the polaroid photo of you everywhere and had all sorts of photos taken with the polaroid in various figures. Yes, you can check out my instagram if you want to see it's like a flat Instead of flat Stanley, it's
flat Colleen bringing me all across London. We went to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the day after the game. I didn't get to go to the game, but I got to check out the Yes, the polaroid. Where do you think your spirit is inside that photo? Is that what's happening here? Is your spirit inside the actual? Yes, that's why I'm there. I met Harry Kane the captain in the locker room, and then the grand finale. I met the crew and cast from Ted Lasso at the big NFL party after
the game. So you didn't have to go to London. No, I didn't just do this all the time going forward. The best part is after I'm done with our coverage. I was here at two am to start for the pregame and half time and all of that. I get home and I have a FaceTime from John and I answer at it's John with the cast and crew from Ted Lasso, surprises around every corner. All right, I got another thing I'm going to rank. It's pretty good husband work. I know the rest of us a lie. This was
pretty amazing. Now, normally we would not be showing anyone running onto the field, but the hit the Bobby Wagner pulled out against this was last night Rams Niners. There was someone from the crowd that came down onto the field and Bobby Wagner had the craziest hit on him to take him out, kind of security him attack. McKinley took this guy down and Kurt Warner thought potentially it was a gender reveal because it was a look bomb.
It was pink. Turns out that was not the case, but shout out to Bobby Wagner for the tackle there that did not show up in the statute. Yeah, I thought that was great. I think any fan you have to if you do run on the field, which you should not, but if you do, at the very least, in addition to the night in the county lock up, getting smoked on the field, that's should be part of the price as well. And if you can get a future Hall of Famer like Bobby Wagner to do it,
why not. Yeah, and Kevin Harlan had a great call of it. You can check that out. Oh yeah, check out the Around the NFL podcast. We'll we'll play that. By the way, did you notice that some poor security guard in the background of the video that's all over the place right now is running after the guy with the smoke bomb and he suffers like a devastating legs slash knee injury. Yes, watch closer. It's like it's the Apruter film of crazy fans on the field. It's crazy.
What happens to this man's leg is he's just trying to run after this lunatic. The lunatic should pay for that man's a c l reconstruction surgery. I did not know that. I'm always always so concerned about the security guards, especially if like a player takes them out by accident. That is hardcore. Yes, oh god, okay, I'm sorry to give you that news, but that he sometimes job didn't catch that angle? All right? One more, how about this? How about some good news will end on a great
note here. I just want to let you know that the fans in Philadelphia Eagles fans, we are not monsters. Doug Peterson gets back to the Lincoln Financial Field, gets a standing ovation in the rain from the crowd. Their hero returns. The statue is up and now here he was in the flesh. It was a great moment. How big of you, guys, especially a couple of weeks after you're unmercifully booing the poor kid wide receiver who got drafted in the first round and didn't play as well
as he wanted to. Instead of booing the guy that drafted Jalen reagor Howie Roseman, you're booing this poor player who just wants to do his best. Dan, why do you hate Philadelphia? I don't, It's just you know, let's calm down with the hero where everybody amazing work out there with Doug Peterson. I mean, how could you not cheer? How is this even something? I think? This is This is what I'm talking about with the Eagles fans, in the Philly fans like the fact that you need to.
Of course you would cheer Doug Peterson. We are out of time, you've won one super Bowl in fifty five years. Of course you would cheer him. Why would it even be something like maybe we boosted him? Well back? Everybody have a great rescue a week. NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in partnership with I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.