NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in partnership with I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to another edition of the NFL Power Rankings podcast from the Chris Westling podcast studio. I'm Dan hansis joined as I always am, by the great Colleen Wolf. What's up, Connie. You know I'm not feeling that great today. I have a little bit of a fever of Phillies fever. As we discussed in the ramp up to today's program, baseball season is over.
As a professional, you should keep your focus on professional football. Oh, I can do both. Turn the page. Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Congratulations I am I'm happy for you. Uh,
Philadelphia fans really need something right now. The um. This is the Power Rankings Podcast where we go through one through thirty two and figure out where the power truly lies in our league and Week six will forever Connie be remembered by everyone in the world a civilized world, or me specifically, and maybe you if you agree with this as the Sunday that broke the Power Rankings. Nothing made sense. Nothing made sense. It was a total atomic poop storm, and I was left to try. I mean, yeah,
that's the description. I felt like Week seven was about picking up the pieces a little bit. And I'm not saying the league now makes sense, but it makes more sense than it did a week ago. Well, now we have more to go off of, and as we progress through this season, I'm feeling less and less confident in teams like the Packers. I'm more and more worried about
teams like the Bucks. I feel good about the Chiefs, like a lot of teams are starting to follow trends and that feels like stability, whereas before it was just all over the place and it felt like the entire league was three and three, and at the very least, I feel good about the top four now, which I could not even see last week. So with that in mind, let's check out our tears, our quadrants. You know, our producer Drew, he gets in my ear and he goes,
let's get to the first tier. It's a quadrant. It's a quadrant. We're gonna get him on the show. Sny Kelly behind the glass, our podcast producer, Shawnny can you just tap because I know he'll like this. Tap Drew on the shoulder, invade his physical space and say it's a quadrant. Sure that will go. Well, let's get to it. The top eight Bills, Eagles, Chiefs, nothing changes there. Those are the big three and they remain the Big three. Bills and Eagles on by, Chiefs wiped out the Niners.
Then you have the Cowboys up to to number four, Bengals hold at number five and get to them in a minute. Giants up one to six, hard to believe, the Vikings uh down three to seven, off there by Waca waka, and the Ravens hold steady at number eight, so real quick on the top up three. I do wonder how much you are itching to move the Chiefs up because the Eagles are sitting there with their perfect record,
and I wonder how much you're buying into it. Like I feel like even on the A T. N podcast, when you were asking the question whether or not teams were good, you didn't necessarily say that the Eagles were good. You just said that they had a perfect record, And I just wonder if you're waiting to drop them. Oh, the Eagles are good. I think the Eagles are great. I think there are three great teams and they are
one of them. And I'm not gonna I'm not gonna do Philly like that, even though you guys seem to be getting everything you want right now. It's wonderful. I dropped them out of the number one spot despite them not having a loss, just because I could. I couldn't turn away from the fact in my mind that the Bills are the best team in football. But at six and oh during thereby, it just didn't feel right to drop them down to number three. Uh that said the Chiefs.
If you put those two teams on a neutral field, yeah, I don't know if I'm going against Mahomes. But at this point it was like, let's give the Eagles the edge, Let's get them back in action and see how they look. But yes, the Chiefs are there's a big gap between the Chiefs and the number four team. But I say that because the Cowboys really helped me out, Connie, because I had the vikings at four last week and I
never believed it. And that was Yeah, that wasn't me doing like a bad job and not knowing what I'm doing on the power rankings, which is the case sometimes. It was because there was no number four team in the league that literally didn't exist. But for the purpose jump up like a lot of spots last week to the fourth spot because somebody had to be there. But they weren't really the fourth best team in the league.
They were just number four. Listen. That might not make sense, but when the power ranks were broken, old Zeus had to still figure out a way to put some things together. So you're gluing it back together, and you just decided that the Vikings would go up to seven when they were on a buy. They didn't even do anything wrong because they never were four. That is so heartbreaking. It's
it's okay. Seven is still good too, even though they're not really seven either, but probably like an eleven or twelve. But this is a different year. It's a strange year. I'm trying to put things back together. The Cowboys are a real number four team, and I feel good about them because the Cowboys of yesteryear and I mean last year, and even going back to peak Romo era, it always seemed to be built a similar way that they had this prolific, high profile offense, and the years when the
Cowboys were good, that's what everybody was talking about. And then the playoffs would come around and either the offense would gag a little bit or not be quite as good as they were saying early November or in October, and then they would find ways to lose in another season of disappointment in North Texas. But now this is a team with balance, Connie. You have Dak Prescott back knocking off the rust and getting the win against the Lions. You have a running game that works as a two
headed monster. It's no longer. There's no more hand twist. Handwringing about hand twisting. Also, push your hands around about Zeke Elliott know him and Pollard are a good one too. They do different things. And then the defense read led by Michael Parsons, is elite. That's a well rounded team and they are on the Eagles level. They're not ahead of the Eagles, but they're not too far behind. No, this is a team that's won five of six since
that dreadful Week one game. But you have three based on the record, you have three strong teams in the NFC East, and we can get to the other teams coming up. I do want to get your thoughts on the Giants, but the defense of this Cowboys team is what is really scary. And I know you love them too because of the Zaddi factor Mike McCarthy like, I feel like he kind of plays into that as well. But this defense is just such a game changer. Five takeaways led to twenty one points in this game. Now
I did. I was a little disappointed, And maybe that's because I expect more of Dak Prescott because I didn't see it from him before he was hurt in Week one against the Books, and I didn't see what I thought I would see against a really bad, struggling Detroit defense. Like I wished I saw a little bit more. I understand he's coming back from the injury, give him a little bit of time, but the offense is still having some issues. I need them to work it out, especially
on third down. But that defense can hold, and especially with the running game, they can get it done. That's fair. There was a moment in the game, I think about twelve minutes to play where Jamal Williams gets the ball at the Cowboys one yard line and if he goes over the goal line, Detroit's in the lead in Dallas, and this whole celebration of Dak being back could have been a totally different storyline coming out of that building. But Jamal Williams puts it on the ground for the
first time ever. Cowboys recover and then they end up turning five turnovers into one. And that's the recipe. I mean they it's Jamal Williams had that ball knocked away, Jared Goff had the ball stripped away multiple times through multiple turnovers. Because the Cowboys are elite on defense. That travels into January and again the top three they're kind of in their own class. There's a gap, but the Cowboys be careful, Connie, they can close that gap. Listen.
I'm I'm not too worried. Jordan Lewis, though, by the way, he did run into Liz Frank. Um so that Harlot's back, So, I I mean, I hate it. And I'm not a big Dallas gal, but I hate that. And you're a feminist as I. But Liz Harlotte's a woman that we don't need. Liz Frank, We don't like her, We want her out. Liz Frank stupid. I got the mangles at number five. Here's a little victory lap for talk about
wonderful um I was. I've kept If you check out the Cincinnati Bengals in this exercise since week one, even when things weren't going well, I kept him in the periphery of the top ten, top twelve because two reasons. A, not a lot of teams are separating and making me have to force the Bengals down. And too, I believed. I believed in Joe Burrow and their ability to figure some things out. And sure enough, once the offensive line made some improvements, Joe Burrow started cooking. And he is
cooking big time. Three yards in the first half, Connie, I can believe that. And and uh, a four hundred yard passing game. He was lights out against Atlanta, record breaking day for him. He was just locked in. And we heard from Zach Taylor after the game talking about, hey, like I told you, guys, have some patience. This is the known That was a nice little victory lap for
Taylor exactly, and he was right. And I wonder if we can continue to see this type of production from Tyler Boyd because he had a huge game, a career high one and fifty five receiving yards on eight catches, just a massive first quarter from him. And it's just really interesting to me that in an offense that has Jamaar Chase and Tie Higgins that Tyler Boyd can also stand out, like when they are playing like this, they really do look like the team that ended last season.
Tay Boyd's legit and um Te Higgins is as good as any number two receiver in the league. And Jamaar Chase kind of challenged him on on the power rankings. That's what I connected to a couple of weeks ago. Zach Taylor like, pop the hood and figure out how to get Jamar Chase, the big time playmaker back. And he's been the dude that we saw last year when he took over the league the last two weeks. So you add it all up. Oh, by the way, Cincinnati hasn't given up a second half touchdown. Yeah, I think
that's right. I'm kind of trying to make sure I'm right about this. Maybe our producer behind the last glass, young Kelly, can double check on that. Put him to work. But I don't think they've given up a touchdown in the second half. So the defense is better. And Zach Taylor is kind of a target of derision on football Twitter, especially the scholarly set on Twitter, people that study the game and decide who's good and who's bad. Zach Taylor
sometimes that's appointed to it. Oh, he's actually not good, even though his team went to the Super Bowl last year. Um, and when they get off to the slow start, Zach Taylor is the problem here, Like he said, just you
gotta be patient. You gotta be patient. And what they've been able to do once the offensive line got some things ironed out, they're using a spread offense attack and with that personnel and that quarterback, and we get Monday night football with them, we get a primetime game on Halloween, a division game too. Around Sean Kelly, I am correct, I'm being told. Were you just telling yourself that you were correct? No, I am correct. The the Bengals have
not given up a touchdown in the second half. Let's move to Quadrant two. The Tennessee Titans, speaking of, have some patients and a dog poop division. They've now won four and two and are in total control. Up five spots the nine my Jets, My Jets to New York teams in the top ten for the first time since I don't know the power rankings back then, I'm almost certainly not. Got the Rams up one spot to eleven on the by the Niners, down a spot to twelve
after that thumping to the Chiefs. The Raiders up three to number thirteen. That's another team I've kind of hung with, and hopefully they don't make me look bad. The Dolphins up nine spots with two of back in the lineup to fourteen. The Seahawks up five after another really good performance by their defense to fifteen, and then the Chargers a big dip down six spots. Where do you want to start here, Connie? So the Titans are good. I was kind of fighting it all season, and I think
they were sort of in a way too. But now they're on this four game winning streak and I'm starting to believe their only losses are to the Giants and the Bills. Sweeping the Colts at this point doesn't look that impressive. I kept trying to make the Colts a thing. They're not a thing. It's not gonna that is not gonna happen. The Cults are not gonna happen. So the a f C South bowe it's not great. So, I mean, this is a situation where the Titans are on a roll.
They're able to run the ball with uh with Derrick Henry and obviously this defensive front was living in this
game against the Colts. Yeah, and they inadvertent, I mean, what a few what a Week four I believe was their first matchup against the Colts, beat them, then they sweep them uh in week seven and inadvertently and the Matt Ryan era short as it was, uh and show the limitations of having a statue quarterback in the league right now because Ryan had no ability to get away led to the Andrew Adams pick six that really changed this game. And yeah, I think the Titans. There's no
sizzle really with the Titans. But this is what I like about Tennessee. Uh, their battle tested, they're well coached, they have a quarterback who keeps things under control. Derrick Henry is still very much the big dog. And in the league the way the league is this year, where there's so much the middle class is so huge, like
what's happening with the Giants. A team that can run the football, that's well coached, that can win close games, you're gonna to look up in January and they're gonna be eleven and six or twelve and five, and they might even have the first seed in the a f c or Um. Certainly home game in the playoffs. So love it or hate it, you're gonna see Tennessee in the playoffs again because they know how to win. This is what they do. The Winds. They aren't pretty, they're ugly.
They need more offense on rhythm for sure. Or wait, they need more rhythm on offense either. I don't know if you know this about me. I am dyslexic and I've been working through it for my entire life. We're all very proud of you, Thank you, thank you. Um I will say I wonder about Ryan Tannehill's ankle. He's progressing through that got banged up in the game, so
that is just something to watch. But their next five games include games against the Chiefs, the Packers, which well, I guess that doesn't matter anymore, and the Bengals, though, who are back certified into the top five number five. I trust. I trust the Bengals at this point. But anyone that looks ahead at the schedule right now and is saying things like oh man, tough schedule ahead or even easy schedule head, it's not very easy to do that when teams are kind of the same. But the
Chiefs and Bengals are good teams. Yes, it's time now. Do you want to get into a little should we do it? Let's do it power moves presented by Energizer. Let's talk about my New York Jets. So, yes, they're up three spots to number ten. Look where they were a month ago, number thirty one week after week four, up to twenty six after week five, up to seventeen after week six, up to thirteen after week seven. And yes,
now they have cracked the top ten. Certainly the first time since I've been doing this, Connie, Uh, it's been a meteorc rise. And again in this giant middle class, you can make you can make a quick rise, especially when win four games in a row. I'm a little worried. I'm a little worried for you that you have them in the top ten. Do you disagree? No, I think that they're I mean, I don't know. I think that they've had some really good wins. I like the way
that they're they're running the ball. But obviously, with Breeze Hall getting hurt, I don't know how much James Robinson is going to be able to replace that production. I think that I love the trade and I love what Joe Douglas has done. Robinson was excellent two years ago. Um had over a thousand yards seven touchdowns. But he's a high volume back too, so you could use him
as a one to punch with Michael Carter. But I just worry that you're setting yourself up here to be disappointed when you have to drop them, Like maybe maybe just be a little bit more concerned, maybe just bump them up one and then all of a sudden you're just like raising them up. But your logic makes sense, But that is not my duty. Is the powerings guy I'm looking out for. Keep it real. I know it's a friend you're looking out for me, and that I respect.
The Breeze Hall injury is absolutely brutal. A few plays earlier, he breaks off a sixty two yard touchdown run against the Broncos and his top speed was about twenty one point seven five miles per hour at the moment, was the fastest run by running back all season. He literally looked like Barry Sanders shooting down the sideline and I raced a Twitter and I, oh my god, Breeze Hall
is a star as he's running down the field. Elijah vera Tucker, the Jets do it all um, rising star offensive lineman is sprinting down the field and is the first one to meet him in the end zone. And by the end of that half, both of those guys suffered season ending injuries. Um. And to me, I think it kind of ends for me the why not Us portion of the proceedings for the Jets, which stinks as a Jets fan, because all you wanna do is have a special season like Cincinnati had or Philly a few
years ago. Um, I don't think that happened now because at Breeze Hall was the center, central point of that offense. He was the superstar guy he could. He has that potential to be an instant superstar, and hopefully he will be next year you take him out. James Robinson is just a guy. I think he was a nice pickup by Joe Douglas. I think Michael Carter end up seeing more work in that backfield. But Vera Tucker is a guy that had played guard, left tackle, right tackle and
done him all well. So you have to now replace him, and I think it just puts a little bit of a cap on the season. I'm gandman being quietly, why not us too? All right, let's see if we could squeeze out four or five more wins, maybe end the playoff drought, and then if Zach Wilson shows some growth, the season is a success. But that's frustrating because Jets fans deserved the chance to just dream through this month and into November and December. I feel like it was
a bit of a reality check. I disagree, though, because I think that James Robinson has a high ceiling because we've seen it before and he had no control over Travis e t n coming in and being a star for Jacksonville, and the fact that you just mentioned how large of the middle classes in the NFL, like there are not very many good teams, and the Jets could continue to build on this, and yeah, James Robinson is not going to be Breece Hall, but he might be
able to fill some of that production. And I think that Brian day Ball is uh, I'm sorry, Robert Sala, I'm getting the New York there. I think that Robert Sala and Colleen just come out. There's a seventy four year old grandmother that lives within Colleen that comes out at any moment, just like, hello, what are you guys
doing out here. Um, I just think that that the offense they might be able to scheme it up and might be able to get I hope you're right, but maybe that is me protecting myself, knowing full well how much the team means to me. Number thirteen, let's head to the twilight zone where the Las Vegas Raiders Connie Um move up three spots with their win over the Texans. And you know, no one's gonna be throwing bouquets at
the feet of any team for beating Houston. But at the same time, I thought it was nice to see them get a win after all those painful losses coming out of there by, and with a soft schedule ahead, or what seems like a soft schedule, you might start stacking some wins here and really get back into the race. They needed this game. I mean, if they lost this game, they would have been dropped to what where would you have dropped them? If they got beat by the Texans,
they'd be probably around Okay. So this is a massive difference. It's about a ten spot swing. But I thought that this was a big step for them. That Derek Carr he looked efficient in this game. Josh Jacobs go off he has like the lifetime it's about for this entire offense. I I just loved that they declined his fifth year option and he's like, okay, yeah, no problem. Watch me. Watch what I do. A hundred and forty three rushing
yards on twenty carries, three touchdowns. I love this. He joined Marcus Allen with his fifth career game with one hundred rushing yards and multiple touchdowns. Like, this is a guy who you can build around if he is producing at this level. Now, their next six games, they have the Saints, the Jags, the Colts, the Broncos, the Seahawks, the Chargers. I mean, as you just said, I know you said it's not great to look ahead at the schedule, but these are are winnow. A lot of these are
winnable games. It's a soft schedule, so they could be moving up all right, Where else do we want to go on this quadrant? You want to go to the Dolphins. They stopped the bleeding, which was nice, and after three game losing streak. I was happy about that that the defense, they were opportunistic, came into the game with only one interception and then they left with three. That was nice. I'm still not I'm not. I've never been sold onto and I'm still not sold on. I'm happy he got
through this game healthy. Not so happy he like put his shoulder down on some that why can't slide? I know, I don't know, it's one of those things. But he also very nearly could have thrown five interceptions in this guy. I mean that's and that's not like me just thrown out a number. Watch this game. He threw one and there were four more that were very catchable. So he needs to be better. And you know, you don't throw it out, but you separate that Ravens come back where
they just were unstoppable in the fourth quarter. This team score is like sixteen to twenty one points every week. Yeah, well, for me, I was just so surprised that Tua came out and looked really good at first, like the ball was coming out quickly, he was connecting with his receivers, and then all of a sudden it just fell off and the timing was off. Everything everything looked off with
the offense and general he just looked really rusty. So I don't know with all of those would be picks, you just have to think that, like Pittsburgh, if they could have just caught a couple of those, they would have won this game. Yeah, and I they did jump up nine spots because I kind of had that they're kind of existing spots they went up. Yeah, they were kind of existing in purgatory with two out, and now
that he's back and they gotta win. They are absolutely in the mix there in that playoff the group of teams that are on the playoff fringe. So but I do need to see more from the offense. Here's the good news for them. They get the Lions next week. I like their chances there. Finally, talking about the Seahawks they're at I'm kind of into the sea. Should have put the Seahawks higher. I think you should have put
them above the Dolphins. I feel like moving the Dolphins up nine spots is aggressive for a team that you're not that sold on, and perhaps you like I can tell that you like the Seahawks and you're not wrong. They could maybe make a run, which I would have told you you were absolutely insane if you told me that in the off season with Gino Smith leading the show. But I don't, I don't know. This is this is they're in sole possession of first place in the nfcust
did not see that. Did not see that coming. You're a liar if you did. And I think the offense, obviously, I think is one of the biggest surprises in the league this year. Gino has played well almost every week. Rashad Penny was a breakout dude, and then he suffers a season ending injury. Then Kenneth Walker steps up and he has been playing big time, a hundred and sixty
eight yards on the ground. But I think the reason why they're jumping five spots here, um is because the defense, which it had been as bad as any in the league this side of Detroit UH entering week seven, excuse me entering week six, has now delivered back to back good performances um, which makes me think maybe they've turned the corner on that end of the ball with Pete Carroll. And then you have a team again in a wide open league. Yeah, why why couldn't Seattle win ten games
this year? You know, I'm really interested in their game next week against the Giants, And you mentioned the Seahawks defense. They had three sacks, two takeaways in this game and the fact that DK metcalf he went down a little worried about that. I don't think it is as serious it's as some people. It's not going to be a surgery situation. They're saying that it's not clear how long
DK will be out. But they were able to get Marquis Goodwin involved in this game four catches, two of them were touchdowns, and that one on third and fifteen. I mean, it is his first touchdown of the season. It was beautiful, and then he had another one after that. So it was just nice to see them be able to replace the production from DK. All right, two quadrants down, two to go. We're gonna take a break and we'll dive into the rest of the power rankings. Stay right there,
all right, we're back. Let's check out Quadrant three. The Patriots to a tough one on Monday Night football. But I keep the faith. I keep him at seventeen because everything else beneath them not doing it for me at eighteen. Got the Bucks down nine spots, the Packers down four after another disappointing performance by their offense to nineteen. The Cards at twenty up six spots after their Thursday night showing.
The Saints after their Thursday night showing down to twenty one, the Falcons down four to the Bears up six to three, and the Steelers down to four. Where should we start here? I'm pretty sure I want to start right at the top of that quadrant. The Patriots. They lose the game in primetime, everyone's watching, and you don't drop them. Yeah, and um, you know sometimes you wake up in the morning and you have you think you stuff that I get that one quite quite right. Yeah, I got it
right totally. You feel you feel really good about it, great about it. Definitely crossed. The Patriots had a really bad night, but they looked really good leading up to Monday night. And I think Bill not that I would ever challenge the genius of Bill Belichick, but but I think he kind of opened up a can of worms that should have just stayed on the shelf here with how he's handling his quarterbacks, giving mac Jones three possessions, uh,
and then pulling him in favor of Billy's appy. It was almost like Bill was like affected by the crowd and how they were reacting to the situation of Foxborough, which I would have never guess. It was just so shocking to see because that is so not Bill Belichick. Style at all is Bill Okay? It just feels like from the beginning of the season there was this like wishy washy, who is going to be calling plays? Is
going to be this guy or this guy? And with the quarterback though, this is bizarre, the fact that you pull mac Jones after three drives in the interception And yes, Bailey Zappy provided a spark when he first went in, but then it all fell apart in the second half, so kind of blew up in his face. Yeah, and I think Bill deserves and by Bill, we mean Bill Belichick with this guy that we've never met. But have
you met Bill belchck? I have, But just like through very very what were the dinner parties, Like, oh my god, come on, like me and Bill, we go way back. He's like my uncle, actually his family. I think he has a ton. He deserves a ton of credit for getting this show on the road, figuring out the new offense with his coaching staff. But this one struck me
as odd. Odd that the reports that came out that his plan was to use both quarterbacks like it was or something he said at half time he was going to use both in the second half, and he only us one right, and it just it struck me as odd, and it makes me think there's more going on here
than we realized, potentially connected to Mac Jones. So this is just something to the track, and you know you're not gonna get anything out of Bill or anyone else in that building had a fear for retribution or death. So we just have to see how it plays out on the field. But that was a very odd, very strange Monday night. It felt very knee jerk and I just was wondering, maybe Mac Jones needs more time with the ankles rain, like maybe there's something going on and
we're just not aware of. But the fact that the Patriots defense also didn't show up last night, that was another thing. Well the obviously this is where I'm gonna turn into the Bears a little bit, because yes, New England's d uh struggled in this game, especially against the run, especially on third down. But I want to credit the Bears. I mean, they're they're starting to resemble a football team and they're making the rise. They're up six spots from
from twenty nine. And just like we were talking about with the Jets, you may say, oh, come on, did you see the way they played put them up into number fifteen. You have to have a little patience in the power rings game. You need to see a team really start to stack performances and they will rise quickly. So I'm really interested to see what happens. Do you think the Falcons are a better team than the Bears overall they have been on in Week seven one sample? No,
certainly not. But it's it's more it's big picture and little picture combined. It's nebulos, as Michael Scott would say. But Justin Fields making plays both of his legs and his arm and looking more comfortable. Still gets hit way too much and takes too many unnecessary shots. But otherwise, if you're a Bears fan, you're feeling pretty good. Well, they snapped a three game losing streak, and this is
exactly how Justin Fields should look. This is the game, this is the skill set that is his that they should work around it. It felt like this game they kind of threw everything away and stopped overthinking it and let Justin Fields play the way that he should play and that he was meant to play, and that's the way that the offense works. Like I do agree that
he's taking way too many hits. But I just think overall, this is the way that we should go forward, that they should go forward the Bears and try and build the offense around him. They have ten more games to evaluate what they have in him, and this was a nice start because if they can build off of this, maybe he stays in place for the future and the rebuild doesn't have to take his law. I'm totally on board.
I'm I'm on board with Justin Fields, and they need to continue to develop him and not make this like a get better or else here. I think he's already shown to me there's enough there to work with, and his ability to make plays and scramble and pick up huge yards is stuff that you know you see more and more in the NFL now. You look at the Bucks, a team that we have um at eighteen now, and I never would have thought that this would be the such a conversation we'd be having at the end of October.
They're down nine spots and Tom Brady, the opposite of Justin Fields, can't move. He can move around in the pocket, but can't scramble and pick up those extra yards. So when there's issues with a passing game as there have been all season in Tampa. He doesn't have that to fall back on, and I think that's a huge difference between Brady, Matt Ryan, these type of guys in the league and the younger players that can move. Man. I just I can't get the play the wide open Mike
Evans dropped out of my head. And then after that when Brady way over him. There was a bounce pass at one point that Brady through just like into the dirt way in front of I think it was Mike Evans. Was just the fact that Brady wasn't able to connect with Evans, Godwin and then Russell Gauge in the end zone. It was three straight incomplete passes right there within ten yards.
Like this was such a bad, bad showing for the Bucks, especially against the team that just fired their head coach and just shipped off two players, one of them being their absolute superstar and Christian McCaffrey doesn't want to run the ball. It was so weird. The league doesn't make any sense, and you know, it's destabilizing to see Tom Brady and the Bucks struggle the way they have. It's destabilizing to see Aaron Rodgers and the Packers be unable
to figure things out. I got them down four spots to nineteen UM and it's just not getting better. And I don't understand, and it's not gonna with the Bills coming up. I just don't understand their philosophy on offense because they don't have the dudes to be a high impact passing offense. They just don't like there. It's not
there right now. But you still have these two really good, maybe great running backs, and time and time again, they just there's something going on with Matt Lafore he refuses to establish a run. He won't drive this offense to the running game. Why not? It is so it's afraid of Rodgers, that is your strong point. But you would think that Aaron Rodgers just wants to in And I mean, I guess maybe it's an ego, but I see, I don't.
I was careful not to to say that, because it's like that's the only are not making this running the offense through the Russian game at a deference or or fear or intimidation with Aaron Rodgers because he's such a massive figure in that organization at this point. I don't think that's what it is necessarily, but It certainly is strange that they have not been able to shift gears
and really drive the offense, even Haron Jones. How many times have we looked at the box score at the end of these games and you have Aaron Jones, UM not getting more than ten twelve cars doesn't make any sense. And A J. Dillon, one of the great thumpers in the league. On these third and fourth in shorts, they're throwing the ball to Romeo Dobbs and whoever else and
you're not getting the results. It's they're frustrating. They have losses to the Giants, the Jets, the Commanders, and now they're facing the most explosive offense in the league that are coming off of by in the Buffalo Bills in prime time. That's just such a recipe for an absolute blow up. Okay, here's the thing, not a blow up, a blow up, blow up, blow up. I think we could get a spicy Aaron Rodgers performance in that I
want that to happen, Um, but he needs help. So that's me kind of just saying Aaron Rodgers is awesome, so everything will be okay. And that worked more when Davante Adams was around. UM, but his the reigning back to back m v P playing in prime time against the cream of the crop in our league. Okay, maybe Gooty, maybe Goody makes a call, maybe makes a call, take us to take us the quadrant fork? Shall we Okay?
Here we go? Is it kind of wrong that I would like to lop off the back end of these power rankings and just tell them to like go home for the season and prepare for next year because some of these games, like they're just it's teams. This is your first year on the power rankings. Beat you think it's dark, now wait until the center. All right, the Colts, it's dark in Indianapolis, Matt Ryan had been, Oh, yeah, wait, do you want me to go through? Yeah? I teed
you up perfectly. And then it's almost like I'm distracted. Let's go to twenty five. Here, you got the place they sat there? The Colts moved down five spots there at twenty six, the Broncos at twenty seven, down three, the Commanders, a, oh my goodness. At nine, you have the Jags down to the Panthers only up two spots to thirty. The Lions are poor Lions down three to thirty one, and then the Texans down another spot thirty two.
Remember when we did the Hard Knocks podcast, Colleen and those great times we had together and Jamal Williams was the happy, go lucky dude putting the ball on the carpet there with a chance to take the lead in Geral World in the fourth quarter. That that was pain. Where should we start here? Let's start with the Colts.
I think because Matt Ryan, the fact that he was coming off his best game as a cult again the Jags in Week six and then shows up here and it's just NonStop picks and now he's benched for the season, and I kind of can't believe it, like for the entire season. To me, that feels like a desperation move. And I guess they needed it after being swept now by the Titans. But like Jonathan Taylor only got ten carries in this game, Like it didn't matter that Jonathan
Taylor and Nahim Hines were back, they still lost. Their offensive line is still bad. It's not totally Matt Ryan's fault, but he's obviously not helping them. And so now they're going to go forward with Sam Ellinger. How does that make sense? I don't know, I don't know, make it
makes sense. Well, here's the thing, like you follow the bread crumbs on some of these things, and you just wonder who's who's calling the shots, um, because they invested a lot of resources to get Matt Ryan in the building. He's coming off that game where he really played well when they had to pass the ball constantly and they won, they won in a come back, and then he has a bad game, looks old again, looks overmatched against the division rival, a very frustrating loss, and then all of
a sudden he's gone. And you just like you want to follow the red crumbs, and you you it might be going all the way up to the owner's door. And when you get into that situation where there's a frustrated, angry owner and we know this is the case because you remember how last season ended and the reporting that was out there after they blew their season with Carson Wentz against the UH Jaguar is the worst team in
the league. Jim Rsey summoned everyone, the decision makers, the coach at GM to his office like at midnight the night of the eight team collapse, and and Carson Wentz was gone in short order and then they went and got Matt Ryan. And now my point being, Frank Reich Chris Ballard are in very shaky ground and this just feels like an organization that is in desperation mode. Is they continued fine look for the Andrew Luck replacement. It just it doesn't make any sense to me based on
last year. Before the that two game collapse at the end of the season, they looked like superstars. They looked like the team that no one wanted to face in the playoffs. I remember one of the Thursday night games, Jonathan Taylor just went off. He was having an incredible season last year, and now this team doesn't even resemble that team from last season. Uh. Speaking of wins Gon and Indy, maybe gone in Washington because Taylor heineke Um played some hero ball down the stretch and a win
for the Commanders. Yeah, I only jumped him up two spots because I'm not really buying in necessarily even against the Packers who are named brand Victory. But we know where the Packers are as a team right now. Um. But I really want to give just some love to Terry McLaren. Yeah, he doesn't fill up the box score because his team doesn't allow him to do so. But if you put McLaren on a team that had a higher functioning quarterback slash offense, I I'm convinced he'd have
some of the best stats in the league. He's a stud and he saw it. He won that game with Heineke late. He actually plays well with Taylor Heineke. And this is what I mentioned on the Around the NFL podcast last week that maybe they could be a little spicy with Taylor in the mix, and maybe Terry McLaurin would be a little scary. I said it last week. Connie got it right. Oh no, but this was a huge second half. Connie has done it again. She is back.
Who bird watching? I have been bird watching. There was an oriole in my backyard the other day. Fascinating. It was one more team, let's talk one more team. Let's do the Panthers. Are they back in the division race after one win? At two and five? They could be That division is no good? Is that division full of bumps?
That's God's division? Uh? Yeah? I thought that was just a nice win for Steve Wilkes, who everyone in that organization and above him and many of the coaches perhaps and players even are turning the page and looking ahead to three. So to lose Christian McCaffrey in a trade and then rip off a hundred and seventy six yards on the ground to upset Tom Brady and the Bucks that had to feel nice. I'm not gonna go crazy about what it means for the two. They're built very
much too. Let's face it, they're engineered right now to lose many games and have a top three pick. But these guys are players that are competing and want to feel good about themselves. So good good for the Panthers. I was surprised how well they ran the ball, and I'm wondering if p J Walker remains the starter. Sure why not? I mean this is a very much like to my point of developmental season. You know, Bakers not
the dude. Sam Donald had his chance last year. So as long as p J Walker shows himself to be a guy that can move the chains and and run the offense proficiently, just ride with him. I don't think any There's almost nothing that p J. Walker can do short of turning into the next Geno Smith, which is a weird sense, but that's two that would keep him
in the plans as the start of going forward. But because I think Caroline is going to draft a quarterback next year, no matter what, early in that draft, but he's definitely earns a place on that roster if he gives us something here. Okay, just out of curiosity before we say goodbye, I do want to know out of the rankings this week, which team did you have the most difficult time landing in a spot? Which team moved around the most before you finally yes, yes, yes you
have one. Maybe you didn't, maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Let's go with you know. It was the Jets actually really because the Jets um have one enough lately to warrant that top ten bump. But it was so crushing, Uh, the injuries and what that means to the long term future. And then all of a sudden, James Robinson in the middle of the writing process of the Power rankings, which you can get at NFL dot com, Uh, he's added
to the team and you have to calibrate that. So they were kind of jump in between ten and like fourteen throughout the Monday writing process. So there's your answer. Well, I think you nailed it. Great job this week, hopefully We'll get some more answers and some more trends as we continue on. Yes, and thank you. Did I hit your face? No? But now I'm ripping up your rankings. Thank you to everybody for watching. We We'll be back next Tuesday, and check out the Power Rankings podcast obviously,
where have you get your podcasts? And Connie check her on NFL Network and around the NFL podcast every Tuesday. That's it Tell next Tuesday, Heat the Call. NFL Power Rankings as 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.