32. Jacksonville Jaguars ( - )
The Jaguars showed some fight on Thursday Night Football against the Bengals, but ya gotta worry that might be the highwater mark for this season.
31. Houston Texans ( - )
Horribly overmatched by the Buffalo Bills, this past week was one to forget. This week against the Patriots may be just as bad.
30. Detroit Lions (-1)
How do you go from going toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the league to losing to the Chicago Bears? That’s this Lions team in a nutshell. Nothing is going to be easy.
29. New York Jets (+1)
I don’t expect that kind of performance every week, but the Jets were able to capitalize on a Tennessee Titans team without their two top wideouts.
28. Atlanta Falcons (-1)
Quarterback Matt Ryan deserves a lot of the flak that he gets but when he’s dealing and the team loses anyway, you gotta feel for him.
27. New York Giants (+1)
Like the other New York team above, you can’t expect this sort of offensive performance every week, but this is the platonic ideal of what this group was supposed to look like.
26. Philadelphia Eagles ( - )
Scoring 30 against the Chiefs is practically a win for this squad, but I’m concerned that it seems like a new problem every week for them.
25. Chicago Bears ( - )
Beating the Lions is, whatever...Justin Fields having a good game is far more priceless.
24. Minnesota Vikings ( - )
The Vikings are either a bad team or the best 1-3 team ever. Honestly, no one has any real idea and anyone who says they know is lying to you.
23. Miami Dolphins (-2)
Officially a mess on both sides of the ball and unable to find the magic of last season.
22. Indianapolis Colts (-)
After spending so much on the QB and the defense, the Colts need to remember that this is running back Jonathan Taylor’s team and the rest of them are just living on it.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers (-4)
A bad team with a worse quarterback. They’ll win some more games this season and Ben Roethlisberger will have his moments, but this will be the Steelers first losing season in a long time.
20. Cincinnati Bengals (+5)
Good enough to barely beat the Jaguars isn’t enough to raise up five points, but multiple other teams looking more inept is a good look for a team that has been in that group too often in recent years.
19. New England Patriots (+1)
The Patriots are a better team than their record shows, but it’s clearly going to be a growing pains type year which was not expected with their offseason investments—most of which appear to not be paying off as of yet.
18. Washington Football Team (-1)
How did this defense get so bad so quickly? It was supposed to be better!
17. Tennessee Titans (-2)
Can’t read a lot into the offensive output without the top two receivers, but you can read a lot into how bad the pass protection was...especially against the Jets.
16. Denver Broncos (+2)
This team needs a healthy Teddy Bridgewater to compete with the best teams in the league, and even then, it’s going to be a very uphill battle.
15. Las Vegas Raiders (-)
The offensive line let down the Raiders in their Monday Night Football game against the Chargers after it had been a high point earlier in the season. This offense is too explosive not to put up bigger points.
14. Carolina Panthers (-)
The Panthers lost, but were able to go toe-to-toe with a very good Dallas Cowboys offense. This team is way better than most national experts think.
13. New Orleans Saints (-2)
We’re officially back in “who are the Saints?” territory. Losing to the Giants is a really weird look for a team that should’ve blown them out by two touchdowns.
12. Los Angeles Chargers (+1)
If you told me you thought the Chargers are the best team in football, I wouldn’t have much argument. As a team with so many young pieces, though, the proof is going to be in the consistency.
11. Baltimore Ravens (+1)
Beating the Broncos was a bigger hurdle than it seems, if only to ensure this team has the sort of swagger that has defined them for so many years under John Harbaugh.
10. Cleveland Browns (-1)
The Browns fall a tick this week even while winning their game. This team is far better on paper than they’ve played overall this season and that needs to change if they want to be counted among the NFL’s elite.
9. Dallas Cowboys (+1)
No team has had a better season than what general expectations were for them only a few years ago. Offensively, they’re arguably the second best team in the league and the defense has done a complete 180 from a year ago.
8. San Francisco 49ers (-1)
All of a sudden, this feels high for San Francisco who are (again) struggling to find their team identity. The offense has been mediocre and the defense only slightly less so.
7. Seattle Seahawks (-1)
I’m stanning the Seahawks against all odds until they prove otherwise. Still, this should be one of the best teams in football and they’re not playing up to those standards.
6. Arizona Cardinals (+2)
A better man might put them No. 1 after beating the Rams handily, but even though I’ve been high on the Cardinals for months, the thinness of their defensive depth chart still worries me that they won’t last on top.
5. Green Bay Packers (-)
After a really embarrassing Week 1, they’ve been the best team in football over the last few weeks.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (-)
We’re past the point for early season hiccups to be out of the way. It’s time to start playing like the best roster with the best quarterback in football.
3. Buffalo Bills (-)
Similar thoughts to the Packers a few slots above, and QB Josh Allen is still not playing quite up to his standards so there’s even more room for improvement in Buffalo.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-)
In the rain and in a very emotional game for QB Tom Brady, the Buccaneers still ended up taking care of business against the Patriots. With games against Dolphins, Eagles and Bears coming up, things should be easy sledding.
1. Los Angeles Rams (-) Similarly to the Buccaneers, the Rams have to take care of business against the Seahawks this week and then have a lollipop schedule afterward so they could be awfully comfortable in this No. 1 spot.