1. Buffalo Bills =
The best team in the league went into Kansas City and put together a great all-around performance. Allen threw for 300 and 3 TDs, and the defense held the Chiefs offense to 20 points.
2. Kansas City Chiefs =
Yes, they lost to Buffalo, but Kansas City still looks like the 2nd best team in football. A close loss to a slightly better team doesn’t mean the Chiefs have to move down in the rankings.
3. Philadelphia Eagles =
Philly took care of business against Cooper Rush and moved to 6-0. They’re currently 1st in offensive efficiency and 2nd in defensive efficiency, but have yet to play a legit powerhouse.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers =
Despite the loss to Pittsburgh, I’m keeping Tampa at the 4 spot. Teams 5-10 also lost, so I don’t see a valid option for the 4th best team. There is a sizable drop-off after the top 3.
5. Cincinnati Bengals (+4)
Cincinnati is starting to show flashes of the 2021 team, particularly on offense. They’ve climbed back up to 12th in offensive efficiency, and the defense remains at 6th.
6. Baltimore Ravens =
Similar to Tampa, Baltimore lost but I don’t see a team that’s worthy of taking their spot in the rankings. I expect them to get back on track with a home game against Cleveland this week.
7. Dallas Cowboys =
Dallas lost to a clearly superior team, on the road, with a backup quarterback. No shame there, as the game was semi-competitive. With Dak expected back, they’ll keep their number 7 spot.
8. San Francisco 49ers (-3)
The Niners offense is not good enough to win games on their own. It’s going to have to be the defense leading the charge every week, and this week they were not up to par.
9. Los Angeles Chargers (+1)
As the Chargers get healthier, they’ll continue to move up the rankings. One thing that seems to be an issue is the lack of a receiver who actually gets open and stretches the field.
10. Minnesota Vikings (+1)
The Vikings are 5-1, but I don’t know if they're that special in any one area. They’re 7th in offensive efficiency and 15th in defense.
11. New York Giants (+6)
Win-loss record is not the only indicator of team strength. The Giants may be 5-1, but there’s a reason why they’re 3-point underdogs in Jacksonville this week.
12. Los Angeles Rams =
Congrats to the Rams for taking care of business against P.J. Walker. I still have concerns about the offensive line and I still don’t think they have a second option outside of Kupp.
13. Green Bay Packers (-5)
For the second straight week, the biggest upset of the week was the Packers losing to a New York team. The defense, which was supposed to be elite, is good but not great. The offense, which was supposed to be good, is not good.
14. Las Vegas Raiders (-1)
The Raiders might be one of the best 1-4 teams of all time. I’m going to get out ahead of the curve here and say that they will be in the playoff mix come December.
15. Miami Dolphins (-1)
As Tua gets healthy, this team will continue to climb the rankings. But as for the recent struggles, not all of it is on the QB situation. The defense has dropped to 27th in efficiency.
16. Tennessee Titans =
Tennessee plays Indy this week, and we’re about to find out who the best team in the AFC South is. Both of them are starting to figure things out a little.
17. New England Patriots (+2)
Back to back big margins of victory over bad teams for the Patriots, and honestly I’m not sure how impressed I’m supposed to be, but I’ll keep bumping them up the rankings.
18. Indianapolis Colts (+2)
The Colts have quietly won 3 of their last 4, and now they sit at 3-2-1. They’re also 21st in offense and 25th in defense, so this still isn’t any sort of powerhouse.
19. New York Jets (+4)
Another upset win for the Jets, and this time it was with the run game and defense, which have started to come alive as of late.
20. Arizona Cardinals (-5)
I don’t know what’s going on in Arizona, but the hope is that Hopkins returning can fix some of the issues.
21. Atlanta Falcons (+4)
Atlanta’s offense, much to my surprise, is actually very solid. Can’t give enough credit to Arthur Smith and what he’s done with this below-average roster.
22. Seattle Seahawks (+7)
Is it possible that the Seahawks upgraded at QB? Through 6 weeks it would appear so, as Geno Smith is one of the most efficient QBs in the league.
23. Denver Broncos (-2)
As bad as the offense is, the Broncos defense is now 1st in the league in EPA/play. That should carry them to at least 6 or 7 wins this year.
24. Cleveland Browns (-5)
The hope was that Jacoby Brissett would keep this team afloat until Deshaun Watson comes back, but it looks like the ship is going to sink before then. Their next 5 games are Baltimore, Cincy, Miami, Buffalo, and Tampa. Could be 0-5 there.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (-3)
Trevor Lawrence actually played very well this week, but it wasn’t enough as the Jaguars defense appears to be regressing back to the mean.
26. Pittsburgh Steelers (+2)
Somehow Pittsburgh beat Tom Brady with a B-team secondary and a backup QB playing in the second half. Trubisky put together what felt like a million 3rd down conversions in a row.
27. New Orleans Saints (-3)
The Saints defense, which started off so well, is now down to 20th. We know the offense isn’t anything special, so if the defense isn’t good, this team isn’t going to win many games.
28. Washington Commanders (-2)
Washington won, but it was less than impressive. Beating the Bears 12-7 doesn’t move you up in my rankings. Additionally, Carson Wentz will now be out for an extended period of time.
29. Houston Texans (-2)
The Texans didn’t play but they moved down a few spots because the Seahawks and Steelers pulled off unlikely victories and jumped Houston.
30. Detroit Lions =
Maybe the bye week will give Detroit a chance to regroup and potentially salvage the season.
31. Chicago Bears =
I don’t want to see this team on prime time again. Unfortunately, we have to watch them on Monday Night against New England.
32. Carolina Panthers =
The worst team in the league did not disappoint this week, scoring 3 offensive points and losing by 14 to the struggling Rams.
