Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
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Speaker 2: Welcome to a brand new edition of NFL Power Rankings.
Speaker 2: Mike Am and Eric at Home with you. This is
Speaker 2: the show where we go through some of the best
Speaker 2: teams in the NFL, but we'll touch on every single
Speaker 2: one of them. Complete analysis of your team on NFL
Speaker 2: dot Com. But Eric, this is gonna be fun because
Speaker 2: last couple of weeks at the top, not a ton
Speaker 2: of movement, But this week we do have some changes
Speaker 2: and two teams not in the top ten that should
Speaker 2: scare some of the league's elite.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I think in a season Mike, where there aren't
Speaker 3: there isn't a whole lot of mystery about who is
Speaker 3: going to get in the playoffs, not that many teams
Speaker 3: sort of vying for those spots like we normally have.
Speaker 3: We do have two teams in the playoff picture, the
Speaker 3: Bucks and Rams, just outside my top ten. I think
Speaker 3: could make a move or be a very scary opponent
Speaker 3: in the playoffs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, look at the Atlanta Falcons. We'll touch on them,
Speaker 2: because the Bucks at this point not in an exact
Speaker 2: lot to go and win that division, and at the
Speaker 2: end of the day, still don't know what's going to
Speaker 2: happen in the NFC West. I Knowlanta fans are like, dude,
Speaker 2: did you see Kirk Cousins out there? I did, But
Speaker 2: I'm just looking at the remaining schedule and maybe we
Speaker 2: see Michael Pennix. More on that in just a moment.
Speaker 2: But let's go with the top. All right, here's the change.
Speaker 2: And I love when we can start off the show
Speaker 2: and we talk about a new number one, and that
Speaker 2: is the Philadelphia The Eagles maybe the most impressive thing
Speaker 2: of that win a second half shutout to the Steelers.
Speaker 2: The Bills at number two, yet they're the real deal.
Speaker 2: The Chiefs at three. Got some real questions about Patrick
Speaker 2: Mahomes and his health. The Lions, speaking of health, walking wounded.
Speaker 2: We will talk about that in just a moment. The
Speaker 2: Vikings continue to figure out ways to win some football games.
Speaker 2: The Packers they dominate Seattle. Lamar not out of the
Speaker 2: MVP conversation as his Ravens are in the seventh spot,
Speaker 2: and the Steelers just fifty six rushing yards, no rushing touchdowns,
Speaker 2: a little bit of a cause for concern, but still
Speaker 2: in the top ten. Sitting at number eight. All right,
Speaker 2: so let's start with this number one team here, the
Speaker 2: Philadelphia Eagles, Eric, and this is a squad that had
Speaker 2: a little bit of I don't want to say dysfunction,
Speaker 2: Maybe that's overstating things, but a little bit of contra
Speaker 2: at AJ Brown and Jalen Hurts. Look, they were winning
Speaker 2: and they were still potentially at least an issue. They
Speaker 2: get another impressive win, and those guys seem to be
Speaker 2: simpotico on the same page.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so. I think that's the way to
Speaker 3: answer a question. Right, It's leads up to the game.
Speaker 3: It's been the discussion point all week long, and then
Speaker 3: what do they do. They passed their way to victory.
Speaker 3: Antonio Brown using that very specific word after the win
Speaker 3: over Carolina suggesting things aren't going well. Well they did Sunday,
Speaker 3: and it's nice to know, Mike that you can have
Speaker 3: Saquon Barkley kind of have an off day, certainly by
Speaker 3: his standards anyway, but not be the focal part of
Speaker 3: the offense. Jalen Hurts was dialed in. He was effective
Speaker 3: as a scrambler and as a thrower. AJ Brown, the
Speaker 3: leading receiver, DeVante Smith very active, having both those guys
Speaker 3: go off in the same game makes them that much
Speaker 3: more dangerous. Love the way the defense played, and frankly,
Speaker 3: I didn't think it was that close the game. I
Speaker 3: thought they outplayed it pretty thoroughly, maybe more so than
Speaker 3: the score indicated.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm with you there, at least on the MVP
Speaker 2: watch with Saquon Barkley. A dominant performance against this Steelers
Speaker 2: team I think would have kept him in that conversation.
Speaker 2: I'm not saying that he's out. It's just tougher for
Speaker 2: Riebacks in general, and I think that margin is not
Speaker 2: as big. It does. Feel like Josh Allen is clearly
Speaker 2: in pole position right now for that award. His Buffalo
Speaker 2: Bills continue to win now caveat here, and we'll talk
Speaker 2: about it when we discussed Detroit. They're obviously banged up,
Speaker 2: but Josh just continues to perform at a ridiculously high level,
Speaker 2: and he's got kind of like these Heisman moments, right
Speaker 2: like we talk about that for that award. He's got
Speaker 2: these MVP moments, and I think a win against the
Speaker 2: Lions that we just witnessed with another big game maybe
Speaker 2: cements it for him.
Speaker 4: Absolutely.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, obviously he kind of helped his stock
Speaker 3: with the loss of the Rams, sort of as a
Speaker 3: one man show bringing his team back to the cost
Speaker 3: of victory.
Speaker 4: Bill's had to hold.
Speaker 3: On in this one, but they needed every single one
Speaker 3: of the points that Allen generated, and he was spectacular.
Speaker 3: You know. Some of the ball placements Mike on those
Speaker 3: long throws were terrific. And to me, the biggest thing
Speaker 3: for the difference between what we've seen Mallen in the
Speaker 3: past is he's had those those Heisman moments or those
Speaker 3: MVP moments before. But the down to down consistency and
Speaker 3: the accuracy, the lack of turnovers this year has been
Speaker 3: a huge reason why his game is elevated, I think.
Speaker 3: And yeah, Buffalo has some defensive issues they've got to
Speaker 3: work out, certainly last two games have kind of exposed them.
Speaker 3: But when you have a nuclear grade weapon at quarterback,
Speaker 3: sometimes that isn't even all that important. So I think
Speaker 3: the Bills are in great shape just behind the Eagles.
Speaker 3: Could make a case for either one of them at
Speaker 3: number one. This is this is a really potent team
Speaker 3: right now.
Speaker 2: All right, I will ask if you like them better
Speaker 2: than the Chiefs, but I want to get your take
Speaker 2: on Kansas City right now, because I think there's a
Speaker 2: world that exists where the usage of Patrick Mahomes certainly
Speaker 2: in question, dealing obviously with the ankle sprain, I don't know, like,
Speaker 2: like what am I supposed to make of this team?
Speaker 2: Because there I get home field advantage. I understand how
Speaker 2: important it is, But there's a world, at least in
Speaker 2: my mind, where I go, Hey, should I be rolling
Speaker 2: Patrick Mahomes not out one hundred percent down the stretch
Speaker 2: out in a lot of these games?
Speaker 3: Yeah, go figure, it's their first early win in months,
Speaker 3: our easy win, I should say, in months where they
Speaker 3: get ahead, they put it out in our out of
Speaker 3: arms reach and.
Speaker 4: A cruise to victory. And what do we do?
Speaker 3: We have something else to talk about, and that's mahomes injury.
Speaker 3: And look, he's played through pain before, played almost an
Speaker 3: entire season through it through an injury, and.
Speaker 4: Still won a super Bowl.
Speaker 3: So you know, we have to kind of grade it
Speaker 3: on a scale, just like we graded all the close
Speaker 3: victories on a scale because of all the good will
Speaker 3: the Chiefs have built up the last several years. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I'm concerned. I don't have enough information right now. We
Speaker 3: haven't seen Mahomes in action obviously to know what he's
Speaker 3: capable of. Will he even play this coming weekend against
Speaker 3: the Texans, So a lot of questions. You know, it
Speaker 3: really does sort of put the target on this defense again.
Speaker 3: And maybe it's not quite as good a group as
Speaker 3: the one that had Lagerius sneed last year, but still
Speaker 3: this is a defense that at its best can carry
Speaker 3: this team to a championship, especially, like you said, if
Speaker 3: they get home field advantage at Arrowhead.
Speaker 2: Just for context here, obviously they get the win against
Speaker 2: Cleveland on a Sunday, They're playing Houston on on Saturday,
Speaker 2: so the Texans they could use the signature win to
Speaker 2: bolster their confidence, there's no question about that. And then
Speaker 2: they're playing on Christmas Day. So we're talking about a
Speaker 2: very short period of time with Patrick Mahomes that that's
Speaker 2: not at one hundred percent. I just throw that out there.
Speaker 2: Are they better than the Bills? And I know we
Speaker 2: got the head to head, but just generally speaking in
Speaker 2: a postseason, do you like the Bills better than the Chiefs?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I do right now, But obviously once we turn the
Speaker 3: page of the postseason, we know how that history has gone.
Speaker 4: Right the Bills have.
Speaker 3: Sort of had a little bit of an edge in
Speaker 3: the regular season matchups the Chiefs obviously in the postseason.
Speaker 3: So you know, it might come down to what kind
Speaker 3: of shape boath these teams are in a month from
Speaker 3: now if they do end up meeting. But yeah, I
Speaker 3: would say I like the Bills by a sliver, especially
Speaker 3: with the Mahomes injury kind of tipping in that direction.
Speaker 2: Okay, where teams are currently at as a different conversation
Speaker 2: than where they are going to be. Here's what I
Speaker 2: can tell you about the Detroit Lions, who sit at
Speaker 2: number four. This story doesn't feel great, and I love
Speaker 2: where they had, what they've been able to accomplish. But Eric,
Speaker 2: I look all over the football feels on the defensive side,
Speaker 2: all I see are hurt dudes.
Speaker 4: It's adding up at at an alarming rate.
Speaker 3: And now we also get the news not just the
Speaker 3: defense effected, but David Montgomery with the mcl injury. He's
Speaker 3: done for the year. We know how important he is,
Speaker 3: so that sort of thunder and lightning backfield they have.
Speaker 3: But you know, Aleen McNeil a big piece upfront. He's
Speaker 3: now al Carlton Davis possibly could return.
Speaker 4: You know in about six weeks. But that's putting him on.
Speaker 3: You know, they've got to get to the NFC Championship
Speaker 3: game if they want to have him back. News maybe
Speaker 3: getting worse two on Aiden Hutchinson if they were to
Speaker 3: make a Super Bowl run. So yeah, everything seems to
Speaker 3: be trending in the wrong direction. You and I both
Speaker 3: know this has been the best team in football more
Speaker 3: often than it hasn't this season, but this this late
Speaker 3: season turn, it's like the Lions just can't have nice
Speaker 3: things or something. Now, maybe they'll pull through it. This
Speaker 3: is Dan Campbell and company, but right now they're really
Speaker 3: up against it.
Speaker 2: Schedule somewhat favorable when you consider it's the Bears and
Speaker 2: the Niners. Sure both of those games are on the road.
Speaker 2: And then they closed out Week eighteen in a game
Speaker 2: that not only can decide the vision, but who gets
Speaker 2: the one seed in Week eighteen against the Minnesota Vikings,
Speaker 2: that is a home game in Detroit. Speaking of the Vikings,
Speaker 2: you know, I loved what you said last week on
Speaker 2: the show. Not that Sam Donald's the MVP this year,
Speaker 2: but he deserves to be in the conversation. Couldn't agree
Speaker 2: with you more. The Vikings They are as dangerous as
Speaker 2: any team in the NFL. I've had some folks on
Speaker 2: social media hit me up and say, hey, stop talking
Speaker 2: about us. We want to fly under the radar. I
Speaker 2: think they're grabbing enough attention. Now we have to pay
Speaker 2: attention to what they are doing on the football field.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it feels different to me. Two years ago when
Speaker 3: they were thirteen and fourteen with the negative point differential,
Speaker 3: we had an easy sort of talking point. They didn't
Speaker 3: necessarily match the eye test. The thirteen wins felt like
Speaker 3: an aberration. This year, however, with right now and even
Speaker 3: better record at least win percentage wise, they look the
Speaker 3: part right. They've got the number one receiver healthy and
Speaker 3: justin Jefferson, they have the sidekick and Addison Donald has
Speaker 3: cut down his turnovers. Have played great football, and I
Speaker 3: thought really set the tone against Chicago. Those first three
Speaker 3: or four series of the game really kind of took over.
Speaker 3: Jonathan Garnard attacking Caleb Williams, forcing that fumble, and after
Speaker 3: all those early stops, they didn't convert a lot, but
Speaker 3: they built up enough of a big lead and then
Speaker 3: put it away in the second half. So much cleaner
Speaker 3: outing than the game ass Soldier Field where they dominated
Speaker 3: and then gave up the big run at the end.
Speaker 3: We're kind of frankly lucky to win. So I think
Speaker 3: they're just sort of cleaning up some of their their
Speaker 3: little they're little messes that they made earlier in the
Speaker 3: season and turning out sort of crisper performances as we
Speaker 3: go along in the season.
Speaker 2: I think when you assess the teams as from a
Speaker 2: fan perspective, and you sit back and you go, who
Speaker 2: are the legitimately the teams that can make a run? Like,
Speaker 2: what's the mental makeup of a lot of these squads?
Speaker 2: A you got to be mentally tough, but what do
Speaker 2: you do really well? I tend to favor you got
Speaker 2: to be so dominant on one side of the football
Speaker 2: to overcome some deficiencies maybe on the other side. This
Speaker 2: is a complete Vikings team Offensively, we know what they're
Speaker 2: able to do. Defensively, Brian Flores has got these guys
Speaker 2: absolutely rolling. And I think there's fans in Green Bay
Speaker 2: that are sitting there, go let's pump the brakes here,
Speaker 2: Let's relax. We got a good we have an opportunity
Speaker 2: to to win this division. Now Green Bay needs some
Speaker 2: things to fall into place. But the best sign for me,
Speaker 2: Eric is Jordan Love, who is a turnover machine to
Speaker 2: start the season, hasn't thrown a pick in the last
Speaker 2: four games, a couple prime time matchups. He's got seven
Speaker 2: touchdowns during that span. He's elevating this Packers team.
Speaker 4: I agree, he absolutely is.
Speaker 3: You may have questions about whether the defense can stop
Speaker 3: a top unit, you know, you may have concerns about
Speaker 3: little pieces on the offensive line, or whether the special
Speaker 3: teams are gonna crumble. But I really think that offense,
Speaker 3: especially with Love playing more turnover free ball, as you said,
Speaker 3: has become one of the more dangerous quarterbacks in the league.
Speaker 3: You saw the Detroit Lions go for it late against
Speaker 3: the Green Bay Packers. I think it wasn't just the
Speaker 3: Lions being the Lions, it was them being scared of
Speaker 3: Jordan Love, you know, because he's shown consistently that he's
Speaker 3: got a ton of weapons. Romeo Doves comes out of
Speaker 3: witness protection to catch two touchdowns. You know, after a
Speaker 3: quiet game eight and Reid heats up, Tucker Kraft can
Speaker 3: get going, Christian Watson, they have so many options in
Speaker 3: that passing game. I love the diversity and oh by
Speaker 3: the way, Josh Jacobs contend to rise you for the
Speaker 3: first half of a game like he did on Sunday too,
Speaker 3: so you know it was a strong performance. They beat
Speaker 3: a good Seattle team in Seattle and really sent a
Speaker 3: message that even though they haven't beaten those top teams
Speaker 3: this year, they are absolutely capable of doing so if
Speaker 3: they convert one or two more possessions in those outings.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, we got a little bit more to
Speaker 2: come here on NFL Power rankings. In fact, there's one
Speaker 2: team that we thought were giants heading into the season.
Speaker 2: Not the Giants, the Houston Texans is who I'm talking about.
Speaker 2: Eric doesn't have him in the top ten. He explains
Speaker 2: why coming up next back here on power rankings. As
Speaker 2: we take a look at Eric's teams nine through sixteen,
Speaker 2: the Broncos one four straight. They're outscoring their opponents one
Speaker 2: thirty nine to seventy during that span. Commanders sit at
Speaker 2: number ten and y'ill wright against the Saints at eleven.
Speaker 2: It's Houston Texans who clinched the AFC South. The Bucks
Speaker 2: real dangerous will dive in on them in just a moment.
Speaker 2: The Chargers at thirteen with that high powered defense. The Rams,
Speaker 2: speaking of dangerous teams, sitting in the fourteenth position, got
Speaker 2: an opportunity to go and win that division currently at
Speaker 2: the top occupied by the Seahawks, where the fifteenth ranked
Speaker 2: team and the Cardinals figure out a way to get
Speaker 2: a victory are at sixteen. All right, let's focus in
Speaker 2: on this Broncos team. You know, the side of a
Speaker 2: good team, Eric is sometimes when you have some issues
Speaker 2: and some mistakes, you still figure out a way to
Speaker 2: get it done. Bonix obviously had a costly interception in
Speaker 2: that game, and I thought it was going to sort
Speaker 2: of result in potentially a loss. Resilient makeup of this squad,
Speaker 2: how high are you right now on this Denver team?
Speaker 3: Yeah, Nix's play has concerned me a little bit, right
Speaker 3: The turnovers have gone up, and you know, some of
Speaker 3: the sort of pre play that he's had lately, it's
Speaker 3: been a little loose and not the same kind of
Speaker 3: level that we saw earlier in the system when he
Speaker 3: was playing within the confines of the offense a lot more.
Speaker 3: But still, you have a defense that can create turnovers
Speaker 3: the way Denver can. That's gonna help you a lot too.
Speaker 3: They're still figuring out the run game. You know, I
Speaker 3: don't know if there's another receiver they truly trust outside
Speaker 3: of Courtland Sutton, but we'll see they're plucky there. Well.
Speaker 3: Coach too, Sean Payton has done a good job and
Speaker 3: kind of managing Nixes up into ups and downs a
Speaker 3: little bit. But yeah, I mean this was a desperate
Speaker 3: Colts team they faced on Sunday.
Speaker 4: It wasn't pretty early.
Speaker 3: The Colts had their opportunities to open up the game,
Speaker 3: but Denver hung in there and then had the big
Speaker 3: fourth quarter to kind of put it away. Still a
Speaker 3: little shaky for me, but big matchup coming up with
Speaker 3: the Chargers in two weeks and that'll obviously help decide
Speaker 3: positioning a lot in that AFC wildcard picture.
Speaker 2: I'm actually glad that you brought up Sean Payton. We've
Speaker 2: been having some conversations in our hallways here at NFL Media,
Speaker 2: and look, my Tomlins name pops up for Coach of
Speaker 2: the Year. I've thrown out O'Connor, but I think Sean
Speaker 2: Payton deserves to be in that mix. In fact, I
Speaker 2: would maybe even argue it's O'Connor, the Peyton and then
Speaker 2: the Tomlin. But we still got a couple weeks of
Speaker 2: the season to see how it shakes out. The Commanders
Speaker 2: sitting at number ten, they move up one spot. They
Speaker 2: get Philadelphia coming up this week. I was amazed by
Speaker 2: this stat, Eric, because we always talk about teams coming
Speaker 2: off of a bye. It was the Commander's first road
Speaker 2: win coming off a bye since two thousand and two. Boy,
Speaker 2: what a time to go and pick up a win. Here.
Speaker 2: To me, it was just nice to see this team
Speaker 2: get a w and maybe put themselves at least back
Speaker 2: in that conversation for a team that maybe could make
Speaker 2: a run. Maybe possibly, I don't.
Speaker 3: Know, maybe yeah, maybe. Obviously, Jade Dale is a dangerous guy.
Speaker 4: We saw that.
Speaker 3: I mean, obviously he's kind of rediscovered as scrambling a
Speaker 3: little bit, made some big throws, was accurate, but the
Speaker 3: Sacks really.
Speaker 4: Kept adding up.
Speaker 3: And after they got up you know, seventeen nothing or
Speaker 3: whatever it was, they took their foot off the gas.
Speaker 3: The Saints crawled back in it find a way, you know,
Speaker 3: with a backup court. They're really their third street quarterback
Speaker 3: in Spencer Rattler, and Washington was fortunate to get out
Speaker 3: of New Orleans with a win. Obviously, came down to
Speaker 3: that two point conversion at the end. You like the
Speaker 3: fact that defense made a game changing play there.
Speaker 4: You know, I moved them up.
Speaker 3: We've got the game against the Eagles that'll tell us
Speaker 3: a lot about them. That's obviously sort of a telltale
Speaker 3: game for them, and you know, do they stack up.
Speaker 3: We were playing tough teams, tough earlier in the season,
Speaker 3: but now as we get a little later, their shine.
Speaker 4: Is kind of rubbed off a little bit.
Speaker 3: We'd love to see a little stronger, cleaner performance against
Speaker 3: one of the best teams in football.
Speaker 2: I thought there was an opportunity that you might slot
Speaker 2: the Houston Texans into the tenth place. Look, they're eleven,
Speaker 2: so we're not talking about a huge jump here. There's
Speaker 2: just something in my mind that is cool when you
Speaker 2: can say, hey, we're a top ten team. They're on
Speaker 2: the precipice of that. They create three turnovers in terms
Speaker 2: of in the form of interceptions against a to a
Speaker 2: squad that needed a win. Houston needed to win as well.
Speaker 2: They get Kansas City and ice barometer game. Hopefully Mahomes
Speaker 2: goes and plays here. What do you make of the squad?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean they haven't been able to get Joe
Speaker 4: Mixon going lately.
Speaker 3: Obviously, you know Nico Collins and great in the red zone,
Speaker 3: but just the drives were not there. They had to
Speaker 3: rely on each of those four turnovers, three picks and
Speaker 3: one fumble, the big strip sack there that I think
Speaker 3: kind of change momentum a little bit in that game.
Speaker 3: You know, those were crucial. I don't know if they
Speaker 3: win if they only get two or three. Let's say,
Speaker 3: and that fake punt two Dariu Gunbawally gets down there
Speaker 3: in the red zone, almost fumbles, they fall on it,
Speaker 3: there's a penalty. You know, they keep the ball and
Speaker 3: score after that to go up twenty to six. So
Speaker 3: you know, it really took a lot of good field
Speaker 3: position and you know, stealing possessions for them to score points.
Speaker 3: So I am a little bit worried about that offense,
Speaker 3: but you know, it's nice when you can be efficient.
Speaker 3: When the defense does give you those opportunities, you convert
Speaker 3: them into touchdowns and put in desperate teams like Miami away.
Speaker 2: I am excited to hear your take on the Tampa
Speaker 2: Bay Buccaneers, who you have at twelve. It wasn't just
Speaker 2: a win, it was a dominant performance against one of
Speaker 2: the teams that we felt for a good stretch of
Speaker 2: the season was as dangerous as any in the AFC.
Speaker 2: And that's the Chargers throw up forty points against a
Speaker 2: defense that I felt great about this season. How dangerous
Speaker 2: is this team?
Speaker 3: Yeah, they can turn it on fast, right, And we've
Speaker 3: seen Baker Makefield have some first hats where he gets
Speaker 3: in a little trouble or throw some interceptions and you know,
Speaker 3: things are a little chaotic, and then all of a
Speaker 3: sudden he dials in. He made that one post throw
Speaker 3: to Mike Evans the Agels. Mike Evans looks like he
Speaker 3: could get that other that thousand yard season yet another
Speaker 3: one incredible consistency throughout his career. He's fully back from
Speaker 3: the injury making a difference. You know, Jalen McMillan has
Speaker 3: stepped up too. So those three were really big on Sunday.
Speaker 3: You know, you're down seventeen to ten, you turn the
Speaker 3: ball over midway through the second quarter.
Speaker 4: At midfield, things aren't looking.
Speaker 3: Great, but then you have the ability to rip off
Speaker 3: thirty straight points unanswered over the final thirty five minutes
Speaker 3: or so in the game. That's dominant on the road
Speaker 3: against like you said, a good quality opponent who's going
Speaker 3: to probably end up in the postseason and the Chargers,
Speaker 3: and they just ran through him like it was nothing.
Speaker 3: So so that's why I put them in that dangerous
Speaker 3: team group. I think they really can make some noise
Speaker 3: in the postseason. Remember how tough they were against the
Speaker 3: lines in the playoffs last year. I think we're seeing
Speaker 3: an almost better version, certainly offensively than what we saw
Speaker 3: last year.
Speaker 2: There's a story about both of those teams. One how
Speaker 2: good Tampa Bay is and two the need from a
Speaker 2: Charger's perspective to get some other playmakers, high level playmakers
Speaker 2: to squash a run that you made reference to. Keep
Speaker 2: in mind, the Buccaneers a one spot, one game lead
Speaker 2: in the standings and they they do not have I
Speaker 2: should say, the head to heads against the Atlanta Falcons,
Speaker 2: so not done just yet in terms of that race.
Speaker 2: Taking a look at the odds, here, the Rams the
Speaker 2: favorite to go and win this division, the Seahawks right
Speaker 2: behind them, the Arizona Cardinals in that third position, and
Speaker 2: just in case you're wondering, FanDuel not giving the San
Speaker 2: Francisco forty nine ers a chance to go and win
Speaker 2: the NFC West. But let's focus in on the number
Speaker 2: fourteen team. Look, you told me the Bucks were really damp.
Speaker 2: The Rams are also in that conversation as well, there
Speaker 2: is some concern that I was starting to have down
Speaker 2: the stretch here about the Rams. They've seemed to write
Speaker 2: the ship. I've been high on them all season long.
Speaker 2: I think they got snake bit earlier this season because
Speaker 2: of some of the injuries, especially on their offensive line.
Speaker 2: But when this offense is going, boyle boy, I think
Speaker 2: you can make an argument they're top two or three
Speaker 2: in the league.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they're a scary team.
Speaker 3: And I love the fact, Mike that in the span
Speaker 3: of four days they won two games in come two
Speaker 3: close games too, in completely different fashions. You have the
Speaker 3: shootout against the Bills where they're all gas, no breaks,
Speaker 3: knowing they're going to have to outscore Josh Allen, one
Speaker 3: of the league's best players. You turn around, you go
Speaker 3: into a rain soak game up in San Francisco on
Speaker 3: a short week, and you win a field goal fest
Speaker 3: the defensive battle. So that tells me the Rams can
Speaker 3: match up against a variety of different style of teams,
Speaker 3: and so that kind of helps them in their playoff quest.
Speaker 3: You know, obviously they could be hosting a game, but
Speaker 3: you never know who you're going to draw, you never
Speaker 3: know how going to lay out.
Speaker 4: And I love the fact they can.
Speaker 3: You know, they can win games forty four to forty two,
Speaker 3: or they can win them twelve to six.
Speaker 4: The defense has made strides.
Speaker 3: But you said it, I think the most dangerous aspect
Speaker 3: is Matthew Stafford in the playoffs with the ball in
Speaker 3: his hand and the game on the line, and then
Speaker 3: those two receivers. Having Nikoua and Cooper Cup healthy obviously
Speaker 3: makes a world of difference for their offense. We saw
Speaker 3: him without them, they couldn't move the ball with them.
Speaker 3: Now they're a very explosive team.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, once again, I know they didn't have a
Speaker 2: touchdown on TNF, but the point is that was an
Speaker 2: ugly game in terms of the weather conditions on the road,
Speaker 2: short week against the divisional opponent. To me, I think
Speaker 2: you sit there and you say, hey, even with an
Speaker 2: inability because of the weather to really be effective in
Speaker 2: the air game, Nicola almost gets a hunter Karen Williams,
Speaker 2: one of the most underrated running backs that we have
Speaker 2: in the NFL, and they will go on the road
Speaker 2: again as they match the New York Jets. Meanwhile, they
Speaker 2: have a great shot of being a postseason team. In fact,
Speaker 2: even with the tie breakers in their favor. Got to
Speaker 2: feel cautiously optimistic. But there's a a your question about
Speaker 2: QB one for the Atlanta Falcons. We dive into the
Speaker 2: atl coming up next back here on power rankings. As
Speaker 2: we dive into team seventeen through twenty four, we'll talk
Speaker 2: about the Falcons, who are at seven and seven. They
Speaker 2: move up three spots the forty nine ers. Got some
Speaker 2: turmoil around this team. At nineteen, it's the Dolphins three
Speaker 2: picks by two. Ooh, bad time for that. At twenty
Speaker 2: the Bengals not dead yet. At twenty one it's the Cowboys,
Speaker 2: followed by the Colts, the Saints, and the Bears. At
Speaker 2: twenty four, Eric, I want to hit you up on
Speaker 2: Team seventeen, the Atlanta Falcons. Once again, they got the
Speaker 2: head to head tiebreaker against the Tampa Bay Bucks. Only
Speaker 2: one game back, right now? What do you do if
Speaker 2: you're Raheem Morris with Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 4: Boy, yeah, they did move up three.
Speaker 3: I am cautioning people don't read too much into that
Speaker 3: because there is a Kirk Cousins problem right now, at
Speaker 3: least you know, the eye test certainly tells us. And
Speaker 3: also just the behavior of the Falcons right after through
Speaker 3: that third quarter interception.
Speaker 4: On Monday night.
Speaker 3: They barely threw the ball after that, really lean on
Speaker 3: the run game. It was working for a while, but
Speaker 3: you know, you see the Raiders storm back, have an opportunity,
Speaker 3: multiple opportunities to try to go steal that game last night,
Speaker 3: and Cousins was a big reason why they they were
Speaker 3: kind of held back. He did make the first touchdown
Speaker 3: throw in five games. It's nice for him to get
Speaker 3: off that schneid, but another pick added to his total
Speaker 3: this year. And yeah, I don't know what they do.
Speaker 3: They've got Michael Pennix in the pen. I don't know
Speaker 3: if it's a respect thing, a veteran thing, if they
Speaker 3: just don't feel like Pennis is ready. But you know,
Speaker 3: the playoffs are hanging in the balance Mic and they're
Speaker 3: sticking with him at least to this point.
Speaker 4: I don't know how much longer they can afford to
Speaker 4: do so.
Speaker 2: Though, Yeah, not the easiest decision to make for Raheem
Speaker 2: wore So though maybe fans and Atlanta, saying, actually, it
Speaker 2: is pretty easy considering what we've seen from Kirk Cousins
Speaker 2: Yawhile teams twenty five through thirty two. Here we go
Speaker 2: the Browns, they dropped another one, the Jets, seizing some
Speaker 2: fans with that win against the Jags. At twenty seven,
Speaker 2: it's the Panthers, then the Jaguars, and the Patriots. At
Speaker 2: twenty nine, Tennessee Titans sitting in the thirtieth position, followed
Speaker 2: by the Raiders and the New York Giants. All right,
Speaker 2: at twenty six, I just because it's a win. All
Speaker 2: I'm going to say here, Eric, is I think DeVante
Speaker 2: Adams and Aaron Rodgers might be auditioning together as a
Speaker 2: package deal for their next team. Adams nine catches, one
Speaker 2: hundred and ninety eight receiving yards, and two touchdowns. We
Speaker 2: can talk about them, but I'm calling it audible here.
Speaker 2: I'm going to say, no, we don't need to talk
Speaker 2: about the Jets. We're moving on from that season. Eric,
Speaker 2: you and I have been blessed this season, my first
Speaker 2: year on this show, working with Medicine Sanders, who's been
Speaker 2: our producer, who is now moving on Madison. We are
Speaker 2: going to miss you sorry for hijacking the.
Speaker 4: End of the show.
Speaker 2: We only had like thirty seconds left, So I mean,
Speaker 2: did you want us to really talk about the Jets? Eric,
Speaker 2: if you had something you wanted to say, I guess
Speaker 2: we could do it.
Speaker 3: I love Madison Sanders much more than I do the Jets,
Speaker 3: So yes, I'm very happy that we're talking. Good luck
Speaker 3: in your next endeavor. We're lucky to have been with you,
Speaker 3: and now we'll miss you. Yeah.
Speaker 2: No, absolutely, Madison, best of luck to you, and as
Speaker 2: Eric made reference to, we will miss you. Appreciate everyone
Speaker 2: watching another edition of Power Rankings.
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