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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.
Speaker 3: If you want a.
Speaker 2: Complete list of all thirty two teams and analysis, all
Speaker 2: you have to do is check out NFL dot com.
Speaker 3: Eric.
Speaker 2: I thought one of the more fascinating ideas from your
Speaker 2: recent post is how margin of victory really plays a factor.
Speaker 2: Apparently for you one score games, that is a major
Speaker 2: factor in determining the rankings.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it is. The idea being, Look, if you're in
Speaker 4: a lot of close games and you know, sort of
Speaker 4: lose more than you normally would win your overall win percentage,
Speaker 4: maybe you're a better team than your record indicates. Likewise,
Speaker 4: if you're winning all in one score games like the
Speaker 4: Chiefs ten and oh this season, perhaps it's indicative that
Speaker 4: you're overachieving a little bit. So I tried to use
Speaker 4: that to kind of separate what I think is really
Speaker 4: the cream of the crop, my top eight. Those are
Speaker 4: the groups the teams that I think are most prepared
Speaker 4: to win the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3: Right now, all right, you mentioned the top eight.
Speaker 2: Let's get to the rankings right now, and the number
Speaker 2: number one team still the Detroit Lions, and no reason
Speaker 2: to drop him considering how they're winning some of these
Speaker 2: ball games. At number two, it's the Eagles, nine straight
Speaker 2: wins and somehow of what an upset to Carolina. We'll
Speaker 2: see if that's a red flag for Eric coming up
Speaker 2: in just a minute. The Chiefs at number three, a
Speaker 2: dooink and another one possession win, four six total touchdowns
Speaker 2: for Josh Allen and the Bills, but a close loss
Speaker 2: to the Rams. The Vikings, Darnold, how about leading this
Speaker 2: team eleven to two for the first time since two
Speaker 2: thousand and nine. The Steelers are six, the Packers at seven,
Speaker 2: and the Ravens.
Speaker 3: Are at number eight.
Speaker 2: The team that starts the show is the Detroit Lions,
Speaker 2: number one.
Speaker 3: Here.
Speaker 2: I love how Dan Campbell sometimes roll the dice here
Speaker 2: and they'll go for it on fourth down. The fact
Speaker 2: that they were able to score two touchdowns on a
Speaker 2: fourth down I absolutely love to me, Eric, there's a
Speaker 2: reason why you have them as the number one team.
Speaker 2: They're showing they.
Speaker 4: Are absolutely Mike. And you know, some people will say, hey,
Speaker 4: they won by a field goal. Here, they won by
Speaker 4: a field goal on Thanksgiving. What's the difference? I felt
Speaker 4: like this was a a better opponent and be just
Speaker 4: a better game. You know, they're decimated on defense, They're
Speaker 4: hanging in there as best they can on that side
Speaker 4: of the ball. We know what the offense can do
Speaker 4: even when the run game isn't flourishing. I mean, they
Speaker 4: have ways to beat you, so many different directions they
Speaker 4: can go. But also a big night on special teams too.
Speaker 4: So it really kind of emphasized not only the three
Speaker 4: phase element of this team, so well built from top
Speaker 4: to bottom, but also that aggressiveness. It cost them once
Speaker 4: on four down, but they were successful four times, and
Speaker 4: that's just the formula for a champion. They're built to
Speaker 4: with stand one of those misses because the earlier hits
Speaker 4: really kind of saved them.
Speaker 2: You Know, on this show last week, I had made
Speaker 2: reference to the fact that the Eagles scored this huge
Speaker 2: win against the Baltimore Ravens. I'm hedging, Hay, are they
Speaker 2: better than the Lions or the Lions better than the Eagles?
Speaker 2: And this week in the rankings you have Philadelphia sending
Speaker 2: at number two. Now, all of a sudden, they're coming
Speaker 2: off a win a little close though against the Carolina
Speaker 2: Panthers squad. Some comments and some chatter about a lack
Speaker 2: of explosive passes.
Speaker 3: In this team's offense. Is there a red flag?
Speaker 2: Should we be concerned about what we're seeing on the field,
Speaker 2: especially early in games? Yeah?
Speaker 4: Had I known kind of the backstory of the whole
Speaker 4: AJ Brown, Jalen Hurts, tenshit if you will, I might
Speaker 4: not have moved them up a spot this week. They
Speaker 4: still belong in that top tier in the NFL, I
Speaker 4: believe until further notice, Like you said, till recently, we
Speaker 4: were talking about them as truly one of the elite teams,
Speaker 4: maybe even better than the Lions in summer guards. But yeah,
Speaker 4: there still is this hurdle they seemingly have to get
Speaker 4: over every single week where the first quarter they've been
Speaker 4: outscored I think something like fifty nine to seventeen, and
Speaker 4: they outscored their opponents by one hundred and fifty points
Speaker 4: the last three quarters. But for whatever reason, the slow
Speaker 4: starts have been a problem. AJ Brown only had four
Speaker 4: targets last week. That's got to get better. Is there
Speaker 4: a rift there between Hurts and Brown? Are they tight?
Speaker 4: Can they make this thing work?
Speaker 2: It?
Speaker 4: Does scare it because you know all the drama that
Speaker 4: existed in that locker room a year ago. But I
Speaker 4: still think, until proven otherwise, they belong near the top.
Speaker 2: Hey, by the way, this defense is bawling for as
Speaker 2: much as we want to try out, say Kwon Barkley,
Speaker 2: who could be the MVP this year, In fact, he's
Speaker 2: on the shortlist right one of three guys at least
Speaker 2: in my mind that should win that award this season.
Speaker 2: The Achilles heel last year was they couldn't stop people,
Speaker 2: especially that secondary that is flipped in a meaningful way.
Speaker 3: Eagles.
Speaker 2: I think you have them right where they should be
Speaker 2: at the number two spot, and I'm ready for some
Speaker 2: hate from Kansas City fans, who you have number three?
Speaker 2: Another one possession win.
Speaker 3: I get it. The Doink It happens when you're a
Speaker 3: good team. Eric.
Speaker 2: It feels like, no matter what the circumstances are, the
Speaker 2: ball is always going to go your way.
Speaker 4: I would love to just be able to have this
Speaker 4: kind of luck one day in my life. I do
Speaker 4: think there was less luck in this one. I understand
Speaker 4: the doink field goal, but I felt like the Chiefs
Speaker 4: at least controlled the script of this game. Better than
Speaker 4: they have in the past. Let's say the Panthers game
Speaker 4: or the Broncos or Raiders games. They made the stop
Speaker 4: on defense, put it back in Patrick Mahomes' hands. He
Speaker 4: made some magic, He moved them down the field. They
Speaker 4: intentionally ran the clock down to take that kick, you know,
Speaker 4: backup kickers. So obviously the kick itself got a little scrutiny.
Speaker 4: But you know, this team knows how to win games.
Speaker 4: They have a formula. They've been in these situations so
Speaker 4: many times. That's why they're ten to zero in these situations.
Speaker 4: And yeah, just for a little extra drama, right, they
Speaker 4: hadn't really done it to this point in the game,
Speaker 4: and they finish it off again again. I don't know
Speaker 4: when this runs out. I don't know if this is
Speaker 4: a sign that they can beat virtually anybody in a
Speaker 4: schematic battle, or if they're just gonna stop turning over
Speaker 4: aces every single time they're at the table. You know,
Speaker 4: it's gonna be fascinating. But last year proved that they
Speaker 4: can still do pretty well in the playoffs after a
Speaker 4: lot of close shapes in the regular season.
Speaker 2: By the way, we'll talk Chargers here in just a moment.
Speaker 2: I they deserve some flowers as well. More specifically, maybe
Speaker 2: justin Herbert because they're lacking some playmakers and knocking on
Speaker 2: the door here. I mean, that was an impressive run
Speaker 2: in the second half from a Los Angeles perspective. By
Speaker 2: the way, Miles Garrett, this team has been the Chiefs
Speaker 2: that is susceptible to giving up some sacks to Patrick
Speaker 2: Maha Holmes Miles Garrett awaiting them this coming week the
Speaker 2: bails awesome game shootout. Here we go Josh Allen trying
Speaker 2: to cement himself as an MVP.
Speaker 3: You did drop him a couple spots here. I hate
Speaker 3: to say it.
Speaker 2: I almost felt like I thought the Rams are gonna
Speaker 2: win this game cross country for Buffalo Bill's Mafia. I
Speaker 2: came into the studio super early on Sunday morning for
Speaker 2: our pregame show. You saw some of Bill's Mafia already
Speaker 2: showing up. It's a good win for the Rams. How
Speaker 2: much concern do you have against about this Buffalo team
Speaker 2: to lose a shootout on the road like this.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I suppose there's a certain irony about an MVP
Speaker 4: candidate Nolan helping his cause in a loss more than
Speaker 4: he maybe has in a lot of wins this year.
Speaker 4: But you know, the Buffalo defense did concern me. Allen
Speaker 4: was great. He did everything possible, you know, to dig
Speaker 4: them out of that hole. Obviously, his receivers did a
Speaker 4: lot of work after the catch too, got to give
Speaker 4: them credit. But Allen as a runner and as a
Speaker 4: passer was absolutely tremendous. And look, nobody's denying it. He's
Speaker 4: good to be the reason whether they win a super
Speaker 4: Bowl or don't win a super Bowl this year, you know,
Speaker 4: such an important piece of what they do and such
Speaker 4: a tough piece to stop. That said, if the defense
Speaker 4: isn't doing its job, we've got problems. And more often
Speaker 4: than not, they've done their job this year. But you know,
Speaker 4: in a precision passer fifteen or eleven to fifteen on
Speaker 4: third downs, I mean, Matthew Stafford was carving them up,
Speaker 4: and that is a concern for me. But this, like
Speaker 4: you said, I think this game probably meant more to
Speaker 4: the Rams than it did to the Bills. And so,
Speaker 4: you know, two spots seems like a lot I still
Speaker 4: have near the top, and I think they can even
Speaker 4: be a number one team by the end of the
Speaker 4: regular season.
Speaker 2: Only thing, and I'd love to get your take very
Speaker 2: quickly on this. The Bills on the road. People are
Speaker 2: talking about, hey, do they need home field advantage in
Speaker 2: the postseason. I would contend that they do, even though
Speaker 2: some others might say no. At Houston, at Baltimore, at
Speaker 2: the Rams. They're losing some road games against good teams.
Speaker 2: We'll get a good test against obviously the Lions because
Speaker 2: that's road game this coming week. But I think there's
Speaker 2: some pressure here on Josh Allen and this team to
Speaker 2: try to do their best year. It's a little out
Speaker 2: of their hands because the Kansas City's run, But I
Speaker 2: think Buffalo needs home field.
Speaker 4: Yeah right, Obviously it does hurt them the loss from
Speaker 4: that standpoint, and Kansas City does have that big lead
Speaker 4: at this point, even with the Buffalo winning the head
Speaker 4: to head game, so got to keep trying. Got to
Speaker 4: see if you can steal it from them down the stretch.
Speaker 2: I love that you have the Vikings at number five.
Speaker 2: Are they the team that we talked the least amount
Speaker 2: that we should be talking way more about?
Speaker 4: Their record suggests so, doesn't it. I mean, look eleven
Speaker 4: and two, you can't really argue with what they've done
Speaker 4: on the field. Kind of like we're talking about with
Speaker 4: the Chiefs, or maybe it's memories of two years ago
Speaker 4: the twenty twenty two Vikings who went thirteen and four
Speaker 4: but had a negative point differential. I think this team
Speaker 4: has been more impressive in how it's won games. Yes,
Speaker 4: there have been some close ones. Chicago a few weeks
Speaker 4: back obviously got a little bit lucky. There some other
Speaker 4: games too that got away from them earlier in this season,
Speaker 4: like the Lions game. But still, the way Sam Darnold
Speaker 4: is playing now, I think the narrative has changed him.
Speaker 4: It's no longer can they win with him? It's is
Speaker 4: this guy even a dark horse MVP candidate this point?
Speaker 4: Top five in passing yards, passing touchdowns, has really been
Speaker 4: on a heater lately. Done the job. I few hiccups
Speaker 4: early in the season, but I don't have as many
Speaker 4: doubts now. And boy, do the Vikings just let him
Speaker 4: walk in the offseason. I guess that's a discussion for
Speaker 4: down the road. But he's playing at a super high
Speaker 4: level on that Vikings defense did enough against Kirk Cousins
Speaker 4: old friend there in Minnesota to get the win.
Speaker 2: Six straight wins for this team after suffering back to
Speaker 2: back losses where we started to doubt and say.
Speaker 3: Hey, yeah, this is the team that we expected. Well,
Speaker 3: guess what. They continue to win some of these games.
Speaker 2: Donald five passing touchdowns in the win against Atlanta and
Speaker 2: you start thinking, didn't they draft a quarterback? And JJ McCarthy,
Speaker 2: You're right, there's gonna be some interesting decisions that organization
Speaker 2: is going to have to make with regard to him.
Speaker 2: Vikings certainly a team worthy of conversation. Steelers also in
Speaker 2: the mix style of play from Mike Tomlins squad Eric
Speaker 2: does that make them arguably the most dangerous team in
Speaker 2: the AFC because of how they play?
Speaker 4: Yeah? I keep getting these questions. I go on radio shows,
Speaker 4: Mike and people say, you know, are the Steelers a
Speaker 4: legit Super Bowl contender? And I feel like it's a
Speaker 4: bit of an odd question. My answer is always why
Speaker 4: the heck not? Right? I mean, they've got an outstanding defense.
Speaker 4: You know, a couple of defensive Player of the Year
Speaker 4: award candidates in TJ. Watt and Cameron Hayward. He's having
Speaker 4: an amazing season almost thirty six years old. So you
Speaker 4: know what they do on that side of the ball,
Speaker 4: They're going to take care of business. More often than not.
Speaker 4: The offense has shown signs that they can cook on
Speaker 4: their best days, maybe a little hot and cold at times.
Speaker 4: Special teams have been outstanding. Chris Boswell and the rest
Speaker 4: of that unit has been terrific this season. So another
Speaker 4: kind of three phase operation that I think, you know,
Speaker 4: makes it tough on people. Yeah, they lost at home
Speaker 4: to Dallas. Yes, they've had other hiccups this season that maybe,
Speaker 4: you know, cast some negative light on them. But I
Speaker 4: also feel like, you know, they could beat the Ravens
Speaker 4: head to head, they could beat some tough teams. They
Speaker 4: could take away some of your best weapons. So you know,
Speaker 4: we saw it again on Sunday and you know they're cooking.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know if I would want to match
Speaker 2: up against them. They remind me a little bit of
Speaker 2: the Chargers because of what they do defensively, but they
Speaker 2: got better pieces of the offensive side right now than
Speaker 2: Justin Herbert is working with on that roster. But speaking
Speaker 2: of the Chargers, we just suck you through those Tier
Speaker 2: one teams. The Chargers, the Rams, the Bucks, the Seahawks
Speaker 2: all come to mind as tier two squads.
Speaker 3: What about their.
Speaker 2: Postseason hopes and what they can do once they get
Speaker 2: to the playoffs. Answer, it's coming up next on power rankings.
Speaker 2: Back here on power rankings, Mike, am and Eric at
Speaker 2: home with you. Teams nine through sixteen. The Chargers sitting
Speaker 2: in the ninth spot, almost to win in Kansas City.
Speaker 2: Team's coming off of a bye, Broncos, Commanders, and Texans
Speaker 2: they're ten, eleven and twelve. At thirteen, it's the Seahawks
Speaker 2: they're four and oh since thereby, how about the Buccaneers
Speaker 2: at fourteen a win at first place in the NFC South.
Speaker 3: The Rams scored that important.
Speaker 2: Win at home against the Bills, and at sixteen the
Speaker 2: Cardinals now spiraling out of control.
Speaker 3: Let's focus in on this Chargers team at number nine.
Speaker 3: I kind of wanted to.
Speaker 2: It's not that I was rooting for or against the team,
Speaker 2: but there's a part of me that wanted them to win,
Speaker 2: to show people like, hey, we can score win against
Speaker 2: a winning ball club. It was going to be a
Speaker 2: tough task. A lot of inter concerns, especially at the
Speaker 2: playmaker spot. We didn't seelat mcconkeye out there. That obviously
Speaker 2: was an issue. Well, Disley gets banged up in that game.
Speaker 2: I'm still giving them some respect for an almost win
Speaker 2: against the Chiefs.
Speaker 4: Absolutely fall behind against the Chiefs and narrowhead. I don't
Speaker 4: care what kind of season they're having or how many
Speaker 4: close games they're playing, that's a tough environment to deal with.
Speaker 4: They lost a close one earlier in the season to
Speaker 4: the Chiefs. They know how that one played out. But
Speaker 4: they really got things going after a certain point, especially
Speaker 4: without a major run game early. I mean, they found
Speaker 4: ways to move the ball down the field. At back,
Speaker 4: Quinton Johnston had a really nice game. You know, we've
Speaker 4: seen some inconsistencies from him, but Joshua Palmer stepping up
Speaker 4: stone smart. How about him? He looked like a pretty
Speaker 4: good looking tight end there after some injuries at the position.
Speaker 4: So again, I mean, they've been hurt by losing guys offensively,
Speaker 4: defensively giving up big pass plays. But they held tight
Speaker 4: in this game, and we're just a few plays short.
Speaker 4: Like you said, they still need that kind of big
Speaker 4: signature win to sort of prove they belong in that
Speaker 4: upper tier. That's why they sit just outside of my
Speaker 4: top eight right now.
Speaker 2: Eleven consecutive games now for Justin Herbert without the interception,
Speaker 2: to me, certainly one of the more impressive quarterbacks, and
Speaker 2: once again, I just look around that feel when I
Speaker 2: see them play, I go, where's the playmaker here? Like,
Speaker 2: who's the difference maker on this team's offense? And they
Speaker 2: don't have it just yet. I say that to say
Speaker 2: good things are to come here for Harbaugh's squad over
Speaker 2: the next couple seasons or so. Closer look at the
Speaker 2: team's favored to go and win the NFC West. The
Speaker 2: Seahawks not a surprise here sitting at the top, the
Speaker 2: Rams just behind them, the Cardinals.
Speaker 3: I don't know what's going on with.
Speaker 2: This squad and the San Francisco forty nine ers not
Speaker 2: sticking a fork in them just yet. Coming off of
Speaker 2: a win, a dominant win against the Bears. All right,
Speaker 2: number three team, it is the Seahawks. They're winning games.
Speaker 2: I think I started to doubt them a little bit.
Speaker 2: I know they came off to a fast start, then
Speaker 2: they started to lose. It's like a team of streaks
Speaker 2: and runs. But because of what the division is right now, Eric,
Speaker 2: can't you just make the claim like they're the team
Speaker 2: to be at this point.
Speaker 4: They're in the pole position right now. The Rams will
Speaker 4: obviously have something to say about it. You know, maybe
Speaker 4: the forty nine ers or Cardinals can kind of rediscover
Speaker 4: their previous form. Forty nine ers look pretty good Sunday,
Speaker 4: but still, I mean, right now, the way things are
Speaker 4: lined up, they're in a terrific position to claim this
Speaker 4: division of Mike McDonald's first year, which you know, after
Speaker 4: the three and zero start, okay, it made some sense,
Speaker 4: but after they lost that slew of games there and
Speaker 4: really put themselves behind the eight ball, you weren't too
Speaker 4: sure Sunday. No, Kenneth Walkers, Zach Sharbonney steps up in
Speaker 4: a big way. Gino Smith's you know, interceptions, we're getting
Speaker 4: out of control at one point. He's now had a
Speaker 4: couple of games where he's really taken care of the ball.
Speaker 4: The defense has done its job. So this has been
Speaker 4: a total team effort. Mike, and I really like what
Speaker 4: I'm seeing more of kind of what we saw were
Speaker 4: in this and against an earlier easier schedule, I should say,
Speaker 4: and less with the struggles that they really endured through
Speaker 4: the kind of the second quarter of the season, if
Speaker 4: you will.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't want to say it's a prove it week,
Speaker 2: but I think I'd have less doubts if they can
Speaker 2: win on Sunday Night football against Green Bay. I don't
Speaker 2: have something in my mind that says, hey, is this
Speaker 2: totally believable right now with the.
Speaker 3: Seahawks still hold Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe it's just the state of the division, to
Speaker 2: be honest with you, because it hasn't been and it
Speaker 2: just hasn't been fun to watch at times. We'll talk
Speaker 2: about the Rams in just a moment, but at fourteen,
Speaker 2: it is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Don't look now, it
Speaker 2: doesn't matter if there's injuries, it doesn't matter if there's losses.
Speaker 2: They figure out a way to try to get that
Speaker 2: pole position as you just described in that division. Look
Speaker 2: at the rest of the teams that are there, and
Speaker 2: I say this is theirs to take right now because
Speaker 2: of Baker Mayfield and maybe they're getting a little bit healthier.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and because of what Atlanta's doing too. We can't
Speaker 4: ignore that fact they were six and three with a
Speaker 4: season sweep over the box that look like Atlanta's division.
Speaker 4: Tampa has come in and kind of claim this thing
Speaker 4: a little bit, and you know, Baker Mayfield, you do
Speaker 4: have to kind of ride the ups and downs a
Speaker 4: little bit. Had two kind of strange interceptions, one right
Speaker 4: in front of his face, and you know, it sort
Speaker 4: of put them in a little bit of a tough spot.
Speaker 4: But this was the Raiders. They did take care of business.
Speaker 4: They did find a groove. Jalen McMillan scored twice, his
Speaker 4: first touchdown since week one, so that was a pretty
Speaker 4: good sign, and they put them away late. So you know,
Speaker 4: kind of like what you were saying a little bit.
Speaker 4: With the Seahawks, there's something that just sort of holds
Speaker 4: me back, but there is a really good competitive spirit.
Speaker 4: And now they have their Hall of Fame receiver back,
Speaker 4: Mike Evans Mayfield. They've got a chance, they really do,
Speaker 4: and they're looking good for home playoff game as the
Speaker 4: NFC South potential Division champs. At this point, I.
Speaker 2: Like that phrase competitive spirit because we're trying to figure
Speaker 2: out why I'm still kind of on the bandwagon, and
Speaker 2: I think you hit the nail on the head because
Speaker 2: even one day's Godwin and Evans, that goes down Bakers
Speaker 2: and I know they lost some of those games, but
Speaker 2: they're staying in it. There is something about that Baker
Speaker 2: effect that has me believing just this much that when
Speaker 2: or if they get to the postseason, and they can
Speaker 2: potentially come up with a knocking out one of these
Speaker 2: other squads, the Rams. I've been high on this team
Speaker 2: for most of the season. Coming into the year, I
Speaker 2: thought they had as good of a chance to win
Speaker 2: the division as any injury issues, massive injury issues. For
Speaker 2: the first half of the season, They're hanging tough here.
Speaker 2: Big win against Buffalo. Does that win change your perception
Speaker 2: about them being the team to beat in the West.
Speaker 4: It certainly does a little bit, right, if you could
Speaker 4: have that explosive a game, probably one of the best
Speaker 4: offensive performances in the Sean McVay era, right, if you
Speaker 4: consider the opponent, the circumstances, the gotta have at nature.
Speaker 4: But they have their guys back. I mean, Puka Nakua
Speaker 4: looks like he did last year when he dominates a rookie.
Speaker 4: Cooper Cup looks like sort of the pre injury version
Speaker 4: form of him. A great counterpiece Kiroen Williams running the football,
Speaker 4: and yeah, Matthew Stafford he's pretty good too, right. The
Speaker 4: third down conversion rate was unbelievable on Sunday, Really, Dice
Speaker 4: that defense took some risks on fourth down too, had
Speaker 4: to make up for their own defense too, though, Mike.
Speaker 4: I mean, if we're going to talk about Buffalo give
Speaker 4: it up yards, we certainly got to do the same
Speaker 4: for the Rams, and that young d line is up
Speaker 4: against it. But they put in a lot of energy
Speaker 4: up front to try to make people work for their points.
Speaker 2: I knew Puka was having a big game, but check
Speaker 2: this out. First player in NFL history with at least
Speaker 2: twelve receptions, one hundred and fifty receiving yards, one receiving touchdown,
Speaker 2: and one rushing touchdown. The guy is bunkers out on
Speaker 2: the football field. I want to see him in the
Speaker 2: postseason just because I want to see what he can
Speaker 2: do against some of the best defensives in the NFL. Meanwhile,
Speaker 2: the Niners, they win Cincinnati, they win two. Are we
Speaker 2: saying there's still a chance? The ANSWER's next on Power Rankings?
Speaker 3: Back here on Power Rankings, Team seventeen through twenty four.
Speaker 3: The Niners. I don't know how to explain it. They're
Speaker 3: sitting at seventeen and they get a big win over
Speaker 3: the Bears. They were dominant in that game. The Colt
Speaker 3: set eighteen. The Dolphins a thriller over the Jets in.
Speaker 2: The nineteenth position at twenty What is going on with
Speaker 2: the Atlanta Falcons at twenty one? Nice win for them
Speaker 2: on Monday Night football against the Dallas Cowboys who are
Speaker 2: twenty two. Derek Carr fractured non throwing hand. That's a
Speaker 2: problem for the Saints who are twenty three and the
Speaker 2: Bears at twenty four, So the Niners are up three spots.
Speaker 3: Should I say there's a chance form eric on the postseason?
Speaker 3: The division? It feels like it's still wan to open.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the mathematicians in the back of room are telling
Speaker 4: me there is a chance there is a path. I
Speaker 4: haven't yet found out how that's gonna work, but if
Speaker 4: they play like they did on Sunday, especially in the
Speaker 4: first half against the Bears, they can beat almost anybody
Speaker 4: down the stretch, So we'll see. I mean, it was
Speaker 4: the best half of football I think they've had on
Speaker 4: both sides of the ball combined in the first half.
Speaker 4: Eased off a little in the second half, but totally
Speaker 4: dominant performance. And it's just sort of a reminder disappointment
Speaker 4: of like, this is the team we expected this year, Mike,
Speaker 4: we just haven't seen enough of this group, even as
Speaker 4: banged up as they are.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just real buzzkill to watch the way the
Speaker 2: season was unfolded, and once again a lot of because
Speaker 2: of injuries.
Speaker 3: Making of injuries.
Speaker 2: I think the Dolphins would this would be a much
Speaker 2: different conversation. Had to have been healthy the entire season.
Speaker 2: He's balling right now, and they sunk the Jets chances
Speaker 2: of making into the postseason and officially eliminated them. It's
Speaker 2: a tough game against the Houston Texas, I think important for.
Speaker 3: Both of these teams.
Speaker 4: I agree, Yeah, I was not all that impressed with
Speaker 4: the Dolphins, at least early on. I feel like you
Speaker 4: can't show much energy against the Jets, and I understand
Speaker 4: it's a team that's having a bad season, but you know,
Speaker 4: it took him a while to get going. They were
Speaker 4: just sort of keeping pace with him before finally pulling
Speaker 4: ahead and overtime there you know, John hu Smith no
Speaker 4: catches in regulation and then becomes it overtime hero. But
Speaker 4: they got it done. They have the firepower. You know
Speaker 4: on certain days their defense can be great. But you're right,
Speaker 4: this is this next game obviously probably means more for
Speaker 4: Houston given where they're at, but you know, it's existential
Speaker 4: for Miami. They lose, they're pretty much done and even
Speaker 4: as things stand, they're not looking great as far as
Speaker 4: the playoffs go right now, so it need a lot
Speaker 4: of work to get done.
Speaker 2: They really need this game against Houston, and by the way,
Speaker 2: the Texans, I have some serious questions. I don't want
Speaker 2: to say it's gettable, but the Dolphins have an opportunity
Speaker 2: to win this football game the Falcons. Please explain to
Speaker 2: me what the heck is going on right now for
Speaker 2: Raheem Worris the squad. It's four straight losses and I'm
Speaker 2: thinking to myself, you drafted Michael Pennocks at this point,
Speaker 2: maybe we kind of have to go to him.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I can understand not making that move. Prior
Speaker 4: to last week. Kirk Cousins has returned to Minnesota. You know,
Speaker 4: it's a good veteran defense. You don't want to necessarily
Speaker 4: throw Penis in that spot and also deny Cousins of
Speaker 4: that opportunity. And early on there were some decent connections,
Speaker 4: some drives that looked like they were pretty promising, but
Speaker 4: the two interceptions. Now a four game total, zero touchdowns,
Speaker 4: eight picks. You can't have this kind of performance on
Speaker 4: offense and expect to keep your job. Penick's waiting the
Speaker 4: wings that they make that call. Ugh, I don't know.
Speaker 4: I think they're getting desperate and they might have to.
Speaker 4: They're below fifty percent to make the playoffs right now.
Speaker 3: It might be the time and they were in the
Speaker 3: driver's seat in this division.
Speaker 2: And I think that's why there's some pressure right now
Speaker 2: because it's not like the Bucks are you know, the
Speaker 2: Kansas City Chiefs right like, there's still an opportunity here,
Speaker 2: especially with some of these head to heads. Cincinnati, they
Speaker 2: win all their games for the rest of the season,
Speaker 2: that puts them at nine.
Speaker 3: That's not enough, right.
Speaker 4: I don't think so. Yeah, obviously it was a dramatic way.
Speaker 4: They finally got it down on Monday night in crazy fashion.
Speaker 4: I think that that block punt recovery was probably the
Speaker 4: luckiest play they've had all season in a year of
Speaker 4: bad turns. But yeah, it's going to take a lot more,
Speaker 4: and I think they've kind of made their own bed
Speaker 4: this season with all the close losses and everything else
Speaker 4: that kind of fell apart. They're a talented team, they
Speaker 4: just haven't had a show enough this season, and it's
Speaker 4: gonna cost them.
Speaker 3: It is in a big way.
Speaker 2: As we look at the rest of the teams in
Speaker 2: the NFL at twenty five, it is the Browns twenty six.
Speaker 3: You know, we keep loving up Bryce Young and I
Speaker 3: get it.
Speaker 2: The Jets officially eliminated at twenty seven, and then the
Speaker 2: rest of the way, it's the Patriots, the Jags, the Titans,
Speaker 2: the Raiders, and the New York Giants sitting at thirty two.
Speaker 2: Ni g men, gotta be kidding me here. Yeah, it's
Speaker 2: been that type of season for him. By the way,
Speaker 2: not to throw shade on another team in the Tri
Speaker 2: state area in New York City, but the Jets, considering
Speaker 2: me in the expectation level, being eliminated kind of a buzzkill.
Speaker 2: Like there's some real questions heading into the offseason for this.
Speaker 4: Team, such as who's going to be the coach, who's
Speaker 4: going to be the quarterback? You know, I mean, what else?
Speaker 4: What else are the big change is going to be?
Speaker 4: You heard Garrett Wilson really kind of you know, uncork
Speaker 4: the frustration if you will, after the game and just say,
Speaker 4: if you haven't watched us, you know, since preseason, would
Speaker 4: you think this was a surprise the way this game went.
Speaker 4: It's been the same way almost every single week, self
Speaker 4: inflicted mistakes left and right. Can't do and expect to
Speaker 4: win games. He understands that.
Speaker 3: God, imagine what this was supposed to be two years ago.
Speaker 4: It doesn't work out that all the time.
Speaker 3: Ericare the best man.
Speaker 2: I always appreciate everyone watching and listening to NFL Power Rankings.
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