WEBVTT - #20: Controversial decisions 0:00:04.743 --> 0:00:07.303 NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in 0:00:07.383 --> 0:00:09.983 partnership with iHeartRadio. 0:00:12.783 --> 0:00:17.343 Welcome to another edition of the NFL Power Ranking Show, 0:00:18.103 --> 0:00:21.903 presented to you by Energizer. This is the as we 0:00:21.983 --> 0:00:26.383 call it here, the week twenty edition in our studios 0:00:26.383 --> 0:00:28.703 in Los Angeles. My name is ANDREWS. Siciliano. On the 0:00:28.743 --> 0:00:32.503 other side of the screen in a frozen, frigid Chicago, 0:00:32.623 --> 0:00:35.743 which just got the news that Caleb Williams is entering 0:00:35.743 --> 0:00:38.543 the twenty twenty four NFL Draft. Eric at Hoolme, good 0:00:38.543 --> 0:00:38.983 to see you. 0:00:40.063 --> 0:00:42.223 Good to see you too. This is the pound for pound, 0:00:42.263 --> 0:00:43.103 the best round, right. 0:00:43.343 --> 0:00:46.423 Don't agree with the divisional round? Yeah? I think so. 0:00:46.623 --> 0:00:51.023 Yeah, after watching a super Wildcard round that saw the 0:00:51.103 --> 0:00:52.823 average margin of victory. 0:00:52.903 --> 0:00:55.383 Sit at seventeen point three. 0:00:55.503 --> 0:00:58.703 And that includes keep in mind the fact that Sunday 0:00:58.783 --> 0:01:01.183 night in Detroit it was a one point game. 0:01:01.743 --> 0:01:02.543 Is that insane? 0:01:03.823 --> 0:01:07.063 Impactful games like the games that had purpose but not 0:01:07.183 --> 0:01:09.263 exactly the tightest ones. I think this round will be 0:01:09.303 --> 0:01:11.463 a little better, but yes, it is very much insane. 0:01:11.583 --> 0:01:14.823 The Ravens are number one, the Niners are number two. 0:01:14.863 --> 0:01:16.743 They are the two number one seeds. They had the 0:01:16.743 --> 0:01:19.783 weekend off. They watched on their couch and they have 0:01:19.863 --> 0:01:21.543 not changed. We'll get to them at a second. The 0:01:21.583 --> 0:01:24.423 Bills are up one. They are number three. The Lions 0:01:24.423 --> 0:01:26.983 are up one. They are number four. We're going to 0:01:27.023 --> 0:01:29.583 focus only on these four teams right now. And as 0:01:29.623 --> 0:01:32.303 we start this, I know there are people at home going, 0:01:32.303 --> 0:01:35.383 wait a minute, all you're doing is rearranging the fourteen 0:01:35.383 --> 0:01:36.503 teams that made the playoffs. 0:01:36.583 --> 0:01:38.823 Yes, however, I will make. 0:01:38.703 --> 0:01:42.783 An argument later that a couple of the teams were 0:01:42.983 --> 0:01:47.423 so bad they should be dropped from the top fourteen. However, Eric, 0:01:47.743 --> 0:01:51.623 they do not include these top four. The Ravens are one. 0:01:51.943 --> 0:01:54.623 They get the Texans coming up. As it's all chalk 0:01:54.703 --> 0:01:58.383 in the AFC. I would actually argue that with maybe 0:01:58.463 --> 0:02:02.343 Mark Andrews coming back and with Dalvin Cook waiting in 0:02:02.423 --> 0:02:05.983 the wings, the Ravens got better during their bye. 0:02:07.303 --> 0:02:09.263 Yeah, no doubt. I mean, well as Firs as far 0:02:09.303 --> 0:02:12.343 as personal personnel and who could be available, no question 0:02:12.423 --> 0:02:14.703 about it. And you know, did they need the rest. 0:02:14.823 --> 0:02:18.423 Obviously got some guys rested in Week eighteen. Not everybody 0:02:18.463 --> 0:02:20.863 played against the Steelers in that one. It was bad 0:02:20.903 --> 0:02:23.543 conditions out there, So yeah, I mean I think they're 0:02:23.583 --> 0:02:26.703 at full strength, and they've had the bulk of that 0:02:26.783 --> 0:02:29.903 time to look back at twenty nineteen and the failures 0:02:29.943 --> 0:02:32.863 that were I mean, everybody wrote their stories. Is this 0:02:32.983 --> 0:02:35.743 going to be another repeat of twenty nineteen. I don't 0:02:35.743 --> 0:02:38.783 think so. But they do have a stiff challenge, and 0:02:39.143 --> 0:02:41.103 I think things are set up maybe a little bit better, 0:02:41.183 --> 0:02:43.783 even though that was a pretty dominant team that won 0:02:43.903 --> 0:02:45.223 fourteen games not long ago. 0:02:45.463 --> 0:02:48.303 No, it's a dominant team here, and there's a dominant 0:02:48.303 --> 0:02:50.583 team in twenty nineteen, and they're facing a very good 0:02:50.583 --> 0:02:53.463 team at the Houston Texans, a team they beat in 0:02:53.503 --> 0:02:55.823 Week number one. Obviously a lot has changed for the 0:02:55.863 --> 0:02:58.103 Texans since then. We'll get into them a little bit later. 0:02:58.303 --> 0:02:58.903 That was c J. 0:02:59.063 --> 0:03:03.783 Stroud's first start. Didn't throw a touchdown, got sacked four times. Listen, 0:03:04.463 --> 0:03:08.703 he's better. Matter of fact, I think he's great. It's 0:03:08.823 --> 0:03:12.423 funny they beat Joe Flacco. The old elite conversation with 0:03:12.503 --> 0:03:16.703 Joe Flacco. We're going to have that elite conversation pretty soon, 0:03:16.703 --> 0:03:18.663 if not already here for CJ. 0:03:18.823 --> 0:03:19.143 Stroud. 0:03:19.223 --> 0:03:22.703 So the Ravens are one, the Niners are two. The 0:03:22.703 --> 0:03:26.143 big thing for the Niners is get healthy during theirby 0:03:26.343 --> 0:03:28.743 they have time to rest, and now they get the 0:03:28.863 --> 0:03:32.183 Packers coming to tap and honestly not to take away 0:03:32.183 --> 0:03:32.783 from green Bay. 0:03:32.823 --> 0:03:35.863 It sets up nicely here for Kyle Shanahan. 0:03:35.783 --> 0:03:38.023 It does. Yeah, I mean green Bay's obviously a very 0:03:38.103 --> 0:03:41.423 dangerous team, but I think the most important development was 0:03:41.503 --> 0:03:44.663 Philly blowing the lead, allowing the forty nine ers to 0:03:44.703 --> 0:03:48.023 clinch in Week seventeen. Rest guys in week eighteen have 0:03:48.183 --> 0:03:51.103 this buy They're in terrific shape. I guess you worry 0:03:51.103 --> 0:03:54.543 about offense rhythm coming out or whatever. Joe Berry's defense 0:03:54.583 --> 0:03:57.063 has played much better for Green Bay, but I think 0:03:57.103 --> 0:04:00.263 they would take that uncertainty over knowing the fact that 0:04:00.463 --> 0:04:02.703 they got Christian McCaffrey a lot of rest. He's going 0:04:02.743 --> 0:04:05.143 to be used pretty heavily, I would imagine in this game, 0:04:05.183 --> 0:04:08.383 and if they win, going forward, Deebo Samuel on down 0:04:08.423 --> 0:04:11.703 the line. So yeah, health was a big, big storyline 0:04:11.783 --> 0:04:14.743 last year in the playoffs. They're determined not to make 0:04:14.783 --> 0:04:16.823 it one I think this year. And yeah, other than 0:04:16.863 --> 0:04:19.623 the Baltimore game, they look pretty and good down the stretch. 0:04:19.663 --> 0:04:21.583 Look, they have to be happy sitting here watching at 0:04:21.583 --> 0:04:23.823 home and getting healthy. The Cowboys are out. The Eagles 0:04:23.823 --> 0:04:25.263 are out. I know they beat them both and beat 0:04:25.263 --> 0:04:26.943 them both handily, but the Rams. 0:04:26.663 --> 0:04:27.703 Are out as well. 0:04:28.023 --> 0:04:30.583 And while Kyle has owned Sean of late the last 0:04:30.623 --> 0:04:33.103 four or five years in the regular season, obviously in 0:04:33.143 --> 0:04:35.343 the postseason, Rams beat them a couple of years ago 0:04:35.343 --> 0:04:38.423 in the NFC Championship game. To me, those were possibly 0:04:38.503 --> 0:04:41.743 all due respect to the Lions. Their three biggest threats, Eric, 0:04:41.823 --> 0:04:43.223 those three threats are gone. 0:04:44.343 --> 0:04:47.103 Yeah, it's certainly a different field than we expect that 0:04:47.183 --> 0:04:49.783 I think coming in. Obviously, the Lions are a legitimate 0:04:49.823 --> 0:04:51.783 team and we have to take them seriously as a 0:04:52.423 --> 0:04:55.303 Super Bowl candidate. But you know, it's crazy to step 0:04:55.303 --> 0:04:57.743 back and think one of the following is going to 0:04:57.783 --> 0:04:59.503 start in the NFC for the Super Bowl. It's going 0:04:59.583 --> 0:05:01.783 to be Brock Purty, it's going to be Jordan Love, 0:05:01.823 --> 0:05:03.903 it's going to be Baker Mayfield or Jared Goff. That's 0:05:03.943 --> 0:05:05.583 who we're down to on that side of the field. 0:05:05.623 --> 0:05:07.263 And you know, you put it through that lens and 0:05:07.303 --> 0:05:09.663 it really kind of changes your perspective on what it's 0:05:09.703 --> 0:05:11.863 going to look like. So, yeah, I'll be fascinated to 0:05:11.903 --> 0:05:14.423 see how this all works out. But it's still a 0:05:14.423 --> 0:05:17.103 pretty pretty interesting, feel like, even though you said, I 0:05:17.143 --> 0:05:19.903 think things have kind of really lined up pretty well 0:05:19.943 --> 0:05:22.343 if they could somehow slow down this Packer's office. 0:05:22.503 --> 0:05:26.263 I love the Baker Mayfield Jared Goff former number one 0:05:26.343 --> 0:05:31.463 pick redemption tour possibility there for the super Bowl. Clearly 0:05:31.583 --> 0:05:34.063 Goth has a better shot right now, the clearer path 0:05:34.543 --> 0:05:35.143 than Baker. 0:05:35.303 --> 0:05:36.223 But whatever. 0:05:36.263 --> 0:05:38.383 All right, let's get to the Bills. They're you're new 0:05:38.463 --> 0:05:41.383 number three team, Eric, They are up one in the 0:05:41.463 --> 0:05:46.063 week twenty the Divisional round power rankings. Josh Allen did 0:05:46.103 --> 0:05:49.103 what they needed him to do, be Superman, but without 0:05:49.103 --> 0:05:52.103 the Kryptonite. He didn't turn the ball over. He rushed 0:05:52.103 --> 0:05:53.823 for this fifty two yard touchdown. By the way, we 0:05:53.823 --> 0:05:56.383 agree that was not a fake slide. That was a 0:05:56.383 --> 0:05:59.263 pitter patter of the feat. Guys, do we agree that 0:05:59.343 --> 0:06:00.383 was not a fake slide? 0:06:00.503 --> 0:06:03.463 Eric, I didn't even know people were arguing that. 0:06:03.543 --> 0:06:05.223 Steelers stands are angry. 0:06:05.663 --> 0:06:10.423 The Steelers drafted the guy who's fake slide in college football, 0:06:10.703 --> 0:06:13.543 changed the rules, and then he bragged about it. Anyway, 0:06:13.583 --> 0:06:16.743 I digress here. It wasn't a fake slide. Josh Allen 0:06:16.743 --> 0:06:18.023 now gets mahomes at home. 0:06:18.623 --> 0:06:20.623 Yeah, I think they were saying it's a fake slide 0:06:20.623 --> 0:06:22.743 to cover for Patrick Peterson not being able to catch 0:06:22.743 --> 0:06:26.143 a quarterback. But you know, I digress. Yeah, this is 0:06:26.543 --> 0:06:28.863 setting up I think the way everyone wanted it. Not 0:06:28.983 --> 0:06:32.463 Steelers fans obviously, not Dolphins fans, but the rest of 0:06:32.503 --> 0:06:37.343 the neutral observing football universe had to, you know, grip 0:06:37.423 --> 0:06:40.063 for the idea that we're going to have another Allan 0:06:40.143 --> 0:06:42.383 Mahomes game, this one an Allen Park, though I mean 0:06:42.543 --> 0:06:44.663 an Orchard Park, I should say, rather it could be 0:06:44.703 --> 0:06:48.903 a p pretty interesting. It could be Allen Parking, right, Yeah, 0:06:48.983 --> 0:06:51.503 it'll be Allen Park if he wins this game. And 0:06:51.783 --> 0:06:53.583 the last time they met there kind of a strange 0:06:53.583 --> 0:06:55.943 outing in twenty twenty. I kind of throw that one out. 0:06:55.943 --> 0:06:58.823 The rest of them have been classics, and I expect 0:06:58.823 --> 0:07:01.223 nothing less. Allen's at the peak of his powers. We 0:07:01.303 --> 0:07:04.463 saw what Mahomes can do again last week Bill's d 0:07:05.023 --> 0:07:07.223 Can they be healthy, can they hold on? Are some 0:07:07.263 --> 0:07:09.343 of these injuries gonna bite them in the end. I 0:07:09.383 --> 0:07:10.543 don't know. That's the big question. 0:07:10.583 --> 0:07:11.223 I'm kind of leaping. 0:07:11.343 --> 0:07:13.703 The big one being Terrell Bernard, who has carted off 0:07:13.743 --> 0:07:14.623 with the ankle injury. 0:07:14.663 --> 0:07:15.503 He has played so well. 0:07:15.503 --> 0:07:17.823 And remember no Matt Milano and no Tredavius White and 0:07:17.823 --> 0:07:20.223 no Jordan Phillips. The hits keep on coming for that 0:07:20.303 --> 0:07:21.383 Bill's defense. 0:07:21.023 --> 0:07:22.423 But they get him at home. They get the Chiefs 0:07:22.463 --> 0:07:22.703 at home. 0:07:22.783 --> 0:07:24.783 Third time in four years they meet in the postseason, 0:07:24.823 --> 0:07:26.823 and first time A Holmes is going to play a 0:07:26.903 --> 0:07:30.663 playoff game other than a super Bowl, obviously outside of 0:07:30.703 --> 0:07:32.423 their building when last they met. 0:07:33.023 --> 0:07:33.503 It's so. 0:07:35.023 --> 0:07:37.623 Crazy how things change down the stretch. When last these 0:07:37.623 --> 0:07:40.223 two teams met, Eric, you and I sat here and said, 0:07:40.303 --> 0:07:45.903 this is the Bill season, and really the Bill's soul 0:07:46.263 --> 0:07:49.543 as they're constructed on the line right they went to 0:07:49.663 --> 0:07:51.943 Arrowhead that article had been written about Sean McDermott. 0:07:51.943 --> 0:07:52.783 You're like, this is it. 0:07:53.183 --> 0:07:56.423 They are on the brink, and then Kadarius Tony lined 0:07:56.463 --> 0:07:59.703 up off sides. The Bill's got their win, and it's 0:07:59.783 --> 0:08:04.183 been like a march towards Vegas since then. And I 0:08:04.223 --> 0:08:06.583 cannot wait for this one of the best Divisional obviously 0:08:06.583 --> 0:08:09.223 the best weekend of the football year. All right, let's 0:08:09.263 --> 0:08:11.463 celebrate the Lions here. You know, I worked for the Rams. 0:08:11.463 --> 0:08:13.023 I wanted the Rams to win that game, but I'm 0:08:13.023 --> 0:08:15.023 happy for Jared Goff as I said last week, I 0:08:15.023 --> 0:08:15.943 would be if they won. 0:08:16.263 --> 0:08:17.583 You got the fans crying. 0:08:17.623 --> 0:08:20.383 He got Brad Holmes yelling in an elevator of the 0:08:20.463 --> 0:08:22.063 Lions are up one spot. 0:08:22.303 --> 0:08:25.223 They are four this week in the Power rankings. 0:08:25.903 --> 0:08:28.863 Yeah, I mean some people may disagree. Some people feel 0:08:28.903 --> 0:08:30.943 like maybe they got a little lucky there. Obviously the 0:08:31.023 --> 0:08:33.143 Rams had kind of turned the tide of that game. 0:08:33.223 --> 0:08:36.943 Everyone bracing for that, that comeback victory, that fourth quarter 0:08:37.023 --> 0:08:39.703 victory that Stafford pulled off a lot of times in Detroit. 0:08:39.943 --> 0:08:42.943 But Jared Goff completes the biggest pass in his career, 0:08:43.023 --> 0:08:46.463 not the toughest, not the prettiest, but the most important 0:08:46.503 --> 0:08:49.383 past of his career. Hadn't completed one in almost a 0:08:49.463 --> 0:08:52.063 quarter at that point, so after the hot start, he 0:08:52.183 --> 0:08:54.263 really needed to finish that game off. He did. What 0:08:54.343 --> 0:08:57.223 a moment for him, right, and just what a relief 0:08:57.263 --> 0:08:59.783 I think for the Detroit Lions fans who you know, 0:08:59.943 --> 0:09:03.823 braced for this utter heart rending disappointment it didn't happen, 0:09:04.183 --> 0:09:07.943 and now their favorites in this game coming up, second 0:09:07.983 --> 0:09:10.663 straight home playoff game, unheard of time. First of all, 0:09:10.663 --> 0:09:14.303 the state of Michigan, right with Yeah, the Wolverines, Harbaugh 0:09:14.383 --> 0:09:16.303 and this it is on fire right now in the 0:09:16.343 --> 0:09:18.903 football world, so I can't imagine what's going to go 0:09:18.903 --> 0:09:21.703 down this weekend. But they have to feel like, Okay, 0:09:21.743 --> 0:09:24.143 now we're the hunted, right. I can understand a lot 0:09:24.143 --> 0:09:26.783 of people picking the rams, but they have to feel 0:09:26.783 --> 0:09:28.863 like they need to take care of business in this 0:09:29.023 --> 0:09:31.623 game and not let the emotions kind of kind of 0:09:31.663 --> 0:09:32.223 ruin the day. 0:09:32.383 --> 0:09:35.183 You see that a hug there that embraced between Golf 0:09:35.263 --> 0:09:37.303 and Stafford at the end of the game. I recommend 0:09:37.303 --> 0:09:40.103 inside the NFL or check out the NFL Films Twitter 0:09:40.183 --> 0:09:44.743 page here. It's a great moment in which Stafford tells Golf, hey, 0:09:44.823 --> 0:09:45.703 go win this thing. 0:09:45.743 --> 0:09:46.623 I'm happy for you. 0:09:46.703 --> 0:09:49.823 And then Jared a couple of seconds later, after they 0:09:49.863 --> 0:09:55.183 had walked away, Jared circles back and says, basically, you're 0:09:55.263 --> 0:09:57.863 one of the toughest you know, whats I've ever seen, 0:09:58.263 --> 0:10:03.903 Like legendary toughness here, like respect because Matthew Stafford that 0:10:03.943 --> 0:10:05.543 should have been a flag by the way for roughing 0:10:05.583 --> 0:10:07.983 there got up at the end and his hand was 0:10:08.023 --> 0:10:10.063 banged up, and he was banged up, and he kept 0:10:10.103 --> 0:10:14.423 on slinging it and he is a warrior, a football warrior, 0:10:14.463 --> 0:10:16.263 obviously not a real warrior. But you know what I'm 0:10:16.263 --> 0:10:18.623 saying here. So the Lions are number four. We'll get 0:10:18.623 --> 0:10:20.423 to the Rams a little bit later. We'll get to 0:10:20.463 --> 0:10:23.143 the Texans as well. How about the Packers? Where do 0:10:23.223 --> 0:10:23.743 they land? 0:10:23.983 --> 0:10:26.703 Should the Eagles even be in these rankings? 0:10:27.183 --> 0:10:29.343 That's coming up on the NFL Power Ranking Shoppers, out 0:10:29.343 --> 0:10:34.943 of my energizer. 0:10:38.103 --> 0:10:39.263 All right, here we go. 0:10:39.503 --> 0:10:41.983 Let's keep rolling to the NFL Power Ranking Shoppers headed 0:10:41.983 --> 0:10:44.503 to you my energizer. The QR code side of the 0:10:44.503 --> 0:10:47.143 screen that says scan me. You can scan it and 0:10:47.343 --> 0:10:49.863 see what we have here in NFL dot com. The 0:10:49.983 --> 0:10:54.183 Chiefs are up two. They are five, The Texans up three. 0:10:54.863 --> 0:10:58.423 They are six. Look at the Packers up six, They 0:10:58.463 --> 0:10:59.103 are seven. 0:10:59.543 --> 0:11:03.583 The Cowboys plummet? Are they really a top ten team? 0:11:03.943 --> 0:11:07.423 They are eight? And the Bucketeers are up three they 0:11:07.423 --> 0:11:09.623 are nine. Think about this and we will later. The 0:11:09.663 --> 0:11:13.023 Bucks are behind the Cowboys. The Bucks are playing next weekend. 0:11:13.383 --> 0:11:18.623 The Cowboys are not all right at home. The Chiefs 0:11:18.663 --> 0:11:21.903 are five. I think a lot of teams prove their 0:11:22.063 --> 0:11:27.023 critics right this weekend. I think the Chiefs, though, might 0:11:27.103 --> 0:11:30.943 be the only team that truly proved their critics wrong. 0:11:31.623 --> 0:11:32.463 They look fine. 0:11:32.943 --> 0:11:34.983 Yeah, I thought they did right. I mean they were 0:11:34.983 --> 0:11:37.743 prepared for the environment. Obviously Miami wasn't. 0:11:38.463 --> 0:11:38.743 You know. 0:11:39.143 --> 0:11:42.143 It was sort of a you know, start to finish, 0:11:42.223 --> 0:11:45.903 really solid performance. I mean, Mahomes played well, dealt with 0:11:45.943 --> 0:11:49.583 some of the early drops, got Kelsey going eventually. You know, 0:11:50.063 --> 0:11:53.263 it just sort of felt like they were very well 0:11:53.343 --> 0:11:56.943 prepared for this game, understanding that there was criticism about 0:11:56.983 --> 0:12:00.103 their game, understanding and knowing that people weren't going to 0:12:00.143 --> 0:12:01.583 be picking them to win the Super Bowl, and that 0:12:01.663 --> 0:12:03.783 they probably have to go on the road the following week. 0:12:03.823 --> 0:12:05.903 That was just the reality of it, and they took 0:12:05.943 --> 0:12:07.823 care of business. Because they've been in the situation so 0:12:07.863 --> 0:12:10.783 many times. Will that carry over? I tend to think so. 0:12:10.943 --> 0:12:12.503 I think they'll play well. I don't think they're going 0:12:12.583 --> 0:12:14.823 to come in there and get embarrassed. But yeah, they 0:12:14.863 --> 0:12:16.783 had to have this kind of a performance. If they 0:12:16.863 --> 0:12:19.263 kind of lucked their way into this next game, I 0:12:19.303 --> 0:12:21.503 don't think there would be as much sentiment for them 0:12:21.543 --> 0:12:25.023 being quote unquote back as we know them to be. 0:12:25.103 --> 0:12:27.983 Anyway, Yeah, I agree, and I will admit where I 0:12:28.023 --> 0:12:28.503 am wrong. 0:12:28.783 --> 0:12:30.823 I thought the Chiefs were the better team. I know 0:12:30.863 --> 0:12:31.743 they're the better team. 0:12:32.383 --> 0:12:35.103 I did pick the Dolphins when I did an Instagram 0:12:35.223 --> 0:12:38.263 video making all the picks Saturday morning, because I felt 0:12:38.703 --> 0:12:40.543 that the Dolphins would be able to get the ground 0:12:40.623 --> 0:12:43.383 game going. And I thought the ground game with the 0:12:43.423 --> 0:12:46.623 weather as the equalizer, would be the difference here. And 0:12:46.863 --> 0:12:51.423 I was absolutely wrong. Taylor Swift is a great chair dancer. 0:12:51.703 --> 0:12:56.583 The environment was all Kansas City and the Dolphins just 0:12:56.823 --> 0:13:00.183 shriveled up. And you know, the Dolphins are another one 0:13:00.183 --> 0:13:03.143 of these teams that can run up the score in 0:13:03.183 --> 0:13:04.783 September but can't do it in jay Ay. 0:13:05.023 --> 0:13:06.743 We see it again. Last year was Kyler Thompson. 0:13:06.783 --> 0:13:11.423 I realized, Okay, this year was Tua and they couldn't 0:13:11.423 --> 0:13:13.343 do it. I know they have the defensive injuries, but 0:13:13.383 --> 0:13:15.223 the offense didn't show up. He had a fifty yard 0:13:15.303 --> 0:13:17.783 touchdown on an under thrown ball the DPI. I mean, 0:13:17.783 --> 0:13:20.343 that's your only positive offensive play, all right, I digress. 0:13:20.623 --> 0:13:21.783 Let's get to the sixth seed. 0:13:22.423 --> 0:13:25.943 Your sixth rank team that is that is the Texans, 0:13:25.983 --> 0:13:29.223 super impressive up three. Maybe they were one of the 0:13:29.263 --> 0:13:32.783 teams that proved their critics wrong, but I am not 0:13:32.903 --> 0:13:34.663 one of these people that doubted c. J. 0:13:34.823 --> 0:13:35.143 Stroud. 0:13:35.183 --> 0:13:37.063 A matter of fact, I think those that doubted him 0:13:37.543 --> 0:13:40.223 shut up in September and they've been silent since. 0:13:41.383 --> 0:13:44.863 Yeah, anybody left still questioning him even prior to that game, 0:13:44.903 --> 0:13:49.823 I think has to reevaluate their football observation a little bit. Now. Look, 0:13:49.863 --> 0:13:52.543 obviously he could come out and get humiliated by the Ravens. 0:13:52.783 --> 0:13:55.103 I just don't see it happening though. Andrew I really 0:13:55.103 --> 0:13:58.103 thinks he's past that level. Right, Not that we say 0:13:58.183 --> 0:14:00.383 he can't have a bad game, but you know, the 0:14:00.423 --> 0:14:03.903 bad game he had in Week one against Baltimore, you know, 0:14:04.023 --> 0:14:07.103 for sacks, touchdowns. I don't think that's the kind of 0:14:07.103 --> 0:14:09.263 game he's gonna have this weekend. I think he's gonna 0:14:09.263 --> 0:14:13.863 come in prepared, confident. Yes, he doesn't have Tank Dell 0:14:13.943 --> 0:14:16.903 or Noah Brown, and he short some weapons, but I 0:14:16.943 --> 0:14:18.743 think they're going to go in there with all kinds 0:14:18.743 --> 0:14:22.383 of house money, nothing to lose, knowing that, you know, 0:14:22.503 --> 0:14:25.223 had they converted those three field goals into touchdowns in 0:14:25.303 --> 0:14:27.543 Week one, it's a different story. Plus they've come so 0:14:27.663 --> 0:14:30.463 far since then as a team. Demiko ryans we didn't 0:14:30.463 --> 0:14:33.263 know anything about his coaching ability then now we've seen 0:14:33.263 --> 0:14:36.103 he's been, He's brought this team together. Strau was hurt, 0:14:36.103 --> 0:14:38.783 Will and Anderson was hurt. Both were the best rookies on 0:14:38.823 --> 0:14:41.263 either side of the ball. I thought this season went healthy, 0:14:41.383 --> 0:14:43.503 so they got a lot going for him, and I 0:14:43.503 --> 0:14:47.263 think they'll go in there and give the Ravens a test. 0:14:47.983 --> 0:14:51.703 Yeah, and a year ago today right now, a year 0:14:51.703 --> 0:14:55.943 ago today, we are ten days into the I can't 0:14:56.223 --> 0:15:01.463 believe Lovey Smith and Davis Mill screwed up so badly, 0:15:02.423 --> 0:15:05.383 you know, tongue in cheek that they are now stuck 0:15:05.463 --> 0:15:06.583 with the number two pick. 0:15:07.183 --> 0:15:08.303 And think about where we are. 0:15:08.383 --> 0:15:09.583 They used it pretty well. 0:15:09.783 --> 0:15:13.063 Yeah, it worked out just fine, and it worked out 0:15:13.103 --> 0:15:15.423 great as well for the Green Bay Packers. Speaking of 0:15:15.463 --> 0:15:18.863 good coaching and good quarterback play, the Packers are making 0:15:18.903 --> 0:15:23.303 power Moves. Power Moves presented by Energizer. They are up six. 0:15:23.783 --> 0:15:26.263 They are your number sevent team. 0:15:26.663 --> 0:15:29.303 As you and I record Kyle Shanahan on Tuesdays on 0:15:29.343 --> 0:15:32.183 the podium saying, among other things, Christian McCaffrey's are full 0:15:32.223 --> 0:15:36.423 participant in this week, and also saying that his staff 0:15:36.663 --> 0:15:40.343 started getting ready for the Packers midway through the second 0:15:40.463 --> 0:15:44.103 quarter of their win Sunday over the Cowboys. That's how 0:15:44.223 --> 0:15:49.303 thoroughly bludgeoned they That's how badly they beat the Cowboys. 0:15:50.103 --> 0:15:51.983 It's nice to get that little hour and a half 0:15:52.023 --> 0:15:55.183 two hour jump start on you on your prep work. Right, 0:15:55.223 --> 0:15:57.623 Obviously they've been sitting around waiting. They watched this game 0:15:57.703 --> 0:16:01.343 unfold and it turned out they didn't waste any time. 0:16:01.383 --> 0:16:04.223 They were right to prepare for green Bay. And look 0:16:04.263 --> 0:16:06.263 the way the offense is playing right now, I think 0:16:06.303 --> 0:16:09.103 you need extra time to prepare for it, because well, 0:16:09.463 --> 0:16:12.263 it looked like the Cowboys had no real answers for 0:16:12.543 --> 0:16:15.903 either Jordan Love or Aaron Jones, who, you know, since 0:16:15.943 --> 0:16:18.023 coming back from injury, has been probably one of the 0:16:18.023 --> 0:16:21.183 most productive backs in the league, led the NFL and 0:16:21.303 --> 0:16:23.383 rushed in the final four weeks of the season. So 0:16:23.943 --> 0:16:26.383 you know, it's like, I think, I know who is 0:16:26.423 --> 0:16:28.623 more important, But you could make a legitimate case that 0:16:28.743 --> 0:16:34.063 Aaron Jones, especially against that Niners run defense, is almost 0:16:34.103 --> 0:16:36.103 as valuable as Love could be in this game, and 0:16:36.503 --> 0:16:39.623 homecoming game for Love is just I think Green Bay 0:16:39.663 --> 0:16:43.543 will absolutely give them a lot to handle defensively. The 0:16:43.623 --> 0:16:46.103 question is can they stop things on the other side, 0:16:46.103 --> 0:16:47.263 And I don't know about that one. 0:16:47.383 --> 0:16:52.383 Look similar system certainly offensively, same tree defensively here as well. 0:16:52.583 --> 0:16:54.703 This is the youngest team of the NFL, the Packers, 0:16:54.703 --> 0:16:57.223 that is coming in to face an experienced team, but 0:16:57.223 --> 0:17:01.063 still with a young quarterback in Brock Purty. You have 0:17:01.143 --> 0:17:03.343 kids all over the board, but you have key veterans 0:17:03.503 --> 0:17:07.783 like Aaron Jones that make such a difference here. This 0:17:07.863 --> 0:17:09.543 is a team in midway through the season that a 0:17:09.583 --> 0:17:12.263 lot of people thought it wasn't working. As we see 0:17:12.303 --> 0:17:15.183 Sad Jerry Jones talking about the Packers, it is working. 0:17:15.583 --> 0:17:18.623 They are hot and I give them a puncher's chance here, 0:17:18.943 --> 0:17:21.903 not a great chance, but a puncher's chance in Santa 0:17:21.943 --> 0:17:25.903 Clara on Saturday against the forty nine ers. Now let's 0:17:25.903 --> 0:17:28.183 get to the team they beat. We see Sad Dak Prescott, 0:17:28.223 --> 0:17:32.223 Sad Jerry Jones. Okay, you have Eric the Dallas Cowboys 0:17:32.463 --> 0:17:36.863 as your number EIGHTEAM. They were three, now they are eight. 0:17:37.543 --> 0:17:41.023 Why should they even be in the top ten when 0:17:41.063 --> 0:17:45.743 they flame out this badly? They are the summer blockbuster 0:17:46.263 --> 0:17:49.783 with the huge budget that all the kids are talking 0:17:49.783 --> 0:17:53.183 about that when it gets to Oscar time, they get 0:17:53.223 --> 0:17:56.063 shut out because there's no substance. 0:17:57.303 --> 0:17:59.783 Yeah, Oh, this is why I don't watch the oscars, right, 0:17:59.823 --> 0:18:01.423 and I don't have to worry about all. 0:18:01.343 --> 0:18:02.743 That sad Midwest man. 0:18:03.223 --> 0:18:05.783 Angry man in Midwest says, I don't watch oscars. 0:18:07.623 --> 0:18:09.663 I tried to think of it this way, and this 0:18:09.743 --> 0:18:11.503 is my first year doing the Power Rankings, and I've 0:18:11.503 --> 0:18:14.783 always asked myself, like, Okay, if these two teams met 0:18:14.783 --> 0:18:16.983 on a neutral field, meaning like let's take the Bucks 0:18:16.983 --> 0:18:20.783 and Cowboys if they met in Huntsville, Alabama, who would 0:18:20.783 --> 0:18:23.223 be favored in that game? I maintained the Cowboys to 0:18:23.343 --> 0:18:25.383 be a four or five point favorite in that one 0:18:25.423 --> 0:18:27.423 if they went against the Bucks, even after what we 0:18:27.463 --> 0:18:30.663 saw last week, So maybe I'm wrong about that. I 0:18:30.703 --> 0:18:33.263 still think head to head, Dallas a better team. But 0:18:33.343 --> 0:18:36.343 there's no discounting what happened on the field. There's no 0:18:37.183 --> 0:18:39.983 you know, whitewashing anything that occurred. It was an ugly 0:18:40.623 --> 0:18:44.103 franchise shifting performance, right. This was the rug being pulled 0:18:44.103 --> 0:18:47.703 out from under them like we've seen before. And where 0:18:47.703 --> 0:18:50.223 do you go from here? If you're Jerry, do you 0:18:50.303 --> 0:18:53.583 blow everything up? Do you try to import a Vrabeler 0:18:53.663 --> 0:18:56.343 or Belichick and fix this thing on the quick? And 0:18:56.383 --> 0:18:58.503 is that gonna happen. I mean, you still got to 0:18:58.503 --> 0:19:00.823 worry about Dak too. He's got a huge cat number 0:19:00.823 --> 0:19:03.663