Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
Speaker 1: partnership with I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to the
Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings podcast, presented by Energizer. I am Dan Hansas,
Speaker 1: and I'm joined as I always am, by the great
Speaker 1: Colleen Wolf from the other side of America. What's up, Connie? Hello, Dan,
Speaker 1: we have both coasts covered. I love that about us.
Speaker 1: Right now, I'm holding it down to NFL Films. Just
Speaker 1: reminded of all the Emmy's that I've never personally won,
Speaker 1: but the company has, so that's great for them. That's
Speaker 1: funny about the Emmy thing, because I feel like everyone
Speaker 1: in my orbit has multiple Emmy's and I've never we
Speaker 1: The Around the NFL podcast was won a Best of
Speaker 1: Apple Podcast two thousand thirteen. We want a Stitcher in fourteen.
Speaker 1: But we're sitting on like a cold streak in the
Speaker 1: awards game, and I've never touched anything close to an awards,
Speaker 1: So don't feel bad. Um, it's something to work towards.
Speaker 1: Don't feel bad about the Eagles not being number one
Speaker 1: of the Power Rankings either this week. I mean, and
Speaker 1: I know you could come after me if you want
Speaker 1: on this and we're gonna get into it, but it
Speaker 1: is indeed the forty Niners who have taken the top
Speaker 1: perch for the first time the season. In fact, So
Speaker 1: let's check out the quad. Oh No, Niners up one
Speaker 1: to number one, Eagles down one to number two, Bills, Bengals, Chiefs,
Speaker 1: and Cowboys all hold at three through six, respectively, Vikings
Speaker 1: up one to seven, and those Chargers who clinched a
Speaker 1: playoff spot up one to number eight. It's a nice quad.
Speaker 1: It's a good beef quad. I think we have both
Speaker 1: Super Bowl teams in that quad. Or I'm doing this wrong, Connie,
Speaker 1: But let's start with the Niners. Are you cool with
Speaker 1: me moving them to this spot? Does at least make
Speaker 1: sense to you on some logical level. I don't like it,
Speaker 1: but I'm a fair person, and I need to look
Speaker 1: at this like I am not an Eagles fan, and
Speaker 1: like my heart wasn't broken, that Jalen Hurts is hurt,
Speaker 1: and that all of these injuries are plaguing in the team,
Speaker 1: and we'll get to the Eagles in a second. I
Speaker 1: have to look at this like the Niners are crushing
Speaker 1: it and they're clearly the best team in football right now,
Speaker 1: Like they have eight straight wins. They're in play for
Speaker 1: the second team. They dominated on both sides of the
Speaker 1: ball against Washington, and what they're doing with brock Purty
Speaker 1: is kind of insane. He was efficient, he was poised,
Speaker 1: and he was playing with an oblique injury and without
Speaker 1: the help of a run game. So they have the
Speaker 1: best defense in the NFL. They effectively benched poor Taylor Heineke.
Speaker 1: Nick Bosa is an absolute nightmare for every single offense.
Speaker 1: He's having a career year. I don't love this for
Speaker 1: the Eagles, but they lost to the Cowboys and they
Speaker 1: didn't play their best ball. They had too many turnovers.
Speaker 1: And right now this Niners team is intense and they're
Speaker 1: winning these games with complete wins, and they look like
Speaker 1: their team that can't be stopped. Before you join me,
Speaker 1: Connie on the power rankings, the great Matt Money Smith
Speaker 1: and I used to do this, and Money used to
Speaker 1: his viewpoint on the power rankings was it came down to,
Speaker 1: you know, who has the best path in the playoffs,
Speaker 1: who is set up in the best possible way to
Speaker 1: win the Super Bowl, And from that perspective, the Niners
Speaker 1: being one would be wrong because it still should be
Speaker 1: the Eagles in that case, because even after getting beat
Speaker 1: by Dallas, they still need just one win in the
Speaker 1: last two weeks to take that number one seed. I
Speaker 1: have forty Niners at number one though, because I do
Speaker 1: look at it differently. I just see where things are
Speaker 1: right now, and it's not all Brock party. But three
Speaker 1: weeks ago, all we talked about was, wow, woe is me?
Speaker 1: From the forty Niners perspective, how come we had this
Speaker 1: great team in the quarterback situation ruined us and through
Speaker 1: their own organizational ability to draft, identify talent, bring him
Speaker 1: into the building, get him coached up, and now he's
Speaker 1: running this offense with great efficiency. Then you add everything else.
Speaker 1: They didn't even skip a beat without Jimmy Garoppolo. And yes,
Speaker 1: Nick Bosa is gonna win Defensive Player of the Year.
Speaker 1: He leads an awesome unit to Miko Ryan's is gonna
Speaker 1: get a head coach job. But right now he's finishing out.
Speaker 1: The Miners look like and I wrote this in the
Speaker 1: Power Rankings County they are fully formed death machine, destroying
Speaker 1: everything in their way, and I don't know who stops him,
Speaker 1: including the Eagles. Eagles, better get home Field, Better get
Speaker 1: home field. Well, that's the thing, because the Niners just
Speaker 1: won't be denied right now no matter who their quarterback is.
Speaker 1: So that's the thing that I think is so scary
Speaker 1: about them because they have this momentum right now at
Speaker 1: the exact right time. And the Eagles, of course, I'm
Speaker 1: always going to argue to the death that they are
Speaker 1: the best team in the world every single year, but
Speaker 1: right now, with the way that the injuries are falling
Speaker 1: for them, this is a team that maybe should get
Speaker 1: bumped down a spot because they aren't crushing teams like
Speaker 1: they almost lost to the Bears like that, what that
Speaker 1: was a little too close for comfort. And then they
Speaker 1: go in with Gardner Minshew, who he played a good game.
Speaker 1: He passed a lot of yards, he moved the ball around,
Speaker 1: but the turnovers just crushed them. Yeah, I think that's
Speaker 1: the other part of this, that Minshew is a good backup.
Speaker 1: But yes, he did make mistakes in that game against Dallas.
Speaker 1: He did, like you said, move the ball as well.
Speaker 1: But if Hurts is gonna miss a no their week,
Speaker 1: and that's possible, Minshew is gonna probably be able to
Speaker 1: hold it down. But the Lane Johnson injury, you know,
Speaker 1: He's one of the best right tackles in football, and
Speaker 1: you take him out of the mix. He has suffered
Speaker 1: an abdominal injury. He's gonna miss the rest of the
Speaker 1: regular season and maybe more than that. So I think
Speaker 1: this is the first time I really do feel like
Speaker 1: the Eagles are being tested right now through injuries. I
Speaker 1: think they're gonna be okay. They were an easy team
Speaker 1: to keep it number two, but it just felt at
Speaker 1: this time it was the Niners time at number one.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the Cowboys Countie who beat your Eagles.
Speaker 1: They didn't move which I could see some Dallas fans
Speaker 1: getting annoyed. Oh, we beat the number one team, but
Speaker 1: we didn't move up to power rank as well. You
Speaker 1: beat the number one team with their MVP candidate quarterback
Speaker 1: out of the game, so you gotta factor that in. Also,
Speaker 1: you look at the teams ahead of him. I just
Speaker 1: think the big five in the league Kansas City, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Philly,
Speaker 1: and San Francisco just a touch above where the Cowboys are.
Speaker 1: But that's not to say that the Cowboys don't deserve
Speaker 1: love and credit and should not be taken seriously. As
Speaker 1: we spend closer to January Football in the playoffs, because
Speaker 1: I think they showed in this game again that they
Speaker 1: have the offense and the defensive playmakers to win games
Speaker 1: against big teams. And that's still what the Eagles are
Speaker 1: even without Hurts. Okay, the Eagles didn't have their best
Speaker 1: player on the team, the MVP candidate Jalen Hurts, and
Speaker 1: yet they still were able to lead for the majority
Speaker 1: of the game. They still had the ball at the
Speaker 1: end when they had a chance to win it, Like,
Speaker 1: if Jalen Hurts plays that game, they absolutely win. But
Speaker 1: I think that the way and I thought about the Cowboys,
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, I'm just saying, but the Cowboys, like
Speaker 1: what's going on with their pass rush, what's going on
Speaker 1: with their run game. The Eagles liability on defense is
Speaker 1: their run defense and Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, they
Speaker 1: still weren't able to average a great clip in that game.
Speaker 1: And then the pass rush. I remember Jalen Hurts them
Speaker 1: taking him down like four times when they played in October,
Speaker 1: and they didn't bring him down once in this game.
Speaker 1: And I think they only have about one sack in
Speaker 1: the last two weeks, So that's kind of disappeared, and
Speaker 1: that's something they're absolutely going to need if they're going
Speaker 1: to make a long run in this postseason. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: hear you on that. And and Parsons, it's actually one
Speaker 1: second three weeks now. It's interesting yet Philly shut them
Speaker 1: out last week and not just you know what, I
Speaker 1: kind of think, Connie, there's some ebbs and flows to
Speaker 1: the season. Parsons, who leads. Obviously that defense is too
Speaker 1: good for that to continue. I mean, they could have
Speaker 1: six sacks next week, that's just the way. Or Thursday.
Speaker 1: They have a Thursday night game against the Titans, who, man,
Speaker 1: they really do set up to have a big day.
Speaker 1: I expect that their Dallas defense to get right in
Speaker 1: terms of their pass rush. And I think the Dak
Speaker 1: Prescott side of this, he's playing very well. I know
Speaker 1: he's been a little loose with the football times. He
Speaker 1: threw the pick six to start this game. And you're right,
Speaker 1: the Eagles were up ten nothing in this game. I
Speaker 1: believe they were up seven to seventeen as well. But
Speaker 1: it also shows that Dallas has an offense that could
Speaker 1: dig itself out of a hole. In the average, nearly
Speaker 1: nearly ten yards an attempt against Philadelphia, and you saw
Speaker 1: Ceedee Lamb really as a true number one receiver should
Speaker 1: step up in that moment. Ten for one, twenty and
Speaker 1: two scores on eleven targets. So if I'm a Cowboys fan,
Speaker 1: I'm feeling confident. I'm feeling like I can make some
Speaker 1: noise in this postseason. But just get to this finish
Speaker 1: line strong, don't limp into the playoffs. And I thought
Speaker 1: that's why that was such an important win for them.
Speaker 1: If you got beat by Jalen Hurts is backup, there's
Speaker 1: a lot of confidence issues I would think going forward. Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: but it was a close game still, And I think
Speaker 1: too that we've all sort of been robbed at this point,
Speaker 1: the fact that we haven't had a Cowboys Eagles game
Speaker 1: with both Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts at quarterback. Earlier
Speaker 1: in the season, Dak Prescott was hurt. Now we had
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts hurt. I want to see these two teams
Speaker 1: at full strength in the playoffs. Yeah, it might happen.
Speaker 1: And right behind the Cowboys is the Vikings. I haven't
Speaker 1: at seven up one spot, and again this is exactly
Speaker 1: where where I think they should be. I think they're
Speaker 1: very much behind those six teams ahead of them, and
Speaker 1: I think they are kind of righting it. I have
Speaker 1: the Chargers at eight, for instance, the Jags at nine,
Speaker 1: the Ravens at ten. That feels right. I feel good
Speaker 1: about where I have the Vikings, even if twelve and
Speaker 1: three suggests they should be way higher. It was yet
Speaker 1: another close game against the Giants. They get a sixty
Speaker 1: one hard field goal at the gun to win the game,
Speaker 1: and Kandie I just think, like what, there's bozos like
Speaker 1: me that are out there saying, oh, regressions gotta take hold.
Speaker 1: They gotta start losing some of these games. But you know,
Speaker 1: Somelmo's New Year's Day. So maybe this is just a
Speaker 1: different type of year in a in an absurd NFL
Speaker 1: season in general, and this is who the Vikings are,
Speaker 1: and this could continue to February. Maybe it's time to
Speaker 1: look at it from that perspective. It's like one of
Speaker 1: those things where at the beginning of the year, even
Speaker 1: like the first month and a half, you're saying this
Speaker 1: about teams who you kind of think or frauds, like
Speaker 1: we did with the Giants, for instance, and then the
Speaker 1: Giants showed us who they are their true selves. They
Speaker 1: kind of like fell back down to Earth. But with
Speaker 1: the Vikings, They've continued to win like this every single week,
Speaker 1: and honestly, now I'm kind of thinking this team is
Speaker 1: really resilient and nobody obviously believes in them unless you're
Speaker 1: a Vikings fan at this point, which kind of makes
Speaker 1: them scary in a way. I don't think anyone can
Speaker 1: look at this team though and be afraid of them
Speaker 1: in the playoffs once they're playing really stiff competition. I
Speaker 1: am starting to rely ate a little bit to the
Speaker 1: Vikings though, a little bit, because I've realized that my
Speaker 1: life motto is just in time, and that is literally
Speaker 1: every single game that I watched with them, Like I
Speaker 1: didn't even have to watch Greg Joseph kick even though
Speaker 1: it was sixty one yards. I already knew what was
Speaker 1: going to happen. It was done. It was a rap.
Speaker 1: They were going to win this game, and they just
Speaker 1: keep doing it. Like I can't believe that they have
Speaker 1: gotten twelve wins this way, all of the one score games.
Speaker 1: But you do have to think about the fact that
Speaker 1: they beat the Bills and then they came back down
Speaker 1: thirty three points beat the Colts, Like it doesn't even
Speaker 1: matter how far they are down or how close it is,
Speaker 1: like they just keep coming out on the right side.
Speaker 1: So I guess that does say something about this team.
Speaker 1: What's Twitter think about this? I mean Twitter? There was
Speaker 1: some some dude on Twitter that got after me for
Speaker 1: having the Cowboys ahead of the Vikings, like, oh, you
Speaker 1: must hate the vice. Like no, I actually watched the
Speaker 1: forty two three Cowboys win over the Vikings in Minneapolis
Speaker 1: a few weeks ago. For some reason, that sticks in
Speaker 1: my brain a little bit. Connie, just in time that
Speaker 1: angle my You know, you and I are friends. We
Speaker 1: go back many years now, and uh, I think one
Speaker 1: of the reasons we're friends as we see certain things
Speaker 1: in life similar viewpoint. But one thing we definitely are
Speaker 1: different on is like airport etiquette and your need to
Speaker 1: to just push things to the very limit when it
Speaker 1: when it comes to boarding an airplane, and I need
Speaker 1: I want to be at that gate, and I want
Speaker 1: to be as soon as the first boarding starts, even
Speaker 1: if I'm in like group Z, I want to be there.
Speaker 1: Connie's like ordering a steak meal and when they start
Speaker 1: boarding and then you just sneak in right at the end.
Speaker 1: And that's a difference between you and I. I can't
Speaker 1: believe you're that guy like I can't deal with the
Speaker 1: people who are waiting right at the front and they're
Speaker 1: like they are group Z. If I have ten minutes
Speaker 1: to spare, I'm getting a drink, maybe I'm looking at magnets.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go to the bathroom one more time. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna get everything in order, and then I'm gonna get
Speaker 1: on the plane. At that last second, I had you.
Speaker 1: I had you. I wish I could look at life
Speaker 1: that way. I'm always afraid here's quad to take us
Speaker 1: through a cutting. Okay, So we got the Jags up top.
Speaker 1: I mean they are so hot right now now in
Speaker 1: the top ten. Up got the Ravens, they really are.
Speaker 1: Ravens up two spots at ten. The Lions, our Lions
Speaker 1: down four spots after that heartbreaking loss. This week they're
Speaker 1: at eleven. Packers up five. Big win this week. You
Speaker 1: got two Dolphins down three and now two us out
Speaker 1: of the mix as well. Giants down one at fourteen.
Speaker 1: Your Jets, I'm sorry, down one at fifteen. Rough Thursday
Speaker 1: night football. And then the Commanders down one at sixteen.
Speaker 1: So do you want to start with those Jags. Let's
Speaker 1: start with some power moves presented by Energizer, because the
Speaker 1: Jags are a big mover up two more spots to
Speaker 1: get into the top ten. Let's look at their season
Speaker 1: ranked trajectory and these charts since week twelve they went
Speaker 1: they were number twenty nine Colleen in the NFL Power Rankings.
Speaker 1: In week twelve, they jump from twenty nine to twenty three,
Speaker 1: down to four, up to seventeen, up to eleven, up
Speaker 1: to nine, and that's where they sit now, a top
Speaker 1: ten team for the first time. Really, I've been doing
Speaker 1: the Power rankings for four years. They've never cracked the
Speaker 1: top ten before. And they seem set up. Obviously it's
Speaker 1: gonna come down. It's a bit of a weird situation
Speaker 1: going on in the ANFC South right now, because no
Speaker 1: matter what happens with the Jags or the Titans in
Speaker 1: weeks seventeen, it's Week eighteen that decides that division. Now,
Speaker 1: those teams could potentially still be in the wild card mix.
Speaker 1: So it's not like this game doesn't matter. The records
Speaker 1: could matter, but in terms of winning the division, everything
Speaker 1: is two weeks from now, and yet what makes me
Speaker 1: think that the Jaguars won't be playing January playoff football
Speaker 1: based on the way they are. They're by far better
Speaker 1: team than Tennessee at this point and their ability to
Speaker 1: show and I understand Zach Wilson, who now isn't even
Speaker 1: a member of the jets um depth chart, was holding
Speaker 1: that team hostage on both sides of the ball, in
Speaker 1: my opinion. But the Jaguars getting done on the road
Speaker 1: to to put themselves on the driver's seed. I'm just
Speaker 1: really impressed by him right now. This is a note
Speaker 1: for producer Drew going forward too, because I think the
Speaker 1: first week our first show of Power Rankings, you had
Speaker 1: said that you think that the Jags could be a
Speaker 1: sneaky team that could make the playoffs. So we gotta
Speaker 1: pay that off. We gotta go back and get that
Speaker 1: clip I think started the week. They started as a
Speaker 1: ten seed. This week before Thursday Night Football, now they
Speaker 1: are the four seed in the a f C. This
Speaker 1: team is unstoppable. Three straight wins. Trevor Lawrence, he looks great.
Speaker 1: I can't honestly believe that was the first road, prime
Speaker 1: time win for the Jags in the regular season in
Speaker 1: twenty two years. That is saying something Doug Peterson. He's
Speaker 1: done such a good job with this team, and Trevor
Speaker 1: Lawrence is really reaping the benefits. He's peaking at the
Speaker 1: absolute best possible time. They're the best team in the
Speaker 1: division without a doubt right now. Lawrence looks really good
Speaker 1: too on the ground as well. He was rushing, he
Speaker 1: was running. The quarterback sneak was the only touchdown of
Speaker 1: the game. I don't have to tell you this, damn
Speaker 1: because you watched it, but that defense forcing so many
Speaker 1: turnovers I think eight in their last three games. They
Speaker 1: look really good. And I'm just happy for this fan
Speaker 1: base because for so long they have been down in
Speaker 1: like like the Texans kind of category. They've been down
Speaker 1: to the bottom of the power rankings with not a
Speaker 1: lot of hope, especially coming off of last year. So
Speaker 1: now this this is a nice Christmas present for them. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: And look at their last three wins. They got Tennessee.
Speaker 1: They put up thirty six points in Tennessee. Then the
Speaker 1: Cowboys and other very good defense put up forty points.
Speaker 1: Then the Jets, one of the best defenses in the
Speaker 1: a f C. The score doesn't reflect it in the
Speaker 1: nineteen points, but they moved the ball really at will
Speaker 1: against the Jets of times. So that's a three game
Speaker 1: stretch where Doug Peterson in that offense is really showing
Speaker 1: that they could take it out on anyone and their ability.
Speaker 1: They didn't attack the Jets with deep passes, but they
Speaker 1: kind of ripped them up underneath and then move in
Speaker 1: Travis a t n did the work on the ground.
Speaker 1: They're just a really good balance offense and everything with
Speaker 1: Lawrence is there. You see it now. You see the
Speaker 1: guy that everyone talked about in the ramp up to
Speaker 1: the draft is the generational talent. I think he could
Speaker 1: have not only you know, a division win, they could
Speaker 1: be a tough out in the playoffs. Keep an eye
Speaker 1: on them. We'll talk about the Jets. Now. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about the Jets, because in a way, when Thursday Night happened,
Speaker 1: the Jets were it looked like it was all over,
Speaker 1: and perhaps it is all over. Who knows, but Zack Wilson,
Speaker 1: that experiment felt like it ended with a miserable performance
Speaker 1: by Wilson, but then a bunch of good stuff happened
Speaker 1: for the Jets. The rest of the week played out
Speaker 1: with every team they kind of needed to lose, lost,
Speaker 1: and then Mike White on Monday gets cleared by doctor,
Speaker 1: so he's back in the lineup now. So you have
Speaker 1: Mike White on the road in Seattle, with the Jets
Speaker 1: having a path to the playoffs. They win this week
Speaker 1: against Seattle, next week in Miami, and the New England
Speaker 1: Patriots lose once the Jets are in the playoffs. So
Speaker 1: there's a real path there. And you know what, Conny,
Speaker 1: I feel good about their chances in Seattle. The Seahawks
Speaker 1: are going the other way and the Jets match up
Speaker 1: well against them. I think we're gonna see the Jets win,
Speaker 1: setting up a huge Week eighteen against Miami. I love
Speaker 1: this for you, like I know that this is not
Speaker 1: how you were feeling on Thursday night after this game,
Speaker 1: which by the way, looked absolutely miserable in a weekend
Speaker 1: filled with weather games, that Jets Jags game might have
Speaker 1: looked the worst of all, Like seeing the rain come
Speaker 1: pouring down. You know that it was cold, it was messy.
Speaker 1: Then you have Chris Draveller coming in out of nowhere
Speaker 1: and watching him play was kind of wild to just
Speaker 1: the way that he was running around. He is built
Speaker 1: a little bit like a wrestler. I kind of think
Speaker 1: like he just has like a very different body type
Speaker 1: for a quarterback. But I worried about your offensive line.
Speaker 1: But at a local go go bar type built. Yes,
Speaker 1: he works at the Jersey Shore. Maybe he's like a
Speaker 1: bouncer at the Ocean Drive and he's there for a
Speaker 1: no shower happy hour getting it done. Like this is
Speaker 1: a guy that I kind of love. I love, first
Speaker 1: of all, I always love a backup quarterback. But if
Speaker 1: you can bring a quarterback off the practice squad and
Speaker 1: have him come in and make a game more exciting
Speaker 1: than it was previously, signed me up for that a
Speaker 1: zillion times over. I mean, I'm into it. I see
Speaker 1: that you love Mike White. I was gonna say, if
Speaker 1: Jets fans have any hope this year, you'll never see
Speaker 1: Straveler again outside maybe some type of package play. This
Speaker 1: is Mike White's team. Now, Mike White gets to two
Speaker 1: weeks the audition for the job next year, so he
Speaker 1: has an opportunity here. I hope he stays healthy and
Speaker 1: the Jets find a way. Now, the Dolphins the team,
Speaker 1: I said that they were setting up for a potential
Speaker 1: Week eight team if things break a certain way. It
Speaker 1: could be Jets Dolphins playing in Week A team for
Speaker 1: that last playoff spot. Who will be the quarterback of
Speaker 1: the Dolphins? Now, very a bad situation there, Connie, we
Speaker 1: learned of on Monday. Yeah, so I guess they're going
Speaker 1: to have to ride now with Teddy Bridgewater. For the Dolphins,
Speaker 1: we knew that this stretch of their schedule was going
Speaker 1: to be the most difficult and this has not been
Speaker 1: a December to Remember sales event at all. Four straight
Speaker 1: losses get paid for that collapse to go No, but
Speaker 1: I wish I did a tough collapse to go into
Speaker 1: the playoffs though, for sure, And they might potentially miss
Speaker 1: the playoffs at this point with the way that they're
Speaker 1: playing and now not having to either. But those three
Speaker 1: interceptions in the fourth quarter were absolutely brutal on their
Speaker 1: three last possessions, Like it was just tough to watch.
Speaker 1: And we knew it was going to be an issue
Speaker 1: when they went out and played the Niners and when
Speaker 1: they had the Chargers and then they went up to
Speaker 1: the Bills and then the Packers on Christmas and all
Speaker 1: of those games were exactly what we thought like a
Speaker 1: really difficult time for them. Yeah, and there was I
Speaker 1: think there was some optimism coming out of the Buffalo
Speaker 1: loss because even though they got being on the field
Speaker 1: goal at the end, they really went up there and
Speaker 1: played well and you were there, Connie. It was a
Speaker 1: game that was disappointing, but also like, Okay, they're not
Speaker 1: going to fold like an accordion here in December. But
Speaker 1: that's what happened against the Packers. They had that game
Speaker 1: in hand. The question, of course, now before you kind
Speaker 1: of bury two in the in the fourth quarter, like
Speaker 1: where is he at mentally like in terms of his
Speaker 1: health in that moment, because we don't know exactly and
Speaker 1: the Dolphins don't know troubling Lee when the injury happened
Speaker 1: that put him into the protocol. So I would be
Speaker 1: very surprised if we see him at Gillette Stadium this weekend.
Speaker 1: Given the history here and then it is very it's
Speaker 1: a very real possibility he gets shut down, which has
Speaker 1: big ramifications for the Dolphins. Obviously, Teddy Bridgewater is a
Speaker 1: very good backup quarterback, but you know he hasn't been
Speaker 1: playing much of the season. It's it's asking a lot
Speaker 1: for him to step in and have that chemistry that
Speaker 1: too I had built with those receivers. So the Dolphins
Speaker 1: are a team influx right now, to say the least,
Speaker 1: and I hope to uh is okay, all right, let's
Speaker 1: take a break and we'll hit the rest of the
Speaker 1: thirty two Power Rankings. Baby doll, all right, welcome back
Speaker 1: to the Power Rankings podcast. Here's Quad three. The Steelers.
Speaker 1: They won't go away. In fact, there are five spots
Speaker 1: two number seventeen. The Patriots state at a t the
Speaker 1: patre It's what a weird year. The Panthers also up
Speaker 1: five spots after just an insanely impressive dominating effort. We'll
Speaker 1: get to that um on the ground. Uh. In weeks sixteen,
Speaker 1: the Bucks up three spots to twenty. They kind of
Speaker 1: just live in that twenty area, which is obviously disappointing.
Speaker 1: The Raiders. We could finally kind of stop talking about them,
Speaker 1: even if they are still technically in the hunt for
Speaker 1: a playoffs spot down five, Seahawks down one to two.
Speaker 1: They're fading away. The Saints hanging in there in the
Speaker 1: NFC South, up two to twenty three, and the Titans
Speaker 1: down five more spots to twenty four. Let's start with
Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers here. Connie Um a team that back
Speaker 1: in the end of let's say early November, this felt
Speaker 1: like a team that could have easily created and win
Speaker 1: four or five games and if they're deep in and rebuild.
Speaker 1: But instead, again Mike Tomlin and the T J. Watt
Speaker 1: return and Kenny Pickett making plays, this is a team
Speaker 1: in the hours pointing up on them, even if it
Speaker 1: doesn't end with the playoffs this year, you know, it
Speaker 1: didn't feel like this game was going to go to
Speaker 1: the Steelers at all, and it felt like it had
Speaker 1: to go to them. Like being in Pittsburgh for this game,
Speaker 1: first of all, I've never been outside for such a
Speaker 1: cold game in my entire life. That was the most
Speaker 1: freezing I've ever been and snow was coming down sideways.
Speaker 1: It was we all had so many layers on. We
Speaker 1: started the show and m j D said that he
Speaker 1: was going to quit. I mean, everyone was just like
Speaker 1: being very very brutally honest. But it was Christmas Eve,
Speaker 1: and as soon as I landed, the very very honest
Speaker 1: Christmas sounds like a good Lifetime movie. I got more
Speaker 1: on that coming your way later in the show, maybe,
Speaker 1: But when I landed in Pittsburgh, it was one o'clock
Speaker 1: in the morning, and there were so many Franco Harris
Speaker 1: jerseys everywhere. Everyone was wearing them. And you know that
Speaker 1: they have the Frank o' harris statue in the airport
Speaker 1: and it was there in front of the Christmas tree,
Speaker 1: and like people were leaving notes for the family, and
Speaker 1: it just felt like the whole city the whole time,
Speaker 1: like this game had to go to the Steelers, and
Speaker 1: when it wasn't going that way, just it didn't feel right.
Speaker 1: So when Pickett completed that touchdown pass two Pickens, that's
Speaker 1: when everything kind of felt like it started going the
Speaker 1: way that it should. And it's a shame for Raiders
Speaker 1: fans like Derek Carr those three interceptions he threw. It
Speaker 1: was ugly for them. And you know, the Steelers for
Speaker 1: the majority of this game, they were moving the ball,
Speaker 1: but they just didn't have anything to show for it.
Speaker 1: They just weren't getting the points. And so I just
Speaker 1: thought that it was really fitting on Christmas Eve in Pittsburgh,
Speaker 1: the night that they were there celebrating the fiftieth anniversary
Speaker 1: of the Immaculate Reception and celebrating Frank o' harris and
Speaker 1: his life, and he should have been there for that
Speaker 1: he should have been there to see his number retired,
Speaker 1: but he wasn't. And we talked to Naji Harris after
Speaker 1: the game, who had a really close relationship with frank o' harris,
Speaker 1: and he said that they all dedicated the game to
Speaker 1: frank O Harris's family. They were going to give his
Speaker 1: wife the game ball. They all walked in wearing thirty two.
Speaker 1: So it was a really cool, emotional night. And after
Speaker 1: Pickens had scored that touchdown, all of a sudden, the
Speaker 1: whole stadium just erupted in Franco Chance the most freezing
Speaker 1: night ever. I had even more chills and it was
Speaker 1: just like a perfect ending. That's nice and it's um
Speaker 1: you know. Not only was it an emotional win for
Speaker 1: the organization in the city, it was also huge for
Speaker 1: them in the standings and it keeps them in the mix.
Speaker 1: And now their season will be essentially on the line
Speaker 1: against the Ravens on Sunday Night football on New Year's Day,
Speaker 1: so that will be interesting to see if they make
Speaker 1: this even more interesting. The Ravens already going to the playoffs,
Speaker 1: but the Steelers have a chance to put themselves on
Speaker 1: the doorstep with yet another win. They've won four out
Speaker 1: of five games. Let's move to the Carolina Panthers, and
Speaker 1: I think Connie. With the Panthers, it's like every time
Speaker 1: I want to write them off, they have a big,
Speaker 1: big week that makes me say, Okay, we can't do that, Connie.
Speaker 1: They had a hundred yards rushing by their second drive,
Speaker 1: two forty on the ground by halftime, and they finished
Speaker 1: with a franchise record three twenty rushing yards in the
Speaker 1: win over the Lions. Our Lions, the team of around
Speaker 1: the NFL, and it's like, it's it's hard to imagine.
Speaker 1: They had five seventy total yard which tied to team record,
Speaker 1: and Sam Donald is leading this offense well, but it
Speaker 1: is that running game that was just blowing open huge
Speaker 1: holes in Cuba. Hubbard and donte Foreman are are getting
Speaker 1: the job done. This is a fun team to watch.
Speaker 1: I can't believe that they had three hundred more rushing
Speaker 1: yards total than they did the week before when they
Speaker 1: only know that's what I means. I had written them
Speaker 1: off after the Steelers basically beat them at their own
Speaker 1: game the previous week, and Detroit was coming on a
Speaker 1: on a high plane as well as anybody to see
Speaker 1: the way that turned out. It was really eye opening. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's just like, don't overthink it, just run the ball.
Speaker 1: When they can run the ball, they win these games.
Speaker 1: And Sam Donald, he did look really nice in that
Speaker 1: second half to his chemistry. You can see it building
Speaker 1: with Dj Moore. They have a really nice rapport. I mean,
Speaker 1: next they have the Bucks, to who they already beat
Speaker 1: earlier this year and rushed a hundred and seventy three
Speaker 1: yards on. Then they have the Saints and they rushed
Speaker 1: a hundred and forty five yards on them earlier this year.
Speaker 1: They could win both win the division, and then eventually
Speaker 1: hire Steve Wilkes. I feel like that is the path. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think Wilkes is definitely putting himself in position to
Speaker 1: keep that job right now. Is the interim coach. I
Speaker 1: wonder what Matt Rule thinks with the team playing at
Speaker 1: this level right now after he was let go earlier
Speaker 1: this season, And yeah, I think, you know, you could
Speaker 1: look at other paths. I know, the Atlanta's out of
Speaker 1: the mix now they're eliminated. The Saints are still hanging on,
Speaker 1: but really, when it comes down to it, this game
Speaker 1: against the Bucks will decide the division. Whoever wins that game.
Speaker 1: I think you're gonna see carry that division and then
Speaker 1: be an underdog most likely and whatever matchup they have.
Speaker 1: How about let's move. Let's want to get a little depressing.
Speaker 1: You know it's post Christmas. Now, let's get you know,
Speaker 1: the post Christmas blues. Let's talk the Tennessee Titans. You
Speaker 1: want to see the Titans chart. You want to see
Speaker 1: the art of sadness on the Titans. Yeah, you're getting it.
Speaker 1: They were the number six team in our league in
Speaker 1: week twelve, and here we go twelve to seventeen, they
Speaker 1: went from six to nine, held at nine, so still
Speaker 1: in the top ten. Is recently his Week four team
Speaker 1: Connie down to fifteen and Week fifteen down to nineteen
Speaker 1: last week and now this week they are at twenty four.
Speaker 1: From six to twenty four and six weeks and uh,
Speaker 1: you're not gonna believe this. It's not a coincidence, kind
Speaker 1: of haven't won in those six weeks, and every week
Speaker 1: feels like it gets a little bit lower, But it
Speaker 1: doesn't get much lower than losing to the one win
Speaker 1: Texans when you needed the game. Yeah, and it's terrible
Speaker 1: timing for the Jags to be on a three game
Speaker 1: winning streak, two in the division. But I'm just wondering
Speaker 1: how things have created so far, so fast for this
Speaker 1: Titans team, because now with Ryan Tannehill hurt, Malik Willis
Speaker 1: going forward, I don't know, he never got the passing
Speaker 1: game going finished with fewer than one hundred passing yards.
Speaker 1: I don't know what to think about willis. Not that
Speaker 1: he's been put in a great position either, but Derrick Henry,
Speaker 1: these fumbles are now a concerning trend at this point,
Speaker 1: like he was stuffed multiple times to add or behind
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage. And also you look at his
Speaker 1: numbers and if you didn't watch this game, you would think, Okay,
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry, he had a nice day, because he always
Speaker 1: has a nice day against the Texans. But he finished
Speaker 1: with a hundred and twenty six rushing yards outside of
Speaker 1: that forty eight yard touchdown run. Though the Texans held
Speaker 1: him to three and a half yards per carry, So
Speaker 1: this was not a normal afternoon for Derrick Henry against
Speaker 1: the team that he constantly dominates. Yeah, it's a good
Speaker 1: call to about the ball security because it feels like
Speaker 1: he's putting it on the ground every game now and
Speaker 1: this is when they've kind of needed him to be perfect.
Speaker 1: Things are not perfect the Titans. I don't think they
Speaker 1: make the playoffs. But even if they do, and they
Speaker 1: could still recover if they beat the Jaguars next week,
Speaker 1: they have so much work to do to kind of
Speaker 1: figure out who they had. They took their best swing
Speaker 1: the last couple of years. They really need to kind
Speaker 1: of revamp what they're doing with that team. And Mike
Speaker 1: Vrable obvious lee you know his they lost a general
Speaker 1: manager or they made him go away. Uh, Mike Rabel
Speaker 1: is a big man in charge there and they're gonna
Speaker 1: have to make some big moves. Let's check Quad four.
Speaker 1: Now we mentioned the Texans, Let's give him some love, County,
Speaker 1: Let's give him some starting with twenty five. Let's say
Speaker 1: Rams up to Baker and another big game. Uh. So
Speaker 1: there are twenty five Browns down six, they are eliminated
Speaker 1: from contention. Uh, twenty six Houston Texans up five to seven,
Speaker 1: Falcons down two, Toy Bears, Cards and Colts all hold
Speaker 1: their spots to one. And the Broncos, who just fired
Speaker 1: Nathaniel Hackett after a humiliating Christmas loss to the Rams
Speaker 1: where they got the fifty Burger dropped on they hit
Speaker 1: the bottom of the Power ranks for the first time.
Speaker 1: Let's start with Houston. Let's start with the good news. Yes,
Speaker 1: let's give him some love. They've been number thirty two
Speaker 1: in the Power rankings for I think about a month
Speaker 1: and a half, and to move out. It's not just
Speaker 1: finally beating a team, which they did in the Titans
Speaker 1: this week, but they've been playing teams tight for several
Speaker 1: weeks now and now they have something to show for it.
Speaker 1: I just love that in this last quadrant we can
Speaker 1: come up with something that's positive, because it always feels
Speaker 1: like this is the Debbie Downer block. And I just
Speaker 1: love that the Texans finally broke through because they played
Speaker 1: both the Chiefs and the Cowboys really tough, and now
Speaker 1: they have something to show for it, ending that nine
Speaker 1: game losing streak. That's got to be just like a
Speaker 1: nice bump for the locker room in general, especially this
Speaker 1: time of year. You finally don't have to leave the
Speaker 1: stadium with a loss or get on a plane after
Speaker 1: a loss. I mean, I just think I don't know
Speaker 1: what this does for love e Smith going forward. But
Speaker 1: the defense, they forced three turnovers they've been playing frisk
Speaker 1: ear and frisk gear, and I like that about them.
Speaker 1: I think that this isn't a team that by any
Speaker 1: means is about to turn the whole thing around. But
Speaker 1: at least it gives you a little bit, a little
Speaker 1: speckle of optimism right now in December, a specle of optimism.
Speaker 1: I like like that, Connie. Also, you know, if you're
Speaker 1: a Houston fan that is looking at the big picture,
Speaker 1: all right, that was nice, nice win. Let's hold right
Speaker 1: there at to twelve and one. They currently hold the
Speaker 1: number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. If they
Speaker 1: don't win another game in Chicago's right behind them at
Speaker 1: three and twelve. So I'll leave it at that. You
Speaker 1: keep playing competitive football, But let's get that first pick.
Speaker 1: And the Broncos a team that you know, speaking of
Speaker 1: looking ahead to the draft, they can't even do that
Speaker 1: because the blockbuster trade that brought Russell Wilson here cost
Speaker 1: them multiple first round picks, including two thousand, twenty three.
Speaker 1: So the Seahawks currently would pick third in the draft
Speaker 1: based on worthy stand And let's look at the season
Speaker 1: rank trajectory for the Broncos since Week one. I had
Speaker 1: them at the top ten. I had everybody in the
Speaker 1: a f C West in the top ten, just like
Speaker 1: everybody else who thinks they know it all. I said, oh,
Speaker 1: it was one of division adiot number eight. By week five,
Speaker 1: they were sixteen. By week nine they were twenty six.
Speaker 1: And finally now they have parked themselves at the bottom
Speaker 1: of the rights. They have ownership, a new ownership that
Speaker 1: filed fired Nathaniel Hackett on Monday. They have a ton
Speaker 1: of money, so they could potentially lure a big name
Speaker 1: head coach Sean Payton as an example, in the off
Speaker 1: season and still take care of Hackett because they owe
Speaker 1: him that money despite firing him. But there's so much
Speaker 1: to figure out here, kind of including like what do
Speaker 1: you do with Russell Wilson if this is just who
Speaker 1: he is now? Right? I think this whole Broncos season
Speaker 1: has been one of the biggest surprises, at least coming
Speaker 1: in from all of the chatter and all of the
Speaker 1: storylines in training camp. I was in Denver in Inglewood
Speaker 1: there and it was so optimistic and this was before
Speaker 1: Tim Patrick went down their wide receiver, and then from
Speaker 1: there just seemed like everything really started to spiral from
Speaker 1: the clock management issues that Nathaniel Hackett was having and
Speaker 1: everything else. So I would put that up there as
Speaker 1: one of the biggest surprises, right next to me being
Speaker 1: attacked by a dog on Christmas Day, because that was
Speaker 1: pretty damn surprising. So I think that the Broncos, you know,
Speaker 1: they just it's been a tough season. I don't want
Speaker 1: to talk about Broncos anymore. I want to talk about dogs.
Speaker 1: Are you okay by the lead? Right? I'm all right.
Speaker 1: I'm a little ammatized by it. But I guess you know,
Speaker 1: Christmas you gotta deal with a lot of different things,
Speaker 1: and being around family is sometimes stressful, and especially if
Speaker 1: a family dog turns on you and get your arm
Speaker 1: and locks on it. So it's just been an eventful
Speaker 1: time of year. And I may or may not be
Speaker 1: on painkillers right now. Well I think if you are
Speaker 1: heavily medicated, I can't really tell. I wonder, and I
Speaker 1: know your last day is wolf? What Aunt Doreene? You
Speaker 1: know she she's always on a nice cocktail. You are
Speaker 1: wearing a hat that has like a ferocious howling wolf
Speaker 1: it appears, so is that kind of like you know,
Speaker 1: sticking your thumb up at the canine that came after you. Well,
Speaker 1: it says lone Wolf, so it's sort of that. And
Speaker 1: you know, just my last name. It's a good day
Speaker 1: to be in sweats, mostly because I can't have anything
Speaker 1: tight around my arm, Colley, and I hate to hear that.
Speaker 1: Please get well soon. Come back to California where it's safe,
Speaker 1: That's what I'll say, coming back all right, I'll be
Speaker 1: there shortly. Thank and everybody for listening and watching. The
Speaker 1: Power Rankings podcast will be back again next week as
Speaker 1: we take a look at the final week of the
Speaker 1: regular season. Here we go all the way down to
Speaker 1: Yelbick Road, Connie. Until then, remember what you gotta do
Speaker 1: either call. NFL Power Rankings is a production of the
Speaker 1: NFL in partnership with I Heart Radio. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.