Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
Speaker 1: partnership with I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to another
Speaker 1: edition of the NFL Power Rankings podcast, presented by Energizer.
Speaker 1: I'm Dan hanss my lovely co host Colleen Wolf. What's up?
Speaker 1: That's what's happening. It was really difficult to drive here.
Speaker 1: I know every other part of the country deals with rain,
Speaker 1: but we don't really in Los Angeles. And I didn't
Speaker 1: even realize that my windshield wipers could go as fast
Speaker 1: as they went on the way here. So yeah, well,
Speaker 1: that's good. That's what's happening. That's good that they're functional.
Speaker 1: We were before we started, we were talking about what
Speaker 1: some good rainy day music, and I played Creep by Radiohead,
Speaker 1: and then you came off the top turn Buckle with
Speaker 1: Stay by Lisa Loebes. Such a good one. I think
Speaker 1: we came of age in the nineties based on the choices.
Speaker 1: No one knows what these songs are now. Mm hmmm,
Speaker 1: how are you? I'm great, feeling good. Regular season, man,
Speaker 1: I feel like we've reached some type of finish line,
Speaker 1: even though nothing is over yet. But I mean, for
Speaker 1: a lot of teams seasons over. But I mean this
Speaker 1: has been a while in the making, so I feel
Speaker 1: like this is a big milestone. Can I tell you
Speaker 1: about the existential crisis regarding the power rings that I
Speaker 1: have every year around this time on Sunday Night, Let's
Speaker 1: map it out. What's going on? Sunday night comes and
Speaker 1: obviously once Sunday Night football this year was Lions and Packers.
Speaker 1: It's through. There are four teen teams that are still alive.
Speaker 1: There are eighteen teams that are done. They do not
Speaker 1: play another game until next September. In my mind, I
Speaker 1: struggle with the idea of the power rankings because to
Speaker 1: not play another game, isn't that to be powerless on
Speaker 1: some level? Yeah, but different teams have different types of
Speaker 1: power at different times during the season. So just because
Speaker 1: some of these teams end the season with more power
Speaker 1: doesn't mean that they have less power when you turn around,
Speaker 1: just because they're not playing. I don't think any of
Speaker 1: that made any sense. What do you mean, like I'm
Speaker 1: thinking about I'm thinking about the Lions. Let me try
Speaker 1: again to process that. So the Lions, at different parts
Speaker 1: in the season, they had different types of power, so
Speaker 1: they were struggling at certain points, but they end with uh,
Speaker 1: seemingly a lot of power. And just because the x
Speaker 1: ray vision the power of superhering, power of flight, time, travel,
Speaker 1: travel you want so just because they're not going to
Speaker 1: continue having power in games in the playoffs doesn't mean
Speaker 1: that they should be dinged for it. Okay, and that
Speaker 1: makes sense. Now, what I did. I conferred with my
Speaker 1: colleague Greg Rosenthal while we were in the film room
Speaker 1: watching Sunday and Football. I said, what do you think
Speaker 1: on this like? And he made a point that that
Speaker 1: helped me and I thanked him for it, although on
Speaker 1: their were tell him no I did. He said, consider
Speaker 1: the last show, the last power rankings of the regular season,
Speaker 1: whether the team has made the playoffs didn't, it's like
Speaker 1: a final snapshot of where the league was at that time.
Speaker 1: And that's why the Detroit Lions, part example, are in
Speaker 1: the top ten of the power rankings. You always say,
Speaker 1: it's not how about that? So why don't we take
Speaker 1: a look at the top ten first quadrant. Listen, we've
Speaker 1: only been doing this eighteen weeks. It's not the top ten.
Speaker 1: We look at the top eight. Uh no changes, whoa
Speaker 1: that has not happened all year? And you might think
Speaker 1: Old Zoster just mailed it in. But Niners one, Bills, two, Bengals,
Speaker 1: three Chiefs, four Eagles, five Cowboys, six Chargers, seven Jacks eight,
Speaker 1: no change, and that has not happened all year. I
Speaker 1: think something coming. I think some of that comes into
Speaker 1: play with how kind of wonky Week eight team is.
Speaker 1: In general, not a lot to play for in a
Speaker 1: lot of cases, so I'm not gonna make any big judgments,
Speaker 1: especially this high. It is interesting too, because even when
Speaker 1: you look at the rest of your rankings, teams only
Speaker 1: moved a little bit throughout the rest, but this top
Speaker 1: block one through eight, nobody moved even a little. I
Speaker 1: find that really interesting. The final week this season, there's
Speaker 1: one team that did give me some serious pause about
Speaker 1: whether I should move them, and we're gonna get to
Speaker 1: them in the second. But why don't we start at
Speaker 1: the very top? I have, as I said, the Niners
Speaker 1: at number one. Speaking of Greg Rosenthal, we've been kind
Speaker 1: of going back and forth a little bit um where
Speaker 1: he's saying, well, if I were doing the power rankings,
Speaker 1: I would have the three a f C Superpowers one
Speaker 1: to three Bills, Bengals, Chiefs, and some water. I don't
Speaker 1: know what his honor would be, but that's my order. Um,
Speaker 1: here's part of the reason why I have Niners number one. Well, hey,
Speaker 1: they've won ten games in a row. B their beastly
Speaker 1: in all phases of the game, with great coaching. See
Speaker 1: Brock Party is a g D revelation at quarterback. Who's
Speaker 1: made them better not just held the fourth down there
Speaker 1: third string quarterback Mr Relevant has made their offense even
Speaker 1: better and for county and perhaps most importantly, and this
Speaker 1: is not to disrespect your Eagles, I think they have
Speaker 1: the clearest path to get to Phoenix and the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl Glendale. Excuse me, people of Arizona. The Niners. There's
Speaker 1: such a well rounded team. They have so much talent,
Speaker 1: The team is built to win, and they have momentum,
Speaker 1: which is the most important thing this time of year
Speaker 1: for any team no matter what. So you have to
Speaker 1: wonder about brock Purty though in the playoffs, Like, yes,
Speaker 1: it has been good so far, and they've been able
Speaker 1: to figure out ways to make the offense work well
Speaker 1: because they have playmakers like Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel
Speaker 1: and George Kittle. But will things change once Party gets
Speaker 1: into the spotlight, like no rookie starting quarterback has ever
Speaker 1: made it to the super Bowl, let alone win it.
Speaker 1: Rookie quarterbacks they struggle in the playoffs traditionally, but this
Speaker 1: Niners team never feels like a traditional Niners team. And
Speaker 1: I feel like everything really changed for this team when
Speaker 1: they traded for Christian McCaffrey. That when that happened in October,
Speaker 1: everything really seemed to go up a notch for them.
Speaker 1: So you have this defense led by Damiko Ryan's which
Speaker 1: is so nasty, so good, with Nick Bosa going all
Speaker 1: over the place, and the fact now that they get
Speaker 1: the Seahawks to play, which that pass rush just shut
Speaker 1: down Gino Smith both times that they played this year.
Speaker 1: So I'm not sure how they're going to be able
Speaker 1: to do anything because you can't you can't really run
Speaker 1: on the Niners. And then when you add in that
Speaker 1: pass rush going up against Gino, it's just, I mean,
Speaker 1: this looks like such a clear path. And then there's
Speaker 1: no one else that's really dominant in the NFC right now.
Speaker 1: No one's playing great, even if they have good pieces. Yeah,
Speaker 1: why don't hit the Eagles since we're here, Because the
Speaker 1: Eagles they have at number five, Connie. They were the
Speaker 1: number one spot for several weeks consecutively in November into December.
Speaker 1: And this doesn't mean that I don't believe that the
Speaker 1: Eagles can still be They are the number one seed.
Speaker 1: After all, they're the team that has home field advantage,
Speaker 1: we have the playoffs. It's just as an Eagles fan County,
Speaker 1: when's the last time we saw of the Eagles in
Speaker 1: full flight where you felt good about them? I mean,
Speaker 1: I guess the let before Jalen Hurts got hurt, But
Speaker 1: even then, they were playing without Dallas Goddard and they
Speaker 1: were trying to make things happen in different ways. And
Speaker 1: now when you have Lane Johnson hopefully he's going to
Speaker 1: be back and healthy, and this team just absolutely needs
Speaker 1: a buy with all of the injuries that they're dealing with.
Speaker 1: But it's not an easy watch right now. It's it's
Speaker 1: nerve racking to watch them do what they did, especially
Speaker 1: against this Giants team that was resting so many starters
Speaker 1: like and then you have that third quarter interception by
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts, which was just a horrendous decision didn't need
Speaker 1: to happen. The offense could not execute in the red
Speaker 1: zone at all, and Hurts kind of looked a little rusty.
Speaker 1: So I'm glad he had this start. But aside from
Speaker 1: the little quick hits that they had, I mean, there
Speaker 1: were there were some issues and there's a lot of
Speaker 1: things that they have to work on. The run defense
Speaker 1: is an issue as well. I have a lot of
Speaker 1: concerns about the team. Yeah, you could feel that you
Speaker 1: had sense that that the Eagles fans are a little
Speaker 1: worried that this team peaked. We'll see it's it is
Speaker 1: a very good, perfect setup where they get the buy
Speaker 1: and kind of reset themselves before getting u an opponent
Speaker 1: in their building in the divisional playoffs. Obviously, they played
Speaker 1: a conservative game plan to get by the Giants. You
Speaker 1: didn't see Jalen Hurts playing in the way he was
Speaker 1: playing earlier in the season when he was healthy. I
Speaker 1: didn't think it was a little bit of a red
Speaker 1: flag to me that Nick Sirianni came out and said
Speaker 1: after the game, I know he was hurting and he
Speaker 1: was hurting bad. It's like, how do we know that
Speaker 1: if that was his status after two weeks off, how
Speaker 1: do we know now he's going to be himself again
Speaker 1: two weeks from now, yeah, and then why have him
Speaker 1: dropped back and passed forty two times if they know
Speaker 1: that he's hurt. Dad was an injury. They were up
Speaker 1: sixteen nothing at half. The Giants, you know, give them
Speaker 1: credit for their backups fighting. Perhaps there was a different
Speaker 1: way to play that. Where else do we want to
Speaker 1: go in the top eight? Okay? So I mean we
Speaker 1: could go a lot of different places, but I think
Speaker 1: that let's talk. Let's talk a little bit about the
Speaker 1: Bills because the Bills game, first of all, was so
Speaker 1: emotional with everything coming back for the first time after
Speaker 1: Damar Hamlin and thankfully the good news with him keep
Speaker 1: stinuing to progress. That made things I think a lot
Speaker 1: easier for everyone. But Naim Hines what hinds time? I
Speaker 1: love it? This has gotta be a thing. I mean,
Speaker 1: are you kidding me? Two different kick returns and then
Speaker 1: you have it like the last time that they had
Speaker 1: a kick return for a touchdown three years and three
Speaker 1: months ago, and DeMar's number three. The players are holding
Speaker 1: up threes. Everything is seemingly going great. I love the
Speaker 1: Josh Allen touchdown to John Brown to John Brown, I mean,
Speaker 1: welcome back to the squad. They're bringing everybody back Colby Easley,
Speaker 1: John Brown. But I have some concerns as well. I
Speaker 1: feel like I have issues with almost every single team
Speaker 1: and the Bills. I'm worried about the Josh Allen red
Speaker 1: zone in or options, all right, there have been so
Speaker 1: many and it was against a good Patriots defense this week,
Speaker 1: but Josh Allen was a little up and down. And
Speaker 1: their defense, you know, can get them out of jams,
Speaker 1: and they have so many playmakers on offense to help
Speaker 1: them with that. But the drop issues from the past
Speaker 1: catchers too, are not doing them many favors either. All Right,
Speaker 1: I'm not worried really. If anything coming out of the game,
Speaker 1: I'd be like Buffalo's defense is a little shaky there
Speaker 1: against the Pat's offense. It was pretty bad for most
Speaker 1: of the year, but that was also kind of a weird, strange, emotional,
Speaker 1: um unique set up that entire day um and they
Speaker 1: took air business Scott to win. I feel good about
Speaker 1: their chances. I mean, I feel I know the Chiefs
Speaker 1: have the top seed the bye I have him behind
Speaker 1: the Bills and Bengals just because I like those teams
Speaker 1: a little bit more. But you could definitely make a
Speaker 1: case for any of those three AFC teams. I mean,
Speaker 1: let's be honest, you look at um the rest. Can
Speaker 1: we look at the uh second quadrant while we're here, Um,
Speaker 1: you look at the rest of the contenders here, Um
Speaker 1: the Chargers at seven, Jaguars at eight, uh in the
Speaker 1: a f C, the Ravens I have at fourteen. Yeah, Well,
Speaker 1: who knows what the quarterback situation is there? Yeah, and
Speaker 1: perhaps one of those three teams I just mentioned um
Speaker 1: goes ahead and and knocks off one of those Titans
Speaker 1: and and is in the a f C title game.
Speaker 1: But it does. It wouldn't be stunning if any one
Speaker 1: of those three teams Bills, Bengals, Chiefs is not representing
Speaker 1: the a f C. And I would be completely shocked.
Speaker 1: Those three teams feel like they're destined to get there,
Speaker 1: to get far. I mean when you look, there is
Speaker 1: a huge drop off after the Chiefs for sure in
Speaker 1: the a f C. I mean you go to the Chargers,
Speaker 1: and I wonder who's going to come out of that
Speaker 1: game between the Chargers and the Jags, because the Jags
Speaker 1: took that first matchup in the regular season, and that
Speaker 1: came after Justin Herbert had got hit in the Ribs
Speaker 1: on that Thursday night game that was his first game back.
Speaker 1: They have Keenan Allen in that game. But the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: the Bills, and the Bengals, they're all so close, I
Speaker 1: think in terms of talent, Like, do you feel like
Speaker 1: anyone really is that much further ahead than the other. No,
Speaker 1: the only thing you could say is that the Bills
Speaker 1: beat the Chiefs in Week six at Arrowhead. The Bengals
Speaker 1: of course beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead in the NFC
Speaker 1: title game. And oh yes, if the Bills and Chiefs
Speaker 1: play in the a f C title game, it will
Speaker 1: be in a neutral site connected to the hamlet situation.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think it's a toss up though. Uh
Speaker 1: And before we take a break, I said, back to
Speaker 1: the NFC and and talk about the Cowboys, because my
Speaker 1: one thought when I obviously didn't make any changes in
Speaker 1: the top eight from last week, the only one I
Speaker 1: thought about was the Cowboys dropping them. And maybe I
Speaker 1: even had the lines too low. Maybe the line like,
Speaker 1: are the lines the worst team in the Cowboys right now?
Speaker 1: I'm not so sure about that, So I kept the
Speaker 1: Cowboys at six. But there are there are considerable reasons
Speaker 1: for concern. You talked about it with Josh Allen Connie
Speaker 1: with the red zone interceptions, which have been a kind
Speaker 1: of a bugaboo for him this year. Dak Prescott, you know,
Speaker 1: he threw what should have been a pick six uh
Speaker 1: against the Commanders on Sunday, and then the very next
Speaker 1: past through a pick six, uh. And that is not
Speaker 1: the first time. That's a third pick six in four weeks,
Speaker 1: and in general, he has been careless with the ball
Speaker 1: at times. I'm worried about both sides of the Dallas
Speaker 1: experience right now. Yeah, fifteen picks in just twelve games.
Speaker 1: I feel like Dak has been kind of forcing a
Speaker 1: lot of throws since he came back from the thumb injury.
Speaker 1: And even though this team is putting up points since
Speaker 1: he's been back and everything else, I feel like their
Speaker 1: third down percentage is pretty good, but not in this
Speaker 1: game at all. I think they had how many there
Speaker 1: were a ton of three and ounce for them, right,
Speaker 1: they know showed yeah, and it's three ounce in this game.
Speaker 1: And that was a game that it turned out it
Speaker 1: didn't matter, but at the time when it was being played,
Speaker 1: it did matter, and they played like a team that
Speaker 1: didn't care and wasn't invested. And you could say, yeah,
Speaker 1: they'll turn and flip the switch on Monday Night against
Speaker 1: the Bucks. But like, first of all, the Cowboys haven't
Speaker 1: won a road playoff game in thirty years. Um too,
Speaker 1: they have a extended track record of gagging in the
Speaker 1: playoffs in the Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott era. And
Speaker 1: I don't trust this team to flip the switch even
Speaker 1: against the Bucks, because you know what, the Bucks have
Speaker 1: been disappointing. They're the only team in the playoffs with
Speaker 1: the losing team with a losing record. But you also
Speaker 1: know that there's a chance that the Brady Mike Evans
Speaker 1: thing could turn on And couldn't you couldn't you? Oh Connie,
Speaker 1: can't you picture it right now? Early second quarter? Bucks seventeen,
Speaker 1: Dallas three? Yes, because I think the Bucks are this
Speaker 1: like sneaky, frisky spoiler team that no one believes in.
Speaker 1: And honestly, watching the Cowboys struggle was the only thing
Speaker 1: that made me feel better about the Eagles not putting
Speaker 1: the Giants away this week. So do I have Dallas
Speaker 1: too high? Should they be like? Lower? Should they be?
Speaker 1: You think they should be closer than the Bucks? I
Speaker 1: would imagine. I have the Bucks all the way down
Speaker 1: to fifteen, just because they've given us a lot of
Speaker 1: a lot of evidence that they're not very good either,
Speaker 1: like a lot of course, I'm gonna say that you
Speaker 1: should drop the Cowboys. You should drop the Cowboys down. Yes,
Speaker 1: all right, so we'll see, we'll see. I mean, listen,
Speaker 1: before we take a break here, forty Niners, Bills, Bengals, Chiefs, Eagles,
Speaker 1: the two Super Bowl teams. They're in there, right, No, no,
Speaker 1: because we always think that and then that comes out
Speaker 1: of nowhere like Cincinnati last year. And after the break,
Speaker 1: maybe we'll figure out who that could be, whether it's
Speaker 1: this year, and maybe even talking about next year. Yeah,
Speaker 1: start talking about next all right, all right, welcome back
Speaker 1: to Powering. As Connie is going to tell your great
Speaker 1: At number nine, we have the Lions above some playoff
Speaker 1: teams here. I love that, above the Vikings, who are
Speaker 1: at ten in their division. People Minneapolis and the surrounding
Speaker 1: territories are totally cool that I hate you. The Giants
Speaker 1: at eleven, up two spots, and then the Packers at twelve,
Speaker 1: down three missing the playoffs thanks to those Lions. You
Speaker 1: got the Steelers at thirteen up one. They missed the
Speaker 1: playoffs two and I'm really sad about it. At fourteen
Speaker 1: the Ravens down two spots. I am because I really
Speaker 1: wanted to see the lie. You know what, I have
Speaker 1: now a thing with Pittsburgh after being there. I have
Speaker 1: been very impressionable that way. You know, what are the Ravens.
Speaker 1: I have no idea what's going on with Lamar Jackson
Speaker 1: there the Buccaneers in the playoffs. They had no movement
Speaker 1: last week, and then the same with the Seahawks at sixteen.
Speaker 1: I'm really sorry that I questioned your sincerity. I can't
Speaker 1: believe you would do that. That was a bad job
Speaker 1: by me. I like Mike Tomlin. I did too, like
Speaker 1: seeing him see the scores, like knowing what's going to happen,
Speaker 1: that they have no shot now. I just didn't like
Speaker 1: it for him. You know, it was the peak my
Speaker 1: favorite moment of the Steeler season. This will be the
Speaker 1: last time we talked about the Steelers, although we didn't
Speaker 1: really talk about him much all year. Um is when
Speaker 1: Kenny pick It through the go ahead touchdown pass against
Speaker 1: the Ravens and Sunday Night Football and Pickett came back
Speaker 1: to the sideline, and his coach looked right at him
Speaker 1: and said, Kenny bleeping Piket love it. Yes see, they're fun.
Speaker 1: You know. The Vikings are number ten. The Vikings are
Speaker 1: thirteen and four. And I wrote about this in the
Speaker 1: power Rankings right up and NFL dot com, which you
Speaker 1: could check out at NFL dot com slash power rankings.
Speaker 1: All the handwringing about the Vikings, it could it could cease.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter anymore because you could take them seriously
Speaker 1: like you typically would a thirteen and four division winner.
Speaker 1: You could completely disregard them as a team that is
Speaker 1: not close to what their record indicates, that they've had
Speaker 1: a kind of flukey season. Go ahead, do that too.
Speaker 1: None of it matters, because the good thing about the playoffs, Connie,
Speaker 1: is that it shakes out the pretenders from the contenders.
Speaker 1: And if the Vikings really are a team that wasn't
Speaker 1: that good, there's a good chance they get knocked off
Speaker 1: by the Giants this weekend. And if they end up
Speaker 1: winning a couple of playoff games, that could happen too.
Speaker 1: There's no needs to talk anymore about overrated and underrated.
Speaker 1: Now it's time, because it's a new beginning. It's a reset.
Speaker 1: This is a fresh season now the playoffs for them,
Speaker 1: and we waited all season long for them to lose
Speaker 1: these games that they just kept winning. So now at
Speaker 1: this point, it's like, Okay, maybe the Vikings are just
Speaker 1: the most resilient team in the entire NFL, and maybe
Speaker 1: they end up winning it all this way. Some crip like,
Speaker 1: maybe it's just divine intervention, but I don't really believe that.
Speaker 1: I thought the Kirk Cousins looked good in this last game.
Speaker 1: He was really dialed in in that first half against
Speaker 1: a bad Bears defense. But still that's a nice way
Speaker 1: to warm up before going into the playoffs. Will we
Speaker 1: see that Kirk Cousins in the playoffs though, Well, we
Speaker 1: see him like that against the Giants. There's always that
Speaker 1: question about which version of Kirk shows up in a
Speaker 1: big spot. And you remember Connie very early in the
Speaker 1: season Kirk in primetime against the Eagles, and I had
Speaker 1: literally never seen him look worse. And if they got
Speaker 1: by the Giants, and they they'll be a favorite, not
Speaker 1: a big favorite, but a favorite to beat the Giants,
Speaker 1: that's when it's gonna get really interesting, because then they'll
Speaker 1: get you know, I don't know what would be, whether
Speaker 1: it's the Eagles or the Niners, but a big time
Speaker 1: Super Bowl contender. As far as the Giants go, it's
Speaker 1: already the seasons already of the I mean the fact
Speaker 1: that they a team that entered the season and I
Speaker 1: don't know where I had him in the power rings,
Speaker 1: but I can almost guarantee you it was in the
Speaker 1: bottom five or around that. Um they were twenty eight.
Speaker 1: I'm being told, Drew the super producer behind the glass
Speaker 1: so quick, this guy, this guy over here with a
Speaker 1: quick trigger over here. Um, that tells you the story
Speaker 1: of a success story, because you would have thought that
Speaker 1: this team would be more likely to have the number
Speaker 1: one overall pick uh in the draft and make the playoffs.
Speaker 1: So they're here and it's house money. And that's why
Speaker 1: I think again, we already knew this was probably gonna
Speaker 1: be a close game, knowing that Giant's gonna go in
Speaker 1: there loose and also rested after they didn't play any
Speaker 1: of their starters in Week eighteen. I think you have
Speaker 1: I think I like the Giants in the game. They
Speaker 1: just played the Vikings on Christmas Eve and that was
Speaker 1: such a close game. Again because they lost like a
Speaker 1: sixty yard field goal or something absurd, And as soon
Speaker 1: as Greg Joseph lined up, I was like, it's fine,
Speaker 1: it's a rap. Of course he's going to make this,
Speaker 1: because that's what the Vikings do in these games. But
Speaker 1: for the Giants, their first playoff birth since and this
Speaker 1: was supposed to be a rebuilding year, like this was
Speaker 1: not what they were Honestly, it reminds me sort of
Speaker 1: of where the Eagles were last year. Not that the
Speaker 1: Eagles were rebuilding completely last year, but the Eagles with
Speaker 1: Nick Sirianni and his first season there, it was a
Speaker 1: year to sort of get everything together and figure out
Speaker 1: where you are and what you need. And they ended
Speaker 1: up in the playoffs playing the Bucks, which did not
Speaker 1: go great, but still house money for building. Same with
Speaker 1: the Giants, and they're getting healthier too, with the Dory
Speaker 1: Jackson coming back their top quarterback, cornerback, you have Xavier
Speaker 1: McKinney coming back to from the hand injury their safety,
Speaker 1: so their secondary is getting better as well. And I
Speaker 1: expect Daniel Jones played the best game of his career
Speaker 1: in the last Giants game that actually mattered the week,
Speaker 1: seventeen and four total touchdowns, he threw the ball very
Speaker 1: well in Minnesota on Christmas Eve. I think he'll do
Speaker 1: that again. That would be that's a that's my upset
Speaker 1: of the week. I think the Giants knockoff the Vikings.
Speaker 1: So yes, I guess I'm still doubting the Vikings. But
Speaker 1: guess what they could tell me and all those other
Speaker 1: doubters to shove it by taking care of business. Jan
Speaker 1: You're consistent and that's why people keep coming back to
Speaker 1: your power ranking like like, I'm a consistent like a
Speaker 1: whole I thought that's what you were saying. You are consistent. Yes,
Speaker 1: thank you very much. Um. Let's see time now for
Speaker 1: Power Moves presented by Energizer. Let's take a look at
Speaker 1: the highest ranking non playoff teams. Connie, we talked about,
Speaker 1: well here we will talk about the lines. You want
Speaker 1: to talk about a personal journey, But Connie, you and
Speaker 1: I had a personal journey with the Lines. They finished
Speaker 1: number nine. I've been doing the Power rankings for four years.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say forty years. Um. Yeah, and there
Speaker 1: was never a team that made the did not make
Speaker 1: the playoffs, that finished in the top ten until these lines.
Speaker 1: The Packer is a twelve, very disappointing way to end
Speaker 1: their season laying another egg at lambeau Field in January.
Speaker 1: How many times does that happen the Steelers, as we talked,
Speaker 1: out of thirteen Panthers at eighteen, Pats at nineteen, that's
Speaker 1: just the middle of the pact. But let's focus on
Speaker 1: the lines there because you know, we covered them in
Speaker 1: the on the Hard Knocks podcast, which would be fun
Speaker 1: to revisit actually now after everything that happened in this
Speaker 1: really wild nine and eight season, and I think my
Speaker 1: favorite part of it all uh Connie, and we played
Speaker 1: it on around the NFL um on Sunday night, Jamal Williams,
Speaker 1: who we we talked about it. He won m v
Speaker 1: P of the of the Week multiple times on our
Speaker 1: Hard Knocks podcast, and it jumped out to us like
Speaker 1: this guy is quite a character. He's kind of out there,
Speaker 1: even to the point I remember saying like, is this
Speaker 1: guy a little too much? And then he scores eighteen touchdowns,
Speaker 1: breaking Barrie Sanders all time team record, and then has
Speaker 1: one of the great um postgame interviews ever and now
Speaker 1: we get to see Jamal and the lines build on
Speaker 1: this next year. Jamal Williams, I mean that interview alone.
Speaker 1: He just showed so much range. I thought, really went
Speaker 1: for one end of the spectrum to the other. And
Speaker 1: that's sort of been the season for the Lions as
Speaker 1: a whole. They started, they stumbled, and we watched them
Speaker 1: grow as a cohesive unit. Like Dan, I feel like
Speaker 1: the Lions are like our children, and we watched them
Speaker 1: learn how to walk and then drive and now like
Speaker 1: look at them number nine in the power rankings. I mean,
Speaker 1: Jared Golf was just such a surprise this season. Um.
Speaker 1: I hope his merch brand at this point is just
Speaker 1: blowing up the one that he had that we learned
Speaker 1: about and hard knocks, but he proved himself I think,
Speaker 1: way more than a play than a placeholder in Detroit.
Speaker 1: And they have some things to figure out this off season,
Speaker 1: but I'm just happy that this ended with them knocking
Speaker 1: the Packers out of it if they couldn't get in themselves.
Speaker 1: And now Dan Campbell will return and all of us
Speaker 1: will have another year at least of him, and there
Speaker 1: will be expectations that they didn't have this year, But
Speaker 1: that's okay too, because they took the next step as
Speaker 1: an organ missation. You want to watch Jamal Williams his
Speaker 1: post game. All right, let's watch it. OK, this is
Speaker 1: fun playing us. Man, we made we did a Detroit Lions.
Speaker 1: We did Detroit Lions. Stop playing with us. I don't
Speaker 1: even watch TV, but I heard anybody pick the Packers
Speaker 1: over us. Stop playing with us. That's all I gotta say. Man,
Speaker 1: don't let these tears for you. His old dog around
Speaker 1: his mod. I love that guy. And what you didn't
Speaker 1: see there anyway, you didn't hear there was even better,
Speaker 1: Like literally two seconds before he went into that, he
Speaker 1: was crying emotional about a grandparent or a great grand parent,
Speaker 1: UM that he's very close with UM. And he just
Speaker 1: pivoted and then went into that. I mean, what a
Speaker 1: character emotional love him, love him? UM. All right, do
Speaker 1: you have anything say on the Packers. I don't. I
Speaker 1: don't really honestly, kind of exhausted by the Packers. And
Speaker 1: Christian Watson is good for them that they'll be they'll
Speaker 1: be fine next year if Aaron Rodgers is back. But
Speaker 1: I choose to disengage from the Aaron Rodgers drama at
Speaker 1: least at this time. UM. All right, before we say goodbye, Connie,
Speaker 1: I'm curious which teams you see making a big jump,
Speaker 1: not saying during next season, we're not gonna get that
Speaker 1: crazy and look too far into the crystal ball. But
Speaker 1: what we can do is, you know how much can
Speaker 1: change just through free agency, through the draft, through trades
Speaker 1: in the off season. When you look at some teams
Speaker 1: that are in the bottom half of the Power rankings,
Speaker 1: who do you see is one that you we could
Speaker 1: be talking at the first Power Rankings episode next summer.
Speaker 1: This team is ready to make a big surge. I
Speaker 1: kind of can't believe that I'm going to do this
Speaker 1: to myself again because I spent all last off season
Speaker 1: it don't doane, and I'm going to take another ride
Speaker 1: on the train again because the Broncos just really really
Speaker 1: fell apart from the very beginning to get a head
Speaker 1: coach in there that can really maximize the talent on
Speaker 1: the roster and avoid some of these backbreaking injuries that
Speaker 1: they had and bring it all like well that's what
Speaker 1: I mean separately and avoid some of those that's just luck.
Speaker 1: But the defense played their minds off in this season,
Speaker 1: and you have you just have so much talent, Like
Speaker 1: from the very beginning, you had Tim Patrick going down,
Speaker 1: who was supposed to play a big role in the
Speaker 1: wide receiver room, and and you just had so many
Speaker 1: things that didn't go their way, and they just looked
Speaker 1: so bad, like it was a really terrible season for them.
Speaker 1: But I guess my question to you is, so you
Speaker 1: you imagine then I'm guessing here that they're going to
Speaker 1: get higher head coach that's a smart hire, and then
Speaker 1: make some obviously additions to the roster and then Russell Wilson.
Speaker 1: People will talk themselves into Russell Wilson having a big
Speaker 1: bounce back or that that's where you're coming from this. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I'm gonna try and talk myself into it,
Speaker 1: because honestly, like the the obvious team here are the Bears,
Speaker 1: Like they have the number one overall pick, they have space,
Speaker 1: They have a hundred million dollars in cap space, forty
Speaker 1: million more than anyone else in the league. So with
Speaker 1: that type of money and those type of draft resources,
Speaker 1: you could trade down because you already have a quarterback,
Speaker 1: you don't need to pick number one overall there, and
Speaker 1: you can get a ton of other assets. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's it's hard to believe, and I'm still I was
Speaker 1: stunned talking about it on Sunday night on on the
Speaker 1: other podcast, like how how the Houston Texans uh and
Speaker 1: showing the disconnect between organizational big picture and the players
Speaker 1: on the field just playing a final football game of
Speaker 1: the season. How much that could affect the trajectory of
Speaker 1: both organizations, the Texans dropping out of the number one
Speaker 1: spot and the Bears falling into it when they have
Speaker 1: a quarterback they believe in, which gives them the potent
Speaker 1: chill to a take anybody in the draft that they're
Speaker 1: in love with or more likely now trade that number
Speaker 1: one pick to QB desper team and have a bounty
Speaker 1: the type of draft bounty that if you handle it right,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna talk about a team that handled their
Speaker 1: draft bounty right uh this past draft. Um, you could
Speaker 1: change the organization. So I'll pivot to the Jets. You know,
Speaker 1: you gotta do a little Joe Douglas talk Joe Douglas. Now,
Speaker 1: the Jets obviously ended the season terribly, um, but it
Speaker 1: was a season that was wrecked by the quarterback position,
Speaker 1: uh and a lot of offensive line issues. UM. And
Speaker 1: I think the Jets are going to be a team
Speaker 1: that a lot of people are going to be and
Speaker 1: I'm already uncomfortable about this as a uh forever Jets fan.
Speaker 1: A lot of people are going to be in on
Speaker 1: the Jets next August, mark my words, because they will
Speaker 1: get a quarterback that people know. And that quarterback could
Speaker 1: be Derek Carr. Maybe it's doing Garoppolo. Yeah, but Zack
Speaker 1: Wilson is going to make his life hell in practice. Um,
Speaker 1: it could be Matthew Stafford. Hell could be Lamar Jackson. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you never know. All I know is the Jets are
Speaker 1: going to make a big splash and have a quarterback,
Speaker 1: and then people are gonna look at um an improved
Speaker 1: quarterback situation. They'll probably use a first round pick or
Speaker 1: something on an offensive lineman and and and get healthier
Speaker 1: in that position. The defense is already one of the
Speaker 1: best in the league. Douglas nailed the twenty two draft
Speaker 1: with Garrett Wilson, who could be the offensive rookie of
Speaker 1: the year potentially, Sauce Gardner is almost certainly the defensive
Speaker 1: rookie of the year. Breeze Hall could have been the
Speaker 1: offensive rookie of the year before he blew out his knee.
Speaker 1: UH the star running back. So that's what the Bears
Speaker 1: can do a draft like that. They're cooking. The Jets
Speaker 1: could be a team that everyone sees as a favorite
Speaker 1: in the a f C East. Potentially, I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: that far if they get a big time quarterback. With
Speaker 1: Joe Douglas having ties with Baltimore in his past before
Speaker 1: he was in Philly with Lamar Jackson, I don't know
Speaker 1: if they're time together there coincided, But you do have
Speaker 1: to think about Breeze Hall coming back and Elijah Vera
Speaker 1: Tucker come back and all of the issues that they
Speaker 1: had on the offensive line this year, Like this is
Speaker 1: a team that they had such a good draft, like
Speaker 1: they really did. Garrett Wilson is like such a playmaker
Speaker 1: for them and so good for years to come like that,
Speaker 1: you should be happy about it, I am. I mean
Speaker 1: it's hard that a Jets fan is struggling through the
Speaker 1: last six weeks of this year. But also if they
Speaker 1: if they have another solid offseason, this team will be
Speaker 1: locked and loaded and ready to make a run. Last year,
Speaker 1: one more team that sucked me in all through the year.
Speaker 1: It annoyed me because every time I kind of put
Speaker 1: myself out there for him and the power rankings that
Speaker 1: killed me the Raiders, the Rads, and I think I'm
Speaker 1: they're moving on from Derek Carr and they could kind
Speaker 1: of scapegoat him a little bit. In my mind, is
Speaker 1: what that what they've done here when I don't think
Speaker 1: it's necessarily the quarterback that's holding the team back. But
Speaker 1: if that Josh McDaniels Tom Brady reunion is real, and
Speaker 1: it just feels like Tom after three years in Tampa
Speaker 1: post divorce, look for the next challenge in his career,
Speaker 1: going to Vegas just kind of feels like you could
Speaker 1: connect the dots a little bit there. It's like, Okay,
Speaker 1: that makes sense. And I'm not saying Tom Brady entering
Speaker 1: his age forty six season as a guy that you
Speaker 1: you pencil in for the super Bowl. But also he
Speaker 1: still he still would be an improved and over car
Speaker 1: And I think a lot of people, including even me
Speaker 1: doing the power rankings, would be like, Okay, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: jump them up about ten spots and and put him
Speaker 1: in the wild card race and maybe even can challenge
Speaker 1: the Chiefs. And I think Davantae Adams would be happy,
Speaker 1: would be fine if they said Tom Brady was going
Speaker 1: to come in there. But you have to wonder what
Speaker 1: players think, especially wide receivers at this point. Looking at
Speaker 1: Tom Brady, of course he's the goat, but at forty five,
Speaker 1: what is he going to be forty six next year?
Speaker 1: Like that feels like maybe you're pushing it a bit,
Speaker 1: but maybe, but we've doubted that man for a decade now.
Speaker 1: I think the other thing about the Raiders, it was
Speaker 1: a stranger season I really can never remember for a team, uh,
Speaker 1: in terms of they had the eating rusher in the league,
Speaker 1: Josh Jacobs, who's a schedule to be a free agent.
Speaker 1: They want to bring him back, and he said he
Speaker 1: wants to be back, but he had over two thousand
Speaker 1: yards of scrimmage. Damante Adams had a monster first year there. Okay,
Speaker 1: Max Crosby is on the shortlist of the best defensive
Speaker 1: lineman in the league. And you have Darren Waller who
Speaker 1: has been banged up but is one of the most
Speaker 1: dynamic tight ends in league, the highest paid tight end
Speaker 1: in the league. There is talent there and now they
Speaker 1: just need to put it together. Pressure on Josh McDaniels, Alright,
Speaker 1: what else, anything else? What I'm talking about? You know,
Speaker 1: it's just it's just nice to be back here on
Speaker 1: the Power Rankings. Good to be back. We took a
Speaker 1: week off last week. It was obviously a pretty uh
Speaker 1: sensitive tough week for the league after the Damarrow Hamelin
Speaker 1: uh situation. But you know I missed this, Connie, and um,
Speaker 1: this will be our last look of thirty two teams
Speaker 1: for a few weeks. Yeah, what's this going to be
Speaker 1: moving forward? Okay, So here's the breaks. This is my
Speaker 1: first year doing Power rankings. I don't know. We say
Speaker 1: goodbye to eighteen teams on the Power Rankings effective now
Speaker 1: like a Viking funeral, the Vikings funeral. And so next
Speaker 1: week's Power Rankings post wild Card weekend will be a
Speaker 1: top four teen, then it will become a top something,
Speaker 1: a top four and then we disappear, and then we'll
Speaker 1: come back after the super Bowl with a full thirty
Speaker 1: two look again. Then we're done all right til next week.
Speaker 1: Thank you for listening. Heed the call NFL Power Rankings
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