Speaker 1: The uncertainty of the NFL season continues to unfold before
Speaker 1: our eyes. Welcome to a brand new edition of NFL
Speaker 1: Power Rankings. Mike mp Eric get home with you. If
Speaker 1: you want to see complete analysis of all thirty two teams,
Speaker 1: just head to NFL.
Speaker 2: Dot com a complete list of rankings.
Speaker 1: Eric, Look, I've been thinking about you the last couple
Speaker 1: of days. We've seen some chaos NFC West. I don't
Speaker 1: know what to make of the division. I don't know
Speaker 1: who goes and wins it. The Houston Texans drop a game.
Speaker 1: I cannot wait to find out where they actually sit
Speaker 1: in your rankings. The reality is you got a tough job,
Speaker 1: but it's your time to try to figure out where
Speaker 1: these teams are supposed to be slotted.
Speaker 3: It is my job, right, I mean, they're still in
Speaker 3: the playoff picture. But it's hard to rank some of
Speaker 3: these teams, especially after Week twelve. We had some funny results,
Speaker 3: even some wins, some expected wins ended in unexpected fashion.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, the Kansas City Chiefs, by the way, one
Speaker 1: of those teams that figured out a way to get
Speaker 1: it done. But boy, oh boy, I was like there
Speaker 1: might be a free fall in the rankings.
Speaker 2: According to Eric.
Speaker 1: But let's get right to it. Teams one through eight
Speaker 1: in the rankings. No surprise here. The Lions, off to
Speaker 1: their best starts since nineteen thirty four. At ten and
Speaker 1: one sit at the top spot. Are they the best
Speaker 1: team in the NFL? According to Eric and I think
Speaker 1: a lot of us, the answer is a resounding yes.
Speaker 2: The Bills at too.
Speaker 1: The Eagles flexing the seventh straight win for them. They
Speaker 1: are at three. The Kansas City Chiefs they fall just
Speaker 1: one spot, got all they could handle from Carolina. The
Speaker 1: Ravens check in at number five with a nice road
Speaker 1: win on Monday Night Football against the Chargers. Vikings are six,
Speaker 1: needed overtime to survive. The Bears, Packers easily a winner
Speaker 1: against the Niners at seven, and.
Speaker 2: The Steelers fun game for everyone because of the snow,
Speaker 2: but maybe not fun for them.
Speaker 1: Time for the team of the week, the Philadelphia Eagles
Speaker 1: sitting at that number three spot here, Eric, I gotta
Speaker 1: tell you there is a legit argument right now. I
Speaker 1: know the Lions and Buffalo are two teams that you
Speaker 1: really like. I don't know if there's a team outside
Speaker 1: of maybe Detroit that's playing better over these last few games.
Speaker 2: Than Philadelphia.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, and that's why I moved them up over the
Speaker 3: Chiefs in spite of the Chiefs winning Sunday because it
Speaker 3: wasn't that impressive. We'll get to that in a minute,
Speaker 3: but Philadelphia was impressive. They really put on a show
Speaker 3: Sunday night, flexing on both sides of the ball. Saquon Barklay,
Speaker 3: I mean, we debated the value thirteen million dollars per
Speaker 3: year plus you know the first the fumble against it
Speaker 3: Land early in the year, was it going to be
Speaker 3: worth it? I think he's worth it. I think they've
Speaker 3: done pretty well for themselves ROI wise, and you know,
Speaker 3: you hit for two fifty five on the ground in
Speaker 3: a game, you're doing something right. Ninth best rushing game
Speaker 3: all time. And that doesn't even begin to mention the
Speaker 3: defense and what they've been able to do on that
Speaker 3: side of the ball. They targeted big areas of need
Speaker 3: another explosive offensive player, improving that secondary, the pass rush.
Speaker 3: They've done it all. Vic Fangio and Saquon Barkley have
Speaker 3: been two massive additions. That's why they're rising up the
Speaker 3: charts right now.
Speaker 1: Barkley the fourth running back in the Super Bowl era
Speaker 1: to have at least three hundred scrimmage yards in a game.
Speaker 1: For what it's worth, I didn't think the Rams played
Speaker 1: that bad. I just think Philadelphia was that much better,
Speaker 1: which is eye opening because I like the Rams for
Speaker 1: a few weeks here and now I'm questioning just because
Speaker 1: of the way the division shapes up for him. The Eagles,
Speaker 1: by the way, matching up against the Baltimore Ravens this week,
Speaker 1: that is going to be one of the best games
Speaker 1: of the entire year. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs, you
Speaker 1: made reference to it. They drop a spot here. What
Speaker 1: am I supposed to make of this football team? Because
Speaker 1: it's again another one possession game for him. They figure
Speaker 1: out a way to get it done. But when you're
Speaker 1: coming off of a loss, your first loss since December
Speaker 1: of last year, you would imagine that they would absolutely
Speaker 1: put a thumpin on Carolina. Should I be worried right
Speaker 1: now if I'm a Chiefs fan?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: I mean.
Speaker 3: Look, I was reading a story by Nate Taylor or
Speaker 3: The Athletic, and he was describing the postgame scene in
Speaker 3: the locker room and Charlotte after a win, right after
Speaker 3: a dramatic victory with a new kicker, and they drive
Speaker 3: down the field for the game winning score. But the
Speaker 3: way Taylor described it, it felt more like a funeral,
Speaker 3: more like a sigh of relief than it was joy
Speaker 3: in there. So look, I mean, Patrick Mahomes has ways
Speaker 3: of doing things as a great scramble at the game
Speaker 3: at the end of the game setting up the game
Speaker 3: winning score. They had no trouble really moving the ball day.
Speaker 3: They did bog down quite a few times. But defensively, Mike,
Speaker 3: this is where my concern lies. They've allowed these either
Speaker 3: game winning or game tying drives at the ends of games.
Speaker 3: We saw the Panthers come down tie it at twenty seven,
Speaker 3: the Broncos the week you know before, or two couple
Speaker 3: weeks ago, we're about to win the game, Buffalo goes down,
Speaker 3: you know, Josh Allen on fourth and two. Even the
Speaker 3: Tampa Bay game, letting Baker Mayfield kind of move down
Speaker 3: the field there at games in I mean, this has
Speaker 3: been a repeated problem here, and you kind of wonder, Look,
Speaker 3: the defense had been kind of carrying this team for
Speaker 3: a big stretch last year. In this year, are they
Speaker 3: able to do it again if the offense can't kind
Speaker 3: of pick up the slack. That's why I moved them
Speaker 3: down a slot. Still recognize they are able to beat
Speaker 3: almost anybody on any given day. I just don't know
Speaker 3: about their long term ability and whether they can repeat
Speaker 3: this year.
Speaker 1: Well, look on Black Friday, they will get an Aidan
Speaker 1: O'Connell led Raiders squad, and look, we will talk Panthers
Speaker 1: a little bit later.
Speaker 2: I know I'm not alone here.
Speaker 1: I actually is pretty happy for Bryce Young because he
Speaker 1: gets benched. There's a lot of negativity around him. Played
Speaker 1: pretty well, and I think maybe we're turning the corner
Speaker 1: in terms of his career and maybe even that future
Speaker 1: in Carolina that looked really grim just a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks ago. All Right, take a closer look at the
Speaker 1: odds in the AFC North.
Speaker 2: How about this.
Speaker 1: Steelers just beat the Ravens a couple weeks ago, and
Speaker 1: it's Baltimore in pole position according to Fandle. Then it's
Speaker 1: the Steelers, then Cincinnati, followed by the Cleveland Browns. But
Speaker 1: let's circle up on this number five team and that's
Speaker 1: the Baltimore Ravens. They move up two spots for you, Eric,
Speaker 1: When you look at this squad, this was an impressive
Speaker 1: win for them. And I think the other aspect of
Speaker 1: this is they're going up against the number one scoring
Speaker 1: defense in the Chargers. Light them up offensively, most points
Speaker 1: that the Chargers have given up so far this season.
Speaker 1: This is the Baltimore team that I thought we were
Speaker 1: going to get at the start of the year. When
Speaker 1: they're at their best, Eric, they can beat anyone.
Speaker 3: Yeah, as I wrote, I think they can heat up
Speaker 3: as quickly as anybody Lamar in that offense, when they
Speaker 3: get cooking, there is no preheat time. They go from
Speaker 3: cold to nuclear, and that's what we saw at the
Speaker 3: end of the first quarter. They turned it over quickly,
Speaker 3: Lamar hitting this long deep pass to kind of get
Speaker 3: them spurred a little bit. And then also the fourth
Speaker 3: and one from their own sixteen. Boy, I remember how
Speaker 3: blue in the face we got talking about Belichick going
Speaker 3: four years ago from his own twenty nine. Late in
Speaker 3: the game, here are the Ravens kind of rewriting the
Speaker 3: rule book, if you will, and getting it without two
Speaker 3: best players touching the ball. So they have ways of
Speaker 3: confounding people, even the best defenses like the Chargers. Maybe
Speaker 3: they were a little exposed against the Bengals, and certainly
Speaker 3: on Monday Night against the Ravens. But I'll tell you what,
Speaker 3: if they play moderately well on defense, they can overcome
Speaker 3: some of these penalties, which are a problem every single week.
Speaker 3: They can overcome a slow start on offense because they
Speaker 3: have the chance to get nuclear hot all of a sudden,
Speaker 3: And that's what makes them so dangerous this year, even
Speaker 3: if last year's team was maybe the better model.
Speaker 2: Yeah, three for three. By the way, on those fourth
Speaker 2: down conversions he highlighted one of them.
Speaker 1: Was certainly huge here. And you can story what could
Speaker 1: have been an undefeated season for this team if you
Speaker 1: think about some of the losses.
Speaker 2: Isaiah Likely in Week number.
Speaker 1: One against the Kansas City Chiefs back of the end
Speaker 1: zone looked like it was good.
Speaker 2: It obviously wasn't.
Speaker 1: We saw them with a ten point advantage in the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter against the Raiders. They lose that one. Jamis
Speaker 1: Winston comes in for his first start. He goes and
Speaker 1: beats them. You know, the point is, they are these
Speaker 1: tight games, but Baltimore at their best as dangerous as anyone.
Speaker 1: To number six, we go Sam Donald in overtime, big
Speaker 1: drive leads to a game winning field goal. I don't know,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm buying on this Viking squad,
Speaker 1: and it looks like you are too. With the six
Speaker 1: position on your rankings.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I dropped him down a spot because
Speaker 3: I thought, boy, they shouldn't have led it to get
Speaker 3: to overtime. But the best thing that came out of
Speaker 3: that game was the fact that it did go to
Speaker 3: overtime because Sam Darnald, I thought, had his best series
Speaker 3: of the season, six for six ninety yards passing to
Speaker 3: set up the game winning field goal. Hard to get
Speaker 3: ninety yards passing on a single drive, but Sam did it,
Speaker 3: overcoming a couple penalties to do so. Made decisive reads,
Speaker 3: accurate throws, looked like he had command. You know, there
Speaker 3: have been times where it's been a little shaky this season.
Speaker 3: We know Donald's reputation from previous stops in Carolina New York,
Speaker 3: but this was arguably one of his best moments of
Speaker 3: the year. Again, I don't like the fact that they
Speaker 3: blew an eleven point lead with a little over ninety
Speaker 3: seconds left, but you know this, this Vikings team has
Speaker 3: to feel a lot better about itself. Didn't get a
Speaker 3: whole lot from Justin Jefferson It was all Jordan Addison
Speaker 3: in this game pretty much. He had career high numbers.
Speaker 3: Jefferson had one seven yard catch until about halfway through overtime.
Speaker 3: So you know, it's on the one hand, good that
Speaker 3: they can win these games without Jefferson going off. They
Speaker 3: can have other people, you know, sort of carry the load,
Speaker 3: if you will. But seeing Donald convert that drive after
Speaker 3: the Bears punted, I think was a big confidence statement
Speaker 3: for them, and knowing that at some point they're going
Speaker 3: to need a drive like that in a huge game.
Speaker 2: No no question about that.
Speaker 1: By the way, I like where you have the vikings
Speaker 1: because those teams that you slotted in front of them,
Speaker 1: it makes sense to him. The only pushback that I
Speaker 1: have for you from a Chicago perspective, they're playing some
Speaker 1: of the best ball that they've played this entire season.
Speaker 2: Is just not equaling wins for them at this point.
Speaker 1: But I think you're spot on from a Minnesota perspective
Speaker 1: the Steelers. I was telling people here in the building
Speaker 1: before this game, I go, I'm telling you, I think
Speaker 1: the Browns are gonna win this thing.
Speaker 2: It feels like a leftown.
Speaker 1: I wasn't overly impressed by the win against the Ravens
Speaker 1: because of how it looked on the field and how.
Speaker 2: Baltimore played in this game.
Speaker 1: But is there anything cooler than watching a game in
Speaker 1: the snow and seeing some of those high risk slow
Speaker 1: motion videos on social media?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 3: Man, I love it. I absolutely love it. I look,
Speaker 3: I live in a winter climate. I'm here in Chicago,
Speaker 3: so obviously the snow is sort of my friend, or
Speaker 3: I've learned to embrace it. But yes, there is nothing
Speaker 3: more cinematic, more exciting than to see a game in
Speaker 3: the snow.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 3: Players may not like it, guys from the southern part
Speaker 3: of the country, and the Steelers may not like it
Speaker 3: because they didn't perform all that well. It started getting
Speaker 3: heavier and they were trailing. They found a way to
Speaker 3: get back in the game, but just couldn't hold on
Speaker 3: at game's end. So, you know, I'm worried about the
Speaker 3: Steelers offense a little bit too hot and cold. I
Speaker 3: know they came in with a lot of points scored
Speaker 3: on average, but you know that dry, that streak of
Speaker 3: twenty two straight quarters with the points ended in this game,
Speaker 3: and by games end, you could see they were having
Speaker 3: trouble handling the ball, having trouble with communication up front,
Speaker 3: didn't hit enough big plays, and they lost a crucial
Speaker 3: division game. So yeah, I mean, it's it's hard to
Speaker 3: know exactly what we have with the Steelers. Clearly better
Speaker 3: than a year ago, Clearly a team that could win
Speaker 3: a playoff game, but I think at this point their
Speaker 3: limitations are starting to become a little more outsized.
Speaker 1: And they will match up in another divisional matchup in
Speaker 1: a game that one team is very desperate, and that
Speaker 1: is the Cincinnati Bengals. Still more to get to though.
Speaker 1: On NFL Power Rankings, one team in the NFC. They've
Speaker 1: been making a ton of headlines most of the season,
Speaker 1: but now they're dropping some games.
Speaker 2: Or the Commanders pretenders.
Speaker 1: Plus a stat about the Chargers that you gotta hear that's.
Speaker 2: Coming up next.
Speaker 1: Back here on power Rankings, as we go through Erics
Speaker 1: teams nine through sixteen, the Chargers lose a tough one
Speaker 1: at home on Monday Night Football. No change, though, still
Speaker 1: sitting in the top ten at number nine. At ten,
Speaker 1: it's the Broncos snap an eight game road losing streak
Speaker 1: to the Raiders. Don't look now, but bo Nix is
Speaker 1: really coming on strong here. The Commander's at eleven the Texans.
Speaker 1: What is going on with the squad We will discuss
Speaker 1: in just a moment. At number twelve, the Bucks dominate
Speaker 1: the Giants. They are at thirteen. Don't look now, but
Speaker 1: Seattle all of a sudden making some noise and got
Speaker 1: a real chance to go and winning that division because
Speaker 1: they took out the Cardinals who sit at fifteen, and
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins might be the best second half story
Speaker 1: in the NFL at sixteen. At number nine, I want
Speaker 1: to get your take on this Charger squad because I
Speaker 1: like them. And let me preface this by saying, I
Speaker 1: think they are a dangerous team once the postseason comes
Speaker 1: around because of style of play. But Eric, they've beaten
Speaker 1: one team this season with a winning record, and that's
Speaker 1: the Denver Broncos.
Speaker 2: So what are the Chargers?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you make a good point. You know,
Speaker 3: could they go on the road to the AFC South winner?
Speaker 3: Presumably Houston win that game. Sure, but as we've seen
Speaker 3: when they are stacked against some of the league's heavyweights,
Speaker 3: lost of the Chiefs, lost Monday night to the Ravens.
Speaker 3: There are a few more games like that. They just
Speaker 3: haven't weighed in the same class as those teams. Right,
Speaker 3: they take the early ten to Dozhering league kind of
Speaker 3: establish their their dominant force up front. Then they start
Speaker 3: dropping passes, penalties. They had at least one penalty by
Speaker 3: every single starting offensive lineman, just mistakes on defense, blown coverages,
Speaker 3: couldn't tackle, bad angles to the ball. All the things
Speaker 3: that had made them a good team seemed to come
Speaker 3: on glued and for whatever reason, when the talent level rises,
Speaker 3: I think that's when you see their challenges kind of
Speaker 3: increase a little bit. So, yes, dangerous team style of play.
Speaker 3: I think all those things are right. Can we please
Speaker 3: get Justin Herberts some better receivers. There are some more receivers,
Speaker 3: guys who can hang on to the football. Because until
Speaker 3: that happens, till they catch the ball consistently, I am
Speaker 3: a little worried about their potential.
Speaker 1: Yeah, at one point in the second half, Quinton Johnson
Speaker 1: gets hit in the hand with the football, drops it.
Speaker 1: He had so much green grass that might be a
Speaker 1: touchdown And maybe we're talking about a different game. Lad mccauckey,
Speaker 1: by the way, has emerged as Justin Herbert's go to
Speaker 1: wide receiver. Yeap think he's a really, really good player,
Speaker 1: but you're right, they need some other pieces that are there.
Speaker 2: And look, JK.
Speaker 1: Dobbins going down did not help the cause. Monday night
Speaker 1: against the Baltimore Ravens at number eleven, here are look
Speaker 1: I teased it. I said that the Commanders are they contenders, pretenders.
Speaker 1: They've lost some tough games here the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: I still like the squad, do you.
Speaker 2: I do.
Speaker 3: I like the fight, but I also realized that, look,
Speaker 3: these types of games are the ones we kind of
Speaker 3: expected them to lose this season, right, I mean, it
Speaker 3: wouldn't have been a shock to suggest that the Cowboys
Speaker 3: beat the Commanders, and you know, everything we've seen up
Speaker 3: to this point has pretty much belied that. But you're
Speaker 3: starting to see the cracks in the armor a little bit.
Speaker 3: The offense has not been nearly explosive. I mean, prior
Speaker 3: to that long touchdown to Terry McLaurin, they stall, they
Speaker 3: didn't have the same kind of juice. You know, Daniels
Speaker 3: was having trouble finding his receivers open. He had some
Speaker 3: scrambling room, but Brian Robinson in the run game not
Speaker 3: exactly humming as well. So issues on that side of
Speaker 3: the ball. Obviously some questions on defense, and then the
Speaker 3: way the game ended, the Special Team's disaster one of
Speaker 3: the worst sort of three or four play stretches that
Speaker 3: you'll ever see in a game. But even before that,
Speaker 3: I think some of their troubles did come out. So
Speaker 3: I love the job they've done, but they're hitting the
Speaker 3: wall on both sides of the ball, and that is
Speaker 3: a problem heading into the home stretch.
Speaker 1: I have four touchdowns scored in the final three thirty
Speaker 1: of the game. What a wild finish and the Commanders
Speaker 1: this close to pulling this thing out. I don't know
Speaker 1: what to do with the Texans. Legitimately concerned. I was
Speaker 1: fascinated they lose this matchup, and I think to myself,
Speaker 1: where is Eric gonna slot them?
Speaker 2: I'll be honest, at twelve I thought it was going
Speaker 2: to be worse.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that says something about this group, though,
Speaker 3: doesn't it. Mike. I mean you kind of look and
Speaker 3: all these teams have a little bit of a question,
Speaker 3: a little something holding them back. Maybe it's their record,
Speaker 3: maybe it's their quarterback. That's not really the case with
Speaker 3: the Texans. They're in great position to win this division.
Speaker 3: They just have to win games and stop shooting themselves
Speaker 3: in the foot. Look, I got CJ. Stroud through two
Speaker 3: bad interceptions, two picks that were on him, and we
Speaker 3: haven't said that very often. Doesn't have a lot of
Speaker 3: two interception games in a short career, but that one
Speaker 3: right there, staring down the linebacker, not able to float
Speaker 3: the ball to the second level. You know, we saw
Speaker 3: it in other games as well. Here's the safety at
Speaker 3: the end of the game. You know, just too many mistakes. Now,
Speaker 3: the pressure they're giving up is a problem. But Stroud's
Speaker 3: got to take some of this responsibility too, and that
Speaker 3: defense has to tighten up. Too many big plays.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they've lost four out of their last six games
Speaker 1: at this point, a season low twelve points, three for
Speaker 1: thirteen on third down, not going to get it done.
Speaker 1: In fact, in the second half they were zero of
Speaker 1: six on third down. They had just four first downs
Speaker 1: in the second half. You don't expect that from this team.
Speaker 1: Expectations much higher. Get an opportunity to get back in
Speaker 1: the win column with a matchup against Jacksonville. All right,
Speaker 1: the Seattle Seahawks. They're proving some doubters wrong here. I
Speaker 1: know it was a strong start, then they hit a
Speaker 1: little bit of a lull. Now all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: they're beating some good teams, right San Francisco. Well, I
Speaker 1: don't know how we feel about San Francisco being a
Speaker 1: good team, but they beat them in the Bay Area,
Speaker 1: and then they take out a Cardinals team where the
Speaker 1: arrow was pointing up. How much of the Seahawks stock
Speaker 1: would you be willing to buy at this point of
Speaker 1: the season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, they've certainly won the most important games, right,
Speaker 3: the division games. They had to do it on the
Speaker 3: road at San Francisco and then coming back with no
Speaker 3: hot water in the facility for several days last week
Speaker 3: because of the power out it is, they toughed, threw it,
Speaker 3: and they found a way. It was a defensive battle.
Speaker 3: That's what you'd expect in a Mike McDonald Jonathan gannon game.
Speaker 3: But really credit the Seahawks defense, I think for keeping
Speaker 3: Kyler Murray and that Cardinals run game under wraps. They
Speaker 3: could not get go and that's how they kind of
Speaker 3: kickstart their offense. Get James Connor and those guys, Benson
Speaker 3: going de Marcarro. But yeah, they couldn't find any rhythm offensively, Defensively,
Speaker 3: you know, it was just an impressive effort, and that's
Speaker 3: two weeks in a row, big NFC West victory with
Speaker 3: their defense kind of leading the way. You shout out
Speaker 3: to Jackson Smith and Jig but who got him going offensively?
Speaker 3: And Gino made enough big plays. Buddy also threw a
Speaker 3: couple of light picks. So it's possible that McDonald's defense
Speaker 3: is now they're sort of their best hope at this point.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: The calling card for a team that now hits the
Speaker 1: road and matches up against a Jet squad that has
Speaker 1: been reeling. Yeah, yeah, I'm talking about another three game
Speaker 1: winning streak for the Seahawks.
Speaker 2: They certainly could use that win.
Speaker 1: Time for power Moves at number sixteen, it is the
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins, who I think are the best story of
Speaker 1: the second half of the season because they got healthy,
Speaker 1: they got their quarterback into it, and they are rolling
Speaker 1: right now.
Speaker 2: They get Green Bay on Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1: You think the world of the Packers, considering they're a
Speaker 1: top ten team on the power rankings.
Speaker 2: This is a different offense.
Speaker 1: This is the team that I thought we were going
Speaker 1: to see at the start of the year had they
Speaker 1: been healthy. I don't know if there's a sense of
Speaker 1: desperation around the squad, like there.
Speaker 2: Is right now.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and this is the ultimate test for him too,
Speaker 3: Mi President. Right down the stretch they struggle last year,
Speaker 3: what did they struggle with? Cold weather games? They're going
Speaker 3: up to Green Bay where expecting weather in the thirties,
Speaker 3: maybe some snow. This is the opportunity for them to
Speaker 3: kind of slay the demon, if you will. Yeah, those
Speaker 3: losses to Arizona and Buffalo still sting. Have they won
Speaker 3: those totally different picture. They'd be higher on this list
Speaker 3: for sure. But Tua has played well since returning. That's
Speaker 3: the biggest thing. We went from talking about him retiring
Speaker 3: to him being a big reason why the Dolphins are
Speaker 3: still in this race. They've gotten their playmakers the ball,
Speaker 3: and defensively they have been much much, much better. So
Speaker 3: it's impressive to see. Now can they finish this thing off?
Speaker 3: Still a long way to go, but you go up
Speaker 3: to Green Bay and get a win on Turkey Day,
Speaker 3: you're doing all right for yourself.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a really good point. Eric. I hadn't thought
Speaker 2: about it like that because TWOA has been bawling, But
Speaker 2: you're right. A couple weeks ago we were like Hey,
Speaker 2: should this dude be out there?
Speaker 1: Should we be considering right him as a guy that
Speaker 1: maybe would be for the long term better off not playing.
Speaker 2: But he's bawling right now with.
Speaker 1: An over seventy percent completion percentage since his return, and
Speaker 1: once again that team continues to win. We got more
Speaker 1: to come here though. On NFL Power Rankings, they nine
Speaker 1: ers went from Super Bowl contender to maybe not even
Speaker 1: making the playoffs.
Speaker 2: We'll give you the state of.
Speaker 1: San Francisco coming up next, and we're loving up some
Speaker 1: of the bottom feeders and the power rankings for the
Speaker 1: last few weeks that are now winning some games.
Speaker 2: Back here.
Speaker 1: On power rankings, team seventeen through twenty four to the
Speaker 1: Atlanta Falcons. Leading off this list, the San Francisco forty
Speaker 1: nine ers drop two spots. They fall to eighteen. We'll
Speaker 1: talk about them in just a moment. The Rams do
Speaker 1: not deliver on Sunday Night football against the Eagles. I
Speaker 1: thought they played well, just the Eagles are monsters at
Speaker 1: this point of the season.
Speaker 2: At twenty it's the.
Speaker 1: Colts four out of their final five remaining games teams
Speaker 1: with three or fewer.
Speaker 2: Wins, so maybe there's a run here.
Speaker 1: Cincinnati at twenty one, the Dallas Cowboys, they find away
Speaker 1: at twenty two, the Bears five straight losses, another heartbreaker
Speaker 1: for them at twenty three, and it's the Saints at
Speaker 1: twenty four.
Speaker 2: Meanwhile, the Niners. Let's circle up on this squad.
Speaker 1: I thought heading into this past weekend it was a
Speaker 1: must win. There is not a whole lot of real
Speaker 1: estate in terms of games to be played here. They
Speaker 1: get a tough one against the Buffalo Bills this coming
Speaker 1: week Sunday Night Football.
Speaker 2: They didn't have Rock Party.
Speaker 1: Injuries have been the story for this team, but Eric, legitimately,
Speaker 1: I don't think they make the postseason.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's feeling more and more every day to me,
Speaker 3: at least like the twenty twenty season. Now that twenty
Speaker 3: twenty was its own sort of animal, but the forty
Speaker 3: nine ers were ravaged by injuries that year. You know,
Speaker 3: they kept kind of hanging in there, giving themselves a chance,
Speaker 3: but never really making that big burst. And you know,
Speaker 3: even with McCaffrey coming back, a rare fumble from him
Speaker 3: against the Packers, and you know, Kittle has the big game,
Speaker 3: but you know, other things kind of offset that. They
Speaker 3: weren't able to stop him on defense. There have just
Speaker 3: been so many problems and so many, you know, giveaway losses,
Speaker 3: right the Cardinals game earlier in the year. The Rams
Speaker 3: have been plenty of those, but this one on Sunday
Speaker 3: was just being outclassed. Look, I didn't think Brandon Allen
Speaker 3: played that poorly, to be honest, but all the other
Speaker 3: aspects of the forty nine ers needed to be a
Speaker 3: lot lot better. So I'm with him, Mike. I just
Speaker 3: don't see a realistic path. But then again, the NFC
Speaker 3: West is pretty loaded, and if all those teams struggled
Speaker 3: on the stretch, they're still in it.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm glad you bring that up, because in terms
Speaker 1: of wildcard spot, I don't know if I'm buying a
Speaker 1: game and a half back of the Commanders right now,
Speaker 1: who's sit in that seven seed, that final wildcard spot.
Speaker 1: I think the path for them is to go and
Speaker 1: win the division. The problem is they got losses against Seattle.
Speaker 1: They got a loss against Arizona as well, you know that.
Speaker 1: I just I don't know. Once again, just not a
Speaker 1: whole lot of real estate for this squad. All right,
Speaker 1: let's move on to teams twenty five through thirty two.
Speaker 1: The Browns a twenty five, a win against top ten
Speaker 1: team a rick you gottam at twenty five, what gives there?
Speaker 1: At twenty six, it's the Jets twenty seven. The Panthers
Speaker 1: are twenty seven. They almost beat the two times Super
Speaker 1: Bowl champs. At twenty eighth, the Titans beat the twelfth
Speaker 1: ranked team on your list, the Houston Texans. At twenty nine,
Speaker 1: it's the Patriots, the Giants, I don't even want to
Speaker 1: go there. At thirty, At thirty one, Gardner Minshew done
Speaker 1: for the year, it's the Raiders. And at number thirty two,
Speaker 1: good night Jacksonville. All right, I gotta go rapid fire
Speaker 1: because I highlighted the best of the rest. Here some
Speaker 1: teams that have performed well for the weekend, and one
Speaker 1: of them did lose. But the Browns at twenty five,
Speaker 1: the Panthers at twenty seven, and the Titans at twenty eight,
Speaker 1: give me the take.
Speaker 2: Let's start here with the Browns. Love them up.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they're like the best of the rest, right, And
Speaker 3: they were like, but you know, when my college basketball
Speaker 3: team would always be twenty sixth in the ranking, they
Speaker 3: would be ranked first, just outside the top twenty five.
Speaker 3: That's kind of where the Browns are right now, Jamis
Speaker 3: has given him some life. Could he be their bridge
Speaker 3: quarterback next year if he keeps playing this way? There
Speaker 3: are upset potentials, you know, throughout the rest of the season.
Speaker 3: So he pulls off one or two more of those,
Speaker 3: absolutely gets that opportunity. So it's been fun to watch
Speaker 3: a little rebirth here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, look, everyone in the NFL love Jamis. I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna throw that out there. At twenty seven, the Panthers
Speaker 1: they move up a spot. I gotta tell you, I'm
Speaker 1: smiling at ear to ear. I am very and I
Speaker 1: mentioned this at the top of the show. Happy for
Speaker 1: Bryce Young?
Speaker 2: Is this team? Have they turned the corner?
Speaker 3: Well? Bryce Young is turning the corner right every single week.
Speaker 3: It seems like he gets incremental games. And you saw,
Speaker 3: you know, Dave canallis kind of soft footed a little bit.
Speaker 3: He wasn't gonna throw always support towards Young, but now
Speaker 3: he said, look, Young's play has spoken for itself. That
Speaker 3: has been the best development the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: Absolutely Tennessee Titans checking in at twenty eight and by
Speaker 1: the way, I get it, the Panthers did lose the game,
Speaker 1: but I'm just saying, just smiling for Bryce Titans.
Speaker 2: Yeah, are we feeling good about the squad?
Speaker 3: Too many turnovers, you know, too many big plays allowed,
Speaker 3: but they are explosive. I'll give Will Levis a little
Speaker 3: bit of an extension here, but he's gonna have some
Speaker 3: competition next year. The turnovers continue. They were a little
Speaker 3: bit lucky to win that game, but a big win
Speaker 3: for them.
Speaker 2: Nonetheless, No, it's a huge win. It's against that defense too.
Speaker 1: I absolutely we beat up on the teams at the
Speaker 1: end of the show that are at the bottom of
Speaker 1: this list, and finally we could talk about some wins
Speaker 1: for some of these squads.
Speaker 2: Eric, you are the best man. Always appreciate you. Good
Speaker 2: and hanging out with you.
Speaker 1: On another edition of NFL Power Rankings.