February 14, 2023 • 24 mins
The NFL Power Rankings Podcast with Colleen Wolfe and Dan Hanzus begins the Chiefs atop the final season rankings. Much to Collen's dismay, we relive the Super Bowl and applaud the Chiefs comeback. Find out how surprising the Jaguars jumped in the Rankings plus the one team that has all the pieces, but still needs a QB. We explore the Rams and Broncos disappointing seasons. Plus, Dan and Colleen name their teams that will make a big positive jump for NEXT season!
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
partnership with I Heart Radio. The Welcome to the NFL
Power Rankings podcast presented by energizers Still going, Well, not true, Connie,
I'm Dan Hansas, Colleen Will because we're not gonna be
(00:24):
still going because this is the season finale of Power
rank Anything is over and done. Now we've reached the
NFL no now goes into a quiet, respectful hibernation until September.
That's how this works, right, That's when we'll come back.
You know. That is how not how the NFL machine works.
(00:45):
But this podcast, which we thank everyone who is watched
and listened along all season, is reaching its conclusion fittingly. Connie,
after Super Bowl fifty seven, the old Zeuser, that's me.
After I got off the plane, um, Roger Goodell personally
shot me a text and said, son, I'm gonna need
five thousand words on one through thirty two. Roger Adell
(01:08):
as your dad in some ways he is. He's not
my dad, and he's my daddy on some level. So
I cranked it out. It's up on the website. You
can check it out at NFL dot com, slash Power
Rankings and now, Connie, we will talk about the final reveal.
And obviously the Chiefs were triumphant in the Super Bowl
fifty seven over your Philadelphia Eagles in a all time classic.
(01:31):
I would put it in the top ten all time
super Bowls. Not the Before we go through the top ten,
I just want to top eight. I want to check
in with you, Connie. Where are you at emotionally? I mean,
things were going pretty well obviously for the Eagles, and
then they weren't. Level of disappointment one at a ten
and you can go up to his high seventy seven. Well,
I wish I could give you a level, but I'm
(01:53):
completely dead inside, so it's not really there's no reading
on it at this point. Yeah, listen, I the fact
that I'm here right now just a husk. My body
is here physically, but I don't know where the rest
of me is. It's not with us, No, it's you know,
the the Eagles. They took a piece of me with
that game, and I left it at State Farm Stadium.
Can I ask you, in terms of most difficult Eagles losses,
(02:15):
is it the toughest one? This was very disappointing because
of the game flow and the way that the Eagles
looked coming out of the game, and the entire first
half they looked so great. And it was interesting because
I sat in a section that was both Chiefs and
Eagles fans, and everyone was pretty nice in the section,
but it was a lot of disappointed Chiefs fans, a
(02:37):
ton of Eagles fans just chirping and celebrating, and then
the tide shifted and it was just so upsetting. Yeah,
and I was going to say we were both in
the stadium in different areas, but I thought it was
probably a sixty five thirty five breakdown in terms of
Eagles fans over Chiefs fans and the place there were
moments in a Super Bowl game. It's gotten to the
(02:59):
point in the Super Bowls that we've been to where
really is an active, loud crowd on both ends when
scores happened. But this game really did. Like the first
the Pachenko touchdown in the third quarter, it actually got
quiet and it was like, these are Eagles sas you
could sense the tension of realizing that Mahomes was starting
to Mahomes and things were slipping away. I'm sorry, but
that needs to be done. I did text you guys
(03:21):
you and Dan or you are Dan, Dan and Dan
and then inside correct, I am telling the truth. I'm
being completely tru I texted you guys in the middle
of that game and I was like, no matter what happens,
this isn't also Super Bowl. This game was so good
and the Chiefs, they looked incredible in that second half.
(03:42):
Patrick Mahomes, I thought that he was hurt at one point.
I didn't think that he was going to be able
to finish the game. And that was something that I
didn't want to see. I wanted both of these teams
to be full strength, and they were and minus the consitions,
and I know, I was like, I'm being the bigger person.
I want these teams to be like at full strength.
Yea was a terrible um. Let's now check the first
(04:07):
eight teams in the final power rankings that are up
again at NFL dot com. Yes, the Chiefs and Kyle
Brandon has mentioned it last month and it is still
in the back of my mind. My last power rankings ever,
whenever that is, whenever Daddy deems it to be over
in this job, or if I say I literally can't
be yelled at on the internet any longer. I will
(04:27):
put the winner of the Super Bowl number two in
the power rankings. That that's how you go out, that's
how you bring that's how you get that cloud. But
not today. The Kansas City Chiefs are number one, and
I we had where they were at the start of
the regular season of the power rankings. So I, like
many others, were sucked in by the a f C
West and the idea that it was going to be
this big division with teams just beating each other up
(04:50):
and Tyreek Hill out the door. So but guess what
the Chiefs figured out there at one The Eagles another
team Connie is as as disappointing as it was back
in early September. You weren't sure really what to make
of them. I wasn't alone. I had them four team
to start the season. They ended number two, the Bengals.
I was highing them all year. They finished at number three, Niners,
(05:11):
number four, Bills five, Cowboys six up. They finished at seven,
and the Chargers eight ending the post Super Bowl power rankings.
Let's get into little Chiefs now. I mean, I I
think Connie um mahomes, what he was able to do
in the game and the reason they won. I think
(05:32):
was the greatest strength of the Eagles in a lot
of ways was that pass rush that had seventy eight
sacks and zero sacks in the Super Bowl. And once
you took away that, it was like removing the kryptonite
from that side of the ball, right And we knew
that that was going to be the way for the
Eagles to get a win, to beat Patrick Mahomes and
this offense because Patrick Mahomes was dealing with that ankle,
and then you saw that it was still very much
(05:54):
an issue when he was hit again and it was reaggravated.
But the pass rush on both sides, they just could
not get their footing on the field, and you saw
there was one I can't believe there was one play
in particular where both Josh Sweat and Hassan Reddick felt
like just slipped off on both ends and it happened
almost in concert. It was almost synchronized. And even Frank
(06:16):
Clark after the game said that the conditions were terrible,
like both teams had to play on it, which it
just it doesn't really make a ton of sense to me,
but I think that that was played a huge factor
in this game. And when you have the connection that
Mahomes has with Travis Kelsey, it just you're going to
be able to win, and you're going with Andy Reid
scheming things up and being so creative and having all
(06:37):
of the misdirection that they have to kind of confuse
this Eagles defense. It was an unbelievable comeback for the Chiefs. Yeah,
and down ten points at halftime. You know, they get
the defensive score off the Hurts fumble in the first half,
they kind of in the end kept them in the game.
And then what do they have to do to win
by three points? They needed to score every time they
had the ball in the second half, three touchdowns and
(06:59):
the go ahead field goal. They take the Super Bowl
and men and Mahomes. It's hard to believe, but he
recently turned and he's not going anywhere. And as long
as Mahomes is around a guy that is absolutely already
in the competition as the best quarterback ever. Andy Reid
now bumping into that conversation we talked about the greatest
coaches ever, Chiefs aren't going anywhere. And I think it
(07:19):
was a learning lesson for bozos like me and others
who kept overlooking what was going on here that Mahomes.
Even as recently as the last time we did this show,
Connie and I had the Chiefs at number four, and
I was all pumped up on Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
This is their time and it was just like, that's
why Kelsey screaming into the mic after the game, like,
you guys thought our time had passed, We're in our prime. Still,
(07:41):
this is their moment and they proved it. That was
the huge thing in the off season. Has the a
f C passed the Chiefs. Every team loaded up, they
figured out pass rushes, they have playmakers, and it seemed
like that division was going to be just such a
massive problem for everyone. And at the end of the day,
it was still the Chiefs that came out on top.
All right, as we look at elsewhere on the top
(08:02):
A what jumps out to you there, comell? I mean,
obviously the Jags. The Jags up twenty two points was
just I mean, when we we lost time. Now, by
the way for power Moves presented by Energizer, they're a
perfect team to talk about. The Jacks. Yes, and listen,
you you talked about at the beginning of the year,
so I feel like you had a big part in
(08:25):
their come up. Well, like, congratulations to you. It's a
good way to look at it. I will when we
get to the lower tier, I'm gonna throw out my
early prediction for who will be the Jaguars in the
back quadrant of the power rankings. But yeah, they're a
team that's set up obviously very well. I mean, your
boy Doug Peterson, who has that Super Bowl trophy with
the Eagles, has not obviously he's not my homes but
(08:48):
he has a young quarterback who's not going anywhere, and
they are still in that window where they could load
up in terms of free agent spending because Lawrence is
on an affordable contract. This is the window, and I
think you're gonna see the Jaguars basically be presented come
August as a heavy favorite in the out and getting
some Super Bowl buzz depending on how their offseason goes well.
They went on a five game win streak to finish
(09:10):
out the season, and Doug Peterson, he just had this team.
When you go from where they were before with Urban Meyer,
and then you bring in an actual head coach that
is a people person that cares about his staff, that
cares about his players, Doug Peterson. I'm just such a
big fan of him from having worked with him in Philadelphia.
(09:30):
This guy came in and is the perfect head coach
to work with Trevor Lawrence help him develop. We saw
him take those steps this year. We saw where his
potential can be and where he can go. Its future
is so bright. Of course, they have some defensive holes
that they need to fix, but they are in such
good shape going forward. And to just throw a little
bit of rain on the parade, okay, as it were,
(09:52):
I did write about Trayvon Walker. You know, he he
didn't make the difference that they were hoping in year one.
I know he was kind of touted as a highly
talented but raw player. But then when Aidan Hutchinson has
a big is the number two pick, and then Sauce
Gardner goes first team All Pro at cornerback at the
fourth pick to the Lions and Jets, respectively, you start
to think to yourself, as a fan of the team, man,
(10:14):
what do we got one of those dudes? So yeah,
there is that little element of it. You need Walker
to kind of live up to his draft stock, to
beef up that pass rush, which which is very necessary
and will be expected quite frankly, Walker, Let's check out
Tier two Lions. They are up sixteen spots from week
(10:39):
one to number nine, the Vikings up ten spots to ten,
the Ravens at eleven, Packers twelve. I don't know. This
is where it's Sometimes the timing of the power rankings
gets a little tricky. So how much was the rank
the Packers when the quarterback Hall of Fame quarterback is
literally in a retreat. Yeah, like isolation and solitary confinement.
(11:05):
What so I just stuck him in twelve? And then
will you know, let God sorted out for the darkness.
God's um. I guess that's sure. Hell, I don't know.
Steelers thirteen with a lot of promise. I felt that
was a little too high obviously as they made the list,
but they did finish the season well. The Giants at fourteen,
up fourteen spots week one, the Dolphins at fifteen, and
(11:26):
I got the Jets who opened the season for me
at twenty six. I have them up ten spots at sixteen.
And yes, you're like, oh, but Dan, like, they didn't
get that quarterback yet. Yeah, so I can't really project that,
but I can say they will get Elijah Bara Tucker back,
They'll get Briefe hallback. This team is one decent quarterback
away from being a contender in the a f C
(11:46):
and they swept the Rookie honors Offensive Defensive Rookie of
the Year. I mean, this team has great building blocks
that feel like Joe Douglass did such a good job
with these draft classes. So they just need to All
they need to do is get a quarterback right. The
only thing they didn't do right Zach Wilson at the
number two. They'll pick and they're trying to address that.
But I do I am not just because I am
(12:08):
a Jets fan, but I do think they will come
out of this when the dust clears, whether it is
Aaron Rodgers my preferred guy that they get, or Derek
Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo or well let's leave it there,
I think they'll have one of those three guys, and
no matter who it is, that will be a big
upgrade of what they had last year. And when you
factor in the team getting healthier and any other editions
(12:29):
on the way, that's gonna make the Jets. I think
absolutely team that should make the plays and if they
don't people are getting fired ers. That's your number one
to brace the cast. Brace the cast. What about the Giants?
Since we're in talking New York teams, I have them
at fourteen after they want a playoff game. I was
a little bit and we talked about it in the
power Workings County. The run to the playoffs included beating
(12:50):
the Vikings twice, who are kind of posers. Let's face it,
you know they weren't a true elite team even though
the records said they were, and then they got absolutely
destroyed by your Eagles in the playoffs. So it's you know,
some of that you it makes you think, is this
team on the eyes or did they really take advantage
of a soft schedule? But they got business to take
care of first? With Daniel Jones and s Kwon Ball
(13:11):
free agents, well, I think that they definitely performed above
what people expected. This was supposed to be kind of
a rebuilding year with Brian day Ball coming in. They
it was basically a year where they just wanted to
answer some big questions that they had with I almost
called him Sae Kwon Jones with Daniel Jones and Seaguon Barkley,
but I think they got their answers. I mean, se
(13:32):
Kuan had an incredible year, so good for him. I
don't know what they're going to do, what their answer
is there, but I think that they got so much
out of Daniel Jones and that's a credit to Brian
day Ball. And you know, I'm not I don't know.
I think that they need to work on their offensive line.
They have a lot of work coming up in the draft.
But I think that they were a surprise this year.
(13:52):
For me. I didn't think that they would be as
good as they were. Maybe it's schedule, maybe it's luck,
maybe it's all of it. Yeah, and we got it.
We should touch on the Lions before we our Lions. Yeah,
before we move on, because our Lions are hard knocks team.
They they have our attention, they have the opponent's respect,
they had a winning season. There's a lot there's going
to be actual expectations this season. Had Jamal Williams was
(14:13):
on the Around the NFL podcast at Media Row and
he was a delight. I must say. I talked to
him as well super Bowl Live. Oh my gosh, what
a personality he has. And I actually talked to Jared
Golf and Aidan Hutchinson at Honors and we talked about
Jamal Williams and they were both like, yeah, that's how
that dude is all of the time, Like it never
(14:35):
turns off. He came out of that conversation thinking, how
does this guy kind of do like day to day life.
I mean, it must be really entertaining to be his friend,
like he legitimately he said, like, I don't do anything
but like watch anime and play video games and answer
the door for door dash And I said, and I
was like, yeah, like do you what about like do
(14:55):
you have a house. He's like, no, I'm not I
don't have a house. Like everything, it's just seems to
be in this this window. But then he had seventeen touchdowns,
so he's doing something right. He's got I mean, he
hasn't figured out I'm pretty sure. And then have the
lines figured out the quarterback situation. That's my big question
I wrote about in power Ranking. Scoff will be back
most likely. The offense is very good with him and
Ben Johnson, though See is also back, but they also
(15:15):
have two first round picks, including a sixth overall selection.
I wonder that's tough. I wonder if they do take
a quarterback. Welcome back to power rankings. Okay, so we
have a quad three. Let's check this out. At seventeen,
the Patriots up one spot from so you were. You
(15:36):
pretty much nailed dot at the really post Brady, they're
just kind of the middle of the road team are
waiting to see which way they'll go. Yeah, it didn't
go much at seventeen, only moved up one spot. But
you have an eighteen the Seahawks. Then at nineteen the Panthers,
who they have a lot of a lot of new
things going on there that they have to figure out.
(15:57):
The Rams at twenty down eighteen spots. Huge disappointment this year.
Let's get to them next. I want to talk about
that for sure. Twenty one the Browns. Same kind of
thing with the Patriots, only up one spot from where
you initially. Yeah, the Titans at two down five spots
after John Robinson had a lot of along the way
(16:18):
I am to the Bucks at twenty three down nineteen spots,
another big disappointment. And then the Raiders as well, they're
in that category to same bucket, down thirteen spots. That
was that was bad job by me and many other people.
Who thought the Raiders with Davante Adams were going to
make a big leap and instead it was kind of
the same old Raiders with Josh McDaniels. But yeah, let's
talk the Rams, because I wouldn't say that's misleading because
(16:40):
our fine producer Drew doesn't mislead anyone with his info.
They did have that huge fall year to year eighteen spots,
but they're also up seven spots since the final week
of the regular season, and that is because hell it's over.
Like that was a nightmare quote unquote title defense, one
of the worst ever. In fact, they had the worst
(17:00):
most amount of losses for any defending Super Bowl champion ever.
But you get to hit the reset button and Matthew
Stafford's already said he's back, Cooper Cup is going to
come back healthy. You're going to have on Aaron Donald
unless he retires, but I don't think he is. He'll
be back healthy, and I think almost most importantly, Sean
McVeigh is coming back. So where I have him now
is obviously a hedge because I have them in the
(17:22):
middle of the pack. And but at the same time,
when it's surprised me if they were back in the
top ten come next September October. No, it wouldn't know.
And I think after the Super Bowl last year, the
expectations are always high for whoever wins, but it was
just such a drop off from what we're used to
with this team. And when von Miller didn't come back,
you thought, Okay, maybe the pass rush could be a
(17:43):
problem this year, but they'll figure it out. And it
just seemed to be doomed from the very beginning from
that Week one game and the Bills just crushed them.
And I remember m J d was on our show
that day and he does the radio for the RAMS broadcast,
and he was talking so much before the show and
(18:04):
then he came down so I mean, he was wearing
his Super Bowl ring, he had the whole thing, and
then afterwards it was extremely deflating for him and of
course all Rams fans all over the place. The whole
season was but it felt like it was over halfway
through the season, Like I felt like their year ended
almost in October. It felt like yeah, and they once
(18:26):
again did try to move number one picks to get
a pass rusher during the season, and that trade actually
didn't happen. And it's like Okay, that's not the worst thing.
Can we just I know, I know. The whole part
of the less need Sean McVeigh thing has been just
keep on putting on the credit card, if you will.
But at some point you're gonna have to start developing
players via the draft and getting some premium picks back
(18:47):
in that building or it's going to be a hard crash.
Maybe they could start doing it this year. Quad for
the last quad the season. Okay, we got the Commanders.
They didn't take a ton of commands. Sierra up five
spots to say it's a twenty six, and they did,
but they failed at twenty six. They have some quarterback
(19:10):
questions of their own that they need to answer this offseason.
The Falcons at seven, up four spots. Once again, they
had so many of those like close games where they
just couldn't get it done. Broncos at eight. Everyone thought
the Broncos would be good Wholf Sean Payton. Maybe Sean
Payton can do something with Russell Wilson. He is he
(19:34):
and Wilson will probably be their quarterback this year, but
if he stinks again, he is playing somewhere else, almost
certainly in Peyton will pick his guy. So this obviously
is a huge and the Broncos had started the season
at eight and they end the season at Cardinals at
nine down spots, and then you have the Texans down
(19:55):
three at thirties, so they stayed pretty consistent along with
the Bears up one spot thirty one, and then the
Colts are the final team in the rankings did last
at thirty two. Actualation. Shane Stike in the new head
coach of the Cults, the former offensive coordinator. He goes
from putting up thirty five points in almost four hundred
twenty yards in the Super Bowl to taking over a
(20:16):
team that really had devolved into a laughing stock of
the UH this past season. But there are some pieces there.
Now I'm going to share though, the team that I
think can make the jump. Do I think they'd make
the jump the way the Jags did into the like
top ten? I'm not there, but my pick is the
Atlanta Falcons. As you pointed out, there were seven and ten,
and I know that's back to back losing seasons for
(20:37):
Arthur Smith since he took over. But I believe that
Smith has this team with limited talent, had them competitive.
They won more games than anyone expected each of the
past two years. Tyler arld Geer is a running back
they could get behind Kyle Pitts obviously in Drake London
are a great one to punch. They just need a quarterback.
And I'm working under the assumption that, like the Jets,
they will come out of this with a veteran quarterback.
(20:58):
I know there's some chatter that we believe in Desmond Ritter. Now,
I think Arthur Smith knows how the NFL works. You
get three years, no matter how bad the program is
when you take over, you're getting by that third year,
if you haven't made the playoffs, you're in a lot
of trouble. He's not going to go down with Desen Ritter.
That's my my thinking. They're gonna get a guy in.
Here's I'll thrown out there. And I feel good about
this because I threw it out there in Good Morning
(21:19):
Football in Shrager. You know, shrag bombs all plugged in.
He nodded his head and said, Wow, Okay, Ryan Tannehill,
Arthur Smith reunion, all those big years in Tennessee. He moves.
I know the Tennessee Titans are looking potentially move forward
without Tannehill put him in Atlanta in that week NFC South.
I'm feeling good about the Falcons win a nine or
ten games. I don't mind that. I'd actually like to
(21:41):
see that, you know what. I also want to go
through the league and look at the teams that have
questionable quarterback situations and rank those teams. All right, let's start,
all right, but there are so many, and we just
passed out behind the glass. You could say, I mean,
you have the Falcons, you have the Panthers, you have
the Saints, you have the Jets. I mean it's almost
(22:03):
like this time of or half the league sometimes feels
like quick, we're gonna do teams that don't have an
answer at quarterback in the top eight. Guess what. Every
team has an answer at quarterback in Tier two. Lions
got to figure that potential. The raven potentially the Ravens.
Ravens h No, Lions have a guy. Jared Daniel Jones
(22:25):
is probably still the guy. The Giants to us healthy.
The Jets obviously that's one. The Patriots maybe they got. Maybe,
the Panthers obviously need one, the Titans they might need one,
The Bucks need one, the Raiders need one. And your
point is spot on Connie because then you go to
the fourth year the commander's name. The Saints need one,
(22:45):
the Falcons need one, The Broncos might need one. The
Cardinals need one for at least half the season most likely.
The Texans Bears no Bears are okay, but they could
trade field. Colts need one. So the teams without quarterback stabilities,
that's the league, that's what it's about. And um, the
Lanta Falcons, they can go into it with Desmond Ritter,
but I think they gonna be a much better team
(23:07):
if they get somebody that can has some sex, you know,
real track record of success. Yeah, we have the thoughts.
Just what a year it's been. You know, I've on
it now. I am. I have never been involved this,
involved in power rankings before. And I feel like I
took the ride. I took the ride with you, and
it was a roller coaster for sure. That's what it is.
(23:28):
You know, you can't get too high like the team's
you know, you can't get too high and too low.
You got to kind of keep a nice, steady take.
My my dad, Keith was with you before the I
have a daddy, it okay that works on Park Avenue
and a dad. He's like, Colleen, you do Power Rankings
with Danny great, But you did do a great job college.
(23:52):
There was a lot of fun than this road. Thank
you to Drew and everybody behind the glass for taking
us through this wild adventure, the road through each season
it is over. We'll catch you as Towy three season approaches.
Until then, you know what you gotta do. Heed the call.
(24:15):
I'm gonna go take a seven month napp. NFL Power
Rankings is a production of the NFL in partnership with
I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
partnership with I Heart Radio. The Welcome to the NFL
Power Rankings podcast presented by energizers Still going, Well, not true, Connie,
I'm Dan Hansas, Colleen Will because we're not gonna be
(00:24):
still going because this is the season finale of Power
rank Anything is over and done. Now we've reached the
NFL no now goes into a quiet, respectful hibernation until September.
That's how this works, right, That's when we'll come back.
You know. That is how not how the NFL machine works.
(00:45):
But this podcast, which we thank everyone who is watched
and listened along all season, is reaching its conclusion fittingly. Connie,
after Super Bowl fifty seven, the old Zeuser, that's me.
After I got off the plane, um, Roger Goodell personally
shot me a text and said, son, I'm gonna need
five thousand words on one through thirty two. Roger Adell
(01:08):
as your dad in some ways he is. He's not
my dad, and he's my daddy on some level. So
I cranked it out. It's up on the website. You
can check it out at NFL dot com, slash Power
Rankings and now, Connie, we will talk about the final reveal.
And obviously the Chiefs were triumphant in the Super Bowl
fifty seven over your Philadelphia Eagles in a all time classic.
(01:31):
I would put it in the top ten all time
super Bowls. Not the Before we go through the top ten,
I just want to top eight. I want to check
in with you, Connie. Where are you at emotionally? I mean,
things were going pretty well obviously for the Eagles, and
then they weren't. Level of disappointment one at a ten
and you can go up to his high seventy seven. Well,
I wish I could give you a level, but I'm
(01:53):
completely dead inside, so it's not really there's no reading
on it at this point. Yeah, listen, I the fact
that I'm here right now just a husk. My body
is here physically, but I don't know where the rest
of me is. It's not with us, No, it's you know,
the the Eagles. They took a piece of me with
that game, and I left it at State Farm Stadium.
Can I ask you, in terms of most difficult Eagles losses,
(02:15):
is it the toughest one? This was very disappointing because
of the game flow and the way that the Eagles
looked coming out of the game, and the entire first
half they looked so great. And it was interesting because
I sat in a section that was both Chiefs and
Eagles fans, and everyone was pretty nice in the section,
but it was a lot of disappointed Chiefs fans, a
(02:37):
ton of Eagles fans just chirping and celebrating, and then
the tide shifted and it was just so upsetting. Yeah,
and I was going to say we were both in
the stadium in different areas, but I thought it was
probably a sixty five thirty five breakdown in terms of
Eagles fans over Chiefs fans and the place there were
moments in a Super Bowl game. It's gotten to the
(02:59):
point in the Super Bowls that we've been to where
really is an active, loud crowd on both ends when
scores happened. But this game really did. Like the first
the Pachenko touchdown in the third quarter, it actually got
quiet and it was like, these are Eagles sas you
could sense the tension of realizing that Mahomes was starting
to Mahomes and things were slipping away. I'm sorry, but
that needs to be done. I did text you guys
(03:21):
you and Dan or you are Dan, Dan and Dan
and then inside correct, I am telling the truth. I'm
being completely tru I texted you guys in the middle
of that game and I was like, no matter what happens,
this isn't also Super Bowl. This game was so good
and the Chiefs, they looked incredible in that second half.
(03:42):
Patrick Mahomes, I thought that he was hurt at one point.
I didn't think that he was going to be able
to finish the game. And that was something that I
didn't want to see. I wanted both of these teams
to be full strength, and they were and minus the consitions,
and I know, I was like, I'm being the bigger person.
I want these teams to be like at full strength.
Yea was a terrible um. Let's now check the first
(04:07):
eight teams in the final power rankings that are up
again at NFL dot com. Yes, the Chiefs and Kyle
Brandon has mentioned it last month and it is still
in the back of my mind. My last power rankings ever,
whenever that is, whenever Daddy deems it to be over
in this job, or if I say I literally can't
be yelled at on the internet any longer. I will
(04:27):
put the winner of the Super Bowl number two in
the power rankings. That that's how you go out, that's
how you bring that's how you get that cloud. But
not today. The Kansas City Chiefs are number one, and
I we had where they were at the start of
the regular season of the power rankings. So I, like
many others, were sucked in by the a f C
West and the idea that it was going to be
this big division with teams just beating each other up
(04:50):
and Tyreek Hill out the door. So but guess what
the Chiefs figured out there at one The Eagles another
team Connie is as as disappointing as it was back
in early September. You weren't sure really what to make
of them. I wasn't alone. I had them four team
to start the season. They ended number two, the Bengals.
I was highing them all year. They finished at number three, Niners,
(05:11):
number four, Bills five, Cowboys six up. They finished at seven,
and the Chargers eight ending the post Super Bowl power rankings.
Let's get into little Chiefs now. I mean, I I
think Connie um mahomes, what he was able to do
in the game and the reason they won. I think
(05:32):
was the greatest strength of the Eagles in a lot
of ways was that pass rush that had seventy eight
sacks and zero sacks in the Super Bowl. And once
you took away that, it was like removing the kryptonite
from that side of the ball, right And we knew
that that was going to be the way for the
Eagles to get a win, to beat Patrick Mahomes and
this offense because Patrick Mahomes was dealing with that ankle,
and then you saw that it was still very much
(05:54):
an issue when he was hit again and it was reaggravated.
But the pass rush on both sides, they just could
not get their footing on the field, and you saw
there was one I can't believe there was one play
in particular where both Josh Sweat and Hassan Reddick felt
like just slipped off on both ends and it happened
almost in concert. It was almost synchronized. And even Frank
(06:16):
Clark after the game said that the conditions were terrible,
like both teams had to play on it, which it
just it doesn't really make a ton of sense to me,
but I think that that was played a huge factor
in this game. And when you have the connection that
Mahomes has with Travis Kelsey, it just you're going to
be able to win, and you're going with Andy Reid
scheming things up and being so creative and having all
(06:37):
of the misdirection that they have to kind of confuse
this Eagles defense. It was an unbelievable comeback for the Chiefs. Yeah,
and down ten points at halftime. You know, they get
the defensive score off the Hurts fumble in the first half,
they kind of in the end kept them in the game.
And then what do they have to do to win
by three points? They needed to score every time they
had the ball in the second half, three touchdowns and
(06:59):
the go ahead field goal. They take the Super Bowl
and men and Mahomes. It's hard to believe, but he
recently turned and he's not going anywhere. And as long
as Mahomes is around a guy that is absolutely already
in the competition as the best quarterback ever. Andy Reid
now bumping into that conversation we talked about the greatest
coaches ever, Chiefs aren't going anywhere. And I think it
(07:19):
was a learning lesson for bozos like me and others
who kept overlooking what was going on here that Mahomes.
Even as recently as the last time we did this show,
Connie and I had the Chiefs at number four, and
I was all pumped up on Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
This is their time and it was just like, that's
why Kelsey screaming into the mic after the game, like,
you guys thought our time had passed, We're in our prime. Still,
(07:41):
this is their moment and they proved it. That was
the huge thing in the off season. Has the a
f C passed the Chiefs. Every team loaded up, they
figured out pass rushes, they have playmakers, and it seemed
like that division was going to be just such a
massive problem for everyone. And at the end of the day,
it was still the Chiefs that came out on top.
All right, as we look at elsewhere on the top
(08:02):
A what jumps out to you there, comell? I mean,
obviously the Jags. The Jags up twenty two points was
just I mean, when we we lost time. Now, by
the way for power Moves presented by Energizer, they're a
perfect team to talk about. The Jacks. Yes, and listen,
you you talked about at the beginning of the year,
so I feel like you had a big part in
(08:25):
their come up. Well, like, congratulations to you. It's a
good way to look at it. I will when we
get to the lower tier, I'm gonna throw out my
early prediction for who will be the Jaguars in the
back quadrant of the power rankings. But yeah, they're a
team that's set up obviously very well. I mean, your
boy Doug Peterson, who has that Super Bowl trophy with
the Eagles, has not obviously he's not my homes but
(08:48):
he has a young quarterback who's not going anywhere, and
they are still in that window where they could load
up in terms of free agent spending because Lawrence is
on an affordable contract. This is the window, and I
think you're gonna see the Jaguars basically be presented come
August as a heavy favorite in the out and getting
some Super Bowl buzz depending on how their offseason goes well.
They went on a five game win streak to finish
(09:10):
out the season, and Doug Peterson, he just had this team.
When you go from where they were before with Urban Meyer,
and then you bring in an actual head coach that
is a people person that cares about his staff, that
cares about his players, Doug Peterson. I'm just such a
big fan of him from having worked with him in Philadelphia.
(09:30):
This guy came in and is the perfect head coach
to work with Trevor Lawrence help him develop. We saw
him take those steps this year. We saw where his
potential can be and where he can go. Its future
is so bright. Of course, they have some defensive holes
that they need to fix, but they are in such
good shape going forward. And to just throw a little
bit of rain on the parade, okay, as it were,
(09:52):
I did write about Trayvon Walker. You know, he he
didn't make the difference that they were hoping in year one.
I know he was kind of touted as a highly
talented but raw player. But then when Aidan Hutchinson has
a big is the number two pick, and then Sauce
Gardner goes first team All Pro at cornerback at the
fourth pick to the Lions and Jets, respectively, you start
to think to yourself, as a fan of the team, man,
(10:14):
what do we got one of those dudes? So yeah,
there is that little element of it. You need Walker
to kind of live up to his draft stock, to
beef up that pass rush, which which is very necessary
and will be expected quite frankly, Walker, Let's check out
Tier two Lions. They are up sixteen spots from week
(10:39):
one to number nine, the Vikings up ten spots to ten,
the Ravens at eleven, Packers twelve. I don't know. This
is where it's Sometimes the timing of the power rankings
gets a little tricky. So how much was the rank
the Packers when the quarterback Hall of Fame quarterback is
literally in a retreat. Yeah, like isolation and solitary confinement.
(11:05):
What so I just stuck him in twelve? And then
will you know, let God sorted out for the darkness.
God's um. I guess that's sure. Hell, I don't know.
Steelers thirteen with a lot of promise. I felt that
was a little too high obviously as they made the list,
but they did finish the season well. The Giants at fourteen,
up fourteen spots week one, the Dolphins at fifteen, and
(11:26):
I got the Jets who opened the season for me
at twenty six. I have them up ten spots at sixteen.
And yes, you're like, oh, but Dan, like, they didn't
get that quarterback yet. Yeah, so I can't really project that,
but I can say they will get Elijah Bara Tucker back,
They'll get Briefe hallback. This team is one decent quarterback
away from being a contender in the a f C
(11:46):
and they swept the Rookie honors Offensive Defensive Rookie of
the Year. I mean, this team has great building blocks
that feel like Joe Douglass did such a good job
with these draft classes. So they just need to All
they need to do is get a quarterback right. The
only thing they didn't do right Zach Wilson at the
number two. They'll pick and they're trying to address that.
But I do I am not just because I am
(12:08):
a Jets fan, but I do think they will come
out of this when the dust clears, whether it is
Aaron Rodgers my preferred guy that they get, or Derek
Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo or well let's leave it there,
I think they'll have one of those three guys, and
no matter who it is, that will be a big
upgrade of what they had last year. And when you
factor in the team getting healthier and any other editions
(12:29):
on the way, that's gonna make the Jets. I think
absolutely team that should make the plays and if they
don't people are getting fired ers. That's your number one
to brace the cast. Brace the cast. What about the Giants?
Since we're in talking New York teams, I have them
at fourteen after they want a playoff game. I was
a little bit and we talked about it in the
power Workings County. The run to the playoffs included beating
(12:50):
the Vikings twice, who are kind of posers. Let's face it,
you know they weren't a true elite team even though
the records said they were, and then they got absolutely
destroyed by your Eagles in the playoffs. So it's you know,
some of that you it makes you think, is this
team on the eyes or did they really take advantage
of a soft schedule? But they got business to take
care of first? With Daniel Jones and s Kwon Ball
(13:11):
free agents, well, I think that they definitely performed above
what people expected. This was supposed to be kind of
a rebuilding year with Brian day Ball coming in. They
it was basically a year where they just wanted to
answer some big questions that they had with I almost
called him Sae Kwon Jones with Daniel Jones and Seaguon Barkley,
but I think they got their answers. I mean, se
(13:32):
Kuan had an incredible year, so good for him. I
don't know what they're going to do, what their answer
is there, but I think that they got so much
out of Daniel Jones and that's a credit to Brian
day Ball. And you know, I'm not I don't know.
I think that they need to work on their offensive line.
They have a lot of work coming up in the draft.
But I think that they were a surprise this year.
(13:52):
For me. I didn't think that they would be as
good as they were. Maybe it's schedule, maybe it's luck,
maybe it's all of it. Yeah, and we got it.
We should touch on the Lions before we our Lions. Yeah,
before we move on, because our Lions are hard knocks team.
They they have our attention, they have the opponent's respect,
they had a winning season. There's a lot there's going
to be actual expectations this season. Had Jamal Williams was
(14:13):
on the Around the NFL podcast at Media Row and
he was a delight. I must say. I talked to
him as well super Bowl Live. Oh my gosh, what
a personality he has. And I actually talked to Jared
Golf and Aidan Hutchinson at Honors and we talked about
Jamal Williams and they were both like, yeah, that's how
that dude is all of the time, Like it never
(14:35):
turns off. He came out of that conversation thinking, how
does this guy kind of do like day to day life.
I mean, it must be really entertaining to be his friend,
like he legitimately he said, like, I don't do anything
but like watch anime and play video games and answer
the door for door dash And I said, and I
was like, yeah, like do you what about like do
(14:55):
you have a house. He's like, no, I'm not I
don't have a house. Like everything, it's just seems to
be in this this window. But then he had seventeen touchdowns,
so he's doing something right. He's got I mean, he
hasn't figured out I'm pretty sure. And then have the
lines figured out the quarterback situation. That's my big question
I wrote about in power Ranking. Scoff will be back
most likely. The offense is very good with him and
Ben Johnson, though See is also back, but they also
(15:15):
have two first round picks, including a sixth overall selection.
I wonder that's tough. I wonder if they do take
a quarterback. Welcome back to power rankings. Okay, so we
have a quad three. Let's check this out. At seventeen,
the Patriots up one spot from so you were. You
(15:36):
pretty much nailed dot at the really post Brady, they're
just kind of the middle of the road team are
waiting to see which way they'll go. Yeah, it didn't
go much at seventeen, only moved up one spot. But
you have an eighteen the Seahawks. Then at nineteen the Panthers,
who they have a lot of a lot of new
things going on there that they have to figure out.
(15:57):
The Rams at twenty down eighteen spots. Huge disappointment this year.
Let's get to them next. I want to talk about
that for sure. Twenty one the Browns. Same kind of
thing with the Patriots, only up one spot from where
you initially. Yeah, the Titans at two down five spots
after John Robinson had a lot of along the way
(16:18):
I am to the Bucks at twenty three down nineteen spots,
another big disappointment. And then the Raiders as well, they're
in that category to same bucket, down thirteen spots. That
was that was bad job by me and many other people.
Who thought the Raiders with Davante Adams were going to
make a big leap and instead it was kind of
the same old Raiders with Josh McDaniels. But yeah, let's
talk the Rams, because I wouldn't say that's misleading because
(16:40):
our fine producer Drew doesn't mislead anyone with his info.
They did have that huge fall year to year eighteen spots,
but they're also up seven spots since the final week
of the regular season, and that is because hell it's over.
Like that was a nightmare quote unquote title defense, one
of the worst ever. In fact, they had the worst
(17:00):
most amount of losses for any defending Super Bowl champion ever.
But you get to hit the reset button and Matthew
Stafford's already said he's back, Cooper Cup is going to
come back healthy. You're going to have on Aaron Donald
unless he retires, but I don't think he is. He'll
be back healthy, and I think almost most importantly, Sean
McVeigh is coming back. So where I have him now
is obviously a hedge because I have them in the
(17:22):
middle of the pack. And but at the same time,
when it's surprised me if they were back in the
top ten come next September October. No, it wouldn't know.
And I think after the Super Bowl last year, the
expectations are always high for whoever wins, but it was
just such a drop off from what we're used to
with this team. And when von Miller didn't come back,
you thought, Okay, maybe the pass rush could be a
(17:43):
problem this year, but they'll figure it out. And it
just seemed to be doomed from the very beginning from
that Week one game and the Bills just crushed them.
And I remember m J d was on our show
that day and he does the radio for the RAMS broadcast,
and he was talking so much before the show and
(18:04):
then he came down so I mean, he was wearing
his Super Bowl ring, he had the whole thing, and
then afterwards it was extremely deflating for him and of
course all Rams fans all over the place. The whole
season was but it felt like it was over halfway
through the season, Like I felt like their year ended
almost in October. It felt like yeah, and they once
(18:26):
again did try to move number one picks to get
a pass rusher during the season, and that trade actually
didn't happen. And it's like Okay, that's not the worst thing.
Can we just I know, I know. The whole part
of the less need Sean McVeigh thing has been just
keep on putting on the credit card, if you will.
But at some point you're gonna have to start developing
players via the draft and getting some premium picks back
(18:47):
in that building or it's going to be a hard crash.
Maybe they could start doing it this year. Quad for
the last quad the season. Okay, we got the Commanders.
They didn't take a ton of commands. Sierra up five
spots to say it's a twenty six, and they did,
but they failed at twenty six. They have some quarterback
(19:10):
questions of their own that they need to answer this offseason.
The Falcons at seven, up four spots. Once again, they
had so many of those like close games where they
just couldn't get it done. Broncos at eight. Everyone thought
the Broncos would be good Wholf Sean Payton. Maybe Sean
Payton can do something with Russell Wilson. He is he
(19:34):
and Wilson will probably be their quarterback this year, but
if he stinks again, he is playing somewhere else, almost
certainly in Peyton will pick his guy. So this obviously
is a huge and the Broncos had started the season
at eight and they end the season at Cardinals at
nine down spots, and then you have the Texans down
(19:55):
three at thirties, so they stayed pretty consistent along with
the Bears up one spot thirty one, and then the
Colts are the final team in the rankings did last
at thirty two. Actualation. Shane Stike in the new head
coach of the Cults, the former offensive coordinator. He goes
from putting up thirty five points in almost four hundred
twenty yards in the Super Bowl to taking over a
(20:16):
team that really had devolved into a laughing stock of
the UH this past season. But there are some pieces there.
Now I'm going to share though, the team that I
think can make the jump. Do I think they'd make
the jump the way the Jags did into the like
top ten? I'm not there, but my pick is the
Atlanta Falcons. As you pointed out, there were seven and ten,
and I know that's back to back losing seasons for
(20:37):
Arthur Smith since he took over. But I believe that
Smith has this team with limited talent, had them competitive.
They won more games than anyone expected each of the
past two years. Tyler arld Geer is a running back
they could get behind Kyle Pitts obviously in Drake London
are a great one to punch. They just need a quarterback.
And I'm working under the assumption that, like the Jets,
they will come out of this with a veteran quarterback.
(20:58):
I know there's some chatter that we believe in Desmond Ritter. Now,
I think Arthur Smith knows how the NFL works. You
get three years, no matter how bad the program is
when you take over, you're getting by that third year,
if you haven't made the playoffs, you're in a lot
of trouble. He's not going to go down with Desen Ritter.
That's my my thinking. They're gonna get a guy in.
Here's I'll thrown out there. And I feel good about
this because I threw it out there in Good Morning
(21:19):
Football in Shrager. You know, shrag bombs all plugged in.
He nodded his head and said, Wow, Okay, Ryan Tannehill,
Arthur Smith reunion, all those big years in Tennessee. He moves.
I know the Tennessee Titans are looking potentially move forward
without Tannehill put him in Atlanta in that week NFC South.
I'm feeling good about the Falcons win a nine or
ten games. I don't mind that. I'd actually like to
(21:41):
see that, you know what. I also want to go
through the league and look at the teams that have
questionable quarterback situations and rank those teams. All right, let's start,
all right, but there are so many, and we just
passed out behind the glass. You could say, I mean,
you have the Falcons, you have the Panthers, you have
the Saints, you have the Jets. I mean it's almost
(22:03):
like this time of or half the league sometimes feels
like quick, we're gonna do teams that don't have an
answer at quarterback in the top eight. Guess what. Every
team has an answer at quarterback in Tier two. Lions
got to figure that potential. The raven potentially the Ravens.
Ravens h No, Lions have a guy. Jared Daniel Jones
(22:25):
is probably still the guy. The Giants to us healthy.
The Jets obviously that's one. The Patriots maybe they got. Maybe,
the Panthers obviously need one, the Titans they might need one,
The Bucks need one, the Raiders need one. And your
point is spot on Connie because then you go to
the fourth year the commander's name. The Saints need one,
(22:45):
the Falcons need one, The Broncos might need one. The
Cardinals need one for at least half the season most likely.
The Texans Bears no Bears are okay, but they could
trade field. Colts need one. So the teams without quarterback stabilities,
that's the league, that's what it's about. And um, the
Lanta Falcons, they can go into it with Desmond Ritter,
but I think they gonna be a much better team
(23:07):
if they get somebody that can has some sex, you know,
real track record of success. Yeah, we have the thoughts.
Just what a year it's been. You know, I've on
it now. I am. I have never been involved this,
involved in power rankings before. And I feel like I
took the ride. I took the ride with you, and
it was a roller coaster for sure. That's what it is.
(23:28):
You know, you can't get too high like the team's
you know, you can't get too high and too low.
You got to kind of keep a nice, steady take.
My my dad, Keith was with you before the I
have a daddy, it okay that works on Park Avenue
and a dad. He's like, Colleen, you do Power Rankings
with Danny great, But you did do a great job college.
(23:52):
There was a lot of fun than this road. Thank
you to Drew and everybody behind the glass for taking
us through this wild adventure, the road through each season
it is over. We'll catch you as Towy three season approaches.
Until then, you know what you gotta do. Heed the call.
(24:15):
I'm gonna go take a seven month napp. NFL Power
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