October 14, 2025 • 23 mins
On the latest Power Rankings Podcast, Mike Yam and Eric Edholm examine the latest power rankings, with teams in spots they've never been before.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
partnership with iHeartRadio. Wow.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
It's a brand new edition of NFL Power Rankings. Mike
Amman Eric at Home with You. Of course, you could
check out Eric's complete column, a ranking of all thirty
two teams with analysis on NFL dot com. We're going
to go through a whole big list of teams right now,
and some squads that deserve a ton of love. In fact,
a historic moment coming up in that number one spot.
But Eric, I think the best place to start is
(00:35):
something that our producer, Heem said before we started recording.
He said he likes it murky, and it feels like
that's a good way to describe the Power Rankings. Heading
into Week seven.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I asked myself who is the best team in the NFL?
And then I asked it again and then a third time.
Every time one of those top teams lost this week,
I had to recalibrate everything. So it was a chore,
but it was fun and I think people will have
something to talk about after they see where I put
certain teams.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Okay, so we have some history here as we get
you our rankings, and the history is the number one
team that moves up three spot. They are a five
to one squad. It is the Tampa Bay Bucks. In
the history of power rankings, Eric has never had them
sitting in this position. The Lions, they drop a spot
to four and two. We got the Seahawks, whoa at three,
the Bills. I think there might be some pushback on
(01:20):
this one based off of these back to back losses
for them. The Packers at five, the Eagles free fall
four spots to six. You got the Rams at seven,
and the Colts at eight. Eric, I want to focus
in on this number one team. I read your column
on NFL dot Com. I'm powerphrasing here where you describe
it as maybe not a clear cut number one, I
would say it is a clear cut I think where
(01:41):
you have the Bucks is accurate. They should be the
number one team. They have five wins on the season.
There's no excuses with this team. Doesn't matter who's hurt.
They're still delivering. When another team is banged up and
they lose the go ah they're missing one or two
players here, it is like a revolving door at the
wide receiver spot. Even in the backfield for Baker Mayfield,
who's probably at least in paste right now, on pace
to be the MVP of the year.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Yeah, I mean again, I kind of gave him a
soft endorsement. Look, this is a team that I thought
I picked preseason to get to the Super Bowl. I
believed in Baker still do, obviously even more after seeing him,
you know, uncorked deep balls like this, and every week
it seems to have a crazy scramble. So I definitely
think you're right about the MVP case. Look, I mean,
I'm sure there'll still be some Josh Allen love after
(02:22):
his Monday struggles. You know, Mahomes is kind of back
on the rise, maybe a dark horse like Drake May,
but you know, pound for pound, I think Baker's doing
the job right now.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
And you mentioned the receivers, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Relying on the brothers Johnson, right, Tess and Cameron not
the biggest guys in the world, Kate Otten, et cetera.
When they get their full compliment of receivers back, which
they're expected to, this could be a deadly team. But
right now they're going to have to sweat it out
and they've got a tough one coming up this week
against the Lions in Detroit, So we'll see if this
is a one week stay or if they're built the last.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
And by the way, keep in mind here, this is
not a fluffed up five wins. It's back to back
weeks where we're talking about a Seahawks squad who we're
buyers in. You actually have him three right now in
your power rankings, and I do think I know the
Niners are banged up. By the way, I'm using that
excuse of injuries. I know they're banged up, with the
Niners also a pretty good football team as well, and
this sets up a really big Monday night matchup against
(03:14):
the Detroit Lions. You have sitting at number two. Are
you concerned right now with what you saw against Kansas City?
Like I can story in my mind a loss, and
I know, once again there's injuries on that defense, especially
in that secondary. What concerned me was an inability to
be effective on offense against Casey's defense.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
No doubt about it.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I mean, look, they had this play at the beginning
of the game there on fourth down. It looked like
another brilliant lines play, callback by penalties settle for field goal.
So in a game where the Chiefs made a kind
of an eight possession game. Every possession counted quite a bit.
Everyone counted a lot. The Chiefs relied on great red
zone defense, key stops, third downs, etc. Two minute drill,
(03:55):
and they pulled it off. I mean, when Golf hit
a Laporta for that touchdown, I thought, Okay, here we go,
buckle up. But it just never happened. Those next couple
of drives didn't materialize. And you know, Patrick Mahomes played
a great game. And that's one other word I had
with this Detroit team. More good than bad on defense
this season. However, when you look at them against the Packers,
(04:17):
against the lamar Led Ravens, against Mahomes and the Chiefs,
they're less effective. So yes, there are concerns on both sides.
But I still believe in kind of the fabric of
this operation, and I do believe they'll bounce back, including
you know, giving the Bucks all they can handle.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
I believe.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, we're going to talk about the Kansas City Chiefs
in a couple of minutes here on power rankings because
they deserve some love, especially when we're knocking on the
door of a return from Rashid Rice. And I think
this win puts them back into the conversation as one
of the leagues the league, because I was kind of
on the fence about it. The Seahawks. You're buying this
team right now, saying in the third spot, tell me
on why you think that they deserve to be here.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Yeah, two close losses at home, and obviously they got
to play better at Luminfield. But when you see what
Mike McDonald has done on the road, going ten to one,
including nine straight wins, it tells you something, right. They're
able to translate the run game. That's a big part
of their success. Certainly the defense and the pressure that
they create, even with the questions in the secondary, those
(05:15):
things travel they do well, right.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
But you also have.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Sam Darnold and Jackson Smith and Jigba both having very
fine seasons.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
Smith and Jigba.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
You know, if you told me he was the best
receiver in the NFL right now, I wouldn't push back
a lot right now. He's certainly in the top three
or four, excellent at what he does. They have a
well rounded attack. They don't kill themselves with mistakes. They
bounce back from that one poor effort last week against
the Bucks defensively, So a lot of good with this team.
You know, again, it's more of a synergistic thing. A
(05:43):
lot of the pieces all kind of adding up together,
as opposed to that one superstar player who just carries
the whole operation.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
So that's a good thing, I think.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And you know, maybe three is a little higher than
I expected to have him this week. But the way
things shaked out, you know, shook out, that's where they're
landing right now.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Is this a regional thing, because I think the national
landscape doesn't doesn't buy Seahawks at three. I think you
would get pushed back depending on who you were talking
to and where they're based. But to your point on JSN,
if he's playing in a different market, and Seattle's a
big market, but maybe on the other side of the country,
you know, the reality is I think people would be
talking about him as maybe the best wide receiver in
(06:20):
the NFL. And I know there's quarterback issues right now
in Minnesota and certainly in Cincinnati, which is why that
JJ Jamar Chase situation is a little bit different. But
this guy deserves his flowers, and so does Sam Darnold.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Absolutely yeah, I mean again, we've seen some tremendous performances
this year from like Jonathan Taylor with the Colts and
Jackson Smith and Jigba b Jon Robinson in Atlanta. You know,
in a year where a lot of the quarterbacks are
injured or not in the running for MVP, maybe this
is the year where we start thinking about a non
QB as MVP again, Digress.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
I get off my soapbox there.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
But Smith and Jigbo when they traded DK Metcalf, they
had an idea of what he was capable of as.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
A true number one and Mike, you look around the league,
there really aren't.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
As many true number one receivers as we thought they
were we think there should be probably, so he's one
of a select few.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
It's actually a great call, and I haven't heard too
many people talk about that. You don't trade and get
rid of a DK Metcalf if you don't have supreme
confidence in JSN, and it clearly did. My confidence level
on the Buffalo Bills right now, it's teetering a little bit.
I think Atlanta's defense is real, right, So I'm like, Okay,
what I saw Monday night is one thing they've owned
this division and the Patriots in the last game handling
(07:32):
business against them. What's the concern that you have around
Josh Allen's team.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Not often we see these guys in second place, but
believe it or not, that's where they are right now,
behind New England after that game in Week six. So yeah,
I mean the operation just seems broken, right. I mean,
we're talking about James Cook having a pretty good night
run in the football and they score fourteen points and
don't even get to three hundred yards. Even with Atlanta's
defense playing at a high level. That's very unbills like,
(07:57):
especially in a dome. So look, I mean you could
say it's two straight losses, and that's true, but I
think it goes back farther than that. Look at the
Miami game the New Orleans game, they had their struggles
in both really not playing as efficiently as they should
be offensively and defensively. You saw in the first half
they were up against it, couldn't close it out obviously
in the second half either. And you know, just the
(08:19):
lack of weapons right now for Josh Allen, I mean,
Kinkaid couldn't play, Palmer gets hurt. I think this bye week,
you know they're going to have to do some soul surging.
It's possible that we look back a month or two
from now and say, Okay.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
That was a blip on a radar. They had to
get over that stretch.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
They're going to get some reinforcements back from suspension and
injury and things like that. That may all be true,
but right now, the way you described him is absolutely right,
and putting them at four is probably a lot higher
than a lot of people will have them. I still
think they're going to end up in that region, but
right now it's looking like a problem.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, I'm with you there. I don't know if I
could sell myself on Buffalo being for currently. By the way,
fans in Atlanta, don't worry. We're going to give you
guys some love in a little bit here. They were
a significant mover in the power rankings. That's still yeah,
the Eagles. They're sitting at the top of the power
rankings there for a couple of weeks, and they continue
to sort of drop. They move to six. I guess
(09:12):
the same question applies to them. How concerned are you,
as a team that's consistently getting out gained this season
that they are still one of the premier teams in
the NFL.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
The things offensively have not been totally right all season.
Even if we saw some strides on Thursday, again, didn't
really translate to the scoreboard and affect the game very much.
But even if there were strides, it still isn't good enough.
And you know, you take Jail and Carter off that defense,
significant blow.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
But they shouldn't play that poorly.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
They shouldn't look that unprepared for the athleticism of Jackson Dart.
I mean, they just played two pretty agile quarterbacks prior
to that, so it surprised me a little that they
sort of came out very flat defensively, flat offensively as well.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
We're tackling poor sort.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Of attention to detail, I would say, and especially in
those early drives. So you know, we've got two more
games till the bye, tough one at Minnesota, interesting one
at the very least, and then a rematch against that
Giants team. If they're not kind of back on the upswing,
I'll tell you what, they're going to be a lot
lower than six heading into the by given what we've
seen recently.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, because I think you look in this division and
it feels a little different and more up in the
air than I think people would have imagined. You're right.
They go on the road against Minnesota as their next opponent.
It is an interesting matchup because of what the Vikings
do defensively could create some problems for Jalen Hurts and
this Eagles offense. All right, there is one team that
(10:35):
has been bawling so far this season. So let's dive
in on this eighth team, and that is this Indianapolis
Colt squad. I think you could have moved them up
into the top four, right behind Seattle at number three.
They're pretty complete football team, Eric, I mean, like, what
else do you want to see from them? Like? Why
not move them up ahead of the guys like the
Eagles and the Bills.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I was prepared to and I watched that game Sunday
and it was an uphill climb for them, I mean
against Jacoby Brissett and Arizona in their building, and so
you know, Dane Jones threw an early pick and that
kind of got them off rhythm a little bit, although
they took the ball right back and it was just
tough sledding and defensively, it worries me a little bit
that a backup QB can come in and give them
(11:16):
some trouble and have a chance to win the game
at games in there. So you know, I know, every
seems like every contender could use a cornerback right now.
The Colts are certainly among those. I mean, the secondary
right now feels a little thin, but offensively leaving the
NFL and scoring getting some help from their defense and
special teams as well. But that offense has been chugging
every single week. The one twenty point game, everything else
(11:39):
I think has been over twenty eight. So points have
not been a problem this season. But if they start
running up against those elite teams that also can score,
you know, are they able to win those kinds of
track meets. Are they able to go on the road
and win those tough games. Those are the only questions
I have with them right now.
Speaker 4 (11:54):
I love the operation, but.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Jacksonville and Houston are going to have a little something
to say about this Division two. I think, yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Think Jonathan Taylor should also be in that MVP conversation.
I know it's typically a quarterback a week, but he
has been terrific. I thought when I had asked you
about where you'd want to slot them, Eric, I thought
you were gonna mention their schedule and the fact that
there's some room to really rise here. You were sort
of baking it in Miami, Denver, Tennessee, the Rams, Vegas,
and Arizona. So it's not exactly like a slew of
(12:20):
Gangbusters here. So there is an opportunity for the Colts
to continue to rise in the power rankings. Meanwhile, we
staw have more to come here on power rankings. Kansas
City handling business against the team that I thought was
the best team in the NFL up until the matchup
against Kansas City, and that's the Detroit Lions. Where does
Eric put case? The answer to that is coming up next.
I'll back here on power rankings. Eric at home and
(12:41):
Mike am with you, and all is right in the world.
In Kansas City, moving up three spots back into the
top ten. They're sitting with a five hundred record. They
sit at number nine in the power rankings. We'll talk
Steelers in just a moment. They're at ten. The Broncos
they drop a spot despite a win and boy that
was a tough one at times against the Jets in London.
At twelve, it's the Commanders who fall three spots thirteen,
(13:02):
it's the Jags who drop two spots. The Chargers remain
even at fourteen, it's the Niners and the Patriots sitting
at fifteen and sixteen. Time for the Team of the
Week and is presented by Truest at number nine. Eric,
We've got a Kansas City team that all of a sudden,
offensively is looking like an offensive team that we had anticipated.
Ninety five points they have scored over the last three games,
(13:23):
most in a three game span since twenty twenty one.
More reinforcements coming. Rashid Rice is going to be back
coming off of that suspension. Do we just say like, hey,
like we're good Kansas City, Like this is a team
that once again can make a real push and get
to an AFC Championship game and maybe even back to
the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yeah, They've they've been up and down so far, right,
and I tried to factor that in.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
I mean, having them at nine.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Look, would they be favored against more than, you know,
than twenty four other teams? Probably, Yeah, I think they might.
But we still want to see a little more consistency.
But obviously, you know, this last game against the Lions
was their best showing of the year. I think considering
the opponent and everything that was at stake coming off
the Jaguars loss, then maybe we put too much into
(14:04):
that loss too. Right, that's a pretty functionally good team
this year, all things said, So Mahomes really taking over.
That's the guy we want to see. And now, like
you said, the full complement of weapons the most important part.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Brown has a couple scores worthy gets in the end
zone early. You add rice to that equation, they're going
to be awfully tough to cover.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
I think you're going to see teams go zone and
see Pat pick them apart, and we'll get back to
that level of Chiefs offense that we expected prior to
the last couple of years when things kind of slowed
down a little bit. So is it going to be
that way every week? Who knows, But they're back.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I think home game for them against the Raiders coming
up at number ten Steelers, they actually move five spots up,
which is a positive. Here, I was sitting in the
green room. We're watching two games on Monday night football,
Steve watch. I'm working with him. He goes, hey, who's
the best team in the AFC? And I kind of paused,
and I was like, I don't know if i'd say
the Steelers, but is there a case for them right now?
(14:57):
Sitting with this record.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
We've seen strides offensively, We've seen strides defensively. The protection
for Aaron Rodgers has gotten better. A lot of positive
trends happening here, right. I mean, you know, early in
the season, nearly losing Week one of the Jets, you know,
having kind of a sloppy game against the Patriots and
then making a ton of mistakes and sort of just
barely clawing by. So I had my doubts earlier. I
had them in the teens, and I kind of held
(15:20):
back on them. But you keep winning games and Rogers
makes throws like this, dk Metcalf earning his investment, right,
I mean, he's gotten in the end zone of almost
every game, So you know.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
It's very encouraging.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
And if you just look at the big landscape the
last three weeks, the Steelers have won two games, lost none.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
The rest of the division combined zero and nine. I mean,
think about that.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
That alone shifts the divisional power in their direction. And
obviously we know about Baltimore and Cincinnati their struggles. The
Browns aren't ready to compete yet, but the Steelers are
showing there right now. They are the most trustworthy club
in that division.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
I couldn't agree with you more in a division that
historically the last couple of seasons we've said maybe is
the best in the NFL. They match up against the
Cincinnati team that's still trying to figure things out, so
maybe padding that lead in that division. The Chargers, they
are at fourteen right now. This is a good opponent
that they're going to be playing against the Colts, and
to me, it's like a sort of a prove it game.
(16:15):
I don't know, you could talk about style points needed
to come back to win against the struggling Miami team.
I would push back and just say they got to
win on the road and they are so banged up
and Herbert again look terrific.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Yeah he did.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
I mean, look, he's rescued him time and time again
this season. You know, Camanie viy Dal I thought had
a really nice game filling in for Mari and Hampton,
and you know they caught him in training camp and
we're lucky to keep him on the practice squad. Lad
McConkie obviously making big plays too, you know, this felt
more like a breakdown by the Dolphins at the end
of the game, and we saw it against the Patriots too.
(16:47):
They've had trouble closing out contests this year, so I
didn't want to give him too much credit. Didn't give
him a bump up. I'm worried about the depth and
if I don't know, if you saw that postgame video
where Jim Harbaugh is celebrating the victory and he's trying
to kind of fire him up, and they all just
seemed exhausted.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
And it's been a lot run right.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
They've had a tough strutch of games from Brazil to
this point, a lot of travel, a lot of mental
taxing going on. But if Herbert can stay upright, they
have a chance they still can compete with some of
the best teams. I'm just a little shakier on them
right now the where I was a year ago with
this team.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
You know, I don't know how many people would have
said Justin Herbert is in the elite category in the
NFL before this season, and I'm a huge Justin Herbert fan.
I'm starting to buy this a little bit, like he's
sort of single handedly coming up with some critical throws
in critical times. Right behind the Chargers are the Niners
sitting at number fifteen? Can we just end this conversation
about mac Jones replacing Brock Perty at this point? Like,
(17:42):
are we good?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
I've given Mack a lot of credit and he's he's gamely,
bravely fought through this injury to play for him. But yeah,
I think it's fair to say we can kind of
pull back from that. Assuming Perty's healthy, he is going
to be the guy. But you know, once again, they
suffer another huge injury with Fred Warner. That's their two
best defenders going down for the season. Absolutely, listen, guy,
(18:05):
I missed one game in his career prior to this point.
An absolute warrior and a lynchpin for that defense. And
so you know, the hits just keep coming and you
can't say anything else, But how are they gonna find
a way. Kyle Shanahan has done a tremendous job this year.
He's navigated everything that's been thrown at him. You know,
McCaffrey is getting stuffed in the run making plays with
his legs. They'll get some reinforcements back, but certainly not
(18:28):
all of them. And Warner is just a massive loss,
and you just have to assume they're gonna need both
quarterbacks down the stretch, you know, Jones and Perty better
find a way to stay healthy and get this team
across the finish line. The schedule sets up, the record
is there, everything is in the right direction, but they're
having to do it with a shell group right now.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, I sound like I'm talking to out both sides
of my mouth because I was pushing the Bucks is
the number one team, and once again, I just think
they deserve to be there. This is a hot take
for you. Fred Warner doesn't get hurt. I think the
Niners win that football game, even that first down run
with Baker, which was like amazing to go and watch.
He's kind of break it through tackles and lay it
out and get fired up. Wonders in the game. I
don't know if he picks up that first down for whatever,
that's worse call. Right right behind the nine ers at
(19:09):
fifteen are the Patriots. Drake may Mat Like there's like
some positive juju going on around this dude, Like the
Patriots all of a sudden, they're not a doormat, isn't
it amazing? Like Rabel and some of these roster adjustments
like what they've been able to accomplish. I think that
win against Buffalo, and I don't know if you buy this,
but I think that's just a tremendous confidence booster for
this team, where they start believing they could beat.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Anyone, absolutely right.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
I mean, they still made plenty of mistakes in this game,
left the door open, you know, let Spencer Rattler move
the ball on him, things like that. But Drake May
look so calm and so poised, like we're gonna win
this game, and I will make the throws that need
to be made to make this happen.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
It was Stefan Diggs last week at Buffalo.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
This week it's Kasehaan Boutet and his return to Louisiana.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
To Mario Douglas had some.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Big plays, So they've got some diversity offensively, right. We
know Hunter Henry's there as well, they have other options.
I wish the run game was a little more solid,
but May can help make up for that with his
scrambling too. The O line suddenly isn't the this terrible
problem that we're talking about every single week, the penalties
and the turnovers, the mistakes that we saw the first
few weeks of the season, that's kind of been push
(20:12):
to the side, so that Mike Rabel quality is coming
out and Mays step into the forefront.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I'm going to leave you with this on the Patriots,
they win on the road against Tennessee. They are a
five and two football team with four straight wins, three
of them in a row on the road. Just let
that one just sit if you are a Patriots fan,
and you can put your feet up on the desk
and smoke one if you got one, because it is
a big reason to celebrate with a whole lot of
football still remaining. Meanwhile, Michael Pennick's dealing Jean Robinson terrific.
(20:41):
Drake London was a stud, but it's the defense that's
been carrying this team. Where do they sit on Eric's list?
The answer to that's coming up next back here on
Power Rankings, Mike Hamm and Eric at Home with You,
and this is Eric's rankings seventeen through twenty four. The
Falcons moving up four spots. They sit at seventeen, followed
(21:02):
by the Bears who get a nice win, the Vikings
at nineteen, the Texans at twenty. Don't look now, Carolina's
looking for real. They're sitting at three and three. They
move up three spots. They're at twenty one, the Cowboys
at twenty two. I cannot believe I'm seeing the Baltimore Ravens,
out a one in five records, sitting at twenty three.
They are which your record is though? And at twenty
four it is the Arizona Cardinals. My god, what injuries
(21:24):
in Baltimore. Let's talk about a positive story here. The
Falcons say what you want about this offense, and I know,
offensive guys get all the love.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Eric.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
This defense is so legit and I think that was
on full display. And what we watched against Buffalo.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I mean they haven't allowed three hundred yards to an
upudent this year, right, even if the Bucks kind of
moved the ball, and you know, the Commanders put up
twenty seven on them. I mean it is tough to
move the football on them. And when you have a
guy like Bijon Robinson on the other side, too absolute
weapon and we could say maybe the best player in
football like Rahem Morris. Did you know that that's going
(21:57):
to do pretty well?
Speaker 4 (21:58):
I think?
Speaker 3 (21:59):
And so the defensive strides they've made have been so good. Obviously,
two Allen picks, one in each of the you know,
the end of the first half, second half. This big
time plays right there, and yeah, I thought about moving
them up higher than seventeen. If they do that next
week against San Francisco, I could see him going way up.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Yeah on the road too. I mean, I think we
should be talking about them as a top twelve team
or so the Panthers. Let's love them up here. Rico Daddle,
by the way, I'm really bad at math. It's like
almost like five hundred scrimmage yards or something like that.
In the last two weeks, Bryce is looking like Bryce.
I mean, this is this is kind of a good
product now.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking, what is
the future for Bryce Young, you know, as he progressed,
is he going to make progress here?
Speaker 4 (22:38):
But he really has.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
And Ted McMillan two scores on Sunday, you know, made
up for the drop that ended up as an interception.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
You're right about Dawdle too.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
I mean four hundred and seventy three I want to
say yards from scrimmage for a guy who wasn't starting
to begin the year. So the Panthers are finding solutions
within their own offense and kind of evolving and taking
that proverbial next step. So I've been impressed, even with
some pretty big hiccups this year.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
I mean, they've had some some games where they look
really good.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Daddall that said, buckalop up to the guys in Dallas.
Look he delivered, which I like him. By the way,
Fonte Williams has been great for them, so to win,
win for both sides. Meanwhile, the rest of the rankings
the Saints to twenty five, the GM and twenty six
Cincinnati with Flacco. Here we go at twenty seven, we
got the Raiders, the Dolphins, the Browns, the Tennessee Titans,
and number thirty two, which is the New York Jets.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Ouch.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
All right, the g men, are we buying this team
because they're breaking heart?
Speaker 3 (23:29):
I'm buying the football bros. Darn scataboo, even Wandale Robinson.
Speaker 4 (23:33):
It's a big play.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
So yes, I know they're your team, but I'm going
to adopt him for this week.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
They've been terrific.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah, look, no MO league neighbors. I'll take the wins
and wherever they come. Erica and the best Man, Thanks
everyone for watching and listening to Power Rankings.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
partnership with iHeartRadio. Wow.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
It's a brand new edition of NFL Power Rankings. Mike
Amman Eric at Home with You. Of course, you could
check out Eric's complete column, a ranking of all thirty
two teams with analysis on NFL dot com. We're going
to go through a whole big list of teams right now,
and some squads that deserve a ton of love. In fact,
a historic moment coming up in that number one spot.
But Eric, I think the best place to start is
(00:35):
something that our producer, Heem said before we started recording.
He said he likes it murky, and it feels like
that's a good way to describe the Power Rankings. Heading
into Week seven.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I asked myself who is the best team in the NFL?
And then I asked it again and then a third time.
Every time one of those top teams lost this week,
I had to recalibrate everything. So it was a chore,
but it was fun and I think people will have
something to talk about after they see where I put
certain teams.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Okay, so we have some history here as we get
you our rankings, and the history is the number one
team that moves up three spot. They are a five
to one squad. It is the Tampa Bay Bucks. In
the history of power rankings, Eric has never had them
sitting in this position. The Lions, they drop a spot
to four and two. We got the Seahawks, whoa at three,
the Bills. I think there might be some pushback on
(01:20):
this one based off of these back to back losses
for them. The Packers at five, the Eagles free fall
four spots to six. You got the Rams at seven,
and the Colts at eight. Eric, I want to focus
in on this number one team. I read your column
on NFL dot Com. I'm powerphrasing here where you describe
it as maybe not a clear cut number one, I
would say it is a clear cut I think where
(01:41):
you have the Bucks is accurate. They should be the
number one team. They have five wins on the season.
There's no excuses with this team. Doesn't matter who's hurt.
They're still delivering. When another team is banged up and
they lose the go ah they're missing one or two
players here, it is like a revolving door at the
wide receiver spot. Even in the backfield for Baker Mayfield,
who's probably at least in paste right now, on pace
to be the MVP of the year.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Yeah, I mean again, I kind of gave him a
soft endorsement. Look, this is a team that I thought
I picked preseason to get to the Super Bowl. I
believed in Baker still do, obviously even more after seeing him,
you know, uncorked deep balls like this, and every week
it seems to have a crazy scramble. So I definitely
think you're right about the MVP case. Look, I mean,
I'm sure there'll still be some Josh Allen love after
(02:22):
his Monday struggles. You know, Mahomes is kind of back
on the rise, maybe a dark horse like Drake May,
but you know, pound for pound, I think Baker's doing
the job right now.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
And you mentioned the receivers, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Relying on the brothers Johnson, right, Tess and Cameron not
the biggest guys in the world, Kate Otten, et cetera.
When they get their full compliment of receivers back, which
they're expected to, this could be a deadly team. But
right now they're going to have to sweat it out
and they've got a tough one coming up this week
against the Lions in Detroit, So we'll see if this
is a one week stay or if they're built the last.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
And by the way, keep in mind here, this is
not a fluffed up five wins. It's back to back
weeks where we're talking about a Seahawks squad who we're
buyers in. You actually have him three right now in
your power rankings, and I do think I know the
Niners are banged up. By the way, I'm using that
excuse of injuries. I know they're banged up, with the
Niners also a pretty good football team as well, and
this sets up a really big Monday night matchup against
(03:14):
the Detroit Lions. You have sitting at number two. Are
you concerned right now with what you saw against Kansas City?
Like I can story in my mind a loss, and
I know, once again there's injuries on that defense, especially
in that secondary. What concerned me was an inability to
be effective on offense against Casey's defense.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
No doubt about it.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I mean, look, they had this play at the beginning
of the game there on fourth down. It looked like
another brilliant lines play, callback by penalties settle for field goal.
So in a game where the Chiefs made a kind
of an eight possession game. Every possession counted quite a bit.
Everyone counted a lot. The Chiefs relied on great red
zone defense, key stops, third downs, etc. Two minute drill,
(03:55):
and they pulled it off. I mean, when Golf hit
a Laporta for that touchdown, I thought, Okay, here we go,
buckle up. But it just never happened. Those next couple
of drives didn't materialize. And you know, Patrick Mahomes played
a great game. And that's one other word I had
with this Detroit team. More good than bad on defense
this season. However, when you look at them against the Packers,
(04:17):
against the lamar Led Ravens, against Mahomes and the Chiefs,
they're less effective. So yes, there are concerns on both sides.
But I still believe in kind of the fabric of
this operation, and I do believe they'll bounce back, including
you know, giving the Bucks all they can handle.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
I believe.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, we're going to talk about the Kansas City Chiefs
in a couple of minutes here on power rankings because
they deserve some love, especially when we're knocking on the
door of a return from Rashid Rice. And I think
this win puts them back into the conversation as one
of the leagues the league, because I was kind of
on the fence about it. The Seahawks. You're buying this
team right now, saying in the third spot, tell me
on why you think that they deserve to be here.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Yeah, two close losses at home, and obviously they got
to play better at Luminfield. But when you see what
Mike McDonald has done on the road, going ten to one,
including nine straight wins, it tells you something, right. They're
able to translate the run game. That's a big part
of their success. Certainly the defense and the pressure that
they create, even with the questions in the secondary, those
(05:15):
things travel they do well, right.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
But you also have.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Sam Darnold and Jackson Smith and Jigba both having very
fine seasons.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
Smith and Jigba.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
You know, if you told me he was the best
receiver in the NFL right now, I wouldn't push back
a lot right now. He's certainly in the top three
or four, excellent at what he does. They have a
well rounded attack. They don't kill themselves with mistakes. They
bounce back from that one poor effort last week against
the Bucks defensively, So a lot of good with this team.
You know, again, it's more of a synergistic thing. A
(05:43):
lot of the pieces all kind of adding up together,
as opposed to that one superstar player who just carries
the whole operation.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
So that's a good thing, I think.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And you know, maybe three is a little higher than
I expected to have him this week. But the way
things shaked out, you know, shook out, that's where they're
landing right now.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Is this a regional thing, because I think the national
landscape doesn't doesn't buy Seahawks at three. I think you
would get pushed back depending on who you were talking
to and where they're based. But to your point on JSN,
if he's playing in a different market, and Seattle's a
big market, but maybe on the other side of the country,
you know, the reality is I think people would be
talking about him as maybe the best wide receiver in
(06:20):
the NFL. And I know there's quarterback issues right now
in Minnesota and certainly in Cincinnati, which is why that
JJ Jamar Chase situation is a little bit different. But
this guy deserves his flowers, and so does Sam Darnold.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Absolutely yeah, I mean again, we've seen some tremendous performances
this year from like Jonathan Taylor with the Colts and
Jackson Smith and Jigba b Jon Robinson in Atlanta. You know,
in a year where a lot of the quarterbacks are
injured or not in the running for MVP, maybe this
is the year where we start thinking about a non
QB as MVP again, Digress.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
I get off my soapbox there.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
But Smith and Jigbo when they traded DK Metcalf, they
had an idea of what he was capable of as.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
A true number one and Mike, you look around the league,
there really aren't.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
As many true number one receivers as we thought they
were we think there should be probably, so he's one
of a select few.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
It's actually a great call, and I haven't heard too
many people talk about that. You don't trade and get
rid of a DK Metcalf if you don't have supreme
confidence in JSN, and it clearly did. My confidence level
on the Buffalo Bills right now, it's teetering a little bit.
I think Atlanta's defense is real, right, So I'm like, Okay,
what I saw Monday night is one thing they've owned
this division and the Patriots in the last game handling
(07:32):
business against them. What's the concern that you have around
Josh Allen's team.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Not often we see these guys in second place, but
believe it or not, that's where they are right now,
behind New England after that game in Week six. So yeah,
I mean the operation just seems broken, right. I mean,
we're talking about James Cook having a pretty good night
run in the football and they score fourteen points and
don't even get to three hundred yards. Even with Atlanta's
defense playing at a high level. That's very unbills like,
(07:57):
especially in a dome. So look, I mean you could
say it's two straight losses, and that's true, but I
think it goes back farther than that. Look at the
Miami game the New Orleans game, they had their struggles
in both really not playing as efficiently as they should
be offensively and defensively. You saw in the first half
they were up against it, couldn't close it out obviously
in the second half either. And you know, just the
(08:19):
lack of weapons right now for Josh Allen, I mean,
Kinkaid couldn't play, Palmer gets hurt. I think this bye week,
you know they're going to have to do some soul surging.
It's possible that we look back a month or two
from now and say, Okay.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
That was a blip on a radar. They had to
get over that stretch.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
They're going to get some reinforcements back from suspension and
injury and things like that. That may all be true,
but right now, the way you described him is absolutely right,
and putting them at four is probably a lot higher
than a lot of people will have them. I still
think they're going to end up in that region, but
right now it's looking like a problem.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, I'm with you there. I don't know if I
could sell myself on Buffalo being for currently. By the way,
fans in Atlanta, don't worry. We're going to give you
guys some love in a little bit here. They were
a significant mover in the power rankings. That's still yeah,
the Eagles. They're sitting at the top of the power
rankings there for a couple of weeks, and they continue
to sort of drop. They move to six. I guess
(09:12):
the same question applies to them. How concerned are you,
as a team that's consistently getting out gained this season
that they are still one of the premier teams in
the NFL.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
The things offensively have not been totally right all season.
Even if we saw some strides on Thursday, again, didn't
really translate to the scoreboard and affect the game very much.
But even if there were strides, it still isn't good enough.
And you know, you take Jail and Carter off that defense,
significant blow.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
But they shouldn't play that poorly.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
They shouldn't look that unprepared for the athleticism of Jackson Dart.
I mean, they just played two pretty agile quarterbacks prior
to that, so it surprised me a little that they
sort of came out very flat defensively, flat offensively as well.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
We're tackling poor sort.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Of attention to detail, I would say, and especially in
those early drives. So you know, we've got two more
games till the bye, tough one at Minnesota, interesting one
at the very least, and then a rematch against that
Giants team. If they're not kind of back on the upswing,
I'll tell you what, they're going to be a lot
lower than six heading into the by given what we've
seen recently.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Yeah, because I think you look in this division and
it feels a little different and more up in the
air than I think people would have imagined. You're right.
They go on the road against Minnesota as their next opponent.
It is an interesting matchup because of what the Vikings
do defensively could create some problems for Jalen Hurts and
this Eagles offense. All right, there is one team that
(10:35):
has been bawling so far this season. So let's dive
in on this eighth team, and that is this Indianapolis
Colt squad. I think you could have moved them up
into the top four, right behind Seattle at number three.
They're pretty complete football team, Eric, I mean, like, what
else do you want to see from them? Like? Why
not move them up ahead of the guys like the
Eagles and the Bills.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I was prepared to and I watched that game Sunday
and it was an uphill climb for them, I mean
against Jacoby Brissett and Arizona in their building, and so
you know, Dane Jones threw an early pick and that
kind of got them off rhythm a little bit, although
they took the ball right back and it was just
tough sledding and defensively, it worries me a little bit
that a backup QB can come in and give them
(11:16):
some trouble and have a chance to win the game
at games in there. So you know, I know, every
seems like every contender could use a cornerback right now.
The Colts are certainly among those. I mean, the secondary
right now feels a little thin, but offensively leaving the
NFL and scoring getting some help from their defense and
special teams as well. But that offense has been chugging
every single week. The one twenty point game, everything else
(11:39):
I think has been over twenty eight. So points have
not been a problem this season. But if they start
running up against those elite teams that also can score,
you know, are they able to win those kinds of
track meets. Are they able to go on the road
and win those tough games. Those are the only questions
I have with them right now.
Speaker 4 (11:54):
I love the operation, but.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Jacksonville and Houston are going to have a little something
to say about this Division two. I think, yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Think Jonathan Taylor should also be in that MVP conversation.
I know it's typically a quarterback a week, but he
has been terrific. I thought when I had asked you
about where you'd want to slot them, Eric, I thought
you were gonna mention their schedule and the fact that
there's some room to really rise here. You were sort
of baking it in Miami, Denver, Tennessee, the Rams, Vegas,
and Arizona. So it's not exactly like a slew of
(12:20):
Gangbusters here. So there is an opportunity for the Colts
to continue to rise in the power rankings. Meanwhile, we
staw have more to come here on power rankings. Kansas
City handling business against the team that I thought was
the best team in the NFL up until the matchup
against Kansas City, and that's the Detroit Lions. Where does
Eric put case? The answer to that is coming up next.
I'll back here on power rankings. Eric at home and
(12:41):
Mike am with you, and all is right in the world.
In Kansas City, moving up three spots back into the
top ten. They're sitting with a five hundred record. They
sit at number nine in the power rankings. We'll talk
Steelers in just a moment. They're at ten. The Broncos
they drop a spot despite a win and boy that
was a tough one at times against the Jets in London.
At twelve, it's the Commanders who fall three spots thirteen,
(13:02):
it's the Jags who drop two spots. The Chargers remain
even at fourteen, it's the Niners and the Patriots sitting
at fifteen and sixteen. Time for the Team of the
Week and is presented by Truest at number nine. Eric,
We've got a Kansas City team that all of a sudden,
offensively is looking like an offensive team that we had anticipated.
Ninety five points they have scored over the last three games,
(13:23):
most in a three game span since twenty twenty one.
More reinforcements coming. Rashid Rice is going to be back
coming off of that suspension. Do we just say like, hey,
like we're good Kansas City, Like this is a team
that once again can make a real push and get
to an AFC Championship game and maybe even back to
the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yeah, They've they've been up and down so far, right,
and I tried to factor that in.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
I mean, having them at nine.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Look, would they be favored against more than, you know,
than twenty four other teams? Probably, Yeah, I think they might.
But we still want to see a little more consistency.
But obviously, you know, this last game against the Lions
was their best showing of the year. I think considering
the opponent and everything that was at stake coming off
the Jaguars loss, then maybe we put too much into
(14:04):
that loss too. Right, that's a pretty functionally good team
this year, all things said, So Mahomes really taking over.
That's the guy we want to see. And now, like
you said, the full complement of weapons the most important part.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Brown has a couple scores worthy gets in the end
zone early. You add rice to that equation, they're going
to be awfully tough to cover.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
I think you're going to see teams go zone and
see Pat pick them apart, and we'll get back to
that level of Chiefs offense that we expected prior to
the last couple of years when things kind of slowed
down a little bit. So is it going to be
that way every week? Who knows, But they're back.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I think home game for them against the Raiders coming
up at number ten Steelers, they actually move five spots up,
which is a positive. Here, I was sitting in the
green room. We're watching two games on Monday night football,
Steve watch. I'm working with him. He goes, hey, who's
the best team in the AFC? And I kind of paused,
and I was like, I don't know if i'd say
the Steelers, but is there a case for them right now?
(14:57):
Sitting with this record.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
We've seen strides offensively, We've seen strides defensively. The protection
for Aaron Rodgers has gotten better. A lot of positive
trends happening here, right. I mean, you know, early in
the season, nearly losing Week one of the Jets, you know,
having kind of a sloppy game against the Patriots and
then making a ton of mistakes and sort of just
barely clawing by. So I had my doubts earlier. I
had them in the teens, and I kind of held
(15:20):
back on them. But you keep winning games and Rogers
makes throws like this, dk Metcalf earning his investment, right,
I mean, he's gotten in the end zone of almost
every game, So you know.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
It's very encouraging.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
And if you just look at the big landscape the
last three weeks, the Steelers have won two games, lost none.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
The rest of the division combined zero and nine. I mean,
think about that.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
That alone shifts the divisional power in their direction. And
obviously we know about Baltimore and Cincinnati their struggles. The
Browns aren't ready to compete yet, but the Steelers are
showing there right now. They are the most trustworthy club
in that division.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
I couldn't agree with you more in a division that
historically the last couple of seasons we've said maybe is
the best in the NFL. They match up against the
Cincinnati team that's still trying to figure things out, so
maybe padding that lead in that division. The Chargers, they
are at fourteen right now. This is a good opponent
that they're going to be playing against the Colts, and
to me, it's like a sort of a prove it game.
(16:15):
I don't know, you could talk about style points needed
to come back to win against the struggling Miami team.
I would push back and just say they got to
win on the road and they are so banged up
and Herbert again look terrific.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Yeah he did.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
I mean, look, he's rescued him time and time again
this season. You know, Camanie viy Dal I thought had
a really nice game filling in for Mari and Hampton,
and you know they caught him in training camp and
we're lucky to keep him on the practice squad. Lad
McConkie obviously making big plays too, you know, this felt
more like a breakdown by the Dolphins at the end
of the game, and we saw it against the Patriots too.
(16:47):
They've had trouble closing out contests this year, so I
didn't want to give him too much credit. Didn't give
him a bump up. I'm worried about the depth and
if I don't know, if you saw that postgame video
where Jim Harbaugh is celebrating the victory and he's trying
to kind of fire him up, and they all just
seemed exhausted.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
And it's been a lot run right.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
They've had a tough strutch of games from Brazil to
this point, a lot of travel, a lot of mental
taxing going on. But if Herbert can stay upright, they
have a chance they still can compete with some of
the best teams. I'm just a little shakier on them
right now the where I was a year ago with
this team.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
You know, I don't know how many people would have
said Justin Herbert is in the elite category in the
NFL before this season, and I'm a huge Justin Herbert fan.
I'm starting to buy this a little bit, like he's
sort of single handedly coming up with some critical throws
in critical times. Right behind the Chargers are the Niners
sitting at number fifteen? Can we just end this conversation
about mac Jones replacing Brock Perty at this point? Like,
(17:42):
are we good?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
I've given Mack a lot of credit and he's he's gamely,
bravely fought through this injury to play for him. But yeah,
I think it's fair to say we can kind of
pull back from that. Assuming Perty's healthy, he is going
to be the guy. But you know, once again, they
suffer another huge injury with Fred Warner. That's their two
best defenders going down for the season. Absolutely, listen, guy,
(18:05):
I missed one game in his career prior to this point.
An absolute warrior and a lynchpin for that defense. And
so you know, the hits just keep coming and you
can't say anything else, But how are they gonna find
a way. Kyle Shanahan has done a tremendous job this year.
He's navigated everything that's been thrown at him. You know,
McCaffrey is getting stuffed in the run making plays with
his legs. They'll get some reinforcements back, but certainly not
(18:28):
all of them. And Warner is just a massive loss,
and you just have to assume they're gonna need both
quarterbacks down the stretch, you know, Jones and Perty better
find a way to stay healthy and get this team
across the finish line. The schedule sets up, the record
is there, everything is in the right direction, but they're
having to do it with a shell group right now.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, I sound like I'm talking to out both sides
of my mouth because I was pushing the Bucks is
the number one team, and once again, I just think
they deserve to be there. This is a hot take
for you. Fred Warner doesn't get hurt. I think the
Niners win that football game, even that first down run
with Baker, which was like amazing to go and watch.
He's kind of break it through tackles and lay it
out and get fired up. Wonders in the game. I
don't know if he picks up that first down for whatever,
that's worse call. Right right behind the nine ers at
(19:09):
fifteen are the Patriots. Drake may Mat Like there's like
some positive juju going on around this dude, Like the
Patriots all of a sudden, they're not a doormat, isn't
it amazing? Like Rabel and some of these roster adjustments
like what they've been able to accomplish. I think that
win against Buffalo, and I don't know if you buy this,
but I think that's just a tremendous confidence booster for
this team, where they start believing they could beat.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Anyone, absolutely right.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
I mean, they still made plenty of mistakes in this game,
left the door open, you know, let Spencer Rattler move
the ball on him, things like that. But Drake May
look so calm and so poised, like we're gonna win
this game, and I will make the throws that need
to be made to make this happen.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
It was Stefan Diggs last week at Buffalo.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
This week it's Kasehaan Boutet and his return to Louisiana.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
To Mario Douglas had some.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Big plays, So they've got some diversity offensively, right. We
know Hunter Henry's there as well, they have other options.
I wish the run game was a little more solid,
but May can help make up for that with his
scrambling too. The O line suddenly isn't the this terrible
problem that we're talking about every single week, the penalties
and the turnovers, the mistakes that we saw the first
few weeks of the season, that's kind of been push
(20:12):
to the side, so that Mike Rabel quality is coming
out and Mays step into the forefront.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I'm going to leave you with this on the Patriots,
they win on the road against Tennessee. They are a
five and two football team with four straight wins, three
of them in a row on the road. Just let
that one just sit if you are a Patriots fan,
and you can put your feet up on the desk
and smoke one if you got one, because it is
a big reason to celebrate with a whole lot of
football still remaining. Meanwhile, Michael Pennick's dealing Jean Robinson terrific.
(20:41):
Drake London was a stud, but it's the defense that's
been carrying this team. Where do they sit on Eric's list?
The answer to that's coming up next back here on
Power Rankings, Mike Hamm and Eric at Home with You,
and this is Eric's rankings seventeen through twenty four. The
Falcons moving up four spots. They sit at seventeen, followed
(21:02):
by the Bears who get a nice win, the Vikings
at nineteen, the Texans at twenty. Don't look now, Carolina's
looking for real. They're sitting at three and three. They
move up three spots. They're at twenty one, the Cowboys
at twenty two. I cannot believe I'm seeing the Baltimore Ravens,
out a one in five records, sitting at twenty three.
They are which your record is though? And at twenty
four it is the Arizona Cardinals. My god, what injuries
(21:24):
in Baltimore. Let's talk about a positive story here. The
Falcons say what you want about this offense, and I know,
offensive guys get all the love.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Eric.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
This defense is so legit and I think that was
on full display. And what we watched against Buffalo.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I mean they haven't allowed three hundred yards to an
upudent this year, right, even if the Bucks kind of
moved the ball, and you know, the Commanders put up
twenty seven on them. I mean it is tough to
move the football on them. And when you have a
guy like Bijon Robinson on the other side, too absolute
weapon and we could say maybe the best player in
football like Rahem Morris. Did you know that that's going
(21:57):
to do pretty well?
Speaker 4 (21:58):
I think?
Speaker 3 (21:59):
And so the defensive strides they've made have been so good. Obviously,
two Allen picks, one in each of the you know,
the end of the first half, second half. This big
time plays right there, and yeah, I thought about moving
them up higher than seventeen. If they do that next
week against San Francisco, I could see him going way up.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Yeah on the road too. I mean, I think we
should be talking about them as a top twelve team
or so the Panthers. Let's love them up here. Rico Daddle,
by the way, I'm really bad at math. It's like
almost like five hundred scrimmage yards or something like that.
In the last two weeks, Bryce is looking like Bryce.
I mean, this is this is kind of a good
product now.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking, what is
the future for Bryce Young, you know, as he progressed,
is he going to make progress here?
Speaker 4 (22:38):
But he really has.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
And Ted McMillan two scores on Sunday, you know, made
up for the drop that ended up as an interception.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
You're right about Dawdle too.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
I mean four hundred and seventy three I want to
say yards from scrimmage for a guy who wasn't starting
to begin the year. So the Panthers are finding solutions
within their own offense and kind of evolving and taking
that proverbial next step. So I've been impressed, even with
some pretty big hiccups this year.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
I mean, they've had some some games where they look
really good.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Daddall that said, buckalop up to the guys in Dallas.
Look he delivered, which I like him. By the way,
Fonte Williams has been great for them, so to win,
win for both sides. Meanwhile, the rest of the rankings
the Saints to twenty five, the GM and twenty six
Cincinnati with Flacco. Here we go at twenty seven, we
got the Raiders, the Dolphins, the Browns, the Tennessee Titans,
and number thirty two, which is the New York Jets.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Ouch.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
All right, the g men, are we buying this team
because they're breaking heart?
Speaker 3 (23:29):
I'm buying the football bros. Darn scataboo, even Wandale Robinson.
Speaker 4 (23:33):
It's a big play.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
So yes, I know they're your team, but I'm going
to adopt him for this week.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
They've been terrific.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Yeah, look, no MO league neighbors. I'll take the wins
and wherever they come. Erica and the best Man, Thanks
everyone for watching and listening to Power Rankings.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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