Arizona Cardinals – Klayton Adams

The Cardinals opted to move on from Jonathan Gannon following a disappointing 3-14 season. My pick for their next head coach is Adams, who was the Cowboys offensive coordinator in 2025. I actually rather like a lot of the stuff that Arizona has done with their roster, but it’s hard to envision this being one of the most sought after jobs around the league. That led me to Adams, who helped guide the Cowboys to finish top 10 in the league in many statistical categories. He’s also familiar with the organization, having served as the Cardinals’ offensive line coach for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He’s a bit more under the radar than some other candidates, but I think that fits well with the Cardinals.

Atlanta Falcons – Robert Saleh

Raheem Morris was fired after only 2 seasons as the Falcons’ head coach following back to back 8-9 seasons. Full disclosure, I had a different candidate here before the Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel Thursday morning. However, I’ve pivoted to Saleh as someone who can be an upgraded version of what Atlanta wanted Morris to be. Saleh returned as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator in 2025 (he held the same position with the team from 2017-2020) after being the Jets’ head coach from 2021-2024. He was dealt a bad hand with the Jets, as they were constantly dealing with ownership meddling and offensive ineptitude. His defenses were always great though, and I could see him building off a great season for the Falcons defense. As a bonus, I think he could bring the aforementioned McDaniel with him to serve as offensive coordinator, and retain Jeff Ulbrich as defensive coordinator, which would be huge pluses.

Baltimore Ravens – Brian Flores

In one of the more shocking moves of the cycle, the Ravens decided to move on from 18 year coach John Harbaugh. I wouldn’t put it past anyone for wanting to pair an offensive wizard with quarterback Lamar Jackson, but I actually really like the fit of Flores in Baltimore. He was the Dolphins head coach from 2019-2021 and has been the Vikings defensive coordinator since 2023. He runs one of the best defensive schemes in the league, utilizing a variety of blitz packages to confuse and pressure opposing quarterbacks. Now, he doesn’t come without questions, as his lawsuit against the league for discrimination is still ongoing, and he has a very tough personality. However, I think his fit in Baltimore to revive the Ravens’ defense is too good to ignore.

Cleveland Browns – Jim Schwartz

The Browns moved on from 2 time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski following a 5-12 season. And my choice to replace him is already in the building, as I would love to see them promote defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to lead the team. He has head coaching experience, as he led the Lions from 2009-2013, and a lot of defensive coordinator experience around the league. Since he took the job with the Browns in 2023, they’ve been among the best units in the league, and they could very well sweep the defensive awards for this year (Myles Garrett for DPOY and Carson Schwesinger for DROY). It’s paramount to keep him on the staff, and given his track record, promoting him to head coach is a good solution.

Las Vegas Raiders – Kevin Stefanski

Pete Carroll was one and done in his lone season as Raiders head coach, finishing 3-14 and landing the franchise the number 1 overall pick in the draft. With Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza the presumed selection, and with weapons like Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers already on the roster, an offensive minded coach like Stefanski makes a ton of sense. The Raiders have been cycling through coaches faster than anyone else in the league recently, so Stefanski’s recent head coaching experience could offer some stability too.

Miami Dolphins – John Harbaugh

As I mentioned earlier, Mike McDaniel was a late fire for the Dolphins following a highly disappointing season. I think they ultimately are the landing spot for Harbaugh, who is the hottest name on the coaching market. I’ll admit, this is slightly more prediction than who I would choose, as I’m actually not the biggest Harbaugh fan as a coach. I think he makes too many questionable game management decisions, and he brings neither a good offensive nor defensive scheme with him. However, I do like the fit in Miami. First off, McDaniel probably would not have been fired were it not for Harbaugh hitting the market. Second, despite the turmoil surrounding the team (from Tua Tagovailoa’s benching despite his contract size, to Tyreek Hill’s age and injury, to their lack of talent across the roster), they seem to want to win now, and Harbaugh matches that well. It might not be my first choice if I were running the team, but I think this is what will ultimately happen.

New York Giants – Vance Joseph

Brian Daboll was fired at midseason by the Giants following a very up and down tenure with the team. Joseph coming in is honestly one of my favorite fits on the whole list. He was the Broncos head coach from 2017-2018, then the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator from 2019-2022, before returning to Denver as defensive coordinator since 2023. After a really rough start to his tenure in that role (who could forget the game when the Dolphins dropped 70 points on his unit), he’s led one of the strongest and most innovative units in the league, producing back to back top 3 defensive finishes and a DPOY in cornerback Patrick Surtain in 2024. He’s also led one of the most versatile pass rushes in the league, as the Broncos led the league in sacks this year with a whopping 68. His ability to work with and scheme all of the talent on the Giants’ defensive line would be a great match.

Tennessee Titans – Mike McCarthy

As I predicted in the preseason, Brian Callahan was the first head coach fired during the season. McCarthy, after taking last year off from coaching, is expected to land a head coaching job this cycle, and I think Tennessee would be a good spot. He’s a good quarterbacks coach to pair with rising sophomore Cam Ward. He’s also the type of veteran coach I think the Titans need to turn the franchise around, as he has 18 years of experience as a head coach between the Packers and Cowboys, a career 60% win percentage, and a Super Bowl win in the 2010-2011 season.

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Also, quick housekeeping item, I’m going to do my very best to post at least once per week again. Now that things have settled down, I should be more able to do so. But with that, without further ado, let’s preview the playoffs!

Each Team’s Biggest X-Factor

NFC

Seattle Seahawks – Nick Emmanwori, S

Let’s start with a force for the NFC’s top seed. Emmanwori, a rookie 2^nd round pick, lined up everywhere in Mike Macdonald’s defense and was an absolute playmaker, tallying 81 tackles (8 for loss), 2.5 sacks, 11 passes defended, and an interception on the year. Seattle’s deployment of Emmanwori all over the field could pay dividends if they want to make a run.

Chicago Bears – Kyle Monangai, RB

I realistically could’ve went with any of the Bears’ offensive rookies, but I opted for Monangai, who had a phenomenal rookie year for a 7^th round pick this season, finishing with 947 scrimmage yards and 5 touchdowns. The Bears had the 3^rd best rushing attack in the league, and Monangai’s pairing with D’Andre Swift was a big reason why. Chicago gets to face their oldest rival in the Packers during Wild Card Weekend, who have been shaky against the run lately, so the Bears’ backs are going to be key in that matchup.

Philadelphia Eagles – Jaelan Phillips, Edge

Phillips’ impact for the Eagles goes beyond the box score, as he only put up 2 sacks with the team in 8 games after being acquired at the trade deadline (he had 5 on the whole season). However, he’s added more juice to a pass rush that has dealt with some injuries during the season. Don’t be surprised if at some point he has a clutch sack that wins the Eagles a game.

Carolina Panthers – Tre’von Moehrig, S

Inconsistency on both sides of the ball make Carolina one of the weaker teams in the playoff field and a massive underdog against the Rams this weekend. If the Panthers are going to pull off the upset like they did a few weeks ago, they’re going to need a big game from their defense just like that game, and Moehrig is one of the key players to help with that. He posted 103 tackles (14 for loss), 3 sacks, and an interception. His ability to play both the run and the pass could pay dividends.

Los Angeles Rams – Quentin Lake, S

The Rams defense was one of the best in the league in the first half of the season, but it fell off down the stretch. This coincided with them losing Lake to injury, as his impact on their unit on the whole has been immense. In his 10 games, he posted 61 tackles (2 for loss), 10 passes defended, and a sack, an interception, and a forced fumble each. His return from injury should prove vital.

San Francisco 49ers – Ricky Pearsall, WR

Pearsall spent much of the year hurt, but he still posted 36 catches for 528 yards in his 9 contests. San Francisco’s offense has looked amazing at times, but they fell flat in their Week 18 contest against the Seattle Seahawks. Pearsall emerging as a third pass catching option behind Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle would be big for the team.

Green Bay Packers – Romeo Doubs, WR

The 2023 Packers remain the only 7^th seed wild card team to win a playoff game for their 48-32 beatdown of the Cowboys two years ago. Doubs had 6 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown in that game. He’s always been quarterback Jordan Love’s go to target even though he doesn’t typically get the volume to generate flashy stats. If the Packers want to get far, the Love to Doubs connection will need to be on point.

AFC

Denver Broncos – Bo Nix, QB

I feel like Nix tends to get over hated by many. While he’s not one of the elite quarterbacks in the league, he is very solid. He completed 63.4% of his passes for 3931 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 11 picks, while adding in solid rushing numbers. He also proved that he can put together game winning drives. That could be critical in such a close playoff field.

New England Patriots – Marcus Jones, CB

Jones made elite impacts both defensively and on special teams. He tallied 65 tackles, 11 passes defended, 3 picks (1 of which he returned for a touchdown), and 3 fumble recoveries. He also led the league with 2 punt return touchdowns, and he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for October. His playmaking ability on both defense and special teams could turn the tide of any game he plays.

Jacksonville Jaguars – Antonio Johnson, S

Johnson was PFF’s top ranked safety on the year, even though I’m sure many have never even heard of him. He was all over the field, notching 58 tackles (2 for loss), 9 passes defended, 5 interceptions (1 returned for a touchdown), and 2 sacks. For a defense that relies so much on playmaking and turnovers, Johnson is one of the biggest pieces.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Kenneth Gainwell, RB

Shockingly, Gainwell led the Steelers in receptions this year despite playing running back. He amassed 73 catches, 1023 scrimmage yards, and 8 total touchdowns. With aging quarterback Aaron Rodgers under center, the Steelers have had to adapt to a more dink and dunk style of passing, which has allowed Gainwell to flourish. If he can continue to play well, Pittsburgh could make some noise.

Houston Texans – Dalton Schultz, TE

Schultz put together a solid year, racking up 82 catches for 777 yards and 3 scores. The Texans have one of the strongest defenses in the playoff field, but they have offensive questions, particularly on their offensive line. If they’re going to win games in spite of this, Schultz’s ability to be a safety valve for quick passes to mitigate pressure will be crucial.

Buffalo Bills – Dalton Kincaid, TE

When the Bills drafted Kincaid in the 1^st round in 2023, they likely envisioned him evolving into a top notch target for Josh Allen. While that hasn’t happened, he was really solid this year when healthy, hauling in 39 catches for 571 yards and 5 touchdowns in 12 games. With not much going right for the Bills on offense besides Allen and James Cook out of the backfield, Kincaid and other pass catchers will need to level up in the postseason if Buffalo wants to hoist the Lombardi.

Los Angeles Chargers – Donte Jackson, CB

Jackson has had a solid if unspectacular career thus far, but he took his play to a new level in his first year on the Chargers. He played some of the best coverage in the league this year, ranking near the top of the league in passer rating allowed and completion percentage allowed. Especially in a conference where many of the top teams have only one elite receiver, Jackson’s shutdown ability will put a lot of pressure on others in opposing offenses to produce.

Playoff Prediction

Full disclosure, I honestly have no idea who is going to win the Super Bowl this year, but I’m still going to do my best to make a pick for each game. A lot of this will come down to specific matchups, hot streaks, and gut feelings. So yeah, not much exact science going into this, just some good old fashioned predictions.

Wild Card Weekend:

· Bears over Packers

· Eagles over 49ers

· Rams over Panthers

· Patriots over Chargers

· Jaguars over Bills

· Texans over Steelers

Divisional Round:

· Seahawks over Rams

· Bears over Eagles

· Jaguars over Patriots

· Texans over Broncos

Conference Championships:

· Seahawks over Bears

· Jaguars over Texans

Super Bowl:

· Jaguars over Seahawks

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Week 13:

· Best: New England Patriots

o 33-15 win over New York Giants

o Held Giants to 239 yards of offense

o Drake Maye: 282 yards, 2 touchdowns, 77% completion percentage

o Marcus Jones: 94 yard punt return touchdown

· Worst: Lamar Jackson

o 32-14 loss to Cincinnati Bengals

o 53% completion percentage, 3 turnovers

o Bad Bengals defense held offense to 14 points

· Biggest Surprise: Carolina Panthers

o 31-28 win over Los Angeles Rams

o Circumstances: Rams were arguably the best team in the league entering play, and it was a rain game

o Bryce Young: 206 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 turnovers, 75% completion percentage

o Defense: forced 3 Matthew Stafford turnovers

· Biggest Disappointment: Detroit Lions

o 31-24 loss to Green Bay Packers

o Pivotal division loss, gave Packers season sweep

o Allowed Jordan Love 4 touchdowns, 0 turnovers

· Best Rookie: Kyle Monangai

o 24-15 win over Philadelphia Eagles

o 130 yards, 1 touchdown, 5.9 yards per carry

o Bears’ rushing totals: 281 yards, 2 touchdowns

· Stock Up: Houston Texans

o 20-16 win over Indianapolis Colts

o 4^th straight win (now at 5 straight)

o Pivotal division win

o Held Colts to 281 yards, 3/10 on 3^rd down

· Stock Down: Pittsburgh Steelers

o 26-7 loss to Buffalo Bills

o Allowed 249 yards rushing

o Meager 166 yards of offense

Week 14:

· Best: Los Angeles Rams Offense

o 45-17 win over Arizona Cardinals

o 530 team yards, 45 points

o Matthew Stafford: 281 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 turnovers, 71% completion percentage

o Blake Corum: 128 yards, 2 touchdowns, 10.7 yards per carry

o Puka Nacua: 7 catches, 167 yards, 2 touchdowns

· Worst: Patrick Mahomes

o 20-10 loss to Houston Texans

o 160 yards, 0 touchdowns, 3 turnovers, 42% completion percentage

o 19.8 passer rating

· Biggest Surprise: New Orleans Saints Defense

o 24-20 win over Tampa Bay Buccaneers

o Baker Mayfield: 122 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 turnover, 46% completion percentage

· Biggest Disappointment: Chicago Bears

o 28-21 loss to Green Bay Packers

o Missed opportunity to lead both division and conference

o Several ill-timed bad 4^th quarter plays

· Best Rookie: Nick Emmanwori

o 37-9 win over Atlanta Falcons

o 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception

o Kept Falcons out of end zone

o Showed great playmaking and instincts

· Stock Up: Miami Dolphins

o 34-10 win over New York Jets

o Now 6-7 after 1-6 start

o Defense: 207 yards allowed, 6 sacks, 3 interceptions

· Stock Down: Jalen Hurts

o 22-19 loss to Los Angeles Chargers

o 5 turnovers

o 240 yards, 52% completion percentage

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: The Detroit Lions hosted the Chicago Bears in the first of the annual Thanksgiving games.

Weekly Trivia Question: Which player holds the NFL record for the most scrimmage yards (rushing + receiving) in a single season?

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(Note: As per usual, this is a Week 12 recap, and most of it was drafted before the Thanksgiving games, so those will not be accounted for.)

Power Rankings:

Tier 1: The Best

1. Los Angeles Rams (previous: 4)

There’s no denying that the Rams have been the best team in the league so far. They’re a fluky 4^th quarter collapse against the Eagles and a Kyren Williams fumble against the 49ers away from being undefeated. Instead, at 9-2, with MVP favorite Matthew Stafford, the best receiver duo in the league, and one of the most exciting young defenses, they are easily the Super Bowl favorite as of now.

Tier 2: Less Established but Playing Better

2. Seattle Seahawks (8)

3. Indianapolis Colts (1)

4. Denver Broncos (10)

5. New England Patriots (9)

While they might not be favored come playoffs, these teams have been better than the more established teams in the tier below. Outside of against a Rams defense that seems to have his number, Sam Darnold has been fantastic all year, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba has emerged as one of the best receivers in the league. Seattle’s defense has also been incredibly exciting. The Colts have fallen on harder times, as they’ve looked worse the last 4 weeks than earlier in the season. That said, I don’t think Daniel Jones’ turnover woes will persist too much, and Shane Steichen won’t lose his marbles again by giving Jonathan Taylor only 1 single 4^th quarter carry (more on that later). They should be just fine. As mediocre and inconsistent as the Broncos’ offense has been, the defense is so good that it doesn’t even matter that much. It feels wrong putting the Patriots this low as the only 10 win team in the league, and they are super close to the other teams in this group, but left tackle Will Campbell’s injury scares me for an offensive line that hasn’t been too good. That said, Drake Maye, a strong group of skill position players, and a stout defense keep them this high.

Tier 3: More Established but Playing Worse (AKA What on Earth Has Happened to These Teams?)

6. Philadelphia Eagles (3)

7. Green Bay Packers (5)

8. Detroit Lions (6)

9. Buffalo Bills (2)

10. Kansas City Chiefs (7)

These are basically all of the preseason Super Bowl favorites, and all of them have displayed semi significant flaws that give me serious pause about their January chances. The Eagles just blew a 21-0 lead to their rival Cowboys, and, much like the season on the whole, it just feels like something isn’t quite clicking. The best way to describe the Packers right now is that they have a bad tendency to play down to their opponents. They’re a great, talented team, but they never play to their capacity, only good enough to win their game at hand (in most instances). Beating up on JJ McCarthy was a good start in the right direction to break that cycle. The Lions aren’t actually currently in the NFC playoffs, but Jahmyr Gibbs’ monstrous 264 yard performance and center Frank Ragnow’s unretirement should get them right back in the mix. It feels like the Bills used up all of their good plays and consistency in the 4^th quarter of their Week 1 thrilling victory against the Ravens. They just haven’t been the same since the 4-0 start. The defense in particular has been rough at times. I’ll be completely honest, this game was not won by the Chiefs, it was lost by the Colts (again, more on that later). If that didn’t happen, the Chiefs would be under .500 at 5-6, so I can’t justify putting them any higher than this.

Tier 4: A Little Too Close for Comfort

11. Chicago Bears (16)

12. San Francisco 49ers (13)

13. Jacksonville Jaguars (15)

These teams have wins, but even with them, they have done nothing convincing enough to be taken seriously as a Super Bowl threat. The Bears have a fantastic 8-3 record but are negative at a -3 point differential. They’ve won tons of close games and got blown out in their losses, which is not a winning formula across an entire season. The 49ers just keep finding ways to win despite all of their injuries, but for that same reason, I feel like their ceiling come playoffs will be slightly more limited than others. The Jags have handled a tough schedule rather well, but they’ve played better against the good teams than the bad ones. That kind of inconsistency makes it hard to believe in them, but they’ve had a good year nonetheless.

Tier 5: Hospital Tier

14. Los Angeles Chargers (12)

15. Baltimore Ravens (22)

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11)

Key injuries throughout the year have given me pause with all of these teams, but all should make the playoffs regardless. The Chargers’ offensive line is in shambles, but otherwise they’ve been solid for the most part. I still have questions about the Ravens, but they’re getting healthier by the day, and they play in a weak division. The only difference between them and the Bucs is that the Bucs are sustaining more injuries instead of getting healthier. Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s injury could be the nail in the coffin, though they should still win their weak division.

Tier 6: Mike Tomlin

17. Pittsburgh Steelers (14)

Once again the Steelers get their own tier. Neither the offense nor the defense is too good, but I’d still put money on them winning their 9 games to extend Tomlin’s streak of seasons without a losing record.

Tier 7: Middle of the Pack

18. Houston Texans (20)

19. Dallas Cowboys (21)

20. Carolina Panthers (24)

The Texans have quietly rattled off 3 straight wins to improve their record to 6-5 on the year. They were 3-0 in backup Davis Mills’ starts filling in for the concussed CJ Stroud. That feels more lucky than legit to me especially considering how poor their offensive line still is, but their defense is good enough that they could challenge for the playoffs. I’m not letting the Cowboys’ 2^nd half comeback convince me that this defense has turned a corner. They’ve only played well against the rival Eagles (which means that they can just gameplan better against them) and the helpless Raiders. That said the Cowboys are a decent team, just not too threatening. The Panthers are the definition of average this year with some highs, some lows, and a .500 record.

Tier 8: Disappointing

21. Atlanta Falcons (18)

22. Cincinnati Bengals (23)

23. Washington Commanders (17)

24. Minnesota Vikings (19)

If you read my posts from the last two weeks, you know how disappointed I am in the Falcons compared to my preseason predictions for them. They still lead this tier due to how well their defense has played, especially their rookies on that side. I didn’t think it was possible for the Bengals to look exactly the same as last year, but that’s what has happened. The offense is still good enough to place here. Injuries have piled up for the Commanders, but things didn’t look pretty even before their key players got hurt. Last year’s success feels like such a long time ago, and likely set the bar higher for this year than it should have been. “Nine,” AKA Viking quarterback JJ McCarthy, is holding back a talented roster. I’ve been higher on McCarthy than most since he was drafted, but his development timeline just doesn’t fit the timeline for the rest of the team.

Tier 9: A Lot More Competitive Than People Realize

25. Miami Dolphins (28)

26. Arizona Cardinals (27)

27. Cleveland Browns (25)

28. New York Giants (26)

The Dolphins have quietly accrued 4 wins, including winning 3 of their last 4. Tua Tagovailoa and the offense haven’t even been that bad, they’ve just lost some close winnable games, and the defense still lacks talent. Arizona has gone 1-8 since their 2-0 start, but a lot of their losses have been in close games, and their point differential is only -35. That coupled with how well Jacoby Brissett has played in relief of Kyler Murray makes the Cardinals a little bit underrated right now. If Cleveland didn’t have their defensive line (which notched 10 sacks against the Raiders last Sunday), they’d be the worst team in the entire league. The Giants have arguably looked like the best of this bunch with an exciting offense and loads of misused talent on their defense, but poor coaching and a ridiculous schedule have them only at 2 wins. They’re the only team in the entire league that has been eliminated from playoff contention so far.

Tier 10: Bottom of the Barrel

29. New Orleans Saints (30)

30. New York Jets (31)

31. Tennessee Titans (32)

32. Las Vegas Raiders (29)

These teams just don’t have much going for them. After being a tough out earlier in the season, the Saints have regressed into one of the worst teams. From here, the season is all about seeing what they have in rookie QB Tyler Shough. The Jets have actually looked better than their 0-7 start lately, but their opening 2 months keep them near the bottom. The Titans only rise a spot because Cam Ward is starting to figure stuff out, and the fact that the Raiders have just been that bad.

Weekly Awards:

Best: Jahmyr Gibbs

Oh how this one pains the Giants fan in me. At halftime of this game I was all ready to give best player of the week to Giants receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who had 6 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone. Instead, Gibbs took over the game, leading to a 34-27 overtime win for Detroit. Gibbs racked up 219 rushing yards on just 15 carries and 2 scores on the ground, and added 11 catches for 45 yards and another score through the air. The Lions, who are currently on the outside looking in for the NFC playoffs, will need more performances like this if they’re to make it back.

Worst: Shane Steichen

There were a number of bad performances over the weekend, but Steichen’s decision making for the Colts in their overtime loss to the Chiefs tops the list for me. Things were going great through 3 quarters as the Colts were up 20-9, but it went downhill from there. Most notably, with several opportunities to put the game away, Steichen went away from his best player, as running back Jonathan Taylor only had a single carry in the 4^th quarter. That absolutely should not have happened, and there’s no excuse for it (unless Taylor was injured or something). I said before that the Chiefs did not win this game, the Colts just lost it, and this is exactly why.

Biggest Surprise: Ji’Ayir Brown

Who predicted this unheralded 49ers safety almost single handedly winning their game on Monday night? On a night where the offense didn’t do much due to Brock Purdy’s 3 interceptions, Brown and the defense came through. Brown picked off Panthers’ QB Bryce Young twice, with both happening on promising drives by the Panthers’ offense. This was a huge win to help San Francisco keep pace in the NFC playoff field, and Brown was the biggest reason they won.

Biggest Disappointment: Saquon Barkley

Look Barkley’s play has been off all year, but Sunday night was by far his most unacceptable performance of the season. Barkley only had 10 carries for 22 yards, and he lost a fumble. He did add 7 catches for 52 yards through the air, but that doesn’t matter when he proved to be unreliable when trying to ice out the game. The Eagles were up 21-0 with less than a minute before halftime. Had Barkley been better on the ground, they likely wouldn’t have allowed the Cowboys back into the game and not allowed the 21 point comeback.

Best Rookie: Walter Nolen

Perhaps he wasn’t the best rookie across the whole league, but Nolen made the best play out of any rookie on Sunday. Near the end of the 1^st quarter, Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson hit Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence and forced the fumble, which Nolen grabbed out of the air and returned for the big man TD. The Cardinals did go on to lose the game in overtime, but that was the first of 4 turnovers the Cards defense forced on Lawrence. There may be no moral victories in the NFL, but Nolen’s score can be something that Arizona can hang their hat on.

Stock Up: Cleveland Browns’ defense

Shedeur Sanders’ debut for the Browns overshadowed how dominant their defense was in the win over the Raiders. That unit tallied a whopping 10 sacks on the day, harassing Raiders QB Geno Smith all day. As expected, Myles Garrett led the way with 3 sacks, giving him 18 on the year. It’s absolutely insane that in his last 4 games, he’s had 5 sacks, 1 sack, 4 sacks, and now 3 sacks. But it wasn’t just him, as defensive tackle Maliek Collins had 2.5, linebacker Devin Bush and defensive ends Isaiah McGuire and Cameron Thomas each had 1, defensive tackles Shelby Harris and Mike Hall and linebacker Jerome Baker each added 0.5. Overall, it was a dominant day for the Cleveland defense.

Stock Down: JJ McCarthy

McCarthy’s stock is at an all-time low, as he put up a meager 87 yards passing and a 0:2 TD:INT ratio in a bad loss to the Packers. I’m honestly unsure of the solution for the Vikings at this point. As I mentioned before, the Vikings have a win now roster led by a player who is essentially a rookie quarterback who is struggling even worse than most rookies. There’s still time for him to develop, but between his “alter ego” stuff, and the Vikings’ roster timeline, it’s going to be an uphill battle for him.

Player Spotlight: Divine Deablo

For all of the credit that the Falcons’ rookies get for their upstart defense, Deablo has been the backbone all year. He just returned from an injury, and his presence was immediately felt. His stats don’t jump off the page, as he only had 8 tackles on Sunday and didn’t add any sacks or picks, but that undersells his impact. While the revamped pass rush covered up some of the issues, they allowed 30+ points in 3 out of the 4 games Deablo missed, got bullied by a weak Dolphins team, and got annihilated by Jonathan Taylor’s 244 yards in an overtime loss to the Colts. The defense is just that much better with him on the field.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: As I’m sure everyone expected, Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants are the only team this year to put up 30+ points on both the Eagles and the Broncos.

Weekly Trivia Question: Which two teams played in the first of the annual Thanksgiving games? (Note: there were Thanksgiving games as early as 1920, but the tradition did not become annual until 1934 in the game between these two teams)

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Best: Myles Garrett

Garrett, once again, had a fantastic performance, notching 4 sacks against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. He’s on his way to another exceptional year as well, as he leads the league with 15 sacks thus far in what likely will result in his 2^nd career Defensive Player of the Year Award. If only Cleveland were a better team, then maybe his tremendous performances would mean something more (although, he chose to sign his extension there this offseason, so who am I to judge?).

Worst: Chip Kelly

Look, I am not surprised in the slightest that the Raiders lost this game. The Cowboys were playing for something bigger than football (rest in peace, Marshawn Kneeland). That said, Chip Kelly, what in the actual f*#% was that? The Raiders offensive coordinator came in with one of the worst gameplans I’ve seen in my entire life. Dallas has had a terrible run defense all year (although trade deadline acquisition Quinnen Williams was bound to help that), and quarterback Geno Smith has struggled all year. So naturally the obvious gameplan was to… call 12 pass plays to 1 run in the 1^st quarter alone?!? That’s an absolutely atrocious plan of attack, and truly deserving of the worst performance of the week.

Biggest Surprise: Brock Purdy

Here’s the thing, I think Brock Purdy is an excellent quarterback and gets a lot of undeserved hate. And yet he’s still my pick for biggest surprise of the week. He was coming off a big injury that cost him several weeks. Considering how he looked earlier in the year playing through the injury, I definitely thought he could struggle against a decent Cardinals defense. Instead, he was incredibly sharp, completing 73% of his passes and tallying 3 touchdowns. If he continues to play like this, the NFC Wild Card race is sure to be one for the ages.

Biggest Disappointment: Jared Goff

Sunday night was just a very, very weird game for the Lions. Going 0/5 on 4^th downs is one reason, as even on the worst off days teams won’t be quite that bad. However, Goff’s game was equally odd. He completed 14/37 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown and interception apiece. What’s weird is that, while his completion percentage was under 40%, his yards per completion was over 18. The explosive plays were clearly there, and when Goff could hit his guys, it was great. However, he did that too infrequently.

Best Rookie: Tetairoa McMillan

I’ve been waiting for this one. McMillan was arguably my favorite player to watch and study in the 2025 Draft, and he finally had a signature breakout game. Matching up on an elite cover corner in the Falcons’ AJ Terrell, he caught 8/12 targets for 130 yards and 2 scores, including the go-ahead score with 1:08 left in regulation. He’d had a good year so far but hadn’t quite had a breakout game like the one on Sunday. Hopefully, this is the first of many.

Stock Up: Josh Allen

Buffalo has had a bizarre year. They’re a respectable 7-3, with a very easy schedule and a decent roster. And yet, it’s felt disjointed at times to the point of disappointment, and they’re 2^nd in their division to the Patriots. Even Allen’s year has felt uneven at times, although in all fairness, his numbers are actually better than his MVP season last year. And on Sunday, he proved why this team will be scary come playoffs even with all of the volatility. Allen put on a show with 350 yards and 6 touchdowns. Now, he did throw 2 picks (1 of which was terrible), so it’s not quite all sunshine and rainbows just yet. However, for all their flaws, this team is absolutely not done yet thanks to Allen.

Stock Down: Sam Darnold

I might be the biggest Sam Darnold defender around, but Sunday certainly did not help my case. On a day in which the defense was absolutely on fire and the rest of the offense around him all had solid days, Darnold’s 4 costly interceptions sunk the Seahawks against their division rival Rams and also put them a game back in the divisional race. That’s a very bad spot to be in. The Rams’ defense always seems to give Darnold fits, dating back to last year’s Wild Card Round. I do still believe in both Darnold and this team, but in order to make a playoff run, he’s going to need to get over the hump against this Rams squad.

Player Spotlight: Jordyn Brooks

Linebackers never seem to get enough love, so let’s highlight a really good one here. Brooks of the Dolphins has flown under the radar his entire career, but this year he’s really shining. He currently leads the league with a whopping 125 tackles after a 20 tackle performance on Sunday against Washington. He also had an 18 tackle game in Week 4 against the Jets, and he’s got 2.5 sacks on the year too. His coverage isn’t the best, but he’s an absolute tackling machine.

Preseason Predictions: Revisited (Part II)

So now, with that out of the way, let’s see where my preseason predictions stand now at midseason. Last week I covered several of my smaller articles like Dark Horse Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year candidates, so this week I’ll cover the rest, which are my official record predictions and award predictions. There’s some good, and a whole lot of bad, so let’s get right into it!

Record Predictions:

AFC North:

1. Baltimore Ravens (14-3)

2. Cincinnati Bengals (11-6)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8)

4. Cleveland Browns (3-14)

AFC South:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8)

2. Houston Texans (8-9)

3. Tennessee Titans (4-13)

4. Indianapolis Colts (3-14)

AFC East:

1. Buffalo Bills (12-5)

2. New England Patriots (8-9)

3. New York Jets (8-9)

4. Miami Dolphins (6-11)

AFC West:

1. Kansas City Chiefs (10-7)

2. Denver Broncos (10-7)

3. Los Angeles Chargers (9-8)

4. Las Vegas Raiders (8-9)

Playoff Seeds:

1. Ravens

2. Bills

3. Chiefs

4. Jaguars

5. Bengals

6. Broncos

7. Chargers

I missed on quite a few of these, but I did have some hits. Even if you can blame it on injuries, I was very wrong about the AFC North. Even though it looks like the Ravens are about to come back and win the division anyway, they definitely do not look like the best regular season team as I had thought. Similar things could be said about the Bengals too. At least I was mostly right about the Browns and the Steelers.

I was 3/4 in the AFC South, as I had the Jags as a solid 9 win team, I called the Texans’ slight fall off before the year, and the Titans are terrible as expected. However, the worst prediction of them all also fell in this division, as the Colts have been infinitely better than my 3-14 prediction. In all fairness, I thought the roster was decent, which has been partially true (they’ve in fact been excellent, not just decent), but I was terrified of how they’d look with Daniel Jones under center. Boy was I wrong as he’s been great this year (despite a few bad games leading into their bye week). That has the Colts as one of the best teams in the entire league, so I was very far off with that one.

This isn’t great, but it’s not terrible. The Patriots lead the division at 9-2, already better than my 8 win prediction. In my defense, I thought they’d look like this by the end of the year, I just thought it might take a bit longer to gel under Mike Vrabel’s new system. Instead, they bypassed that entirely and already look great, so my bad on that. The Bills are still a solid team, though perhaps not quite as dominant as expected, and the Dolphins are bad as expected. I just misread this Jets team entirely, so that’s another missed prediction.

Though the offense isn’t convincing at all, Denver is better than the 10 win pace I set for them. The Chargers would also be infinitely better than that 9 win total if their entire offensive line weren’t hurt, as they looked like the best team in the league when left tackle Joe Alt was healthy. However, factoring in the injuries, my 9-8 prediction actually looks rather good, though maybe a tad low still. I underestimated just how bad Chip Kelly is at offensive coordinator for the Raiders. If you want more on that, read the first half of this article. I did see the Chiefs fall from grace happening due to their one score game luck (12-0 last year, 0-5 this year), but I might’ve given them too much credit, though my prediction is reasonably close at least.

NFC North:

1. Detroit Lions (13-4)

2. Green Bay Packers (10-7)

3. Chicago Bears (9-8)

4. Minnesota Vikings (7-10)

NFC South:

1. Atlanta Falcons (12-5)

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-6)

3. Carolina Panthers (9-8)

4. New Orleans Saints (2-15)

NFC East:

1. Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)

2. Washington Commanders (10-7)

3. Dallas Cowboys (6-11)

4. New York Giants (5-12)

NFC West:

1. Seattle Seahawks (11-6)

2. Los Angeles Rams (9-8)

3. San Francisco 49ers (9-8)

4. Arizona Cardinals (6-11)

Playoff Seeds:

1. Lions

2. Falcons

3. Eagles

4. Seahawks

5. Buccaneers

6. Packers

7. Commanders

The NFC side looks much better than the AFC (besides the NFC South). The Lions are slightly worse than my prediction, but they should be fine. The Packers are more talented than my total, but they’ve been so inconsistent that I could be spot on. The Bears have had really good one score game luck so it remains to be seen if they can keep up their pace, but if they can they are definitely better than my prediction. The Vikings are just painfully average, so 7-10 was a really good mark for them.

I really had high hopes for the Falcons. The schedule was supposed to be easy, the young, talented offense was supposed to break out, and the defense would do just enough to lead them to a great year. Almost the exact opposite has happened, as their opponents ended up being better than expected, and the defense is carrying the team, although several of the offensive players have done well despite a bad team performance. The rest of the division is nearly perfect.

The East is also very solid, although I missed the mark with the Commanders. I thought Jayden Daniels would be good enough to lead them far enough despite some roster holes, but his injuries have halted that completely. I still think the Eagles record will end slightly worse than last year, but they will still win this division. Both the Giants and Cowboys have had their moments, but also struggled enough to the point where I’d say that their predictions were very good.

I would’ve had the Rams better than this if we’d had more clarity on Matthew Stafford’s back injury throughout the preseason, but we did not, so my prediction was not the best. Otherwise though, I nailed it predicting that the Seahawks would turn into a contender, the 49ers would be back from a tough season a year ago, and the Cardinals would be slightly better than the bottom of the barrel.

Awards Predictions:

Coach of the Year:

1. Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons)

2. Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks)

3. Dave Canales (Carolina Panthers)

This is very bad, although for good reason. Coach of the Year seems to always go to the coach of the upstart team that makes the playoffs. I never thought Morris was the best coach, I just thought that the Falcons would be so good as a team that he’d win it. Admittedly, I should not have put so much blind faith into that team. Macdonald and Canales have both been solid candidates for the award though, so it wasn’t all bad.

Offensive Rookie of the Year:

1. Ashton Jeanty (RB, Las Vegas Raiders)

2. Tetairoa McMillan (WR, Carolina Panthers)

3. Matthew Golden (WR, Green Bay Packers)

In all fairness, if Chip Kelly knew how to use Jeanty right, he’d probably lead this race right now (and no, I do not apologize for this article turning into a hating on Chip Kelly post). However, since he doesn’t McMillan has as good a case as anyone to win it, so that was a great shoutout. Golden hasn’t done too much for the Packers as of yet, so that was another miss.

Defensive Rookie of the Year:

1. James Pearce Jr. (Edge, Atlanta Falcons)

2. Walter Nolen (DT, Arizona Cardinals)

3. Donovan Ezeiruaku (Edge, Dallas Cowboys)

Pearce has been really solid for Atlanta. He just doesn’t play enough snaps from his designated pass rusher role to really contend for this award. Nolen hasn’t played yet due to injury so he won’t get this award, but that’s not my fault either. Ezeiruaku is almost exactly like Pearce, not earning enough snaps for the title. There is still time though for any of these guys to emerge, as no one has taken ahold of this race quite yet.

Offensive Player of the Year:

1. Bijan Robinson (RB, Atlanta Falcons)

2. Derrick Henry (RB, Baltimore Ravens)

3. Ja’Marr Chase (WR, Cincinnati Bengals)

I didn’t put either of the 2 favorite on my ballot (Jonathan Taylor, RB, Colts; Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seahawks), but my picks don’t look too bad either, plus I did put Smith-Njigba in my Dark Horse Candidates list. Robinson has fluctuated with the Falcons offense, but when things are clicking for him, he’s been right there with Taylor. The inconsistency puts him below. Henry had a fumbling issue early on but has been decent since, though nowhere near OPOY levels. Ignoring the spitting incident, Chase has been really good this year too, but again, not quite on the Taylor/JSN tier.

Defensive Player of the Year:

1. Maxx Crosby (Edge, Las Vegas Raiders)

2. Derek Stingley Jr. (CB, Houston Texans)

3. Aidan Hutchinson (Edge, Detroit Lions)

Another one where all 3 guys are playing very well, but I didn’t include the current favorite (Myles Garrett, Edge, Browns). Crosby notched a great strip sack on Monday night and has a respectable 6 sacks on the year. Stingley has been one of the best shutdown corners in the league on one of the top defenses. Hutchinson has been slightly better than Crosby with 7.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles to Crosby’s 2 on the year.

Most Valuable Player:

1. Lamar Jackson (QB, Baltimore Ravens)

2. Joe Burrow (QB, Cincinnati Bengals)

3. Josh Allen (QB, Buffalo Bills)

Jackson’s injury woes and the Ravens’ slow start likely took him out of the running for this award, but he’s been great so far when healthy. Burrow has been out even longer, likely taking him out of the race too. Allen has been the best of the 3 and is coming off of the aforementioned 6 touchdown game that put him squarely back in the mix for the award. That said, I did miss on pretty much all of the favorites so far, such as Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye, and Jonathan Taylor, so not the best.

And there you have it, all of my preseason predictions revisited! I might do this again at season’s end to see how they fared over the entire year, but we’ll see. Let me know in the comments if you’d like to see that. And with that, I leave you with the weekly trivia question!

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: In 2016, Ezekiel Elliott finished ahead of Le’Veon Bell in both total yards and total touchdowns. Elliott had 1994 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Bell had 1884 yards and 9 touchdowns. Cardinals running back David Johnson actually beat both of them with 2118 yards and 20 scores that year.

Weekly Trivia Question: As of right now, the Eagles and the Broncos are the number 1 seeds in the NFC and AFC, respectively. Both teams have elite defenses. However, each defense has surrendered 30+ points in a game once this season. It happened to be the same offense against both defenses. Which team has scored 30+ points against both the Eagles and the Broncos this season?

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Best: Jonathan Taylor

Obviously Taylor is getting his fair share of credit for his performance this year, and his 286 yard, 3 touchdown effort on Sunday in Berlin further cemented that. The more stats you hear about his season, the more ridiculous they get, such as the fact that this was his 5^th 3 touchdown game of the season, which is half of his games. I could go on and on about that, but I want to use this section to talk about something that has flown under the radar, and that is Taylor’s Hall of Fame case, because people all too often underrate his entire career. Obviously, he’s only 26, and he has several more years ahead of him, but I still think it’s worth mentioning it. Let’s start at the beginning when he had 1468 scrimmage yards and 13 touchdowns as a rookie in 2020. His 1169 rushing yards put him 3^rd in the entire league. He then became one of the more forgotten rushing champions in 2021 with 1811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns (and he added enough receiving to give him over 2000 total yards and 20 touchdowns). He did deal with some quiet years in 2022 and 2023 due to injuries and a contract dispute, but he was, once again, quietly elite last year in 2024 with 1431 rushing yards. That brings us to his nearly 1400 yards and 17 touchdowns in only 10 games so far this season. He’s getting a ton of recognition for his insane season this year, but people need to put more respect on his career as a whole, because it could be one of the best we’ve ever seen.

Worst: 4^th quarter Jacksonville Jaguars

There’s no sugarcoating how bad the Jags were in the 4^th quarter on Sunday. They only managed a single yard of offense in the frame, and surrendered 26 points to the Davis Mills led Texans. They were up 17-0 early in the 2^nd and up 19 going into the 4^th. They allowed Mills, who I personally think is not even that good by backup standards, to finish with over 300 total yards and 3 touchdowns. I’ve been critical of the Jags this season, as I was skeptical of this passing attack on offense, and the defense was only playing well due to high turnover numbers, which is not a sustainable way to play on that side of the ball. I didn’t think it would bottom out quite this badly though, but here we are. If they want a chance at the playoffs, they need to fix a lot of stuff on both sides of the ball by the end of the season.

Biggest Surprise: Tyler Shough

I know a few iffy outings as a rookie does not define a player, but I was unimpressed with Shough’s preseason action and his few outings in garbage time during the regular season. So much so that I was not a fan of benching Spencer Rattler for him, considering Rattler had played decently despite the circumstances. This is why I’m not a head coach though, because Kellen Moore made the right decision turning to Shough when he did. He was really good, with 282 yards and 2 touchdowns on a 19/27 completion rate. More importantly, he led the Saints to their 2^nd win of the season, against a division rival on the road. He’ll definitely be a player to watch for the rest of the season.

Biggest Disappointment: Buffalo Bills

What’s going on with the Bills? Sure, the roster has more questions than expected, but it absolutely should not look so bad that they’re losing by three scores to the Dolphins of all teams. Josh Allen has been off since his superhuman effort to beat Baltimore in Week 1, and James Cook has quieted dramatically from his scorching hot start. The receivers always had some questions, but those two, plus the offensive line, need to be better. Defensively, the Bills are just lucky teams Giants, Bengals, and Dolphins exist, or else this run defense would be receiving much harsher criticism. The young secondary is better than expected at least, but it doesn’t much matter if the run defense can’t stop anyone. For a team whose goal is the Super Bowl, they are becoming awfully matchup dependent. If they draw teams like the Chiefs or Steelers in the playoffs, they can stop their weak rushing attacks enough to have a fighting chance. Anyone else and things could get dicey.

Best Rookie: TreVeyon Henderson

I said before last Tuesday’s trade deadline that the Patriots should consider picking up an extra running back. This had nothing to do with Henderson’s talent, and everything to do with the fact that they barely used him. Sunday showed exactly why they didn’t necessarily need reinforcements at the position if they were just willing to give this kid the ball. Henderson went for an even 150 total yards on 15 touches, and he ripped off 2 huge 50+ yard rushing scores. The Patriots sit at an elite 8-2 record despite flaws in their offensive line and rushing attack. Imagine how good they’d be right now if they’d given Henderson more touches earlier.

Stock Up: Baltimore Ravens

Was Sunday their best performance? Absolutely not, as Lamar Jackson barely went over 200 total yards, Derrick Henry only had 75, and the defense didn’t do too much as they only had to capitalize on JJ McCarthy’s rookie mistakes. That said, things looked better, and they rattled off their 3^rd straight win. Even when he doesn’t play the best game, Jackson gives them a chance in every game. Further, the defense is getting healthier, though I still question their ability when fully healthy. However, most importantly, their 4-5 record puts them only a game back of the 5-4 Steelers. Considering how both teams have played lately, the Ravens have to be the favorites for this division once again.

Stock Down: New York Giants

Can someone please tell me the plan here? I’ll try not to turn this into too much of a rant as I have in the past with this team, but I have no idea what the direction is at this point. In case you haven’t heard, the Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll on Monday in what I can only describe as shocking given the timing, as well as the circumstances. Despite the 2-8 record (which honestly reflects more on the schedule than the teams’ play), Daboll has the team playing better than they have since his first year on the job when he won Coach of the Year. Knowing that, and the fact that the schedule was going to be brutal regardless, the times to fire Daboll were either the end of last season, or the end of this one. Firing him midseason is weird, especially considering some of the other staff reports that have emerged since. It was reported that general manager Joe Schoen will be heading the coaching search, meaning not only is he not getting fired, but he’s likely to be extended, since his contract runs out at the end of the 2026-2027 season, and having a GM on an expiring contract is a recipe for disaster. Additionally, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen was not fired either despite his defense being the reason for their numerous 4^th quarter collapses this year. I just don’t get it.

Player Spotlight: DeMarcus Lawrence

After a quiet end to his Dallas career with no more than 6.5 sacks in any season since 2019, Lawrence has been a key veteran presence for the Seahawks’ top defense. He’s up to 4 sacks in 8 games so far, and on Sunday, he rumbled for 2 scoop and score touchdowns. That makes him the only player this year with 2 fumbles recovered for touchdowns, and he got both in 1 game. Seattle is poised to return to the postseason this year, and Lawrence’s play has been a key piece in the puzzle.

Predictions: Revisited

I think the best way to go about this is to go through each of my prediction articles and pick out the best and worst predictions from each (perhaps 2 of each from the bigger articles). I also think I’m going to do half this week and half next so that this article isn’t a million years long. To start, we’ll go way back to my Dark Horse Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year Candidates.

Dark Horse Offensive Player of the Year Candidates (published 7/15/25)

Best: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Let’s start with one of my best predictions of the year. JSN has arguably been the best receiver in the entire league this year, and, if it weren’t for Jonathan Taylor’s insane season for the Colts, he would be the shoo-in for Offensive Player of the Year so far. He’s currently 5^th in the league in receptions with 63, 1^st in yards with 1041, and tied for 14^th with 5 touchdown. The only thing I got wrong about this pick was that he’s not even a dark horse candidate at this point. For a preseason pick though, it was a slam dunk.

Worst: Chuba Hubbard

In all fairness, I still think Hubbard is a good player. However, he earns the worst spot here due to the fact that he’s the only player on the list who has lost his starting job. That’s not necessarily his fault, as his injury led to Rico Dowdle’s emergence as the new starting running back. However, he hasn’t impressed enough even when he’s played, with only 432 scrimmage yards and 3 touchdowns in 8 games. If he can regain his form from the last two seasons, he and Dowdle could form one of the best running back tandems in the league.

Dark Horse Defensive Player of the Year Candidates (7/19/25)

Best: Nik Bonitto

I was a lot better with consistency when it came to this post, as several of the guys I wrote about are having great years. However, none are in the Defensive Player of the Year race as much as Bonitto. The Broncos’ edge rusher is currently 3^rd in the league in sacks with 9.5, and he’s one of the best players on one of the NFL’s best defenses. He’s unlikely to get the award considering the seasons that Brian Burns and Myles Garrett are having, but Bonitto is firmly the next man up behind them.

Worst: Christian Benford

Benford is not having nearly as good a year as he did last season. The Bills’ top cornerback is surrendering a 113.1 passer rating in coverage, has yet to force a takeaway, and has a mere 51.9 PFF grade (which is 94^th out of 109 cornerbacks). The one good thing is that the rest of the secondary has stepped up, as Buffalo has been a decent defense against the pass (against the run has been a much, much different story). Needless to say though, Benford has not been as good in coverage as he was a year ago.

Bold Predictions for 2025 (9/3/2025)

Best: Brian Callahan will be the first head coach fired

This was about the only good prediction in this batch, but boy did I nail it. Callahan was out as Titans head coach on October 13 after his team fell to the lowly Raiders the day before, dropping their record to 1-5. That gave him a putrid career head coaching record of 4-19. A range of factors led to him being ousted, from his seeming lack of connection to the players, to his inability to understand some basic rules of the game. I was spot on in seeing these things last year, and while it sucks for him, it was easily one of my best predictions of the year.

Worst: All 3 New York teams will generally play well this year

There were no shortage of bad predictions among the remaining 4 in this batch. The NFC South is certainly not sending 3 teams to the playoffs (though my argument for that would be the Panthers would be better than expected, which, despite their recent loss to the Saints, has mostly been true), the 49ers are above .500 with Brock Purdy barely even playing, and while the Cowboys have not exactly been good, they are far from number 1 overall pick levels of bad. However, while none of those were good, this one has to take the cake as the worst of the bunch. The Jets and Giants only have 2 wins apiece, and while the Bills have had their moments, they’ve largely underperformed at 6-3. The Jets have looked terrible all year, the Giants have actually looked ok but just somewhat bizarrely fired their head coach, and the Bills just don’t have a run defense. This prediction was so far from true.

And that’s where I’ll wrap it up for this, I’ll cover the bigger articles (award predictions and win loss record predictions) in next weeks’ post, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Kyren Williams was narrowly ahead of Josh Jacobs in the rushing yard rankings through Week 8, with 472 yards to Jacobs’ 447.

Weekly Trivia Question: Both Le’Veon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott had electric seasons in 2016. Which player had more total yards, and which had more total touchdowns?

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Best: Sam Darnold

Darnold was absolutely on point on Sunday Night Football, especially in the first half. He was a perfect 16/16 at the break, with a whopping 268 yards and 4 touchdowns. That’s an elite stat line across an entire game, let alone by halftime. This put the Seahawks up 31-7 by then, so they let up a bit in the second half. Darnold finished 21/24 with 330 yards, 4 touchdowns, and a garbage time pick. Seattle has one of the most potent offenses in the league this year, and Darnold is a huge reason why.

Worst: Daniel Jones

Jones was undeniably the worst player of the week with 5 turnovers, but unlike many, I don’t think that puts the Colts down and out. Jones threw 3 picks and fumbled 3 times as well (lost 2), and he was the catalyst for the downfall. That said, they still finished only down 7 by the end of the game, and they moved the ball well too. Furthermore, Jones’ issues going back to his New York days was never turnovers, it was just inconsistency and mediocrity moving the ball. That wasn’t the issue in Jones’ worst game of the year, so the Colts offense should be fine. Still, it was the worst performance of the week.

Biggest Surprise: Colston Loveland and Kyle Monangai

This pair of Bears rookie skill position players had been quiet up until now. They could’ve been the best rookies (and quite frankly, they probably were), but I was so surprised by their breakouts that I’m putting them here instead. Loveland was competing for targets in a crowded receiver group, and even then, he’d disappointed when targeted. Monangai had shown more in a limited sample, but was clearly the backup behind D’Andre Swift. They both broke out in the Bears’ shootout win over Cincinnati. Loveland caught 6 of 7 targets for 118 yards and his first 2 career touchdowns, while Monangai carried the rock 26 times for 176 yards, and added 3 catches for 22 yards through the air. If these two players can continue this, the Bears will be better than expected down the stretch.

Biggest Disappointment: Packers red zone offense

The Packers offense only manage 13 points on Sunday, despite a respectable 273 yards from Jordan Love and 100 from Josh Jacobs. This was due to how poor they were in the red zone. They made 4 trips to the red zone, which resulted in a fumble, a field goal, a turnover on downs, and a late touchdown. That’s not good enough to win games consistently. And it’s not like playing a good defense is an excuse, as the Panthers, while they are quietly a lot better than their historically bad unit a year ago, aren’t good on that side of the ball. The Packers have the potential to be the best team in the league, but they need to figure a lot of this stuff out and fast.

Best Rookie: Jalon Walker

The Falcons lost to an excellent Patriots squad, but it was definitely not because of the pass rush, and in particular Walker. Maybe it says more about the Patriots’ offensive line, considering this is the second week in a row that they allowed 6 sacks, but credit is due to the Falcons’ defense as well. Walker broke out with 9 total tackles and 2 sacks, and he also forced a key fumble on Maye on one of the sacks that was recovered by the Falcons. Hopefully, he can continue to rack up sacks.

Stock Up: JJ McCarthy

People seem to forget with all of their criticism of McCarthy that he has played exactly 3 NFL games. It wasn’t always the prettiest on Sunday, but he played more than well enough to give hope for the rest of the season. He completed 14/25 passes for 143 yards and a 2:1 TD:INT ratio. He also ran for an additional 12 yards and a touchdown, and took 5 sacks. More importantly, they won against a really strong Lions team. Again, it wasn’t the best, but it could be the start of some momentum for him.

Stock Down: Dak Prescott

The Cowboys made some deadline deals for their defense (more on those later) so that Prescott doesn’t need to be perfect to win, which should help. Before those deals, however, that was exactly the case, as we’ve seen for 2 straight games how awful the Cowboys look if Prescott doesn’t have an elite performance. He completed 17/27 passes for 250 yards, a touchdown and a pick, and absorbed 5 sacks. That’s a fine day, not particularly good but certainly not horrible. And yet, the Cowboys were demolished by a Cardinals team that hadn’t won since Week 2. It’s been 2 weeks of middling performances for Prescott. Even with the defensive upgrades, they need him to be better.

Player Spotlight: Byron Young

Much is made of the Rams offense, with Matthew Stafford playing at an MVP level, Kyren Willams being a great back, and Puka Nacua and Davante Adams being the best receiving duo in the league. So today I’m here to highlight how good the Rams’ defense has been, particularly Byron Young. The 3^rd year pass rusher had arguably his worst game of the season on Sunday, but that’s largely due to how good he’s been this year. It was his first game of the year with no sacks, which is highly impressive. On the year he has 9, which is 3^rd in the league behind elite pass rushers Brian Burns (11) and Myles Garrett (10). He’s also just been flat out underrated his entire career, as he had 8 sacks as a rookie and 9 last year (including playoffs). Young deserves a lot more respect on his name.

Trade Deadline Grades:

To keep things simple, I’m going to pick just the 5 biggest trades, and give my grades for both sides. (Note: I’m going to stick mostly to trades that happened Monday and Tuesday, as earlier trades are already starting to pan out (ie. Joe Flacco on the Bengals))

Jakobi Meyers to Jaguars:

Jaguars:

· WR Jakobi Meyers

· Grade: A-

Raiders:

· 2026 4^th round pick

· 2026 6^th round pick

· Grade: B+

I actually like this trade a lot for both sides. For the Jags, they get a sure handed possession receiver to open up the offense more. Much has been made of how bad some of their receivers’ drop issues have been, so adding a player like Meyers fits in seamlessly. It also relieves some pressure from second year disappointment Brian Thomas Jr. As for the Raiders, I think this is a solid return. The trade market has trended in a way where it seems like mid-round picks are never traded; either the player is elite and goes for 1^st round picks, or he’s not and he gets moved for 6^th or 7^th round picks. So, netting a 4^th for Meyers is good business.

Jaelan Phillips to Eagles:

Eagles:

· Edge Jaelan Phillips

· Grade: B-

Dolphins:

· 2026 3^rd round pick

· Grade: B+

I’ve been a huge fan of Phillips since before he was drafted, so I’m glad to see him move to a much better team than the Dolphins. That said, I think the Dolphins made out slightly better here. The Eagles did need some pass rush help, and Phillips is a good player, but he hasn’t really shown enough in recent years to warrant moving a 3^rd round pick. A lot of that has been due to injuries, and I still like the acquisition for Philly, just the price was a tad too high. Likewise, the Dolphins netting a 3^rd round pick was solid, as it now gives them their fifth pick in the top 100 in the 2026 draft.

Rashid Shaheed to Seahawks:

Seahawks:

· WR Rashid Shaheed

· Grade: B+

Saints:

· 2026 4^th round pick

· 2026 5^th round pick

· Grade: B+

I’m probably giving out a few too many B+ grades, but I do feel like both sides of this deal are solid. Shaheed is a phenomenal fit in the upstart Seattle offense, fitting in as a big play specialist next to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and reuniting with his former offensive coordinator on the Saints in Klint Kubiak. The only thing keeping this from an A for me is that I’m not the biggest fan of giving up picks in back to back rounds, especially considering how few picks they now have. They’ve got their own picks in the first 3 rounds, and a 6^th rounder, and that’s it. That’s a bit of a risky move in my personal opinion. From the Saints’ side of things, moving an expiring contract for 4^th and 5^th round picks is always a solid deal.

Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson to Cowboys:

Cowboys:

· DT Quinnen Williams

· LB Logan Wilson

· Grade: A

Bengals:

· 2026 7^th round pick

· Grade: C

Jets:

· DT Mazi Smith

· 2027 1^st round pick (Jets receive higher of Dallas’ 2 1^st round picks)

· 2026 2^nd round pick

· Grade: B

I decided to lump these two trades together because they are going to work in tandem for the Cowboys. As a Giants fan, it pains me to say that the Cowboys did excellent business with these deals. Realistically, the defense this season is so far off the rails that even these acquisitions aren’t going to give them a good enough unit to make the playoffs. However, this feels like a play for next season, as both Williams and Wilson are under contract through 2027. Williams has been one of the best defensive tackles in the league this year, and Wilson has been an underrated linebacker during his career. Giving up a 1^st for Williams in a year in which they had 2, plus keeping both 1^st round picks in 2026, is a big win. I know Wilson had seemingly fallen out of favor with the Cincinnati coaching staff, but only getting a 7^th for him is not good work. As for the Jets, Williams being under contract through 2027 lowered this grade for me. He’s an elite player on a very reasonable contract, but I can definitely see how the haul they got back for him was too good to pass up.

Sauce Gardner to Colts:

Colts:

· CB Sauce Gardner

· Grade: B

Jets:

· WR Adonai Mitchell

· 2026 1^st round pick

· 2027 1^st round pick

· Grade: A-

I saved the biggest trade of the day for last. There are a lot of layers to this deal for both sides. Starting with the Colts, I think comparing this to baseball is a great analogy. A few years back I heard someone describe playing cornerback like being a relief pitcher. Even the best will have ups and downs; it’s just the nature of the position. By that same logic, this deal was like the Colts moving 2 top 5 prospects in their system for a closer on a multiyear contract. It could be a great move both now and in the future, but it’s risky, and a steep price for a position with natural ebbs and flows. Funny enough, for all the baseball fans out there, this reminded me a lot of the Philadelphia Phillies capitalizing on the Minnesota Twins fire sale to acquire closer Jhoan Duran. Duran played well, but he had one bad outing at a bad time in the playoffs, and the Phillies ultimately fell in the divisional round. That’s what this feels like for Indianapolis to me. Another indication from this is how much the Colts believe in Daniel Jones despite his bad outing over the weekend, as they now don’t have the picks to get his replacement in the draft.

For the Jets, this is a haul. I know they recently extended Gardner, but I think this just ended up being an offer that was too good to pass up. Two 1^st round picks for a corner who has been more up and down in recent years than at the beginning of his career is a phenomenal deal, and that’s without factoring in Mitchell, who is a decent flier at receiver considering the team doesn’t have anyone worth playing behind Garrett Wilson. Pairing this with the Williams trade gave them three 1^st rounders on the day, which is solid business, even at the cost of Williams and Gardner.

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Tier 1: The Undisputed Best (Somehow)

1. Indianapolis Colts (previous: 9)

I’ve said a few times over the last few weeks how I was considering putting the Colts number 1 in these rankings, and I’m following through with that by putting the Colts in a tier of their own at the top. Teams with more experience or more top end talent might pass them in the coming weeks or come playoffs, but there is no denying that this team is the best in the league right now. Their offense is downright terrifying even with Daniel Jones at quarterback, and the defense has been underrated.

Tier 2: The Contenders

2. Buffalo Bills (2)

3. Philadelphia Eagles (3)

4. Los Angeles Rams (4)

5. Green Bay Packers (13)

6. Detroit Lions (3)

7. Kansas City Chiefs (7)

This group features all of the established contenders that will likely be the top Super Bowl picks, though all have had questions this year. The Bills have dealt with injuries on defense, and the offense has underperformed at times, but the bye week seemed to help as they returned to demolish the Carolina Panthers last week. They’ll definitely be fine. There are a few things I’d like to see the Eagles improve upon, but they sit at 6-2, and they still have most of the key pieces that won them the Super Bowl last year. The only reason I’d take the Bills right now is how good Josh Allen is. I still stand by the Seahawks as my NFC West pick, but don’t let that take away from how good the Rams have been. They didn’t play this week due to their bye, but they crushed a good Jaguars team the week before and have only lost close games against good teams in the Eagles and 49ers. Their biggest issue has been sloppiness, which is easily correctable, especially coming off of a bye. I’m still unsure why I had the Packers as low as I did in my previous rankings. I was concerned about their consistency and completeness, but 13 feels too harsh. I still have some slight concerns about whether they can have both their offense and defense play a great game at the same time, but they have the best record in the NFC for a reason. The Lions are hot on the Packers’ heels within the NFC North. My biggest concern with the Lions is their quality of opponents, as the best team they’ve beaten is a Buccaneers team that keeps getting more injured. The closest game that they’ve played has been an 8 point win over the Ravens, so they haven’t exactly displayed the ability to win close games either. It’s going to be a super close race for that division. That 0-2 start feels like a long time ago for Kansas City. The Chiefs are 5-3, which is a worse record than the other teams in this tier, but they look as good as anyone right now. Next week’s matchup with the Bills will show us a lot about both teams.

Tier 3: If Only They Were More Established…

8. Seattle Seahawks (10)

9. New England Patriots (20)

10. Denver Broncos (11)

All of these teams can easily be as good if not better than Tier 2, but they don’t get the same credit as true Super Bowl contenders, so they fall a tier lower. Case in point, Seattle leads a highly competitive NFC West at the midpoint of the season, but unlike the Rams, if the Seahawks struggle at all, people will write them off much faster. That’s the general story with these teams. New England is ahead of, and already beat, an elite Bills team, but it feels inevitable that the Bills end up ahead by season’s end, and the same can be said about Denver with the Chiefs looming. That said, the ceilings of these teams are incredibly high, and all 3 could be dangerous come January.

Tier 4: Hospital, But Actually Good This Time

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6)

12. Los Angeles Chargers (5)

13. San Francisco 49ers (16)

Last time I included the Hospital Tier in these rankings, it featured teams whose seasons were done for due to injuries. These teams are far from it, but they will need to weather the storm until they’re back to full strength. Tampa Bay’s 6-2 record, MVP caliber play from Baker Mayfield, weak division, and generally light schedule give them the easiest path forward, but a 3 game stretch against the Patriots, Bills, and Rams coming out of their upcoming bye week could make things dicey. The Chargers’ 3-0 start was heavily dampened by their injury woes, but with Joe Alt returning, things look far better. I still can’t figure out how the 49ers are playing so well despite their injury luck, but at 5-3 with one of the easiest schedules in the league, they’ll definitely be in the mix for the playoffs.

Tier 5: Mike Tomlin

14. Pittsburgh Steelers (15)

Once again, I’m giving the Steelers their own tier. It’s so hard to figure this team out. They started 4-1, but have dropped 2 straight to fall to 4-3. This has coincided with improved offensive play, but a worse defense. The offense played well in the 4-1 start, but they’ve leveled up since. Aaron Rodgers is playing his best football since his MVP seasons in Green Bay. And yet, they’ve been losing due to a startlingly bad defense. Once again, they seem destined for a 9-8 finish.

Tier 6: Middle of the Pack

15. Jacksonville Jaguars (12)

16. Chicago Bears (19)

17. Washington Commanders (14)

18. Atlanta Falcons (17)

19. Minnesota Vikings (18)

I wanted to believe in the Jags 4-1 start, but it was never going to be sustainable with the way they were winning. Their formula of having a mediocre passing game paired with a good but not game breaking running game for their offense, and solely relying on takeaways on defense, is not a winning strategy. There’s still time to adjust though. I wrote a lot about the Bears in my Week 8 recap, so I won’t discuss them much here, but the TLDR of that is that, while the expectations were playoffs, a successful season would entail showing real promise out of the offense, not just flashes. However, they aren’t even succeeding at that, which makes it tough to move them higher. The Commanders are falling victim to injuries and their schedule being bad at the same time. There are legit concerns on defense without either of those things though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more hot and cold team than Atlanta, who are losing by 30 to the Dolphins and Panthers one week, and knocking off the Bills the next. Let’s not forget, though, they are relying on (effectively) a rookie at quarterback, and 4 of their major defensive contributors are also rookies. Putting so much stock into first year players is a recipe for inconsistency. The Vikings are similar with the inconsistency aspect, but they’ve got a much harder schedule down the stretch, so things could get even more dicey.

Tier 7: Texas Opposites

20. Houston Texans (27)

21. Dallas Cowboys (22)

This tier was going to be the “There’s At Least Something Here” tier from last time, where I put teams that were elite on one side of the ball and absolutely horrid on the other. However, since the only teams that ended up here were the two Texas teams, I decided to name it after that. Houston has one of the best defenses in the league, but the offensive line still can’t block to save CJ Stroud’s life. The Cowboys are the exact opposite, with the offense playing at an elite level, but the defense being one of the worst in NFL history.

Tier 8: What On Earth Do I Do With You?

22. Baltimore Ravens (8)

The Ravens are a popular pick to make a run down the stretch, and for good reason. Lamar Jackson should be back soon just in time for a softer than silk schedule. That said, they’re at 2-5, and Jackson won’t magically fix the defense. I don’t foresee the run many are expecting, although a division title is firmly in play considering who their competition for that is.

Tier 9: It’s Getting Ugly Fast

23. Cincinnati Bengals (24)

24. Carolina Panthers (29)

25. Cleveland Browns (23)

26. New York Giants (25)

27. Arizona Cardinals (21)

The Flacco high from beating the Steelers on Thursday Night Football in Week 7 was short lived as the Bengals fell to the previously winless New York Jets. Flacco makes the team a ton more fun and interesting, but they’re still bad considering their defense. The Panthers are pretty easy to read. They’ve lost about as expected to teams better than them, but they can definitely win more games than the last few years against bad teams. Myles Garrett having 5 sacks and the Browns still losing (and allowing 32 points) is all that needs to be said about them. The Giants are quick too, as nothing besides get well soon to Skattebo needs to be said. The Cardinals have collapsed since the 2-0 start. The defense has actually been quite underrated, with the secondary and run defense both playing fine. However, the offense hasn’t done much of anything. The pass game has suffered from little to no chemistry between quarterbacks and receivers besides tight end Trey McBride, and the run game hasn’t been the same since James Conner went down with injury.

Tier 10: Basement Dwellers

28. Miami Dolphins (26)

29. Las Vegas Raiders (28)

30. New Orleans Saints (31)

31. New York Jets (30)

32. Tennessee Titans (32)

Beating an inconsistent Falcons team doesn’t change the fact that no one on the Dolphins seems to be serious about trying to win games. The Raiders are a lot worse than I thought coming into the season and have shown little reason to believe it will get any better any time soon. The Saints were never supposed to be very good, and now they’ve ended the Spencer Rattler experiment. I do get wanting to see what you have in 2^nd round rookie Tyler Shough, but Rattler has undeniably been better so far. The Jets finally winning their first game saves them from the bottom of the list, as the Titans are just so, so bad (and have already fired their head coach).

1 Thing I’m Most Excited About:

Broncos’ and Texans’ defenses (Broncos at Texans, Sun. 1:00)

If you like shutdown defenses that are still fun, then this clash in Houston on Sunday is the game for you. Both teams’ offenses have displayed inconsistencies, while their defenses have been elite. Let’s start with Denver’s side. They lit the league on fire last year, ranking as the number 1 defense in many categories. They’ve had a repeat performance this year, though with slightly less fanfare. They’ve allowed the lowest yards per play in the league among many other stats. It all starts up front for them, where they lead the league in both sacks and pressures with their ferocious pass rush. Their 36 sacks on the year is 10 ahead of the 2^nd place Rams, who have 26. They also have one of the best secondaries in the league, led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain. Now, he’s week to week with a pec injury right now, but this is still one of the best units in the league. The Texans feature a similarly elite group, led by their dynamic edge duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. They’ve allowed the least points in the league so far with 103, 2 touchdowns ahead of the 2^nd place Rams with 117. They also take the ball away more than Denver, and they have surrendered the lowest passer rating to opposing quarterbacks in the league with a 70.7 rating allowed. Hopefully Sunday’s bout can allow both defenses to display why they are two of the best in the league.

1 Thing I’m Most Worried About:

Steelers’ defense (Colts at Steelers, Sun. 1:00)

It’s startling how bad the Steelers’ defense has become this season. After consistently ranking near the top of the league in recent years and being relied upon to get to that coveted Mike Tomlin 9-8 record, they’ve been abysmal this year. They’ve only allowed less than 300 yards once on the year, and it was to the lowly Cleveland Browns. Otherwise, it’s been terrible. They’ve allowed over 390 yards 4 times in 7 outings, and over 450 in back to back weeks. Even worse, it’s been bad against both the run and the pass, they couldn’t buy a stop before the Week 5 bye in the run game, and, while that’s improved since, the pass defense has fallen off a cliff. This defense still has talent, though a lot of it is showing its age. And they have to face the best offense in the league right now in the Colts. The rest of the division still inspires no confidence, but the freefall from the 4-1 start could continue.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Kenny Pickett was the only quarterback selected in the 2022 1^st round. He was picked 20^th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Weekly Trivia Question: Through Week 8, which running back has more rushing yards: Josh Jacobs or Kyren Williams?

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Best: Tucker Kraft/James Cook

There were just too many superb performances to limit myself to just 1 best player/team. I’ll start with Kraft. The Packers tight end had a phenomenal game on Sunday Night Football – on National Tight Ends Day no less! He posted 7 catches on 9 targets for 143 yards and a pair of scores. Obviously his numbers weren’t as gaudy as the aforementioned Taylor, Garrett, or Cook, but putting up such a performance on National Tight Ends Day makes it one of the best of the day in my book.

Tight ends will have to share their day, though, as Sunday was dominated by running backs. I mentioned Taylor above, plus Saquon Barkley and Breece Hall had exceptional games. However, arguably none of them played as well as Cook, who had one of the best first half performances one can have. He racked up 149 yards and a touchdown in the first two quarters, including a 64 yard score. He finished his day at over 200 yards with 216 and a second touchdown. This was exactly the game that Cook and the Bills needed after some struggles in their last few contests.

Worst: Spencer Rattler/Tyler Shough

Look, the Saints are supposed to be bad. They’re in the early stages of a rebuild and are trying to figure out who will be their key pieces moving forward. Sunday proved that neither Rattler nor Shough will be part of those pieces. Rattler has actually been underrated so far this year, playing decently in a bad ecosystem. This weekend was ugly though, as he turned the ball over twice. This led to a (in my opinion, slightly undeserved) midgame benching, giving 2^nd round rookie Tyler Shough an opportunity. He did not seize it, passing for less yards on more attempts that Rattler and also throwing a pick. Pulling Rattler shows how they really feel about him: even though he’s played ok considering the surroundings, they don’t see him as a piece for the future. And Shough gave them no reason to believe he should be either.

Biggest Surprise: Tua Tagovailoa

Lost in the shuffle that has been the Miami Dolphins has been the fact that Tagovailoa, for all of his faults, isn’t a bad QB, at least at times. He was underrated following the 2023 season in which he led the league with 4624 passing yards and was rather good last year when he played. This year he’s also played ok in a few games, though he’s had some games with some really bad interceptions. It seems like the interceptions spiral with him – if he throws 1, he’s bound to throw at least another by the end of the game. If you factor that (admittedly major) issue out, he has been ok, though not as good as previous years. He had his best game in a while against the Falcons this weekend, completing an efficient 20/26 passes for 205 yards and 4 touchdowns against no picks. Now, the Falcons defense is very streaky (which comes with the territory of relying so heavily on a quartet of rookies), but it was still encouraging to see. Considering the year they’ve had, the Dolphins and Tagovailoa definitely surprised some people in this win.

Biggest Disappointment: Cincinnati Bengals

If you play the only winless team in the league entering the game, and they leave it no longer winless, you’re definitely making it into either this spot or the “Worst” spot. Last week was supposed to be a turning point for the Bengals, with Joe Flacco entering and playing well. The team was certainly hoping that, following the win against Pittsburgh, Flacco could lead this team on enough of a run to at least put them close to playoff contention. So far, so bad, as losing to the Jets when you have more than a 95% chance of winning in the 4^th quarter (according to Yahoo Sports win probability calculator) could almost be a death sentence to your season. Flacco played ok, with 223 yards, 2 touchdowns (plus 1 rushing), and no turnovers. It wasn’t enough, though, as the defense was gashed for 23 points in the final frame, allowing the 15 point comeback. The 2-0 start plus Flacco’s strong game against Pittsburgh gave the team hope. Their current 3-5 record with this terrible loss likely extinguishes it.

Best Rookie: Oronde Gadsden II

I think it was an oversight not picking Gadsden in Week 7 coming off of a massive 7 catch for 164 yard performance with a touchdown, so I’m correcting course here. The Chargers 5^th round rookie tight end has been a revelation the last 3 weeks, averaging over 6.3 catches for 103 yards in those contests. Last week he put up 77 yards and a touchdown, catching all 5 of his targets. In a year where several rookie tight ends are playing exceptionally (see Tyler Warren with the Colts, Harold Fannin Jr. with the Browns), Gadsden, if he continues his pace, could be the best of the bunch by season’s end.

Stock Up: Joe Alt

Let’s give some credit to an offensive lineman since I feel like I never talk about the position. And let’s highlight a player who I feel no one ever mentions among the best in the league. Alt, the Chargers’ left tackle for this year, has been everything for this team. It’s night and day how much better the offense and the team as a whole plays when he’s on the field. Case in point, in games that Alt starts and finishes, the Bolts are 4-0 with an average of 26.75 points per game. Without him? 1-3 with only 20.25 points per game. Protector of the Year is the new offensive lineman award introduced this year, and Alt, considering his value to the Chargers’ offense, is setting himself up to be a top candidate for it.

Stock Down: Chicago Bears

Why do I feel like the Bears have shown more flashes in their losses than their wins? Their 4 game win streak came to an end against a decimated Ravens team. Caleb Williams and the offense were unspectacular, and the defense got gashed by backup Tyler Huntley, who was cut from the Browns in the offseason. All due respect to Huntley, but let it sink in that the Bears just lost to a quarterback who was deemed not good enough for the Cleveland Browns (perhaps all caps would’ve been appropriate there, but I’m not in the business of being too harsh). Look, one loss does not a season make, but this was a bad one, and it’s exactly what the Bears did not need. I’m of the opinion that while the Bears have a solid team, making the playoffs isn’t necessarily the goal for this year. The important things are installing a winning culture and getting Caleb Williams to play better than “just showing flashes.” He certainly doesn’t need to be perfect, but at least good more often than not. While the first of the criteria has been met enough so far (as evidenced by their 4-3 record), how it has happened has been unimpressive. The offense actually largely looked good for most of the first 2 weeks, but both games ended in losses. And the whole team was phenomenal in the blowout win over the Cowboys. However, since then, despite the 3-1 record, it has been ugly. In that stretch, they’ve played 4 struggling teams, Caleb Williams is only completing about 60% of his passes with a 2:3 TD:INT ratio, and 2 of their victories have come in highly close, lucky 25-24 wins. It’s not time to panic quite yet, as improvement by the end of the season would be incredibly promising, but the results so far have been mediocre despite the record.

Player Spotlight: Juwan Johnson

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m having a lot of fun with National Tight Ends Day. If you recall from one of my offseason posts, it’s my favorite position in the league just because they can do so many different things on the field, and a lot of tight ends seem like a lot of fun. Naturally, I’m choosing a tight end who’s having a solid year that no one seems to be talking about. That would be Johnson of the Saints. He currently has 36 catches on 52 targets for 368 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, but they definitely are solid. The yards and receptions both rank 6^th among all tight ends. Johnson deserves a lot more recognition than he gets.

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Sellers:

Arizona Cardinals – pieces to sell: Justin Jones/Bilal Nichols (DL), Jalen Thompson (S), Jonah Williams (OT), Michael Wilson (WR)

That 2-0 start feels like a long time ago for Arizona. The Cardinals have always felt like a team that was a year away from competing seriously, so this isn’t too unexpected. They’ve got some solid pieces that could be available for trade. Generally, selling teams will trade solid players near the end of their contracts that they have no intention of extending. Jones and Nichols are both solid pieces for a defensive line rotation, but they both expire at the end of the 2026 season, and Arizona has more than enough people in their defensive line room (ie. Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson, Walter Nolen, Darius Robinson). Thompson’s contract expires at the end of this season, and he could be one of the best safeties on the market this deadline. Trading offensive linemen is typically not advised, but that could make Williams a hot commodity. Wilson’s youth could garner attention, as he is underutilized in the Cardinals’ offense, and his rookie deal expires after 2026.

Las Vegas Raiders – pieces to sell: Malcolm Koonce (DL), Jakobi Meyers (WR), Elandon Roberts/Devin White (LB)

For a team that wanted to at least compete for the playoffs, the Raiders look awful. Their offense has been anemic, and the defense has been inconsistent (although at least that side of the ball has shown some slight flashes). They don’t have a ton of pieces that teams might be interested in, but there are a few intriguing players here. Koonce was quiet his first few years in the league before breaking out with 8 sacks in 2023. However, that was short lived, as he missed the entire 2024 season with injuries. He’s still an intriguing young defensive line piece that could benefit from a fresh start. Meyers has been in trade talks since the offseason when he requested to be moved off of the Raiders. They likely held off with the hopes that they’d be more competitive with him, but since they’re not, he’s arguably the most likely player to be moved in the entire league. Veteran linebackers Roberts and White have both quietly had career resurgences. Both are racking up tackles, and White has been solid for a linebacker in coverage while Roberts has been good in the run game. Teams needing linebacker depth should be calling.

Miami Dolphins – pieces to sell: De’Von Achane (RB), Jordyn Brooks (LB), Ifeatu Melifonwu (DB), Jaelan Phillips (Edge), Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (WR)

It’s beyond time for the Dolphins to fully tear down their roster, so getting any picks of value for almost any player on the roster should be high priority. There are a lot of players that Miami should try to trade, but not many of them will generate interest across the league. The biggest candidates are here. I mentioned last week that Achane is a superstar who would best be served to get away from Miami. Considering the state the rest of the roster will be in by the time his deal expires, they should not look to extend him and should instead look at trading him. Brooks has had an even bigger resurgence than the aforementioned White and Roberts. He should be a solid reinforcement for linebacker needy teams. It’s not long ago that Melifonwu was touted as an exciting, young, versatile secondary piece. Signing with the Dolphins may have tainted that, but the potential is still there. I love Phillips, but between his nearly expiring deal and the fact that he can’t stay on the field, Miami likely won’t and shouldn’t be interested in an extension, so they could look to move him. If he goes to the right team, he could stay healthier and possibly reach his full potential as one of the better sack artists in the league. Everything I said about Melifonwu could be applied to Westbrook-Ikhine on the other side of the ball. The Dolphins don’t use him, and he’s less than a season removed from scoring 9 touchdowns. He should get some interest.

New Orleans Saints – pieces to sell: Demario Davis (LB), Alvin Kamara (RB), Rashid Shaheed (WR)

The Saints have been more competitive and feisty than expected this year, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t shed some of the salary of this roster. Davis is an ideal candidate to help a young team with a veteran presence. Normally, trading weapons for young, developing quarterbacks is not smart business. However, neither Spencer Rattler nor Tyler Shough are guaranteed to be the quarterback of the future, and I still believe a full teardown is necessary in the near future. Hence, moving Shaheed’s expiring contract and avoiding an extension, and getting off of Kamara’s hefty contract for a running back, would be advisable.

New York Giants – pieces to sell: Daniel Bellinger (TE), Dane Belton (DB), Micah McFadden (LB), Jermaine Eluemunor/Evan Neal (OL), Russell Wilson/Jameis Winston (QB), Kayvon Thibodeaux (Edge)

The Giants current roster construction is a bit odd. Some position groups are very ready right now to contend, while others are relying on rookies. Further, they’re 2-5 with a brutal schedule, and they’re also playing for Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen’s jobs. Their deadline agenda needs to be a delicate balance of selling off pieces that don’t have a future with the team but keeping enough pieces to help the rookies. Bellinger is a good example. He’s been passed by Theo Johnson on the depth chart, and he’s on an expiring deal that they are unlikely to extend. The same could be said about Belton and McFadden. For the two offensive linemen, they should absolutely move Neal if they can, although he might not have much of a market at this point. Eluemunor is a vet that could be desirable for offensive line needy teams, but trading him could hurt Jaxson Dart’s development. Wilson and Winston are kind of similar, though both are vets. I’d say moving one and keeping one is the best course of action. Now, I absolutely don’t think Thibodeaux should be traded, but it does remain to be seen what New York does with his contract. He’s signed through 2026, but they’ve got Brian Burns and Abdul Carter. All three have played well this year, and having 3 great edge rushers is an incredible luxury, but are they willing to pay all 3? This is likely more of an offseason or next season discussion, but still worth mentioning here.

New York Jets – pieces to sell: Andre Cisco (S), Breece Hall (RB), John Simpson (OG), Quincy Williams (LB)

At 0-7, there are a ton of players worth trading on the Jets, but I don’t want this section to become too long, so I’ll just give some of the obvious options. Cisco is a decent but inconsistent safety on a 1 year deal. Hall was once viewed as a franchise changing back when he had 1585 scrimmage yards in his 2^nd season in 2023. Since then he’s been unspectacular, and all of a sudden he’s on an expiring contract. A fresh start for both parties would be advisable. Simpson is a good player, but his deal is expiring as well. Capitalizing on his value is a smart idea, even if it might slightly hurt the development of a high-ceiling offensive line. Williams has been an elite linebacker the last few years, but he’s set for free agency too. Other candidates at the end of their rookie deals include Alijah Vera-Tucker and Jermaine Johnson, but both could be extension candidates as well so I didn’t include them.

Tennessee Titans – pieces to sell: Dre’Mont Jones/Sebastian Joseph-Day/Arden Key (DL), Chig Okonkwo (TE), Kevin Zeitler (OG)

For a team as bad as the Titans, they certainly don’t have many tradeable contracts. Disappointing players such as Calvin Ridley, Dan Moore Jr., and L’Jarius Sneed all have long, expensive deals. That said, there are a few players that can be traded. None of Jones, Joseph-Day, and Key are every down players, but they are definitely worthwhile depth or rotation pieces for a contender. Rookie tight end Gunnar Helm has impressed enough to warrant moving on from Okonkwo’s expiring deal. He’s always shown some flashes so a team with a good development plan for him could pounce. Offensive linemen are always some of the most highly coveted players, and Zeitler might be the best of the bunch that are available. He’s faltered a bit with the rest of the Titans line, and he’s 35 years old, but he was excellent in 2024, and he’d be the perfect veteran rental for a number of contenders that either have holes or injuries along their offensive lines.

Buyers:

Buffalo Bills – areas of need: wide receiver, interior defense, secondary playmakers

One of the more shocking yet under the radar developments thus far is that the Buffalo Bills do not lead the AFC East. Part of that has been how elite Drake Maye has been, but the Bills have their own issues for supposed Super Bowl favorites. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt offensively, as Josh Allen has underwhelmed more so due to his sky high expectations, and the line and skill positions are also still solid. James Cook, Dalton Kincaid, and Khalil Shakir are a really good foundation. That said, an extra receiver would be beneficial. The defense, though, does not get the same pass. They’ve been horrible against the run, allowing 5.8 yards per attempt (with the second worst Chicago Bears at a distant 5.3). This has partially been due to injuries on the interior defensive line and at linebacker, but they need to get better in those areas regardless. They also rank close to the bottom of the league in takeaways, so a bit more playmaking would be helpful.

Denver Broncos – areas of need: wide receiver, running back, defensive depth

Most of Denver’s issues have been on the offensive side of the ball. There are a lot of underlying metrics that suggest this unit could make a leap, but it hasn’t happened yet. They’ve barely allowed sacks and they rank highly in the run game, and yet they’re still painfully average. A lot of it comes from needing improved play from their own guys (like Bo Nix, who has been pretty good except on his deep ball, which has been terrible). That said, they could look to add some extra weapons. Courtland Sutton is a fine number 1 option, and Troy Franklin has been up and down in his first year as the number 2. Beyond that, they’ve got Marvin Mims, who is more suited to a gadget type of role, and not much else. Adding an extra playmaker would be wise. Like I said before the run game has been solid, but running back itself could use an addition. JK Dobbins has been solid, but you never know with his health. And the fact that RJ Harvey hasn’t gotten as many snaps as a rookie as many expected indicates that the coaching staff doesn’t believe he’s ready for a bigger role yet. Thus, an extra body in the room could help a lot. The defense has been elite, though a bit quieter than last year’s group. They don’t need any upgrades, but a boost to its depth in case of injuries would be advised.

Detroit Lions – areas of need: secondary, offensive line, receiver

Detroit’s secondary has been the weakest link of what has actually been an underrated defense. They rank top 10 in a number of categories, with the holdout being pass defense. Their secondary weakness is further seen in how they rank top 10 in pass rush and still have a rough pass defense. Part of it has been injuries, but regardless, both upgrades and depth are necessary here. The offensive line has taken a step back after being arguably the best in the league the last few years. They lost a few interior line starters in the offseason, and their replacements have been decent, but definitely not as good. An extra guy there would help. Finally, while the skill positions on the whole have been great, receivers besides Amon-Ra St. Brown need to step up. Only 8 different skill position players have received targets on the entire season, and only 4 of those are wide receivers. St. Brown has been great, but Jameson Williams hasn’t been much more than a big play specialist. The only other two are Kalif Raymond, who has always been better as a return specialist, and Isaac TeSlaa, who doesn’t seem quite ready to be the number 3 guy yet. And at tight end, another option behind Sam LaPorta would be really helpful. More options at pass catcher would make this offense much scarier.

Indianapolis Colts – areas of need: linebacker, secondary, backup running back

Who would’ve thought the Colts would be trade deadline buyers at the start of the season? Arguably the best team in the league so far, Indy has a few holes they could fill to truly join the upper echelon of contenders. The offense has been elite, with pretty much no flaws anywhere. The only upgrade I would make is adding a backup behind Jonathan Taylor. While Taylor is playing at an MVP level, he has over 7x the carries of the next running back on the roster. A backup just to keep him fresh for the playoffs is worth the investment. While the defense has been solid, they are quietly not the best against the pass. Part of it is game flow, as they get out to such big early leads that opposing offenses pass a ton, but still, some reinforcements at linebacker and in the secondary would be smart.

Kansas City Chiefs – areas of need: running back, safety, defensive line

The Chiefs have looked better this year than last, which cannot be fun for the rest of the league. However, it still feels like there are some obvious flaws in their operation that they should address at the deadline. Their committee at running back has been decent enough, but someone with a bit more juice could help. Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt have both underwhelmed, and while rookie Brashard Smith has impressed, he shouldn’t need to be a top guy yet. On defense, the biggest issue is how little pressure they get for a team that has one of the highest blitz rates in the league. That means either the defensive line isn’t getting home quick enough, or the secondary is allowing guys to get open too quickly. I feel like both are occurring, with the defensive line disappointing and the secondary not being deep enough. Chris Jones has underwhelmed and is one of only 2 guys on the line that opposing quarterbacks should worry about (the other being George Karlaftis), and while the corners have covered decently well, the safeties have not.

New England Patriots – areas of need: skill positions, offensive line, pass defense

Who had the Patriots leading the AFC East through 7 weeks? Their win over the Bills (not to mention their better record) have them on top. That said, while Drake Maye has been incredible, they have some glaring weaknesses. The skill positions, particularly running back, have not produced. Rhamondre Stevenson probably shouldn’t be starting at this stage, and TreVeyon Henderson doesn’t seem ready. The receivers have been better, but a bit more help beyond Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte feels imperative. The offensive line was a massive weakness last season which was improved upon in the offseason, but it still hasn’t been great. If the Patriots want to make a run, that’ll have to be better. The pass defense already got one boon when Christian Gonzalez returned from an offseason injury, but they were so bad before that upgrades are needed to avoid an early playoff exit.

Philadelphia Eagles – areas of need: depth, depth, and more depth

This season has felt weirdly up and down for the defending Super Bowl champs, from the unimpressive 4-0 start to the 2 straight bad losses, to a huge rebound against the Vikings last week. Philly’s biggest need is to just add more guys to struggling areas. Players like Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts have been somewhere between hot and cold and straight up not good, but they’re good enough to rebound, and it’s not like they’d get replaced anyway. However, offensive line injuries, and not enough talent beyond their top guys on defense, have made them struggle more. They need reinforcements, not upgrades.

San Francisco 49ers – areas of need: offensive line, linebacker, secondary

How on earth does one franchise get wrecked by injuries so often? Better yet, how do they turn that into a 5-2 start? Because that’s exactly what the 49ers have done, and it’s put them in a spot where they absolutely need to buy pieces at the deadline. The offense is in a much better position to recover from the injuries, with several players already returning or on track to return soon. However, the offensive line isn’t good even without injuries, so that’s where most resources need to be funneled. The defense has had just as many injuries, but, unlike the offense, they’ve been hit with season ending injuries, so reinforcements are necessary there. The line hasn’t really lost a step as much as people thought when the lost Nick Bosa, mostly because Bryce Huff has stepped up as the pass rusher on a line that already featured tons of run stopping. So, the attention turns to linebacker, where they also lost Fred Warner. His replacements haven’t been nearly as good, so this is where they should focus on upgrades. The secondary could also use a touch up.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Former Saints receiver Michael Thomas set the record for the most receptions in a single season in 2019 with 149 catches. He won Offensive Player of the Year that season.

Weekly Trivia Question: Who was the lone quarterback drafted in the 1^st round of the 2022 NFL Draft?

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Best: Matthew Stafford

There were a lot of great performances around the league this weekend, but it’s hard to top Stafford’s day for the Rams. He showed out big time in London, going 21 for 33 with 182 yards and a whopping 5 touchdowns. To boot, he did it without his favorite target in Puka Nacua, who missed the game with injury. It started with the other half of arguably the league’s best receiving duo in Davante Adams, who hauled in 3 of the touchdown passes. Rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson added 1 on a 31 yard beauty, and depth receiver Konata Mumpfield caught the last. On a day when the Rams didn’t actually move the ball quite as well as the score would indicate (they finished with 271 total yards on the day), Stafford’s efficiency at scoring and converting in the red zone made the difference.

Worst: Las Vegas Raiders

You’d think that the team that lost 31-0 to a division rival would be the runaway favorite for this spot, but you’d be surprised, as the Jets and Dolphins also made incredibly compelling cases. However, I’m sticking with the Raiders for just how poorly they were on both sides of the ball. I love Geno Smith as much as the next guy, and his Seattle tenure was some of the most fun football I’ve seen, but there has to come a point soon where Vegas considers benching him. They’ve really only had 2 gameplans this season: either they limit Smith a ton and they just can’t move the ball at all, or they let him throw a lot and he racks up a lot of interceptions. I don’t want to see Smith go out like this after how his career has gone, but he’s forcing the Raiders’ hand at this point. But it’s not just Smith that’s been bad for this team, as the offensive line has been terrible, the run game can’t get going (though that’s also mostly the fault of the line), and the receivers are bad without Brock Bowers. Oh, and the defense is horrific without Maxx Crosby. The defensive front is actually a little underrated when he’s on the field since he takes so much attention that it elevates the rest of the group, but when he’s not, the weak line cannot make up for the weak secondary. I had high hopes that head coach Pete Carroll would be able to turn this team around, but it’s looking like another lost season for the Raiders.

Biggest Surprise: Joe Flacco

There weren’t many big surprises this week, so I’ll take this spot to highlight Joe Flacco’s bizarre, yet incredibly fun, end to his career. The former Super Bowl MVP has been relegated to journeyman status at this stage, but he’s been decent in almost every spot he’s been. He was a fearless gunslinger to guide the 2023 Browns to the playoffs, averaging a ridiculous 323 passing yards per game. Then, he went to the Colts for 2024, where he provided value backing up Anthony Richardson. This year, he went back to Cleveland, where he was much less successful than his first tenure, but enough to warrant a trade to the Bengals to help their injury-riddled QB room. After a so-so debut with the team against a tough Packers defense, he was a huge factor in the Bengals win over the Steelers, their first since Week 2. He threw 47 passes, and completed 31 of them, for 342 yards and 3 scores. He fed star receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who combined for 33 targets, and caught 22 of them for 257 yards and a touchdown each. Chase especially has been the biggest benefactor of the addition of Flacco, as he alone got a whopping 23 targets. The Bengals have so many issues throughout their roster that it is hard to see them making a run with Flacco, but it definitely could happen. Regardless, it’ll at least be a fun time in Cincinnati.

Biggest Disappointment: New York Giants defense

How on earth does a team allow 33 points in 1 quarter? I mean, it was reasonable to expect the Broncos to make it a much more interesting game in the 4^th quarter despite being down 19-0 entering the frame. I thought it would be a competitive quarter of football, but the Giants were up by enough that they should still prevail, even if it ended up being a bit close for comfort. Instead, Bo Nix and the Denver offense scored more in that quarter than 27 other teams scored in their entire games. That’s over 75% of the league! The normally stacked front got no pressure, and the secondary was torched. Furthermore, the defensive play calling was atrocious, and, as has been a problem all season, they allowed the quarterback too many rushing lanes. I apologize for this turning into a bit too much of a rant, but it was a thoroughly embarrassing performance for New York’s defense. Credit to the Broncos though, who moved to 5-2, and still feel like they can get much better.

Best Rookie: Quinshon Judkins

I still really want to get Colts tight end Tyler Warren in here somewhere, and while he had a great game, Judkins’ day is the easy pick here. The Browns fed Judkins 25 carries against a porous Dolphins defense, which he turned into 84 yards and a trio of scores. The highlight of the day was a 46 yard touchdown in which he hit a small hole into the secondary and sprinted for the score, highlighting his burst and his vision. Now, it wasn’t a perfect day, as he averaged only 1.5 yards per carry besides that long touchdown, but still, finding paydirt 3 times is a great momentum builder for a rookie.

Stock Up: Indianapolis Colts

Spoiler alert: my midseason power rankings are coming, probably in my Week 9 preview in a couple of weeks, and the Colts are making arguably the strongest case to be my number 1 team. They’re sitting at 6-1 and have gotten elite play from both sides of the ball. Much has been made about the efficient resurgence of the offense, starting with Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor, but the defense has also been fantastic. DeForest Buckner had kind of been forgotten among the elite defensive tackles in the sport, but he’s been excellent, and he notched 2 sacks on Sunday. The secondary has also been lights out for much of the year. And it’s not like they’ve been doing it all against bad teams, as they’ve beaten great Broncos and Chargers defenses, and went toe-to-toe with the white hot Rams offense, on top of absolutely obliterating the bad teams on their schedule. They are definitely deep in the running for the best team in football this year.

Stock Down: Washington Commanders

I said in my preview for this week that Sunday’s game against the Cowboys was a must win contest for Washington. They start a very tough stretch of games in the next few weeks, and, if they lost, they could be looking up at a 3-7 hole in a few weeks. Lo and behold, they lost, and in very bad fashion. I know Jayden Daniels is banged up, but they still allowed the Cowboys to have arguably their best defensive performance on the season. And while the Cowboys do have an electric offense, the defense didn’t even put up any fight. It’s just becoming hard at this point to envision this team’s path to the playoffs unless they take 2 of 3 from the Chiefs, Seahawks, and Lions.

Player Spotlight: Jaycee Horn

Horn is a really fun player. The Panthers’ top cornerback has been playing exceptional football to start this season. He picked off 2 passes on Sunday to bring his season total to 3. He’s also been sticky in coverage, allowing only a 53.5 passer rating in coverage and a 41.7% completion rate. Now, his big flaw this year has been his tackling, as he’s already missed 5 tackles, and it’s caused his yards allowed per completion to skyrocket to 16.4. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s been one of the best cover corners in the entire league this year, which is incredibly valuable for an otherwise iffy defense like the Panthers have.

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Contender or Pretender:

Atlanta Falcons: If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know how high I am on the Falcons this season. They’ve got a young, exciting offense, with some of the best players at their respective positions, and a much improved defense. Thus far, there have been some ups and downs, but it has largely been good. Michael Penix Jr., who many forget has only made 8 career NFL starts, has been improving. Drake London and Bijan Robinson have easily cracked top 10 at their respective positions at this point. And the offensive line has battled through injuries to be a strong unit. However, what has been even more shocking has been the defensive turnaround. After having arguably the worst pass rush in the entire NFL for the last decade, Atlanta now has a competent rush unit that also blitzes at the highest rate in the league. That has freed up the secondary to allow the lowest passing yards per game in the league this year. They also rank near the top of the league in yards per play allowed. Finally, they’re riding the high of a huge win over the Buffalo Bills, and the schedule isn’t too bad the rest of the way. It’s unlikely at this point that they’d catch a scorching hot Bucs team for the division, but the Falcons should definitely have enough juice to be in the playoff mix in late December. Verdict: Playoff contender at minimum.

Dallas Cowboys: My opinion on Dak Prescott has fluctuated throughout his career. I was super high on him after his fantastic rookie season, but he was never quite as good for a few years. And even when his numbers looked great, a lot of them came by stat padding in garbage time by beating up on bad opponents (a 2023 blowout against Washington in which the Cowboys won 45-10 but Prescott was never pulled and in fact was still throwing late comes to mind). Between the phony stats and iffy game management in the playoffs (anyone remember their 2021 and 2022 playoff losses to the 49ers?), I thought he was vastly overrated. However, in the last 3 years, he has shown much elevated play. This year, he’s 2^nd in the league in passing yards with 1617, and he’s got a 13:3 TD:INT ratio. This has led to Dallas having one of the best scoring offenses in the league. Unfortunately for them, they are this year’s 2024 Bengals, as the defense is atrocious. Name an important defensive stat, and the Cowboys are likely bottom 3 in the league in that category, and almost certainly bottom 10. That puts them in a situation where, like the 24 Bengals, they’re a team that others don’t want to face in the playoffs, but it’s also a long shot they make it at all. Verdict: A tough out if they make the playoffs, but probably won’t make it at all. Pretenders.

Minnesota Vikings: This is a very interesting team. They’ve got one of the better rosters around the league, but they’ve also got plenty of issues. Offensively, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, all the pieces are there, but they’ll only go as far as JJ McCarthy takes them. And so far, that has been… well, about a quarter of good football. It’s been all terrible for him otherwise, and he’s also been hurt for a few weeks. The rest of the roster has been solid, though slightly underwhelming. Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason is a highly underrated running back duo, but Jones is hurt and wasn’t playing super well before that (Mason has been great though). Similarly, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are challenging for the best receiver duo, but Addison can’t seem to keep his head in the game. The offensive line saw an overhaul but hasn’t been very good so far. I’d chalk that up to needing some extra time to get healthy and gel. And the defense, while playing well, hasn’t exactly played with the same intensity that coordinator Brian Flores usually has them playing with. Look, I was higher on McCarthy than most when he was drafted, and he has only made 2 NFL starts, so he could pan out and the Vikings could be really good. But until I see it, they won’t be good until next year. Verdict: The potential’s there, but for this year alone, they’re pretenders.

Washington Commanders: This is a very tough team to forecast. Let’s start with the good. Washington has arguably the best rushing offense in the NFL despite a very odd way of going about it. They traded away incumbent starter Brian Robinson Jr. right before the season started, and lost Austin Ekeler to a season ending injury in Week 2. Dual threat quarterback Jayden Daniels also missed a game due to injury. And yet, they’re tied for the league lead in rushing yards, and lead in yards per attempt. This has mostly been on the back of rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who, besides a slight fumbling issue, has been electric. Daniels has also chipped in, as well as hybrid receiver Deebo Samuel, who is having a mini career resurgence in his first year in DC. Daniels has also been on point in the passing game, giving the team a balanced attack. The defense also hasn’t been too bad. Last year, they were so bad to begin the year that no one seemed to notice when they put together an excellent showing down the stretch. This year, they’re much closer to where they should be, as they are a middle of the pack unit in most facets. Despite all that, though, they are currently at .500, likely stemming from their inability to gain momentum and stack wins (they haven’t won or lost consecutive games yet this season). That task doesn’t get any easier, with their upcoming games featuring the aforementioned Dallas Cowboys, and 3 contenders in the Chiefs, Seahawks, and Lions. I believe in this team if they can build a bit of momentum, but it remains to be seen if they can do that. Verdict: For now, contenders, but check back in 4 weeks.

Carolina Panthers: I didn’t want to only do NFC teams for this, but there aren’t enough AFC teams close to .500 to pick any of them (the only teams within a game of .500 in the AFC are the Chiefs and the Texans, and, well, the Chiefs are the Chiefs, and I still have zero trust in Houston’s offensive line). That left me with a fun team in the Carolina Panthers as my last choice for this exercise. Somewhat surprisingly, the Panthers have jumped out to a 3-3 start to the season thanks to a couple of superhuman efforts from running back Rico Dowdle. I talked a lot about him in my Week 6 recap post, so let’s shift the focus to 3^rd year passer Bryce Young. He’s had a tumultuous start to his career, but he’s quietly been solid this season. After a failure of a rookie year, he was benched early as a sophomore, before returning down the stretch to play very well. This year, he has 1150 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 5 picks. That’s definitely not lighting it up, but it’s also not bad. I think as we get further and further into the season, there’s a chance he really heats up and puts together a solid campaign. On the other side of the ball, the defense somehow has been decent. Despite a distinct lack of talent and coming off a season in which they might have been the worst unit in NFL history, they’ve been a middling unit this year. It’s not great, but it is a huge improvement on the last few seasons. The schedule also isn’t super tough for the rest of the year, though it’s not like they’ve been beating elite teams so far either. I do think this team is underrated, but it’s too hard to see them making the playoffs in a crowded NFC. Verdict: A fun, underrated group… but still very much pretenders.

3 Things I’m Most Excited For:

1. Bucs and Lions offenses (Buccaneers at Lions, Mon. 7:00)

This battle of heavyweights should feature a lot of offensive fireworks. Both offenses are electric, while both defenses tend to struggle. Let’s start with the Bucs side of things. Baker Mayfield is arguably the early favorite for MVP, and his top receiver thus far, Emeka Egbuka, is the early favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year. That alone makes them tough to handle for defenses and has them 6^th in the league in scoring. Additionally, this has come with many injuries, as stars Bucky Irving, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Tristan Wirfs have all been in and out of the lineup. They could become one of the most devastating attacks once everyone is healthy. The Lions have arguably been better, though with a bit more questions. They’re 2^nd in the league in scoring, quarterback Jared Goff leads the league with 14 passing touchdowns, and the team has 3 players over 400 scrimmage yards (Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, David Montgomery). All of their stars are showing out, but their quality of opponents has been fairly questioned. Their offense was shut down against two contenders with solid defenses in the Packers and Chiefs, and the only defense that they’ve beaten that doesn’t rank near the very bottom of the league is the Browns. Monday night should be a great opportunity for both teams to showcase why their offenses should be the most feared in the conference come playoffs.

2. Mike Vrabel’s Revenge (Patriots at Titans, Sun. 1:00)

This game got a whole lot more interesting this week. Let’s just start with the background. Vrabel was an elite coach for the Titans, regarded highly for getting the most out of slightly lackluster rosters. They fired him after a couple of bad campaigns in 2022 and 2023, and it was later leaked that it was due to a power struggle with the general manager in which Vrabel just wanted a bit more roster control. Ownership denied that request and fired him. That’s been one of the worst moves in the NFL this decade, as the Titans have been nothing short of a laughing stock since that occurred. Lo and behold, Vrabel signed on with New England this offseason and instantly turned them from a team with a top 4 pick, to one that is a serious threat. The new wrinkle, though, is that Vrabel’s replacement in Tennessee, Brian Callahan, was fired on Monday, which all of a sudden makes this a bit of a trap game for Vrabel’s team. Interim head coaches always tend to be a bit of a wild card, especially in their first game on the job. No matter what, this game surely has the most intriguing storylines of the week.

3. Rams offense vs. Jags defense (Rams at Jaguars, Sun. 9:30)

Jacksonville has boasted one of the best defenses in the league so far this season. They’ve beat good and bad offenses alike, sporting a unique combination of elite takeaway skills and stout run defense. Now, there are some issues, like the fact that they’ve allowed the 3^rd most passing yards in the league, but that doesn’t really matter when they are intercepting opposing quarterbacks at such a high rate (they have 10 so far). Unfortunately, linebacker Devin Lloyd, arguably their best player who also leads all players in interceptions, reportedly did not make the trip to London for the game and will not play due to a calf injury. That could make things difficult against an elite Rams offense, except they also might be down their best player in receiver Puka Nacua, who was on a ridiculous pace to start the year before missing a large part of last week’s game with injury. Los Angeles has moved the ball incredibly well this year, sporting the 4^th most offensive yards in the league. However, they haven’t been particularly great in the red zone due to turnovers and poor kicking, thus leading to a lower point total than many other offenses around the league. That being said, Matthew Stafford still leads the league in passing yards, Kyren Williams would be one of the best backs in the entire league if he could hold onto the ball better, and Davante Adams should be able to hold down the fort until Nacua returns. This is an extremely fascinating battle between two strong units.

3 Things I’m Most Worried About:

1. Miami Dolphins (Dolphins at Browns, Sun. 1:00)

If it isn’t already at rock bottom, the Dolphins season could get a whole lot worse on Sunday. If you haven’t heard quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s comments from this week, you should look them up and check them out. Without delving too much into them, there are ugly vibes in this Dolphin’s locker room. And this Sunday, they play the Cleveland Browns, another 1-5 squad who has arguably shown more fight than Miami. The Browns’ defense has been regarded as one of the best groups in the league that doesn’t have as gaudy numbers due to the poor positions their offense has put them in. However, the offense has looked ever so slightly improved since rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel entered the lineup. If Miami loses this game, which looks very plausible at this point, they’d fall to 1-6, with their lone win being over the winless Jets. That’s a one way ticket to your season being completely and totally over.

2. Chicago Bears (Saints at Bears, Sun. 1:00)

Lost in the excitement of the 3 game winning streak and the walk off win against their new rivals in the Commanders is the fact that they struggled more in this game than in their other wins. The offense, outside of D’Andre Swift, did not move the ball very well, and often had to settle for field goals. And the defense really only got stops on turnovers, which is not the most sustainable style of play. Now, the Saints at 1-5 aren’t very good, but they’ve been scrappy and competitive, and a much tougher out for better teams than the Bears. I’m still picking the Bears to win this one, but this could definitely enter trap game territory.

3. Washington Commanders (Commanders at Cowboys, Sun. 4:25)

I talked about both of these teams at length above, so I’ll try to keep this brief. I think the Commanders are definitely the better team with higher playoff aspirations. They just went to the NFC Championship game, they’ve got an exciting young quarterback, and they have the better record currently. Dallas, as mentioned before, are like the 2024 Bengals, with an elite offense but not enough of a defense to be a contender. However, for Washington, this is a bad matchup. Their defense is definitely not good enough to match the high powered Cowboys offense, so they’re going to need to rely on their own offense. Between injuries and inconsistencies, plus their style as an elite rushing team, I seriously question if they’ll be able to keep up in a shootout if it comes to that. And, like I said before, they’ve got a really tough schedule after the Dallas game. Losing this one could set off a chain reaction that could really hurt their season.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: The late, great Reggie White, pass rusher for the Eagles and Packers, was the “Minister of Defense.”

Weekly Trivia Question: Who holds the record for the most receptions in a single season?

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Best: Rico Dowdle

Holy toledo is Dowdle on fire. The former Cowboys runner signed with Carolina this offseason into the backup role behind incumbent Chuba Hubbard (who, mind you, is still a really good player in his own right), and I’m left wondering how no one signed him as a starter. He piled up 1328 yards from scrimmage last year with 5 scores. You’d think that kind of season would lead to a payday, but for Dowdle, it landed him a 1 year $2.75 million backup contract. I don’t think people will be making that mistake again after this 2 week stretch. With Hubbard out, he torched the Dolphins in Week 5 for 234 total yards and a score. He one upped himself against his former team the next week, gashing the Cowboys for 239 yards and another trip to the endzone. This has come simultaneously with improved offensive line play, and a stretch of easy defenses, as Miami and Dallas have two of the worst units in the league. He might not hold the starting job once Hubbard returns, but he’s definitely earned himself more touches, and a hefty raise at the end of the season.

Worst: Brian Callahan

Do I get to brag a bit for how well I nailed this prediction? Right before the season started, in my “Bold Predictions for the 2025 NFL Season” article, I tabbed Callahan of the Titans as the first head coach who would get the axe. Yesterday, I was proven right. So naturally, he had the worst week out of anyone around the league. Callahan’s tenure was miserable, deserving to be in conversations with legendary head coaching flops in recent years like Nathaniel Hackett and Josh McDaniels. He led the team to the number 1 overall pick in his 1^st season on the job, leading an anemic offense that never cracked 300 yards passing in a game. This season has somehow looked much, much worse. Their only win came in the most improbable, bizarre fashion against the Cardinals in Week 5, and they just dropped a game to a bad Raiders squad that didn’t even look good (the Titans just looked so much worse). All Titans fans can hope for now is that Callahan’s failures didn’t screw up Cam Ward’s development too much.

Biggest Surprise: D’Andre Swift

I was skeptical of how good Swift would be this year, but he showed up in a big way on Monday night. The Bears running back was quietly decent last year, accumulating 1345 scrimmage yards and 6 touchdowns. Despite that, it didn’t feel like he played all that well for stretches, leading many to think the Bears would upgrade at the position in the offseason. Instead, they’re rolling with him again this year, and until this point, that wasn’t looking like the best move. That changed on Monday, as he racked up 108 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards (175 total), with the highlight being a 55 yard touchdown catch. I still think the Bears would be wise to explore options in the backfield just to give Swift a running mate, but he proved that he can definitely carry the load.

Biggest Disappointment: Detroit Lions

Let’s get this out of the way first: for all of the flak that I give them, the Chiefs are a pretty good team (not elite, but pretty good). So, in a vacuum, there’s no harm in losing to them. However, how it happened has to be incredibly deflating for the Lions. Kansas City entered Sunday night having only beat the somehow-now-awful Baltimore Ravens, and the fun-but-still-not-very-good New York Giants. They were also coming off a tough loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Detroit, meanwhile, was riding a 4 game winning streak, looking like arguably the best team in the league in their rebound from the Week 1 loss against the Packers. The Chiefs brought that to a screeching halt. The normally elite run game was held in check, and the pass game was limited to checkdowns all too often. That’s how Jared Goff completed nearly 80% of his passes but only for 200 yards. The defense was also torched by Patrick Mahomes, who had 4 touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing). It was an ugly day for the Lions, and all of a sudden, next Monday night’s game against the Buccaneers almost enters must-win territory.

Best Rookie: Cam Skattebo

Last week, Skattebo and his quarterback Jaxson Dart landed in the Biggest Disappointment section. This week, Skattebo lands as best rookie. The Giants made a statement on Thursday night, defeating the reigning Super Bowl Champion Eagles by 3 scores. Skattebo was the driving force behind it. The rookie back finished with 110 total yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground. His best run came on his 2^nd touchdown. It was only from 1 yard out, but the Eagles swarmed him quickly. He bounced off of the first guy and trucked the second to get in. His angry, powerful running style has instantly made him a fan favorite. If nothing else, the Giants, despite their 2-4 start and excruciating schedule, are fun and watchable again.

Stock Up: Atlanta Falcons offense

Serious question, but is Bijan Robinson the best non-quarterback in the entire league at this point? He put on a show against the Bills, rushing for 170 yards with an electric 81 yard touchdown, while adding 6 catches for 68 yards. That’s a night to remember for most running backs, but for Robinson, it’s just another day at the office, as he was already averaging 146 yards per game. Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration, considering he went for 238 on Monday, but still, he’s an absolutely insane player. And, he wasn’t the only insane player to have an insane game, as receiver Drake London racked up 158 yards on 10 catches with a touchdown. Michael Penix’s favorite target was quiet earlier this year, but he’s come on strong the last 2 games. To put into perspective just how electric these 2 were, at halftime, they were on pace for nearly 500 total yards combined. The Falcons do still have some questions on offense (ie. how consistent can Penix be across the whole season, will the early season struggles creep back up, do they have enough depth behind Robinson and London), but knowing they have these 2 guys makes everything a whole lot easier.

Stock Down: San Francisco 49ers defense

The injury bug strikes again. The 49ers had already lost edge rusher Nick Bosa for the year, and on Sunday, linebacker Fred Warner was also lost for the season. Warner is the type of player to elevate the entire defense, providing elite tackling, great insurance for the defensive line in front of him, and excellent assistance for the secondary behind him. His loss is arguably even bigger than Bosa, even though Bosa is a former Defensive Player of the Year. Pairing that with all of their injuries on offense (though at least a lot of those players are slated to return soon), and, despite their 4-2 record, things could get ugly quick for this team.

Player Spotlight: De’Von Achane

In the offseason, I expressed concern with how much of a workload Achane would be able to handle across the full season. He’s a smaller, speedier back who also features heavily in the passing game. So far so good though, as he’s handling 17.5 touches per game, and he’s been great on those touches. He’s accumulated 585 total yards and 6 touchdowns already, giving him a 1600 yard 17 touchdown pace. He’s one of the most special players in the league in space with his speed and agility. Sadly for him, he’s stuck on a bad Dolphins team with a horrid defense, which limits his rushing opportunities in shootouts and when playing from behind. If Miami continues to falter as much as they have, look for Achane, a 3^rd year player, to be a coveted trade deadline option.

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1 Thing I’m Most Excited About:

Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels, Part 2 (Bears at Commanders, Mon. 8:15)

The number 1 and 2 overall quarterbacks from 2024 will be meeting for the 2^nd time in their careers on Monday night, and both have arrived here in very different ways. When they played last year, Williams’ Bears were on the brink of victory before Daniels unleashed an epic Hail Mary to seize victory for his Commanders. Since then both have looked great. Daniels led his team to the NFC Championship game last year, while Williams has looked great this year after a forgetful rookie campaign. I have a feeling that this rivalry is only just beginning.

1 Thing I’m Most Worried About:

Green Bay Packers (Bengals at Packers, Sun. 4:25)

The Packers have had a bit of an odd season. Since jumping out to Super Bowl favorites through 2 weeks due to the Micah Parsons trade and a 2-0 start, they’ve been a hard team to read, losing to the 1-4 Browns and tying the Cowboys. Now, oddly enough, they get to face Joe Flacco for the 2^nd time this season after he was traded from the Browns to the Bengals. Don’t forget, he’s the only quarterback to beat them this season, for whatever that’s worth. Now, Flacco’s Bengals aren’t a very good team on the whole, so Green Bay should win, but then, the same could’ve been said about Flacco’s Browns. It’s a bizarre wrinkle that has me a touch worried about them.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Byron Young, edge rusher for the Rams, and Brian Burns, edge rusher for the Giants, were tied for the league lead in sacks as of the end of Week 4. Both players have 5.0 sacks.

Weekly Trivia Question: Which player was nicknamed the “Minister of Defense?”

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Best: Drake Maye

I don’t care that there were players with much flashier stats than Maye (he didn’t even register a touchdown in the game). What Maye did to guide his team to victory cannot be overstated. The young Patriots quarterback had nearly 300 yards and beat one of the two best teams in the entire league, a division rival no less, while also receiving very little help from the rest of his offense besides Stefon Diggs (10 catches for 146 yards against his former team). The run game did nothing and fumbled twice (lost 1), and he took 4 sacks. The defense also deserves credit for limiting the dominant Bills rushing attack, but Maye was definitely the catalyst for the huge win.

Worst: Arizona Cardinals

This might have been one of the ugliest losses of all time. They were inches away from a 28-6 lead over the pitiful Tennessee Titans after running back Emari Demercado broke free for 71 yards… only for him to fumble right before the goal line, giving the Titans the ball down only 21-6 instead. Then there was the whole sequence where Titans’ quarterback Cam Ward threw a pick, only for Cardinals defender Dadrion Tayler-Demerson to fumble the interception and allow the Titans to score on the recovery. That about sums up the Cardinals’ loss to one of the most dysfunctional teams in the NFL, earning them worst loss of the week.

Biggest Surprise: Rico Dowdle

Filling in for starter Chuba Hubbard, Dowdle ran for 206 yards in the Panthers’ stunning win over the Miami Dolphins. Dowdle’s always been a solid back, rushing for over 1000 yards last season before taking the backup job in Carolina. As the spark for a struggling team in this game, he’s certainly earned himself extra touches moving forward.

Biggest Disappointment: Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo

The Giants’ pair of top rookies have shown plenty of promise so far, but Sunday was a low point. They combined for 4 giveaways en route to a double digit loss against a bad Saints team. I’m still very much in on their development, after all, they are still rookies, they’re bound to have some bad games. However, considering their momentum (coming off a win against a then-undefeated Chargers team) and the quality of their opponent, I was just hoping for a bit better of a showing.

Best Rookie: Emeka Egbuka

I’ve been wanting to highlight a variety of players, hence why Egbuka is only showing up here for his second time. However, there is absolutely no denying now that he has been the best rookie in the league so far. He caught all 7 of his targets for 163 yards and a score in the dramatic Buccaneers win. His draft process and start to his rookie year are looking eerily similar to Justin Jefferson’s.

Stock Up: CJ Stroud

The big story for many coming out of this game will be the Ravens falling to 1-4. However, let’s take a moment to highlight the bounce back from Texans’ quarterback CJ Stroud. Things had been looking very dire for Houston, between starting 0-3 and their quarterback’s struggles (which I still contend was more the fault of his offensive line). However, in the last 2 games, Stroud has completed over 80% of his passes for 6 touchdowns and no turnovers. They still have a long way to go before I trust them due to their line, but things are looking a lot better.

Stock Down: Cincinnati Bengals

Look, losing Joe Burrow probably kills your season, but it shouldn’t look this bad. I mean, despite obvious flaws, this was a team expected to make the playoffs with Burrow. Instead, everything looks terrible. Jake Browning should not get anymore starts, with 8 picks in only 4 games, the skill positions look bad besides Ja’Marr Chase, and the offensive line and defense both look terrible. It’s probably another lost season in Cincinnati.

Player Spotlight: Donte Jackson

Imagine my surprise when I was looking through cornerback coverage statistics and I found that Jackson of the Chargers has been by far the best corner in the league so far. He’s allowed an 8.2 passer rating when targeted, the only player in the league under a 20. He’s only allowed 4 catches on 13 targets (30.8%) for a tiny 18 yards (1.4 yards per target). Jackson is never mentioned in the company of the elite cornerbacks in the league, heck he’s barely mentioned among the good ones. It’s time to put some respect on his name.

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Power Rankings:

Tier 1: The Super Bowl Favorites

1. Philadelphia Eagles (Offseason Rank: 1)

2. Buffalo Bills (4)

The top contender from each conference is pretty clear thus far. As the only 4-0 teams left, the Eagles and the Bills have once again set themselves up for big years. It hasn’t always been the prettiest for the Eagles (they haven’t really played a full 4 strong quarters of football and all 4 wins have been by 1 score, plus AJ Brown is unhappy again), but they just always find a way to win. Undefeated (by any means necessary) and reigning Super Bowl champs is a ticket to the top spot. The Bills haven’t really had to do much since their Week 1 thriller victory over the Ravens, mostly due to their easy schedule. The Jets, Dolphins, and Saints have 1 combined win between them (with that lone win being the Dolphins beating the Jets). That said, they crushed the Jets, and, while the Dolphins and Saints actually played more competitively than anticipated, the Bills decisively put them away late. No teams have been better than these two this year.

Tier 2: The Challengers

3. Detroit Lions (5)

4. Los Angeles Rams (7)

5. Los Angeles Chargers (12)

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8)

7. Kansas City Chiefs (2)

8. Baltimore Ravens (3)

If anyone is going to make it to the big game besides the Eagles or Bills, it’ll likely be one of these teams. I almost put the Lions a tier above despite not being 4-0. Ever since losing to the Packers in Week 1, they’ve been absolutely on fire, especially on offense. They’ve averaged over 40 points per game in their last 3. I stand by my statements that the Rams really should be 4-0 right now, and they’ve looked incredible on both sides of the ball. Puka Nacua has been absolutely amazing so far. If he crosses 1900 yards, he’d be just the 3^rd receiver to do so all-time – and the 3^rd receiver to do it with Matthew Stafford as his quarterback. Had they not lost to the Giants last week and lost more players to injury in the process, the Chargers would have been placed 3^rd in these rankings. Before the Giants game they had played the best in the league thus far. I’m still willing to give them the benefit of the doubt with regards to their injuries. Baker Mayfield couldn’t conjure up his 4^th game winning drive in as many games, but the Bucs remain an elite team. Quite frankly, I’m not sure what to make of either the Ravens or the Chiefs. Both are still title contenders I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt to, but it’s not like their losses have all been just unlucky.

Tier 3: Just Give It Some More Time…

9. Indianapolis Colts (29)

10. Seattle Seahawks (18)

11. Denver Broncos (9)

12. Jacksonville Jaguars (26)

13. Green Bay Packers (10)

14. Washington Commanders (6)

This tier consists of some of the biggest risers and fallers in these rankings. My disdain for how Daniel Jones played in New York clouded my judgment of the rest of the roster for the Colts. They’re definitely a good football team, but I want to wait to midseason to see how sustainable their success is. I was really high on the Seahawks in the offseason as I really love what their defense can do and I think Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the most underrated players in the league. They’ve proven me right so far. Denver finally had a good game on both sides of the ball in Week 4. As the team gels more, they will become more dangerous. I didn’t have the Jaguars defense becoming the best takeaway unit in the league this year on my bingo card, but here we are. That said, as important as turnovers are, it is a slightly unsustainable way to play defense across the entire season. If they can get better at the little things while maintaining good takeaway numbers, they’ll definitely be scary. As good as the Packers have been at times, there are clear flaws with this team (ie. offensive line, secondary depth, receivers at times). They still definitely have the pieces and the talent to get better as the year progresses, especially as star edge rusher Micah Parsons gets more acclimated. The Commanders have a really good offense, as they haven’t slowed down a ton while Marcus Mariota has filled in for Jayden Daniels. That said, they need their defense to regain the form they had to end last season or else things could get a bit iffy.

Tier 4: Mike Tomlin

15. Pittsburgh Steelers (14)

Yes, the Steelers get their own tier. As always they’re going to get their 9 wins, because of course they are, but it’s still hard to see how good the ceiling for this team is. Aaron Rodgers and the offense have been brilliant at times and mediocre at others, as has the defense. It’s also worth noting that, in their first 2 wins, they only won on a handful of miracle plays, such as the fumble on the kick return against the Jets, so they could just as easily be 1-3. But of course, Mike Tomlin’s crew will always scrounge up 9 wins.

Tier 5: High Highs and Low Lows

16. San Francisco 49ers (15)

17. Atlanta Falcons (17)

18. Minnesota Vikings (11)

19. Chicago Bears (19)

20. New England Patriots (23)

21. Arizona Cardinals (22)

This bunch definitely can do some damage, and even make the playoffs, but they’ve also given little reason to be trusted. They’re kind of like the Steelers without the 9 win floor. For the 49ers, it’s been mostly due to injuries and an easy schedule. Barely beating middling teams en route to a 3-0 start was questionable. They get a good test against the Rams this week. The Falcons have quite literally alternated terrible losses and amazing wins. They have their bye this week, and if they can get some consistency, they could be really good. I really like most of this Vikings roster, but things just aren’t clicking fully yet. There wins have come via JJ McCarthy’s only good quarter so far this season and the greatest single game performance of all time by Isaiah Rodgers, while they’ve dropped 2 very winnable games against the Steelers and Falcons. The Bears are heating up, with a really solid offense powering 2 straight wins to get back to .500. That momentum into the bye week could spark a run. The Patriots are the Falcons of the AFC, alternating losses and wins. Pretty much everything I said about Atlanta applies here. The Cardinals started 2-0 before dropping their last 2 against divisional opponents. They’re a bit all over the place, with some areas of their roster overachieving while others underperform. When things balance out, don’t expect them to move from this spot much.

Tier 6: There’s At Least Something Here

22. Dallas Cowboys (20)

23. Cleveland Browns (30)

The Micah Parsons-less defense might be the worst in the NFL. Their young front has struggled without him, and the secondary has talented ballhawks who can’t cover. At least they have Dak Prescott, who has been really good so far, keeping the Cowboys in many games. I never thought I’d have the Browns this high on the rankings this season. Alas, the way these tiers works undeniably puts them here. While their offense has been horrible, their defense has been quite good. Led by Myles Garrett, they’ve also gotten great contributions from cornerback Denzel Ward, safety Grant Delpit, and rookies Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger. They haven’t and won’t win much, but this defense will make them a team that opponents don’t want to face.

Tier 7: Hospital

24. Cincinnati Bengals (16)

25. New York Giants (25)

26. Miami Dolphins (24)

The 3 biggest season ending injuries have come on these 3 teams, effectively ending their hope. The Bengals did start 2-0 before losing Joe Burrow to injury. Since then, they’ve looked almost as bad as the Titans (which says a lot at this point). A trade for a quarterback should be in order to save what they can of their season. The Giants losing Malik Nabers was absolutely brutal. Most notably, it makes Jaxson Dart’s development much, much harder. On the plus side, he looked great in his first career start. At the end of the day though, the schedule remains brutal, so they likely won’t do too much. The Dolphins looked atrocious to start the year but have stabilized slightly even though they’ve only won 1 game. They went back and forth against the Patriots in Week 2, were really competitive against the first place Bills, then won their first game. The defense is still highly concerning, but at least offensively, things were looking better. That was, until Tyreek Hill got hurt with one of the more gruesome leg injuries you’ll see. All 3 teams’ seasons are kind of doomed, but I hope all 3 players have speedy recoveries.

Tier 8: It’s Going Down Quick

27. Houston Texans (13)

28. Las Vegas Raiders (27)

29. Carolina Panthers (28)

Sunday’s shutout win against the Titans did not change my opinion on the Texans. Their offensive line is still among the worst in league history, and until that’s fixed, life will be too hard on CJ Stroud and the defense to overcome. One elite rookie running back performance isn’t enough to get the Raiders up to Tier 6, but it’s definitely enough to shoutout here. Ashton Jeanty was really great on Sunday with over 150 yards and 3 touchdowns. That said, nothing else looks good, as the defense can’t get many stops and Geno Smith won’t stop throwing interceptions. So much for last season’s momentum for the Panthers. The defense was always supposed to be bad, but the offense has looked worse than expected considering how they ended last year. Week 3’s 30-0 win over Atlanta was extremely encouraging, but they immediately followed it up with a 42-13 loss to New England. Questions have begun circling around Bryce Young again, and overall, things are just looking bad for Carolina.

Tier 9: 0-4

30. New York Jets (21)

31. New Orleans Saints (32)

32. Tennessee Titans (31)

I really did have higher hopes for the Jets this year, but they still have yet to win a game. What’s really bizarre is how the Jets’ offense has been great, but the defense has been uncharacteristically bad. If the defense can eventually sort itself out (which definitely could happen considering Aaron Glenn was the defensive coordinator for the Lions last year), they’ll definitely get out of this tier in no time. That said, who knows when that will happen. The Saints haven’t been great, but they’ve at least played good teams decently close. Cam Ward’s quote this week makes my job easy and sums up the Titans right now better than I could.

1 Thing I’m Most Excited About:

Buccaneers offense vs. Seahawks defense (Buccaneers at Seahawks, Sun. 4:05)

I’ve talked a lot about how much I like both of these units, and their matchup this week has me super excited. Let’s start with the Seattle defense. Their pass rush has been a great collective effort, ranking top 7 in sacks, pressure rate, and hurry rate. Former 1^st round defensive tackle Byron Murphy II is having a breakout season, ranking top 10 in both pressures and QB hurries. They’ve also allowed the second least points leaguewide. On the flip side, the Bucs offense hasn’t fully played up to expectations due to injuries, but they remain an elite unit. Baker Mayfield is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He’s led 3 game winning drives so far, and is absolutely fearless when throwing the football. Bucky Irving continues his elite start to his career out of the backfield, and 1^st round rookie Emeka Egbuka is the early front runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, carrying a receiving group that’s been decimated by injuries. How these 3-1 teams fare against each other will certainly be fun to watch.

1 Thing I’m Most Worried About:

Washington Commanders

I feel like I don’t talk about this team much. Sitting at 2-2, they’ve been a lot quieter than they were last year in their run to the NFC Championship Game. They’ve beat 2 mediocre teams in the Giants and Raiders and lost to 2 solid teams in the Packers and Falcons. This week they play the Los Angeles Chargers, and they welcome starting quarterback Jayden Daniels back from injury. He’s been quiet to start his sophomore season, as he’s already missed half of the team’s games, and even when he has played, he hasn’t been as spectacular as last year. It’s been their run game carrying though, as they rank 2^nd in the league in yards on the ground. The defense has also struggled, although the pass rush has been slightly better than last year. Overall, this team hasn’t played up to the expectations they set for themselves last year. The problem is they face an injury-riddled but still really good Chargers team this week. Should they lose, they’d fall to 2-3, which is certainly not insurmountable but definitely not ideal. That said, this game against a tough opponent does border slightly on must-win territory.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: At the end of Week 2, the Chicago Bears had the worst point differential in the league with a -34 point differential. Since then they’ve won both of their games to push that differential up to -16. The Tennessee Titans now have the worst at -69.

Weekly Trivia Question: Which 2 players are tied for the league lead in sacks after Week 4?

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Best: Denver Broncos

This is the Broncos team that everyone expected to see this year. Throughout the year, both the offense and defense had some great moments, but never at the same time, leading to a 1-2 start. And even then, they were highly competitive to start. Fun fact, they haven’t trailed at all in the 4^th quarter so far, as their 2 losses have come via walk off field goals. They came to play on Monday night against the Bengals. The offense moved the ball well, racking up 512 total yards (326 through the air, 186 on the ground, both excellent marks). Bo Nix looked sharp (besides throwing an interception), JK Dobbins looked great out of the backfield, and the offensive line was excellent too. The defense was also stellar. Yes it came against a weak Jake Browning-led offense, but still, holding them to a meager 159 yards and 3 points is excellent. The pass rush got home for 3 sacks (criminally underrated edge rusher Nik Bonitto had 1.5 of them), and the coverage and run defense units were great as well. If Denver can continue to play like this, they could definitely challenge the Chargers (whose offensive line is dropping like flies) and Chiefs for this division.

Worst: Tennessee Titans

I’ve avoided putting the Titans in this column for long enough, and I genuinely have no idea why. This is by far the worst team in the league right now. Brian Callahan is easily the worst coach in the league and belongs in conversations with the likes of Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia, Matt Eberflus, and Nathaniel Hackett with how bad he’s been. The worst was a few weeks ago when he straight up didn’t know the rule that players just need to be downed in bounds to constitute a catch. I mean, legendary coach John Madden wrote a freaking book about it titled “One Knee Equals Two Feet.” It’s beyond embarrassing that he didn’t know that, and until he’s fired there is no hope for this squad. On the field, things are looking worse by the week. After at least being somewhat competitive in Week 1 against a good Broncos team, their losses have gotten increasingly more horrid, culminating in this week’s shutout against the division rival Texans, a team that I still think is pretty horrible in their own right thanks to their offensive line. Number 1 overall pick Cam Ward has been passing the eye test just enough so far, but his numbers have been abysmal due to a terrible supporting cast. The defense has been slightly better than that, but they’re also pretty bad and definitely can’t make up for the lack of offense. I said before the season that Callahan would be the first coach fired, and so far, those odds are increasing.

Biggest Surprise: New Orleans Saints’ competitiveness

Going into the season, I had the Titans at number 31 in my Power Rankings. The only reason they weren’t at the very bottom was due to the Saints. This roster is bad, and they refuse to enter a full rebuild to actually move forward. That said, they’ve actually been far more competitive than anticipated so far. They were on the verge of beating Arizona in Week 1 and San Francisco in Week 2. Yeah they were pretty bad in the Week 3 blowout against Seattle, but, fun fact, when they were down 38-6 at halftime, they actually had run twice as many plays, had more yards than the Seahawks, and didn’t turn the ball over. Now, a large part of that had to do with several penalties in that half, but still. Week 4 might have been their best showing yet. The Buffalo Bills are currently touted as Super Bowl favorites, and the Saints played them really close, with the score being 21-19 Bills midway through the 4^th quarter. The run game was great, and quarterback Spencer Rattler continues to play unspectacular but competent football. The Saints definitely won’t win many games, but at the very least they have shown themselves to be competitive.

Biggest Disappointment: Baltimore Ravens

So maybe some of the stuff I said in the preview for this week wasn’t entirely accurate. I said that this defense’s struggles were slightly overblown due to the qualities of the offenses that they’d played. Then they got torched by this Kansas City offense, which is, well, not that. Yes they still have Patrick Mahomes (who legitimately had his best game in 2-3 years), but the rest of the offense around him had been so dysfunctional thus far that I thought this would be a get right game for Baltimore. Instead, they now have the worst scoring defense in the entire NFL, allowing 33.3 points per game, which is worse than teams like the Cowboys and Panthers. As for the offense, the only bright spots were that Derrick Henry finally went a week without fumbling, and that backup running back Justice Hill had a great game. MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson turned the ball over twice and got hurt, Henry, despite not fumbling, didn’t look very good, and the offensive line has been almost as bad as the defense all year. Their Week 5 contest against the Texans is do or die for both teams, which could cause things to get bad very quickly.

Best Rookie: Ashton Jeanty

My 2 choices for this spot came down to 2 AFC West rookie running backs in the Chargers’ Omarion Hampton and the Raiders’ Jeanty. Hampton went for 165 total yards and a touchdown, an electric breakout game that has me excited for what’s to come for him the rest of the way. However, it’s hard to ignore just how good Jeanty was. Fun fact (yes, I have all sorts of fun stats facts this week), Jeanty had 146 yards after contact entering Sunday… and 144 rushing yards total. That means that his offensive line had blocked so poorly for him that on average he was getting hit in the backfield on every carry. In Week 4 he tallied 155 total yards and 3 trips to the endzone. Yes he lost a fumble early on, which wasn’t great. However, he showed great resilience bouncing back from it. He showed great speed and power on many of his runs, forcing missed tackles by evading defenders and just pushing right through them. The highlight of his day was a 64 yard touchdown run, in which he hit a small hole in the line perfectly to give himself open space. Hopefully, he (and his offensive line) can build on this breakout performance.

Stock Rising: Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense

The Jags have been putting on defensive clinics so far to start the year. They currently rank 5^th in the league in points allowed and lead the entire league with a whopping 13 takeaways thus far. For those counting at home that’s 3.25 per game, an absurd pace. The man at the center of it all has been linebacker Devin Lloyd, who is tied with Bears safety Kevin Byard for the league lead in picks with 3 and has also recovered a fumble. They’ve got underrated playmakers at all three levels of the defense. Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, and Arik Armstead comprise one of the better defensive line trios in the league. Lloyd’s running mate Foyesade Oluokun is a tackling machine who gives the team one of the best linebacker tandems in the league. And the secondary has gotten a huge boost from free agent pickup Jourdan Lewis (I bet the Cowboys wish they hadn’t let him go looking at the state of their defense). Their next 3 games are all against playoff contenders with good to great offenses (Chiefs, Seahawks, Rams, all home), which should be a great test for them. Jaguars vs. Colts is shaping up to be one of the most fun division races in the league this year.

Stock Falling: Packers and Cowboys

Oh boy, where to start with this game? A 40-40 tie is certainly not something I had on my bingo card for this game. Let’s start with the obvious: as evidenced by which section I put them in, I think both teams come out of this worse than when they went in. From the Cowboys side, it was a mixed bag. The offense looked phenomenal against a Packers defense that through 3 weeks had been touted as one of the best in the league. I tend to go back and forth on him, but Dak Prescott was easily the best player on the field. He threw for over 300 yards on an efficient 77% completion percentage and tossed for 3 touchdowns while adding 1 more on the ground. George Pickens had a career day with a 8-134-2 line, and Javonte Williams continues to have a career resurgence, posting 100 total yards. The downside is the defense continues to be downright putrid. It’s potentially the worst unit in the sport right now. That said, some players had decent individual performances. Edge rushers James Houston and rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku were both really good, as was veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The problem was mainly the back end allowing several chunk plays. As for the Packers, that end of overtime sequence needs to be studied. They drove downfield with ease but with no urgency, ultimately settling for the tie. Had they actually tried to win, I’m fairly confident they would have. From a player standpoint, if Dak Prescott was easily the best player on the field, Jordan Love was easily the 2^nd best. He went for over 350 yards and 3 touchdowns, though he did lose a fumble. Romeo Doubs played great, hauling in all 3 of Love’s touchdowns. Much like the Cowboys, though, this defense is becoming concerning. The front should look better down the line as Micah Parsons gets healthier from his early season injury, but the secondary remains thin, particularly at corner. Nate Hobbs and Keisean Nixon are actually a decently underrated corner tandem, but if either gets hurt, it spells trouble for the team, like we saw on Sunday night. Both teams will need to show improvement moving forward.

Player Spotlight: Quentin Johnston

Quentin Johnston learned to catch! Jokes aside, after 2 years in the league in which he did very little due to drop issues, he’s finally living up to his 1^st round hype. Johnston is the big play specialist of the Chargers’ offense. He complements their other top receivers (Keenan Allen and Ladd McConkey) perfectly, as they handle all of the underneath and slot routes while Johnston beats the defense outside and over the top. Thus far, he’s 3^rd in the league in both receiving yards and touchdowns. He’s seemingly solved the drops issue with none so far this year. He’s also a huge reason that Justin Herbert is one of the early favorites for MVP (although last week’s loss to the Giants, in which more offensive linemen went down with injury, doesn’t help that much), and it’s led the Chargers to have one of the best balanced offenses. Johnston’s breakout after all of the criticism to start his career has to be one of the best stories around the league so far.

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Undefeated Teams:

Philadelphia Eagles:

Am I the only one getting 2023 Eagles vibes from team? With wins over the division rival Cowboys, a confounding Chiefs team, and a really solid Rams squad, something just doesn’t feel like it’s clicking with this team right now. Let’s start with the Rams game. The offense definitely looked its best since the first half of the opener against Dallas. They proved that this iteration of the team can, in fact, pass the ball with success. However, on the whole, they really shouldn’t have won this game. The defense barely got any stops all day. They picked off Matthew Stafford on the first drive and forced a punt and turnover on downs on back-to-back third quarter drives. However, every other drive resulted in a score, or a blocked field goal. Ignoring the fact that there was a shocking number of blocked field goals across the league this week, needing 2 blocked field goals in order to win is very lucky. As for the Cowboys and Chiefs games, they played well in both games, but it would have been much more encouraging to see them put away at least one of those teams more convincingly. I can’t tell if this team is a ticking time bomb that might collapse like the 2023 team, or if they’re destined to click a lot more moving forward. If the former happens, they should still be a good team that makes the playoffs but might not be very scary come January. If the latter happens, they should win the Super Bowl.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

This is another team that I would’ve liked to see at least one more convincing win. In all 3 of their games, they needed a go-ahead offensive touchdown on their final possession to win the game. That being said, it’s hard to pinpoint definitive weaknesses with this team. Offensively, Baker Mayfield remains one of the better quarterbacks in the league, sophomore standout Bucky Irving is having a solid year out of the backfield, and the pass catchers, particularly rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka, are excellent. Defensively, while they’re not racking up a ton of sacks or turnovers, they’ve been decently efficient. Another thing working in their favor is that their 3-0 start has come with several key players missing time with injury. When they get their pieces back, this could be one of the most feared teams down the stretch.

San Francisco 49ers:

If there was ever a team that was more banged up than the Bucs, it would be the 49ers. Several players are hurt, including their starting quarterback, 2 of their top 3 receivers, their tight end, their best edge rusher, and several members of their secondary. What makes this interesting is that, despite all of that, they are 3-0. Throughout the offseason I always thought this was a decent team that was so top heavy that they were one injury away from disaster. Well, they’ve had that injury, plus many more, and disaster has obviously not struck. That said, they haven’t been particularly impressive in their wins, and they have come against mediocre competition. Their next 4 games should be great benchmarks.

Buffalo Bills:

This was my preseason Super Bowl pick, and through 3 weeks, that still looks like a good bet. I personally don’t think there’s been any team that’s been better than Buffalo. They grabbed a signature win with their comeback in Week 1 over the Ravens, demolished the Jets in Week 2, and beat the Dolphins in Week 3. Josh Allen has once again been one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He hasn’t had the most gaudy numbers, but that’s more been a product of how ahead the Bills have gotten in two of their games, plus Allen having to miss a few plays of the win against the Jets with the bloody nose. They’ve also got the best rushing offense in the league, with James Cook playing at an elite level after having a really underrated breakout last year. The one concern with this team is the defense, which has looked iffy at times. However, injuries and a handful of PED suspensions have hurt that, so perhaps it’ll look better down the stretch. If the defense can get solved once players return, this is most likely the best team in the league.

Los Angeles Chargers:

If any team could rival the Bills with how well they’ve played, it would be the Chargers. Not only are they 3-0, but they’re 3-0 in their division, with a win over each of their division mates in what was supposed to be one of the toughest divisions in the sport. Both the offense and defense have been among the best. The pass game has been electric (pun definitely intended), with Justin Herbert leading the NFL in passing yards and an early frontrunner for MVP. Losing Najee Harris is a blow for the run game, but that just opens up 1^st round rookie Omarion Hampton for more opportunities. The defense has also carried over from last year, when it was quietly a top 3 unit. This year, they’ve allowed the least points in the conference. I wouldn’t be surprised if this team went on a playoff run after so many years of playoff collapses.

Indianapolis Colts:

The most shocking of the undefeated teams, the Colts have come out of the gate on fire. Through 3 games they lead the NFL in point differential with +47, featuring the 2^nd best scoring offense paired with a top 10 scoring defense. Much has been made of the revelation on offense, starting with Daniel Jones’ emergence at quarterback. He’s 3^rd in the league in passing yards, has yet to turn the ball over, and is piloting one of the best offenses thus far. Even better has been Jonathan Taylor, who has been one of the most underrated running backs in the league for years now. He already leads the league in rushing yards by over 50 yards. People forget just how good he is: he had a fantastic rookie year in 2020, led the league in rushing in 2021 with over 1800 yards, and finished with over 1400 last year. Also deserving of credit is the defense, which has been great at preventing points, and is tied for 3^rd in the league in interceptions. A lot of people are surely still on fraud watch with this team (and partially rightfully so, considering the quality of their opponents so far), and while I still do have my reservations about Jones at quarterback, I think the rest of the roster has plenty to like.

3 I’m Most Excited About:

1. Buccaneers offense vs. Eagles defense (Eagles at Buccaneers, Sun. 1:00)

It doesn’t get better than 3-0 vs. 3-0. This should be a great game considering how these two teams have played each other the last few years. Dating back to 2023, they’ve played 3 times. In Week 3 of the 2023 regular season, both teams entered the contest at 2-0, and the Eagles prevailed 25-11. However, that was the year the Eagles collapsed down the stretch, and the Bucs won in the playoffs 32-9. They met in Week 4 again last season when the Bucs won 33-16, right before the Eagles’ bye week in which they figured stuff out and only lost once more the rest of the year en route to the Super Bowl. This year should be their best matchup yet, as both teams enter undefeated. I chose to highlight the matchup of the Tampa Bay offense vs. the Philadelphia defense because those are the two sides of the ball that are much more intriguing. All season, the Bucs offense has been solid, playing decent football through the first 3 quarters before coming alive in the 4^th. This has also come with a multitude of injuries, most recently star receiver Mike Evans. It’ll be interesting to see just how much they lean on breakout rookie Emeka Egbuka with so many of their receivers dealing with injuries. They haven’t always played like it thus far, but Baker Mayfield and this offense will need to play up to what they’re capable of if they’re going to beat this Eagles team, whose defense was looking like one of the best through 2 weeks but hit a rough patch last week. I mentioned earlier how they struggled all day against the Rams. While they only allowed one score in the second half, they only got 2 convincing stops on 5 drives, and that was after an awful first half which, other than an interception on the opening drive, was a perfect 5 for 5 scoring by the Rams. They’ve certainly got the talent and pedigree for a rebound. Facing a hobbled Bucs offense will either be the perfect situation, or it could go horribly awry. This should be exciting to watch unfold.

2. Micah Parsons’ return to Dallas (Packers at Cowboys, Sun. 8:20)

Last week was rough for the Packers, blowing what should’ve been an easy win against the Cleveland Browns. They’ll look for a rebound this week against Parsons’ former team, particularly on offense. However, by far the biggest thing people will be watching for will be how Parsons fares against his former team. For how much criticism the Cowboys have gotten this season, and rightfully so, their offense has been solid, particularly in the passing game. While quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t play super well in last week’s loss to the Bears with 2 interceptions, he still ranks 4^th in the league in passing yards. How the Packers match up against that will be really interesting. Even in the loss, the Packers have been incredible on that side of the ball. Parsons has been a bit quiet but also great when on the field. He’s only played 63% of the snaps due to the adjustment from the trade and injury recovery, but on those limited snaps, he’s got 1.5 sacks and is tied for 7^th in the league with 7 pressures. He’ll surely want to be on the field more due to the nature of the contest and how he left Dallas. He’ll definitely be trying to turn that into as many sacks as possible.

3. Jaxon Smith-Njibga vs. Will Johnson (Seahawks at Cardinals, Thurs. 8:15)

The first two on this list almost felt obligatory due to how high profile they are. This one is a personal favorite to highlight 2 of my favorite exciting young players. Let’s start with JSN, who’s been insanely efficient to start his 3^rd season. After quietly breaking out as a sophomore last year with 100 catches for 1130 yards, he’s been even better this year. He’s 2^nd in the league with 323 yards thus far, and 5^th in receptions. Receiver is a very talented position, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to call Smith-Njigba at least a top 10 guy at this point. Johnson fell to the 2^nd round in this past draft due to medical issues, but had he been fully healthy, he easily should’ve been a 1^st round pick. He’s been really good to start his rookie year, allowing only a 54% completion percentage and a 68.7 passer rating. He’s been the number one corner that the Cardinals have been searching for for a few seasons now, and it’s only been 3 games. Obviously there’s no guarantee these two will be matched up on Thursday night, but if they are, it should be really fascinating to see who comes out on top.

3 I’m Most Worried About:

1. Jaxson Dart (Chargers at Giants, Sun. 1:00)

While I absolutely have my reservations about the Giants turning to Dart this week, there’s no denying that this is the biggest storyline of the week. Russell Wilson’s start to the season was a roller coaster to say the least, with Week 1 being among the worst quarterback performances of the season, Week 2 arguably being the best, and Week 3 being back to the worst. That led the Giants to move to 1^st round rookie Jaxson Dart, which is not ideal to say the least. Dart is a solid prospect who probably needed a bit more time to develop into a starting caliber QB, had a great preseason, and ran several random option plays off the bench so far. Additionally, while his weapons are actually pretty underrated, the line in front of him is really bad right now, and he faces one of the best defenses in the league. This is a recipe for disaster, and I feel bad for Dart that he’s being put in this situation, which is obviously a Hail Mary for head coach Brian Daboll to save his job.

2. Probably the Chiefs, but maybe the Ravens (Ravens at Chiefs, Sun. 4:25)

One of these two Super Bowl contenders will be 1-3 after this game (unless of course the exciting tie occurs). From the Ravens’ side, they have to think they should be 3-0 right now. If it weren’t for Derrick Henry’s fumbles in Weeks 1 and 3, both games would have been drastically different (I still think the Lions would’ve ended up winning the Week 3 contest, but I can definitely see the argument that the Ravens would’ve come out on top). In reality, this team has played really well. As expected, the offense has been dynamic and electric (besides the fumbles), scoring the most points thus far. The defense has been criticized thus far, but I think that’s been a bit overblown by the fact that their two bad performances have come against what I think are 2 of the 3 best offenses in the league. They should be fine, at least for the regular season, but beating some of the elite teams might be a bit more challenging than expected. As for the Chiefs, what has been inspiring at all about this team besides the pedigree of their top guys? The offense hasn’t been good at running or passing, with their best asset being Patrick Mahomes running. That’s not a good sign at all. The defense has been decent at times, but on the whole I haven’t been impressed. They got torn apart by the Chargers, allowed the Eagles to run so well that the passing game wasn’t necessary at all, and beat up on a woeful Giants offense. This game should go heavily in the Ravens favor, but with how they’ve been at giving games away, it really could go either way. Regardless, it’s about to get really spooky for whomever loses.

3. Las Vegas Raiders

I’ve been higher on this team than most, so their play this far has been discouraging. I thought their ugly win in Week 1 would be a great building block for the team moving forward. Instead, they got walloped by the Chargers in Week 2 and the Commanders in Week 3. The Chargers have looked fantastic, but the Commanders were down their starting quarterback and haven’t looked quite as good as last season. Now, they get a Bears team who is hot on offense that is coming off of their best game of the Caleb Williams era. Barely anything has impressed with this team. Geno Smith is 2^nd in the league in passing yards, but owns a 4:4 TD:INT ratio. Ashton Jeanty and the run game have done little to nothing. The defense has been mediocre at best, bad at worst (especially in the secondary). Things are not looking good for this squad, and next week doesn’t get any easier.

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Best: Isaiah Rodgers

Amid a weekend of solid performances, no player had a better Sunday than the Vikings’ cornerback. In fact, there’s an argument that he had the greatest single game performance by a player ever. Rodgers lit up the stat sheet, tallying 3 tackles, 2 pass breakups, and 3 turnovers, 2 of which he returned for touchdowns. First he returned an interception 87 yards for the pick six in the first quarter. Then he forced Bengals tight end Noah Fant to fumble, which he recovered himself and returned 66 yards for another score. He then forced star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase to fumble on the very next possession. This led to an absolutely absurd 99.9 PFF grade out of 100, which is a new record. Hence, we may have just witnessed the best single game performance by a player in history, and at the very least easily the best of the weekend.

Worst: Atlanta Falcons

I feel like I talk about this team every week (mostly due to the fact that a lot of their players really intrigue me). This week they return to my post to showcase exactly what not to do on the football field. The Bengals and the Saints also could’ve been exhibits for this, but at the very least both of them found the end zone by the end of the game, plus Minnesota does have a really fantastic defense, and the Saints are supposed to be this bad. The Falcons, though, not only never made it in the end zone, but never made it into the red zone, heck they never crossed the Panthers 30 yard line all game. Not a single thing went right for this team on Sunday. Michael Penix Jr. had the worst game of his short career by far and was benched by the end of the game, and the rest of the offense sputtered around him. All of those defensive strides from the week before, particularly with their young players, were nowhere to be seen. One week after playing hero in his first game as a Falcon, Parker Romo crashed back to earth, missing both of his field goal attempts. And to top it off, the coaching was disastrous on both sides of the ball. And all of this came against the Panthers, a division rival who was 0-2 entering Sunday and looked like one of the worst teams in the league before the game. If there was ever a “burn the tape” kind of game, it would 1000% be this one.

Most Mid: New England Patriots

The Patriots were a popular dark horse playoff team coming into the season. Through 3 weeks they definitely don’t look the part. They’ve definitely played close in all 3 games, which is something you hope for out of young ascending teams. However, their on field product in their losses has just looked stuck in the mud. Focusing on Week 3, there was definitely some good and some bad. Offensively, they moved the ball well. Quarterback Drake Maye looked decent at times, completing 75% of his passes and throwing for 268 yards, and they picked up 119 yards on the ground. However, Maye turned the ball over twice. In fact, the whole offense turned the ball over 5 times, 4 of which were fumbles. The line also allowed 5 sacks. The defense was kind of the opposite, as they minimized the yardage they allowed, but allowed Pittsburgh to go perfect in the red zone. They’re playing really sloppy football right now, which is uncharacteristic for a team coached by Mike Vrabel. Hopefully as the season goes on the team gels together more.

Biggest Surprise: Seattle Seahawks

Look I’m sure no one picked the Saints to win this game, but it certainly had to surprise many just how good Seattle looked on Sunday. I’ve been high on this team for a while, and this game displayed exactly why. Sam Darnold looked great, going 14 for 18 with 218 yards and 2 TD’s. For all the warranted issues he’s had throughout his career, he’s become severely underrated based on just his final 2 games from last year. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the best receivers in the league that no one seems to talk about. The run game was a bit stagnant, but it should pick up a bit more when Zach Charbonnet returns to complement Kenneth Walker III. The defense was also lights out. They were up 38-6 at halftime. It was just an all-around great day for the Seahawks.

Biggest Disappointment: Derrick Henry

Sadly, this one has been a few weeks coming. Look, Henry has looked great on 95% of his carries. He’s a future Hall of Famer on his way to another phenomenal season. But what is up with all of these fumbles? In Week 1 he lost a crucial fumble that allowed the Bills to complete their comeback in what became an instant classic of a game. He fumbled again in Week 2, but fortunately didn’t lose it. Then, in Week 3, he lost another one in a huge spot. The Ravens were down 7, about to start a fresh drive with the hopes of tying up the game. Instead, he gave the Lions the ball in field goal range to make it a 10 point game. I honestly have no clue what is happening with him, as he is a future Hall of Famer. But the Ravens had better hope that whatever it is gets fixed quick before it costs them anymore games.

Best Rookie: Carson Schwesinger

Shoutouts to Emeka Egbuka (who continues to make highlight catches as the early front runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year), Omarion Hampton (who scored his first career touchdown during a slightly inefficient but nevertheless excellent 129 yard performance), and Derrick Harmon (who notched his first career sack in his first career game after missing time with a knee injury). All were great options, but I opted for Schwesinger, who’s quietly been outstanding for what has been a great Browns defense. He tallied 9 total tackles and his first career sack from the linebacker spot. I was a bit lower on him as a prospect and thought the Browns reached a bit on him at the top of the 2^nd round. He’s proven me wrong in a big way to start his career, culminating in the team’s first win of the season over a quality opponent.

Stock Up: Los Angeles Chargers

The AFC West was shaping up to be one of the toughest divisions in football this season, but the Chargers have steamrolled right through it. After beating the Broncos Sunday afternoon in a really close game, Los Angeles is now 3-0 and has beat all 3 of their division mates. And they’ve done it in convincing fashion too. Justin Herbert is arguably the league MVP through 3 weeks, and he’s got a strong arsenal of pass catchers to throw to. Losing Najee Harris is a blow to the run game, but Omarion Hampton looks to be making development strides. And the defense, after somewhat quietly being a top 5 unit a year ago, looks like the best in the entire NFL, though losing pass rusher Khalil Mack is going to sting. Outside of maybe the Bills, I don’t think there’s a team in the entire league who has looked as good as the Chargers thus far.

Stock Down: Las Vegas Raiders

So much for my prediction that they’d be sneaky good. They just can’t seem to get everything going right at the same time. Both the offense and defense have looked good at times. Geno Smith has looked great but inconsistent, as he’s 2^nd in the league in passing yards, but only has a 63% completion percentage and a 4:4 TD:INT ratio after his 3 pick meltdown in Week 2. Ashton Jeanty did look slightly better against the Commanders, but it was a low bar to clear, and Washington doesn’t exactly have a great defense. Tre Tucker has been a breakout at receiver, as he’s now tied for the league lead in touchdown receptions. The defense has also been painfully average. This is a team trending in the wrong direction right now.

Player Spotlight: Luther Burden III

Burden was another option who could’ve been considered for best rookie. The Bears’ rookie wideout caught all 3 of his targets for 101 yards and his first touchdown, with 1 carry for 7 yards added on. The touchdown came on an explosive 65 yard flea flicker. He’s a great piece for the Chicago offense, as his play style complements Rome Odunze and DJ Moore well. Burden factors in as a slot playmaker, with good ability after the catch and the ability to go deep. Sunday’s game against the Cowboys was a great game to get the offense rolling, and if that momentum can continue, expect to hear Burden’s name called a lot.

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Note: Apologies for not getting this out before the Thursday night game. The whole article was written before the game, so there is a prediction regarding the Dolphins-Bills clash.

Bounce Back Candidates:

1. Las Vegas Raiders

This is probably my sneaky upset pick for the week. Through two weeks, the Raiders have had their fair share of flaws but have also shown promise at times. They beat a competitive Patriots team on the road in the opener in which Geno Smith threw for 362 yards and the defense held New England to 13 points. They did get beat up on Monday against the Chargers, but there were still some positive takeaways. Smith threw 3 picks, but he’s good enough that that won’t be the way things usually go. Had he not turned the ball over so much, it could’ve been a very different game. The defense shut down the run game and did ok against Justin Herbert and the pass game. The one concerning thing has been how little Ashton Jeanty has done. Be it how the line has blocked for him, or just his own sluggish start, they need to get him going so that the offense can be much more balanced. This week they face a Commanders team that got steamrolled by the Packers last Thursday night. Jayden Daniels’ status is in doubt with a sprained knee, the offense on the whole didn’t look great, and the final score didn’t do justice to how poor the defense was in the first half. This could be a huge game for the Raiders to show they mean business as a squad, and I see them seizing it.

2. Denver Broncos

Lost in the shuffle of the Colts’ walk off field goal win was that the Denver offense was quite good. Bo Nix came out on fire with 3 first half touchdown strikes, and JK Dobbins had a good day on the ground. The problem was the defense, which is supposed to be among the NFL’s elites. They got shredded both through the air and on the ground. Daniel Jones continued his resurgence with a 300 yard day, and Jonathan Taylor went for over 200 total yards. Thus far, the Broncos have had a really good day on defense while the offense struggled, and a good day on offense in which the defense struggled. The potential for this team to be amazing is there if they can get both sides to play well on the same day. This week they get a Chargers team that has been on fire so far this season. This is a perfect opportunity for a statement game by Denver.

3. Caleb Williams

Ok, I know everyone loves to hate on Williams, and his play this year hasn’t done much to sway that. However, people were so quick to forget his great first half against the Vikings in the Monday night opener (in which he completed his first 10 passes of the season). Yes, his awful second half was a huge reason they let that game slip away, but it was still a very positive sign that no one talked about. Week 2 can partially be chalked up to a hungry Lions squad clearly on a mission to bully the Bears out of town. However, there are 2 things working in their favor this week. First, they get an awful Cowboys defense coming off a terrible game in which they allowed over 450 yards to Russell Wilson. Especially considering how poor the Bears defense has been for its last 5 quarters, this could turn into a shootout real fast, which would allow Williams to display more in the passing game. The other big factor is just how good his connection with Rome Odunze has looked. When Odunze entered the league I thought he had the potential to be a great player, and he’s shown it this year. Through the first two weeks he ranks 10^th in the league in receiving yards and is tied for the league lead in touchdowns. If anyone can save Williams’ season, it’ll be Odunze, and I think they have a good shot to show out this week.

3 I’m Most Excited About:

1. Monday night offenses (Lions at Ravens, Mon. 8:15)

How could I go anywhere else for my most excited thing for this week? In my opinion, these two and the Bills have both the best and the most fun offenses in the league. The Ravens have scored at least 40 in both of their first two games, while the Lions are coming off of the league’s first 50 pointer against the Bears last week. Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff are among the frontrunners for MVP so far, Jahmyr Gibbs and Derrick Henry (when he’s not fumbling) are two of the best running backs, and the pass catchers and offensive lines have looked great too. I’m looking forward to what these two offenses are cooking up this week.

2. Rams offense vs. Eagles defense (Rams at Eagles, Sun. 1:00)

While the battles on the other side of the ball are also intriguing, they are definitely way less entertaining. Let’s start with the Rams’ offense, which, after finding their groove after a sluggish start in Week 1, looks like a well-oiled machine. It would be nice if they could get a bit more out of Kyren Williams and the run game, but the passing game led by Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, and Matthew Stafford looks incredible. When they have two receivers who are that good, they don’t even need to get many others involved, as they account for over 60% of Stafford’s completions. And this is even while Adams and Stafford are still developing their connection, as he’s only caught 10 out of his 21 targets. But the real star of the show is Puka Nacua, who leads the league in catches and ranks 4^th in yards. He’s an early favorite for Offensive Player of the Year, and for good reason. How they match up against the Philly defense is sure to be intriguing. The Eagles have looked great on that side of the ball so far. They probably have the best linebacker duo in the league, as Zack Baun looks just as good as his Defensive Player of the Year caliber season a year ago, and 1^st round rookie Jihaad Campbell has been making plays all over the field. Pair that with great defensive line play and a secondary that could be hitting its stride soon, and this has the makings of a scary defense. How these two units clash on Sunday will be one of the most fun things to watch.

3. Falcons’ defense (Falcons at Panthers, Sun. 1:00)

These Falcons defensive rookies have me so excited each week to see what this team can do. I’ll keep it brief since I talked about them at length in my Week 2 Recap, but James Pearce Jr. has the potential to be one of the best pure pass rushers in the league this year, Jalon Walker is already really good even though he’s still developing, and Billy Bowman Jr. and Xavier Watts (who both recorded their first career interceptions last week) could give the Falcons one of the best secondaries in the league. This week, I think the focus will be on how good those two pass rushers do. With how much Bryce Young and the Panthers’ offense has struggled in the early going, it should give Pearce and Walker plenty of opportunities to pin their ears back and get after Young. I’m excited to see how much pressure they can get on the quarterback this week.

3 I’m Most Worried About:

1. Steelers’ defense (Steelers at Patriots, Sun. 1:00)

Like I said, Week 1 is an overreaction, Week 2 could be a fluke, Week 3 is the time for panic. And if the Steelers flop again on defense, it will be time to panic. This is supposed to be one of the best units in the league, with an elite defensive line headlined by TJ Watt, great linebackers, and a revamped secondary. However, they’ve now been beat up by the Justin Fields Jets and the Sam Darnold Seahawks. Look, I like both of offenses, I think they’re both underrated, but in no way should both have been able to beat this defense that much. And this week they get a similar matchup. New England so far has gotten stifled by the Raiders’ defense and beat the Dolphins’ terrible defense. The offense still feels like it needs to gel some under new leadership, and the offensive line, while improved from one of the worst in the league a year ago, is still a year away from being good. Considering their talent and their opponent, it’s now or never for this Steelers’ defense to perform.

2. Bills’ defense (Dolphins at Bills, Thurs. 8:15)

Look, I’m not at all concerned about the Bills’ ability to win this game. The Dolphins’ defense is so atrocious that even if Josh Allen is still slightly off from his nose injury from last week it won’t matter. However, Miami’s offense was quietly good last week. After being arguably the worst quarterback in the league in Week 1, Tua Tagovailoa had a solid game against the Patriots. He did throw an ugly interception near the end of the game that ultimately probably cost the team, but he did complete over 80% of his passes for over 300 yards. De’Von Achane also looks great out of the backfield, particularly at catching passes in space. After looking really rough in the opener, the Bills’ defense bounced back in Week 2 by allowing only 10 points to the Jets. However, the Dolphins catch them in a game in which both linebacker Matt Milano and defensive tackle Ed Oliver are out with injury. Missing Oliver in particular is bad because he looked like their best defensive player in Week 1 (he also missed Week 2). Considering how terrible the Dolphins’ defense is, I’m not too concerned about the Bills’ victory odds. However, this game could enter risky shootout territory very quickly.

3. Kansas City Chiefs (Chiefs at Giants, Sun. 8:20)

In no world should the Chiefs fall to 0-3 here. They made the Super Bowl a year ago, have won 3 Super Bowls this decade, have been to the last 7 AFC Championship Games and 5 of the last 6 Super Bowls. And they face the Giants this week. And yet, this could get ugly fast for this team. The Giants are also 0-2, and after their Week 1 showing, this would’ve been the easiest win of Kansas City’s season. However, the Giants showed what they’re capable of in their shootout loss to the Cowboys last week. The defense has always had potential, and while they didn’t perform as a unit last week, several individual players had great outings. And this offense, particularly the passing offense, can really move the ball. The Chiefs, meanwhile, have lost 2 games in which it didn’t feel as close as the final score indicated. Justin Herbert passed all over them for the Chargers, and the Eagles controlled the game through and through. The Chiefs desperately need to win this game, because 0-3 coming off a loss to the Giants would be incredibly demoralizing, and could be a death sentence to their season.

Last week’s trivia answer: The New Orleans Saints scored the most points in Week 2 last year in their 44-19 win over the Dallas Cowboys. They also scored the most in Week 1 that year with a 47-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Weekly trivia question: Which team had the worst point differential in the league after Week 2 of this season?

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