Rankingologist: Z
Analysis: Arod, Z, Fallen
1. Los Angeles Rams (5-0) (LW:1): One of final undefeated teams left, knocking off the undefeated Falcons, we expect them to keep rolling on this hot start. Until they see the Eagles next week. Hmm.. I wish I had a crystal ball.
2. Houston Texans (5-0) (LW:3): Malik Benson broke the record for receiving touchdowns last season and he is still only a star development receiver, well to no surprise, he’s at it again. Not as dominant, but he has 545 receiving yards, ranking second in the league. Houston has had some close calls this season, but they are 5-0, and that’s a testament to how clutch the team has been in the fourth quarter.
3. Detroit Lions (4-1) (LW:5): Lions move to 4-1 after defeating the Cardinals 24-14. The Lions are first in points allowed, total yards allowed, and passing yards allowed, and rookie QB Nico Iamaleava is having a great start to his season. The Lions travel to Metlife to play the struggling Giants in the Brother Bowl next week.
4. Seattle Seahawks (4-1) (LW:6): Bo Nix is officially on MVP alert, while the Seahawks may be declaring themselves as Super Bowl favorites. If you ask me today, I think both will come true by season’s end.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-1) (LW:7): Jacksonville is on a three-game winning streak after their blowout victory against the Titans. Trevor Lawrence is a one-man wrecking crew, he dominated with 6 passing touchdowns this week and he is currently leading with 18 passing touchdowns and 1,990 passing yards. He’s also completing 77% of his passes, 4th best in the league amongst starting quarterbacks.
6. New England Patriots (4-1) (LW: 2): New England heads into their bye week after suffering their first loss of the season to Seattle this week. Surprisingly, New England put up their highest offensive totals of the season, but their defense was a let down, allowing 40 points to the Seahawks. The Patriots have a couple weeks to prepare for Buffalo coming out of the bye.
7. Atlanta Falcons (4-1) (LW:4): We’ve separated the men from boys. Stood 0 chance of competing with the pride of PML. This was their chance too!
8. New Orleans Saints (4-1) (LW:8): The offense has been unstoppable. Am I looking at a Seahawks Saints NFC Conference game? Saints are Super Bowl or bust territory.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) (LW:12):Pittsburgh has to lean into the bye week and come up with an answer for allowing fifty points to New Orleans this week. Kenny Pickett played this game and he threw three interceptions. He wasn’t very commanding, but the Steelers have a couple weeks to get back to the drawing board. They have Kansas City after the bye week, they’ll need as much prep as they can get to pull off the upset.
10. Minnesota Vikings (3-2) (LW:10): The Vikings fell to the Chicago Bears 49-34 in the Windy City. Whether or not you believe Tua had a good day is directly correlated to how you feel about interception count. He threw for 396 yards and 4 touchdowns but also threw 3 interceptions on the day. Bucky Irving also failed to eclipse 100 yards as well. While this outing wasn’t what they anticipated, the Vikings still sit at 3-2, and will host the Panthers in week 6.
11. Kansas City Chiefs (3-2) (LW:11): The Chiefs defeat the Vikings on TNF, as they move to 3-2 on the season. While it wasn’t a high scoring game, the Chiefs handled business on the day especially defensively, as they held Devon Achane to only 65 yards of rushing. There is a cause to be concerned for the Chiefs, however. Through 5 weeks, Patrick Mahomes has thrown 9 interceptions. The Chiefs have an interesting matchup with the Broncos next week.
12. Green Bay Packers (3-2) (LW:12): The Packers get back in the win column in week 5 with a close victory over Miles and the Commanders. A tipped pass on 4th down resulted in the go-ahead touchdown and the Packers have to feel that this came was too close for comfort, regardless of the outcome. A tough matchup with the Saints lies ahead in week 6.
13. Buffalo Bills (3-2) (LW:13): Former seventh round selection Sam Adams had a helluva game and converted a dev game into a superstar. He’s the leading rusher for Buffalo and had over 150 yards on the ground versus Baltimore. He looked determined to bully at the line of scrimmage. Buffalo is going to have to lean on Adams if they want to make the playoffs because Josh Allen is too turnover-friendly to be relied upon every down.
14. Las Vegas Raiders (3-2) (LW:14): The Raiders defeated the 49ers 31-23 in week 5 as they moved to 3-2 on the season. Perhaps the most important news is rookie RB Dylan Edwards bumping up to superstar. He’s been excellent for them all season, and should continue his workload, even when Josh Jacobs returns from injury. The Raiders have a tough matchup against the Ravens CPU in week 5.
15. Carolina Panthers (3-2) (LW:17): It’s officially happening. JT is in end of cycle mode and the Panthers are above. 500 after the unofficial quarter mark of the season. Can the NFC South send 3 this season?
16. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) (LW:18): The Eagles dominated their divisional foe without Jalen Hurts, defeating the Giants 38-22. Hendon Hooker was efficient, completing 20 of his 26 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown. In a game in which Saquon Barkley went down to an early injury, backup running back Jayden Ott had a great day, amassing over 110 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns. The Eagles host the Rams in week 6 in a game that should show us if they’re for real or not.
17. Los Angeles Chargers (3-2) (LW: 20): Codes and the Chargers have won 3 in a row, following a 55-31 dismantling of the New York Jets. Herbert put on a masterclass in week 5, completing 24 of his 29 passes for 464 yards and 4 touchdowns on the day. Raheim Sanders also had a big day on the ground, carrying the ball 13 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns. The Chargers will look to keep their momentum going in week 6 as a tough matchup with the Texans awaits.
18. Denver Broncos (3-2) (LW:21): The Broncos keep up their winning ways in week 5, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 28-24. The state of the Broncos’ roster is no secret, and it’s even more impressive that they won this game without their starting QB, as Kellen Mond was in control of the offense on the day. The Broncos travel to Kansas City for a tough road bout next week.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-3) (LW:16): Buccaneers are solidifying themselves as the odd man out of the divisional race. Not far behind but at this point every week counts. Luckily they have the 0 win Ravens coming out the bye week.
20. Washington Commanders (2-3) (LW:15): The Commanders dropped a tough one this week, as they lost to the Packers in the closing moments of the game. Miles has definitely improved since we last saw him, and with a few different decisions late in games, he could be above .500 on the season. The Commanders play the Seahawks next week.
21. Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) (LW:21): The Bengals have the worst turnover margin in the league with -16. They have given the ball away 23 times, 6 more than the next worst team in the league. However, give them props, because they were able to hang with Houston this week and almost pull off the upset.
22. Cleveland Browns (2-3) (LW:22): Cleveland gets their first win under the new regime against the Cowboys this week. Aside from the 5 defensive sacks, the Browns looked pedestrian in their win. However, they are only one game back in their division, so string a few wins together and this team could see a huge morale boost.
23. Chicago Bears (2-3) (LW:27): The Bears continue to defeat their divisional foes, this time beating the VIkings 49-34. When the Bears win, you have to assume that a great day from Breece Hall also accompanied it, as he rushed for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns on the day. The pass defense, however, has to be a concern as Justin Jefferson torched the Chicago secondary for 230 yards and three touchdowns on the day. The Bears travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys next week.
24. Tennessee Titans (1-4) (LW:23): Despite winning the home opener, the Titans have lost four games in a row and are in a downward spiral. However, their next four games are against teams under .500 and then they head into a bye week 10, so it’s possible they could be 5-3 with a winning streak to save the season.
25. Arizona Cardinals (1-4) (LW:24): Wrote Cardinals off a while back. Not much to say here. Was really looking forward to the rebuild, but..here we are.
26. New York Jets (1-3) (LW:25): The Jets have only gotten to the quarterback and brought him down for a sack five times this season. Their lack of pressure has to be harming how their defensive backs can cover. Their defense ranks in the bottom 5 of the league and they are on a 3 game losing streak, they have to disguise their defense and bring the house moving forward. They need something to disrupt opposing quarterbacks.
27. Dallas Cowboys (1-4) (LW:26): The Cowboys drop another game, this time to the Browns 28-7. Even though they were able to force 3 Daniel Jones interceptions on the day, they were unable to convert against a tough Browns defense, only amassing 309 total yards of offense on the day. The Cowboys host the Bears next week.
28. San Francisco 49ers (1-4) (LW:28): Casper has been very close to being 5-0. Once the defense allows less than 40ppg, the 49ers will be one of the teams to watch.
29. New York Giants (1-4) (LW:29): The Giants fell again this week, dropping another divisional contest to the Eagles 38-22. Quinn Ewers had another subpar day, throwing three interceptions on the day. A suspension could also be looming for the Giants as De’Andre Swift only had 8 of the Giants’ 9 carries on the day. On the other side of the ball, the Giants gave up over 420 yards of total offense on the day. The Giants will look to bounce back next week in the Brother Bowl.
30. Baltimore Ravens (0-5) (LW:30): Lamar threw another 3 interceptions this week against the Bills and that makes the fourth game in a row that he has thrown 2+ interceptions. We know he’s capable of protecting the football, like in week 1 when the Ravens almost beat the Texans. Lamar averaged just 5.5 per completion and threw the ball 31 times. That doesn’t seem like a play style suitable for Baltimore. They need to focus on the run game, get that going before going pass heavy.
31. Indianapolis Colts (0-5) (LW:31): The Colts actually had a lead in their game versus Denver, but choked it away. Kellen Mond was able to string together multiple drives and it’s their passing defense that has failed them so far this season. Honestly, it’s boggling considering they have two superstar corners on the team and an X-factor safety in Derwin James. On paper, this team is a lot better than their record is displaying.
32. Miami Dolphins (0-5) (LW:32): Five losses in a row for Miami and no glimmer of hope in sight. The Dolphins have only three interceptions, ranking at the very bottom in the league.Their turnover margin isn’t the worst in the league, but they need to focus on taking the ball away and making it more difficult on opposing offenses. Maybe lean on their star halfback and focus on keeping opposing offenses off the field and draining that clock. A different strategy is needed in Miami.
