Meet the team…
Graphics: CB
Rankingologist: Arod
Analysis: Arod, Fallen, & Fin
1. Buffalo Bills (8-0): The Cammy train is in full throttle going into week 9 and Josh Allen continues to play MVP caliber football despite a rough outing in Seattle. They remain undefeated and the way things are looking now, the only team in their way to a Super Bowl may be the Kansas City Chiefs.
2. Minnesota Vikings (6-1): The defense remains the identity of a Vikings team which sits at first in total yards allowed, and second in points allowed. Do you have a choice when your quarterback room consist or Tannenhill and Darnold? By the looks of things, the Vikings could very well be 9-1 before a divisional clash with the Ke and the Bears.
3. Detroit Lions (5-2): The Lions, like the Packers and Bears, have the unfortunate task of chasing the Vikings this cycle for the divisional crown. Nevertheless, the emergence of Fin and the Lions as not only divisional contenders, but Super Bowl contenders has added a whole new wrinkle in what was already a fun division to watch.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2): The resurgence of Baker Mayfield? Casper has been torching his opponents this season. Tampa Bay leads the league in offensive yards and points per game, while Baker leads the league in touchdowns. However, his 20 interceptions is a cause for concern. Sitting at 6-2, atop their division, but the Buccaneers are 2-2 against teams with a better record than .500. Do I think they will win their division? Easily, especially after a 35 point slaughter this week of the Atlanta Falcons.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1): If you watch Kansas City play, it looks like they are just toying with their opponents. Like, the games shouldn’t be close, but somehow they make a mistake to give up the momentum. However, HypeMike understands the game, and he can score from anywhere on the field, especially with Xavier Worthy, who is shaping to be one of the best rookies of this class.
6. Green Bay Packers (5-3): It’s not everyday you’re winning games at .625 clip, but sit closer to the bottom of the division than the top. Welcome to the NFC North ladies and gentleman. Wimmy has gotten things clicking in Green Bay after starting the season off 0-2 and they look destined to challenge Dot and the Vikings in the divisional gauntlet. Don’t sleep on GB, they’ve already beat Minny once.
7. New York Giants (5-3): Last power rankings I said this was an underrated football team. They have wins over the Cowboys and Seahawks, and a 3 point loss to the NFC leading Vikings. These boys can flat play and I would put them in the upset alert for their matchup this week against Philly. They are almost over the tough part of the schedule so I dont expect them to be .500 for long.
8. Washington Commanders (5-3): The commanders go to the wire with Carolina and a win puts them back above .500 at 4-3. The commanders have yet to beat a team with a winning record but considering the roster, division talent, and a rookie QB it seems they are trending up.
9. Denver Broncos (5-3): Well, Denver was a pleasant surprise for most. They were predicted to compete, but not at this level. What’s next for Denver? It’s anyone’s guess, but the division is loaded with high caliber coaches that are ready to put their best foot forward.
10. Los Angeles Chargers (4-3): Were the Chargers always a 79 overall? Feels pretty low for them. I guess they should actually be 5-2* right? An unfortunate sim loss got the best of this team, despite some questionable scheduling. Thank you for the comedic relief, JC. Your thread against the Cardinals was top tier. Los Angeles has their next five games against teams that are below .500, so expect them to be a hot wildcard team as we head towards the latter half of the season.
11. Arizona Cardinals (4-3): By far the most injured team in the league that is also facing league suspension for a broken 4th down rule. The Cardinals have gone 1-1 since then so the fight is there, but really this is a team that is simply too beat up to be competitive. They have an easier schedule a head so some good momentum could change the season.
12. Chicago Bears (4-3): Could one division send 4 users to the playoffs? If there was ever a time to believe it’s possible, look no further than this season and the current state of the NFC North. Keraun may have the most building to do in terms of starting rosters, but he’s still getting the job done to remain relevant. They’ve lost 2 straight, and barely slipped by the Panthers, but when this roster is ready and built to Ke’s liking, the rest of the divisional better be on notice.
13. Los Angeles Rams (4-3): A top the NFC West, the Rams suffer their second loss of the season to the Raiders. This team is built on its dominant defense, but rank 31st in rushing offense with Kyren Williams struggling to carry the load. Expect the Rams to target RB help in the trade deadline as they are well on their way to the postseason.
14. Indianapolis Colts (4-4): I like to see CB on top of his division. I think if the Colts stay above .500 this season, they will win their division. Anthony Richardson is playing some magnificent football, throwing for 22 touchdowns. The offense is rocking in Indy, with five receivers having over 20 catches. You can’t quite predict who the ball is going to be delivered to, but big props to CB, he deserves some praise.
15. Dallas Cowboys (4-3): In PML, you will lose football games. What makes a champion is the ability to respond. A well timed BYE week lines Dallas up against two rebound matchups following a rough game against Detroit. Look for Dak to play well and the Week 10 show down with Philly will be for the division lead.
16. Seattle Seahawks (4-4): I don’t know what was more impressive, the day Geno Smith had (9 completions, 4 touchdowns) or K9 dropping 280 all purpose yards and 4 touchdowns. The Seahawks pour it down on the Falcons to secure their second straight win and this offense has put up 112 points in two weeks. They face the undefeated Bills this week with a chance to establish some NFC dominance.
17. Philadelphia Eagles (4-3): An efficient win following their loss to TB will get this team back on track. What does worry me is a team this dominant isn’t top 15 in a single offensive stat. I fear this isn’t sustainable for a playoff run and the Eagles need to find their offensive identity quickly.
18. Las Vegas Raiders (4-4): Las Vegas has a lot of guys ready to jump ship, are the Raiders playing for the future and stocking up on picks, or are they still competing this season? Are the receivers so poor that Gardner Minshew has to run routes? We saw this week that Minshew was b*** naked in the endzone and he dropped the ball, which led to a Kansas City interception. Also, Max Duggan is the truth.
19. New Orleans Saints (4-4): Running the ball is difficult this Madden, and it is even more difficult to run the ball with a slower halfback, despite their overall. New Orleans is deadlast in rushing, ranked 32nd behind the Rams at 31, who coincidentally also have slow halfbacks. Sitting two games behind their division leader, this is a do or die kinda week for New Orleans before Tampa Bay runs away with the division.
20. New York Jets (3-4): I don’t think anyone expected the Bills to run away with the division so quickly with a roster like the Jets and Dolphins around. With Arod watching the sunset on his career, this was the year the Jets were supposed to make noise and make a strong push to win the division, as many pegged them as early favorites to win it.
21. Cleveland Browns (3-5): A much needed win snaps a 3 game losing skid. Chubb throws 1 and runs 1 in as the Browns look to assert divisional dominance vs the 3-5 Ravens this week.
22. Baltimore Ravens (3-5): The Ravens dropped 61 on the Commanders but the offense stalled this week against the NFC South leading Bucs. Henry’s 24 attempts for 151 is absolutely the identity this offense needs, but 5 turnovers and a healthy Baker made life miserable for the Ravens. They bounce back this week to face the Browns.
23. San Francisco 49ers (3-5): A two game losing streak is never ideal in a stacked division. The Niners drop a game to the 5-1 Chiefs, and have to reload and face the 4-2 Cowboys this week. This team is averaging 6.4 yards a carry when CMC is the ball carrier, and Purdy cannot stop turning the football over with 23 on the season. I think the Niners clearly have a way forward to limit the damage in these high profile matchups.
24. Cincinnati Bengals (3-5): The Bengals have lost their last three games by an average of 3 points. This team is competitive and have found some defense drastically improving their points allowed. This is a team trending in the right direction but will be tested this week against the 4-1 Eagles.
25. New England Patriots (3-4): If you’re coach Nef, you have to be somewhat satisfied with the way things are going early into the cycle. You took over a bare bones roster, with not one single ability player, and yet you’re on the cusp of .500 while forcing teams to play at New England’s pace. I think we’re just setting the framework for future success in New England.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-5): How many games has Tbandit played? Regardless, Trevor Lawrence has thrown 27 interceptions in eight weeks. Do the Jaguars potentially sit their star quarterback to save his development? They can’t, well unless they want to start noodle arm Mac Jones. However, Jacksonville is a game shy from the division leader, and it’s an intriguing thought to wander if Tbandit would have a better record if he was able to play all his games from the start.
27. Miami Dolphins (2-4): The Dolphins are in the running to go down as the biggest disappointment in season 1 of the cycle. With all those weapons, wait, let me rephrase, all those ‘video game’ weapons in your arsenal, sitting 2-4 is not where Miami expected to be.
28. Houston Texans (2-6): Antdawg’s return back to PML hasn’t garnered much fruition in the win column. Houston is back in the dumps despite having a middle tier roster. Joe Mixon has found some rhythm this season, rushing for nine touchdowns, and being a huge part of the reason why Houstonhas a top ten rushing offense.
29. Tennessee Titans (2-5): I feel like we see this a lot, top tier passing offense, but bottom of the barrel defense. The Titans have statistically the best passing offense in the league, but their defense ranks 30th in points given up per game, 32nd in total yards given up, and 32nd in passing yards given up. The Titans will not get above .500 this season if they do not address this problem, quickly.
30. Carolina Panthers (2-6): Carolina doesn’t have much to celebrate thus far in the season, but they did pick up a big victory over the All-Madden CPU, that’s a feat init of itself. More on rookie receiver Xavier Legette though, the Panthers have found a stud. He leads the league in touchdowns (16) and yards (965). What’s even better is the rookie isn’t in jeopardy of over usage because coach JT has ensured that his other receivers get some attention too.
31. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-7): T.Riley’s life isn’t getting much better as the Jets hang 51 on them a week after the Raiders scored 42. The move to start Russell Wilson has set this team back a bit. The interception number’s are simply too high for a league like PML and the Steelers need to figure things out. They hold the leagues 5th best running attack, so maybe more of that.
32. Atlanta Falcons (0-8): Poor Atlanta. This team is literally in shambles. They have zero aspirations and no shot at making the playoffs. The team gave Kirk Cousins a ridiculous contract and then drafted a 24 year old rookie. Unlike the real life Falcons, Arod has given Penix his shot to start. However, he is struggling and has thrown 16 interceptions so far this season. You might want to sit the rookie or watch his confidence dwindle away.
