A few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled “NFL Week Three Power Rankings, But Accurate” in response to the garbage rankings that the NFL puts out week after week. My intention was to craft a list that would hold up throughout the course of the season, but after dissecting the past three weeks of games, I’m afraid that I’ve failed you, my dear A2Z Sports readers. So, I’m going to revise my old list and talk about which teams have climbed/plummeted the furthest, and what may have led to their success/failure.
As a reminder, here’s what my list looked like heading into week three:
- San Francisco 49ers
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Buffalo Bills
- Dallas Cowboys
- Baltimore Ravens
- Miami Dolphins
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Detroit Lions
- Los Angeles Chargers
- New Orleans Saints
- Cleveland Browns
- New England Patriots
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Atlanta Falcons
- Seattle Seahawks
- Green Bay Packers
- New York Jets
- Tennessee Titans
- Washington Commanders
- Los Angeles Rams
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Denver Broncos
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New York Giants
- Indianapolis Colts
- Carolina Panthers
- Chicago Bears
- Houston Texans
- Arizona Cardinals
Now, without further adieu, here’s my updated list:
- San Francisco 49ers (5-0) –
- Philadelphia Eagles (5-0) –
- Kansas City Chiefs (4-1) –
- Miami Dolphins (4-1) ^7
- Buffalo Bills (3-2) v1
- Dallas Cowboys (3-2) v1
- Detroit Lions (4-1) ^3
- Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2) –
- Los Angeles Chargers (2-2) ^2
- Baltimore Ravens (3-2) v4
- Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) v2
- New Orleans Saints (3-2) –
- Cleveland Browns (2-2) –
- Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) ^1
- Los Angeles Rams (2-3) ^7
- Indianapolis Colts (3-2) ^12
- Atlanta Falcons (3-2) v1
- Seattle Seahawks (3-1) v1
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) ^4
- Green Bay Packers (2-3) v2
- Tennessee Titans (2-3) v1
- Washington Commanders (2-3) v1
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-3) ^3
- Minnesota Vikings (1-4) –
- New York Jets (2-3) v6
- Denver Broncos (1-4) v1
- New England Patriots (1-4) v13
- Houston Texans (1-4) ^3
- New York Giants (1-4) v2
- Chicago Bears (1-4) –
- Arizona Cardinals (1-4) ^1
- Carolina Panthers (0-5) v3
BIGGEST CLIMBER: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
The Colts have continued to surprise me this year. Their offense is playing with a young fire, Zaire Franklin is leading the league in tackles, and after Jonathan Taylor signed his multi-year deal, the future looks a lot brighter than it did a few short weeks ago. If they win next week in Jacksonville, they’ll sit on top of the AFC South heading into an easy stretch of games before their by week in mid November.
Spin zone: Anthony Richardson is slated to miss at least a game with a right shoulder injury, meaning he’ll be sidelined for next week’s big matchup against the inter-division rival Jaguars. Luckily, the Colts have one of the league’s best backups in Gardner Minshew, who was on the Jaguars roster three seasons ago. If the Colts manage to pull out a couple wins in the next two weeks while Richardson heals up, they’ll be in a great spot to make the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
BIGGEST DROP OFF: MY NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
I can’t even put it into words how disappointed I am with this team. I had hoped that bringing Bill O’Brien back into the offense would turn last year’s catastrophe around, but nothing seems to have changed. I don’t necessarily blame him though, because in my opinion, we have the worst receiving corps in the league along with one of the league’s most unfavorable O-lines. What baffles me is that even with these obvious flaws, people are still so quick to blame Mac Jones for the whole ordeal. It’s clear that he’s not Tom Brady, and before you go saying “well, Tom never had any standout wide receivers in his time!”, I’d take Edelman, Hogan, and Gronk over Juju, Parker, and Henry every day of the week.
People are also calling for Bill Belichick’s roles to be redefined. Many are saying to strip him of his GM role, while others are demanding for him to get the boot all together. I can agree in part with removing his GM roles; his recent drafting and free agency flops have been terrible (my least favorite being Juju’s signing), but a week ago he did bring back JC Jackson after we lost Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon in week four (those losses also play a big factor in why I have them ranked so low now). Overall, I would say that Bill’s moves have been solid on the defensive side of the ball, but that he’s arguably been the worst GM in the league when it comes to building a threatening offense.
As for the people who think he should be fired all together, you’re out of your mind. This is the GOAT we’re talking about here. If you think that he’s doing a bad job with this squad, show me someone who’s available to hire who you think would do better. I’ll wait.
As always, let me hear your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter/X @A2ZSportsTakes, and I’ll see you on Tuesday for my week five NFL betting recap!