It’s almost unfathomable that the first month of the NFL season is almost over. There have certainly been some major surprises so far. It is more than unfathomable that Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are sitting at 1-2. And even more surprising than that, the two teams face off this week, where one team will be staring at a 1-3 start at the pseudo-quarterpole of the season.
The Chargers and the Buccaneers each have a two-game lead in their divisions. And, there is a three-team tie atop the NFC North, between the Packers, Vikings, and Lions.
Parity is in full force. There are now only six undefeated teams, and six teams without a win…the remaining 20 teams are either 2-1 or 1-2.
With that in mind, here is this week’s Ranking:
- Philadelphia Eagles: Rince, repeat…To be The Man, you have to beat The Man. And although the Rams nearly did, the Eagles showed the mettle of a champion.
- Buffalo Bills: The Dolphins showed some heart, as they often do against the Bills…but ultimately, Josh Allen was too much.
- Detroit Lions: The Lions easily went into Baltimore and came away with a fairly easy victory, rushing for well over 200 yards.
- Los Angeles Chargers: Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers are sitting at 3-0, and QB Justin Herbert is putting himself in the conversation for MVP.
- San Francisco 49ers: I correctly predicted the 49ers may end wk.3 as the only remaining undefeated team. I was correct; they took care of the Cardinals themselves, and the Eagles took care of the Rams.
- Washington Commanders: With Jayden Daniels on the shelf and behind journeyman Marcus Mariota, the Commanders handed it to the Raiders, in a convincing 41-24 win.
- Indianapolis Colts: The resurgence of Daniel Jones goes on. And “Danny Dimes” seems to have elevated to “Danny Diamonds”. He was a serviceable 18 for 25 with 228 passing yards. The real star was RB Jonathan Taylor, who had three TDs.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: I said it last week, and I’ll repeat it…not keeping Baker Mayfield will go down as a generational blunder by the Browns. The Bucs are one of the six remaining undefeated teams, and Mayfield is in that early MVP conversation, too.
- Baltimore Ravens: It’s not easy to be 1-2 and still be in the top 10. If they lose to the Chiefs, 1-3 will surely move them out.
- Green Bay Packers: OK, time to take a deep breath…losing a six-leg parlay because the Packers couldn’t maintain a 10-point lead with 3:38 to go against the Browns is almost too much to take…But, I press on. All they had to do was win, since I had them with the money line.
- Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs finally won their first game of the season, and they weren’t that convincing. Travis Kelce seems to be imploding, as evidenced by his altercation with Andy Reid…and this isn’t the first time. Maybe wedding jitters.
- Los Angeles Rams: The Rams could not have been closer to overtaking the defending Super Bowl Champions, and remaining undefeated. This bodes well for them the rest of the way.
- Minnesota Vikings: JJ McCarthy was on the shelf, and their backup QB easily handled Cincinnati’s. I wonder what the odds were for a Jake Browning vs Carson Wentz matchup? They are each now 2-1, but the Vikings feel like a better bet to stay in the hunt throughout the season.
- Seattle Seahawks: The NFC West is proving to be the toughest division in the league, top to bottom. And divisional matchups are doubly important…The Seahawks just happen to be playing the Cardinals this week.
- Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals season seems to have ended with Joe Burrow out for at least three months. If that was in doubt, the drubbing that Minnesota put on them put an exclamation point on it.
- Denver Broncos: The Broncos have now lost back-to-back games by a total of four pts. On the bright side, both games were on the road, and both losses were against teams now 3-0. They will get well this week at home against the Bengals.
- Arizona Cardinals: I said the Cardinals would make a believer out of me if they beat the 49ers. Well, they lost, but I’m quickly becoming a believer. It took a last-second comeback by Mac Jones, who is now 2-0 as San Francisco’s starter, to prevent them from starting out 3-0. They have another huge test this week against the Seahawks.
- Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers were outplayed in almost every facet of their game against the Patriots…except forcing five turnovers. That was enough to overtake the Pats, who are now 3-16 in their last 19 home games.
- Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jags are sitting at 2-1, but they haven’t faced much competition yet. That all changes this week, as they head to San Francisco to play the Niners.
- Houston Texans: If it weren’t that the league had so many truly dreadful teams, the Texans would be lower on this list. The hot rookie season of CJ Stroud now seems like a distant memory. At 0-3, they desperately need a win this week. At home against the Titans should get them off the schnide.
- Las Vegas Raiders: The Raiders started the season on the right foot, going to New England and defeating the Pats. But the Patriots have proven to make other teams look good this season.
- Chicago Bears: For all Caleb Williams owners in fantasy leagues around the country, a loud rejoice was heard throughout every mancave in the country. Can the Ben Johnson/Caleb Williams connections actually work? Or, are the Cowboys just lousy?
- Dallas Cowboys: This was a terrible loss for the Cowboys. Jerry Jones cannot be happy, nor can Cowboy fans.
- Carolina Panthers: The Panthers showed fantastic fight this past week, and head to New England on Sunday. The Pats don’t do well against running QBs.
- New England Patriots: The Patriots are a De’von Achane heel away from being 0-3. They better beat the Panthers this week or they will face a 1-4 start, since they go to Buffalo in wk.5.
- Atlanta Falcons: The growing pains of young QBs are a tough roller coaster for teams…and their fans.
- Cleveland Browns: The last-second win against the Broncos cost many, many people money…believe me, I know. And the win killed a ton of survivor pools around the country.
- New York Jets: The Jets head to Miami, with the loser taking a firm grip of last place.
- New York Giants: It feels like it should be Jaxson Dart time for the New York Football Giants.
- Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins are 0-3 but have shown improvement each week. They are at home this week against the Jets, in a must-win game for both teams.
- Tennessee Titans: The Titans will again be competing for the top pick in this year’s draft.
New Orleans Saints: The Saints played fairly well in the first two games of the year, but their 31-point loss to the Seahawks has plummeted them to the bottom of this list.