NFL Power Rankings – WalterFootball

My current NFL Power Rankings.

I’m going to use these rankings as the order for my 2020 NFL Mock Draft during the 2019 season. Follow @walterfootball.

I’ve gone from WORST to FIRST, so if you don’t see reverse numbering (via Javascript), don’t worry; the Dolphins and Bengals aren’t my top teams.

Updated: Oct. 22

Miami Dolphins (0-7) – Previously: 32.
I thought the Dolphins would’ve had to fire Brian Flores had he won a game the Dolphins’ organization wanted to lose, but Facebook friend Alastair F. pointed out that beating the Steelers would’ve increased the value of Pittsburgh’s pick, and the Dolphins could’ve regained the top spot by beating the Bengals later in the year.

Cincinnati Bengals (0-8) – Previously: 31.
I tried to warn all of you. I really did. I said the Bengals would transform back to the Bungles if they fired Marvin Lewis, and none of you listened.

I wrote this last week and the week before, and the week before that one, and the week before that one, and I’m going to keep on writing it as an example of the media being very stupid and incompetent when it comes to making demands of teams. The media called for Lewis’ firing, which was completely asinine, and now no one in the press – the same press that asks if Daniel Jones will be benched – will take responsibility for this horrible decision.

Atlanta Falcons (1-7) – Previously: 29.
F**king Matt Schaub cost me a sixth-consecutive $1,000 week. That’s all I have to say. F**k you, Schaub.

New York Jets (1-6) – Previously: 19.
I’m removing the Jets from the underrated section because they’re so banged up. They’re down three offensive linemen, their top two linebackers and several other players. Leonard Williams is also gone, while Sam Darnold is battling a thumb injury.

Denver Broncos (2-6) – Previously: 21.
The Broncos were listed as underrated, but Joe Flacco is out indefinitely because he’s a pain in the neck, I mean because he has a pain in his neck.

Washington Redskins (1-7) – Previously: 30.
Don’t tell anyone, but the Redskins have quietly played better ever since they’ve gotten Case Keenum and their offensive linemen (sans Trent Williams) back from injury.

New York Giants (2-6) – Previously: 28.
Hopefully there won’t be more benching Daniel Jones talk after his four-touchdown performance versus Detroit, albeit in a loss. I still can’t believe how dumb that media member was for asking such an asinine question. Yes, let’s bench our promising rookie for the decrepit Eli Manning in a lost-cause season just because of a bad game or two, derp!

Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1) – Previously: 27.
Anyone who was paying attention to the Cardinals knew that their three-game winning streak to move them to 3-3-1 was a mirage. They battled three bad teams that can’t pressure the quarterback, so things were radically different when they had to take on the Saints.

Chicago Bears (3-4) – Previously: 17.
As I wrote last week, my decision to put the Bears in the underrated list in previous weeks was a big mistake. Their offensive line is nowhere near as good as it was last year; Kyle Long is out, while the two tackles have regressed for some reason. Also, Akiem Hicks’ injury is a HUGE blow. Chicago isn’t stopping the run nearly as well anymore. And finally, Mitchell Trubisky’s incompetence can’t be ignored. He’s so horrible. I can’t even imagine how well off the Bears would be right now if they had either Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson, both of whom they passed on to trade up for Trubisky.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5) – Previously: 22.
Forget the officials for blowing that fake-field goal touchdown; Jameis Winston single-handedly responsible for that loss. Had he not committed so many blunders, the Buccaneers would have prevailed over Tennessee, regardless of that horrible call.

San Angeles Chargers (3-5) – Previously: 24.
Get ready for the parade in San Angeles because the Chargers finally covered the spread against a team not named the Dolphins! All it took was Mitchell Trubisky’s horrible quarterbacking!

Oh, wait, never mind. I forgot for a second that the Chargers have no fans in their feces-infested dumpster of a city.

Tennessee Titans (4-4) – Previously: 25.
Ryan Tannehill is now 2-0 as the Titans’ starter. That’s the good news. The bad news is that his wins have been against the Chargers and Buccaneers at home, and both games were decided by one play.

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4) – Previously: 23.
The Jaguars may reach the overrated portion of my overrated-underrated page if they beat the Texans in London. As discussed last week, their defense isn’t as good as it once was, thanks to Jalen Ramsey’s departure, the countless injuries to the linebacking corps and the poor safety play.

Cleveland Browns (2-5) – Previously: 18.
Bill Belichick versus Freddie Kitchens. No one can be surprised by the result of the game. Actually, it was shocking, now that I think about it. How did the Patriots not win by 40 instead of 14, especially after those three turnovers on back-to-back-to-back plays?

Oakland Raiders (3-4) – Previously: 26.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Raiders are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Buffalo Bills (5-2) – Previously: 16.
No one should be surprised that the Bills were blown out against the Eagles. I’ve been saying this for weeks:

– They trailed the Jets and mono-stricken Sam Darnold 16-0 entering the fourth quarter, when they received a boost from C.J. Mosley’s departure.

– They struggled to put away the horrible Giants, quarterbacked by the benched Eli Manning.

– They nearly lost to a Cincinnati squad that was dumpstered by the 49ers at home the previous week.

– They beat the Titans by seven even though Tennessee missed 12 points’ worth of field goals.

– They trailed the Dolphins, 14-9, and needed some sloppy Miami turnovers to beat the worst team in NFL history.

I don’t think the Bills are a bad team, as their defense is excellent, but they most certainly were not good enough to be 5-1. It just goes to show you that Bill Parcells’ old quote, “You are what your record says you are” is an obvious fallacy.

Pittsburgh Steelers (3-4) – Previously: 20.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Steelers are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) – Previously: 14.
I can’t believe the Chiefs didn’t cover against the Packers. Everyone was expecting a Kansas City blowout, yet the Chiefs were able to get some stops on Aaron Rodgers, while Matt Moore played much better than everyone thought he would. And yet, Green Bay got the cover. I’d be enraged if I had more than a unit on Kansas City.

Houston Texans (5-3) – Previously: 10.
Deshaun Watson deserves major credit for throwing the game-winning touchdown as a defensive player was kicking him in the eye, but the fact remains that Houston still nearly lost to the Raiders. The Texans can’t block, while their defense will be taking a major hit with J.J. Watt out for the year.

Los Angeles Rams (5-3) – Previously: 13.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Rams are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Seattle Seahawks (6-2) – Previously: 12.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Seahawks are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Detroit Lions (3-3-1) – Previously: 15.
If you were to tell me a couple of months ago that the Darrell Bevell hire would work so well for Matthew Stafford, I would’ve never believed you in a million years. I may have even called the local mental ward to have you committed. And yet, that’s exactly what has happened. The Lions are 3-3-1, but they’re so close to being 6-1 right now.

Baltimore Ravens (5-2) – Previously: 11.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Ravens are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Minnesota Vikings (6-2) – Previously: 8.
The Vikings may have lost to the Redskins had Case Keenum not suffered a concussion. And that brings me to…

Overrated NFL Team: See why the Vikings are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Carolina Panthers (4-3) – Previously: 6.
What a disappointing game in San Francisco. I can understand the offense not scoring versus the 49ers’ defense, but what the hell happened to Carolina’s stop unit? It was completely inept against a San Francisco offense that isn’t exactly elite. The Panthers looked like they were five steps behind everything San Francisco was doing, and yet Carolina was the team coming off a bye! It’s almost like Ron Rivera had two seconds to prepare for this game rather than two weeks.

Indianapolis Colts (5-2) – Previously: 7.
The Colts nearly blew what some assumed would be a sure victory against the Broncos, but they were in a tough spot, coming off a big statement win versus Houston. At 5-2, Indianapolis has control of its division, though, as I discussed last week, the team would probably be undefeated right now if Andrew Luck were still the quarterback.

Philadelphia Eagles (4-4) – Previously: 9.
I knew it was a huge mistake to drop the Eagles last week. Doing so cost me some units in what was a nice spot for them against Buffalo. It just proves that you shouldn’t drop a team because of its record.

Underrated NFL Team: See why the Eagles are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Dallas Cowboys (4-3) – Previously: 5.
I had the Cowboys listed as underrated heading into Week 7, as it was obvious that the public didn’t understand why Dallas had lost three in a row. I suppose the Cowboys aren’t underrated anymore following their 37-10 victory. Conversely, they’ll be overrated if some of the players who suffered injuries versus Philadelphia remain sidelined for a while. Luckily for the Cowboys, they had a bye to get everyone healthy.

Green Bay Packers (7-1) – Previously: 3.
The Packers are 7-1, and yet Davante Adams hasn’t even played in about half of their games. It sounds like Adams will be back for next week’s game against the Chargers. Thank goodness for that, as beating the Chargers with their awesome home-field advantage will be very difficult. OK, maybe not.

New England Patriots (8-0) – Previously: 1.
This is going to sound crazy, but the fact that the Patriots won by just 14 over the Browns is worrying. They were gifted a pair of scores off three consecutive Cleveland turnovers, so they should have won by way more. Their offense didn’t look potent at all, though those two Mohamed Sanu catches might make that second-round pick seem worth it.

New Orleans Saints (7-1) – Previously: 4.
I’ve been writing that the Saints will be No. 2 upon Drew Brees’ return, so here we are. Brees didn’t quite look like himself in the opening half against Arizona, but picked things up following intermission. Another week off, plus the bye, should allow him to be 100 percent in the second half of the year. If so, the Saints will be very difficult to beat, assuming the officials don’t have a say about it.

San Francisco 49ers (7-0) – Previously: 2.
The 49ers have to be considered the new No. 1 team. Seriously, holy crap, their victory over the Panthers was so dominating. I thought Carolina would remain competitive, and so did the sharps, but the 49ers had other ideas. They seemed like they were five steps ahead of the Panthers at all times, while the defense, led by the incredible Nick Bosa, put an end to all speculation that Kyle Allen should start over a healthy Cam Newton.