NFL Power Rankings

My current NFL Power Rankings.

I’m going to use these rankings as the order for my 2021 NFL Mock Draft during the 2020 season. Follow @walterfootball.

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

Updated: Oct. 27

New York Jets (0-7) – Previously: 32.
Can you imagine if the Jets were dumb enough to beat the Bills? They almost did! Had they lost out on Trevor Lawrence, that would have set their franchise back nearly a decade!

Dallas Cowboys (2-5) – Previously: 26.
Believe it or not, the Cowboys are teetering on the brink of underrated. I kid you not. Everyone is so down on them, but Dallas will be much better when Zack Martin and Joe Looney return from injury. The Cowboys are pure garbage right now because they can’t block at all, but the return of Martin and Looney would change everything.

New York Giants (1-6) – Previously: 29.
The Giants had a chance to win to improve to 2-5 and perhaps take control of their division – wow, the NFC East sucks – but they made some mistakes down the stretch against the Eagles. Daniel Jones continues to be terrible, but the offensive line is to blame as well. Andrew Thomas has been the worst of the first-round tackles this year, and yet the Giants had their pick of the litter!

Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6) – Previously: 30.
I don’t get the idea of benching Gardner Minshew. I understand that he can’t throw passes longer than 15 yards, but he’s fun and the fans like him, and it’s not like there’s a viable alternative. Who are the Jaguars going to start instead? Jake Luton? Who the hell is that? And isn’t Luton the item you have to get for the king in the original Final Fantasy? I really think it was.

Washington Redskins (2-5) – Previously: 31.
If Kyle Allen didn’t capsize his team’s chances against the Giants last week with two turnovers, the Redskins would be in first place right now at 3-4. What a crazy year!

Philadelphia Eagles (2-4-1) – Previously: 28.
The Eagles have seized control of the NFC East with their pristine 2-4-1 record. Sorry, I had to do that again.

Despite the win, Carson Wentz was terrible. He’s making so many mistakes, and he’s not seeing the field properly. I watched the game with my dad, and he yelled at one point, “Cut Carson Wentz now!” The 2017 season feels like an eternity ago.

Houston Texans (1-6) – Previously: 22.
Someone has to explain to me why the Texans didn’t double team Davante Adams after losing top cornerback Bradley Roby to injury in the first quarter. You’d think the coaching staff would respond by doubling Adams, especially after he was making big play after big play, but that never crossed anyone’s mind.

Minnesota Vikings (1-5) – Previously: 18.
The Vikings just dealt Yannick Ngakoue, so they’ve decided to mail in their 2020 season after losing to the Falcons in embarrassing fashion. The only way they can make this work is if they lose the rest of their games to put themselves in position to draft Justin Fields. Kirk Cousins is just not good enough to lead the Vikings deep into the playoffs with his current salary soaking up so much cap space.

Cincinnati Bengals (1-5-1) – Previously: 23.
The Bengals lost two offensive linemen in the loss to the Browns, including Jonah Williams. And yet, Joe Burrow still threw for 400 yards somehow. Burrow was amazing, and I can’t wait to see how well he can do when he actually has adequate pass protection in front of him.

Atlanta Falcons (1-6) – Previously: 24.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Falcons are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

New England Patriots (2-4) – Previously: 8.
I had the Patriots as overrated last week. They can’t be overrated after that 33-6 beatdown at home versus a 49er team missing six defensive starters. Cam Newton looked like he was playing with one arm and one leg, as he threw passes into the dirt and also failed to scramble. As I wrote in the Fantasy Football Add/Drops page, if Newton were a horse, he’d be headed to the glue factory right now.

Detroit Lions (3-3) – Previously: 29.
If you watch Rick and Morty, you might be familiar with Get Schwifty:

Could a fan of the Lions please make a song called Get Swifty? I ask this because it might be the only way Matt Patricia realizes that he should start D’Andre Swift over the decrepit Adrian Peterson. Patricia might just be watching cartoons over film at this point; otherwise, he’d know that Swift makes his offense so much better.

Denver Broncos (2-4) – Previously: 25.
What a disappointment. The Broncos were getting several players back from injury, and they were facing a Kansas City offense missing two starting blockers. I liked the Broncos’ chances of keeping the game close, but Drew Lock, Melvin Gordon and the Denver special teams all had meltdowns. I wish I could invoice them a collective $550 for making me lose my five-unit wager. Any accountants want to mail this out for me?

Carolina Panthers (3-4) – Previously: 16.
Things would be so much better for the Panthers right now if they didn’t lose a couple of important players on defense, namely Kawann Short. They’ve suffered some close defeats recently, and I have to imagine that at least some of them would’ve gone Carolina’s way if Short were still on the field. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Short is done for the year, so he’s not coming back until 2021.

Chicago Bears (5-2) – Previously: 15.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Bears are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Cleveland Browns (5-2) – Previously: 13.
Baker Mayfield was incredible in the win over the Bengals. Granted, the Bengals were missing both of their starting cornerbacks, but considering that Mayfield was playing with a cracked rib and lost Odell Beckham Jr. early in the game, he was incredible. The defense, on the other hand… I don’t think I’ve seen so many missed tackles in a game this year.

Los Angeles Rams (5-2) – Previously: 12.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Rams are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) – Previously: 11.
The Raiders will reportedly be fined and stripped of draft picks for violating the overblown Fauxvid-19 nonsense. I bet Al Davis would be proud.

Nevertheless, the Raiders played well against the Buccaneers for a while, but they just didn’t have the horses to keep up. They still need lots of help to improve their defense because they’ve looked so helpless against talented quarterbacks this year; not just Tom Brady, but Josh Allen as well a few weeks ago.

San Francisco 49ers (4-3) – Previously: 21.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the 49ers are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Miami Dolphins (3-3) – Previously: 17.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Dolphins are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

San Angeles Chargers (2-4) – Previously: 20.
Justin Herbert finally won a game! Of course, three of his losses were against Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and Drew Brees, so there was nothing for him to be ashamed of for starting 0-4. Still, he had yet another great performance this past Sunday. If the 2020 NFL Draft were re-done today, I have to imagine the Redskins would use the No. 2 overall pick on him, assuming they knew what they have (or didn’t have) in Dwayne Haskins.

Buffalo Bills (5-2) – Previously: 5.
The Bills struggled to beat the Jets, winning 18-10. But not really because they outgained the Jets, 422-190. How did they win by just eight? Can you say that the fix was in?

Arizona Cardinals (5-2) – Previously: 19.
What a big win! It seemed like the Cardinals would lose the entire time, but Kyler Murray came through in the clutch for the huge statement victory. Now, if only the defense would play better…

The Cardinals traded for Markus Golden to help their pass rush, which took a hit when Chandler Jones retired. I was hoping the Cardinals would make a bigger move by dealing for Ryan Kerrigan. The Redskins might be willing to move Kerrigan because he’s in his contract year, and they have some talented, younger edge rushers like Chase Young and Montez Sweat.

Tennessee Titans (5-1) – Previously: 7.
The Titans are a trio of kicks and a lost coin toss in overtime away from being 1-5 right now. Then again, they’re also a missed field goal away from improving to 6-0 with a victory over the Steelers. At this point, you have to wonder if every single game of Tennessee’s will go down to the wire. My condolences to any Titans fans who die of heart attacks this season!

Indianapolis Colts (4-2) – Previously: 14.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Colts are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

New Orleans Saints (4-2) – Previously: 9.
It’s amazing how the Saints and Panthers always play close games against each other, unless it’s late in the year and one team isn’t playing for anything. It looked like things would change when the score was 14-3, but Teddy Bridgewater had an amazing performance, especially when he looked off the safety on a deep completion to D.J. Moore.

The Saints got the win, but they had some bad news later when it was reported that Michael Thomas is seeking a trade. That might just be fake news nonsense, but if it’s real, the Saints won’t be beating the Buccaneers for the division despite a win over them earlier in the year.

Seattle Seahawks (5-1) – Previously: 3.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Seahawks are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Green Bay Packers (5-1) – Previously: 2.
No David Bakhtiari, no Aaron Jones, no Lane Taylor, no Allen Lazard, no Darnell Savage, no Kevin King, no Tyler Lancaster… no problem? Apparently not against the pathetic Texans, who can’t stop anyone. In fact, someone who won our free DFS contest used both Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry against the Texans’ defense in Week 6.

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-0) – Previously: 10.
I’m not quite sure what to make of the Steelers’ win over the Titans. They absolutely dominated in the first half in every single facet, jumping out to a 27-7 lead. However, they had an extreme meltdown at the end, and if Stephen Gostkowski didn’t miss a 45-yard field goal, they could be 5-1 right now. Perhaps they thought they had the win in the bag and began looking ahead to their game against the Ravens next week.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) – Previously: 6.
The Buccaneers have looked great since bouncing back off the Thursday night loss in which Tom Brady didn’t have any healthy receivers at his disposal. Now, he’ll have Antonio Brown joining Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, all while Rob Gronkowski is starting to look like the dominant tight end of old. I’m loving the Super Bowl wagers I have on the Buccaneers at 13/1 odds, though that’s nothing compared to the 40/1 Jacob obtained before the Brady signing!

Baltimore Ravens (5-1) – Previously: 4.
The Ravens had the week off, but they essentially won in Week 7. That’s because they acquired Yannick Ngakoue for a great deal. Here’s the NFL Trade Grades page for thoughts on the Ngakoue move.

Kansas City Chiefs (6-1) – Previously: 1.
I thought the Chiefs might struggle at Denver because they were down two starting offensive linemen. As it turns out, it didn’t even matter because the Broncos self-destructed, surrendering countless points because of turnovers and special-teams mistakes. Luckily for Patrick Mahomes, he has a bye week against the Jets next week, so Mitchell Schwartz doesn’t have to return just yet.

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