We continue to cycle through teams for the top spot. This week it’s the Vikings’ turn. They are the fifth team to top our rankings in six weeks.
1. Minnesota Vikings (3)
Rob from Applewood said before the season, “Bet the house on the Vikings!” After Teddy Bridgewater went down, he was only willing to wager the garage. Now, with Sam Bradford, Rob from Applewood is back to betting the whole house. So enjoy it while you can, Vikes. The top spot in the X’s and O’s poll is a precarious place to be.
2. New England Patriots (4)
It’s Friday the 13th! Brady’s back! And with his return, we also see the re-emergence of Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. But don’t get carried away. The Patriots’ schedule will test them over the next month.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (2)
Understand this: The Steelers may lose only two or three more games this season. If that’s the case, then the road to the Super Bowl will travel through the Steel City—and that’s not good news for the Broncos.
4. Atlanta Falcons (8)
John Randall: “The Falcons are for real.” The high-flying aerial show gave way to a ground game that exposed the Bronco defense at the line of scrimmage. Can the defense make these Falcons legitimate Super Bowl contenders?
5. Seattle Seahawks (6)
To have a great defense, with a serviceable running game, and a QB who (shriek!) “manages the game,” is a winning formula in this league, and the Seahawks are right on schedule.
6. Denver Broncos (1)
We tried to warn you about the X’s and O’s Show curse, but you had to find out for yourself. The Broncos need to have Trevor Siemian and Donald Stephenson get healthy in a hurry, or this offense has no chance.
7. Dallas Cowboys (14)
The Cowboys just received great news. Tony Romo’s injury turns out to be less severe than previously thought. So he should be able to return soon and replace Dak Prescott. Wait, that is good news, right? Why are you crying, Cowboys fans?
8. Green Bay Packers (9)
The Pack gets a close home win against the worst team in the division. It’s hard to think that this answers many questions, but Green Bay retains their hold on the top 10. For now. The defense is playing well, allowing the still-shaky offense some room to grow.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (5)
So has the clock struck twelve? Is Philly’s chariot about to turn into a pumpkin? Not so fast. These Eagles are built to make a serious run at the division crown, but Detroit reminded them that having a rookie quarterback will test one’s patience.
10. Oakland Raiders (10)
The Raiders crack the top ten, but their defensive issues have yet to be solved. They gave up 453 yards to the Chargers last week, making four out of five games they’ve surrendered more than 400 yards.
11. Cincinnati Bengals (7)
Ok, so they are probably going to be 2-4 after they visit Gillette Stadium this week. But surely they’ll be the best 2-4 team in memory, right? Smart AFC teams know better than to sleep on this talented and balanced squad.
12. Houston Texans (11)
Bronco Country may be oscillating between Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, but almost no one is clamoring for the return of Brock Osweiler. He has the Texans wondering whether they wasted $72 million dollars on him. We could answer that question, but we think it’s more fun for them to figure it out on their own.
13. Buffalo Bills (17)
The Ryan formula involves pounding the ball on offense. The Bills had 193 yards rushing against the Rams and have averaged 178 yards on the ground since they fired their offensive coordinator three weeks ago. They’re also 3-0 during that stretch.
14. Arizona Cardinals (18)
Teams don’t usually need much help to beat the 49ers, but the Cardinals got plenty last Thursday, getting two interceptions and a special teams score. They needed all of it, though, which doesn’t inspire confidence in an Arizona turnaround.
15. Los Angeles Rams (12)
The Rams’ defense hasn’t been as dominant as they had hoped, and that exposes their limited offensive output. But this team will give anyone trouble, and they are an outside shot to make a run for the playoffs.
16. Kansas City Chiefs (13)
Coming off a bye, Andy Reid is 15-2. The schizophrenic Chiefs will test the coach’s record with a big divisional showdown in Oakland.
17. Baltimore Ravens (19)
Good news Ravens fans! After the team netted just 10 points against the Redskins, John Harbaugh fired offensive coordinator Marc Trestman. Why is that good news? Because 100 percent of the time Harbaugh has fired his OC in the middle of the season, the team has gone on to win the Super Bowl.
18. Tennessee Titans (20)
Don’t look now, but the Titans are playing the best football in the division. Their defense has surrendered just six touchdowns in five games. We think Tennessee just might be the surprise winner of the AFC South come December.
19. Washington Redskins (24)
The ‘Skins continue to beat the teams they’re supposed to. Now they have a big NFC East matchup with the Eagles.
20. New York Giants (16)
Odell Beckham made up with the kicking net and was on his best behavior, but maybe a cranky Beckham is a better Beckham. The wideout was held to five catches by the surging Packers defense.
21. Detroit Lions (31)
Nobody believed Detroit would beat the undefeated Eagles—except our own Bill Reffel, who told our listeners that this was going to happen on our Sunday morning radio show.
22. New York Jets (22)
The J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets probably overachieved with last year’s 10-6 record. This looks to be more their natural level. A shaky quarterback and an aging secondary put a ceiling on how far this team can go.
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (28)
When searching for explanations for the league’s falling television ratings, suspicion should fall on the Monday night schedule. This had to have occurred to some league officials while they were watching Monday’s snooze-fest between two bad teams.
24. Carolina Panthers (15)
With a healthy Cam Newton, the Panthers had been losing in exciting and entertaining fashion. Without him, their loses are simply sad.
25. New Orleans Saints (25)
Coming off of a bye, the Saints now get the Panthers at home, which now looks like a game they can win. They had better take advantage, because there aren’t many of those.
26. San Diego Chargers (23)
This team finds creative ways to lose. Could they come up with a clever way to drop one more, this time against the Broncos on Thursday night. Denver definitely won’t turn down charity with both their coach and their quarterback healing in a short week.
27. Indianapolis Colts (21)
One pattern that has emerged from Indianapolis the last two years has been the devotion the players seem to have for Chuck Pagano. Every time the team has to win to save coach’s job, they do. They did it again last week against the lowly Bears, but they needed another Andrew Luck comeback to pull it off.
28. Jacksonville Jaguars (27)
Unlike Indianapolis, the Jags got to recover from the trip to England with a bye week. It’s too bad the league can’t make that the prize for the London game: Winner gets next week off! The NFL wanted to see how a team rebounds from the trip overseas without a bye. They’ll be able to ask the Bears, who played the weary Colts last week and host Jacksonville Sunday.
29. San Francisco 49ers (29)
We think we have quarterback controversies in this town, but what’s going on in San Francisco is just silly. Blaine Gabbert continues to throw picks, the team continues to get drilled, and a multi-million dollar backup sits on the bench. Now that a US Supreme Court Justice has labeled Kaepernick’s protest “stupid,” it’s time to see if he will ever again be known for his ability to play football.
30. Chicago Bears (30)
Brian Hoyer led his offense to more than 500 total yards Sunday. When is the last time Jay Cutler did that? Never. Not once in seven seasons. The Cutler Era may already be over.
31. Miami Dolphins (26)
One of the main reasons cited for hiring Adam Gase was that the “quarterback whisperer” might be able to turn Ryan Tannehill around. Last week Tannehill was 12-18 for 191 yards and two interceptions. The only thing worse for Gase’s job security than continued losses would be losses in which Tannehill plays like that.
32. Cleveland Brown (32)
The Browns are alone in first place … in the race for the first overall draft pick.
