The biggest leap this week was Kansas City, who climbed eight spots, while the biggest drop was Los Angeles, who tumbled nine spots. The X’s and O’s Show breaks down this week’s Power Rankings, the NFL’s top storylines and everything Broncos each Sunday at 9:00am on Mile High Sports Radio.
1. Minnesota Vikings (1)
Okay, so the Vikings become the first team to maintain their hold on the top spot in our weekly ranking. But since they had a bye, does it really break The Curse? We’ll see Sunday when Mike Zimmer takes the last unbeaten team in the league to Philadelphia.
2. New England Patriots (2)
The 5-1 Patriots are the scariest team right now, and not only because of the return of Tom Brady. Often overlooked, the Pats defense is second in the league in points allowed.
3. Dallas Cowboys (7)
Dak Prescott finally threw an interception, but that isn’t the story from Lambeau Field. The story is that the Cowboys have found their quarterback, the running game continues to be dominant and the defense is one of the league’s top-five units. This team will be around in January.
4. Seattle Seahawks (5)
They may have been fortunate on the missed interference call, but Seattle is among the most-balanced teams in the league, and they know how to rise to the occasion for the big drives.
5. Atlanta Falcons (4)
“I’ve already seen this movie,” you say. “They were 6-0 last year,” you say. “I’m not jumping on the Falcons bandwagon again!” you say. Suit yourself, but this is not last year’s Falcons. In Dan Quinn’s second season, he has the best team in the division and a leading contender for the Super Bowl.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (3)
How long will Ben Roethlisberger be out? That’s the only question that matters right now, because when Landry Jones had to fill in last year, the offense completely shut down.
7. Denver Broncos (6)
While all the discussion has been about the struggles on offense, the X’s and O’s Show pinned a lot of the blame on the defense. They are a woeful 28th in first quarter yards-against, and they’ve allowed opening drive scores against five of their sixth opponents. When asked his thoughts, Gary Kubiak agreed with us. We’ll try to keep him updated on our ideas throughout the season.
8. Kansas City Chiefs (16)
The Chiefs reminded Bronco fans that it is they, not the Raiders, who threaten Denver’s AFC West run. As Kansas City gets healthier, they get even more dangerous.
9. Buffalo Bills (13)
The red-hot Bills are gashing teams on the ground, but teams will take that away at some point. When they do, can Tyrod Taylor make them pay? The answer to that question will determine how far Buffalo can go.
10. Arizona Cardinals (14)
The Cards looked like they might be awakening from their slumber in Monday night’s thrashing of the Jets, right up until Carson Palmer went down in the fourth quarter with a hamstring “strain.” He is, as they say, day to day. So is our judgment of the Cardinals.
11. Oakland Raiders (10)
If the Raiders aren’t going to stop anybody, ever, then they don’t have much chance to be contenders. The Oakland defense continues to be a sieve. They forced Alex Smith to throw all of three incomplete passes Sunday, in an embarrassing home blowout loss.
12. Washington Redskins (19)
After dropping their first two games at home, the Redskins have won four straight. They racked up 230 yards rushing against the Eagles, and their offense is starting to gel.
13. Houston Texans (12)
What to make of Brock Osweiler? Is he the bumbling reject of the first three quarters or the comeback king from the late rally against the Colts? We should probably wait and see how he performs against the Denver defense next Monday night.
14. Green Bay Packers (8)
There can’t be any debate at this point: Green Bay’s offense is broken. It’s not that it’s terrible — many teams have less offensive talent than the Packers — but something is clearly wrong. It has now been 12 straight games since Aaron Rodgers had a 300-yard performance. Against Dallas, the offense fumbled five times and didn’t even reach the endzone until garbage time. At home.
15. New York Giants (20)
The Giants’ UK game against the Rams will not be played at Wembley Stadium, but at a nearby rugby field. The setup isn’t ideal, especially the lack of locker rooms. As a New York TV station explains, “The Rams … will dress in a temporary facility in the Twickenham gym, while the Giants will utilize an adjacent reception hall.”
16. Baltimore Ravens (17)
All six of the Ravens’ games have been close. Three wins, three losses.
17. Philadelphia Eagles (9)
The scoreboard suggests the Eagles lost a close one to the Redskins Sunday. Don’t be deceived. Washington outgained Philadelphia two to one in yards, and held Carson Wentz to 11-22 for 179 yards and five sacks. Without the touchdowns scored on a punt return and an interception, the Eagles would have been blown out.
18. San Diego Chargers (26)
Could there really be a four-team race for the AFC West title? The Chargers are just two games out, and they’ve shown they can beat anyone in the division.
19. Cincinnati Bengals (11)
The Bengals had a brutal schedule for the first six weeks. Now they get the winless Browns. It’s time for Cincinnati to make up some ground.
20. New Orleans Saints (25)
The Saints built a 21-0 lead against Carolina, and then lost it completely, only to rally for a 41-38 win because of a Panthers mistake. Is any part of that sentence surprising?
21. Los Angeles Rams (12)
After their loss to Detroit, the Rams immediately flew to London. How’s that for a road trip? In exchange for getting to move to Los Angeles, the team agreed to play one home game per year in London until their new digs in LA are ready.
22. Detroit Lions (21)
Matt Stafford continues to play at an elite level, but the defense continues to disappoint. The Rams racked up a season-high 387 yards against the Lions in Ford Field Sunday.
23. Tennessee Titans (18)
Another grind-it-out win for the Titans, who, along with Buffalo, has the league’s best running game.
24. Miami Dolphins (31)
Big win against the Steelers, but they were clearly facing a gimpy Roethlisberger.
25. Indianapolis Colts (27)
John Randall: “Coach Pagano will get the axe during the bye week.”
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (28)
A come-from-behind win in Chicago won’t impress anyone, but the Jaguars will take their wins however they come at this point.
27. Carolina Panthers (24)
Few teams in recent memory have tumbled so far, so fast. From 15-1 to 1-5. It’s hard to correct a tailspin.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (23)
The Bucs head west to face the 49ers in what should be just a dandy matchup for all those fans who have money riding on the outcome. No one else will care.
29. New York Jets (22)
If Geno Smith is the answer, then it was a very dumb question.
30. San Francisco 49ers (30)
There is no way that the 2016 49ers will ever be boring. They brought unremitting attention when they hired Chip Kelly. Then backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided he would refuse to stand for the national anthem because America is, um… something or other. And now, the Genius has handed the ball to the Conscience, and, well, it should be fun, anyway. (Pay no attention to the product on the field)
31. Chicago Bears (30)
No less than our own Bill Reffel thinks the Bears should ship Jay Cutler to the Broncos! But even though Brian Hoyer threw for 302 yards and had another game without an interception, the lack of touchdowns has some Bears fans gazing longingly at Cutler. Unless Hoyer quickly claims the job, Reffel may have to set his sights on Tony Romo.
32. Cleveland Browns (32)
Randall: “The best 0-6 team in football!”
By Bill Reffel, John Randall and Damian Veatch