10. Indianapolis Colts
9. Las Vegas Raiders
8. Los Angeles Rams
7. Seattle Seahawks
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. Buffalo Bills
4. Green Bay Packers
3. New Orleans Saints
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Good God the Raiders are TOUGH. Derek Carr looks like he is back to his 2016 form with the added bonus of positive influence from HC Jon Gruden showing when he takes control of the offense. Watching that Sunday night game has me seriously pondering whether or not the Raiders can bounce the Chiefs from the playoffs if they meet up early. Even the fact that they made me have this thought has earned them enough respect that they HAD to make this week’s rankings.
So the Saints didn’t start Jameis Winston? And they were… fine? I know it’s the Falcons, but the defense still looked strong in this rivalry game. With Taysom Hill at the helm consistently, the Saints went from monotonous to must-watch after Drew Brees’s injury.
It’s the same-old story week after week in the NFL. You have the Steelers and Chiefs, whichever way you want to rank them, and then about six-seven teams that all unsurprisingly could beat the others any given Sunday. Each of those teams ranked three through ten have a flaw that can’t be covered up. The Bills defense has taken a considerable step back from last year, and the Buccaneers are so hot/cold depending on the week. Seattle’s defense was historically bad up until last week, and Jared Goff will always hold back the Rams offense from reaching its potential.
This massive amount of parody atop the NFL will make for the best playoffs imaginable. Unfortunately, however, there won’t be packed stadiums to witness them in person.
