We
are officially past the half way point in the NFL regular season. We have seen
every NFL team play at least eight times. It is at this point in the season, I
feel like we actually know some things about each team, to a point where they
can be logically ranked.
At
the start of the season, we all make our predictions on which teams we think
will be Super Bowl contenders, which teams will be impressive and which teams
will struggle. These first nine weeks has shown us that at the start of the season
when we make our predictions, we all have no clue. After the first few weeks,
we think we know some things. We may assume teams are starting to surprise us
with consecutive victories, but then you realise that those victories came
against the Browns and the Bears…
However,
now each team has played eight games, each team has played against playoff
contenders, playoff pretenders and teams that just aren’t going to have a fun
year.
So,
this will be my attempt to rank each team, from 1-32 as which teams I see are
the best right now. I will be making weekly to this list, when I rank the teams
after each week of the regular season.
1 1)
New
England Patriots (7-1)
This
off-season, everyone spoke about the potential for Pittsburgh Steelers offence
to be one of the greatest of all-time. In reality, their offence isn’t even
that close to the Patriots offence. The moment they picked up tight end
Martellus Bennett from the Bears, was the moment they probably secured
themselves another trip to the Super Bowl. Their two tight ends, two wide
receivers and a running back offence is un-guardable. If you leave Rob
Gronkowski (6’5) in single coverage, he’ll beat you. If double up on Gronk you
then leave Martellus Bennett (6’6) in single coverage and two Patriot wide
receivers in single coverage, who have proved that they can beat you, and I
haven’t even mentioned that their quarterback is Tom Brady. Brady is completing
75% of his passes and is yet to thrown an interception. The defence is good,
but not great. I still don’t understand why they let Chandler Jones and Jamie
Collins go… but who am I to question the greatest coach in NFL history?
2 2)
Dallas
Cowboys (7-1)
I
can’t believe I’m writing this… but for once, the fans are right. There’s
something happening with these Dallas Cowboys. A fourth-round rookie
quarterback from Mississippi State is changing the way they play football. Dak
Prescott has been a revelation. He is making sensible throws, finding the open
man and most importantly, not turning the ball over. Having said all of that…
Dak Prescott is not the reason that the Dallas Cowboys are 7-1. That would be
the offensive line. The Cowboys offensive line isn’t just the best o-line in
football, it is the best unit of any position in football. The line has aided
rookie running back Ezekiel Elliot to average 5 yards per carry and 117 rushing
yards per game. The Cowboys are the only team in the NFL that has run more than
they have passed. As much of a surprise that Dak Prescott has been, the biggest
surprise concerning the Cowboys, the defence has actually been pretty good. The
pass-rushing has been below average, but the secondary has been impressive. The
Cowboys will travel to Pittsburgh on Sunday. Expect Big Ben to test a Dallas
secondary missing key players Morris Claiborne and Barry Church.
3) Oakland
Raiders (7-2)
The Raiders have a great offence.
Derek Carr is quietly an MVP candidate himself, but he has been largely helped
by a great offensive line. Carr's o-line bought him time to throw for what
feels like the seventh straight game. It helps when you have studs like Michael
Crabtree and emerging superstar Amari Cooper out wide. The o-line has also
opened some holes up for Latavius Murray. Teams have found themselves stacking
the line of scrimmage to stop Murray. That’s when you can expect Carr to target
his two favourite receivers. The Raiders defence has given up some big plays on
defence in the opening weeks, but over the last few games has shown a decent
enough improvement for them to be considered genuine AFC contenders.
4 4)
Seattle
Seahawks (5-2-1)
The
Seahawks offence finally found their rhythm last night. Their offensive line
had started off poorly this season, but had improved vastly in games against the
49ers, Jets and Falcons. I don’t think it is even a debate; the Seahawks have
the best defence in the NFL. Two weeks ago, we saw them hold the Cardinals
offence to just a field goal and did so all without All-Pro safety and their
defensive captain, Kam Chancellor. In the last two games against the Saints and
Bills, the defence has given up 50 points, mostly down to great quarterback
performances from Drew Brees and Tyrod Taylor. Seahawks will hope Kam
Chancellor and Michael Bennett are able to return for Sunday’s clash and Super
Bowl 49 rematch against the Patriots. The Seahawks offensive line usually
improves as the season progresses; they have a great o-line coach in Tom Cable
who will need to work wonders. Russell Wilson is finally starting to look healthy
and was able to make plays out of the pocket. 
5) Atlanta
Falcons (6-3)
Matt Ryan is an MVP
candidate at this point. Julio Jones is torching everyone he comes up against;
did you see him beat quadruple coverage for that touchdown against the Chargers
the other week?! The Falcons' offense leads the NFL in scoring this season and
is averaging 33.9 points per game, a field goal better than the next-best team. Atlanta’s defence is just not that good.
Vic Beasley is starting to get pressure on the quarterback and is quickly
turning into the player we saw at Clemson. Desmond Trufant is one of the most
underrarted cornerbacks in the league. That’s all the nice things I have to say
about that defence. The Falcons face a tough Eagles front seven this week. Matt
Ryan and Julio Jones will look to exploit Philly’s struggling secondary.
6) Kansas
City Chiefs (6-2)
The Chiefs continue
to find ways to win. But are they a real threat in the AFC? They have a 6-2
record and the fourth-best turnover differential but only a plus-13 point
differential. Alex Smith is a good but not great quarterback. He’s probably not
going to beat you over the top as we know; he has below average arm strength.
If he keeps distributing the ball to his playmakers, especially Jeremy Maclin
and Travis Kelce, the Chiefs will put up points. The Chiefs defence leads the
league with 10 INTs, five of them belonging to All-Pro cornerback Marcus
Peters. However, quarterbacks in the fourth quarter have torched the secondary.
As I am writing this, the Chiefs have just announced that Justin Houston is
will be active this weekend. A huge boost for Andy Reid’s defence.
7 7)
Denver
Broncos (6-3)
If
the Seahawks have the best defence in the NFL, then the Broncos are 1a. They
stopped former quarterback Brock Osweiler from doing much pretty anything. Von
Miller is the best pass-rusher in the league and with Chis Harris Jr., Aqib
Talib, Bradley Roby, TJ Ward and Darian Stewart in the secondary, good luck
trying to throw down the field. Teams have had some success running the ball on
Denver, they are ranked 23rd against the run. On offence, not paying
Osweiler and sticking with Siemian was a great decision. Demaryius Thomas and
Emmanuel Sanders are both difference makers, the offensive line is improving
and will look to help rookie Devontae Booker in the run game to ease the
pressure on Trevor Siemian. The Broncos
missed Talib this past week in a loss against the Raiders and will hope to have
him back this weekend when they will come up against Drew Brees.
8 8)
Minnesota
Vikings (5-3)
The Minnesota Vikings are the NFC’s
Denver Broncos… (but probably not as good). Both teams use a short passing
game. Both teams run the ball as much as possible. And both teams require a
game-changing defensive or special-teams play to swing the momentum their way. Sam
Bradford’s offensive line isn’t helping him too much. Starting tackles Jake
Long and T.J. Clemmings have made him look like the same Sam Bradford who
frequently collapsed in the pocket in his days in St Louis and Philadelphia.
They have struggled to run the ball all season. Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata
are good back-ups, but haven’t had much success with the Vikings ranking dead
last in rushing yards. This team needs Adrian Peterson back in the worst way if
they are going to make any noise in the playoffs. I still rank the Vikings high
strictly because of how good their defence has been. They travel to Washington
this weekend, needing a win to revive their season.
9) New
York Giants (5-3)
Two weeks ago, I wrote that the Giants
needed to wake up… The Giants look like they might have woken up. They have the
team to beat any given team on any given Sunday. I know that’s a huge cliché,
but they could beat, for example, the Patriots and I wouldn’t be too shocked
about that. Eli Manning is not having a great year, which is a big reason why
Odell Beckham Jr. has had a turbulent season. The Giants need to be more
effective running the ball, which will open up their offence. The defence
continues to be improve with Landon Collins, Jason Pierre-Paul and Damon
Harrison making big and clutch plays. Giants have a tough game coming up on
Monday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals, who are trying to revive
their playoff aspirations.
10) Detroit
Lions (5-4)
Matthew Stafford has been the best quarterback
in the NFL since week 8 of the 2015 season. He has thrown for 38 touchdowns and
nine interceptions during that time. The fact
that the Detroit Lions are 5–4 and in the thick of the playoff race says more
about Matthew Stafford’s MVP candidacy than any of his own stats would. The
Lions defence has been historically bad. Opposing quarterbacks are completing
74.2% of their passes against the Lions this season, which would be the highest
success rate ever allowed in NFL history. Do I think the Lions are the 10th
best team in the NFL? Probably not, but right now I cannot put any of the below
teams higher.
11) Green
Bay Packers (4-4)
I still believe in this team. Aaron
Rodgers is having a bad season for his standards. Jordy Nelson doesn’t look
like he has recovered from his injury that forced him to miss the 2015 season.
Eddie Lacy is most likely out for the year. However, they still have the #1
ranked defence against the run, a secondary that is good but I believe will
improve, and they still have Aaron Rodgers. Has any player
established a higher bar for him to hit? Ty
Montgomery has been dynamic out
there replacing Eddie Lacy, but it remains to
be seen if he can continue carrying the load at running back. Randall Cobb and
Jordy Nelson must step up for this team to be a playoff contender. This weekend
Green Bay’s #1 ranked rush defence comes up against Tennessee’s #3 ranked
rushing offence.
12) Pittsburgh
Steelers (4-4)
Pittsburgh has had a
rough start to the season. They just can’t get all of their better players on
the field together. Big Ben, Le’Veon Bell, Ryan Shazier, Markus Wheaton have
all missed games. At the start of the season, people were predicting the
Steelers offence had the potential to be the one of the best of all-time. They
have the best running back in the league (Le’Veon Bell) and the best wide
receiver in the league (Antonio Brown), however the offence has struggled and has
looked predictable. Last week against the Ravens, they sat back in zone defence
protecting against the deep ball. Question must be asked of offensive
co-ordinator Todd Haley, with the Steelers only managing two first downs in the
entire game. Pittsburgh’s defence is a problem. Even though they rank 11th
in run defence, their best defensive player on the team, Ryan Shazier admitted
the Steelers rush defence is “garbage”… (they also rank 20th against
the pass).
13) Philadelphia
Eagles (4-4)
Even more surprising than the success
of the Dallas Cowboys this season is the Philadelphia Eagles early emergence as
playoff contenders. The moment they traded away Sam Bradford and announced
Carson Wentz as the starter, I predicted they would go 4-1. Wentz had started
perfectly with a 3-0 record throwing no interceptions. Since then, his and the
Eagles form has regressed and they now sit at 4-4. The Eagles front defensive
seven has been stout, with Fletcher Cox making an early case for defensive
player of the year. However they have a lot of issues in the secondary with
everyone not named Malcolm Jenkins. This week’s assignment for them… Julio
Jones. The Eagles have the
second-hardest remaining strength of schedule and have a 29% chance of making
the playoffs according to FPI.
14) Washington
Redskins (3-4-1)
Washington Redskins confuse me. They
are good at every position, but they are great nowhere. Kirk Cousins is the
most unpredictable quarterback there is in the NFL. He’ll overthrow a wide open
DeSean Jackson one play (how does that even happen?), and on then torch a
secondary on the next. Redskins offence has been effective however; Trent
Williams and Brandon Scherff continue to open up big holes in the run game for
Matt Jones and Chris Thompson. On defence Ryan Kerrigan is playing amazing
football coming off the edge and the Redskins have a good, but unpredictable
secondary. Josh Norman has looked great
at times and has struggled. The Redskins will need him to be at his highest
level. His next three assignments: Stefon Diggs, Jordy Nelson and Dez Bryant.
15) Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1)
The team which I believe has the best
roster in the NFL. The Cardinals were a chip-shot field goal away from being
right back in the mix in the NFC West a few weeks ago against the Seahawks.
They just have not looked the team like most people expected they would be.
Carson Palmer is not playing like he did last season. His 54.2 Total QBR this season is 24.4 points lower than his mark for
all of last season. However, running
back David Johnson is having a great year, accounting for 37 percent of the team's yards from
scrimmage, which is by far the highest total in the NFL. The Cardinals have a must win game
against the San Francisco 49ers. Expect David Johnson to have a big game against
a 49ers defence that is allowing more than five yards per carry, by far the
worst in the NFL.
16) Buffalo
Bills (4-5)
Shady McCoy has been outstanding and
is most of the reason that this team has won four games. If I need any proof to
back the statement up, they lost two weeks ago against the Miami Dolphins,
Shady was hurt. This past week, they were one play away from beating the
Seahawks in Seattle. The performances of Tyrod Taylor and Shady McCoy against
the “Legion Of Boom” was pretty sensational. As a Seahawks fan, one of the best
QB-RB performances I have seen in a long time against the league’s best
defence. The Bills defence is slowly getting improving, especially the
secondary with Ronald Darby and Stephon Gilmore. Rookie defensive end Shaq
Lawson is now active for the Bills, if he plays anything like we saw he could
at Clemson, along with Marcell Dareus set to return, the Bills defence could
surprise a lot of people. Tyrod Taylor desperately needs Sammy Watkins back,
especially if they are going to give New England any problems in the AFC East.
17) Cincinnati
Bengals (3-4-1)
Last year they were an unnecessary
roughness penalty away from advancing deep into the playoffs, without insane,
game-saving plays from AJ Green they would probably be already out of playoff
contention. An encouraging sign, Jeremy Hill is back effectively running the
ball. Apart from this, the Bengals do not have much to smile about. Their three
wins have come against the Jets, Dolphins and Brown. Those teams have won five
combined games this season. Andy Dalton has also regressed this year after
having an MVP candidate season this year. The Bengals slow start was hugely down
to their inability to score in the red zone, scoring on only 42% of red zone
drives in their first six games. Since the return of their tight end Tyler
Eifert, the Bengals are now converting on 83% of red zone drives. I still
believe this team can make the playoffs, they have a great defensive line and
of course, they have AJ Green. 
18) San
Diego Chargers (4-5)
The Chargers had a nightmare start to
the season, but over the past two weeks there have been some encouraging signs.
Every game that the Chargers have lost, they have thrown away a fourth quarter
lead. Now, this defence looks to have life. Joey Bosa is playing like JJ Watt
Lite, making his case for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Denzel Perryman and
Jatavis Brown have had great season and the secondary is breaking up passes on
big plays. Melvin Gordon is playing like a man who wants prove they made that
his team made the right choice taking him in the first round of last year’s
draft. After a disappointing rookie season, in which he failed to score a
touchdown, Gordon has eight TD’s in seven games. The Chargers need to limit
their turnovers, committing the second most in the league (18). Quick shout-out
to the most underrated quarterback in the league, Philip Rivers.
19) Houston
Texans (5-3)
I know they are 5-3. If any Houston
fans saw this I would probably be cussed out within minutes. But I can’t put
them any higher than this. Houston Texans offence is a huge problem. Brock
Osweiler looks like an extremely expensive back-up quarterback. The Texans have been held without an offensive
touchdown twice this season and have 11 offensive touchdowns on the year, which
is the fewest in the NFL. The Texans defence has been playing well in the
absence of JJ Watt. The offence will have to step up, however they do play in
the worst division in football. The Texans do have a favourable looking
schedule with only one of their remaining eight games is against a team above
.500.
20) Baltimore
Ravens (4-4)
The Ravens have had a crazy season. They
started off their season 3-0 and looked like genuine AFC contenders. They then
lost the next four games, throwing away 10-0 leads. Their defence and special
teams has quietly carried them to the top of the underachieving AFC North. The
Ravens has only allowed 123 first downs in eight games, which is by far the
best in the NFL. Baltimore must improve on offence if they are going to make
any sort of playoff run. Joe Flacco has some pretty underrated weapons at his
disposal in Steve Smith, Breshad Perriman, Mike Wallace and Dennis Pitta. Kamar
Aiken has been a disappointing, coming off a great season in 2015.
21) Carolina
Panthers (3-5)
After the dominance of the Carolina
Panthers in last year’s regular season, who would have thought they would have
regressed this much? Especially now that Cam Newton now has his dominant wide
receiver Kelvin Benjamin back. So what has gone wrong for the Panthers? The
secondary has been extremely poor. They seem to have lost their mystique and
swagger with Josh Norman leaving for Washington. The defensive front seven has
not looked as dominant. And Cam Newton simply hasn’t played as well as last
year. Some say he and the Panthers are experiencing a Super Bowl hangover. I
don’t know about that, but Cam clearly doesn’t look the same player as he did
last year. Too many overthrows and bad decisions have cost his team at times.
Cam Newton is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league, which I don’t think
is even a debate. His team are going to need him down the stretch. They have
won their last two games and will need a win against an extremely tough Chiefs
team have Justin Houston back to stop Cam Newton.
22) Miami
Dolphins (4-4)
Our own Jay Ajayi has put this Miami
Dolphins team on his back this season. The British running back is 6th
in rushing yards and 1st in yards per carry. The Dolphins are on a
three-game win streak, largely down to Ajayi averaging 176 yards per game.
Miami’s defence and special teams has also been impressive in the last few
games and will need to be as Miami have two road games coming up against San
Diego and Los Angeles respectively. Ryan Tannehill continues to show his
unreliability. He will need to impress in the second-half or this regular season
to convince fans he is the franchise quarterback that he expect him to be.
23) New
Orleans Saints (4-4)
New Orleans simply needs to score 32+
points to win a game. That’s how bad their defence has looked. In fairness,
they have had a bunch of players out through injury on the defensive side. If
they can come back and show they are able to hold teams to 20-25 points, New
Orleans could make a late playoff surge. Drew Brees is still playing at an
elite level, he has posted a Total QBR of at least 80 in five
straight games, the longest streak in the NFL this season. Rookie receiver Michael Thomas is quietly on
pace for 95 catches, 10 touchdowns and 1,150 yards for the season.
24) Indianapolis
Colts (4-5)
I don’t understand… Where exactly do
the Colts spend their salary cap? They seem to be average or below average at
every position (except for quarterback). Andrew Luck is going to be the best
quarterback in the NFL, in my opinion. However, the Colts need to give him some
protection. Their offensive line is extremely suspect and they are asking Luck
to work miracles in order for them to win games. The defence and special teams
stepped up last week against Green Bay. They will need more of the same and
hope Andrew Luck can put together MVP calibre performances if they are going
anywhere this season.
25) Tennessee
Titans (4-5)
When Marcus Mariota is playing with confidence,
this Titans offence is one of the best in the league. Mariota has some great
weapons on offence and has found a way to get the most out of them, especially
in their last five games. Tennessee has scored at least 26 points in that period.
Mariota must limit turnovers; he has thrown five pick-6’s this season. The
Titans have the 3rd best rushing attack in the NFL with DeMarco
Murray and former Heisman winner Derrick Henry pounding the ball. If Mariota turns
the ball over this weekend against the Green Bay Packers he will be punished by
Aaron Rodgers.
26) Tampa
Bay Buccaneers (3-5)
I have been really
disappointed with Jameis Winston this year. Coming off an impressive rookie
season, which he earned Pro-Bowl recognition, he has been consistently
inconsistent, making bad decision and turnovers in clutch situations. As a huge
Jameis fan, I didn’t expect him to regress this year. He must spread the ball
around rather than relying on Mike Evans (I’m sure fantasy owners disagree). There
have been times this season that the Buccaneers seem improved over their former
selves. Halfway through the schedule, though, they are 3–5, halfway to the 6–10
finish posted by Lovie Smith’s last team a year ago. Worse yet, the Bucs
have lost six straight at home, including all four this year. That makes it
impossible to thrive in the NFL.
27) Los
Angeles Rams (3-5)
What is going on in Los Angeles? They
basically trade away for their future for quarterback Jared Goff and they bench
him. It would be understandable if the Rams quarterback was playing too well to
keep Goff out the team, but Case Keenum has a 40.2 Total QBR, which is worst in
the NFL. We have seen six other rookie quarterbacks play this season, even
undrafted Seahawk rookie Trevone Boykin has played before Jared Goff. Los Angeles held its past two opponents to an average
of 238 yards and still lost twice. An offence that can’t score, a coach that no
longer can win more than seven games in a season and a No. 1 pick that can’t
even get onto the field. Questions need to be asked of the Rams GM and coach
Jeff Fisher.
28) New
York Jets (3-6)
I actually thought this team would
make the playoffs. When they resigned Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had a great year in
2015, I believed they had everything they needed to make a playoff run. They
have elite receivers in Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, they added elite
running back Matt Forte and they have great personnel on defence. However, the
words elite and great cannot be used when talking about the Jets this year.
Fitzpatrick has thrown 13 interceptions, Eric Decker has been injured for most
of the year and the defence is ranked 22nd in the NFL. Coach Todd
Bowles needs to a strong finish to the season if he is to keep his job, 8-8
would be a disappointing season with the strength of this roster. I would love
to see the Jets draft Deshaun Watson next year. He could do some damage with
this offense.
29) Jacksonville
Jaguars (2-6)
Another team I thought had an outside
chance to make the playoffs. I gave them an off-season grade of A+, adding
Malik Jackson, Chris Ivory, Prince Amukamara, Kelvin Beachum, Tashaun Gipson in
free agency and drafting rookies Jalen Ramsey, Myles Jack and Yannick Ngakoue.
However, the Jaguars are 2-6 and are lucky to have that record. If I were the
Jaguars, I would start with looking for a new quarterback, I have never been a
Blake Bortles fan and this year has put the final nail in the coffin. Too many
poor decisions and interceptions have given the team little hope in winning
games. He hasn’t been helped by his running backs Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon
fumbling the ball. The defence is good enough to win some games for them down
the stretch. Jaguars might be looking for a new coach sooner rather than later.
30) Chicago
Bears (2-6)
Despite having great weapons on
offensive in Alshon Jeffery, Eddie Royal, Zach Miller the Chicago Bears ranks
31st in total offense. Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer are average
quarterbacks, at best. Jordan Howard has emerged as a potential future running
back for the Bears. That’s about all that Bears fans have to be happy about. They’re
going to get a nice draft pick at least… potential Deshaun Watson landing spot.
31) San
Francisco 49ers (1-7)
I thought about putting this team
bottom, but they’ve won a game so… Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert are
average quarterbacks, they barely have any weapons on offence and the defence
can’t stop a thing. It will be interesting to see if Chip Kelly keeps his job.
32) Cleveland
Browns (0-9)
I feel sorry for coach Hue Jackon. He could
have waited for the Bengals job. But he chose to come to Cleveland and try to
sort out the mess that the franchise is in. They have drafted poorly for the
last 10 years, they attract no free agents and they can’t find a starting
quarterback. Terrelle Pryor has been a revelation, changing from quarterback to
wide receiver. I’d like to see Robert Griffin III come back before the end of
the season and see him win a game. Is that asking too much?
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