It is no easier to rank the 32 teams of the National Football League than it is to pick games each weekend. Who knows what is going to happen from week to week? From last week’s rankings, my number two (San Francisco) and three teams (Houston) lost and clubs ranked 32nd (Carolina), 31st (New York Giants) and 30th (Denver) all won on the road. Help me make it make sense!! Anyway, here are the rankings. Have at them!
- Kansas City Chiefs --
The Chiefs keep getting relatively-pedestrian numbers from Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and they get bounces of the ball at key times which lead to people saying they are lucky. But they keep on winning and that is a testament to the leadership of Andy Reid. He finds a way.
- Buffalo Bills +2
Josh Allen is playing lights out with seven touchdown passes, two rushing scores and no interceptions in three games. And for the past two weeks against Miami and Jacksonville, the Bills have not merely sneaked by their opponent. They’ve absolutely blown their doors off!
- Minnesota Vikings +8
It’s still early in what will be a long season, but I believe this Vikings formula is built to last so long as nasty injuries don’t hit hard. Sam Darnold is playing his best football with playmakers around him and Brian Flores’ defense is aggressive and very difficult to figure out each week.
- Detroit Lions +1
The Lions got off to a hot start in Arizona with Jared Goff completing his first 14 passes and then they backed it up with a strong running game. But with interceptions still a part of Goff’s early-season game, the defense – which is playing really well – had to close out the victory.
- Philadelphia Eagles +3
If Jalen Hurts could just stop turning the ball over, why not the Eagles out of the NFC? That is a big ‘if’ though because the quarterback leads the league with 26 giveaways since the start of 2023. When A.J. Brown returns at WR, there is more than enough talent on this team.
- Houston Texans -3
C.J. Stroud had no answer for Minnesota’s defense in Week 3 and the Texans lacked the balance that Joe Mixon brings to the backfield. It’s only one loss but it is the second week in a row that the Houston attack has failed to score many points. That is worth monitoring.
- San Francisco 49ers -5
I’m not sending the Niners into a precipitous fall because I think this team will be fine in the long run. They played against the LA Rams on Sunday without Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey. That’s a lot to overcome. WR Brandon Aiyuk needs to get going now.
- Baltimore Ravens +2
That was Ravens football for the first three quarters in Dallas as Baltimore recorded their first win of the season. Lamar Jackson was a stud and Derrick Henry a beast on the ground. The defense also played its part. It got way too sloppy at the end, but the start was encouraging.
- New Orleans Saints --
I’m not smashing the Saints for losing by three to the Eagles, but they need to find answers in their attack when that deep ball which served them so well in the first two weeks of the season is taken away. The defense had some big moments. This can still be a playoff team.
- Pittsburgh Steelers +6
At first glance, the Steelers are about as exciting as a cheese sandwich; but they’re 3-0 so Mike Tomlin doesn’t care what you or I think. Dig deeper and there is much to admire. The defense is one of the league’s very best and there are signs of Justin Fields flourishing at quarterback.
- Green Bay Packers +4
In back-to-back victories over Indianapolis and Tennessee (hardly NFL powerhouses, it should be noted), Green Bay have mitigated the loss of Jordan Love at quarterback by running the ball very effectively and playing some great defense. A large test looms with the Vikings next.
- Seattle Seahawks +2
The Seahawks are a very quiet 3-0 and it’s probably too early to know if they are for real or not, but let’s give a massive nod to British defensive coordinator Aden Durde. In each of Seattle’s three games, his unit has not allowed an opponent to score more than 20 points.
- New York Jets +4
Things are starting to heat up on the offensive side of the ball for the Jets and Aaron Rodgers looked 30 years old and not 40 against New England in Week 3. He showed off his cannon of an arm for Garrett Wilson’s touchdown, but also moved as well as we have seen for a while.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers -8
I can’t explain it. I thought the Bucs were onto something with their hot start to the season and with Baker Mayfield playing so well at QB. Then they go and lose 26-7 at home to Denver. The offense and defense were equally to blame for what was a baffling defeat in Florida.
- Los Angeles Chargers -8
Jim Harbaugh rolled the dice on playing Justin Herbert with a high ankle sprain last weekend and the gamble failed as his quarterback left the game early and the stadium in a walking boot. Rookie offensive tackle Joe Alt is also gone for a while as injuries start to bite in LA.
- Dallas Cowboys -3
We pay great attention to the quarterback so we’re naturally going to question the inconsistencies of Dak Prescott when he’s being paid $60 million per year. But when his team cannot run the ball and they play so badly on defense, are we really that surprised?
- Washington Commanders +11
Jayden Daniels put on a show in Monday’s win over Cincinnati. The rookie quarterback operated well from the pocket but also reminded us he is a dangerous runner. He hit on tight window throws and aired out some beauties downfield. Cannot wait to see what’s next.
- Indianapolis Colts +7
Anthony Richardson is the NFL’s youngest starting quarterback at the age of 22 so we’re going to need to give him time – but that was not a great showing against Chicago. Fortunately, Jonathan Taylor took over with 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the victory.
- Los Angeles Rams +4
Credit the Rams for fighting back and winning against San Francisco despite twice being down by 14 points and trailing by 10 on another occasion. Matthew Stafford – working without Cooper Kupp or Puca Nacua – refuses to give in and was aided by Sean McVay’s play-calling.
- Atlanta Falcons -1
The Falcons may have dropped to 1-2 on the season with their Sunday Night Football loss to Kansas City, but they gave the defending Super Bowl champions all they could handle. I feel Atlanta are starting to find their feet and will be very much in the race in an open NFC South.
- Cincinnati Bengals -9
Joe Burrow has shown me more than enough in the last two games to know he is not going to be Cincinnati’s problem. But after a strong showing in KC in Week 2, the defense totally fell apart against Washington and the talented Bengals now face a climb back from an 0-3 start.
- Arizona Cardinals --
The Cardinals had a pick six wiped off the board in a seven-point loss to the Lions because the officials ruled that the game clock had reached the two-minute warning at the end of the first half. This team has proven to be competitive, but the offense needs to find more consistency.
- Cleveland Browns -5
It’s alarming how bogged down this offense can get and Deshaun Watson continues to have some serious struggles. His accuracy is way off on quite a few occasions and it is not always as a result of pressure. The Browns have to be regretting the huge contract they gave him.
- Miami Dolphins -4
The Dolphins are in a world of trouble without Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. Skylar Thompson is battling a rib injury so will it be him against Tennessee in Week 4 or will it be Tim Boyle or Snoop Huntley? Does it even matter? That is hardly an inspiring trio.
- Chicago Bears -4
Caleb Williams made some incredible plays against the Colts, but it was still an up and down performance as his decision-making is being affected by operating behind a poor offensive line. With little in the way of a running game, Williams needs to figure this out on his own.
- Las Vegas Raiders --
The Raiders are not really going to move into the world of NFL contenders until they find a franchise quarterback and that cannot happen this year. What would help either Gardner Minshew or Aidan O’Connell would be a stronger running game. That has been non-existent.
- Denver Broncos +3
Rookie quarterback Bo Nix is coming off the best game of his young career as he was better protected and made good decisions in a surprisingly-comfortable win over the Buccaneers. Seven sacks of Baker Mayfield also suggests we should pay more attention to Denver’s D.
- Jacksonville Jaguars -4
Trevor Lawrence appears to be playing quarterback with the weight of the world on his shoulders, pushing the ball downfield and trying to be too deliberate rather than just attacking with confidence. It’s not surprising – Lawrence has lost his last eight NFL starts with the Jags.
- New England Patriots -2
There are calls for New England to turn to rookie quarterback Drake Maye. But do they want to expose him behind a line that is very poor right now? It might be worth keeping Jacoby Brissett in for another couple of weeks to let Maye continue to learn and get ready.
- New York Giants +1
The game plan has to be very simple as the New York Giants move through this 2024 season – get the ball to rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers. Coming out of college, Nabers was described as an offensive defibrillator – he has certainly woken a stagnant New York attack.
- Carolina Panthers +1
The Week 3 win over the Las Vegas Raiders was the best possible outcome for head coach Dave Canales and the worst for benched quarterback Bryce Young, who won two of his first 18 NFL starts. The offense looked functional and capable with Andy Dalton at the helm.
- Tennessee Titans -3
The Titans have real issues in pass protection and Will Levis is making some bone-headed decisions as a result. Given how bad Levis has been, he might still have made those key mistakes even with outstanding blocking up front. His days seem to be numbered in Nashville.