Adam Effendi
Brock Purdy celebrates a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns.
Honorable Mentions: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks
The Bucs have had unprecedented success with Baker Mayfield. They have multiple 1,000 yard receivers in Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Despite this, they aren’t higher on the rankings because their defense has been average and they got held to only six points against the Lions.
The Seahawks have been a good team lately. They have one of the best wide receiver cores, and Geno Smith has lately been better than Russel Wilson has. But however good Smith is, they only manage to beat horrible teams like the Giants and Panthers. Despite these wins, they got crushed by the Rams and lost a close game to the Bengals, so they didn’t quite make the top ten.
.
10. Cleveland Browns (3-2):
The Browns are primarily on this list because of the win they eked out against the 49ers with an XFL quarterback. The 49ers were heavily injured, but the Browns defense had held Christain Mccaffrey to only 52 scrimmage yards. Before the game, they got destroyed by the Ravens, and have only won against the lowly Bengals and Titans. They also got blown out 28-3 by the Ravens in Week 4 which is why they are only tenth place.
9. Baltimore Ravens (4-2)
In ninth, we have the AFC North leader in the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens have outplayed all of their opponents (except the Titans and Texans somehow). Their rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers has looked more and more like a viable WR1, but for the past three years, they have had a flood of injuries that derailed their season. Their losses have come up against beatable teams such as the Colts and Steelers. However their biggest enemy is not a team, but an inability to perform in clutch moments. In both of their losses, they have had multiple turnovers on downs in their last drives which is why, unless they can capitalize on their final drives, I don’t see them making it past the divisional round in the playoffs.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
The Jaguars have been an interesting team. On one hand, they beat the Bills by five, and they already demolished the Colts twice, but they also got absolutely destroyed by the Texans by 20 points at home. But, I would say it is understandable why they lost because they have a record of 5-19 against the Texans since 2010. Their defense has been lights out in the past two weeks, but their offense has underperformed lately, which is why I am putting them at eight.
7. Dallas Cowboys (4-2)
The Cowboys have been the hardest team to rank because one week they are blowing out both New York teams and the next, they are getting blown out 42-10 by the 49ers, an actual team. They have also lost one of their top corners in Trevonn Diggs. To put into perspective how vital Diggs is to this defense, Diggs has allowed a passer rating of 4.6 in the two games he has played. The maximum passer rating is 158.3. But sadly they have barely any good pass catchers. Besides CeeDee Lamb, the next best receiver is an aging Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup. If the Cowboys can get better receivers and beat actual teams, I think they can get past the wild card.
6. Buffalo Bills (4-2)
The Bills have a tendency to play down to their competition. They absolutely ravaged the Dolphins, but then lost to the Aaron Rodgers-less Jets. They lost two veteran defensive backs in Matt Milano and Tre’Davious White. They would’ve lost to the Giants if the referees knew what holding was. But they have an easy schedule for the next five games which is why I think they are the best 4-2 team in the NFL.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (5-1)
Despite only having one loss to the Lions, the Chiefs have had mostly one score games to bad teams. Patrick Mahomes even got outplayed by Zach Wilson in Week 4. Travis Kelce, the man who’s dating Taylor Swift, is succumbing to more and more injuries due to his age of 34. And due to the absence of Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, Mahomes has no wide receiver help. If the Chiefs can get some receiver help, I think they can make the Superbowl. But with the receivers they have right now, they will barely make it to the AFC championship.
4. Detroit Lions (5-1)
The 2023 Lions have been one of the biggest overachievers in NFL history. They were expected to be good, but they have blown out every team since Week 3. Their rookie tight end, Sam LaPorta, has been the third best receiver on the team with over 300 yards. They played games against solid defenses such as the Falcons, Buccaneers, and Chiefs. But their one downfall is their personnel decisions. They lost the best running back duo in the NFL, and then wasted a first round pick on an underutilized running back who has five yards per rush. If they also manage to utilize the deep threat in Jameson Williams more their offense could become the best in the league. This team has high potential to make the Superbowl, but I think they are still outclassed by these last three teams.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (5-1)
The Eagles recently suffered their first loss 20-24 to the Jets. The Eagles have outgained the Jets, but they also lost a fumble, and Jalen Hurts got intercepted three times. I think last week was just a fluke, and the Eagles should’ve won that game. Lately, the Eagles also underplayed by almost losing in overtime to the Commanders. I think the problem is most likely Jalen Hurts as he has thrown as many touchdowns as interceptions. But the best part of the Eagles is their defense. Their defense, while being bad in the passing game, is exceptional against the run. And, there are lots of young studs in the line including the front runner to defensive rookie of the year Jalen Carter.
2. Miami Dolphins (5-1)
The Dolphins are the exact opposite of the Eagles; they have one of the worst defenses, which the Bills exploited, but that doesn’t matter when they have the fastest offense in the league. They have the best wide receiver duo in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and they put up 70 points on the Broncos without Waddle. Tyreek Hill is on pace for more than 2400 yards, which would shatter the record if it happened. Tua Tagovailoa is leading the NFL in yards, touchdowns, and yards per attempt. But as good as this offense is sadly below average, leaving one team to take over the top spot.
1. San Francisco 49ers (5-1)
The Niners currently have the most complete roster, with a solid quarterback, an amazing defense, and amazing weapons. Brock Purdy has only lost one game in the regular season, and that was when most of his weapons were injured and played badly. Throughout this season, the offense has only given up three turnovers and has the number two scoring offense and the number one scoring defense. However, there might be some concerns about their defense because they gave up 334 yards to an XFL quarterback. But the loss was primarily an offensive issue because of the Brown’s stout defense. The Niners are currently the best team in the league because when healthy, they have one of the best defensive units and one of the best offensive units.
Comments