Cover photo taken from Bleeding Green Nation.
1 – 
Eagles (5-0) 
It was a bit closer than they may have liked, but the Eagles kept their undefeated streak going with a very nice win in Arizona. Jalen Hurts was stellar once again to help carry his team to victory with both his arm and his legs. The defense was also sharp in locking down the Cardinals offense for the most part. They were the beneficiary of their opponent’s kicking woes, and if it weren’t for that, perhaps they would have lost like I predicted them to. But they still looked great in pretty much every facet and are more than deserving to remain at #1 for another week.
2 – 
Chiefs (4-1)
I really don’t know how you’re supposed to stop this team. Even when you have them down 17-0 in the first half and get ridiculous calls to go your way, they will find a way to beat you. Patrick Mahomes is playing some of the best football of anyone else in the league at the position, leading remarkable scoring drives and orchestrating offense at an otherworldly level. Their defense still raises questions, especially in the secondary, but does it even matter at this point? When Mahomes plays like he has been, this team is an absolute freight train. Everyone gets involved offensively and it is poetry in motion.
3 – 
Bills (4-1)
I won’t take too much stock of the Bills destroying one of the worst teams in the league at home when that team is led by a rookie QB making his first start. That being said, it sure is awesome to watch this team when they are playing at a level that high. Josh Allen has been a wonder this entire season, living up to the hype and exceeding it. The offense is seemingly unstoppable through the air, and while I don’t like their run game, I love watching Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis in action. Their defense also played their best game of the year, but again, it wasn’t much of a challenge. This week’s Game of the Year on paper in Kansas City will tell us much more about where this team stands in relation to the giant that they are yet to slay.
4 – 
Ravens (3-2) 
2
After the top 3, things get ridiculously messy. I really don’t know if the Ravens are the fourth best team in football. I really doubt that they are. Sunday night’s win was a good one thanks to a great performance from their defense, but Lamar Jackson didn’t have his best night. He led a fantastic game-winning drive, but other than that, he didn’t play up to his standards. The WRs on this team are also back to being invisible. I just feel like I can trust this team more than so many of the ones below them either due to injuries or precedent or anything else, so Baltimore gets the benefit of the doubt and stays up here for now.
5 – 
Buccaneers (3-2) 2
The worst roughing the passer call in history (until it was one-upped the next day) is distracting a lot of people from the fact that the Buccaneers nearly blew a 21-point lead at home to the Falcons. Tampa looked good on both sides of the ball for about three quarters, but the fourth was a mess. Whether you want to blame injuries or fatigue or whatever, this team just feels like it’s lacking something to make them truly great. Their elite defense and GOAT at QB makes it easy to prop them up amidst the messiness of the rest of the league, but it’s really hard to project what this team is capable of from here on out.
6 – 
49ers (3-2) 4
The 49ers are looking better by the week, and it’s due to them continuing to follow their very simple yet effective formula of running it down teams’ throats and letting their defense do the rest. The offense is still nothing special, but they get the job done no matter who is at QB or running the ball. This has been the best defense in football so far this season, shutting down opponents left and right and taking the ball away with ease. Some injuries might shake that up a bit as Emmanuel Moseley will miss the rest of the year with a torn ACL and Nick Bosa might miss some time with a groin problem. But this team has the depth and coaching to overcome that.
7 – 
Chargers (3-2) 1
The Chargers are another team that I have very little idea what to make of. On one hand, I love that Austin Ekeler is finally returning to his old form and making a huge impact in this offense. The run game looks infinitely better, even getting contributions from backup Joshua Kelley. I think the rest of the offense is just fine as long as Justin Herbert is throwing the ball. The defense is clearly lagging behind though, and all of the injuries don’t help. And the in-game coaching decisions continue to boggle my mind. They should have lost on Sunday after an inexplicable 4th down decision in the final minutes, but they lucked out after a missed FG. It’s not going to get easier from here on out. They need to tighten up.
8 – 
Cowboys (4-1) 3
I genuinely think I’m underrating the Cowboys here. They’ve been one of the most consistent teams in football in the four weeks with Cooper Rush starting at QB, following a very similar formula to San Francisco. Their defense looks better and better by the week, somehow generating more pressure and playing even stickier coverage. The offense virtually doesn’t need to do anything to win games at this point. They’re playing at a better, more consistent level than most teams in the league, but it’s just hard to put them above others while Rush is still their QB. I don’t know how much better it will be once Dak Prescott returns, which should be soon, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
9 – 
Vikings (4-1)
Once again, the Vikings are winning all of the games that the Vikings of the past would have lost. That’s something that should frighten people. I don’t love this team nearly imploding after going up 21-3 in the first half, and I don’t love their defense forgetting how to play against the Bears, but everything else was likable! Kirk Cousins played a precise, efficient game, Dalvin Cook ran like a madman, and Justin Jefferson continued making his case for being the best receiver in the league. And while the defense bent and bent, they made the play that won them the game. So while the Vikings aren’t the most impressive 4-1 team, they have earned this record and should be able to keep up their winning ways in pursuit of a division title.
10 – 
Packers (3-2) 
6
Unimpressive, unpredictable, up and down, and straight up weird. That’s how I’d describe the Packers at this point. You really just never know what you’re going to get out of this team. However, I am starting to sense a bit of a trend. They always seem to come out strong with Aaron Rodgers slinging the ball and their offense moving up and down the field while their defense does its job. Then after halftime, they get completely static, incapable of doing anything effective on either side of the ball. That’s what nearly lost them their last two games, and it’s what lost them Sunday’s game in London: getting outscored 17-0 in the second half to lose it. I don’t know if it’s a coaching problem or an attitude problem or what, but it’s a very glaring issue with a team of this caliber. It will hold them back every single week until they can figure out a way to actually play football in second halves.
11 – 
Dolphins (3-2) 6
I really feel for the Dolphins after yet another QB injury. Teddy Bridgewater got absolutely rocked early on Sunday and is now dealing with head and elbow injuries while the keys are handed to 7th round rookie Skylar Thompson. While I said that anyone can thrive in this offense, it might be a bit harder now. That was on display with this team’s ineffectiveness on that side of the ball against the Jets. It also never helps when your supposedly great defense gets gashed the way it did. It was just a tragedy of errors across the board for Miami, and while I’d like to think that won’t continue, it’s just hard to imagine what the next few weeks are going to look like for this team.
12 – 
Bengals (2-3)
The shocking theme with the Bengals continues. They can’t throw the ball downfield. Not having Tee Higgins fully healthy obviously hurts that department in a huge way, but it’s like nobody can even get open. It’s all checkdowns and screens and short passes and it feels like the antithesis of the Cincy team that was so much fun to watch last year. I’ve been blaming it on the scheme, but the stars like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase just look like a fraction of themselves right now. The Bengals are lacking a gear that makes them a threat to anybody on offense, so it doesn’t even matter if the defense plays well like they did this week. They are also awful in late-game situations as all three of their losses have been on walk-off FGs. Unless that gets turned around, this team isn’t really going anywhere.
13 – 
Browns (2-3)
This team is rather unbelievable. Their three losses are by a combined six (6) points and none of them should have even happened. An inexplicable collapse against the Jets, a horrible final stretch against the Falcons, and now Sunday’s gift from the Chargers thrown away via Cade York’s missed game-winning FG. By all accounts, this team should be unbeaten, but their own incompetence has them below .500. They have the talent, but they just refuse to win games. If that’s not indicative of what this franchise is, then I don’t know what is.
14 – 
Titans (3-2) 3
The Titans are back, I suppose. It doesn’t take much to beat Washington, and they almost didn’t, but they are now riding a 3-game win streak and above .500 for the first time this season. Derrick Henry is continuing to bounce back from a poor start to the year by literally carrying the offense on his back, and the defense continues to play at a high level, especially up front. It’s a simple formula that the Titans have followed for so long, and it’s finally starting to win games for them this year. We’ll see how far it can take them against real football teams.
15 – 
Giants (4-1) 12
I am finally going to respect the Giants. Maybe this is still too low for them, but as of now, they are the biggest jumpers in the history of my Power Rankings. Perhaps that’s a product of my own incompetence or preconceived biases. All I know now is that this team is pretty solid, and they deserve their flowers. First-year HC Brian Daboll is implementing a winning culture in New York and is somehow making lemonade out of lemons with this offense. Saquon Barkley has been as dynamic as ever, Daniel Jones looks solid, and even with virtually no WRs, this team finds ways to score. The defense has been excellent, and they locked down one of the best QBs of all time in the second half on Sunday. I really don’t know if the Giants will keep this up, but as of right now, they deserve the credit I’ve refused to give them for a month.
16 – 
Rams (2-3) 1
This team is a sad joke. I warned you all about the problems they had, but even I didn’t foresee it being this bad. I frankly might have the Rams too high here. They have one of the worst offensive lines in football, they cannot run the ball, their QB is a turnover machine who has no time to throw, they have one real pass-catching threat who just so happens to be the biggest ballhog in the sport, and their defense hasn’t been anything special. It’s not a winning formula at all. With a cutthroat schedule, I can’t fathom how the Rams possibly turn things around.
17 – 
Cardinals (2-3) 1
The Cardinals came oh so close to pulling off the upset that I predicted them to on Sunday, but injuries to their kicker prevented that from happening. Between his game against the Colts with Kansas City and Sunday’s game, it’s safe to say Matt Amendola won’t be getting another kicking job any time soon. Still, Arizona looked solid across the board on Sunday, doing a good job limiting the Eagles offense to just 20 points and not allowing anything too crazy. They went down 14-0 early, but outscored Philly by 11 the rest of the way and should have won if it wasn’t for missed kicks. It also didn’t help that they were taken down to their third string RB. Not much has gone the Cardinals’ way this year, but they’re still hanging tough. My opinion on them hasn’t changed. They’re a competitive team that can win plenty of games, but they’re nothing special.
18 – 
Saints (2-3) 1
The Saints haven’t really been themselves this year. I don’t know what to make of them at all. The QB situation continues to be a mess as Taysom Hill is now apparently the most effective one they have. The defense continues to be inexplicably putrid. The WRs won’t stop getting banged up as Chris Olave had to leave Sunday’s game with a head injury. It’s a complete mess right now in New Orleans, so they better be thankful that they somehow escaped Sunday’s game with a win despite getting torched by Geno Smith and the Seahawks. It’s hard to see many more Ws coming.
19 – 
Patriots (2-3) 2
Even with a 3rd string QB, the Patriots finally looked like themselves on Sunday. The defense finally decided to show up and show out, shutting out the best statistical offense in football thanks to the playmaking ability of their young studs like Jack Jones. Bailey Zappe played another solid game, and the offense did its thing to put up plenty of points. They didn’t need to do much, but they still looked solid, especially in the running game despite the injury sustained by Damien Harris. If New England can bring that level of defense to some of their games moving forward, they will continue to be a tough out like we saw last week in Green Bay regardless of who is under center for them.
20 – 
Jaguars (2-3) 6
We drank the Kool-Aid a little bit too early with the Jaguars. Back to back losses in which the team has looked awful has this team skidding. It’s one thing to lose to the league’s only undefeated team on the road in a monsoon. It’s another to lose to the league’s only winless team at home, not even scoring a touchdown in the process. Yes, the Texans are feisty, but they should not hold you to two field goals all game long. That’s embarrassing. Trevor Lawrence played what was likely his worst game of the year, highlighted by a horrible INT in the endzone with the game on the line. The defense was fine, but it doesn’t matter when the offense which previously looked so good does absolutely nothing. I actually have faith in them to get back on track, but they better hope it happens fast if they want to keep up in this division.
21 – 
Raiders (1-4) 2
You can change the city, the weapons, the head coach, and everything else. But you can never change the Raiders being the Raiders. Winning simply isn’t in their DNA, but choking and incompetence run wild in their veins. I can’t even sit here and say they played anything close to a poor game on Monday night. They looked great on offense, hitting huge plays down the field to Davante Adams and running with power and effectiveness with Josh Jacobs. But you just cannot go up 17-0 and get one of the most ridiculous roughing the passer calls we’ve ever seen and lose the game in the fashion that they did. Sure, the defense choked, but the offense should have tied the game late, but an unbelievable decision to go for two because of “analytics” lost them the game. Yes, that lost them the game, not Adams not controlling the ball on the sideline or him and Hunter Renfrow running into each other on the last play. Because all of that still could have happened, and the game would have at least gone into overtime. Don’t bother trying to explain it to me, because I won’t listen.
22 – 
Falcons (2-3) 2
The Falcons are one of the most upset teams in the league this week, and for good reason. They got screwed on Sunday. I can’t say with confidence that they would have won if it wasn’t for the “roughing the passer” call, but it was very well possible considering how they were playing in the fourth quarter. Still, this team didn’t look great for the first three quarters on either side of the ball. It was a slog for them against a great defense, as it probably will be all year long against any great teams. At least the rest of the division and most of the schedule doesn’t have many great teams left.
23 – 
Seahawks (2-3) 1
Listen man. Geno Smith is doing his thing. I was half-joking when I said the Seahawks upgraded at QB but… I don’t think it’s a joke anymore. The Seahawks are better than the Broncos are right now, and their QB play is infinitely better. Like, it’s not close. Geno is making incredible throws, his pass-catchers are making huge contributions, and the run game is effective no matter who’s carrying the ball. The season-ending injury to Rashaad Penny definitely hurts, but Kenneth Walker looks more than serviceable. The defense is still pretty awful, but they have bright spots too. The Seahawks aren’t awful by any means.
24 – 
Jets (3-2) 2
I can’t make sense of the Jets having a winning record. It’s just hard to wrap your head around. But, here they are. Zach Wilson is 2-0 this year after returning from his injury, the offense is serviceable with a good amount of weapons, they are running the ball with authority thanks to a solid RB duo of Breece Hall and Michael Carter, and the defense is actually making plays. Sauce Gardner is playing like the top 4 pick he is, and the front seven is actually being disruptive for once. Believe it or not, this is a solid team. We’ll see how long it takes to come crumbling down.
25 – 
Lions (1-4) 7
Like another cat team slightly above them, we overrated the Lions a bit too early. The signs were there. Yes the offense was a weekly fireworks show, but you simply cannot win games with the defense being this bad. Now, one is a much more glaring issue than the other. The offense quite literally disappeared to the tune of a big ol’ goose egg on the scoreboard while the defense continued to get absolutely scorched. Having a generationally bad defense will always lead to losses, no matter how effective your offense is. I’m shocked DC Aaron Glenn is still employed right now, because at this rate, the Lions won’t win many more games for the remainder of the year.
26 – 
Colts (2-2-1) 4
I really don’t want to talk about either team involved in Thursday night’s crapfest. One team had to win it, and it just happened to be the Colts. Even without Jonathan Taylor, the offense found a way to put up enough points to win the game. It helped that their defense was gifted the ball several times by an offense that is incapable of moving the ball. Despite getting the win to get back to .500, this team doesn’t move me at all in large part thanks to their dinosaur of a QB and lack of weapons. But at least they can say that they weren’t the ones to lose one of the worst games ever.
27 – 
Broncos (2-3) 2
This team doesn’t deserve my time or analysis this week. Just know that I cannot stop laughing at this organization and their QB. I am relishing every moment of hilarity and purely garbage football that this team is providing.
28 – 
Bears (2-3) 3
Gotta feel for the Bears this week. After going down 21-3, they looked like an actual football team, and Justin Fields played his best game of the season. But, between an incredible rushing touchdown by Fields being called back for a penalty that didn’t even happen and an incredible play by Vikings DB Cam Dantlzer to win them the game, Chicago back below .500 for the first time this year (weird fact, but a fact nonetheless). The good news is that they should be able to return back to an even record with an even worse team coming into town on Thursday.
29 – 
Texans (1-3-1) 3
Good for Houston to finally get off the schneid and get their first win in honestly impressive fashion on the road against their division rivals. It was deserved after a couple of close losses against the likes of Denver and Chicago. They just keep on doing their thing as they continue to get great contributions from their rookies Dameon Pierce, Derek Stingley Jr., and Jalen Pitre. This is a team with a real future and a plethora of picks to turn things around. I’m starting to feel a lot better about that future than I did before.
30 – 
Steelers (1-4) 2
Kenny Pickett’s first start in this prehistoric offense on the road against perhaps the best team in the NFL went about as awful as you’d expect. Not much of it his fault, considering the incomprehensibly bad offensive scheme ran by this team and the porous nature of their defense. It has gone from bad to worse to way worse in the blink of an eye, and all of a sudden, the Steelers are staring down the barrel of a top 5 pick. I don’t think any of us saw that coming.
31 – 
Commanders (1-4) 1
32 – 
Panthers (1-4) 3
As much as I would love to put the team above them in this spot, the Panthers have more than earned the #32 ranking this week. They just fired their head coach and have an even worse coach as their interim HC. They have the worst offense in the league and will now be starting a 3rd string QB for the next several weeks. All of their players that are worth a semblance of a damn are now on the trade block. They are seemingly on the fast track to the #1 pick. I think they could get comfortable down here for a while. Buckle up, Carolina fans. It’s going to be a rough ride for the rest of 2022.
All stats taken from ESPN.
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