Rank | Team | Power Index | W-L | This Week |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 (-) | Broncos | 1.1215 (LW × 0.8948) | 4-0 | Won by 32 vs Eagles |
2 (↑2) | Saints | 1.1192 (LW × 1.0063) | 4-0 | Won by 21 vs Dolphins |
3 (-) | Patriots | 1.1146 (LW × 0.9727) | 4-0 | Won by 7 @ Falcons |
4 (↑6) | Seahawks | 1.0518 (LW × 1.0182) | 4-0 | Won by 3 @ Texans |
5 (↓3) | Dolphins | 1.0275 (LW × 0.8790) | 3-1 | Lost by 21 @ Saints |
6 (↑13) | Titans | 1.0135 (LW × 1.1351) | 3-1 | Won by 25 vs Jets |
7 (↓1) | Ravens | 1.0037 (LW × 0.9499) | 2-2 | Lost by 3 @ Bills |
8 (↑1) | Chiefs | 0.9999 (LW × 0.9655) | 4-0 | Won by 24 vs Giants |
9 (↑11) | Lions | 0.9791 (LW × 1.1152) | 3-1 | Won by 8 vs Bears |
10 (↓2) | Colts | 0.9734 (LW × 0.9391) | 3-1 | Won by 34 @ Jaguars |
11 (↑1) | Bills | 0.9542 (LW × 0.9985) | 2-2 | Won by 3 vs Ravens |
12 (↓7) | Jets | 0.9542 (LW × 0.8971) | 2-2 | Lost by 25 @ Titans |
13 (↑10) | Chargers | 0.9483 (LW × 1.1270) | 2-2 | Won by 9 vs Cowboys |
14 (↑4) | Texans | 0.9465 (LW × 1.0341) | 2-2 | Lost by 3 vs Seahawks |
15 (↓8) | Falcons | 0.9344 (LW × 0.8915) | 1-3 | Lost by 7 vs Patriots |
16 (↓3) | Panthers | 0.9343 (LW × 0.9835) | 1-2 | Bye |
17 (↓2) | Bears | 0.9140 (LW × 0.9882) | 3-1 | Lost by 8 @ Lions |
18 (↓1) | Browns | 0.9067 (LW × 0.9846) | 2-2 | Won by 11 vs Bengals |
19 (↑5) | Cardinals | 0.8834 (LW × 1.0546) | 2-2 | Won by 3 @ Buccaneers |
20 (↑6) | Packers | 0.8772 (LW × 1.0864) | 1-2 | Bye |
21 (↓10) | Cowboys | 0.8742 (LW × 0.8925) | 2-2 | Lost by 9 @ Chargers |
22 (↓6) | Buccaneers | 0.8592 (LW × 0.9313) | 0-4 | Lost by 3 vs Cardinals |
23 (↓1) | Bengals | 0.8553 (LW × 1.0101) | 2-2 | Lost by 11 @ Browns |
24 (↑5) | 49ers | 0.8348 (LW × 1.0987) | 2-2 | Won by 24 @ Rams |
25 (↑2) | Vikings | 0.8318 (LW × 1.0495) | 1-3 | Won by 7 vs Steelers |
26 (↑2) | Eagles | 0.8206 (LW × 1.0782) | 1-3 | Lost by 32 @ Broncos |
27 (↓13) | Raiders | 0.7820 (LW × 0.8388) | 1-3 | Lost by 10 vs Redskins |
28 (↑4) | Redskins | 0.7754 (LW × 1.2293) | 1-3 | Won by 10 @ Raiders |
29 (↓4) | Giants | 0.7516 (LW × 0.9226) | 0-4 | Lost by 24 @ Chiefs |
30 (↓9) | Rams | 0.7259 (LW × 0.8564) | 1-3 | Lost by 24 vs 49ers |
31 (-) | Steelers | 0.7067 (LW × 1.0428) | 0-4 | Lost by 7 @ Vikings |
32 (↓2) | Jaguars | 0.6823 (LW × 0.9126) | 0-4 | Lost by 34 vs Colts |
Comments:
The good news for the 49ers is they managed to get a critical win, against a division opponent they couldn't beat last year. The bad news is, Colin Kaepernick's 167 yards passing is the best he's done since his week 1 romp over the Packers, and he still only has 140 rushing yards on the season.
I just don't think Kaepernick does well in a standard drop-back scheme, and I find it puzzling that the 49ers seem to want to do that with him. I mean, this is pretty much what Alex Smith was doing for them. Only, you know, better.
I was tempted to discount the Seahawks win on Sunday, since the Texans seem to have regressed from last year. But last year, Seahawks had trouble winning on the road even against the also-ran teams they faced, so this has to be regarded as at least something of a step forward for the Seahawks.
There's still a lot of football to play before the playoffs, but the Bears, Lions, and Saints are the only NFC teams even within 1 game of the Seahawks right now. And if the Seahawks have improved over last year, it's tempting to pencil them in as the top seed in the NFC.
Are the Bills another team with a surprisingly good defense this year? The Jets are the only team so far to score more than 23 points on them. They also have multiple turnovers in 3 games this year.
The good news for the Chargers is that, thanks to a decent defensive effort on Sunday, they are (at least for a week) not on pace to break the single season record for yards allowed on defense. The bad news is, they're not that far off the pace, and still have a couple games against the Broncos, who currently have the league's best offense, both in points scored and yards gained.
The Redskins', Eagles', and Vikings' defenses are also all on a pace to at least approach the record for yards allowed. If these teams maintain their current pace of defensive yards allowed, the one-time record setting mark the 81 Colts posted will drop to 5th place all time.
One of the Falcons' problems is that they haven't been scoring a lot of second-half points. Sunday's game was the first time this season they've scored more than 10 points in the second half. Their opponents have not followed suit.
I heard this on Football Night in America, but it bears repeating: the Steelers don't have any takeaways. None. Every other team has at least 2, and most have at least 4. It's not the only thing wrong with the Steelers right now, but it sure isn't helping, either.