- The Philadelphia Eagles
It wasn’t pretty, however, a win is a win and The Eagles beat the Cardinals who do still have a good QB in Kyler Murray, good WRs, and a decent run defense. This game had all the makings of a trap game for the Eagles however the Eagles had other plans. As a franchise, they hadn’t had much success winning games in the desert but they did enough to beat the Cardinals 20 to 17 on Sunday. They had 378 total yards of offense and yet only scored 20 points due to a few miscues.
I am confident that head coach Nick Sirianni and his staff will clean that up very quickly. If they were on the road against the Dallas Cowboys this upcoming Sunday I would put them down for their first loss of the season, but since they are at home I have the Eagles winning by 10 due to some extremely loud crowd noise by Eagles fans who will flood the link throwing QB Cooper Rush or (Dak Prescott TBD) of his game, and the Cowboys will also find less success running the football against the Eagles elite Dline and LBs.
Mirror that with the Eagles getting back on track on offense and I believe the Eagles will remain unbeaten until A) They beat themselves in a game against a lower opponent. B) They play against Green Bay who they can certainly beat…but Aaron Rodgers just seems to have their number. Time will tell. The Eagles despite barely beating the Cardinals are still the best team in the NFL so far this season as well as the most complete team across the board. More simply put they shall remain number one in my rankings until they, you know, actually lose a football game. It could be a while.
2. The Buffalo Bills: Much like the Philadelphia Eagles the Bills are a complete team and they put that on full display as they dismantled the lowly Steelers 38 to 3 on Sunday afternoon. Yes, it was the Steelers. That said I can’t remember the last time that Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense was soo utterly embarrassed. The Bills Improved to 4-1 and will win their division in my opinion. They should (keyword should) represent the AFC in this year’s Super Bowl.
3. The San Francisco 49ers: The San Francisco 49ers were once 1-2 and seemingly on the outside looking in. Now after destroying the lowly Carolina Panthers 37 to 15 they are 3-2 and in the driver’s seat in the NFC West. They have arguably the most dominant run game in the NFL which was on full display against Carolina as Jeffery Wilson ran for a career-high 120 yards and 2 TDs, and their defense as I said in last week’s rankings is a top 3 NFL defense that harassed QBs Baker Mayfield and Phillip Walker all game long to the tune of 5 sacks and an interception.
Yes, it was the Panthers, but that s now 10 sacks and two picks for this 9ers defense in their last two games. That is impressive no matter how you slice it. The 49ers are currently playing complimentary football as well as any team in the NFL right now. They are in first place in the NFC West where I think they’ll remain.
4: The New York Giants: I’m not completely sold on QB Daniel Jones being the Giant’s franchise QB past this season which is an odd thing to say about a team that improved to 4-1 against a (Probably) superior team in the Green Bay Packers in what was one of the most shocking upsets of week five as the Giants came back from 17-3 to win 27 to 22 something that last years Giants could not do.
I am sold on the team’s new head coach Brian Dabbol and the way he has his team playing as a team despite some weak points on both sides of the ball. He has his team playing like a team that wants to win. They may just be the second-best team in the NFC East. RB Saquan Barkley is back in a big way as he carries this Giants team with big run after big run.
He should win the NFL’s comeback player of the year award as long as he doe not suffer an injury. Barkley ran for 70 yards and a TD against the Packers and that was a down game for him. He’s back to full form which is obviously very good news for the Giants.
5: The Baltimore Ravens: The Baltimore Ravens proved me wrong by beating a team I thought they’d lose to the Cincinnati Bengals who were on the rise a week ago 19 to 17 at home. Their offense still needs a little work, but their defense is has improved greatly. If they run the ball and play defense they should win their division. The Bengals are still in it, but they may not be able to beat Baltimore who seems to simply have their number. If they revert back to throwing too often they will likely hand the division back to the Bengals. I have a hunch they will stick with what’s working.
Honorable mention: The Dallas Cowboys, The New York Jets, and The Kansas City Chiefs. The Cowboys are 4-1 despite not really beating any great teams but still retain that record with a backup QB so credit where credits are due. The Jets might just win their division and must be feeling great after a shocking 40 to 17 dismantling of the Miami Dolphins, and on Monday Night Football the Chiefs just barely survived the lowly Raiders 30-29 to improve to 4-1 and should win their division. That being said all of these teams have major question marks. Can the Cowboys beat a team that is clearly a juggernaut? Can The Chiefs get better on defense? Can the Jets keep playing at the level they are currently playing at for the rest of the entire season? We shall see.
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