Latest / NFL Power Rankings / #4: 49ers claim No. 1 spot! Raiders, Vikings enter top 10; Patriots drop to 31

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#4: 49ers claim No. 1 spot! Raiders, Vikings enter top 10; Patriots drop to 31 · NFL Power Rankings

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  Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
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  Speaker 1: partnership with iHeartRadio. Welcome to NFL Power Rankings. I'm your host,
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  Speaker 1: Colleen Wolfe, here with the man, Nick Shook. We had
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  Speaker 1: so many teams with upsets this week, so many backup
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  Speaker 1: quarterbacks getting it done. So, of course, the rankings are
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  Speaker 1: a little mixed up, too, from last week. You guys
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  Speaker 1: can check out Nick Shook's article, see the full rankings
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  Speaker 1: at NFL.com. Nick, how are you feeling, first off, about everything? Fantastic.
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  Speaker 2: I have some amends to make with 49ers fans, maybe.
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  Speaker 2: I have some explanations for some other teams that moved
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  Speaker 2: down this list. Okay. But the beauty of having a
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  Speaker 2: crazy witching.
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  Speaker 3: Hour on Sunday and a bunch of one-score games.
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  Speaker 2: Is that we got movement. Lots of movement for the
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  Speaker 2: first time this season, I think.
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  Speaker 1: Ooh, Shook is going to shake things up. Let's take
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  Speaker 1: a look at the top teams in his rankings. And
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  Speaker 1: the 49ers, they're up top at one. We got the
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  Speaker 1: Chiefs at two. The Bills, they fell three. Even though
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  Speaker 1: they won, we'll get to that. We have the Seahawks,
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  Speaker 1: the Ravens at five, the Broncos at six, both of
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  Speaker 1: those teams standing pat, and then the Jags up two
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  Speaker 1: at seven, and the Bengals down five. All right, let's
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  Speaker 1: start with the Niners, though, because they are our power
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  Speaker 1: moves presented by Energizer. They're 3-0, 2-0 in the division.
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  Speaker 1: They have a one-game cushion on Seattle, a two-game cushion
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  Speaker 1: on the Rams. And even with all of the injuries,
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  Speaker 1: you've put them up above the Chiefs, above the Bills.
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  Speaker 2: Why? They've been the most complete team in football so far.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that you could take a little bit
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  Speaker 2: away from who they've played. They played a tired Rams
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  Speaker 2: team on the road. They played the Dolphins in Week 2.
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  Speaker 2: They take the Cardinals in Week 3. And there's a
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  Speaker 2: lot of injuries. That was the big reason that we
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  Speaker 2: were concerned about this team. But the numbers don't lie.
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  Speaker 2: They're number one in success rate at 55.8%. They're number
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  Speaker 2: two in explosive play rate. And defensively, despite all of
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  Speaker 2: the injuries, they're keeping everything kind of in front of them.
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  Speaker 2: They're number two in explosives allowed as well, which explains
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  Speaker 2: what you kind of see on Sundays, which is a
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  Speaker 2: team that is just a professional outfit that takes care
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  Speaker 2: of business, does what they're supposed to do. And even
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  Speaker 2: though they let the Cardinals hang around too long on Sunday,
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  Speaker 2: they still finished the job and moved to 3-0. So,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, look, it was a good week for them
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  Speaker 2: to move up because the Bills and Seahawks, well, the
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  Speaker 2: Bills dropped, but the Seahawks lost. So it gave me
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  Speaker 2: the affordability.
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  Speaker 3: To move them up.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you don't think you're going to hear from Bills
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  Speaker 1: fans at all?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, of course I will.
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  Speaker 3: But they know they played horribly this week.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, we'll get to them. We will get to them.
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  Speaker 1: But the Niners, they have a matchup next against the
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  Speaker 1: Broncos who just showed us that they can come alive
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  Speaker 1: at any point during a game. But the second half
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  Speaker 1: Broncos are like a different team. How do you feel
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  Speaker 1: about the Niners in that matchup?
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  Speaker 2: I think it's going to be a great test and
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  Speaker 2: the first test for the Niners this season. Really, a
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  Speaker 2: true real first test. Against a Broncos team that has
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  Speaker 2: really taken it to the last two teams they played
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  Speaker 2: in the second half, like you said. But I also
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  Speaker 2: need to see those Broncos play a complete game. So
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  Speaker 2: it'll be a very informative week in.
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  Speaker 3: Some of these matchups.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, we're skipping over the Chiefs. Let's go to the
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  Speaker 1: Bills at three because they win the game against the
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  Speaker 1: Chargers despite five turnovers. It was an ugly win for them.
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  Speaker 1: But why did you move them down a spot?
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  Speaker 3: The way you just explained it.
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  Speaker 2: Five turnovers. I mean, I had a hard time reconciling
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  Speaker 2: the result of this game because the Chargers played such
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  Speaker 2: good football in the first half and the Bills did
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  Speaker 2: everything in their power to give this game to the Chargers.
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  Speaker 2: And if the Bills end up winning pretty convincingly in
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  Speaker 2: the final few minutes of the fourth quarter by handing
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  Speaker 2: it to James Cook, letting him kind of finish him off.
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  Speaker 2: And they look like the superior team that just couldn't
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  Speaker 2: get it together for most of the day and still
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  Speaker 2: escaped with a victory. And it's only one spot. You
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  Speaker 2: go from two to three, and it's just because I
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  Speaker 2: need you to clean it up. Five turnovers. Five giveaways.
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  Speaker 2: Most teams lose those games.
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  Speaker 3: The Bills, they're the exception to the rule.
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  Speaker 1: Are you worried about them at all? Or this was
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  Speaker 1: just an ugly game and they still figured it out?
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  Speaker 2: No matter how long he's been in the league, Josh
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  Speaker 2: Allen is still a bit of a wild horse.
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  Speaker 3: He's a bit of a bronco.
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  Speaker 2: Even though you think you have him tamed, sometimes you don't.
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  Speaker 2: Sometimes he makes some mistakes. Sometimes the whole team makes mistakes.
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  Speaker 2: Sometimes you throw an interception that probably isn't going to
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  Speaker 2: happen 99% of the time, but it happened on Sunday.
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  Speaker 3: And you just move on from it. You learn from it.
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  Speaker 1: OK, well, next up for them are the Patriots coming
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  Speaker 1: to town, Patriots with their own set of issues. So
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  Speaker 1: they are further down on the power rankings. You'll see
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  Speaker 1: where coming up later in the show. Let's go to
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  Speaker 1: number four, the Seahawks. Sam Darnold, he had his ups
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  Speaker 1: and downs in his return, but they ultimately ended up
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  Speaker 1: losing to the commanders in this game, which was an upset.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely an upset.
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  Speaker 2: Huge upset, and a game that I felt like the
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  Speaker 2: Commanders were going to find a way to give it
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  Speaker 2: to the Seahawks in the final moments, but credit to
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  Speaker 2: the Commanders for coming back and finishing this job, you know,
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  Speaker 2: really putting it, they took like a nine-point lead in
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  Speaker 2: the fourth quarter, they ended up hanging on for a
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  Speaker 2: two-point victory, Marcus Mariota playing well, and really the Seahawks,
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  Speaker 2: it was all about the mistakes that they made, the turnovers,
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  Speaker 2: Jadarian Price with a fumble early, Sam Darnold with an
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  Speaker 2: interception that was untimely, and then an interception that gave
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  Speaker 2: the Commanders a two-score lead, Kane Medrano with the pick six,
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  Speaker 2: and I mean, it's going to happen in the NFL.
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  Speaker 2: No team is going to be perfect. The Seahawks have
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  Speaker 2: looked very good in their first two weeks. They just
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  Speaker 2: did not look quite like the same team. I'm a
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  Speaker 2: little concerned about their lack of a running game. I
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  Speaker 2: want to give as much credit to the Commanders as
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  Speaker 2: the Seahawks, but that's why they dropped down a little bit.
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  Speaker 2: Just because you lose to an 0-2 team, you lose
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  Speaker 2: to them on the road, but you lose to them
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  Speaker 2: by getting out of your identity and your character. and
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  Speaker 2: it's gonna be one of those learning experiences for them.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, their secondary also is kind of dealing with a
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  Speaker 1: lot of different injuries, so they're a little thin as well.
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  Speaker 1: They have the Chargers, though, this week. So the Chargers,
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  Speaker 1: it seems like they can't get out of their own way.
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  Speaker 1: They are still charging. We will see how they deal
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  Speaker 1: with that. Let's go to our number five team, the Ravens.
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  Speaker 1: They stand pat, even after a spectacular game, an amazing win.
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  Speaker 1: They had seven seconds left to do it in Brazil
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  Speaker 1: against the Cowboys. Why did they not move at all?
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  Speaker 2: We're getting a lot of, yes, you did this against
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  Speaker 2: this team, but you were also playing this team. It
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  Speaker 2: was a lot of one thing is dependent on the other.
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  Speaker 2: It's hard to separate the two, right? The Ravens. It's
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  Speaker 2: tough because they still have goal line red zone issues.
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  Speaker 2: They cannot get the ball in the end, so they
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  Speaker 2: got stuffed by the Cowboys' defense on the goal line
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  Speaker 2: in this game, which opened the door for the Cowboys
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  Speaker 2: to come back. They ended up finding a way to win,
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  Speaker 2: which is what winning teams do, which is why I
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  Speaker 2: felt like, okay, you can just.
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  Speaker 3: Stay at five.
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  Speaker 2: This was a win that, yes, it was thrilling for
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  Speaker 2: the fans in Rio, and it's great for the Ravens
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  Speaker 2: who moved to 2-1, but they were also very much
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  Speaker 2: facing the possibility of being a 1-2 team.
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  Speaker 3: You don't go with the what-if game when you're doing
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  Speaker 3: the rankings.
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  Speaker 2: But you do kind of consider the entire picture of
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  Speaker 2: what happened here, which is Zay Flowers being back, passing
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  Speaker 2: game a lot better. Derrick Henry on the ground, still
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  Speaker 2: not as effective as I would like them to be.
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  Speaker 2: They're dealing with a lot of offensive line issues. Vangione,
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  Speaker 2: the rookie guard, ends up being the center and delivering
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  Speaker 2: snaps late in this game. So there's some things to
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  Speaker 2: clean up, but, I mean, they're still the Ravens. They
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  Speaker 2: still had a victory. It's just not in a fashion
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  Speaker 2: that necessarily justifies moving it.
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  Speaker 1: It just seems like they cannot find a reliable starter
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  Speaker 1: to replace Tyler Linderaum. That is their Achilles heel right now.
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  Speaker 1: But they are still number five in your rankings. Let's
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  Speaker 1: go to six. The Broncos, they also don't move in
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  Speaker 1: the rankings at all. And their last second, those two,
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  Speaker 1: the two teams that you have standing pat here in
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  Speaker 1: the top tier... They both had spectacular last-second wins for themselves.
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  Speaker 1: The Broncos here, I mean, the second half for them
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  Speaker 1: really looked great, but the Rams, they kind of owned
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  Speaker 1: the first half of this game. So what did you
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  Speaker 1: take away from this Broncos team?
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  Speaker 3: This is a.
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  Speaker 2: Broncos team that we know you just described earlier. They're
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  Speaker 2: a second-half team. They're really a much different-appearing team from
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  Speaker 2: one half to the next.
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  Speaker 3: And this time around.
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  Speaker 2: It wasn't necessarily Bo Nix and the offense waking up.
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  Speaker 2: It was the defense getting it done. And they got
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  Speaker 2: a little bit of assistance from the Stripes there down
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  Speaker 2: on that final drive.
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  Speaker 1: It's a higher register voice I'm hearing.
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  Speaker 2: Just a little bit. It's funny because one of the
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  Speaker 2: stats going into this game showed that Bodex had a
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  Speaker 2: much higher passer rating in the second half of these games.
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  Speaker 2: But it's understandable. His rating really didn't jump up very
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  Speaker 2: much in the second half of this game because he
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  Speaker 2: had an interception that allowed the Rams to keep this
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  Speaker 2: thing close and actually take a lead. And I still
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  Speaker 2: just have a hard time buying into this team beyond
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  Speaker 2: the fact that I respect their defense very much and
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  Speaker 2: I'm still waiting for their offense to put together a
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  Speaker 2: complete game.
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  Speaker 1: How dangerous can they be when they are at the
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  Speaker 1: height of their powers?
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  Speaker 2: They won 14 games last year. They can be the
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  Speaker 2: exact same team, if not better, this year. It's just,
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  Speaker 2: you got to, I mean, this is honestly a lot
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  Speaker 2: like the script they followed last year. I had the
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  Speaker 2: same concerns with them at this time last year, and
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  Speaker 2: they ended up winning 14 games and taking the top
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  Speaker 2: seed in the NFC and nearly going to the Super Bowl.
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  Speaker 2: So I think they'll be just fine. It's just they
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  Speaker 2: need to put it all together.
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  Speaker 1: The Bengals, they've been trying to put it all together,
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  Speaker 1: but this past week they lose to the Steelers, division rival,
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  Speaker 1: and they drop five spots in Nick Shook's rankings.
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  Speaker 2: Five!
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  Speaker 3: Yes, yes.
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  Speaker 2: And maybe it's a little bit of motion. I'm a
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  Speaker 2: little hurt by the Bengals' defense that I've been slamming
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  Speaker 2: the pulpit for. I've been on the soapbox. I've been
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  Speaker 2: defending them internally and externally.
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  Speaker 1: And here comes Aaron Rodgers.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers going vintage Rodgers, putting together a
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  Speaker 2: performance that we haven't seen from him in years. It
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  Speaker 2: was tough to watch if you're looking at it from
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  Speaker 2: a Bengals' perspective because this is a defense that just
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  Speaker 2: blew a lot of coverages in this game. And it
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  Speaker 2: was a defense that got a little too aggressive. And
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  Speaker 2: consider this. Aaron Rodgers had failed to complete a single
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  Speaker 2: deep pass on nine attempts for the first two weeks.
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  Speaker 2: And they were trying. They were trying to push the
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  Speaker 2: ball out on the field with Mike McCarthy in charge.
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  Speaker 2: He threw two deep passing touchdowns in the first quarter
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  Speaker 2: of this game to Roman Wilson.
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  Speaker 1: First quarter.
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  Speaker 2: And Ben Skoranek. It's not even DK Metcalf. They also
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  Speaker 2: let Jalen Warren go kind of crazy. 176 scrimmage yards.
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  Speaker 2: It's a career high. Not a good sign for this defense.
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  Speaker 2: And it also just became a game that ended in
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  Speaker 2: perfect Bengals Steelers fashion, which is Joe Burrow under duress.
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  Speaker 1: Oh.
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  Speaker 3: Fumbling away possession with the game on the line.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and that's sort of the question that I have.
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  Speaker 1: First of all, the Steelers actually scoring points in the
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  Speaker 1: first quarter, too.
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  Speaker 2: That was just a miracle.
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  Speaker 1: An anomaly, it almost felt like. But Joe Burrow and
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  Speaker 1: his health for the season projected. I mean, I just
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  Speaker 1: don't know how much he can take. Do you have
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  Speaker 1: any concerns about the offense being able to hold up?
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  Speaker 2: No, I think that they'll largely be fine. It's what
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  Speaker 2: I'm seeing from this team right now. is a lot
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  Speaker 2: of what you expect.
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  Speaker 3: Which is in a key moment, you go to Jamar
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  Speaker 3: Chase or you go to Tee Higgins.
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  Speaker 2: Chase Brown actually looked very good in the ground game.
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  Speaker 2: It's just that it wasn't sustained over the course of
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  Speaker 2: the game. And sometimes games, they just go that way.
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  Speaker 2: The game flow and the situation dictates what you're gonna do.
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  Speaker 2: When I say it ended in perfect fashion, it was just, oh,
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: the Steelers get a turn, like the Bengals muff a punt,
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Steelers get the ball, settle for three because it's still
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  Speaker 2: the Steelers' offense. Bengals get the ball back. Turn it over.
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  Speaker 2: It's just classic AFC North football there. It is.
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  Speaker 1: It is. Special teams, kind of an issue for the Bengals,
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  Speaker 1: so we'll keep an eye on that. Not Evan McPherson, though.
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  Speaker 2: He's great. No, that's fair.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: Okay, coming up, where are the Eagles and the Bears
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: after Chicago lit up Philly on Monday night? The answer
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  Speaker 1: to that and more coming up next. Back here on
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings presented by Energizer, a look at Nick
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: Shook's rankings, teams 9 through 16. The Vikings, they're up
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: six spots, so they are climbing. We got the Raiders
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: at 10. The Raiders are in the top 10 of
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: the Power Rankings.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we're moving on up.
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  Speaker 1: They're up 12 spots. At 11, we have the Cowboys,
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  Speaker 1: the Bears at 12, and then we have the Rams
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  Speaker 1: at 13 falling three spots, the Lions falling one at 14,
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: the Eagles falling five at 15, and then the Saints
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  Speaker 1: falling two at 16. It's time to shine a spotlight
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  Speaker 1: on those Raiders. We saw Kirk Cousins doing a lot
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: that we didn't expect him to do this season. We
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: saw the debut of Brock Bowers. Are you buying the Raiders?
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  Speaker 1: They're fun.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: They're fun, and that's why I think this week it's
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: totally fine to move them up. They're 3-0. They're one of, what,
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  Speaker 2: five teams left in the NFL?
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  Speaker 1: Is this like a charity move-up?
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  Speaker 2: No, it's not a charity move-up. It's me giving them
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: credit for doing something that they did last year over
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: the course of a full season, which is win three games,
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: except they're 3-0 in those three games. And look, I've
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  Speaker 2: got to give a lot of credit to Kirk Cousins.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: As you alluded to, he's thrown for at least three
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: touchdowns in each of his first three games this season.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: How about that?
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: He's tied for the longest streak in his career. And
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: it's the longest active streak in the NFL. Kirk Cousins, folks.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: You like that Kirk O'Chain is balling and so is
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: the rest of the Raiders offense with the turn of
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: Brock Bowers. Clint Kubiak has done a marvelous job of
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: getting this team to believe and also putting a plan
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: into action. I'm a little worried about this matchup that
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: they've got with the Chiefs because I think this is
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: the real test. And I just spent the break thinking like,
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: Do I want to pick the Raiders this week?
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: Do I want to go against convention?
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: I don't know. They're kind of fun. I might. Who knows?
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  Speaker 1: Really?
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  Speaker 2: Maybe.
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  Speaker 3: I've got to think about it.
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  Speaker 1: All right. All right. This is the big circle the
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: wagons game. The buses when they went around. Remember that
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  Speaker 1: a couple years ago? Yeah. I don't know.
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  Speaker 2: I love this matchup, though.
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  Speaker 1: Two 3-0 teams. That's going to be good. Cowboys, they
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: tried to shine in Rio, and they did. But it
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: was the Ravens who ultimately left with the win. But
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: the Cowboys go up one spot, even though they lost.
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  Speaker 1: They looked like the better team against the Raiders for
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Ravens for most of the game in Rio, but they
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  Speaker 1: just kind of let it slip away at the very end.
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  Speaker 2: Very interesting game because there was a period where the
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  Speaker 2: Ravens were this close to kind of putting it away.
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  Speaker 3: And then that goal line stand that the.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: Cowboys were able to achieve opened the door for them
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  Speaker 2: to come back into this game. And then they, you're right,
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  Speaker 2: they ended up looking like the better team in that
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  Speaker 2: stretch of the game. And yet the same problems still
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: hold them back, which is with seven seconds left, playing prevent,
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  Speaker 2: playing too soft, Lamar Jackson finding Zay Flowers down the
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: middle of the field, getting down and calling a timeout
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  Speaker 2: with just enough time to set up the Tyler Lube
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  Speaker 2: game-winning field goal. That is just a microcosm of this
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  Speaker 2: defense still not getting to a contender level.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: And that's my concern with them.
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: Now, they did move up a spot as a product
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: of teams moving around them, including the Rams falling. And
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: you think, well, the Ravens didn't move up and they
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: won this game. The Cowboys move up. Well, this is
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: what happens sometimes. And I still believe in this team.
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: The offense, by the way, Dak Prescott was fantastic. Again,
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: 25 of 40 for 276 and a touchdown. I just
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: wish they would have been a little more aggressive. And
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: the goal-to-go situation late in the game instead of playing
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: not to lose.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: That would have been good. The defense, yeah, gave up
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: or also allowed over 400 yards.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: Very typical.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: So that's tough. This week it's going to be an
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: all-Texas matchup with the Cowboys at the Texans. But let's
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: get to your number 12 team. Up four spots, the
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: Chicago Bears after what they did to the Philadelphia Eagles.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: Oh, that hurt to say, didn't it?
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: It did.
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm sure that pained you a little bit.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: Chicago Bears, Case Keenum. Who needs Caleb Williams when you
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: got a 38-year-old veteran with tons of experience? I mean,
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: the guy still holds collegiate records. He is a legendary
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: passer who hasn't seen the field in quite some time
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: and hadn't scored a rushing touchdown in like seven years
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: and did last night.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: Sorry, I'm not trying to rub this in, Colleen.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: No, listen, these are the facts, and all Go Birds
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: are canceled until future... Good, good.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: Just until later, I guess.
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: I will honor that rule.
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: The Bears won at the point of attack in this game.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: They finished off the Eagles in their style, which is
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: running the ball down their throats, and I got to
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: give a lot of credit to their defense shutting down
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: that Eagles offense. Eagles offense has problems with the Bears...
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: deserve a lot of praise for the way they played
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: last night.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they did the same thing the Bears did to
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: the Eagles that they did on Black Friday last year.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: That was the first sign that.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: Things were not going well for the Eagles.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: You're right. Let's go to the Rams. They are down
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: five spots. This schedule is tough, we already know, but
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: they're 1-2. Are you worried at all? Because this was
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: the team coming into the season that everyone loved, everyone
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: talked about. The expectations were through the roof. And now
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: here they are.
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's fair to be a little worried.
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: But if you look at who they lost to, it
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: was San Francisco and Denver, right? And so I have
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: some respect for those losses. And they took care of business.
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: Against the Giants. It's just figuring out who this team
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: is right now.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: And you really can't figure out who they are because
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: they're not near full strength. Not to make excuses for them,
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: but not having Puka Nakua is hurting this passing attack.
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: Devontae Adams has thrived, but they need that other option
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: to really open things up. And, of course, you don't
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: have Miles Garrett on that front. I've been a little
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: disappointed in the way their defense has played in two
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: of these three games, the two games that they lost.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: I'm very curious to see how this week four game
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: goes against the Eagles because I think the Rams, the
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: meltdown is what justifies their drop in these rankings. You know,
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: you were the better team in the first half of
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: this game. You had a 16-0 lead, and you find
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: a way to give it away. Again, Broncos got a
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: little bit of assistance late in this game, but. It's
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: not a good sign for a team to have that
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: sort of performance. It is early in the season, though,
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: and they are missing key contributors, so we'll figure out
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: who they.
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: Are going forward.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Rams at Eagles, two teams coming off losses, like
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: you said, and losses that were a lot of times
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: from self-inflicted wounds.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: This is a big stare-in-the-mirror week for both teams.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: It really is. Let's go to number 15, where... It's
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: the Eagles down five spots. What happened?
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: I mean, I want to ask you that question as
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: a diehard Eagles fan.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: Did not go well, that's for sure. There was no
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: rhythm whatsoever for the offense. And then the defense just
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: felt like there were communication issues all over the place. Yes.
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: I think that this is one of those early, again,
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: look in the mirror types of weeks, right?
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: This is one of those.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: Games that needs to inform the Eagles that they have
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: so much to work on. Now, a lot of what
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: happened last year was pinned on Kevin Petullo, rightly so.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: This year with Shawn Manion's offense, there's been moments where
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: they've been good, but they still cannot block well. I mean,
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: they protect decently. They don't run block well. Saquon Barkley's
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: 15 for 82 I thought was actually an achievement, all
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: things considered. And they just can't find any consistent momentum offensively.
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: And the way that last.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: Night's game specifically went with Hurts getting knocked out, throwing
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: the interception in the end zone. It was a tough
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: sequence of events. And by the end of the night,
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: it felt like the Eagles were very ready to get
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: out of Chicago.
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: I think they were. And had accepted that they had
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: shot themselves in the foot too many times. I mean,
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: three turnovers.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: That's always going to hurt you, right? You can't afford
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: to turn the ball over that often on the road.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: When I look at this team, I feel much about
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: similar to how I felt about them over the last
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: few years. Except it's an even year. This is the
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: year they're supposed to be good. Exactly. They're bad in
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: odd years. They're good in even years. Luckily, it's only
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: week three.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: Why aren't they following the trend? Also, when I saw
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: Andy Dalton go in, I'm like, okay, well, no, this
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: is a big backup quarterback week, so this should be fine. No,
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: it was not. Okay. Okay. Moving on. Coming up, guys,
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: where are, well, the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers now? They're
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: suddenly surging? This offense is working? Okay, the final 16
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: spots of this week's Power Rankings, they are revealed next.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: I'm excited to talk about Pittsburgh. I don't really know
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: who they are. Welcome back, everybody. Taking a look at
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: Nick Shook's teams, 17 through 24 in the power rankings.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: His Brownies up six spots there at 17. The Jets
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: at 18, also up seven spots. Up seven spots right
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: behind them. The Steelers at 19. You have the Colts
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: down one at 20. The Commanders at 21, who are
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: surging up the list here, plus seven. You got the
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: Panthers at 22. The Falcons at 23. We're going to
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: talk about them as well. And then the Texans down
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: 13 spots. Ugh.
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: At 24.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: Let's go to the Browns, though. Number 17 on this list.
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: It looks like the offense is finally turning a corner
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: with Deshaun Watson. How are you feeling about this?
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: This is more built on their defense.
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: There was a lot of concern going into this season
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: that they would not be able to maintain the same
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: identity they've had over the last few years because Jim Schwartz.
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: Is no longer the defensive coordinator.
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: Mike Grutenberg, the new D.C., He deserves a ton of
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: credit for the way they've played in the last two weeks.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: I thought maybe it was a product of playing the
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: Buccaneers last week. They come back, they play the Panthers,
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: who have had an explosive offense through two weeks, and
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: shut them down. And then the offense, kind of like
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: the Broncos a little bit, finds its life in the
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: fourth quarter. And Deshaun Watson, he has rediscovered his clutch
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: gene in the last two weeks. He's led two game-winning
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: drives and did it in front of the home fans
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: this time, which is good for him because he thought
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: he was going to be playing 17 road games this year. Right, right, right.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: You know who else has rediscovered themselves? You could say
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: the gray beard, the Steelers offense and Aaron Rodgers. They
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: have a run game now too. They're up seven spots,
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: 19 on your list. And it's Steelers Browns Thursday night
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: football this week too.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: It is.
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: So this is a great tie-in, right?
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: It's a good little preview for a divisional matchup that
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: always gets a little weird and always seems to be
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: played on Thursday nights in Cleveland. Fans definitely love to
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: welcome the Steelers in this game because This is a
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: game that's gone the Browns way more often than not
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: in this window over the last four or five years.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: That said, the Steelers are not going to be taken
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: lightly by the Browns, not after the way they played
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: this week against the Bengals. They deserve moving up because
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: they finally became the Steelers team that I felt a
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: lot of us believed they could be. And it's funny
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: because given their reputation and where they're standing in the
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: rankings right now, like 19, but they're also 2-1. The
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: whole division is 2-1. They just seemed like one of
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: those teams that didn't quite represent a 2-1 team until
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: they played Sunday. Yeah. Because the offense finally found some
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: life and the defense was able to finish the job.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: Well, because not all 2-1 teams are created equal. Correct.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: So you look at even where the Ravens are and
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: the way that they win games, and it's just like
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: they're all, you could power rank 2-1 teams just on
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: their own.
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: That's a whole little exercise within the exercise.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: You know, it's meta. We're getting meta. Time for Team
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: of the Week, and that is the Washington Commanders. 21
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: right now. They're up seven spots and they are playing
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: in London this week. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against the Colts.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: But Marcus Mariota, he looked good.
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: He looked fantastic.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: This was such an emotional, like emotionally driven win for
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: the commanders. Like watching this one back, I felt like
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: I was there. Like I was among the commanders fans
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: because of the ride that Mariota and the rest of
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: this team took them on. He looked excellent. He got
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: the job done in more ways than just scrambling for
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: the game-sealing third down, but firing the ball without fear
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: all over the field. Terry McLaurin was a guy he
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: leaned on a lot, but it wasn't just him. And
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: what I really like the most about this Commander's team
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: right now is their defense is playing so much better
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: than I expected.
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: I think anybody expected.
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: Durante Jones, the first-year defensive coordinator there, has done a
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: great job. And you've got to give a shout-out to
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: Kane Medrano. First opportunity in the NFL, and he gets
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: a pick six in a huge spot. Love to see it.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: That's what wins games when you're a team like Washington
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: that's trying to overcome some adversity, and they definitely did
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: it on Sunday.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: All right, let's go to the Falcons. They're up seven
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: spots at number 24, and we saw Michael Panix. He's back.
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: He's back.
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: And speaking of adversity, the Atlanta Falcons had their backs
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: against the wall. It was about to be an absolute disaster,
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: nightmare scenario. Is Kevin Stefanski on the hot seat in
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: his first year? Are the Falcons going to go 0-17?
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: Could it all just fall apart that quickly in Atlanta
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: where they had no stability at quarterback? Turns out Michael
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: Penick's getting in there and getting a little comfortable in
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: this offense and leaning heavily on Bajon Robinson with the
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: right formula to be the Packers team that is rightfully
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: concerned about their current state.
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: In this early portion of the season.
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: You gotta give a lot of credit to the Falcons
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: who went on the road and took it to Green
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: Bay and finished this game off strong. And Pennix settled
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: in the further they went along in this game. So
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: I like the way that they looked. They didn't look
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: like a lifeless team like they did in the first
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: two weeks. A lot of that has to do with
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: their offense and that's where they climb all the way
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: up to 23.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was almost like a plot twist mid-game for
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Michael Penix. Like, you really did think it was going to.
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: Go one way.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, because it didn't look good early. Uh-uh, no.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: But, you know, hey, that's a huge plus for him,
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: the fact that he didn't let that affect him. Let's
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: go to the last grouping here. You have the Giants
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: at 25, followed by Cardinals, Chargers, Packers, Bucks, the Dolphins
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: down at 30, the Patriots at 31, and then at 32,
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: the Titans.
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: Yikes.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, not great. So more likely to save
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: their season and turn things around. Is it the Packers
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: or is it the Patriots?
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: It's the Packers. The Packers. And I hate to sound
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: like a hater for Patriots fans, but... I think Mike
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Vrabel was correct when he said he was very concerned,
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: highly concerned about this team. Drake May is completely lost.
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: And the Packers, I believe, have the quarterback to dig
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: them out of it as long as they can find
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: some semblance of a running game and then put together
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: offense and defense. Because right now they're not a cohesive team,
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: but we've seen glimpses of what they can be, especially
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: in that win over the Jets in Week 2. Yeah.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: Well, so, hey, can't wait for Week 4. I can't
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: believe we're already there. But thanks for hanging out with us,
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: and we're looking forward to your rankings next week. Later, everybody.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
• 24:34
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• 24:38
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