Latest / NFL Power Rankings / #3: Bengals, Chiefs climb; Bears, Buccaneers plummet

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#3: Bengals, Chiefs climb; Bears, Buccaneers plummet · 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 iHeart Radio.
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  Speaker 2: Welcome to NFL Power Rankings for week three. I'm Colleen
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  Speaker 2: Wolfe here with the man that puts the power behind
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  Speaker 2: the rankings. It is Nick Schuch. Let's take a look
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  Speaker 2: at teams one through eight here. The top two teams,
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  Speaker 2: they remain unchanged. You have the Seahawks and the Bills. Then, okay,
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  Speaker 2: the Bengals quietly moving up. The Chiefs not so quietly
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  Speaker 2: up six spots. Then you have the Ravens, the Broncos
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  Speaker 2: who remain unchanged. The Niners up two and the Rams
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  Speaker 2: at number eight. Down one spot. Okay, we'll get into that.
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  Speaker 2: But let's start with the top. The Seahawks, they remain unchanged.
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  Speaker 2: And why are they not? Why aren't the Bills here?
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  Speaker 2: Why did you decide to keep the Seahawks up top?
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  Speaker 3: I think as of right now, the Seahawks are the
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  Speaker 3: most complete team in football. And you can just look
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  Speaker 3: at their statistical rankings through two weeks. It's essentially second
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  Speaker 3: in defense, 12th in offense. You're looking at Buffalo second
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  Speaker 3: in offense.
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  Speaker 4: But 28th in defense. Seattle put together a complete performance.
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  Speaker 3: Against the Arizona Cardinals, where it was a 7-7 game,
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  Speaker 3: and then suddenly it was a complete blowout. And they
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  Speaker 3: absolutely dominated the Cardinals in the second half with their
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  Speaker 3: suffocating style of play, including a 10-minute scoring drive to
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  Speaker 3: end this game.
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  Speaker 4: That's just exerting your will on an opponent.
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  Speaker 3: And I know it's the Cardinals, but through two weeks,
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  Speaker 3: nobody has looked better and more like themselves as we
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  Speaker 3: knew last year.
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  Speaker 4: Than the reigning champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
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  Speaker 2: And that is without their starting quarterback, Sam Darnold. They
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  Speaker 2: have Drew Locke in there, so they look okay without Darnold.
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  Speaker 2: But JSN, 9 for 155, three touchdowns. They would not
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  Speaker 2: be okay if they lost their top wide receiver, even
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  Speaker 2: though they have lost their top quarterback. I think they
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  Speaker 2: have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the entire league,
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  Speaker 2: and they have this defense and identity that kind of
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  Speaker 2: travels as well with them right now. But I think
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  Speaker 2: you might hear it from Bills fans.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm fine with that.
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  Speaker 3: And Drew Locke fans are going to love to hear
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  Speaker 3: that they may have one of the best backup quarterbacks
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  Speaker 3: in the NFL. I'm not ready to go that far yet,
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  Speaker 3: but I will say that they've been very prepared. for emergency,
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  Speaker 3: in case of emergency, break the glass situation, and they've
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  Speaker 3: done well so far.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, let's move to the Bills at number two, and
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  Speaker 2: what a way to christen Highmark Stadium. Josh Allen, five
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  Speaker 2: total touchdowns in this game. They scored on five of
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  Speaker 2: their first six possessions. James Cook ran for 135 yards.
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  Speaker 2: Let's talk about the Bills here.
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  Speaker 4: All right.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I mean, Buffalo, we know their offense is fantastic.
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  Speaker 3: We know Josh Allen is the X Factor. He was
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  Speaker 3: my MVP pick to start the season.
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  Speaker 4: He's looking like it so far. So we're excited about that.
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  Speaker 3: But there are a little bit of concerns about their defense,
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  Speaker 3: as I kind of alluded to earlier, which is that, look,
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  Speaker 3: I understand that you were able to win a game
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  Speaker 3: on the road against Houston in week one, but you
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  Speaker 3: gave up 31 points.
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  Speaker 4: And you end up giving a ton of points up
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  Speaker 4: to the Lions even though you were basically just outrunning them,
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  Speaker 4: outscoring them.
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  Speaker 3: That's a great strategy when you have a player like
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  Speaker 3: Josh Allen in such a multiple and diverse offense, but
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  Speaker 3: I am concerned if they run into a team that
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  Speaker 3: can't keep up with them, how do they counter that?
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  Speaker 3: As of now, though, They are one of the strongest
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  Speaker 3: teams so far.
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  Speaker 4: That's why they still sit at number two.
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  Speaker 2: Okay. And they have the Chargers coming up next week.
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  Speaker 2: So we'll see if their defense can get right here
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  Speaker 2: in this game. Let's go to your number three team.
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  Speaker 2: The Bengals up one spot. The Bengals in the top three.
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  Speaker 2: This is interesting. So no 49ers here. I feel like
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  Speaker 2: some Niners fans might have something to say about that.
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  Speaker 4: But.
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  Speaker 2: With the Bengals, this defensive transformation, the defense generated 27
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  Speaker 2: pressures on 62 dropbacks. They held Houston without a touchdown.
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  Speaker 2: That was a massive streak, ending Cincinnati's 65-game streak of
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  Speaker 2: allowing at least one touchdown. Tell me why you have
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  Speaker 2: them at three.
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  Speaker 4: First off, 65 games is insane. 65 games.
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  Speaker 3: It's absolutely insane. But they also did a great job
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  Speaker 3: against the Houston Texans offense. C.J. Stroud was moving the
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  Speaker 3: ball up and down the field, but they just couldn't
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  Speaker 3: finish drives because that Bengals defense bend but do not break. And,
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  Speaker 3: you know, if you look back to week one, all
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  Speaker 3: the forced fumbles against the Buccaneers, you thought, they can't
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  Speaker 3: do that every week. That's like a miraculous Sunday for them,
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  Speaker 3: recovering all four of those. Oh, no, we're just going
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  Speaker 3: to instead hold a team that scored 31 in week
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  Speaker 3: two or in week one to six points in week two.
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  Speaker 4: I thought that, look, this is a tough matchup for
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  Speaker 4: the Bengals.
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  Speaker 3: They didn't find a lot of consistent success offensively, but
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  Speaker 3: they struck on big plays throughout this game.
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  Speaker 4: Jamar Chase helps out.
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  Speaker 2: A lot with that. Yeah, so they're 2-0. Their offense
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  Speaker 2: still is kind of, it's imperfect right now, but the
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  Speaker 2: defense is holding up their end of the bargain. Now
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  Speaker 2: they have Pittsburgh next Sunday. How are you feeling about
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  Speaker 2: Cincinnati's ascending pass rush against Pittsburgh?
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  Speaker 3: Oh, I'm very worried for the Steelers because they had
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  Speaker 3: a very hard time against the New England Patriots. His
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  Speaker 3: defense is just not at the level that Cincinnati is
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  Speaker 3: playing at right now. And Cincinnati just beat one of
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  Speaker 3: the best defensive teams, at least in terms of reputation,
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  Speaker 3: in Houston.
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  Speaker 4: I think the Bengals are going to be moving to
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  Speaker 4: 3-0 next week.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, all right.
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  Speaker 2: Let's talk about the Chiefs, who went from 10 to
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  Speaker 2: now 4. Patrick Mahomes and the offense, they looked unstoppable.
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  Speaker 2: Travis Kelsey had nine catches, 101 yards, and a score.
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  Speaker 2: Kenneth Walker once again running all over the place. So
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  Speaker 2: is it safe to say that Kansas City's offense is back?
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  Speaker 4: It is because Patrick Mahomes is back.
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  Speaker 3: Even from week one to week two, he looked so
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  Speaker 3: much better in his movement, in his confidence, and, of course,
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  Speaker 3: his throwing ability. He delivered a handful of strikes that
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  Speaker 3: were just beautiful in this game. I know it was
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  Speaker 3: a high-scoring game. I know that the Colts took them
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  Speaker 3: to the wire in overtime. But I'm so pleased with
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  Speaker 3: what I've seen from this Chiefs offense, which is balanced.
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  Speaker 3: For the first time in years, it's not just Patrick
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  Speaker 3: Mahomes find a way to move the chains on third down,
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  Speaker 3: whether it's with your feet, with you extending plays and
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  Speaker 3: completing passes. No, we can lean on Kenneth Walker. I
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  Speaker 3: am a little worried about their usage for Kenneth Walker.
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  Speaker 3: He's on track to have well over 400 touches this season.
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  Speaker 3: That's really not sustainable. No. But as of now, it's
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  Speaker 3: working out well for them, and it's making defending them
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  Speaker 3: very difficult for opposing defenses.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and after going 1-9 in one-score games last season,
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  Speaker 2: they won its first such game in 2026, so they're
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  Speaker 2: back on the right track. And what a gift, their
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  Speaker 2: first road game of the season is against 0-2 Miami.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, schedule makers did them a favor. I
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  Speaker 3: would like to hope. that this is not the one
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  Speaker 3: win in the 1-9 record that the Chiefs.
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  Speaker 4: Had last year in those one-score games. I'm feeling good
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  Speaker 4: right now.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, we love that. Okay, Shook, let's go to the Ravens,
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  Speaker 2: who are down two spots. And how worried are you
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  Speaker 2: about the squad after they've stumbled to the Saints? Because
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  Speaker 2: they led at halftime behind Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry,
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  Speaker 2: and then they only gave Henry five carries in the
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  Speaker 2: second half.
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  Speaker 4: What?
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  Speaker 3: It was 14-3. The Ravens were up 14-3 in the Saints,
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  Speaker 3: and then the Saints, for their second straight week, woke up,
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  Speaker 3: and the Ravens had no response.
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  Speaker 4: And the big reason was they went away from Derrick Henry.
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  Speaker 3: Now, there was a moment in this game where he
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  Speaker 3: kind of grimaced on the sideline, but he was available
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  Speaker 3: in the second half. But much like John Harbaugh got
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  Speaker 3: kind of drilled for doing late last season, Jesse Minner
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  Speaker 3: just went away from Derrick Henry in this game, and
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  Speaker 3: they lost their offensive identity. They opened the door for
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  Speaker 3: the Saints to come back. And while they got a
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  Speaker 3: defensive stop midway through the third quarter, they were unable
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  Speaker 3: to prevent the Saints from marching down the field and
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  Speaker 3: scoring that go-ahead touchdown to end up winning this game.
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  Speaker 3: And look, I give a lot of credit to the Saints.
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  Speaker 3: They're a very scrappy bunch. They do not quit.
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  Speaker 4: Kellen Moore has this team playing well, given their talent level.
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  Speaker 4: But the Ravens are going to look back on this
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  Speaker 4: one and think, man, we really let that one slip away.
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  Speaker 4: So that's why you drop a couple spots this week.
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  Speaker 4: All right.
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  Speaker 2: And then the Ravens, they have a monster matchup in
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  Speaker 2: Rio this week against the Cowboys. Who do you like
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  Speaker 2: in that game?
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  Speaker 3: I think that the Ravens get back on track. I
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  Speaker 3: think that their defense is sound enough most of the time.
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  Speaker 3: To beat this Cowboys team. Now, they'll have to hang
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  Speaker 3: with this Cowboys offense. But on the flip side, I
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  Speaker 3: think Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and company, they torch this
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  Speaker 3: Cowboys defense.
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  Speaker 2: All right, let's go to number six, the Broncos, who
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  Speaker 2: they did not move. And maybe that's more of a
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  Speaker 2: product of you not overreacting week one and where they
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  Speaker 2: were in the rankings. But why didn't they move up
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  Speaker 2: at all after beating a very good team? Jags team.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and this is a win that they should be
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  Speaker 3: proud of, but Broncos fans, they like to call me
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  Speaker 3: a hater of the Denver Broncos, and that's totally fine.
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  Speaker 3: I'll take that. But you have to be honest with yourself,
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  Speaker 3: Broncos fans. That offense didn't look very good until late
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  Speaker 3: third quarter, which is a lot like this team was
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  Speaker 3: for most of last season.
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  Speaker 4: Obviously, you went 14-3 last year. You figured it out
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  Speaker 4: down the stretch.
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  Speaker 3: But, I mean, until they were able to run the
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  Speaker 3: ball effectively, until they got a turnover, Riley Moss with
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  Speaker 3: an interception, that kind of swung the game in their favor.
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  Speaker 3: These Broncos were kind of sleepwalking in their home opener.
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  Speaker 3: So you've got to be proud of the victory. You've
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  Speaker 3: got to be proud of the way that you played
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  Speaker 3: all four quarters and were able to be the superior
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  Speaker 3: team by the time everything finished because they shut down
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  Speaker 3: this Jaguars.
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  Speaker 4: Offense in the fourth quarter. Also benefited from a.
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  Speaker 3: Cam Little missed field goal. But I need to see
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  Speaker 3: it more consistently over four quarters. Davis Webb, offensive coordinator,
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  Speaker 3: been a big target of criticism so far. He's calling
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  Speaker 3: the plays and Sean Payton isn't anymore. And there was
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  Speaker 3: a good little cut up of Davis Webb being frustrated
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  Speaker 3: in this game. But I know that they were happy
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  Speaker 3: by the end. So maybe they can use this momentum
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  Speaker 3: going forward and play a more complete game in Week 2.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Denver, they rediscovered their defensive identity in this game,
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  Speaker 2: and now they have a really big matchup, Sunday night football,
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  Speaker 2: Rams at Broncos. Are you worried about them starting slowly
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  Speaker 2: at all in this one?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, because they could end up getting buried.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, this is all the credit in the world
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  Speaker 3: to the Jaguars, who were fantastic from the second half
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  Speaker 3: of last season to starting this regular season.
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  Speaker 4: But the Rams are at a different level, I think,
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  Speaker 4: than them.
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  Speaker 3: And so the Broncos are really going to have to
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  Speaker 3: lean on their defense to make sure that they can
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  Speaker 3: get this job done against the Rams offense and look
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  Speaker 3: spectacular on Monday night.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, so let's go to those Rams who look spectacular.
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  Speaker 2: And at this point, no Miles Garrett, no Puka Nakua.
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  Speaker 4: Doesn't matter.
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  Speaker 2: And it was fine. So the Rams, they're at number eight.
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  Speaker 2: They're right below... The Broncos, there are two spots. So
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  Speaker 2: how did you assess where they were in Matthew Stafford
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  Speaker 2: and his offensive performance?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, Rams fans are going to be mad at me
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  Speaker 3: because I moved them down a spot, but it was
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  Speaker 3: really a product of movement around them. The Niners moving up,
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  Speaker 3: the Chiefs moving up. Sometimes they just kind of balance
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  Speaker 3: out that way and you just don't get the movement
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  Speaker 3: that you want. That takes nothing away from this win. Now,
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  Speaker 3: did they benefit from the fact that the Giants lost
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  Speaker 3: Jackson Dart early? Yes, but Matthew Stafford to Devontae Adams
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  Speaker 3: was an extremely explosive combination.
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  Speaker 4: It was basically them at the peak of their powers.
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  Speaker 3: And they were able to just run away from a
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  Speaker 3: Giants team that looked more like the Giants that we
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  Speaker 3: expected to see in Week 2 than the team we
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  Speaker 3: saw in Week 1. So it's a nice bounce back
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  Speaker 3: for them, but through two weeks right.
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  Speaker 4: Now, you have a game that's disappointing and a game
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  Speaker 4: that's very exciting. Where do you go from here?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and Aaron Donald, in his return, I don't think
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  Speaker 2: anyone was waiting for him to light up the place, but...
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  Speaker 2: Three tackles, one pressure, and 32 snaps. What was your
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  Speaker 2: impressions of where Aaron Donald performed and where he can go?
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  Speaker 4: Maunoa, the guard for the Giants, did a really good
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  Speaker 4: job against him.
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  Speaker 3: And I give him a lot of credit for the
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  Speaker 3: performance he had against somebody who's a legend who's going
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  Speaker 3: to be in the Hall of Fame. But it's also
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  Speaker 3: Aaron Donald having not played football in a regular season
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  Speaker 3: in three years. And kind of shaking off some of
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  Speaker 3: the rust and being on a pitch count. I think
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  Speaker 3: he still did a good job. He had a tackle
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  Speaker 3: for loss. He impacted the game, just not at a
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  Speaker 3: level that we expect from him. which shouldn't be surprising
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  Speaker 3: given he's a guy in.
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  Speaker 4: His 30s who hasn't played football in a few years.
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  Speaker 4: It's a good, nice little slow but steady start for
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  Speaker 4: Aaron Donald.
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  Speaker 2: Dear Commissioner, I'm back, and we'll see him back again,
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  Speaker 2: maybe improving as the season goes on. Shook, I hate
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  Speaker 2: to say it, but the Cowboys, they figured it out,
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  Speaker 2: at least for one week, against the Commanders. How far
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  Speaker 2: up the rankings is Nick Shook moving them? You can
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  Speaker 2: find out next. Back here on Power Rankings, look at
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  Speaker 2: Nick Shook's teams 9 through 16. The Jags, they fell
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  Speaker 2: four spots. They're the new nine team. The Eagles at
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  Speaker 2: 10 up one. The Texans at 11 up one. The Cowboys,
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  Speaker 2: they are up five spots. We're going to get into
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  Speaker 2: them at 12. Lions stood pat at 13. The Saints,
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  Speaker 2: they flew up the rankings, up seven spots to 14.
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  Speaker 2: The Vikings right behind them also up seven spots at 15.
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  Speaker 2: And then the Bears down eight spots to 16. Shook,
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  Speaker 2: let's start with the Eagles. And should we be a
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  Speaker 2: little worried that another week, another game, that it took
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  Speaker 2: until the final minutes for the Eagles to put this
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  Speaker 2: to bed?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I would be a little bit worried,
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  Speaker 3: but it is a classic Eagles win. It is. Oh,
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  Speaker 3: Jalen Hurts threw an interception. Jalen Hurts made a great play.
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  Speaker 3: Jalen Hurts threw an interception. Jalen Hurts leads a game-winning touchdown.
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  Speaker 3: That is classic Eagles, classic Jalen Hurts Eagles. And it's
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  Speaker 3: also still a noose game under Shawn Manion. So I
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  Speaker 3: think they're still kind of working out the kinks. What
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  Speaker 3: I did like about this team was overcoming adversity on
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  Speaker 3: the road in an extreme kind of weather situation.
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  Speaker 4: It was incredibly hot in Nashville.
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  Speaker 2: Players' cleats were melting off? Has that ever happened to you?
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  Speaker 2: Have your shoes ever melted off?
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  Speaker 4: Not melted off, but melted at the bottom. Turf fields
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  Speaker 4: get really hot. People don't realize that.
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  Speaker 2: Let's go full grass. We don't need this anymore.
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  Speaker 4: I agree.
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  Speaker 3: And the Eagles, it didn't matter what surface they were
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  Speaker 3: on because they were able to put together a game-winning
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  Speaker 3: drive thanks to the efforts of Jalen Hurts. They didn't
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  Speaker 3: have Saquon Barkley for much of this game because he
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  Speaker 3: left with a stinger and was really ineffective. It was
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  Speaker 3: all Jalen and Devonta Smith and A little bit of
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  Speaker 3: Dontavian Wicks and Darius Cooper catching the game-winning touchdown. They
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  Speaker 3: had to pull out all the stops. They're kind of
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  Speaker 3: banged up, and they beat a Titans team that played
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  Speaker 3: really well. So credit to them for getting the road win,
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  Speaker 3: but they do have to be better.
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  Speaker 4: Against some of the better teams.
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  Speaker 2: Dallas Goddard, he was hurt in this game, so the Eagles,
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  Speaker 2: they brought back. Zach Ertz, they're running it back.
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  Speaker 4: Oh, I know that face.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, and so does Nick Sirianni. So now they will
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  Speaker 2: face on Monday Night Football, the Chicago Bears. We'll get
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  Speaker 2: to them in a second, but first, let's stay in
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  Speaker 2: the NFC East with the next team up, the Cowboys,
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  Speaker 2: up five spots. The offense, it lives.
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  Speaker 4: It lives. It's alive. What? Thank the Lord the Cowboys
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  Speaker 4: can score points. How about that? And they scored plenty
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  Speaker 4: of points in this game.
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  Speaker 3: Dak Prescott looked fantastic.
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  Speaker 4: He looked much like the quarterback I expected him to
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  Speaker 4: look like this season.
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  Speaker 3: One of the best in the NFL. CeeDee Lamb, one
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  Speaker 3: of the best connections in the NFL. The amount of
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  Speaker 3: passes they completed, they.
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  Speaker 4: Were well below expectation.
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  Speaker 3: There's no way they should complete these passes. There was
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: a lot of them in this game, and it was
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: very early for Dak early. Very easy for Dak early
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: in this game. So this is what the Cowboys offense
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: should be. But I still have some concerns about this defense.
• 13:54
  Speaker 4: Jaden Daniels, before he.
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: Left this game, was running all over them. I think
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: that probably would have been a close game if he
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: actually was able to finish it. And that's something that
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: they're still going to have to get cleaned up.
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so the offense, they scored on seven of eight possessions.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: But the defense, especially their defensive front, both games they've
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: been run all over. We saw the Giants rush for
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: 165 on them. Washington rushed for 182. And this week,
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: They go to Rio de Janeiro to take on the
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: Ravens with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry if they decide
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: to give the ball to Derrick Henry.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a big question. I think Jesse Minter, Declan Doyle,
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: hand it to Derrick Henry. Run through that defense.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's fair.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: Time for the team of the week. It is your
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: New Orleans Saints up seven spots. They went into Baltimore.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: They shocked a lot of people. Tyler Shook was shocking everyone.
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: When the Saints, where they go marching in, they marched
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: into Baltimore and stole a victory from the Ravens. A
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: game that the Ravens looked like they were going to
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: cruise to victory in. The Saints woke up for the
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: second straight week. This time they complete the comeback effort.
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: Tyler Shuck shows off the toughness that you need on
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: fourth and goal. Getting bent backward, but managed to break
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: the play and score the go-ahead touchdown.
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: And the clutch gene.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: It is very present in this relatively young quarterback. Older
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: than your average young quarterback, but still young. Pretty young
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: with Kellen Moore's offense really just cooking. Devon Vele, Chris
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: Olave going crazy through two weeks with Tyler Shuck. They
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: deserve this. Their defense is greater than the sum of
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: its parts. It shut down the Ravens in the second half.
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: They deserve this praise. They're looking like a scrappy football
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: team right now.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: Oh, so you're buying into the Kellen Moore team.
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: They're my NFC South champion pick. Preseason pick. What? Yes.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: Chuck.
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: You're a truth sayer. You're a clairvoyant perhaps.
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: I believe in the Fleur de Lis.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: After two tough road games too, they have their home
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: opener coming up against the Raiders. The Raiders who are 2-0.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: So that is like a very sneaky, spicy game coming
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: up next week.
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: I think I want to watch that one live. Yes.
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: Let's go to 15. The Vikings, they're up seven spots.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: Does anyone have an answer for Brian Flores' defense? And
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: can he blitz any more than he is already blitzing?
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: You know what's funny is Ben Johnson going into this
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: game was 5-1 against Brian Flores' defense.
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: It's going back to his time with Detroit.
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: Didn't have an answer for that defense this week, I'll
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: tell you, because they scored three points. They managed to
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: turn the ball over in multiple situations, and they were
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: all caused by Minnesota's defense. Brian Flores has decided, I
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: don't care about convention. I am going to blitz because
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: it is my most likely chance of earning us a victory.
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: Week one, 78.3% in the blitz rate.
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: Week two, 79%.
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: Let's get after Caleb Williams. Let's force fumbles. Let's let
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: Dallas Turner go crazy and get the game-sealing sack.
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: Look, this offense, we know Carson Wentz.
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: Is a quarterback as of now, although Kyler Murray is
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: coming back this week.
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: So that should be good, and that should get them
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: back on track. But this is a defensive-laden team. And
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: what do we know? Defense wins championships. So far, it's
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: won them a couple of games.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's true. We didn't really see a whole lot
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: of defense week one, but the defense, they showed up
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: week two around the league in general. And yes, Kyler
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: Murray will start on Sunday against the Bucs. Let's go
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: to the Bears, down eight spots. This was rough. Now,
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: they may have dodged a bullet here with the Caleb
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: Williams injury. The hamstring injury, it might not be as
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: bad as it initially looked. But Tyson Bajan, he's going
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: to be Monday Night Football against the Eagles. And now
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: we have– this is tough, I think. Where are you
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: with the Bears?
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: Yeah, this explosive offense that was supposed to rewrite the
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: record book suddenly feels like it doesn't have as much
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: punch to it, as much juice to it without Caleb Williams. Right.
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: They moved down eight spots because you lose Caleb and
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: because you score three points against the Vikings in a
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: game that was very winnable. But you also moved down
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: eight spots because even if Caleb is able to come
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: back before long, he's going to be probably a little
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: bit limited by that hamstring.
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: It's not going to be 100%.
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: And if you limit Caleb Williams' ability to scramble and
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: extend plays, you take away some of his effectiveness, which
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: then just lowers the ceiling of this entire offensive operation,
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: which is their strength right now because we know their
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: defense isn't very good. Now, that was only a 9-3 game.
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: The weather was weird. We'll kind of chalk that up
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: to a product of circumstance. Going forward, I'm a little
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: concerned about this team now, and I think if you're
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: an opposing defense, I wouldn't fear them as much as
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: I would.
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: Have going into last week.
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: Well, of course. 59 points in week one and then
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: three points, so that's a 56-point decline after everyone was
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: talking about Ben Johnson having the most prolific offense. I'm
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: just wondering where they are in, because that's a pretty
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: big variance, so where they're going to stack up. in
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: the points department going forward. Again, they take on the
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: Eagles on Monday Night Football. Coming up, we're going to
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: talk about the 0-2 team. There are a few teams
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: we're most worried about. And I'm looking at Baker Mayfield.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: I'm looking at the Chargers. Nick Shook's power rankings continue next.
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: Back here on Power Rankings as we see teams 17
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: through 24, according to Nick Shook. At the top, you
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: have the Panthers up 10 spots at 17. And also,
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: if you look at the bottom, you have the Bucs
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: down 10 spots at 24. In between those. The Patriots
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: at 18, you have the Colts, big movers, up seven spots,
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: then the Packers, the Giants down six spots, the Raiders
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: up seven, the Browns up nine, and then the Bucks,
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: like I mentioned there, down 10 spots at 24. Let's
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: go to the Panthers. Bryce Young, both last week and
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: this week, he's had great performances. He now has six
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: touchdowns to one interception through two weeks. What are you
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: loving from what you're seeing from them because you moved
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: them up 10 spots?
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: I love that it's consistent because we've seen Bryce Young
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: do this from time to time in the past. What
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: he hasn't done is do it from one week to
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: the next. Usually it's great game followed by a forgettable
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: game or disastrous game. Instead, he looks comfortable, he's decisive,
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: he feels like he finally understands what he's supposed to
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: do in Dave Canales' offense, and they're not afraid to
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: take risks and they're pushing the ball down the field.
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: They were also helped a lot.
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: In this game by their defense which forced a number
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: of turnovers but I mean through two weeks this is
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: why Bryce Young is climbing the QB index as well
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: because he's just looked like the player that they were
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: supposed to get with the number one overall pick and
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: but four years ago almost now, 2023.
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: So I'm feeling very good about this. I also know
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: that they were playing a Falcons team that was playing
• 20:14
  Speaker 4: with Cooper Rush at quarterback.
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: So we can't put too much weight into this as
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: an overall lopsided victory, but Bryce, From week one to
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: week two, a loss and a win, consistently good.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: You mentioned playing the Falcons. Devin Lloyd had the game
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: of his life. He contributed to four different changes of possessions.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: He finished with nine tackles, a sack, two interceptions, a
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: pick six. This was an incredible performance by him. But
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: as you mentioned, too, Bryce Young also putting on a show.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: Do you think the Panthers made a mistake by not
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: paying Bryce Young?
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: No, I think that they, I mean, maybe at the
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: end of the season, it might end up looking like
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: a mistake, but you had to have him prove it
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: because you couldn't make it. You couldn't have the two-a-tongue-of-my-loa
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: contract that the Dolphins had, where he's coming off of
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: his best year, and we also kind of need to
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: confirm our own selection of him. Let's instead let him
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: prove it and earn it.
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: And through two weeks, he is. And you know what?
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: GM Dan Morgan's got to be feeling pretty good about
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: that money he spent on the defense in the offseason.
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: Jalen Phillips, Devin Lloyd producing the game of his life. Results, quickly.
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: That's how a GM walks around with his chest all
• 21:14
  Speaker 4: puffed out. Dan Morgan's got plenty of it.
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: You know who else is putting up results quickly? It's
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: the Raiders. 2-0, up seven spots. So let's give Kirk
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: some love here. because this was a pretty impressive start. Now,
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: the Chargers, that's a different story, but let's talk about
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: the Raiders.
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, look, you want to talk about a
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: quarterback who's also playing with no fear of risk. It's
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: Kirk Cousins, throwing a no-look pass down the field to
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: Trey Tucker for a big completion. Hitting a wide-open receiver
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: for a touchdown earlier in this game, just operating Clint
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: Kubiak's offense as it's intended and really fulfilling what Clint
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: Kubiak asked for in the offseason, which is a veteran
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: quarterback to get us started. Kirk is doing everything that
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: he was supposed to do in this offense today, They're
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: playing well enough on that side of the ball, even
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: without Brock Bowers, to start 2-0. And really, most importantly
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: to me, they're playing complete team football.
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: They forced a couple of takeaways in this game.
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: Hezekiah Masses, another guy who had kind of the game
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: of his life with a couple of interceptions.
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: And look, the Raiders, they've been the.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: Punching bag, the laughing stock for a long time.
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: They are not right now. They are a fun team
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: to watch. They're not perfect. but they're a fun team
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: to watch.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: And they are, I mean, there's a lot of teams
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: that have lost games so far that are ahead of
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: them in the rankings. Now, if you were just doing
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: this based on results, then it wouldn't be as interesting.
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: But are we underrating? The Raiders?
• 22:31
  Speaker 4: Perhaps? Not all wins are created equal. Okay, fair.
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: We've got to kind of consider they started the season
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: against Miami. The Chargers look like a mess through two weeks.
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: So I'm giving them credit where credit is due as of.
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: Now, but they need to continue to sustain this to
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: really earn that higher level ranking.
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: We've been burned for too long. We have.
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: It's just trust issues right now. I am a bit
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: of a cynic. What can I say?
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, let's see it, teams 25 through 32. And, yeah,
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: it's the Jets at 25. The Steelers, then the Titans, Commanders, Chargers, Cardinals, Falcons,
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: and Dolphins. There's a handful of 0-2 teams in this quadrant.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: Who is the most concerning out of the 0-2 teams?
• 23:11
  Speaker 4: I've got to go with the Chargers. This just doesn't
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: look like a Jim Harbaugh coached team.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: This is not what we were sold in the offseason.
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: They're sloppy.
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: They commit mistakes in key spots. They let winnable games
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: get away from them. That's what happened in Week 2
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: against the Raiders. It just doesn't look like a team
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: that has as much talent as this one does. They're
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: not performing up to that standard. They have offensive line issues.
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: You all had four false start penalties while facing it.
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: Max Crosby in this game, which routinely set them back
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: behind the sticks. It just doesn't look like a team
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: that is prepared to go out on Sundays right now.
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: And their schedule gets way more difficult after this week.
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: They had the easiest start in the NFL. They had
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: Arizona in week one. They had the Raiders in week two.
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: Everything's looking fine.
• 23:51
  Speaker 4: Now they get Buffalo, Seattle, Denver, Kansas City, bye week.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: What?
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: Rams, Texans, Ravens, and the Jets by week 11. And
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: the Jets, even though they dropped this week, I still
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: have high hopes for them.
• 24:01
  Speaker 4: Relatively high hopes. It could be a nightmare for the
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: Chargers very quickly. I don't know.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: Maybe Jim Harbaugh needs to like switch up the Dockers
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: and do like jeans or something. I don't know. Go
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: denim instead of khaki.
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: No pleats.
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: There needs to be something, some type of change. But
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: we hope that the Bucs can bounce back. We hope
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: that the Steelers maybe bounce back as well. There's quite
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: a few teams that we're excited to see next week.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: And we'll see you next week too. Later.
• 24:33
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• 24:35
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• 24:39
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