Latest / NFL Power Rankings / #7: Ravens hit top three, while Lions drop following Aidan Hutchinson injury

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#7: Ravens hit top three, while Lions drop following Aidan Hutchinson injury · 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.
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  Speaker 2: Welcome to a brand new edition of NFL Power Rankings.
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  Speaker 2: Mike m Eric ed Holme. There is so much to
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  Speaker 2: get to today. Yes, we will go through all of
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  Speaker 2: the teams, but more importantly, when there's news to get to,
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  Speaker 2: that's when we got to start. And Eric DeVante Adams,
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  Speaker 2: we knew he would get traded. We finally know the
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  Speaker 2: home it is with his old quarterback Aaron Rodgers and
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  Speaker 2: the Jets. And there's some news around the Pittsburgh Steelers,
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  Speaker 2: Russell Wilson. According to Mike Tomlin, in consideration to start
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  Speaker 2: this week, how does this affect how you place some
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  Speaker 2: of these teams in the Power Rankings?
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  Speaker 3: It would have been a lot easier had they announced
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  Speaker 3: this twelve hours earlier, Mike, just being honest, right, hard
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  Speaker 3: enough to react to Sunday's game than they throw a
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  Speaker 3: Tuesday morning kerball. Actually two of them at us, with
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  Speaker 3: the Adams news and the Wilson news. I looked at
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  Speaker 3: the scenario and I said, I don't think I'm touching them.
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  Speaker 4: I'm leaving him as is.
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  Speaker 3: I've kind of erased DeVante Adams from the Raiders. You know,
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  Speaker 3: I didn't really picture them, you know, having him at
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  Speaker 3: any point this season, so i'd kind of removed that
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  Speaker 3: from the equation and the Jets after that loss, after
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  Speaker 3: everything that's gone down this week, I had a hard
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  Speaker 3: time kind of bumping them up. So I don't know,
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  Speaker 3: you know, maybe the Steelers thing has an effect, but.
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  Speaker 4: They've been winning with justin fields. We'll have to break
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  Speaker 4: that down later though.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, closer to look at both of those squads still
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  Speaker 2: to come. But as we always do, we start with
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  Speaker 2: the best teams in the NFL. And the rankings won
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  Speaker 2: through eight, no change at the top of one and two,
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  Speaker 2: with Minnesota and Kansas City sitting idle. How about this,
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  Speaker 2: the Baltimore Ravens looking like the team that I thought
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  Speaker 2: they were going to be, rising two spots now sitting
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  Speaker 2: at number three with four consecutive wins. At number four,
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  Speaker 2: the Texans no Nico, no problem, The Lions absolutely demolish, smash,
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  Speaker 2: pick any adjective you want. Against the Dallas Cowboys, no
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  Speaker 2: Aiden Hutchinson. We'll talk about the effect as they are
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  Speaker 2: sitting at the fifth spot. The Bill snap two game,
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  Speaker 2: losing straight there at six the Packers roll Arizona at seven,
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  Speaker 2: and we will focus in on the Commanders at number
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  Speaker 2: eight in just a couple minutes. The disparity here from
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  Speaker 2: a Baltimore perspective and what we are seeing in terms
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  Speaker 2: of rushing yards and what they are allowed. I know,
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  Speaker 2: defensively at times they're not what they were a season
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  Speaker 2: to go. But eric team looks dangerous and it looks
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  Speaker 2: like the freight train that is Dereck Henry that's applying
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  Speaker 2: to this offense and how they're rolling.
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, for the points you just made, right, maybe they've
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  Speaker 3: taken a small step back defensively, you know, maybe there
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  Speaker 3: were some special teams questions early in the season. Those
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  Speaker 3: have all been washed aside the last four games with
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  Speaker 3: an offensive output that makes them one of the scariest
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  Speaker 3: teams in the NFL. Look, it's nothing new, right. We've
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  Speaker 3: been talking about Lamar Jackson for years and he can
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  Speaker 3: do this to pretty much any defense, pick you apart
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  Speaker 3: through the air with his legs. It's good to see
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  Speaker 3: Mark Andrews kind of get back on track a little bit,
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  Speaker 3: even with the drop that led to a pick.
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  Speaker 4: But you add Derek Henry to that mix.
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  Speaker 3: He's been spectacular, scoring a touchdown in every single game.
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  Speaker 3: You know, He's obviously been a huge part and kind
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  Speaker 3: of a missing ingredient.
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  Speaker 4: In some ways.
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  Speaker 3: They had a good rushing game before, but now they
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  Speaker 3: have a great one, say Flowers reemerging.
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  Speaker 4: I just don't know how you defend this team.
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  Speaker 3: It's going to be a chore, especially for those NFC
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  Speaker 3: clubs that don't see him as often.
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  Speaker 4: And yeah, I just had to move him up.
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  Speaker 3: Not that the Texans are playing poorly by any means,
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  Speaker 3: but felt like I had to leap frog him into
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  Speaker 3: that number three hole there, right there with the undefeated teams'
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  Speaker 3: most scary clubs in the NFL.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, right now in the number that I'm referencing, the
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  Speaker 2: Ravens averaging one hundred and forty six point three more
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  Speaker 2: rushing yards than their opponents this season. If it holds,
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  Speaker 2: and look, there's a long way to go here, it
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  Speaker 2: would be the largest differential in NFL history. You mentioned
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  Speaker 2: the Texans, let's slide to them at number four now
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  Speaker 2: on the power rankings for you, CJ. Stroud, We talked
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  Speaker 2: about a sophomore some that's not what this is. You know.
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  Speaker 2: What's interesting to me though, the guy was so stellar
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  Speaker 2: a year ago as a rookie, not turning the football over.
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  Speaker 2: We're seeing some of that. By the way, they're the
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  Speaker 2: fourth team in the NFL, and I'm going negative here.
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  Speaker 2: I don't mean to do that. I guess I'm being
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  Speaker 2: I'm sort of nitpicking here. But the reality is still
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  Speaker 2: a talented ball club.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely right. And then their past defense has done a
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  Speaker 3: really nice job. They didn't have Kamari Lassiter and they
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  Speaker 3: still step up with a good performance. Granted, Drake May's
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  Speaker 3: first game out there in Foxborough, but they did two
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  Speaker 3: things that really impressed me, Mike, which is they got
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  Speaker 3: off to a great startup for two nothing points. Have
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  Speaker 3: been a little troublesome at times this season. They've settled
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  Speaker 3: for field goals and whatnot and then scoring lake to
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  Speaker 3: put a team away. All their wins had been close
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  Speaker 3: to this point. Their one loss was a blowout to Minnesota.
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  Speaker 3: But I really wanted to kind of see them, for
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  Speaker 3: lack of a better phrase, step on a team's neck
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  Speaker 3: a little bit to do that on the road in
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  Speaker 3: Joe Mixon's return. He was such a huge part of
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  Speaker 3: what they did Sunday. Damian Pierce AD's the big touchdown late.
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  Speaker 3: They were great on the ground. You saw tang Dell
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  Speaker 3: get involved in the past game a little bit more.
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  Speaker 3: Stefan Diggs had his role. So you can miss a
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  Speaker 3: guy like Nico Collins, one of the NFL's best young receivers.
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  Speaker 4: And still have this win.
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  Speaker 3: Joe Mixon is back in the lineup, so again, second
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  Speaker 3: half scoring was also an issue.
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  Speaker 4: CJ's played pretty well.
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  Speaker 3: It hasn't been quite as spectacular, but there are a
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  Speaker 3: lot to deal with right now.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, no Nico Collins, as you made reference to intered
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  Speaker 2: reserve with the hamstring injury. Three different players with a
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  Speaker 2: receiving touchdown, and once again I apologize to the Houston
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  Speaker 2: Texans fans out there. I love your squad, especially what
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  Speaker 2: they do on the defensive side, which I don't think
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  Speaker 2: they get nearly enough credit for. They'll match up against
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  Speaker 2: green Bay on the road this coming weekend. We'll talk
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  Speaker 2: about the Packers in just a moment. Meanwhile, Eric at
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  Speaker 2: number five, it is the Detroit Lions who not only
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  Speaker 2: beat they smashed, they obliterated the Dallas Cowboys, and yet
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  Speaker 2: you have them dropping two spots in the power rankings.
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  Speaker 2: I got to imagine this, centers around the injury of
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  Speaker 2: one particular player in Aiden Hutchinson.
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  Speaker 3: I wrote in my column for this week's power rankings
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  Speaker 3: that I felt dirty moving them down two spots, and
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  Speaker 3: the truly did because I said to myself, look, I
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  Speaker 3: mean I did it with Rashid Rice, I did it
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  Speaker 3: with other key figures. To a tongue of Iiloa who
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  Speaker 3: have been injured this season, you got to ask, what
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  Speaker 3: is it going to do to the team that said
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  Speaker 3: this was a dominant performance in Dallas. I was particularly
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  Speaker 3: impressed by the fact that after this long delay, after
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  Speaker 3: losing kind of the heartbeat of their team in a
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  Speaker 3: lot of ways, Detroit played some pretty inspired ball after that.
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  Speaker 3: I understand it was a pretty big margin, but it
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  Speaker 3: was almost like they were out to send a message, Hey,
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  Speaker 3: we're not going away just because our best defensive player
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  Speaker 3: is hurt. I don't have an offense that is back
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  Speaker 3: to twenty twenty three levels, perhaps beyond. We could bust
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  Speaker 3: out a trick play at any time like this, one
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  Speaker 3: of many on the day that didn't all work, but
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  Speaker 3: this one did. And you're seeing kind of the fruits
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  Speaker 3: of what they've put in offensively the last couple of years.
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  Speaker 3: It's back to where it was and possibly even better
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  Speaker 3: if a guy like Tim Patrick keeps producing. So yeah,
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  Speaker 3: I'm still impressed with this team. There's no way I'm
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  Speaker 3: knocking them all the way down. But I felt like
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  Speaker 3: I had to reflect the fact that Hutchinson has been
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  Speaker 3: such an important part to this team the last couple
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  Speaker 3: of years, and look, it's.
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  Speaker 4: Gonna have an effect one way or another.
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  Speaker 3: I know, Dan Campbell's gonna get those guys fired up,
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  Speaker 3: and I hope they proved me wrong. But yeah, it's
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  Speaker 3: just sort of reflecting the reality of the situation.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, back to back games, the lines have scored at
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  Speaker 2: least forty points. First time that's happened for the franchise
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  Speaker 2: nineteen sixty two. We weren't born yet at this point.
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  Speaker 2: I've just thrown that out there. It has been a
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  Speaker 2: very long time that we could have a conversation like this.
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  Speaker 2: Matching up against Minnesota this week a huge, huge, mammoth
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  Speaker 2: game for both of those squads. Meanwhile, the Buffalo bill
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  Speaker 2: snap a two game losing streak. Here, the Jets blew
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  Speaker 2: some opportunities on Monday Night Football, and at the same time,
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  Speaker 2: Josh Allen still Josh Allen they got it done without
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  Speaker 2: James cookout on the football field. I don't know. They
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  Speaker 2: still one of the best teams in the league.
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  Speaker 4: I think so.
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  Speaker 3: You know, you saw Ray Davis step up in that
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  Speaker 3: role all day and all of the night. Right, he
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  Speaker 3: was outstanding running the football. They actually got away from
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  Speaker 3: him at one point. I was sort of screaming at
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  Speaker 3: my TV asking why. But it's still a talented football team.
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  Speaker 3: They're gonna get Cooked back pretty soon. You see that
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  Speaker 3: the trust that Allen kind of has is developing a
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  Speaker 3: little bit more with his receivers. You know, the penalties
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  Speaker 3: really marred this game on both sides. There were probably
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  Speaker 3: more flags than there should have been and that sort
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  Speaker 3: of thing, and it did sort of cast an ugly
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  Speaker 3: Paul over this entire game. So I don't want to
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  Speaker 3: put too much stock into what happened Monday night, but look,
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  Speaker 3: they went up against a desperate team that had had
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  Speaker 3: a wild week and with stood the Aaron Rodgers storm.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, he did dice him up for a good
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  Speaker 3: portion of that game, but at the end, big defensive
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  Speaker 3: play from Tarron Johnson. He'd miss four games in a row,
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  Speaker 3: that was huge. You know, they're just coming up with
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  Speaker 3: more guys on this roster than I realized they had.
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  Speaker 4: That depth was questioned after the offseason. I don't know
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  Speaker 4: that you can do that as much anymore.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look at the end of the day, the Bills
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  Speaker 2: still in control in the AFC East. They've won this
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  Speaker 2: division now four consecutive seasons and looking again like they
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  Speaker 2: are the team to beat, although maybe the DeVante Adams
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  Speaker 2: equation with the Jets changes that conversation. In just a
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  Speaker 2: couple of weeks, the Packers they move up one spot here.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we're spending a lot of time on defense
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  Speaker 2: in this a bloc. We've loved up the Houston Texans.
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  Speaker 2: It's a reason why the Lions had dropped the spot.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think we give enough credit to what Green
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  Speaker 2: Bay's defense has been able to accomplish. It feels like
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  Speaker 2: every single game Eric, there's multiple takeaways.
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  Speaker 4: Yep.
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  Speaker 3: And it feels like every single year for the past
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  Speaker 3: two decades, Packers fans have had a defensive coordinator, you know,
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  Speaker 3: to complain about somebody they're ready to get rid of.
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  Speaker 3: But Jeff Hapley has come in and fixed the problem,
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  Speaker 3: which is takeaways.
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  Speaker 4: They had seventeen of them.
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  Speaker 3: Or excuse me eighteen of them all last season there
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  Speaker 3: already at seventeen now through six games, you pointed out
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  Speaker 3: two per game at least every single time. Xavier McKinney's
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  Speaker 3: come in and done a terrific job. You know, the
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  Speaker 3: young waves of defensive talent they've drafted over the last
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  Speaker 3: couple of years have really kind of bolstered that group
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  Speaker 3: as a whole. And it's nice when Jordan Love is
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  Speaker 3: also helping out with some productive drives. You know, he
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  Speaker 3: was sort of calm and patient and took what the
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  Speaker 3: defense gave him early, and then he took his shots
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  Speaker 3: late when he had a little bit of a lead.
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  Speaker 4: But the you know, they were still creeping back.
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  Speaker 3: Into the game, and you know there was a lot
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  Speaker 3: of farv like plays in that second half where you said, man.
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  Speaker 4: Jordan Love looks like he's healthy again. This defense is
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  Speaker 4: doing well.
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  Speaker 3: If they can only solve the kicker problems, they have
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  Speaker 3: a chance to crack that top five and keep moving up.
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  Speaker 2: You know, a couple of weeks ago, when the Bills
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  Speaker 2: were three and oh, we had said, oh, we're going
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  Speaker 2: to learn about this team with road games against Baltimore
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  Speaker 2: and Houston. I think the same could be so we've
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  Speaker 2: got a bunch of barometer games. I know I made
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  Speaker 2: reference to the Packers hosting the Houston Texans that will
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  Speaker 2: really dramatically, I think, alter what we're going to see
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  Speaker 2: next week on Power Ranking, and then obviously lines and vikings. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 2: the Commanders at eight, they dropped two spots fifty two
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  Speaker 2: rushing yards on the ground, not going to get it done.
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  Speaker 2: And Janey Daniels, by the way, has been still are
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  Speaker 2: also held in check in that run game. This just
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  Speaker 2: a blip on the radar for the squad, right.
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  Speaker 3: I think so, Although at the same time, when I
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  Speaker 3: was watching that game, it was clear kind of the
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  Speaker 3: experience level and talent disparity that there still is between
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  Speaker 3: a team like Baltimore and the Washington Commanders. I give
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  Speaker 3: j Daniels a lot of credit. They took the run
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  Speaker 3: game away from him, kind of spied him, hemmed him
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  Speaker 3: in a little bit. They didn't have Brian Robinson Junior,
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  Speaker 3: so you know, it's like working left handed the entire game,
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  Speaker 3: but they found ways to keep it close. I understand
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  Speaker 3: the scorers maybe a little cosmetic there, but again a
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  Speaker 3: one score deficit did what they could. The reality is
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  Speaker 3: that defense is going to have their hands full against
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  Speaker 3: stacked offenses like the Ravens all season long. I'm not
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  Speaker 3: selling on them as a contender. I think they're very
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  Speaker 3: much in the mix, especially with the chaos and Dallas
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  Speaker 3: and the Giants still struggling a little bit. The Eagles
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  Speaker 3: are kind of a who knows type of team, So
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  Speaker 3: I'm still buying.
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  Speaker 4: A little bit of stock. It's just lightly buying on
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  Speaker 4: the way up. I guess. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: It's a hard division to handicap. I might push back
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  Speaker 2: a little bit on the Eagles now that they're healthy,
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  Speaker 2: and we'll have that conversation coming up in just a
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  Speaker 2: couple of minutes. I still think that they might be
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  Speaker 2: the team to be, and I'm still holding out a
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  Speaker 2: little fit on the Giants handling. So I don't know.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe it's just a fan in me. I know, still
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: the cove Here on NFL power rankings, we touched on
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  Speaker 2: at russ in consideration to start for the Steelers against
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  Speaker 2: the Jets. What does it mean for the power rankings
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: and what Steelers fans can expect the rest of the
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: way answers next back here on power rankings, as we
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: look at teams nine through sixteen. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
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  Speaker 2: checking in at number nine, scored fifty one points almost
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  Speaker 2: six hundred total yards. What an offensive showing against the Saints.
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  Speaker 2: The Steelers once again having some conversations about Russ, which
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  Speaker 2: we'll get to in just a moment. The Atlanta Falcons
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  Speaker 2: are at eleven. They've scored at least thirty six in
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  Speaker 2: each of the last two games. Remember this is a
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  Speaker 2: team that started off a little slow offensively. At number twelve,
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  Speaker 2: the Eagles healthy handle business against the Browns, the Bears
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: London was good. They beat up on the Jags at fourteen.
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  Speaker 2: The Niners they improve to the five hundred market three
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: and three with a win against Seattle. The Chargers are
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  Speaker 2: at fifteen after snapping a three game slide, and the
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: Broncos actually had a three game winning streak now officially
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: in the rearview mirror checking in at sixteen. Let's focus
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  Speaker 2: in on this Buck squad once again. Great game Monday
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: night football against the Ravens. I'm a believer. I think
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: you and I have talked about this offensively pretty good.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: I don't know if they handle business against the Baltimore Ravens,
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  Speaker 2: but I feel like when their backs are up against
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  Speaker 2: the wall, Baker Mayfield just figures out ways to respond.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, he responded this in the game Sunday, right through
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  Speaker 3: some early interceptions. Maybe one of them wasn't his fault,
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  Speaker 3: but seemed to be kind of forcing the issue a
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  Speaker 3: little bit, and then really got on track and started
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  Speaker 3: picking the Saints defense apart. And you know, was it
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  Speaker 3: great that they had Sean Tucker stepping in a you know,
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  Speaker 3: kind of a little known, unformally undrafted guy out of
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  Speaker 3: Syracuse and had a massive game. Absolutely, But you know,
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  Speaker 3: it still starts and ends. I think with what Godwin, Evans, Mayfield,
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  Speaker 3: Kate Ott and the tight end, etc.
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  Speaker 4: Can do a good sort of response.
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  Speaker 3: They get up early, take a punch, and then fight
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  Speaker 3: back to win this game ahead of the big money nighter.
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  Speaker 2: As you said at number ten, here we have the
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  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Steelers who have been flirting in this position pretty
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  Speaker 2: much the entire season. Yeah, Eric, we touched on at
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  Speaker 2: the top Mike Tomlin, Hey, Russ is in consideration to start.
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  Speaker 2: Can you think of a top ten team that has
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  Speaker 2: questions at the quarterback spot like this is Actually it
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  Speaker 2: speaks volumes to what the roster actually looks like besides
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  Speaker 2: the QB one.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's one thing if you have an injured quarterback
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  Speaker 3: or you have a couple options on the bench you're
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  Speaker 3: deciding between. That's not really what's happening here, right. Obviously
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  Speaker 3: Russ was hurt that thrust Fields into the lineup. Now
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  Speaker 3: both guys are healthy. He was back last week. He
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  Speaker 3: was elevated to the number two. Fields didn't play great,
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  Speaker 3: had an interception called back by penalty, did run for
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  Speaker 3: two touchdowns, But the bottom line is.
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  Speaker 4: They're winning with him at quarterback.
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  Speaker 3: I think there might be some sense that what happened
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  Speaker 3: against Dallas or what didn't happen against them, especially after
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: the Lions bleek, that same Dallas defense apart on Sunday
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: may have contributed to the equation here a little bit
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: and given Wilson a little bit more of a bump up.
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: And you know, he was running ahead of Fields in
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: training camp before that CAF started barking. So I suppose
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: that's the line of thinking. Maybe a little better relationship
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: with with Pickens. Who knows, but you.
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: Know this is Mike Tomlin. He's got a pretty good
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: record for coaching in this league.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: So I think it makes sense that you know there's
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: some logic behind it.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and look in the NFL, and we know this
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: because we watch these games every single week. As Eric
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: tries to rank these teams, I shouldn't say try, he
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: does rank the teams with. The point is, the margins
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: are are thin here and if Russ is like a
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: smidge better than Justin in Tomlin's eye, that might be
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: enough to really move the needle and try to make
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: a change here at number twelve. And you've got to
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: stay healthy. In the Eagles, finally a little bit more
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: aren't healthy and they get it done against the Browns,
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: they still drop a spot for you. It sounds like
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: you're a little on the fence about Philly.
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: Why it wasn't crazy about their performance on Sunday against
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: the Browns team that obviously has a lot of things
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: going wrong for them, and it was a.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: Real struggle there.
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: I mean, they really had to sort of put the
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: the effort into to finishing this one off, and it
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: took every Aj Brown catch. It was great to see
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: him back and producing. Obviously that's a huge part of
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: their team that was factored in, but it really took
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: a big effort in some Cleveland penalties on their last drive.
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: I mean they were down to the what three or
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: four yard line and couldn't punch it in settle for
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: a field goal. That kind of ended up being the difference.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: They didn't get the ball back, so still a lot
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: to prove for me. You know, Barkley was a non factor.
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: Jalen Hurts had kind of a quiet game relatively speaking.
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: You know, I want to see a little bit more,
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: but it was good to see the defense make some
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: strides and guys like Cooper de Jene step up in
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: that nickel role that they badly, badly needed to fix.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: I know we're not going to spend too much time
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: talking about the Browns. I got to tell you, can
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: you if they were getting above average average quarterback play?
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: I think we're having a much different conversation about the
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: Cleveland squad. And they absolutely to the end of power rankings.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: By the way, Eagles matching up against the g Men
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: this week, Eric, it is time for power moves, and
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: yes it is the Chicago Bears sitting at thirteen. They
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: move up four spots, They go to London, they get
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: a win, and Caleb Williams, I think this is the
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: Caleb that we expected to see, and at least on
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: paper eric before the season started there was a plethora
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: of options. It feels like Caleb is now understanding how
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: to utilize some of those weapons.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: Getting Keenan Allen back I think was huge, and Williams
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: has looked terrific the last two games. It has to
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: come with the coveat that It did come against the
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: Panthers and Jaguars, arguably two of the five worst defensive football.
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: But look at that play to Cole Kman.
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: First of all, getting him involved, I think was also
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: a big development. A little bit quiet earlier in the season,
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: but great play designs from Shane Waldron really spread those
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: Jaguars out, got the ball into multiple playmakers' hands, and
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: Williams just looks so much more comfortable. Everything was less strained.
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: The first few games of the season, he looked like
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: a guy doing his taxes on April fourteenth, but looking
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: pretty good.
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: Now.
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: You see he's deciding when to run, when to throw,
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: and who to throw to with a lot more.
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: Ease and a lot more comfort.
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: I think in this this sort of New Bears offense, I.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: Guess I'm glad I'm not the only one that's a
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: little bit of procrastinator or when it comes to that
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: tax situation as well, hopefully that looks a little more
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: for me on it. Exactly, you throw money at the
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: problem is how I like to describe it. At fifteen,
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: it is the Chargers move up four spots. You've actually,
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: I think been more optimistic about the Chargers than most.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: I thought this was a positive sign to win a
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: game like this is a little dirty ball control. This
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: is what we expected from Harbaugh these types of games.
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: Oh, Jim doesn't care how it happens, right, I mean,
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: like you know, we saw it last year with Michigan's
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: a lot of close games. But you know, when you're
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: able to run the ball down team's throats, that helps
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: a lot. But they got creative in the passing game
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: and they asked Justin Herbert to throw it early in
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: this game. Kamani vay Dell with a long TV catch.
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: You know, I thought Lad McConkie had some big plays
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: left with injury and see me Forjoko steps up. So
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: they're spreading the ball around as best they can. Joshua
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: Palmer finally making his impact as well. Defensively, they were
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: great for three quarters up twenty three. Zip got a
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: little dicey late, But this Chargers team has a formula
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: and they're sticking to it right now and it's working.
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: Defensively, there's so much better than a year ago.
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and there's also a formula for the team that
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: they beat in the Denver Broncos, who defensively have looked
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: pretty strong generally speaking, and had been running a three
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: game winning streak. So this is a good win from
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: a Chargers perspective. More to come here though. On NFL
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: Power Rankings, and yes, we touched on the Devonte Adams trade.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: He is heading to New York to get reunited with
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: Aaron Rodgers. What does it mean not only for this
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: week's edition to Power Rankings, but how it might unfold
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: as the rest of the season goes on. We continue
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: to roll here on Power Rankings with team seventeen through
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: twenty four. Three straight wins now three straight losses for
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: the Seahawks, who checking at seventeen, the Colts at eighteen.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: I think we need to be having a conversation about
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: Joe Flacco being in this team's starting quarterback moving forward
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: here at nineteen, the Cowboys Wow, the Jets at twenty
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: we'll get to that squad now that they have DeVante Adams.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: The Saints not sure what to make of them without
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: Derek Carr. I'll give them the mulligan on that. The
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: Bengals at twenty two still figured out a way to
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: get it done. The Giants at twenty three, I think
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: we saw some good positive strives from that team's defense.
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: Still some questions offensively. And at twenty four, the Arizona Cardinals.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: Please explain to me what the heck is going on
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: in Big d inexcusable. I don't know how else to
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: describe the performance that we witness from that team.
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: I saw a lot of people make an excuse on Twitter,
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: Oh they don't have Michael Parsons, they don't have DeMarcus Lawrence.
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: Well they didn't have them the week before they went
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: into Pittsburgh, and you know, at least held up sort
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: of right. So you know what they did on Sunday,
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: even against an explosive lines offense, was, like you said, inexcusable.
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: I thought there were some business decisions late after the
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: league got a little big, and the tackling and the discipline,
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: I mean, just wide open receivers in a lot of cases.
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: So, yeah, this has got to get fixed.
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: Jerry Jones, no way to spend your eighty second birthday
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: watching this kind of performance.
• 20:16
  Speaker 4: And you know it's amazing.
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: I mean, they've been so poor at home after the
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: sixteen game win streak, the last.
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: Four they've been outscored by eighty two points.
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: I mean, maybe it's a good thing they're going on
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: the road, Mike, I don't know, but they're three and
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: all away from home this year and not good at home.
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: We were doing NFL Game Day preview a couple of
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: weeks ago. I said to Steve Wych on that show, like, hey,
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: maybe it's a good thing that Dallas is hitting the road.
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: He's like, really, and it's now consistently now playing out
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: this way. I don't know how to answer that question.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: The Jets' biggest news of the week Devantae Adams. We
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: know where he's going. He's getting reunited with Aaron Rodgers.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: We touched it at the top, open ended, what do
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: we make of this team? Because even with a coaching change,
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: they still couldn't figure out a way to get it done.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: It was still sloppy with all the penalties, and yet
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: I don't know if adding Devontae Adams really puts the
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: team back into playoff consideration. Maybe I'm crazy.
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: I don't think you are, Mike. This is the question
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: I have.
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: It's funny because, like everybody has expected this move to happen, right,
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: Davante is going to get traded. Where's the most likely
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: Plett's place to the Jets, where you know Aaron Rodgers
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: his buddy is. And it worked out exactly the way
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: we thought. And yet there's still questions about how this
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: is all going to work.
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: Can you have Allen Lazard who's been productive for him,
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: Garrett Wilson who's coming on, Mike Williams, and DeVante Adams
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: all operating in the same offense.
• 21:35
  Speaker 4: I'm not sure you can. I don't know how they
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: all fit together. We'll see.
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: I mean, maybe this is the magic pill here, but
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: I have my doubts. As amazing as a receiver as
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: Adams is.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: Here's the only other thing I'll tag it with this
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: when I watch them Monday night, their best offense was
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: giving Priest all the football, and now all of a sudden,
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: you are putting more pressure on the passing your point
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: try to deliver. I'm Paul is their best weapon out
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: on the football field. No disrespect to the rest of
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: those guys there teams twenty five through thirty two, the
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: Rams at twenty five, the Dolphins at twenty six, At
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: twenty seven, Raiders, doesn't matter if it's Gardner or Aiden.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: Offensive struggle in both ways. At twenty eight the Titans
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: also tough to watch. The Jags, oh boy at twenty nine.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: Don't know what's going on with the Browns. At thirty
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: the Patriots got a spark with Drake may They still
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: lost so at thirty one, and then at thirty two
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: the Els continue to mount up for the Panthers. The
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: Patriots Mayo made the change here. I actually think it
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: was a good change. There's signs of life now with
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: the Patriots squad in a gettable well maybe not with
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: the Bills, but I think the divisions.
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: I agree.
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, the turnovers are a problem. They've got to clean
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: that odd. Drake knows that. But they put some life
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: into that offense. As you said, that forty yard TV
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: to Keayshan Boudia was the best throw we've seen from
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: a Patriots QB this season, maybe even last year or
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: the year before too.
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: It's got to get better. I think even with the turnovers.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I look, I think Patriots fans needed They've drafted
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: this dude that they wanted to see him thrive out
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: on the football field and touchdowns. Right, we'll figure out
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: those turnovers. By the way. Wait, if you want a
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: little more analysis on your specific team, NFL dot Com
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: Eric Scatchi covered analysis of every one of the teams
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: in the NFL. Thanks so much for watching. We'll see
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: you next week.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
• 23:22
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• 23:26
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