NFL power poll
We’re right at the halfway point. Week 8 is in the books. Man, this football stuff flies by, you know?
So where are we in the Power Poll? Roughly in a very similar place. So we thought it would be interesting to go back and look at the polls from after week 1. Deal? Deal.
The top five after week 1 was New England (OK), Minnesota (OK, injuries to the defense have hurt the Purple), Los Angeles Rams (Yes, we were on board early), Baltimore (Ravens are top 10 so we’re OK with that) and. the New York Jets. Ouch-standing there at the end.
As for the bottom five after week 1, Tennessee, Dallas, Oakland, Arizona and Buffalo, and the bottom three are certainly among the worst in the league.
So there’s that.
Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton (1) runs as Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Gerald McCoy (93) defends during the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)Powerful
Los Angeles (8-0). How good are these Rams? Simply overwhelming, considering that they are +109 in scoring margin, which is more than 20 points better than the next highest number. That said, who would not want a rematch from Sunday between the Rams and the Packers in the second round of the NFC playoffs? Well, other than Ty Montgomery, that is.
New England (6-2). The Patriots are done stories have officially been put up with the “Back to School” decorations and the Labor Day picnic gear. This is when you know you are an absolute machine in sports: When you bring your C-to-C-minus game and you still walk out with a 19-point win – like the Patriots did on the road Monday at Buffalo – you know you have a legit collection of dudes.
Kansas City (7-1). Yes, Patrick Mahomes is the NFL MVP through the first half of season with his 26 TDs and 6 picks. (And as we discussed on monday’s Press Row, those picks are a small price to pay for a quarterback who exercises his right arm and takes chances vertically like Mahomes does. Yes please.) This offense is hard to handle, but if the Chiefs have January aspirations, they better keep that one-game edge over the Pats. No matter how good Mahomes and Andy Reid are clicking right now, there’s no way we’re backing that pair over the Brady-Belichick tandem if they are in Foxboro come late January.
New Orleans (6-1). Interesting storyline to watch over the back half of the season: Mahomes is the MVP pick right now, but if the Saints keep rolling how much traction and momentum will Drew Brees get for a chance at his first career MVP? We think there could be quite the groundswell. We are going to look back at the end of the year and say, “Hey how did the Bucs beat these Saints?” And the answer of course is, “Football, man. Football.”