1. Los Angeles Chargers
If I go 2 for 2 jinxing a team by calling them number 1 right before their Thursday Night Game, I may have to take that into consideration going forward. This defense is really good, and it still doesn’t have JC Jackson. And Herbert still hasn’t found his groove. This KC game will show a lot.
2. Baltimore Ravens
I would take Lamar Jackson and any 21 other players if I was starting a franchise. He has plenty of weapons, with more coming when his backs are healthy. But outside of Andrews, he doesn’t really need them.
3. Buffalo Bills
They’re really good, and they were a lot of people’s number 1 team before last week. And then they went out and dominated the defending champs. Unfortunately, they weren’t number 1 in my rankings last week, so it wasn’t enough to convince me they’re better than LAC or Baltimore. Though in fairness, the top 3 teams are interchangeable. One week isn’t enough to set them apart.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I won’t bet against Brady until he gives me a reason. They made the Cowboys offense look boring. And it seems pretty clear that this is going to be Brady’s last year. He’ll do whatever it takes for another title shot. Gronk will unblock his number sometime in December.
5. Kansas City Chiefs
Two teams with top QBs lost their number 1 weapon, and I wasn’t sure how they would look without them. At least for the first week, it appears it made Mahomes even better. He spread the ball around the field, and Juju Smith-Schuster looks like he’s back to form from his earlier Steeler days. A big win against the Chargers could catapult them up this list.
6. Cincinnati Bengals
I’m aware that they lost. But we’re talking about the kind of loss that’s the result of an injured longsnapper. Which reminds me, my first child, boy or girl, will start longsnapper training at age 2. Maybe earlier. Burrow to Chase is unreal, ane it will only get better.
7. Minnesota Vikings
As a Packers fan, I hate having the Vikings this high. But you can’t just ignore the absolute pummeling of the Packers last week. Yeah, it’s only one game, but you could split Jefferson’s production over two games and it would still be impressive. Harrison Smith is the most underrated defensive player in the league. The guy challenges the soul of offenses.
8. Los Angeles Rams
Dropping from 1 to 8 after getting humiliated by the consensus top team in the league seems fair. Still too much talent here to pretend they aren’t top 10. But I do think O’Connell’s offensive mind leaving had a big effect on them, which is why the Vikes got bumped ahead of them. Replacing an entire offensive gameplan on that level won’t be easy.
9. Miami Dolphins
I all-in on TuAnon. The weapons around Salty Tua (also the name of my newest fantasy team) are ridiculous. As long as he can stay accurate and process all the wide open track stars around him, Miami could go far this week.
10. Philadelphia Eagles
Offense looked great, and AJ Brown picked up really fast. I thought it would take a few weeks, but he’s ready to be Jalen Hurts’ top target now. The defense looked shaky, but I think Detroit’s offense is better than people think. This defense has a lot of youth that will get better as the season goes on.
Where’s the rest?
11-32 coming later this week… just wanted to get the top 10 out now since 2 of them play each other in an hour. The full order is updated on the running 2022 Power Rankings page.
