Week three of the NFL season has almost concluded. It’s now that time of the season when preseason predictions don’t matter anymore. What is of importance is the NFL regular season is starting to somewhat come into focus. Below is a ranking of NFL teams and what is known so far.
Ranking of NFL Teams And What Is Known So Far
What is Now Known
The Washington Redskins can already say goodbye to their hopes of repeating as division champions. The Redskins woes can largely be pinned on their defense not being as improved as it should be. There’s a three team title race between the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos with everyone else crossing their fingers hoping something breaks their way. Dak Prescott is as good as advertised. The Cleveland Browns and the Los Angeles Rams might have drastically whiffed on not taking Carson Wentz in this year’s NFL Draft. Both Jeff Fischer and Paul DePodesta may find there way out of Los Angeles. Again, here’s this and this. And the panic button is about to be pushed on the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts seasons.
Outside of the top three teams, the chances of the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, and Minnesota Vikings making the postseason and possibly winning their respective divisions look good. The outlook for the Vikings could be particularly good, especially if Adrian Peterson can make it back. The Vikings might be the most complete all-around team and they have a great coaching staff. Scratch that.
The Houston Texans might have been included in the above list. But Bill O’Brien‘s team can’t seem to ignite their offense, even with improved quarterback play from last season, a superb running back, one phenomenal wide receiver and another receiver who is in the running for Rookie of the Year honors. The Texans issues on offense can largely be attributed to O’Brien being unable to figure out how pro offenses work.
Just like with the Texans, the Buffalo Bills offense may keep Rex Ryan‘s team out of the playoffs. At this point in the season it is safe to say that the New York Giants are overrated, Bill Belichick is still a football genius, and the Vikings might be okay with Sam Bradford at quarterback.
Below is a ranking of all 32 NFL teams where the contenders are separated from the pretenders.
The Bottom Dwellers
32. Miami Dolphins
31. Chicago Bears
30. Cleveland Browns
29. Indianpolis Colts
At some point teams start packing it in, and for the four teams listed above the season is already over. The bright side for Bears, Browns, and Dolphins fans is their team just might secure the number one pick in next year’s draft. Sadly for Colts fans they have a franchise quarterback but probably the worst general manager in the league. Unfortunately for fans in Indy, Andrew Luck will win enough a games so the Colts don’t have the number one pick, but the team is going nowhere fast.
Barely Showing Signs of Life
27. Los Angles Rams
26. Detroit Lions
25. Jacksonville Jaguars
24. Washington Redskins
23. San Francisco 49ers
22. Atlanta Falcons
21. New Orleans Saints
The above teams are miserable but not bad enough to have hopes of getting next year’s number one pick. But they are definitely not good enough to make the playoffs this season either. Of this group, Atlanta is the most disappointing. The Falcons bolstered their offensive line (Alex Mack), and defensive line (Derrick Shelby), but quarterback Matt Ryan.
Teams That Could Be Interesting In 2017
20. Tennesse Titans
19. Kanas City Chiefs
18. Baltimore Ravens
17. New York Giants
16. Oakland Raiders
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14. San Diego Chargers
13. Seattle Seahawks
12. Cincinnati Bengals
It’s difficult to decide what is more disappointing, the Seahawks preseason Super Bowl aspirations or Raiders preseason hype?
Contenders
11. Philadelphia Eagles
10. Dallas Cowboys
9. Houston Texans
8. New York Jets
7. Green Bay Packers
Teams To Keep An Eye On
6. Arizona Cardinals
5. Minnesota Vikings
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
Front Runners
3. New England Patriots
2. Carolina Panthers
- Denver Broncos
The Panthers and Broncos are the two front runners, regardless of what Belichick magic can be conjured up. But it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see the Patriots standing atop the NFL in the end. However, Cam Newton‘s playmaking and what Trevor Siemian has brought to the table, along with the Broncos defense makes them the top two teams in the NFL as of now.
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