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And then there were two. The Arizona Cardinals were overwhelmed in St. Louis, dropping their first game of the season. That leaves the Atlanta Falcons and the Houston Texans are the only unbeatens left in the NFL. But honestly, I think there’s a one-loss team that’s better than both. I’ll you try and figure out which team I’m talking about.
Here are the updated The Fan AM 1060 NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted every single Tuesday on thefan1060.com. Bob Kemp will react to these ranking on Wednesday in the SportsZone.
1) Houston Texans (5-0) LW: 2
The Texans finally take the top spot in the power rankings, though I’m still not convinced they are the best team in the NFL right now. It will be interesting to see how this team plays against a desperate Packers team this Sunday. Still, it’s hard to imagine Green Bay slowing down Matt Schaub, Arian Foster and Andre Johnson.
2) Atlanta Falcons (5-0) LW: 1
The Falcons drop one stop after squeaking out wins in consecutive weeks against the Panthers and Redskins. Atlanta is playing with fire the last few weeks, but Oakland poses no threat this week.
3) San Francisco 49ers (4-1) LW: 4
I really thought about putting the Niners head of both the Texans and Falcons, but thought better of it. San Francisco became the first team in NFL history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 300 yards in a single game. The 49ers could extract a little revenge against the Giants this weekend.
4) Baltimore Ravens (4-1) LW: 5
It was pretty ugly, but the Ravens found a way to win. For whatever reason, Baltimore seems to struggled mightily on the road. Joe Flacco and company should rebound nicely against the vastly overrated Cowboys.
5) Chicago Bears (4-1) LW: 6
The Bears are starting to look like the best team in the NFC North. The defense, which was considered a weak point at the beginning of the year, has now returned an interception for a touchdown in each of their first five games. Chicago is off this week and will rest up for the Lions.
6) Arizona Cardinals (4-1) LW: 3
The Cardinals fell back to Earth this week as losing on the road to the Rams. As bad as the offensive line issues are, the injury to Ryan Williams might doomed Arizona’s season. I’m not sure how the Cardinals will be able to keep finding ways to win without a legitimate threat at running back. But if I’ve learn one things covering the Cards, it’s this, don’t count out a Ken Whisenhunt coached team.
7) Minnesota Vikings (4-1) LW: 13
The Vikings keep on winning. Christian Ponder wasn’t perfect (25-35, 2 TDs, 2 INTs), but he didn’t have to be. Minnesota’s defense continues to shut down opponents. As long as that continues to happen, the Vikings will have a legitimate shot in the NFC North.
8) New England Patriots (3-2) LW: 10
Leaving Indianapolis for Denver didn’t matter. Tom Brady still got the best of Peyton Manning once again. Brady is now 9-4 in his career against his rival. More importantly, the Patriots are
9) Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) LW: 8
Michael Vick is starting to become a problem. Vick fumbled twice, bringing his season turnover total to 11 in five games. The Eagles cannot keep winning like this, which makes you wonder if Arizona alum Nick Foles will see some action soon.
10) New York Giants (3-2) LW: 12
Eli Manning and company shook off a slow start and routed the lowly Browns. Ahmad Bradshaw had a fantastic day (30 rushes, 200 yards, 1 TD), but it will be hard to ask him to duplicate those numbers against the 49ers this week.
11) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) LW: 15
A clutch win by the Steelers coming off their bye. Pittsburgh could not afford to fall to 1-3 in the tough AFC North. Injuries are once again starting to pile up for the Steelers. Given the short week, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Titans won tonight.
12) Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) LW: 9
It was a bad home loss for the Bengals on Sunday. Cincinnati just could not get their running game going, which put more pressure on Andy Dalton to make plays. I didn’t drop the Bengals down too far because I’m starting to believe Miami is a better team than people give them credit for.
13) St. Louis Rams (3-2) LW: 16
St. Louis took advantage of the Cardinals horrible offensive line in a big way. The Rams sacked Kevin Kolb nine times and seemed to knock him down on every single passing play. St. Louis is now 3-0 at home and above .500 for the first time since 2006.
14) Seattle Seahawks (3-2) LW: 18
It wasn’t pretty, but that seems to be the case for the Seahawks, win or lose. Russell Wilson overcame his early struggles, but not enough to quiet the calls for Matt Flynn. However, Wilson will remain the start as long as Seattle keeps find ways to win.
15) San Diego Chargers (3-2) LW: 11
San Diego was in control for almost the entire game. But then, in typical Norv Turner fashion, the Chargers took their foot off the pedal and let a sure win slip away. San Diego might sneak into the playoffs because of the weak division they are in.
16) Green Bay Packers (2-3) LW: 7
For 30 minutes it looked like the Packers had finally figured things out. Aaron Rodgers was lights out as Green Bay jumped out to a 21-3 lead. But that’s when things unraveled. For the first time since 1957, the Pack blew an 18-point halftime lead. Now Green Bay is in a must-win situation against the 5-0 Texans.
17) Denver Broncos (2-3) LW: 14
It’s starting to look like Peyton Manning cannot solve all of the Broncos problems. Manning wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t great against New England, but Denver’s defense never gave 18 a chance to beat his old foe, Tom Brady. Denver had no answer for Stevan Ridley or Wes Welker. The Broncos should turn things around this week against the Chargers.
18) Miami Dolphins (2-3) LW: 23
After failing to close against Arizona, the Dolphins were able to finish this week and upset the Bengals on the road. Ryan Tannehill might be a bigger threat to steal the Rookie of the Year award from Andrew Luck than RG3. Given how bad the AFC East is, Miami could finish second behind the Patriots when it’s all said and done.
19) Dallas Cowboys (2-2) LW: 19
So after being embarrassed on Monday Night Football, the Cowboys rewarded after the bye is games against the Ravens, Giants, Falcons and Eagles in four of the next five weeks? Good luck surviving that Jason Garrett.
20) Washington Redskins (2-3) LW: 17
The Redskins played the Falcons tough, but the bigger story here is obviously the status of Robert Griffin III. Washington needs to protect RG3 better and last year’s Heisman winner needs to play smarter. Griffin won’t last long if he continues to play like this.
21) Indianapolis Colts (2-2) LW: 28
What a big, emotional win for the Indianapolis Colts. Down 18, Andrew Luck rallied the troops, with some help from Reggie Wayne, to upset the Packers and win one for Chuck Pagano. The Colts could move about .500 for the first time since Peyton Manning was under center with a win this week over the Jets.
22) New York Jets (2-3) LW: 21
The Jets had a great chance to stun the Texans on Monday night. However, that offense cannot be counted on the make big, critical plays. And it’s not Mark Sanchez. That receiving corps is just awful.
23) Buffalo Bills (2-3) LW: 22
Remember when the Bills were the hot pick to make the playoffs? Whoops. Mario Williams was brought in to sure up the defense. Well, that defense is now ranked 30th in the NFL and does not look like it will improve any time soon.
24) Carolina Panthers (1-4) LW: 20
Carolina’s struggles continued for another week. Cam Newton completed just 12 of 29 pass attempts for 141 yards, while rushing for another 42, meaning Newton accounted for 183 of the Panthers 190 total yards of offense. It’s not all Cam’s fault in Carolina.
25) Oakland Raiders (1-3) LW: 25
Oakland had the week off. We will see if that extra week to prepare for the Falcons will help. It’s hard to imagine the Raiders defense slowing down Matt Ryan and Michael Turner.
26) New Orleans Saints (1-4) LW: 31
New Orleans got their first season of the season in dramatic fashion. The Saints erased a 10-point 4th quarter deficit to rally and beat San Diego. Drew Brees broke Johnny Unitas’ consecutive TD record in the win. New Orleans has the bye this week before traveling to Tampa.
27) Detroit Lions (1-3) LW: 27
Detroit is coming off their bye week needing a win against Philadelphia to get back in the NFC North division race. A tough task for a team that has been underwhelming so far.
28) Kansas City Chiefs (1-4) LW: 24
Things are so bad in Kansas City that the fans actually cheered when Matt Cassel was injured. Jamal Charles and the Chiefs defense gave the team a chance at an upset, but turnover burned KC once again. The Chiefs have committed 19 turnovers so far this season.
29) Tennessee Titans (1-4) LW: 24
A lot of folks, including myself, thought the Titans would finish second in the AFC South. That is starting to seem very unlikely. Matt Hasselbeck just couldn’t get the offense going and Chris Johnson underperformed again, averaging 1.6 yards per carry against the Vikings.
30) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3) LW: 30
Tampa Bay used their bye to rest up and get healthy. The Bucs will have a good chance to pick up their second win of the season when the Chiefs roll into town.
31) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) LW: 29
An ugly, ugly loss for the Jags. Chicago returned two interceptions for touchdowns, held Jacksonville to 189 total yards of offense and had 501 yards of offense. Maurice Jones-Drew is getting more and more frustrated, should the Cardinals give Jacksonville a call?
32) Cleveland Browns (0-5) LW: 32
Cleveland got off to a fast start, but there was no way the Browns were going to match the Giants blow for blow. Trent Richardson does appear to be the real deal, but Brandon Weeden’s mistake will continue to hurt the Browns.
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