Saturday, October 26, 2013

Kansas City Shuffle

Unscripted NFL Power Rankings
2013 Week 8

A more interesting week than last week has shifted the Power Rankings up a bit more. The Chargers and the Lions are seriously so close to being #10, but I'm a sucker for rooting against mainstream opinion. In this case that's how everyone hates on Tony Romo, so I'm giving #10 to the Cowboys, who you could argue have earned it with some really competitive play the past few weeks. I'm still not a believer in the Bengals, but they're winning, so they've been bumped up, while the Patriots, who I still think can get it together in time to compete for the Superbowl, have fallen after an unnecessary loss to the Jets. So how have all the Top Ten teams landed? Let's get to it; hike!


Nipping at #10's heels: The Chargers, Bears, & Lions.


10. Dallas Cowboys
Last Week: --
Top Ranking: 10th (Week 8)


9. Cincinnati Bengals
Last Week: 10th
Top Ranking: 9th (Week 1, 4, 8)


8. Green Bay Packers
Last Week: 8th
Top Ranking: 4th (Week 3)


7. New England Patriots
Last Week: 5th
Top Ranking: 1st (Pre-Free Agency)


6. New Orleans Saints
Last Week: 3rd
Top Ranking: 2nd (Week 6)


5. Seattle Seahawks
Last Week: 2nd
Top Ranking: 1st (Week 1, 3, 4)

The Seahawks are going to win a lot of games this season, just based on what an incredibly easy schedule they have. But I'm starting to question how well they might do against other teams in the Top 10 (they're 1-1 playing teams in this week's Top 10 and only have one more game - against the 49ers - that can really tell us how competitive they will be in the playoffs).



4. San Francisco 49ers
Last Week: 7th
Top Ranking: (Pre-DraftPreseasonWeek 2)

I'm calling it now; the 49ers have gotten over their little slump earlier in the season and have returned with their sights on the division and the Superbowl. Don't get me wrong, it will be a huge challenge for them to win either, but I think they can do it. I can't wait for the Week 14 match-up between them and the Seahawks in San Francisco. Trust me, it will be a lot closer than last time.



3. Indianapolis Colts
Last Week: 6th
Top Ranking: 3rd (Week 8)

The Colts upset win over the Broncos was the most exciting game of football this season. Reggie Wayne is out, but the Colts are loaded up on good players and are all but guaranteed to make the playoffs. If they keep playing like they did on Sunday, the only question is how far into the playoffs they can go.



2. Denver Broncos
Last Week: 1st
Top Ranking: (Week 5, 6, 7)

If the season ended right now, the Chiefs would be the winners of the AFC West and the Broncos would be a Wild Card along with either the Jets or the Chargers (also in the AFC West). That's crazy when you think about how good the Broncos have looked. And make no mistake, they are still a major, major contender to go all the way in the playoffs. But after a tough win over Dallas and a tough loss to the Colts, we now know the Broncos are human. If other teams have figured them out, the Broncos will have to shake things up to stay on top.



1. Kansas City Chiefs
Last Week: 4th
Top Ranking: 1st (Week 8)

I've been on the "rooting-for-Kansas-City" bandwagon since February - probably one of the first on said wagon - but I had yet to jump on the "Kansas-City-is-a-Superbowl-contender" bandwagon. Until now. So this week is a Kansas City shuffle (spoilers to the movie Lucky # Slevin in that link, btw); while everyone else was looking right at the Broncos, the Chiefs went left and made it to the #1 spot. Their turnover differential is crazy, but it's still going strong, so there's no reason to think the Chiefs are going to fall apart.

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