# #2: New Top Team, Chiefs Ascend, Eagles Fall?

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 16 Sep 2026, 24 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f657ddcd-6c20-4af8-bbd7-aed70108edb8/8837ad06-7337-479c-9a20-b4c7002f272f/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

After week-1 of the NFL season finished, Colleen Wolfe and Nick Shook are here to deliver the latest NFL power rankings. Who should be the #1 ranked team in the NFL after week-1? How far should the Chiefs rise after they crushed the Broncos in primetime? Is it fair for the Eagles to plummet AFTER WINNING?! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:04] Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
[0:07] Speaker 1: partnership with iHeartRadio.
[0:16] Speaker 2: Welcome to NFL Power Rankings. I'm your host, Colleen Wolfe,
[0:19] Speaker 2: here with the man, the myth. It is Nick Schuch.
[0:22] Speaker 2: Even though we've only had one week of games, this
[0:24] Speaker 2: is technically the week two Power Rankings. You can check
[0:27] Speaker 2: out his article weekly on NFL.com slash Power Rankings or
[0:30] Speaker 2: on There's a QR code too, so you can scan it.
[0:33] Speaker 2: So you never have to miss it and you can
[0:34] Speaker 2: send him all of your love letters. Let's take a
[0:36] Speaker 2: look at teams one through eight here. We have a
[0:39] Speaker 2: new number one in town. It is the Seattle Seahawks
[0:42] Speaker 2: up two spots, followed by the Bills, the Ravens, the Bengals. Okay,
[0:46] Speaker 2: AFC North. We got the Jags, the Broncos at six,
[0:50] Speaker 2: tumbling four spots. The Rams, they fell six spots. And
[0:53] Speaker 2: then the Bears are up three at eight. So let's start.
[0:57] Speaker 2: With the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Seattle Seahawks, at
[1:00] Speaker 2: number one, they lose Sam Darnold to a soft tissue
[1:04] Speaker 2: glute injury. But Drew Locke comes in, plays really well,
[1:08] Speaker 2: and why are they still your top team? Just because,
[1:11] Speaker 2: you know, they won the Super Bowl and they look
[1:12] Speaker 2: so good?
[1:12] Speaker 3: I mean, of course, right? And all my belief in
[1:15] Speaker 3: Drew Locke. No, it's actually a combination of what they
[1:17] Speaker 3: did in week one and how I think that they
[1:19] Speaker 3: can set up for week two, which is week one
[1:20] Speaker 3: they won with their identity. After a really slow start
[1:23] Speaker 3: and a really quiet situation in Seattle at Lumen Field,
[1:27] Speaker 3: where there was basically no energy and the Patriots were
[1:29] Speaker 3: kind of not really dominating but had the advantage in
[1:31] Speaker 3: this game, the Seahawks became the Seahawks again. Their defense
[1:34] Speaker 3: forced three takeaways. They were able to capitalize the long
[1:36] Speaker 3: Jackson Smith and Jigba touchdowns. and they come away victorious
[1:40] Speaker 3: by getting one last defensive stand, which is exactly who
[1:42] Speaker 3: they are and why I still believe in them. It's
[1:43] Speaker 3: also a product of movement by default because the two
[1:46] Speaker 3: teams in front of them both went down the rankings,
[1:48] Speaker 3: and I couldn't quite justify moving anybody else up. So
[1:51] Speaker 3: I feel good about them, even with Drew Locke, a quarterback.
[1:53] Speaker 3: They also play the Cardinals. Sneaky surprise in week one,
[1:56] Speaker 3: in week two on the road.
[1:57] Speaker 2: I know. Listen, the Cardinals, we'll get to them in
[1:59] Speaker 2: a little bit, but they really surprised everyone, I think,
[2:02] Speaker 2: this past week. Let's get, though, to number two. The
[2:05] Speaker 2: Bills up two spots. They beat Houston. What an unbelievable
[2:10] Speaker 2: game this was. What, 67 combined points in this one?
[2:13] Speaker 2: So how impressed were you with Josh Allen and Joe Brady,
[2:17] Speaker 2: their ability to just go after this Texans defense?
[2:20] Speaker 3: You know, I picked Josh Allen as my MVP going
[2:22] Speaker 3: into the season. I did not expect him to get
[2:24] Speaker 3: off to such a hot start in week one. I mean,
[2:26] Speaker 3: this is a guy who really has had struggles in
[2:29] Speaker 3: Houston in the past years. They had lost last year.
[2:31] Speaker 3: He had been sacked a career high amount of times.
[2:33] Speaker 3: It seemed like the Texans were his boogeyman, and yet
[2:35] Speaker 3: he overcame it really in his own fashion in week one,
[2:39] Speaker 3: which was Two rushing touchdowns, a wild scramble for a
[2:42] Speaker 3: score was one of them. He hits DJ Moore on
[2:44] Speaker 3: that long pass for a touchdown. Nice little kindling of
[2:47] Speaker 3: a connection there between those two guys. And overall, you know,
[2:50] Speaker 3: they end up scoring 36 points on a D'Amico Ryan's defense,
[2:53] Speaker 3: which is the most he's given up as a coach
[2:56] Speaker 3: of the Texans since 2023, when he became the coach
[3:00] Speaker 3: of the Texans. So that's a really impressive way for
[3:02] Speaker 3: the Bills to start this season. And then they go
[3:04] Speaker 3: into week two with another test on a short week.
[3:07] Speaker 3: against Detroit, but they're opening that new stadium, so they
[3:08] Speaker 3: got a lot of momentum.
[3:09] Speaker 2: Yeah, and I just think about Josh Allen, the fact
[3:11] Speaker 2: that the last time he faced this Houston defense, he
[3:13] Speaker 2: was sacked eight times. Like, this was a completely different performance.
[3:18] Speaker 2: They completely flipped the script. on the Texans. So we'll
[3:21] Speaker 2: see how they do next week. Let's go to number three.
[3:23] Speaker 2: We have the Ravens up three spots. They beat the Colts.
[3:26] Speaker 2: How impressed are you with this Declan Doyle offense?
[3:30] Speaker 3: We have a new Ben Johnson. We have a new
[3:32] Speaker 3: hot coordinator who's going to get a bunch of looks
[3:34] Speaker 3: after one week, one performance. The Ravens offense was absolutely
[3:38] Speaker 3: fantastic in week one. They could do no wrong, whether
[3:40] Speaker 3: it was Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, the ageless wonder running
[3:44] Speaker 3: through this defense, Zay Flowers piling up 150 yards and
[3:47] Speaker 3: then just quietly exiting the game due to a hamstring injury.
[3:50] Speaker 3: They looked incredible. Defensively, they were awesome, too. Are they back?
[3:53] Speaker 2: Is the defense back?
[3:55] Speaker 3: I wouldn't go that far. Tavares Robinson was like their
[3:58] Speaker 3: most effective pass rusher, not Trey Hendrickson, but they were
[4:01] Speaker 3: really good in coverage, which is really important to me
[4:03] Speaker 3: when you come to the overall strength of this team.
[4:06] Speaker 3: And so I feel good about them. I'm worried about
[4:08] Speaker 3: Zay Flowers and his status with his hamstring injury. I
[4:10] Speaker 3: think they're deep enough to be able to make up
[4:12] Speaker 3: for it, and they still have Lamar Jackson, who was
[4:14] Speaker 3: excellent in this game as well.
[4:15] Speaker 2: Yeah, the defense with head coach Jesse Minter, they forced
[4:18] Speaker 2: two turnovers. And they were able to just have these
[4:21] Speaker 2: short fields for the offense over and over again to
[4:24] Speaker 2: kind of put the game out of reach for the Ravens.
[4:26] Speaker 2: So let's go to your number four team here. We
[4:30] Speaker 2: have the Bengals up three spots after they beat up
[4:33] Speaker 2: on the Bucs. Now, the Bengals, they were your AFC
[4:37] Speaker 2: choice to be in the Super Bowl during the preseason.
[4:41] Speaker 2: So talking about the defense, which we just did for
[4:43] Speaker 2: the Ravens, is the defense back for the Bengals? No.
[4:46] Speaker 3: Look, sometimes we go through an offseason and we have
[4:49] Speaker 3: these great storylines. Best shape of my life.
[4:51] Speaker 2: Always.
[4:51] Speaker 3: This defense is going to be completely redone. The Bengals,
[4:54] Speaker 3: it came true for at least one week. All their
[4:56] Speaker 3: new contributors made a difference. Boye Mafe making a big play.
[5:00] Speaker 3: It was Barrett Carter splitting a sack on a forced
[5:02] Speaker 3: fumble that Demetrius Knight took back for a touchdown. And
[5:05] Speaker 3: what was most important to me about this Bengals performance
[5:07] Speaker 3: defensively was that they played cohesively. They played aggressively. They
[5:10] Speaker 3: looked like they knew what they were supposed to do.
[5:12] Speaker 3: They didn't get caught out of position. Yes, they forced
[5:14] Speaker 3: a bunch of fumbles. They capitalized as well. And I
[5:16] Speaker 3: know they didn't force a punt, but look, a fumble
[5:18] Speaker 3: is a stop. And when you get four of them
[5:20] Speaker 3: in a game and you turn most of them into points.
[5:22] Speaker 3: I'm feeling pretty good about them. We know what they
[5:24] Speaker 3: have offensively. It wasn't the most explosive performance for them offensively,
[5:27] Speaker 3: but I'm feeling good about where they are going into
[5:29] Speaker 3: Week 2.
[5:29] Speaker 2: So offensively, in Week 2, they're playing the Texans. Now
[5:33] Speaker 2: we just saw and talked about what the Bills did
[5:36] Speaker 2: to the Texans. How do you think this offense for
[5:38] Speaker 2: the Bengals will look against that defense?
[5:40] Speaker 3: Well, they're going to need more of a contribution from
[5:42] Speaker 3: Jamar Chase than they got last week. He was basically
[5:44] Speaker 3: nonexistent for the most part. And credit to the Buccaneers
[5:47] Speaker 3: for taking him away. Tee Higgins also, another guy that
[5:49] Speaker 3: you know they can count on, in the passing game.
[5:51] Speaker 3: And Chase Brown quietly had a very good game on
[5:53] Speaker 3: the ground. It's just that all this needs to come
[5:55] Speaker 3: together and be more of a factor than it was
[5:57] Speaker 3: in week one. Again, it didn't really need to be
[5:59] Speaker 3: because they got some short fields, but they're going to
[6:01] Speaker 3: need all hands on deck against this Texas team because
[6:04] Speaker 3: they're going to come into this game looking for a point.
[6:06] Speaker 3: They got a point to prove after losing that game
[6:08] Speaker 3: to Buffalo last week.
[6:09] Speaker 2: For sure. Okay, so that game in Houston. Let's go
[6:12] Speaker 2: to your number seven team. And that is the team
[6:15] Speaker 2: that was number one for you last week, the Rams.
[6:19] Speaker 2: They fell six spots after what happened in Melbourne. That's
[6:24] Speaker 2: how everyone pronounces it there.
[6:25] Speaker 3: You were there. You were there. You've learned.
[6:28] Speaker 2: And what a game this was because the Niners just
[6:31] Speaker 2: came out and flatlined them. It felt like from the jump.
[6:35] Speaker 2: There was no energy whatsoever on that sideline during the game.
[6:39] Speaker 3: Absolutely, yeah. And a lot of Week 1 comes down
[6:41] Speaker 3: to how are we overreacting to the results of just
[6:44] Speaker 3: one game? It doesn't matter in the bigger picture, right? But...
[6:48] Speaker 3: There's some issues with this Rams team that I'm concerned about.
[6:50] Speaker 3: Starts with Miles Garrett, his knee surgery going to be
[6:52] Speaker 3: on IR. He's not going to be a factor there.
[6:54] Speaker 3: That's taking away a big influence. I'm curious to see
[6:57] Speaker 3: the whole status of Aaron Donald and whether he'll participate
[7:00] Speaker 3: in this game. And I don't want to take away
[7:02] Speaker 3: too much from their lack of energy because of the
[7:04] Speaker 3: travel and everything else. Maybe, maybe not because of the travel.
[7:06] Speaker 3: It looked like it certainly had something to do with
[7:08] Speaker 3: the travel. It's more about being prepared and they just
[7:11] Speaker 3: didn't look like a unit that really understood exactly what
[7:13] Speaker 3: they wanted to do from play to play. I know
[7:15] Speaker 3: the script affected that in the second half because of
[7:18] Speaker 3: the way that the game was flowing and the fact
[7:19] Speaker 3: that they were down by multiple scores. So I need
[7:21] Speaker 3: to see them bounce back. And look, on paper going
[7:25] Speaker 3: into this season, we would see, oh, week two against
[7:27] Speaker 3: the Giants. Okay, that's a good little bounce back. Giants,
[7:30] Speaker 3: maybe tougher than we thought. So Rams got to prove
[7:32] Speaker 3: something this week.
[7:33] Speaker 2: They do. And just looking at their first four games
[7:36] Speaker 2: of the season, it's four different time zones that they
[7:40] Speaker 2: will be playing in. So obviously they were in Australia.
[7:43] Speaker 2: Then they're back home against the Giants. They have the Broncos,
[7:47] Speaker 2: Mountain Time. Then I think they're in Philadelphia, East Coast Time.
[7:50] Speaker 2: So this is a team that's going to be dealing
[7:52] Speaker 2: with a lot of different time changes and a lot of,
[7:55] Speaker 2: I think, extra energy that they're going to have to
[7:59] Speaker 2: figure out. You know, that's tough on your body.
[8:01] Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
[8:01] Speaker 2: And the jet lag, it is real. I can tell
[8:04] Speaker 2: you that firsthand experience.
[8:05] Speaker 3: You're still dealing with it. For sure.
[8:08] Speaker 2: We're going to go to the number eight team, the Bears,
[8:12] Speaker 2: up three spots. Ben Johnson, I mean, when he talks
[8:15] Speaker 2: about having the most prolific offense, he delivers for sure.
[8:19] Speaker 3: Yeah, he set his goal. He wants to rewrite the
[8:21] Speaker 3: record books this year, and that's a heck of a
[8:23] Speaker 3: way to start, putting 59 points on the Carolina Panthers.
[8:26] Speaker 3: It's a good way to start, 552 total yards, but
[8:28] Speaker 3: what was most impressive to me First off, I mean,
[8:31] Speaker 3: we love watching Caleb Williams. I know I love watching
[8:33] Speaker 3: Caleb Williams. The things that he does on a week-to-week basis,
[8:36] Speaker 3: the throws that he makes are unique to only him,
[8:38] Speaker 3: and then you add in the escapability and the scrambling threat,
[8:42] Speaker 3: the two rushing touchdowns, both long, both just bailing out
[8:45] Speaker 3: of pockets and making the most out of a situation
[8:47] Speaker 3: that would have been a disaster for a lot of
[8:48] Speaker 3: other quarterbacks. That's a weapon. But what I like the
[8:50] Speaker 3: most about them is that they stayed true to their identity,
[8:52] Speaker 3: a sneaky identity from last year. They ran for 291
[8:55] Speaker 3: yards on the ground. DeAndre Swift, Kyle Menungai, Caleb throws
[8:59] Speaker 3: in a nice little chunk as well. This offense is
[9:01] Speaker 3: extremely explosive. Now, I do have concerns.
[9:04] Speaker 2: Okay.
[9:04] Speaker 3: And I know they climbed, but that defense.
[9:06] Speaker 2: That's what I was going to ask you about. Yeah.
[9:08] Speaker 2: The defense. I mean, come on. You're going to give
[9:09] Speaker 2: up 37 points?
[9:10] Speaker 3: Yeah.
[9:10] Speaker 2: 37 points!
[9:12] Speaker 3: And I think a better team probably hangs with them
[9:14] Speaker 3: and makes it one of the all-time great shootouts, kind
[9:16] Speaker 3: of like Rams Chiefs from like seven years ago.
[9:18] Speaker 2: I'll never forget it.
[9:19] Speaker 3: No knock on the Panthers and Bryce Young, who had
[9:20] Speaker 3: a great game. But a bigger test in the weeks ahead,
[9:23] Speaker 3: I think, will really show whether this defense can hold up.
[9:26] Speaker 3: Or if this is just a team that has to
[9:27] Speaker 3: outscore everybody all year.
[9:28] Speaker 2: Yeah, their secondary was completely depleted, too. And I think
[9:32] Speaker 2: that's something to keep an eye on, but also... Kind of,
[9:35] Speaker 2: it's a caveat when you look at the score and
[9:37] Speaker 2: how many points that they gave up. So coming up,
[9:39] Speaker 2: where are Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the rankings
[9:43] Speaker 2: after their monster win over the Broncos on Monday night?
[9:46] Speaker 2: And what about the Birds? Where are the Eagles, Shook?
[9:49] Speaker 3: That's all coming up. You might not be happy.
[9:52] Speaker 2: No?
[9:52] Speaker 3: Come on.
[9:54] Speaker 2: Am I never happy? taking a look at nick shook's
[10:07] Speaker 2: teams 9 through 16 the niners up eight spots huge
[10:12] Speaker 2: win over the rams abroad you have the chiefs right
[10:15] Speaker 2: behind them the eagles down six spots we'll get to
[10:18] Speaker 2: that Texans down two, Lions at 13, the Bucs up
[10:23] Speaker 2: four spots at 14, the Giants, huge movers, gigantic movers,
[10:27] Speaker 2: you might say, plus 11 spots, and then the Packers
[10:31] Speaker 2: at 16. Now let's get to our team of the week.
[10:35] Speaker 2: It's the San Francisco 49ers. They went to Melbourne. They
[10:39] Speaker 2: shocked the world beating up on the Rams. And the Niners,
[10:43] Speaker 2: Brock Purdy, he looked great. Three touchdowns. They were incredible
[10:46] Speaker 2: on the ground. It's just they had all of the
[10:48] Speaker 2: energy in the stadium and it showed on the field.
[10:52] Speaker 3: Three touchdowns to three guys all over 30 years old,
[10:55] Speaker 3: which is quite an accomplishment. Shout out to Debo Samuel
[10:57] Speaker 3: in getting that done.
[10:58] Speaker 2: Mike Evans, too, looking incredible.
[11:00] Speaker 3: Well, I mean, when it's goal to go, you throw
[11:02] Speaker 3: it to Mike Evans.
[11:03] Speaker 2: That's an easy one.
[11:04] Speaker 3: That's just what you're supposed to do. But this is
[11:06] Speaker 3: kind of a correction of sorts from where they were
[11:09] Speaker 3: before because I think I just underrated them because going
[11:11] Speaker 3: into this season, the talk with them was, oh, injuries,
[11:14] Speaker 3: so many injuries. How are they going to overcome it?
[11:16] Speaker 3: And then they go to Australia. They have the week
[11:18] Speaker 3: to prepare. They look like they're more energized and ready
[11:19] Speaker 3: team than the Rams. And they dominated them. They flat
[11:22] Speaker 3: out dominated them physically, schematically. Kyle Shanahan was in his
[11:26] Speaker 3: bag all game. And defensively, they did a great job
[11:29] Speaker 3: as well and really shut down the Rams. So I
[11:31] Speaker 3: give them the respect that they deserve, and they climb up.
[11:34] Speaker 3: And because it's week one, these rankings will be a
[11:36] Speaker 3: little more volatile because we only have one week's worth
[11:38] Speaker 3: of games. Now, I do think that they're just going
[11:40] Speaker 3: to build on this because week two is the most
[11:42] Speaker 3: favorable matchup in the entire NFL, which is no offense
[11:45] Speaker 3: to Dolphins fans. They're playing Miami. Yeah, so we're going
[11:47] Speaker 3: to see more of them.
[11:48] Speaker 2: Okay, how about the impact, too, of having their defensive
[11:51] Speaker 2: stars back and healthy, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa?
[11:54] Speaker 3: I thought it was a tale of two different types
[11:57] Speaker 3: of players at this stage of their return from injury because...
[12:00] Speaker 3: Bosa didn't play. He played under 60% of the defensive snaps.
[12:03] Speaker 3: He had one pressure. He wasn't that much of a factor.
[12:05] Speaker 3: Fred Warner, on the other hand, was magnificent. He was
[12:08] Speaker 3: all over the field. He was playing like his hair
[12:10] Speaker 3: was on fire. Early on, he's like diving in. I
[12:13] Speaker 3: thought he was like almost headhunting for a second. No,
[12:15] Speaker 3: I come to realize he's going for the ball. He's
[12:17] Speaker 3: punching for the ball. He finally forced a fumble. It
[12:19] Speaker 3: all worked out for him in the fourth quarter. He
[12:21] Speaker 3: is a massive boost to this defense. We know how
[12:22] Speaker 3: important he is as a player. And I think having
[12:25] Speaker 3: him back and being the heart of the defense elevated
[12:27] Speaker 3: everybody else.
[12:28] Speaker 2: That's the look of a guy who has been waiting
[12:31] Speaker 2: to get back on the field like no other. And
[12:33] Speaker 2: then he finally had his chance and he was ready
[12:36] Speaker 2: to go. Just like the Chiefs were ready to go
[12:38] Speaker 2: on Monday Night Football, beating the Broncos 31-10. What did
[12:43] Speaker 2: you like from what you saw from the Chiefs? Because
[12:45] Speaker 2: it looks like they finally, after decades, have.
[12:49] Speaker 3: A ground game.
[12:50] Speaker 2: What?
[12:51] Speaker 3: Since the days of Jamal Charles or even Priest Holmes,
[12:54] Speaker 3: the Chiefs have a star. Well, Kareem Hunt, I'll give
[12:56] Speaker 3: you credit, Kareem Hunt, as well. He was actually the
[12:58] Speaker 3: last 1,000-yard rusher, and that was, I think, eight years ago.
[13:01] Speaker 3: So it's been a long time since they've had a
[13:03] Speaker 3: legitimate ground game, and they've needed it. They're going to
[13:05] Speaker 3: need it more this year than ever because of Patrick
[13:06] Speaker 3: Mahomes coming back from the ACL. and he looked not
[13:10] Speaker 3: quite like Patrick Mahomes, which is typical of somebody coming
[13:12] Speaker 3: back from the ACL injury, but it didn't matter because
[13:14] Speaker 3: Kenneth Walker went nuts. 23 carries, 173 yards, a touchdown,
[13:18] Speaker 3: running through tackles. The Broncos tackled poorly throughout this game,
[13:20] Speaker 3: and the Chiefs took advantage. They looked so prepared and
[13:24] Speaker 3: so ready to another game with a divisional rival. prove
[13:27] Speaker 3: that point, that yes, we saw the Broncos win the division,
[13:31] Speaker 3: they took our throne, but we're not about to just
[13:33] Speaker 3: let them have it this year.
[13:36] Speaker 2: No, 173 yards, you said, for Kenneth Walker.
[13:38] Speaker 3: It's so funny, because there was a sideline report during
[13:40] Speaker 3: the game mentioning how Walker was ready to move on
[13:42] Speaker 3: and get the opportunities that he felt he didn't get
[13:44] Speaker 3: in Seattle because he was kind of a tandem with
[13:46] Speaker 3: Zach Charbonnet. Let's talk about capitalizing on your opportunity the
[13:48] Speaker 3: first time out. I'm going to go set a career
[13:50] Speaker 3: high in my next game after winning Super Bowl MVP. Yeah, exactly.
[13:55] Speaker 2: That's a really nice first impression for Kenneth Walker in
[13:58] Speaker 2: Kansas City. So we move on to number 11, Shook,
[14:02] Speaker 2: and it is the Eagles.
[14:04] Speaker 3: Here we go.
[14:04] Speaker 2: Who fell six spots, even though they beat the Commanders.
[14:09] Speaker 2: But I know it was not a really convincing win.
[14:12] Speaker 3: Colleen, do you think that Philly Radio was really happy
[14:15] Speaker 3: on Monday after the Eagles managed to.
[14:17] Speaker 2: 94 WIP? I can't imagine.
[14:19] Speaker 3: I can't either. In fact, you can kind of feel
[14:21] Speaker 3: it coming in the second half of this game when
[14:23] Speaker 3: they were letting the commanders hang around. And I give
[14:25] Speaker 3: a lot of credit to the commanders for battling in
[14:27] Speaker 3: this game. And I give a lot of credit to
[14:29] Speaker 3: Jalen Hurts for carrying this offense because they needed him to.
[14:32] Speaker 3: The Shawn Manion offense, we expected to be better than
[14:33] Speaker 3: it was under Kevin Petullo. And to a degree, it
[14:35] Speaker 3: was better than it was under Kevin Petullo. But they
[14:39] Speaker 3: still don't run block well. Saquon Barkley, for his 83 yards,
[14:43] Speaker 3: half of it basically came on one carry. On his
[14:45] Speaker 3: other 14 carries, he was contacted behind the line of
[14:47] Speaker 3: scrimmage on half of them. That's concerning. Now, I did, again,
[14:51] Speaker 3: like what Jalen Hurts did. with his kind of new
[14:53] Speaker 3: look receiving core. He also connected with Dallas Goddard very
[14:56] Speaker 3: successfully in this game. And the defense, the one thing
[14:59] Speaker 3: that we know we can count on with the Eagles,
[15:00] Speaker 3: did well and they stood up when they needed it most.
[15:02] Speaker 3: But it's too close for comfort for a team that
[15:04] Speaker 3: I expect much more out of in week one. Week
[15:06] Speaker 3: one's crazy, but that's why they dropped because they let
[15:10] Speaker 3: the commanders hang around.
[15:12] Speaker 2: And they're at home, they're at the link. They went
[15:14] Speaker 2: three and out five times over 12 drives. This was
[15:19] Speaker 2: not a very fun game to watch either, but... Hey,
[15:22] Speaker 2: the Eagles, they pulled it out, and they will be
[15:24] Speaker 2: facing Tennessee.
[15:26] Speaker 3: Coming up next week.
[15:27] Speaker 2: There we go. Let's go to the Lions, who they
[15:30] Speaker 2: could also kind of use a bounce back a little bit,
[15:33] Speaker 2: even though they narrowly beat the Saints this week. They
[15:38] Speaker 2: blew a 21-point lead and almost lost to the Saints.
[15:42] Speaker 2: So how worried are you about the team and the
[15:45] Speaker 2: offense right now?
[15:47] Speaker 3: Not too worried about the offense other than the fact
[15:48] Speaker 3: that they really relied on Jameer Gibbs. I think he
[15:51] Speaker 3: had 34 total touches in this game. That's too many
[15:54] Speaker 3: for one guy. I'm sorry. You need to distribute a
[15:56] Speaker 3: little bit more, and I think they will. Jared Goff
[15:57] Speaker 3: looked fine. The passing game looked decent, especially early on.
[16:01] Speaker 3: I mean, this is a 21-0 game at one point.
[16:03] Speaker 3: Look at the Lions were going to run away with it.
[16:05] Speaker 3: And then the Saints woke up and found a way
[16:07] Speaker 3: to move the football basically out of desperation. Tyler Shuck
[16:10] Speaker 3: looked very good, and it also kind of reminded us
[16:12] Speaker 3: that maybe this Lions defense still has some concerns. So
[16:16] Speaker 3: while they're up two spots because they win, it's also
[16:19] Speaker 3: kind of a product of some of the teams moving
[16:20] Speaker 3: around them. I still feel good about them, and I
[16:24] Speaker 3: don't know if I'll feel so good about them after
[16:26] Speaker 3: this week because they have to go to Buffalo for
[16:28] Speaker 3: the opening of new Highmark Stadium and face the Buffalo Bills,
[16:31] Speaker 3: a team that could very much expose this defense. We're
[16:33] Speaker 3: going to learn a lot about them this week.
[16:34] Speaker 2: Okay, so the baptism of the new Highmark Stadium between
[16:38] Speaker 2: the Lions and the Bills. That's must-see TV. That is
[16:41] Speaker 2: a great Thursday night matchup. Let's talk about the biggest
[16:44] Speaker 2: power mover of the week, and it is the Giants.
[16:48] Speaker 2: They're up 11 spots. Sunday night football, they just housed
[16:52] Speaker 2: the Cowboys.
[16:54] Speaker 3: They did. And when I shuffled these rankings around, I thought,
[16:57] Speaker 3: am I being too nice to the Giants? Am I
[16:59] Speaker 3: giving them too much.
[17:00] Speaker 2: Credit for the fashion?
[17:01] Speaker 3: Maybe you are.
[17:01] Speaker 2: Maybe you should slow down, Shook.
[17:02] Speaker 3: You know, maybe I should just pump the brakes a
[17:04] Speaker 3: little bit on the New York Giants. But Giants fans,
[17:06] Speaker 3: I mean, they saw their team taking their triumphant photos
[17:09] Speaker 3: afterward and posing. I mean... If this team gets very good,
[17:12] Speaker 3: they're going to be very annoying on social media. I'll
[17:14] Speaker 3: say that. No question. But look, they earned the right
[17:17] Speaker 3: to do that with the way that they won this game.
[17:19] Speaker 3: They took it to the Dallas Cowboys. They were the
[17:21] Speaker 3: tougher team. They were the more creative team schematically, especially offensively.
[17:26] Speaker 3: And the way that they closed this game. I mean,
[17:28] Speaker 3: they dominated time of possession in the fourth quarter. It
[17:31] Speaker 3: was 12 and a half minutes to two and a half.
[17:32] Speaker 3: The Cowboys just needed the ball back with an opportunity
[17:34] Speaker 3: to tie the game. And the Giants said, we're not
[17:36] Speaker 3: giving you the ball back. We're going to rely on
[17:38] Speaker 3: our hard runner in Cam Scadaboo. We're going to let
[17:40] Speaker 3: Jackson Dart find Isaiah Likely, our new addition this season,
[17:43] Speaker 3: and continue to move the football. Malik Nabors got involved
[17:46] Speaker 3: after there were some concerns about whether he'd be ready
[17:48] Speaker 3: for the start of the season. I mean, look, it's
[17:51] Speaker 3: only one week and I don't want to overreact, but
[17:53] Speaker 3: John Harbaugh, his arrival is already making a difference with
[17:56] Speaker 3: this group. And I think what was most important to
[17:58] Speaker 3: me was the way that they ran block, like run
[18:01] Speaker 3: block with authority. They were able to pull guys out
[18:04] Speaker 3: in front. Pat Ricard, Chris Collinsworth talked about him a
[18:06] Speaker 3: lot on the broadcast, and I can't blame him because
[18:09] Speaker 3: Pat Ricard is one of the most enjoyable players to watch.
[18:11] Speaker 3: This is a guy who's 300 pounds, plays fullback, also
[18:13] Speaker 3: has moonlighted as a defensive tackle during his time in Baltimore. Oh,
[18:16] Speaker 3: my God. He follows Harbaugh to New York, and he's
[18:19] Speaker 3: just doing a little bit of everything, clearing lanes for
[18:21] Speaker 3: a bruiser behind him in Scataboo. I like what they
[18:23] Speaker 3: did in week one.
[18:24] Speaker 2: If they continue on this path, it's definitely giving the
[18:27] Speaker 2: Jeremy Shockey Giants a hold. I mean, as a Philadelphian.
[18:32] Speaker 3: Do I need a full sleeve for that?
[18:33] Speaker 2: I know.
[18:34] Speaker 3: I know.
[18:35] Speaker 2: Yes, they're very talented. Now, will that continue when they're
[18:39] Speaker 2: not playing a Cowboys defense? I don't know. We will
[18:42] Speaker 2: get answers to that, though. Let's go to the Packers,
[18:45] Speaker 2: who are at 16-11. down four spots they lost to
[18:48] Speaker 2: Minnesota after giving up what 29 unanswered points this.
[18:53] Speaker 3: Was a game in which the Packers looked like they
[18:55] Speaker 3: were going to walk away with a win that they
[18:57] Speaker 3: could be proud of they looked like the better team
[18:59] Speaker 3: and Jordan Love was doing everything within his power to
[19:01] Speaker 3: keep them just a step ahead of the Vikings because
[19:04] Speaker 3: there was no running game to speak of obviously Josh
[19:06] Speaker 3: Jacobs is not on the field Marshawn Lloyd is the
[19:08] Speaker 3: lead back 13 for 37 is not going to get
[19:10] Speaker 3: it done but Love was taking advantage of some of
[19:12] Speaker 3: the over-aggression on Brian Flores' defense in the first half.
[19:15] Speaker 3: He had Christian Watson on a long catch-and-run touchdown. And
[19:18] Speaker 3: he worked with Tucker Craftwell to move the ball down
[19:20] Speaker 3: the field. So everything looked fine until it wasn't. One
[19:24] Speaker 3: sequence in the second half in which a couple of
[19:26] Speaker 3: bailout penalties give the Vikings fresh sets of downs start
[19:29] Speaker 3: this collapse. And it's a collapse that's so familiar to
[19:32] Speaker 3: Packers fans because this is a team, for everything that
[19:34] Speaker 3: they did in the offseason, to try to become a
[19:36] Speaker 3: more resilient group and kind of get rid of some
[19:39] Speaker 3: of the drama and everything else. They collapsed in the
[19:41] Speaker 3: fourth quarter because they couldn't deal with the adversity again.
[19:44] Speaker 3: Once things started going against them, it just snowballed. And
[19:47] Speaker 3: then Brian Flores was able to unleash the dogs after
[19:50] Speaker 3: Jordan Love. Turnover, turnover. Vikings run away with a 17-point
[19:53] Speaker 3: victory that never felt possible.
[19:54] Speaker 2: Prior. Yeah, well, collapsing defensively to a Carson Wentz-led defense
[19:59] Speaker 2: is pretty brutal. So, yeah, they take on the Jets
[20:03] Speaker 2: coming up next week. They're at New York for that one.
[20:06] Speaker 2: But coming up, the rest of Nick Shook's Week 2
[20:09] Speaker 2: Power Rankings, everybody. Where do the Cowboys, Steelers, and Raiders land?
[20:14] Speaker 2: And who claims the bottom spot? Who's lucky enough to
[20:18] Speaker 2: come in last? Find out next. Welcome back to Power Rankings.
[20:32] Speaker 2: Look here at teams 17 through 24. And as you
[20:36] Speaker 2: can see, hey, the Cardinals, they are the darling of
[20:39] Speaker 2: this group. Up six spots, along with the Jets, who
[20:41] Speaker 2: are up four spots. But it's the Cowboys at 17, Patriots, Cardinals, Chargers.
[20:46] Speaker 2: Then you have the Saints at 21, the Vikings, the Steelers,
[20:51] Speaker 2: and then the Jets. So let's go here to the Cowboys.
[20:56] Speaker 2: And at 17, down nine spots. Looks like They didn't
[21:01] Speaker 2: do a whole lot to their defense in the offseason.
[21:03] Speaker 3: No, but they hurt me, and I think that's why
[21:05] Speaker 3: they slide. They hurt a lot of people, I think.
[21:06] Speaker 2: It's America's team, so they hurt America.
[21:08] Speaker 3: Look, I took the bait, okay? I bought into the
[21:11] Speaker 3: whole revamped defense, and I was like, all right, Christian Parker,
[21:15] Speaker 3: Vic Fangio School of Defense, it's all going to work out.
[21:18] Speaker 3: And then it didn't. They gave up 9 of 11
[21:21] Speaker 3: third-down conversions to the Giants. They didn't get the ball
[21:24] Speaker 3: back in the fourth quarter. They gave up multiple passes
[21:26] Speaker 3: to the flats and never adjusted. And they got beat
[21:29] Speaker 3: up front in the physical game. And that's just so
[21:31] Speaker 3: disappointing for me because they need to be better on
[21:33] Speaker 3: that side of the ball. And then their offense wasn't
[21:35] Speaker 3: able to keep pace, in part because they had the
[21:37] Speaker 3: ball twice in the second half. Unacceptable for the Cowboys.
[21:39] Speaker 2: I was going to say, I think the Cowboys' defense
[21:41] Speaker 2: is still on the field.
[21:41] Speaker 3: Yes, exactly. They didn't get on the plane. They weren't
[21:44] Speaker 3: allowed to.
[21:44] Speaker 2: No, exactly. Let's go to number 19. The Cardinals up
[21:49] Speaker 2: six spots after pulling off the shocking upset over the Chargers.
[21:54] Speaker 2: What did you like most in this win for them?
[21:56] Speaker 3: You know, I don't think it's that often that we
[21:58] Speaker 3: see a new coach come in and have the team
[22:00] Speaker 3: completely buy in to the point that They end up
[22:03] Speaker 3: winning the physical battle. They win the effort battle. What
[22:05] Speaker 3: about John Harbaugh? Yes, they look, I guess that's true.
[22:09] Speaker 3: But the Cardinals just look so much better defensively than
[22:11] Speaker 3: I anticipated. We knew that they had weapons on offense.
[22:13] Speaker 3: We knew that Jacoby Brissett would find Trey McBride. He'd
[22:16] Speaker 3: find Marvin Harrison Jr. down the sideline for a big grab.
[22:19] Speaker 3: Jeremiah Love would be involved. All that would be involved.
[22:22] Speaker 3: But the defense, the way that they were opportunistic, the
[22:25] Speaker 3: way that they got after Justin Herbert, the fourth down
[22:27] Speaker 3: stop in the red zone, early in that game really
[22:30] Speaker 3: set the tone. The interception, Andrew Winger deep down the
[22:32] Speaker 3: field in the fourth quarter really just kind of capped
[22:35] Speaker 3: a performance that nobody saw coming. and makes me give
[22:37] Speaker 3: them a lot more respect than I thought I would
[22:39] Speaker 3: going into this year.
[22:40] Speaker 2: So next week, they will be playing your number one
[22:43] Speaker 2: ranked team, the Seahawks.
[22:45] Speaker 3: And that's when we really learn who they are. Exactly.
[22:48] Speaker 2: How do you think that will go?
[22:50] Speaker 3: I have a hard time buying in just yet. I
[22:52] Speaker 3: think I'll probably be picking the Seahawks in that game,
[22:54] Speaker 3: but it'll be closer than we thought. I know. Wow.
[22:56] Speaker 2: NFC West. Okay, we see you. Let's go to teams
[22:59] Speaker 2: 25 through 32. I call this the sad zone. But, hey,
[23:03] Speaker 2: the Commanders, they're at the top of it. They're on
[23:06] Speaker 2: the bubble at 25. We got the Colts, Panthers, Falcons,
[23:09] Speaker 2: Raiders at 29, the Dolphins at 30, and then the
[23:13] Speaker 2: Titans and the Browns down at 32. But the Commanders,
[23:18] Speaker 2: you want to give them a little shout-out here. It's
[23:19] Speaker 2: not too sad for them.
[23:21] Speaker 3: Yeah, I heard Commanders fans get after me in my
[23:23] Speaker 3: mentions for ranking them 31st last week, and you know what?
[23:26] Speaker 3: You're right. I disrespected them. I underrated them, and they
[23:29] Speaker 3: impressed me with the way that they battled with the
[23:31] Speaker 3: Eagles in this game. Their offense wasn't really working all
[23:33] Speaker 3: that well, but Jaden Daniels was able to make things
[23:35] Speaker 3: happen here and there, especially in big spots. And the
[23:37] Speaker 3: defense was so much better than I thought it would be,
[23:40] Speaker 3: save for the touchdowns that they gave up to Dallas Goddard. Look,
[23:42] Speaker 3: a lot of these new additions, I think that they
[23:45] Speaker 3: came together a lot faster than I anticipated. Dan Quinn
[23:47] Speaker 3: leading them. I'm excited to see how they play over
[23:49] Speaker 3: the next month.
[23:50] Speaker 2: Yeah, it was a really good loss.
[23:53] Speaker 3: Yes, which we don't take moral victories. You get integrity
[23:55] Speaker 3: and gold star. We'll go with that. No moral victories,
[23:58] Speaker 3: but it's fine. Okay, fine.
[24:00] Speaker 2: Great job, Shook. We'll be back next week with your
[24:03] Speaker 2: week three rankings, but that is it. Thanks for checking
[24:07] Speaker 2: out NFL Power Rankings presented by Energizer. Everybody enjoy the week,
[24:11] Speaker 2: and I hope your team wins this week.
[24:20] Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
[24:22] Speaker 1: partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
[24:26] Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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