Kansas City Chiefs: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#8)

October 31, 2013 stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings, Chiefs, Uncategorized

Last week: 6 (-2)

Record: 8-0

The Chiefs are 8-0, but they haven’t beaten a team ranked higher than 12^th on this list and 5 of their 8 wins have come against bottom-10 teams. On top of that, 5 of their wins have come by 10 points or less. They are overrated and could easily lose this week in Buffalo, where two other top-15 teams (Baltimore, Carolina) have lost and two other top-10 teams (Cincinnati, New England) almost lost. Also overrated is Alex Smith, who is 27-5 over the past 3 seasons and apparently gets all the credit for that, even though his defenses have allowed 13.4 points per game in those 32 games. The Chiefs have a great defense and a strong running game, but they won’t be able to get deep into the playoffs.

Week 8 Studs

LOLB Justin Houston

DT Dontari Poe

MLB Derrick Johnson

Week 8 Duds

RT Eric Fisher

C Rodney Hudson

MLB Akeem Jordan

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Cincinnati Bengals: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#9)

October 31, 2013 stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings, Bengals, Uncategorized

Last week: 9 (+0)

Record: 6-2

I still question Andy Dalton and I don’t know how much better he is than someone like Alex Smith, but he has so much talent around him, especially with Marvin Jones in the middle of a breakout season. They have a strong running back tandem, a solid receiving corps, and a strong offensive line. Defensively, they are very strong, particularly on the defensive line. They’d be higher on here if they hadn’t lost top cornerback Leon Hall for the season and I question their back 7 without him, but you couldn’t tell he was gone in a 49-9 shelling of the Jets. They’re definitely in the mix in the AFC.

Week 8 Studs

QB Andy Dalton

WR Marvin Jones

RE Michael Johnson

LOLB Vontaze Burfict

CB Adam Jones

SS George Iloka

Week 8 Duds

None

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Carolina Panthers: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#10)

October 31, 2013 stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings, Panthers, Uncategorized

Last week: 12 (+2)

Record: 4-3

Don’t look now, but the Panthers are a few plays away from 6-1 and have the 5^th best point differential in the NFL, on the strength of the #2 scoring defense in the NFL. They are moving the chains at an 80% rate, as opposed to 71% for their opponents, the 3^rd best rate in the NFL. Vegas knows how good they are and they probably will only be underdogs in 3 or 4 more games (vs/at New Orleans, at San Francisco, vs New England). I think this is a playoff team in the NFC. They are currently tied for a wild card spot in the loss column.

Week 8 Studs

LT Jordan Gross

LE Charles Johnson

Week 8 Duds

None

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Detroit Lions: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#11)

October 31, 2013 stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings, Lions, Uncategorized

Last week: 10 (-1)

Record: 5-3

Last year, the two problems for the Lions were turnovers and close losses and it looked like the Lions were re-living last year this week against the Cowboys before that amazing game winning drive. They won the game despite losing the turnover battle by 4, something that had only happened 19 times prior since 1989, as opposed to 393 losses. They did this by accumulating 623 yards of offense, as opposed to 268 for the Cowboys, only the 24^th time since 1989 that a team won the yardage battle by that much (22-2 straight up). They are moving the chains at an explosive 78% rate, as opposed to 74% for their opponents and rank 10^th in differential. They have a lot of promise going forward, especially if Matt Stafford continues playing at a borderline-MVP level (he’s ProFootballFocus’ 3^rd ranked passing quarterback behind Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers).

Week 8 Studs

QB Matt Stafford

WR Calvin Johnson

RT LaAdrian Waddle

LG Rob Sims

C Dominic Raiola

MLB Stephen Tulloch

CB Chris Houston

Week 8 Duds

TE Joseph Fauria

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Dallas Cowboys: 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings (#12)

October 31, 2013 stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 9 NFL Power Rankings, Cowboys, Uncategorized

Last week: 11 (-1)

Record: 4-4

You can call it a crushing loss for the Cowboys, but they did not deserve to win that game. They were outgained by 355 yards, only the 24^th time that had happened to a team since 1989 and lost despite winning the turnover battle by 4, only the 20^th time that had happened to a team since 1989. They won’t always be able to force turnovers and they have a +9 turnover margin on the season and they’ve only forced 35 punts in 8 games. Their defense is horrible and their offense might not be good enough to keep up. They are clearly the best team in the NFC East, but they might not even make the playoffs in any other division in football.

Week 8 Studs

None

Week 8 Duds

LG Robert Leary

LE George Selvie

DT Nick Hayden

CB Brandon Carr

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