Believe it or not, we are at the midway point of the season. By this point we can pretty much tell the contenders from the pretenders. More importantly, this is where we can dissect the best of the best. These are the top 10 teams that make it into my power rankings.
#10 Minnesota Vikings (6 – 2)
I place the Vikings at 10 simply because I dont believe Cousins can continue his recent form. His most recent games where he posted over 300 yards each were all against really bad defenses in New York, Detroit, and Philadelphia. However, Dalvin Cook has seen his name in the league MVP conversation. Averaging over 5 yards per carry plus over 1000 total yards. He could very well be the second best running back in the league.
#9 Indianapolis Colts (5 – 2)
I would put the Colts higher, however, close wins to teams they should beat make me question how legit this team is. They have yet to beat a team by over 7 points this season. For a team that has played Atlanta, Tennessee, Los Angeles (Chargers), Denver, and Cincinnati, this is concerning. However, they did travel to Kansas City to defeat a very good Chiefs team in primetime and that itself is very hard to overlook.
#8 Houston Texans ( 5 – 3)
I’m not sure you can make a bigger MVP statement than throwing the game winning touchdown blind…… literally. Deshaun Watson has proven week in and week out that he should be in the conversation as the front runner for league MVP. The Texans will be challenged at the start of the second half of the season as they have to play Baltimore, Indianapolis, and New England. I also think this is a great chance for the Houston defense to show they are not just JJ Watt.
#7 Baltimore Ravens (5 – 2)
Baltimore is another team with an MVP candidate quarterback. Lamar Jackson. If the Ravens can ride their high from beating Seattle in Seattle and carry that into the second half of the season, then this can be one of the most feared teams in the playoffs. The Ravens have one of the toughest schedules remaining. They have to play New England, Los Angeles (Rams), Buffalo, Houston, and San Francisco along with their normal division foes.
#6 Kansas City Chiefs (5 – 3)
Even with not having Mahomes at the helm, the Chiefs proved that they can function without him. Matt Moore proved his competence to run the Chiefs offense by throwing for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns. This could be due to them having one of the best receiving corps in the league. With Mecole Hardman, Tyreek Hill, and Sammy Watkins, this offense is very hard to stop, no matter who is throwing the ball. However, that’s still more than impressive for a guy who was an NFL scout in march. In addition, Mahomes won’t be out for long and then they will be back to being one of the best teams in the league.
#5 Seattle Seahawks (6 – 2)
The Seahawks are playing in a very tough division that is only going to keep getting tougher. San Francisco and Los Angeles (Rams) are two of the best teams in the league. However, Seattle has a future Hall of Famer at quarterback. While Seattle isnt sporting a very good defense at the moment — Clowney only has 2 sacks all season –their offense has done more than compensate. Chris Carson has been a real good lead on offense as it makes it easier for Wilson to stretch the field to Tyler Lockett or DK Metcalf.
#4 New Orleans Saints (7 – 1)
If there was a player who is the definition of “Most Valuable Player”, it is Michael Thomas. He has stepped up as the team leader when Brees went down. He leads the league with 73 receptions and already close to 1000 yards. However, no other receiver on the team has more than 20 catches. This is not sustainable to be so one dimensional in the passing game. In addition, the Saints did get Drew Brees back from injury and picked up as if he never left. 79% completion and almost 400 yards with 3 touchdowns is remarkable in itself, let alone coming back from an injury.
#3 San Francisco 49ers (7 – 0)
This is a toss up between 2 and 3. I think San Francisco has one of the best defenses in the league but I have to give the edge to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense. Furthermore, the 49ers defense proved great by forcing 3 interceptions from Kyle Allen and only holding Carolina to 13 points all game. With a running back like McCaffrey in Carolina, that is not an easy task. Tha San Francisco defense has 10 interceptions on the year. Above all, their offense is not too shabby either. Tevin Coleman torched the Carolina defense for 3 touchdowns before halftime. Also, the addition of Emmanuel Sanders has greatly helped their passing attack.
#2 Green Bay Packers (7 – 1)
The Packers are number 2 in my power rankings simply because of Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers will win the MVP this season. No way he doesn’t. Aaron Rodgers has had an offense where his starting running back was injured, 3 of his main receivers were injured at different points in the season, and yet he still puts up incredible numbers. The Nov. 24th matchup against San Francisco will be a must watch as it could be the battle for the Number 1 seed in the NFC. With Davante Adams soon to return from injury, this offense can only get scarier. I believe we will all get the Super Bowl we deserve with Green Bay vs New England.
#1 New England Patriots (8 – 0)
Who else would be number 1? This was a pretty obvious choice and I dont see it changing for some time….. if ever.
Follow me back next week when I release my updated power rankings. Did your team fall in my top 10 power rankings?
ForĀ moreĀ NFLĀ newsĀ andĀ stories,Ā BellyUpĀ hasĀ youĀ covered.Ā MakeĀ sureĀ toĀ followĀ usĀ onĀ Twitter
