The State of the NFC After Week 6- Eagles in a Tier of Their Own
After 6 weeks, the tiers in the NFC are starting to become very clear. There are the basement dwellers, think Panthers. There are the teams like the Packers who are massive disappointments. And then at the top, there are the Eagles, who are in a tier of their own. They have been for a while now. But their win on Sunday night just makes it all the more clear. But what tier do the other NFC teams fall into? Here is the state of the NFC after 6 weeks.
Tier 6 (The Hopeless Teams)
16) Carolina Panthers (1-5) (Last Week-16)
Well, at least now we have a good idea of who the worst team in the NFC is. It had been fairly difficult to separate the bottom teams in the NFL. But the Panthers now stand out above the rest. And by above I mean below. They fired their coach last week, but that won’t fix this team. They lost to the scuffling Rams. And now the fire sale has begun. Robbie Anderson was the first casualty. But likely not the last. Names like DJ Moore, Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, Shaq Thompson, and even Christain McCaffery could be on the move soon as well if the Panthers get an offer they like. Perhaps the right move for their future. But these moves will make this year’s team unwatchable.
15) Chicago Bears (2-4) (Last Week- 15)
How did this team win two games? This offense is brutal. I have mentioned it before, but it is a mortal sin that they threw Justin Fields out there this year with literally no help. He has been bad in his own right, but it is tough to expect a rookie, who was considered a project to begin with, to grow with this offense around him. They are last in passing yards, and first in sacks allowed. Fields needs to do a better job in dealing with pressure, but his team, and specifically his front office, need to do a better job of protecting him.
14) Washington Commanders (2-4) (Last Week- 14)
As if things weren’t bad enough for the Commanders, now Carson Wentz is hurt (shocker). Say what you will about Wentz, he has not been good enough, but his talent did keep them in games. Of course, his dumb mistakes also would take them out of it. But we have seen this team with Taylor Heinicke. They sucked even more. There is a reason they were desperate enough to take a chance on Carson Wentz. One of their only wins was against the Bears. And they only won that game because they sucked less. The Commanders are the ugly duckling of the NFC East this year.
Tier 5 (The Maybe Next Year Teams)
13) Detroit Lions (1-4) (Last Week-14)
The Lions were on a bye week. So our most recent memory is still of them being shut down by the Patriots’ Defense, while their own defense was beaten by a rookie named Zappe. Their one saving grace was the Patriots and Zappe looked good again this week. So maybe it was not as bad of a loss as it first looked. But unlike the prior 3 teams, they at least have something to build on. When healthy, D’Andre Swift and Amon-ra St Brown have looked legit. They will not be a good team right now. But there is reason to hope.
12) New Orleans Saints (2-4) (Last Week- 11)
Yep, Andy Dalton is still wildly mediocre. Weird that when the Cowboys and Bears couldn’t make it work with him, it also has not gone well with the Saints. They are not a terrible team, but they also aren’t really any good. If Jameis Winston was healthy I could see them as middle of the pack, but the talent here is not good enough to overcome the blandness that is Andy Dalton. At least they have a high pick to look forward to in a great QB Class. Oh wait. Thank you again for the first-round pick Saints.
11) Arizona Cardinals (2-4) (Last Week- 10)
A 19-9 loss to the Seahawks may be their low point. And now we are officially in head coach watch. Matt Rhule’s hot seat burst into flames last week, and now it is Kliff Kingsbury with the hottest seat in the NFL. His tenure in Arizona has been plagued with a failure to live up to expectations. Usually, he waited until late in the season. This year he has gotten things started early. Maybe he and Rhule had plans to take some golf trips in November. If they lose to the Saints on Thursday night it may be his last game as an NFL Coach.
Tier 4 (Not as Bad As We Thought, But Still Kind of Bad)
10) Seattle Seahawks (3-3) (Last Week- 13)
They keep scrapping out wins. The surprising part is that it was the defense that won this game. Their defense has been fairly terrible before Sunday. But they shut down Kyler Murray, allowing only 9 points. Not sure if that is better for the Seahawks, or worse for the Cardinals. But regardless, it was an impressive win. The Seahawks weirdly have a shot at the playoffs because the NFC West is pretty bad this year. But that is not because this is a good team. It is because the Rams forgot how to play Football.
9) Atlanta Falcons (3-3) (Last Week- 12)
The Eagles may be the only undefeated team, but the Falcons are the only team that has covered the spread every week. Which I suppose is impressive in a different type of way. If there was an award for over-performing expectations, the Falcons would come in 2nd place to the Giants. Because this team was supposed to be bad. But they aren’t. They are not good. But they battle and make nothing easy. And their win this week over the 49ers was their most impressive yet. And like the Seahawks, they have a chance at the playoffs still because no one in their division is playing good football right now.
Tier 3 (The Underperformers)
8) Los Angeles Rams (3-3) (Last Week- 8)
What has happened to them? It is still mostly the same team. They still have the dynamic trio of Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsay, and Cooper Kupp. And yet, they are kind of a bad Football team right now. Is it as simple as the offensive line sucks now? If that is really the thing that turned them from Super Bowl winners, to in danger of missing the playoffs, then we need to give Howie Roseman some extra praise for always stocking up on new young offensive linemen.
7) San Francisco 49ers (3-3) (Last Week- 5)
This is who the 49ers are with Jimmy G. And this is why the 49ers were so aggressive in trying to find his replacement. People will defend Jimmy by pointing out how far the 49ers have gone with him at QB. But that has always been in spite of his mediocrity. And in games where the surrounding pieces aren’t getting it done, he is incapable of lifting his team.
6) Green Bay Packers (3-3) (Last Week- 6)
Okay, you can start panicking now if you are a Packers fan. People keep saying it is Aaron Rodgers and they will figure it out. Okay. But when? That is two straight losses now. And this one wasn’t even close. They got blown out by the Jets. At home. No one on this team is stepping up to be Aaron Rodgers’ guy. And honestly, he deserves a lot of the blame for that himself. Yes, his team failed to put quality pieces around him. But we have seen Tom Brady do more with perhaps less. What is Rodgers’ excuse? They are now 2 games behind the Vikings, and the Vikings already have one win over them.
5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) (Last Week- 4)
Speaking of disappointing week 6 results, what the hell are the Bucs doing losing to the Steelers? I know we have seen Tom Brady go through bad stretches before. Every year they lose a couple of games, and everyone panics thinking he has lost it. But eventually, those people will be right. He is 45 and going through a period of personal turmoil. Maybe this is just it? Bucs should still be competitive because the conference and his division both suck. But this could be the year Brady losses it.
Tier 2 (The Actually Somewhat Good Teams?)
4) Dallas Cowboys (4-2) (Last Week- 3)
Full credit to the Cowboys. They overperformed with Dak Prescott out to more than stay afloat, they went 4-1. Their defense is for real, even if the Eagles managed to crack the code against them by running the ball right at Micah Parsons. But even with Dak back, I don’t know if I would call the Cowboys great. Good maybe. But the problem is still Mike McCarthy. His dumbass choice to not only go for it early in the game at their own 34-yard line but put the ball in the hands of Cooper Rush on the pay, is emblematic of how bad of a head coach he is. Just like his stupid playcalling cost them in the playoffs. Bad head coaching continues to be their achilles heel.
3) New York Giants (5-1) (Last Week- 7)
Man, this team just keeps winning. I can’t say their offense ever looks particularly good in wins, but they do enough. And their defense is full of young up incoming stars. They are finally a well-coached team, and Brian Daboll has a strong early case for Coach of the Year. Can they keep it up? Why not? They already beat the Packers and Ravens, and the schedule doesn’t get much tougher than that for them. They won’t be a one-loss team all year and come short of the top-tier of teams, but they are a good team. And this year good will be good enough to make the playoffs.
2) Minnesota Vikings (5-1) (Last Week- 2)
Are the Vikings great? No. They have struggled the last few weeks against teams they should have walked over. But they are 5-1, and there is some elite talent at play here. Justin Jefferson is one of the top 3 wrs in the league. Dalvin Cook is very good as well. Kirk Cousins is mediocre. But with the weapons he has, mediocre can be good enough. Like the Giants, they fall short of being an upper-echelon team, but they don’t need to be great to be competitive in this NFC. Their only loss is to the Eagles, and everyone is losing to the Eagles.
Tier 1- Elite
1) Philadelphia Eagles (6-0) (Last Week- 1)
There is no argument to be had, this is the best team in the NFC, and they have a strong case for best in the league. They are in a tier of their own, with much of the rest of the NFC being massive disappointments this year. This week they faced a tough test, and they passed it yet again. The Cowboys have one of the best defenses in the league, and the Eagles put up 26 on them. And the Eagles’ defense continued to show they are elite as well. 3 more interceptions. The defense is a takeaway machine, and on the other side, the offense protects the Football better than anyone. And that is the key to winning games in this league.
