State of the NFC After Week 9- Are the Eagles the Best in the NFL?
We are beyond the point of asking if the Eagles are the best team in the NFC. That is clear by now. Not only are they the only undefeated team, but they have wins over the next two best teams in the league. But could they be the best team in the NFL as a whole? The Bills and Chiefs each have 2 bad losses on their record now. The vaunted Bills offense has failed to reach 20 pts twice. The Eagles have never failed to score 20. There is a real argument to be had that the Eagles are the best team in the NFL. But where do the other NFC teams fall behind them? Who are the other contenders here? What teams have fallen out of the race entirely? Let’s take a look at the state of the NFC after week 9.
Tier 8 (Dead)
16) Carolina Panthers (2-6) (Last Week- 15)
Yep, that is more like it. They played up for a few weeks without their coach and some of their top talent on offense. But the team we saw this week is more like what we will see the rest of the season. They are a bad team. And they will keep playing so badly they may be in a position to get CJ Stroud.
15) Detroit Lions (2-6)(Last Week- 16)
That win says more about the Packers than it does the Lions. They cashed it in by trading TJ Hockenson. And they are more likely to be in the chase for CJ Stroud along with the Panthers than they are to be in any playoff race. They are way behind the Vikings, and pretty far behind the Wild Card teams too.
14) New Orleans Saints (3-6) (Last Week- 13)
No team with Andy Dalton is going anywhere. See how poorly they looked vs the Ravens on Monday Night. The only thing they have going for them is that the NFC South sucks. But are the Saints good enough to take advantage? Their play so far suggests no.
Tier 7 (Teams That Were Supposed to Be Good, But Suck)
13) Los Angeles Rams (3-5) (Last week- 12)
They could easily be in the dead category. And probably should. But they also fit into the tier of teams that were supposed to be in the playoffs but are in reality dreadful. This team is dead in the water. Their offense is genuinely awful. How awful are they? They have now been held under 20 pts 5 times. With the Niners having two wins over them, and the Seahawks playing well, the Rams are close to being out of it, if they aren’t already.
12) Arizona Cardinals (3-6) (Last Week- 11)
No running game outside of their QB. A defense that has given up 30 pts or more in 4 out of 9 weeks. And a head coach in way over his head. We have already seen two teams get their head coaches fired this season. Could the Cardinals be next? They have very little going for them, and every year under Kliff Kingsbury has been disappointing.
11) Green Bay Packers (3-6)(Last Week- 8)
Let the Packers be a warning. Even with a supposed great QB, you need great WRs. The Packers’ offense went from one of the best in the league, to completely terrible. What changed? Davante Adams. The Eagles’ offense went from average, to great. The difference? AJ Brown. Is it a coincidence that the Bills became great when they got Stefon Diggs? The packers have refused to invest in top weapons for years. It is finally biting them.
Tier 6 (Playing a Little Better Lately, But Still Bad)
10) Washington Commanders (4-5) (Last Week-10)
Putting this team over the Packers should be crazy. But is it? They have won games in the last month, unlike the Packers. And they actually beat the Packers. It is crazy, but this team may be better than the Packers. They aren’t good at all, and will likely lose many more games. But don’t be surprised if they end the season better off than the Packers and the Rams.
9) Chicago Bears (3-6)(Last Week- 14)
Justin Fields is starting to play like a first-round pick. They blew up their defense, and they will probably give up a lot of points the rest of the year. But they are starting to score some too. They gave their Qb a weapon, finally, even if the trade was not well thought out. And while they may not win many games, they at least now can see they have a franchise Qb to build around.
Tier 5 (Atlanta Falcons)
8) Atlanta Falcons (4-5)(Last Week- 7)
I have no clue what to do with this team. They are not a good team. And in most seasons they would probably be near the bottom of the league. But the NFL, and specifically, the NFC, is so bad this year, that they look ok in comparison. The Falcons at least can battle. They have played many of their games close. And with the South being so awful, maybe they can sneak into the playoffs. Because as of now, it looks like the NFC South team that makes it will have a losing record.
Tier 4 (Awful But Somehow In The Playoffs)
7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)(Last Week- 9)
The Bucs are a bad team. Their offense has looked bad, even after getting their WRs back on the field. They pulled out a win, barely, against an even worse Rams team. And in the NFC South, they have a very good chance to make the playoffs. But this is not the Bucs of the last two seasons. They are not a high-powered offense. They can’t run, and can’t pass that well either.
Tier 3 (Good, but still hard to believe in)
6) San Francisco 49ers (4-4)(Last Week- 6)
A lot of people are very high on the 49ers. They were in the NFC Championship game last year and added an elite RB in Christain McCaffery. But what holds me back is Jimmy Garropolo. Sure he led them to a good season last year. But in his 4 years there he has just as many losing seasons as winning ones. His success with them is highly overrated. He is an average at best QB, and that is proven by the fact the 49ers went to such lengths to replace him.
5) New York Giants (6-2)(Last Week – 5)
The Giants had a bye week, which usually means you can’t lose. But they did. Xavier McKinney hurt his hand in an ATV accident during the bye. Why would a top defender risk injuries by doing something so stupid? Good question. But it will hurt the Giants. They have two very winnable games the next two weeks, Texans and Lions, but then they play the Cowboys. And they have a game against the Eagles in a month. Giants better hope a few weeks don’t turn into more than that.
4) Seattle Seahawks (6-3)(Last Week – 4)
The Seahawks just keep winning. They have a two-game buffer over the 49ers, though the 49ers do have one win over them. And a lot of the credit goes to Geno Smith. I was as big of a doubter as anyone, but he is playing at a pretty high level this year. And with some great talent at WR, there is a reason to believe it is for real. A lot of people are picking the Niners to win the West. But don’t count out the Seahawks.
Tier 2 (Great Except When they Play the Eagles)
3) Dallas Cowboys (6-2)(Last Week – 3)
They finally had the great offensive performance they were waiting for before the bye week. Their defense was less impressive in that game, but they have proven themselves more than capable on that side of the field. Let’s see how they respond this week vs the Packers, and the week after vs the Vikings, before we claim their issues on offense are fixed.
2) Minnesota Vikings (7-1)(Last Week – 2)
The Vikings are getting a little bit disrespected. They have scored 20 pts against every team other than the Eagles. Oh, and they have also beaten every team except the Eagles. And they will get a chance to prove they deserve more respect with games vs the Bills and Cowboys coming up. These next two weeks will prove if they are contenders or pretenders. The Bills may be a tough team to beat, but if they can beat the Cowboys, they can establish themselves as the second-best team in the NFC. Because the actual best team has already proven themselves against both of them.
Tier 1 (Undefeated and Counting)
1) Philadelphia Eagles (8-0)(Last Week- 1)
Forget best in the NFC. After this week we could argue they are the best in the NFL. They are the only team in the NFL to score at least 20 every week. And they and the Broncos are the only defenses to only give up more than 20 pts one time. Since the Lions, no one has scored more than 2 TDs on them. The Jaguars did score 21, but it took a pick 6 to get there. This offense is elite. The defense is elite. They are the most consistent team on both sides of the ball.