Posts for Websites

Nearing the midway point of the regular season and, well … things don't change much. The top four teams stay in their spots. Minnesota, Baltimore and Seattle move up. Indianapolis is proving it may be formidable enough to win a division title as it enters the Top 10 and replaces Carolina. Here's the Top 10 after the eighth week of the season: 1. (1 last week/8 weeks at No. 1) New England (8-0): Not saying the Patriots as a whole are in a spot all their own, but their defense sure has played amazingly well -- they have allowed just 61 points so far … that's over seven points a game. Seven points a game won't win many football games, that's for sure. 2. (2) New Orleans (7-1): Drew Brees was back! Says he missed his teammates. Then he went out and proved he missed them by going 34-of-43 passing with the repaired thumb and threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns against the improving Arizona Cardinals. His reward: A bye week! The Saints should win that one, t...

By Mark Blumenthal JACKSONVILLE -- Forget Minshew Mania. It was all about Sacksonville Sunday at T.I.A.A. Bank Field. Eight sacks to be exact. These Jaguars looked like their old selves as in the 2017 version of the team that was one quarter away from going to the Super Bowl. The Jaguars made life rough on second-year quarterback Sam Darnold and came away with a 29-15 win over the Jets, getting to the .500 mark at 4-4, all part of an up-and-down first half of the season. The Jaguars opened up with losses to Kansas City and Houston, came back with wins against Tennessee and Denver, then losses to Carolina and New Orleans before bouncing back with wins against Cincinnati and the Jets. And all this has happened while rookie Gardner Minshew II has had to lead the offense as regular starting quarterback Nick Foles has been sidelined with a broken clavicle since the opening game against the Chiefs, the defense has had their share of injuries and the Jalen Ramsey "tra...

You were hoping for massive change? Not as long as the Patriots, Saints, 49ers and Packers keep winning. The Top 4 are the same. Seattle drops nearly out of the Top 10, while Minnesota and Seattle’s conqueror on Sunday, Baltimore, move into the Top 10. 1. (1 last week) New England (7-0): The Jets offered little resistance. Actually, they offered no resistance. If you have some kind of talent and catch a Ball, chances are you have a strong shot at making the Patriots’ active roster. Tom Brady just makes stuff look that easy. 2. (2) New Orleans (6-1): The Saints may get Drew Brees back this week. And that’d be awesome. But the way Teddy Bridgewater (23-of-38 passing, 281 yards, two TDs) has played in his absence while Brees mends from his thumb injury, Brees might want the next two weeks to recover as the Saints face off with the fledgling Cardinals at home and then get the bye week off. 3. (3) San Francisco (6-0): Ugly as the weather was, and as ugly as the...

The top of the NFL Power Rankings remains the same in the three places: No. 1 New England (6-0), No. 2 New Orleans (5-1) and No. 3 San Francisco (5-0). After that, teams move up (with the exception of the flailing Kansas City Chiefs at No. 10). The big movers belong to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 5 and the Carolina Panthers at No. 7, both up three spots. Here's my rankings after the sixth week of the season. 1. (1 last week) New England Patriots (6-0): The New York Giants, rejuvenated and all, gave the Patriots a dance or two in the first half. Then they got exhausted from doing the Fonz's Kazatsky dance to "Hava Nagila" and hit the floor hard ("Yowsah, yowsah, yowsah!"). The Patriots just march to their own beat. 2. (2) New Orleans Saints (5-1): The Saints came upon a tough defense in the Jacksonville Jaguars. Still, the Jaguars have struggled on offense and the Saints' defense is a unit that isn't quite talked about enough. Saints were 1...

Now we get to see some movement in the NFL Power Rankings! With the losses by Kansas City, Dallas, Chicago and the Los Angeles Rams this past week, we have three new teams in the Top 10 mix and the Chiefs will have to rebound from a lower ranking this week. Oh, by the way, the New England Patriots still rule the roost: 1. (1 last week) New England Patriots (5-0): This week, the Patriots proved not only are they good, they can get coaches fired as well as Jay Gruden got canned the day after New England stomped on Washington, 33-7. Only an act of god … and a team that has credentials … stops Brady, Belichick and Co. at this point. Maybe it's you, New York Giants! 2. (3) New Orleans Saints (4-1): No Drew Brees? No problem. At least for now. The Saints continue to win without their main attraction, holding back the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past week, 31-24. Jacksonville Jaguars … step right up on your own home field. 3. (7) San Francisco 49ers (4-0): The 49ers returned fr...

Week 3 didn't give us the Earth-shaking movement that goes with early NFL Power Rankings. Week 4? That was a totally different subject altogether. There was a big shake-up of the rankings, but nothing changes at the top with the New England Patriots playing the role of … well, the New England Patriots. The Eagles and Bears enter the Top 10 after most impressive triumphs. Here's the rundown of my personal Top 10 NFL: 1. (1 last week) New England (4-0): As one NFL pundit put it, Bill Belichick is the NFL's best troller. You can build up a team's opponent against the Patriots and tell the world how great the quarterback is and the Patriots coach and his staff will find a way to make that person's life miserable. Josh Allen on Sunday: 13-of-28 passing, 153 yards, three interceptions. 2. (3): Kansas City (4-0): The Chiefs took the Lions' best punch and still came away with a victory. Patrick Mahomes didn't have a great game by any means, but 31...