Oh silly, silly Dave… Last week you were tasked with the Cream Of The Crop Post and you just had to sneak the Arizona Cardinals in there didn’t you? I tried to lay a solid top three foundation for you, but you were blinded by the mirage that was happening in the desert.
Luckily I’m back in the drivers seat at the top of our NFL Power Rankings this week so I can right the ship.
If you’re new to this series, fellow We Got This Covered writer Dave Gilbert and myself will be writing alternating articles on the top 3 and the bottom 3 NFL teams each week. This week it’s Dave’s crack at the Bottom Of The Barrel, but last week his Cream Of The Crop went as follows:
1. Atlanta Falcons
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Houston Texans
Excuse me while I shake my head at his number 2 again…
Now back to some normalcy.
1. Atlanta Falcons
I see no reason to drop the Falcons from the top spot this week. They went into Washington and put up 17 4th quarter points to ensure they remain unbeaten at 5-0. They didn’t play a complete 4 quarters, but they did what good teams do: find a way to win.
Matt Ryan continued his stellar quarterback play too, going over 300 yards passing again. His favorite target this week was his 36 year old tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had 13 receptions for 123 yards and a TD. Ryan has one of the best trios to throw to in the NFL with TE Gonzalez, and wide outs Julio Jones and Roddy White.
The Atlanta defense kept it rolling as well by picking up 3 more sacks and a couple more picks.
2. Houston Texans
The New York Jets tried to come back on Monday Night Football, but the Texans were just too strong. Arian Foster had a monster game, rushing for 152 yards, and defensive end J.J. Watt continued his push for Defensive Player Of The Year with another sack and 3 batted passes.
It’s going to prove to be a big blow losing linebacker Brian Cushing for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury, but a good team will find a way to overcome the loss of 1 player. This Sunday night they’ll take on the Green Bay Packers with a chance at another statement game on a National stage.
3. San Francisco 49ers
Come on Dave, you really dropped 49ers out of the top 3 for the Cards? San Fran steamrolled the Buffalo Bills 45-3 on Sunday. I’m sure some of that shellacking is because the Bills are struggling, but the 49ers are a damn good football team.
After a couple so-so games in a row, QB Alex Smith looked sharp completing 75% of his passes for 303 yards and 3 TDs. He also scrambled for 49 of the teams 311 rushing yards. Earlier in the week there were some rumblings that back up QB Colin Kaepernick may replace Smith, but I believe Smith has hushed those rumors for now.
Be sure to check out who Dave Gilbert has ranked #30-32 in our Bottom Of The Barrel.
