NFL Power RankingsMike Yam and Eric Edholm discuss if they're feeling Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl fatigue and then they look at how the Philadelphia Eagles could defeat the Chiefs. Later, they analyze what went wrong for the Buffalo Bills in their 4th playoff loss to the Chiefs and then they take a look at the trajectory of the Washington Commanders.
It's a brand new edition of NFL Power Rankings. Mike Am and Eric head home with you, and it's kind of a special edition for us. I'm usually in the studio and this week I'm at the East West Rine Ball, which will be able to catch on Thursday on NFL Network at Eastern time.
And we know, Eric is that the Senior Bowl. Certainly bumped up for that matchup to see some of.
The best college players in the entire country. But here's the best part, Eric, draft a side college players aside. We finally know the Super Bowl matchup and it's a rematch. It too ridiculously talented teams.
We got to sprint to the finish, right, just like my run through the airport. Yeah. No, this is a great time of year, especially for the draft knicks out there. They're starting to update their needs lists, their prospect lists, and we'll be watching a lot of them, you and I between our two locations.
Yes, we will have everyone covered here, but if you're checking out the show, you want to know the rankings. And it's not really a huge surprise to see who's in that top spot six consecutive weeks. The Kansas Cheeps, they just have to figure out ways to win football games, and we might be talking about a history making team with a third consecutive Super Bowl. The team they will match up against moved up two spots, so that is the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bills drop a spot, and the Commanders fall into that fourth position. We'll talk about all four of these teams, but had tip major respect, we got to start with the number one squad. There's a phrase that has been thrown out there on social media. I've seen it done on shows when I'm checking in on NFL coverage and they say Chiefs fatigue. Is that a fair way to look at this squad? Because I would argue it shouldn't be fatigue. We should be saying, you know what, this is pretty.
Special, Yeah, Mike. We experienced something pretty similar, I think with New England a generation or two ago, and it obviously got a little tiresome for fans to see the same team in there every single year. We're watching the greatest quarterback of his generation, even if the stats don't always add up. He wasn't in the MVP conversation necessarily this year, but Patrick Mahomes delivered a tremendous game against the Bills defense that was shorthanded. He took it. He got the three touchdowns that he needed, and his teammates certainly helped him out too. Xavier are Worthy. What a tremendous game he had too. So here's a new face, right Here's a guy that we watched at the Combine last year blow it up, and he's a new addition to this team. So there are some new faces there. And listen, like, I agree, greatness you appreciate it in the moment that you try to at best, and that's what we're witnessing right now.
Yeah, I use the analogy all the time, and I think the same can be said for and you made a reference to the Patriots to you know, Tom Brady. I'm glad I was an adult and understood what was happening. I was still a kid when Jordan's bulls were kind of running through the NBA, but I understood what was going on. I like to be able to say that I've seen those guys play and I understand what greatness really is. We're witnessing that right now. And I think there's a layer to this conversation. You know, for a Buffalo perspective, I asked you this question last week, and we'll talk about the Bills in their downfall. But on last week's show, I said, hey, is this team, you know, is this their best chance? Is the best team that we've seen Buffalo? Now they fall short. I'd ask you the same thing about this Chief squad because the last two Super Bowls, it does feel different to watch this year's Kansas City Chief squad than the one that we've seen the last two campaigns.
Yeah, they've mastered these close game victories and it's seemingly, you know, Andy Reid and Steve Spagnolo coming up with great plans every single week and understanding, you know what needs to be done to win this game. Right. You know, this is again, I would say, a different version of the Chiefs that we've seen, at least for most of the year. And you're right, this team in particular has had to overcome a lot the left tackle issues. Obviously at times, the secondary was a little shorthanded, you know, the receiver injuries as well. So a lot of new faces in these spots, and yet the same old consistency Andy Reid, great game plans, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelcey, all those guys executing it. It's it's pretty brilliant stuff to watch in real time. Yeah.
Look, we're going to do a deep dive in a Super Bowl preview next week here on power rankings. But is there something that comes to mind as the secret sauce for them to win a third consecutive after you've now seen essentially a full season plus the postseason, with just one game left for Casey.
Yeah, obviously you know they're gonna get Philly's best game, right. I mean, even though not everybody from that Eagles team was there when they lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, a super Bowl, they probably felt they should have won. But there's no doubt that the Eagles are going to come in and say, all right, this time we cannot be beaten. Right, we have to be able to get a lead, hang on and don't give it up, right, because when the Chiefs start dictating the flow of play, that's when things get real scary. Obviously, Mahomes in the fourth quarter, you can never count that guy out. So you know, whatever it takes to save the energy of those pass rushers, make sure you rotate throughout the game for the Eagles and get after him because boy, you know, defending these guys for four quarters. Even if the offensive numbers don't look all that mind blowing. By game's end, they will have cut you at some point and dug deep. And that's what they often do. And Philly knows that more than anybody. Nick Sirianni Jalen hurts everybody else who went through it the last time.
Yeah, you see that image there of Patrick Mahomes kind of holding up the Lombardi Trophy. You think about what this guy has been able to accomplish. You mentioned the greatness there, but it is about also some of the pieces around him. You loved up, Andy Reid. I think about a conversation I had with Brian Baldinger last year, and I made reference to the fact that this is a different KC team, right. I think about that first championship, high flying, explosive place, Tyreek Hill running all over the place last year. I think about this team's defense, and Baldy made a really good point. He goes, I don't understand how Spags is now on the sidelines, not as a DC of this team, but as a head coach. Had some interviews. According to a lot of our insiders, are you surprised we're not talking about him, you know, really leading the charge and kind of having the reigns of his own team.
Yeah, I think everybody knew in that key spot, that fourth down with just under two minutes to go, they said Spags is going to bring a blitz. I'm sure Josh Allen knew it too, but he wasn't able to pick out exactly where the pressure was coming from. He kind of drifted into it. You know, that's a cloud six Spags call. We've seen enough big Chiefs games over the last five, six, seven years to where we kind of know this guy is going to bring it. He's not going to go down without swinging, And it's just sort of that instinct that makes you think this guy is an exceptional football coach. Now, his first go round as a head coach did not go well, asked Saint Louis Rams fans. They remember it all too unfondly, I should say, But you know, it begs the question does he deserve that second chance? This is somebody who's been overlooked the last couple of cycles, even with a couple of token interviews along the way. So you know, I still believe the Hall of Fame should be open to assistant coaches, guys like the Jimmy Great Jimmy Johnson from Philadelphia and others who you know Monti Kiffen and these great defensive coordinators. I would put Steve Spagnola in that wing too, because I think he belongs. But let's not end his chapter as just a coordinator and a one time head coach. I still am holding out hope that he can get a second opportunity. I think he deserves it.
Yeah, I'm with you one hundred percent from that perspective, and maybe if they want another Super Bowl that eventually come for him. And it's gonna be tough against the number two ranked team and that is the Philadelphia Eagles trying to redeem themselves from couple of seasons ago and win a Super Bowl championship. We've spent a good stretch of this season talking about who the MVP is and is you know, Lamar Jackson is a Josh Allen. There was a time where Saquon Barkley was in the mix. Josh's criticism now really is hey can't beat Mahomes when it counts the great players. And by the way, I don't know if I totally agree with that assertion, that's what people are saying. I know, maybe the numbers bear it out, and I do have to believe it, but guys are delivering the best players in the NFL in the game's biggest moments, and Saquon Barkley is doing that right now. For as great as Mahomes is, Saquon is just doing it differently in a different position and is also fantastic. Is he enough to run this team to a championship.
At this point? Who am I to doubt him? Right? You know, we've sort of said this is not the age of the running backs. It's a quarterback driven era. But you've seen this slow shift and I think this last free agent class with guys like Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs and others who really thrived in new environments, the run game is cycling back in and Saquon, I think, is kind of holding the scepter right now. He is the guy at the front of the line and can make people miss, can make those big plays out of nothing. And it was a devastating rushing attack, right They had no stop, They had no answers for that and no way to stop it. So yeah, I mean, this might be the one guy at that position right now who I think has a chance to kind of out Mahomes Mahomes a little bit. I'm not saying Jalen Hurts isn't going to play his role, but Barkley is going to be such a weapon. They haven't even used them that much as a receiver too, so they've got that in their back pocket. But what he does as the runner is absolutely scentilating, and he's that good. He deserves to be in that MVP conversation for good reason. You know, we can love up Saquon Barkley in two years ago. I think about Jalen Hurts, who, if I'm not mistake, it was a runner up in that MVP vote.
I think that's how talented he was and we actually thought, I mean, Gez demonstrats you could have won that football game. Is he still that same guy? And I know it's hard to make an argument that he's not just based off of, you know, the three touchdown performance and getting into that end zone and looking as good as he did in the ground game, but it doesn't have the same type of finger His fingerprints on the game aren't what we saw a couple of years ago when he could have been the league MVP.
Yeah, that's a fair question to ask. He may not be quite as prolific as we see him in that last Super Bowl against the Chiefs, bombing it out. We don't see that quite as much. Obviously, it's a little bit more of a ball control offense. Saquan certainly has something to do with it, but I also think it has to do with the fact that Hurts has kind of taken a beating, right, but the fact that he was able to come out and pretty much dispel those injury questions after getting his leg bent backward pretty pretty far, you know, to the point where his availability was at least in some doubt early in the week, that question was kind of thrown out the window. And he really played a terrific game in the NFC Championship game, did what he needed to do to win. And yeah, he may not be that superhero who is sort of matching Mahomes play for play, but the rushing production is there. You know, he found a groove with aj Brown again. That's a huge development right there, and when they need to, they can absolutely dial it up.
You know, I asked you about the Kansas City Chiefs and how different this year looks compared to the last two years. I also think that this team has got This Eagles team has got some similarities to the one that we saw two years ago because of the defense, which took a hit last year, and I think that's the reason why they weren't in the postseason. Is this team better though, than the one that lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
I will say this, you know, adding those two rookie defensive backs Quinnon Mitchell at outside corner and Cooper to Jean at the slot safety kind of a hybrid role if you will, also helping out on special teams. And then you add guys like Zach Bond who's had a career year and you know you lose, you have injuries at linebacker, Orton Burke steps up and has a terrific NFC Championship game. You know it was other guys stepping up up front too. So maybe they get Brandon Graham back to for the Super Bowl, one extra body. You know he'd love to, you know, either cap his career or extend his career with the Super Bowl and one chance to win another ring for Philly. But yeah, I don't know. It'd be fascinating to kind of put those two defenses side by side and do an apples to apples comparison. But as we've seen this group grow, I'm starting to come around on the idea they might be as good or possibly better than that devastating unit that led the league in sacks a couple of years ago.
Yeah, once again, I think it just looks a little bit different. I'd still probably give the edge to that team from two seasons ago. But here's the beauty of it, Eric, and you know this, it doesn't matter. This is a brand new season. Just like we have the MVP conversation. Lamar Jackson's numbers are better than they were your ago, so he's got to be the MVP. No, no, no, that's not how it works. And it doesn't matter if the Eagles defense might have been better two years ago. This unit right now is very good and they're matching up against a very talented Chiefs team. What happened to the Buffalo Bills. We thought that this was their best chance to go and get over the hump in an AFC championship game today, what are you thinking about what you witnessed on Sunday.
I feel for Bills fans, I really do. I mean, they're an excellent team now. This year obviously it started in for agency, having to kind of bleed the roster a little bit. Injuries did kind of hurt them late and not having you know, Taylor Rapp and Christian Benford for most of that game. So you know, you think about things like that. But boy, Josh Allen had Look, we're going to say it, they had an MVP caliber season, and they appeared to get that first down up one point decent way through the fourth quarter with the game kind of shifting in there in their favor. They don't get the call. Chiefs get go down score. This is where you could sort of see it coming if you're a Bill span because you watch these games against the Chiefs and other teams too, but certainly Kansas City the main combatant that has sort of broken their heart what four times now in the playoffs and a five year span. It has to be just absolutely awful to sit through these games knowing that if we give them as beating the Kansas City Chiefs, they are going to cut our throats. So and that's what happened, and that's there's really no other way to say it. But you look at Josh and you look how well he played. He's in the peak of his career, and they still can't find the paths to the super Bowl. That's the hardest part for them right now.
And look, you're at the Senior Bowl this week. I'm Atie Sweat Shrine Bowl, and that's to look ahead to the draft. And I'm not asking who they should draft, but in this offseason, what is the priority do you think for Buffalo to sort of build this roster and get over the hunk, Because at least on paper, I thought this roster heading into the season wasn't as good as the one that we saw last year, and yet at the end of the year, I thought they had a chance. I thought they Hell, on game day preview, I picked the Bills, I thought they were gonna win that game.
Yeah, I would be loading up on defensive depths, certainly. I mean in the more impact players you can find, the better. But you know, you saw when they had to take Benford out and go to kyer Elam, who was a first round pick a couple of years ago, just unfortunately hasn't found a role there in Buffalo, and as soon as he came into the game, they went after him. So cornerback has to be a place. Cole Bishop had somewhat of a tough game at safety. Still a young guy, plenty of promise, but I would like to feel a little bit better about my safety position, even with guys like Taylor Rapp in the mix Tomorrow Hamlin coming back and playing well after his scary incident in Cincinnati. But yeah, you have to find more pass rush sources. You have to find. Really, I would argue depth on all three levels of the defense, though I don't think Brandon Bean's gonna go out there and use every draft pick he has on that side of the ball. That might be a little too short sided. They probably need another receiver. There are other places where they could bolster their depth, but the offense is in pretty good shape. They can go by with minimal additions on that side. Defensively, though, as von Miller gets up there and Matt Milano's injuries keep piling up and things like that, you know, you just need a couple more difference makers. And look what the Chiefs did a couple of years ago when they drafted that slew of young defensive backs and they want a Super Bowl the following year. That made a big difference. So don't tell me that the draft can't have an impact. Obviously it has in Philly and other places as well.
Yeah, that's why I can't wait for the NFL Draft. I know we got thirty teams that are thinking about it right now, except for those two times playing in the Super Bowl. Speaking of the draft changing the fortunes of a franchise, we saw that with the number four team, the Commanders. They get Jaden Daniels and we say, hey, everything is going to be okay. I don't want to be the negative dude here, but you know, I don't know. Sometimes we've seen some teams have some success and it doesn't guarantee success that following season. Why do you feel so confident that Jaden Daniels can be better the next season than he was this season.
Jaden may even take a step back. We obviously saw that with CJ. Stroud this year, where he didn't you know, we were sort of ready to elevate him into that upper echelon of quarterbacks. That didn't happen this year wasn't all his fault. But I also don't think he played quite as well. He's going to get everybody's best shot next year. There's no sneaking up on this guy. Defensive coordinators who have the commanders on their schedule are going to watch or over the tape and make sure they can find any kind of cracks in the armor to find out how do you beat this guy? So what's the best way. Obviously you probably start with the Eagles game and see what the shortcomings were there. They had a three game losing streak as well. But that said hard not to think that the sky is extremely high for this guy and this team too. There were so many holes in this roster. Mike. I think I had him twenty sixth in my August ranking twenty eighth at one point we had a graphic on that a couple of weeks ago, just to make sure everybody knew or how low I had him. But I was sort of a believer. I'm thinking, boy, this is a team that could maybe surprise win seven or eight games. They did far more than that. It also matters that Adam Peters is making picks and signing for agents, that Dan Quinn as the head coach. He did a tremendous job this year. We'll see if Cliff Kingsbury stays, but it looks like he's gonna you know, there's a decent chance he remains as well. And you could just take this thing pretty far. But you know, they said the same thing about Joe Burrow a few years ago and other young quarterbacks who've had those those terrific moments early in their career. There is no guarantee. As you pointed out.
I almost think the coolest thing about this story, and it's a little different than teams that weren't expected to do a much and then really surpass that expectation. I think the coolest part about this is Washington not only was not expected to do well, but they were sort of left aside, right like for a couple of seasons, we just said, hey, like do you really want to be on that team? And now all of a sudden, I think guys are going to want to play with Jaden Daniels. I think guys on the defensive side are going to want to play for Dan Cole. We already saw that. Bobby Wagner's a perfect example of that. I think they're going to get better, and I think all of a sudden the Commanders are an attractive team for a lot of free agents potentially in the NFL. I know we've sort of hinted at the NFL Draft with you being at the Senior Bowl and me at the East West Shrine game. Those games, by the way, on NFL Network this week. Cannot wait for the matchups. But there were some coaching news and how some of those hires are going to affect what we see next season. We'll examine that coming up next on Power Rankings. We'll back here on power rankings. Always nice to see some coaches get opportunities, and there's been so much made it a been Johnson, Leam Cohen. We saw Brian Schottenheimer on Monday get his the announcement from the Dallas Cowboys. But when the Jets announced Aaron Glenn, there was a lot of excitement on social media from former Jets players, and after seeing what Glenn had to say when he was introduced, you can understand why to.
Any players that's here, now, put your seatbelts on and get ready for the ride. Put your seatbelts on and get ready for the ride. Listen. There are going to be some challenges, but what challenges becomes opportunity gets opportunity. But here's what I do know. We're the freaking New York Jets, so we're built for the CAUH.
Get fired up. I hear something like that from Mary Glyn. I'm ready to go and play for this dude. How can this guy change a culture of losing very quickly? And much like we saw what Dan Campbell do with the Lions.
Yeah, and obviously with Campbell, you know there was there a stretch there where it was a slog, right, It took really a year and a half before you start to see any kind of tangible improvement. But it's it's about establishing belief within your own locker room, right, making sure you have a core of guys. You know, the ones who were there at the beginning of the Campbell Aira and Detroit, you know, the handful who were still there at the end. Those are the ones who end up being their your leaders. And so you know, look, they have a player in Sauce Gardner's who's a tremendous talent, didn't have his best year. They'd need him get back to where he was in his two to twenty twenty three form. Aaron Glenn's probably the man for that. They've got to find a quarterback. There is a laundry list of things they need to do. So you talk about the personnel and whatnot. I mean, we have some boxes to check off here, but it's about identifying the players in your locker room who can help you out. And then also, if you want to use Washington as kind of the blueprint, if you will make sure you have that list of hungry veterans, young players who didn't get a great chance in their first go round, bring them in for depth. That's really what Adam Peters did. I thought it was an underrated piece of what the commander's approach was this offseason. Yeah, Daniels is a huge part of it. So if they can get something close to Jane Daniels, that would be a great start. But it also has to do with all those other complimentary pieces they bring in. And the Jets are gonna have a lot of new faces this year, there's no doubt about that.
Yeah, it's sort of weird to think about what the identity of that team was with Robert solid a couple of years ago, and I obviously I know he was there this season before getting relieved of his duties, but defense to then offense. I got to think it might with and go back to the defensive side. But clearly a culture change there. They're going to have some questions around QB one and who that guy is going to be, but speaking culture changes and also questions z that quarterback spot Pete Carroll, the guy in Vegas, let's take a listen.
Took us a few years to get to the very top of the last couple programs. I was with, we're starting right now, going forward immediately. We're not. We don't have some time and we got to make it five or six years down the road. That's not what we're thinking. We're going to start right now to go after it and build his team as quickly as we can. As Johnson saw Max back there, Max send the message, man, we're coming after you. We're gonna come find you guys and get this thing rolling as soon as possible.
Max seems to find everyone who happens to be a quarterback. When he's out on the football field, He's always in go mode. When I heard the news, I was a little surprised, and then the more I thought about it, the more I was like, I actually really like this fit for the Raiders, do you Yeah.
I think it brings professionality, you know, professionalism to the operation here, right, And the Raiders have obviously been a you know, off the tracks and haven't really found their groove and haven't had any kind of consistency. And it's fascinating that Tom Brady seemingly has an increasing sort of imprint on this team and a voice in the front office and is obviously pulling a lot of strings behind the scenes. So you know the fact that he would he would would recommend Carol, I'm sure as part of the deal. And you know knows how tough is win up against him in a classic Super Bowl of your and we know how that one ended, obviously Brady on top. But now he's bringing on Carol, and I think that the plan will be, Hey, have somebody you're developing as your young lieutenant, the guy who's going to eventually replace you. But Pete has the energy of a guy fifteen twenty years younger than he is. He's an incredible man who probably doesn't sleep that much, is always dreaming and thinking football. And if you have a guy like Max Crosberry already there a tone center. Yes, I know Max has only been able to do so much. But I think Pete and him together, you know, that's sort of a match made in heaven. Again, like the Jets still need a quarterback, still have a ton of issues to sort out, offensive line whatnot. Even the defense has plenty of holes and Pete's gonna want to get on that part too. But I can't wait to see where this goes. I know we get excited about the young coordinators, but what about the guys who are going to end up in Canton and the ones who are going to be the most celebrated coaches that are generation I'd like that guy on my sideline, no question.
And you're right, that energy and that vibe, the idea of preaching competition all the time, that's going to be important on those sidelines. I was texting with Steve which about this because we were both saying how much we liked it, and then I said, hey, it almost doesn't matter if it's Pete Carroll or Bill Belichick or insert any other name of any other coach. If they don't figure out QB one, there's going to be a problem. Maybe it's Russ Through all Gino's I know Russ has been sort of linked there because of his contract and his time in relationship with Pete Carroll. But they got to figure that out. They try to figure it out in the draft. They drafted brock Bauers instead because they couldn't get that quarterback. Maybe this year in the draft, maybe it's a guy that I see at the East West Shrine Bowl. Maybe it's a guy that you're going to see at the Senior Bowl. But nonetheless, some major decisions for Pete Carroll and that front office. Needless to say, we get to do a Super Bowl preview next week on Power Rankings, Eric, you're the best man. Enjoy watching some of these college kids, I know I will, and looking forward to doing it again next week
