10. New Orleans Saints, 3-2 (10)
A lot of the Saints’ 2020 season will hinge on Michael Thomas, and his ability to be on the field and make plays for this offense. It feels like the “final ride” for Drew Brees right now.
9. Buffalo Bills, 4-2 (7)
They gave the Chiefs a good game on Monday night, but they did show a lack of speed on defense, which could be exploited by some of the faster teams in the league. Still, the Bills are a serious contender this season because of, wait for it… their offense.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4-2 (14)
They absolutely put it on Green Bay, and are chugging on offense and defense these days. Watching Brady throw dimes to Gronk was actually kind of fun after years of it, well, not being fun for many fans.
7. Chicago Bears, 5-1 (13)
I keep waiting for them to fall apart, but it hasn’t happened yet. They beat the upstart Panthers this week and maybe they’re just good. Maybe?
6. Baltimore Ravens, 5-1 (4)
They won against a game Eagles team, but it should have never been as close as it became, and there are a ton of questions about the offense going into the bye week. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has had a decent start to the season, throwing 10 touchdowns, two interceptions and running for another 346 yards to leave the team. But he hasn’t been playing like an MVP to this point, and that has people around Charm City sweating a little.
The defense is holding up well — outside some breakdowns on Sunday — and the special teams appear to be back to the level Ravens fans have become accustomed. Defensive backfield depth is becoming a concern with injuries to Anthony Averett and Tavon Young.
This is a good opportunity for the offense to iron out some deficiencies in both execution and play-calling, and the defense to settle on its backfield rotations. Being 5-1 at the bye with stuff to work on is a pretty ideal situation for John Harbaugh, who would manufacture stuff to work on if it didn’t exist.
But, make no mistake about it. There is stuff to fix on this team.
5. Green bay Packers, 4-1 (1)
They joined the one-loss club after getting hammered by Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon, and they showed some reasons for concern on both sides of the ball. Of course, having Aaron Rodgers leaves you with some optimism going forward.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers, 5-0 (6)
They showed the Browns the way out of the AFC North penthouse, drubbing them to the tune of 38-7 in a statement for both teams. The statement was, um, better for Pittsburgh.
3. Tennessee Titans, 5-0 (5)
They won a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants game against the Texans, and Derrick Henry reminded the league who he was — and that’s a bad man. Ryan Tannehill is pretty darn good, too, if you haven’t been paying attention. This is a well-coached squad, too.
2. Kansas City Chiefs, 5-1 (3)
They beat a good Bills team on Monday night to get back in the winning column, and it won’t be their final win of the season. How’s that for a bold prediction. This is the prohibitive favorite to win it all still, until further notice. We are not at “further notice” at this point.
1. Seattle Seahawks, 5-0 (2)
Russell Wilson is absolutely cooking this season, and the team has proven that they can seemingly score whenever they choose. They have a bunch of stuff to fix on defense, but let’s see how they look this week coming out of the bye. If they can be average on defense, they win 12-plus games this year and compete for a championship.