Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.
Welcome back to the 64tacos NFL power rankings. I’m feeling pretty good because the Lions neither invented a new way to lose by exploiting a heretofore undiscovered rule book loophole to their own detriment or shit the bed by just being badly outplayed for 60 minutes. That’s right, they didn’t play! Good vibes all around. Let’s take a look at three teams who picked up previously successful but now castoffs at quarterback: Indianapolis, Washington, and Denver.
Indy, in their never-ending search for the right QB to take them over the top, have turned to Matt Ryan. Previous attempts included old angry baby himself (Philip Rivers) and man-who-can’t-help-but-try-to-make-a-play-regardless-of-the-consequences (Carson Wentz). Matty Ice (worst nickname in pro sports?) is super old now at 37, and the stats don’t suggest a Brady-esque late thirties and early forties is in the cards. QB rating, while not a perfect stat, works as a general distillation of the relevant stats. Ryan is currently at 86.4, which would be his worst since 2009, and is on pace for a career high in interceptions. The Colts are doing OK at 3-2-1 and #12 on our rankings, so if Ryan can improve just a little, they’ve got a decent shot at the playoffs and maybe even the AFC South division, which is up for grabs this year.
Denver went with a slightly younger option, the 33 year old Russel Wilson. Denver has really struggled on offense this year, with Wilson headed towards the worst season of his career. 15.2 points per game (league worst) is not going to get it done, even with a great defense (4th at 16.5 point allowed per game). The Bronco Henries are 2-4 and although it may not be all Wilson’s fault (he’s been nursing multiple injuries and first year head coach Nathaniel Hackett has looked in over his head), but if Denver doesn’t figure out how to score soon, it will be wasting yet another stellar defensive season.
And then there’s Wentz. Didn’t work out with the Colts last year, despite him honestly having a really good season. Why? Well, he reverted to making huge mistakes and forcing things in the last two games of the regular season, helping the Colts choke their way out of the playoff picture. The loss to the then 2-14 Jaguars on the last day of the regular season was particularly galling, so Indy bailed. The Commanders, who have also been desperately seeking a quarterback since Kirk Cousins left, decided to give him a whirl. So far? He’s been decent, but Washington needs more from him than the other two teams do because the Commanders are simply not as good, in my opinion. So they’re sitting at 2-4, like the Broncos, but without as stong of a defense (18th at 22.5 PPG allowed). Unfortunately, Carson went under the knife this week for a broken finger, so he’ll be out for a bit. Among the three, I have the least amount of hope for Washington and Wentz. He just makes bad decisions with the ball in key moments too often. And the team around him is weaker than the other two. Time will tell for all three situations, but the bring-in-a-veteran-QB experiment is looking pretty shaky at the moment.
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