Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.
Welcome back to the 64tacos NFL Power Rankings! The 2023 is in full swing; it’s time to rank these teams. There are still three undefeated teams. San Francisco and Philadelphia will surprise nobody, but Miami might (more on them later). Many would have expected the Chiefs to be in that group, but with a deceptively tricky first two fixtures (Lions at home and Jags on the road) plus their slight propensity for slow starts in the Reid/Mahomes era, I suppose it’s not too shocking. A 41-10 thrashing of the Bears this week made K.C. fans breathe a little easier. The Broncos, Vikings, Panthers, and Bears are on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Panthers and Bears are not the biggest surprises here, and you could argue the Broncos are no surprise either (more on them later as well). If you weren’t paying close attention last year, the Vikes might seem surprising, but NFC North fans know that 13-4 record last year was…let’s just say a little flattering. Maybe a lot. You could give them credit for that gaudy 11-0 record in one-score games, but things like that even out in the long run. Good execution can tilt those odds in your favor, but 11-0 had never been done before. So far this year, the Vikings are 0-3 in one-score games, so the pendulum is already swinging back. Are they a bad team? No. They’re very much like the team from 2022: an eight or nine win team who needs unprecedented fortune (in either direction) to have an exceptional or poor record.
Now, the blockbuster result from Week 3: Miami 70, Denver 20. Stemshul thought it was a typo when he first saw it. I think I said something along the lines of, “I’ve never seen an NFL score in the seventies.” We checked. I hadn’t. The last time an NFL team scored that much was 1966. Miami could have had more. They were at the Denver 23, 1st and 10 with about three minutes left. The starters had departed early in the 4th quarter, but Miami was driving. They ended up running the ball three times and taking a knee on 4th down. Another score would have set an all-time record, but the Dolphins (belatedly) had mercy on the Broncos. For Denver, the optimism that new coach Sean Payton brought with him has dimmed. Russell Wilson has been decent this year, definitely better than last year. But not as good as his Seattle heyday. As far as Miami, they did just about everything right. Tua seems to be intent on proving that last year was no fluke. The receiving corps, led by Tyreek Hill, looks dangerous. And the Dolphins ran for 350 yards on Sunday. They are averaging 550.3 yards and 43.3 points through three games. Can they keep this up? Is the defense good enough? I don’t know, but I’m definitely intrigued!
The Lions, despite some mistakes, took out the defending champs in their own house to start out the year. The fact that they weren’t perfect and were still able to beat a great team is a measure of just how improved this team is since they had a pirate for a head coach. The defense took Week 2 off against Seattle (for the second year running) as the Seahawks won with time running out. There were more mistakes in this one. Aaron Glenn made the necessary adjustments (I suspect Dan Campbell lit a fire under everybody, coaches and players alike), and Detroit shut down the Falcons. Seven sacks and holding a dominant rushing team to 44 yards on 20 carries shows that the defense is much improved. Again, there were mistakes, but now the Lions don’t need to be perfect to beat teams. I am greatly encouraged by the progress this team has made in the last couple of years. We’ll see how the Thursday night game against the Packers goes, but things continue to look up for Detroit.
