Obviously this week paled in comparison to the previous day. Still, they did play so we should rank them . . .
#32 Arizona Cardinals (3-9-0, -135, LW: 32)
#31 San Francisco 49ers (2-10-0, -81, LW: 30)
#30 Oakland Raiders (2-10-0, -147, LW: 31)
#29 Buffalo Bills (4-8-0, -115, LW: 29)
#28 New York Jets (3-9-0, -64, LW: 27)
#27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7-0, -37, LW: 28)
#26 Cincinnati Bengals (5-7-0, -85, LW: 25)
#25 Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8-0, -40, LW: 26)
#24 Detroit Lions (4-8-0, -62, LW: 23)
#23 Atlanta Falcons (4-8-0, -37, LW: 21)
#22 New York Giants (4-8-0, -48, LW: 24)
#21 Tennessee Titans (6-6-0, -24, LW: 22)
#20 Green Bay Packers (4-7-1, -6, LW: 18)
In 2010 the Packers defense ranked second in the league in points allowed, fifth in yards allowed, and second in DVOA. Since then:
| Year | Pts | Yds | DVOA |
| 2011 | 19 | 32 | 25 |
| 2012 | 11 | 11 | 8 |
| 2013 | 24 | 25 | 31 |
| 2014 | 13 | 15 | 16 |
| 2015 | 12 | 15 | 9 |
| 2016 | 21 | 22 | 20 |
| 2017 | 26 | 22 | 20 |
| 2018 | 16 | 13 | 20 |
| Avg. | 17.8 | 19.4 | 18.6 |
The lesson as always, you need more than just a quarterback.
#19 Cleveland Browns (4-7-1, -46, LW: 17)
In the Browns seven losses they have allowed an average of 33 points and have forced an average of 1.4 turnovers. In the five non-losses they have allowed 16.6 points and forced 3 turnovers per game. One of my favorite terms that Mike Lombardi uses on the Ringer’s NFL Podcast is “Battleship Defense”, which means you just call out plays that might “hit” or more than likely “miss”. Gregg Williams plays Battleship Defense and in 2009 when the Saints forced a ton of turnovers it worked out Super. When it backfires, well, you get 4-7-1.
#18 Philadelphia Eagles (6-6-0, -8, LW: 20)
#17 Miami Dolphins (6-6-0, -56, LW: 19)
#16 Carolina Panthers (6-6-0, -2, LW: 15)
#15 Washington Redskins (6-6-0, -24, LW: 13)
#14 Minnesota Vikings (6-5-1, +5, LW: 12)
#13 Denver Broncos (6-6-0, +14, LW: 16)
#12 Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4-1, +64, LW: 11)
#11 Indianapolis Colts (6-6-0, +46, LW: 10)
#10 Dallas Cowboys (7-5-0, +24, LW: 14)
#9 Baltimore Ravens (7-5-0, +83, LW: 9)
#8 Seattle Seahawks (7-5-0, +60, LW: 8)
#7 New England Patriots (9-3-0, +72, LW: 6)
I get that everyone has to worship Tom Brady, but is 1,000 rushing yards really a big deal? He’s averaged 1.7 yards per carry over 18 seasons and 55.6 yards per season. Can we give it a rest? Thank you.
#6 Los Angeles Chargers (9-3-0, +91, LW: 5)
#5 Houston Texans (9-3-0, +67, LW: 7)
#4 Chicago Bears (8-4-0, +103, LW: 3)
#3 Kansas City Chiefs (10-2-0, +117, LW: 4)
The Kareem Hunt situation most likely be discussed on Tuesday night and frankly it’s enough for me, so instead let me mention something else that will hurt the Chiefs. The Chiefs’ defense currently ranks 25th in DVOA and in their two losses they have scored 91 points. One thing that has hurt the Chiefs in the playoffs – besides the idea that curses might actually be real – is that the “bend but don’t break” defense does in fact have a breaking point and better teams (ie, playoff teams) tend to find said breaking point. It has been 49 years since the Chiefs were champions. The defense had better figure out how to keep bending if they don’t want to extend that streak.
#2 Los Angeles Rams (11-1-0, +121, LW: 2)
#1 New Orleans Saints (10-2-0, +150, LW: 1)
Honestly, today I put a ton into the College Football Money Grab, so, that’s really all today . . .