Through the first five weeks of the 2019 season, 41 games have been decided by seven or fewer points. That’s tied with the 1999 season for the most such games in the first five weeks; only the 2006 season (42) had more.
You don’t need to tell the Colts about that. Frank Reich’s team stands at 3-2 after its upset win over the Chiefs on Sunday night, with a point differential of minus-2. The Raiders, who upset the Bears in London on Sunday, also stand at 3-2 despite a minus-20 point differential. The Saints are 4-1 with a point differential of minus-1, and the Lions are 2-1-1 with a point differential of plus-2.
This makes the fortunes and misfortunes of the NFL’s haves and have-nots all the more remarkable. The Redskins, who fired head coach Jay Gruden on Monday, have a point differential of minus-78 and an average margin of defeat of minus-15.6 points. The Dolphins, the NFL’s obvious tankers in 2019, have a point differential of minus-137 points, and an average margin of defeat of minus-34.3 points. The Jets, Bengals and Falcons are the only other teams with average margins of defeat at minus-10.0 or larger.
On the positive side, it’s more difficult to set yourself apart. The Patriots have an insane point differential of plus-121 and an average margin of victory of 24.2 points, which is by far the NFL’s best. The only other team with a double-digit per-game margin of victory is the 49ers, who averaged 14.0 points per game even before they took it to the Browns on Monday night.
It’s no surprise that the Patriots and 49ers are the NFL’s only remaining undefeated teams, and in a league that embraces parity above all else, it’s entirely justified that these two stand atop our latest power rankings.
32. Washington Redskins
(0-5. Last week: 30)
No matter how badly your Monday may have gone, Jay Gruden probably has one up on you. The now-former Redskins head coach was summoned to team headquarters at 5 a.m. following his team’s 33-7 loss to the Patriots and summarily fired. There’s no question Gruden needed to go — his 35-49-1 record since he got the job in 2014 tells the story — but this is not a franchise that’s one great coach away from a turnaround. They’ve mishandled player situations from Trent Williams to Dwayne Haskins, their defense is underperforming severely, and even when Haskins is ready for the rigors of the NFL, it’s legitimate to wonder who’s going to be around him. As has been the case through most of Dan Snyder’s tenure, the Redskins move from one disaster to another.
31. New York Jets
(0-4. Last week: 31)
Now that Jay Gruden has become the first coach fired in the 2019 season, who might be next to hear their name called while the games are still going on? Well, how about alleged offensive genius Adam Gase? Still waiting for franchise quarterback Sam Darnold to recover fully from mononucleosis, Gase gave the first-team practice snaps to Darnold in the week preparing for the Eagles, leaving Luke Falk woefully unprepared. In Philly’s 31-6 win, Falk completed 15 of 26 passes for 120 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. He was sacked nine times. Falk is in no way ready to take the steps needed to become a credible NFL quarterback anyway, but it sure doesn’t help that his coach is leaving him out in the cold.
30. Cincinnati Bengals
(0-5. Last week: 29)
It is now abundantly clear that first-year head coach Zac Taylor has a loooong way to go before his Bengals are competitive — and given the extent to which this franchise is in the hole from a talent perspective, he may never see the upside. But it isn’t all Taylor’s fault — through five games and five losses, it’s the defense that’s really holding this team down. It was shown to be true once again in a 26-23 loss to the Cardinals, in which Cincinnati gave up 253 passing yards and 266 rushing yards to Kliff Kingsbury’s formerly reductive offense, and until that is rectified, Taylor’s squad has little chance of righting the ship. Upcoming games against the Ravens, Jaguars and Rams will not help at all.
29. Miami Dolphins
(0-4. Week 5 bye. Last week: 32)
Hey, good for the Dolphins! They actually moved up three spots in our Power Rankings. Amazing what a bye can do for you. Now that Brian Flores’ team has to get back in the saddle and play other teams … well, there could be issues again. Especially on defense, where Miami is allowing an opponent passer rating of 137.6 (the league’s worst) and 12 touchdown passes (only the Redskins have allowed more). The Dolphins are tied with the Broncos and the Falcons for the league’s worst sack total at five, and they’ve allowed 7.0 yards per play — also the league’s worst. Think about how tough it is to win when you’re giving your opponents a perpetual second-and-3. We haven’t even talked about the feeble offense, though Josh Rosen and his crew have a decent shot as respectability against a Redskins squad which hasn’t stopped anybody except Jay Gruden.
28. Arizona Cardinals
(1-3-1. Last week: 28)
While it came with a slight asterisk against Cincinnati’s horrible defense, Sunday’s 26-23 win over the Bengals did prove one theory true — Kliff Kingsbury’s offense runs best when it runs through David Johnson. Arizona’s most transcendent offensive player, Johnson ran 17 times for 91 yards, and added three receptions for 65 yards. When Johnson is able to use his peerless route-running abilities and outside run game to great effect, Kingsbury’s offense tends to work, and it opens up opportunities for other players. Injured and poorly used through most of his last three seasons, Johnson made a definitive statement that will hopefully resonate through the rest of the season.
27. Pittsburgh Steelers
(1-4. Last week: 24)
Has any team’s quarterback situation fallen so quickly as Pittsburgh’s? From the elbow injury that cost Ben Roethlisberger the rest of his season in mid-September, to the frightening head injury suffered by backup Mason Rudolph in Pittsburgh’s loss to the Ravens on Sunday, it’s been an interesting trip. It’s now estimated that third-stringer Devlin Hodges will start against the Chargers in Week 6, which means a whole lot more Wildcat plays involving running back Jaylen Samuels (which don’t always go well), and an increasing reliance on a defense that has can’t make up for the offensive free fall. Is it too early to say that Pittsburgh’s season is over? A loss to the Chargers and a 1-5 record would render the question rhetorical.
26. Atlanta Falcons
(1-4. Last week: 26)
Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was Pete Carroll’s most capable defensive lieutenant in Seattle, and Quinn has long been known as a defensive genius. So, why on earth has this Atlanta defense been such a disaster? In a 53-32 shellacking at the hands of the Texans on Sunday, Quinn’s defense let Deshaun Watson do whatever he wanted with little resistance or pressure, as Watson completed 28 of 33 passes for 426 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. From week to week, it’s a two-way tie for last as the Falcons’ offense and defense contend as the team’s biggest problem. That’s why such a talented team is 1-4; what comes up short is any feasible explanation for the repeated faceplants on both sides of the ball.
25. Los Angeles Chargers
(2-3. Last week: 20)
How have the Chargers, a team estimated by many to win the AFC West in a landslide, fallen so far? Well, their 2-3 record could actually be worse — they beat the Colts in Week 1 when Frank Reich’s team was still getting its post-Luck offense together, and their only other win came against the Dolphins. The re-insertion of Melvin Gordon into the offense in their 20-13 loss to the Broncos on Sunday did no good, especially as it came at the expense of the dynamic Austin Ekeler — Gordon ran for just 31 yards on 12 carries and could find no rhythm. Add in Philip Rivers’ uninspiring stat line (no touchdowns and two interceptions, and just 211 yards on 48 attempts) to a defense still adjusting to several major injuries, and you have the perfect recipe for a disappointing season.
24. Cleveland Browns
(2-3. Last week: 22)
Put simply, the Browns are a mess. The new offensive concepts Freddie Kitchens installed in the offseason have Baker Mayfield and company looking skittish and over-rehearsed, like a bunch of guys trying dance lessons for the first time. Slow-developing routes and deep dropbacks have Mayfield thinking too much when he used to react to what he saw, and a defense with serious capital investment has been a severe disappointment. Monday night’s 31-3 loss to the 49ers simply re-illustrated what we already knew – this is a team with a ton of talent uncomfortable in its collective skin, and until that changes, the Browns will be an expensive mirage.
23. New York Giants
(2-3. Last week: 23)
Daniel Jones got a reality adjustment against the Vikings defense in the Giants’ 28-10 loss, as he completed 21 of 38 passes for just 181 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Jones was forced to make more tight-window throws against Mike Zimmer’s defense than he’s used to, and he was specifically weak under pressure. But that’s not Big Blue’s biggest issue — the fundamental issue facing this franchise in a long-term sense is a pass defense that made Kirk Cousins look like vintage Tom Brady. As defensive coordinator James Bettcher continues to try and shoehorn his young defensive backs into scheme, expect that a cornerback group allowing far too many big plays to continue to struggle.
22. Denver Broncos
(1-4. Last week: 27)
The Broncos avoided the first 0-5 start in team history by taking it to the Chargers in ways head coach Vic Fangio no doubt enjoyed — with a rushing attack led by Phillip Lindsay that put up 191 yards and a touchdown, and a pass defense that picked off Philip Rivers twice, rendered L.A.’s own run game anemic, and prevented Keenan Allen from doing much of anything. The 20-13 win doesn’t set Denver up as any kind of world-beaters, but it was the perfect way to get Fangio his first win.
21. Tennessee Titans
(2-3. Last week: 19)
Kickers, man. The Titans did well enough against Buffalo’s constricting defense in a 14-7 loss, getting the ball inside the Buffalo 35-yard line four times, and inside the Buffalo 18-yard line twice, only to set kicker Cairo Santos up for his four missed field goals. Yes, that’s an indictment of Tennessee’s red zone offense, but you take what you can get against the Bills these days. Marcus Mariota did his usual fold against a strong defense, completing just 13 of 22 passes for 183 yards and no touchdowns. Derrick Henry was limited to 78 yards on 20 carries, but the real issue for the Titans as they try to stay competitive is that a defense that was supposed to be one of the best and most diverse against the pass allowed Josh Allen to make far too many plays with his own limited sense of the field.
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(2-3. Last week: 18)
Through its first four games, the Buccaneers’ defense looked to be among the class of the NFC, and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles appeared to be scheming his way back to another head coaching position. Then, the Saints “welcomed” Bowles’ defense to New Orleans, and all heck broke loose in a 31-24 loss. Carlton Davis, the team’s best cornerback this season, was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit. Vernon Hargreaves allowed a perfect passer rating on his five targets, and safety Jordan Whitehead was nuked for two touchdowns as the Saints found no problem moving to a more vertical offense with Teddy Bridgewater. The extent to which Sean Payton went after this secondary implies that the first month of the season may have been a fluke for this defense, and the Bucs will have to answer definitively when they take on the Panthers in London on Sunday.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars
(2-3. Last week: 16)
It’s not that the bloom is off the rose with Gardner Minshew — though the Jags lost 34-27 to the Panthers, the sixth-round rookie still made several impressive throws and had his team in the game right down to the last series. Anyone attempting to discern the real problem with the Jags at this point needs to look no further than a defensive front that is allowing a league-worst 5.5 rushing yards per attempt (the same defense that was gashed badly on Sunday by Christian McCaffrey), and a secondary clearly missing Jalen Ramsey. At least, the good version of Jalen Ramsey. Replacement Tre Herndon has been picked on by enemy quarterbacks, and he was singularly embarrassed by McCaffrey’s incredible leaping touchdown. At the end of the 2017 season, this franchise had the NFL’s best defense, and was one good quarterback away from a Super Bowl. Now, with that good quarterback in hand, and many of the same people on that defense, it’s all mysteriously falling apart.
18. Oakland Raiders
(3-2. Last week: 25)
Unless your name is Jon Gruden, you did not expect the Raiders to head all the way to London and ace the Bears’ defense — one of the NFL’s toughest tests. Perhaps even Gruden wasn’t sure. So, in the aftermath of his brother losing his job in the nation’s capital, let’s take a moment to say that yes, the Gruden offense that worked so well in the late 1990s and early 2000s seems to be making a comeback. Against the league’s most stifling defense, the Raiders showed an impressive amount of sheer push from their offense line, saw rookie running back Josh Jacobs go off for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, and watched Derek Carr hit nine different receivers on 32 attempts. Most impressively against a defense that’s usually a turnover machine, all nine of Carr’s receivers were Raiders. Not that Oakland is a Super Bowl contender yet, but this is a win the Raiders can build on.
17. Carolina Panthers
(3-2. Last week: 21)
The last running back to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award was Adrian Peterson in 2012, and you have to go back to LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 for the last one before him. Not that Christian McCaffrey will add his name to the list in an era when running backs are considered fungible at best, but when you consider the players most valuable to their teams, McCaffrey has to be mentioned. He absolutely lit up Jacksonville’s defense in Carolina’s 34-27 win with 176 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, and six catches for 61 yards and another touchdown. He’s on pace for 2,771 yards for scrimmage this season, which would smash the single-season record set by Tennessee’s Chris Johnson in 2009 (2,509). With Carolina’s quarterback situation very much in flux, is there a more crucial offensive player in the NFL right now?
16. Los Angeles Rams
(3-2. Last week: 9)
Jared Goff has thrown for 912 yards in the Rams’ past two games, and the Rams lost both of those contests. In those games, Goff threw three touchdown passes and four interceptions, with a key lost fumble against the Buccaneers in Week 4. Not to say that Goff is the NFL’s king of empty yards, but there are reasons to be legitimately concerned about his place in the league’s pantheon of quarterbacks. Goff has thrown seven picks, he’s still missing a ton of throws when the reads aren’t easy, and if the Rams hoped he’d play like a top-tier quarterback after giving him a $134 million contract extension … well, it hasn’t happened yet. Sean McVay’s team was able to transcend Goff’s limitations when Wade Phillips’ defense was playing well, but as that’s also gone south of late, the defending NFC champs are looking especially vulnerable these days.
15. Minnesota Vikings
(3-2. Last week: 15)
So, are we to believe in the version of Kirk Cousins that tore the Giants’ secondary apart on Sunday in a 28-10 Vikings win? Or are we to understand that Cousins beat up on a reeling secondary struggling to catch up to any opponent? Based on recent history both with Cousins and the Giants, let’s lean toward the latter conclusion. Cousins completed 22 of 27 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns, but the question remains — can he do so against a defense willing to give an equivalent fight? Cousins next faces the Eagles’ equally vulnerable secondary, though Philly’s pass rush just tore the Jets to bits and could easily do the same to Minnesota’s vulnerable offensive line. After that, it’s a Lions defense that turned Patrick Mahomes into a pumpkin a couple weeks ago. That would be the game to mark if you want to be convinced that Cousins is able to transcend what he’s always been.
14. Chicago Bears
(3-2. Last week: 4)
What happened to a Bears defense that looked like the league’s best through the first month of the season, and then fell all over itself against the Raiders in London? Perhaps we can attribute it to jet lag, but if Alvin Kamara is able to run all over Chicago’s front in Week 7 as Oakland rookie Josh Jacobs did on Sunday, things will get a little tense in Chicago. Things are already tense at the quarterback position, where Chase Daniel showed that he’s no improvement over Mitchell Trubisky with several reading errors and two embarrassing interceptions. The hope was that Daniel could be the game-manager Trubisky wasn’t, and keep the Bears in games without making too many mistakes, but the Saints’ opportunistic defense should have something to say about that after the Bears’ upcoming bye.
13. Dallas Cowboys
(3-2. Last week: 5)
Through the first three weeks of the season, the Cowboys’ offense was the belle of the ball, and first-year offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was in line to be the head coach for 10 different teams next year. Then, the Saints ripped that offense apart in Week 4, and the Packers followed suit Sunday evening by taking a 31-3 lead late in the third quarter before Dak Prescott and his crew were able to formulate anything resembling an answer. Prescott has thrown four interceptions to two touchdowns in Dallas’ past two games, and a defense that was also supposed to be stout allowed four rushing touchdowns to Green Bay tailback Aaron Jones. Tough times for Jason Garrett’s team, and they’d better put together something better against the Jets next week if they don’t want this season to get away from them.
12. Baltimore Ravens
(3-2. Last week: 6)
So far this season, Lamar Jackson has been all over the place. He threw seven touchdown passes to no interceptions in his first two games, was shut out in both categories against the Chiefs in Week 3, and has thrown four touchdowns to five interceptions in the two games since. It’s not a good look for a Ravens team that lost to the Chiefs and Browns and barely beat the depleted Steelers in overtime on Sunday. Given the Ravens’ ongoing and uncharacteristic defensive liabilities, they need to rely on a consistent quarterback in Jackson — both as a thrower and as a runner — if they’re to stay atop the AFC North.
11. Philadelphia Eagles
(3-2. Last week: 10)
There’s little to be gleaned in a long-term sense from a beatdown of an opponent like the Jets, but the Eagles did establish a few things in their 31-6 win. Philly’s front absolutely terrorized New York’s quarterbacks with 10 sacks, and the Eagles defense scored two touchdowns. Although the offense wasn’t explosive, Carson Wentz did enough with a depleted receiving corps to keep things moving. More will be known about this team when the Eagles travel to Minnesota this week to take on the Vikings, but with the Cowboys reeling, the Giants still figuring out who they are, and the Redskins once again circling the drain, Doug Pederson’s team is well positioned.
10. Detroit Lions
(Week 4 Bye, 2-1-1. Last week: 11)
Over the last full season, it could be said that the Lions gave the rest of the league a paradigm to stop the league’s two most explosive offenses. In Week 13 last season, Detroit faced a Rams team on fire. They countered Jared Goff with aggressive coverage and didn’t bite on Sean McVay’s backfield motion packages, and Goff hasn’t been the same since. In Week 4 this season, they gave Patrick Mahomes all the man and match coverage he could handle, to great effect. Matt Patricia’s team lost both of those games, but the league owes them a debt of gratitude. As the Lions come off their bye and prepare to face the Packers, perhaps they can reap the benefits of their vision with a few more wins.
9. Green Bay Packers
(4-1. Last week: 14)
If you told Packers fans that their team would be sitting comfortably in first place in the NFC North through five games without a definitive Aaron Rodgers game, those fans would probably be pretty happy with that. Well, Rodgers hasn’t thrown more than two touchdown passes in any game this year, his only game of more than 300 yards was in a frustrating Week 4 loss to the Eagles, and he’s clearly still trying to get on the same page with first-year head coach and offensive play-designer Matt LaFleur. Still, with Aaron Jones running wild for four touchdowns against the Cowboys, and an opportunistic defense picking off Dak Prescott three times, the Pack has the luxury of waiting for the passing game to kick in. When it does — and it will — this will be a very dangerous team.
8. Indianapolis Colts
(3-2. Last week: 17)
Sometimes, things make themselves obvious before they are true. When I spoke with then-Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich the week of Super Bowl LII, it took about 10 minutes of a 20-minute conversation for me to figure out that Reich was ready to be a great head coach. From analytics to weekly preparation to offensive and defensive schemes, he seemed to understand everything. Consider all that Reich has overcome this season — from the shocking Andrew Luck retirement, to the retrofitting of Jacoby Brissett in his passing game, to key injuries to key defensive players Darius Leonard and Malik Hooker, Reich just keeps his team rolling. Switching to man coverage against Patrick Mahomes and running the ball right down Kansas City’s throat were two great decisions that turned things in Indianapolis’ favor in their Sunday night upset of the Chiefs, but this is more that just one game we’re talking about — the Colts are an overtime loss to the Chargers and a bad half of football against the Raiders from a 5-0 start. As Brissett continues to develop, and stars such as Leonard and Hooker return to the field, the Colts should be taken seriously as a contender — and it all starts at the top.
7. Seattle Seahawks
(4-1. Last week: 13)
Now that Patrick Mahomes has thrown just one touchdown pass in his past two games, has Russell Wilson leapfrogged him in the MVP race? After bullying the Rams last Thursday night in a 30-29 win, Wilson became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era with 1,400 passing yards and 12 touchdowns with no interceptions. That he has done so with an iffy offensive line and an unknown cadre of receivers outside of Tyler Lockett puts Wilson in rarefied air. Though Wilson has been an exceptional quarterback for a long time (he led the NFL in touchdown passes with 34 in 2017 and bumped that up to a career-high 35 last season), he’s hit an entirely different level of performance. Wilson faces vulnerable defenses in the Browns, Ravens and Falcons over the next three games, so his video game numbers could easily continue.
6. Buffalo Bills
(4-1. Last week: 7)
The Bills are 4-1? Yes, it’s a real thing. And it’s no fluke. They’ve only come up short against the Patriots, they have road wins against the Jets, Giants and Titans, and their defense is one of the NFL’s best. Quarterback Josh Allen is developing nicely as more than a running quarterback, and this has become an ideal team for its city — a tough, wily bunch with the ability to outpunch just about anybody. With a bye coming up in Week 6, Sean McDermott’s team has a lot to be proud of — and a virtual second bye against the Dolphins in Week 7.
5. Houston Texans
(3-2. Last week: 8)
On Sunday, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 400 yards and five touchdowns with five or fewer incompletions in a game in league history. That he did so at the expense of a Falcons defense that’s one of the NFL’s worst shouldn’t minimize the achievement — after the game, Watson went into an impressive treatise on what Atlanta was trying to throw at him, and he made very clear on the field what he intended to do about it. What’s even more impressive this season is that, given his status as one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the league, Watson has learned to overcome it. Per Pro Football Focus, he has a passer rating of 98.6 under pressure, with three touchdown passes and no interceptions. A Deshaun Watson who is relatively immune to pressure is a Deshaun Watson who can lead the Texans to the top of the AFC South and beyond.
4. Kansas City Chiefs
(4-1. Last week: 1)
Let’s pause before we hear too much about inevitable regression and the NFL figuring out Patrick Mahomes. Yes, the reigning MVP has thrown just one touchdown pass in his past two games and has looked quite mortal against the Lions and Colts, but there are mitigating factors. In Kansas City’s 19-13 Sunday night loss to the Colts, Mahomes was playing on a bum ankle, behind a beaten-up offensive line, and without his two best receivers in Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins. He still made several stunning plays and kept his team in the game, completing 22 of 39 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown. Mahomes did overthrow several passes after left tackle Cameron Erving rolled up on his left ankle, and he is struggling more as defenses present him with more man and match coverage. But everything we’ve seen would seem to indicate that he’ll figure it out. A more pressing concern? Only the Jaguars have allowed a higher yards-per-carry average than Kansas City’s 5.3. That run defense is not stopping anybody, and the Colts took advantage. Other teams will as well, because the one sure way to beat Mahomes is to milk the clock and keep him off the field.
3. New Orleans Saints
(4-1. Last week: 3)
From Week 2 through Week 4, Teddy Bridgewater attempted just two passes of 20 or more air yards, with no completions and one interception. On Sunday against the Buccaneers’ ostensibly solid defense, Bridgewater flipped the script with four deep targets and four deep completions for 129 yards and a touchdown. In total, Drew Brees’ backup completed 26 of 34 passes for 314 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Not bad for a guy whose career was in question after a gruesome knee injury a few years back. If Bridgewater can keep this up until Brees returns from his thumb injury, the Saints will be a formidable foe with their dynamic defense — and Bridgewater could well find himself as one of the NFL’s most prized free agents at the start of the 2020 league year.
2. San Francisco 49ers
(4-0. Last week: 12)
Kyle Shanahan might be the most exotic offensive play-designer in the NFL, but there’s nothing ostensibly fancy about the way the 49ers made it to 4-0. Though their rushing playbook should be studied by every other team, this is a franchise that has settled into a comfortable paradigm — they’re going to beat the heck out of you on both sides of the ball, do it again, and ask you how else you’d like it. Their systemic beatdown of the Browns on Monday night was a case in point. Cleveland’s vaunted defensive front had no answers for Shanahan’s inside and outside zone calls, whams, pulls and backfield motions. And the defense? Yikes. Nick Bosa was absolutely unstoppable against the Browns’ offensive tackles, and a team that had two interceptions all last season now has seven through four games. Does the road to the NFC now go through the Bay Area? Tough to argue otherwise at this point.
1. New England Patriots
(5-0. Last week: 2)
No, the Patriots have not faced a Murderer’s Row of quarterbacks this season. And outside of the Ben Roethlisberger-led Steelers on opening night, you could argue that they haven’t opposed a credible offense. Or, we could set that aside and just admit that Bill Belichick’s defense in 2019 is going to be one for the ages. Through five games, the Patriots defense is playing at a pace to outstrip the 1985 Bears and 2000 Ravens, the two defenses most noted as the best of the post-merger era. The Pats have 11 interceptions; Green Bay ranks second with seven. They’ve allowed a ridiculous 4.0 yards per passing attempt. They’ve allowed an opponent passer rating of 44.0; the Bills rank second with a 66.9 rating allowed. The Pats play the Giants on Thursday night, and then the Jets, Browns, and Ravens after that. By then, it may be time to acknowledge that, while they have beaten weaker opponents at times, this defense is historic in its ability to shut everybody down.
Touchdown Wire editor Doug Farrar has also covered football for Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, the Washington Post, and Football Outsiders. His first book, “The Genius of Desperation,” a schematic history of professional football, was published by Triumph Books in 2018-.
