4. New England Patriots
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Everything Patriots fans could have hoped for at this point is manifesting. Mike Vrabel looks like the perfect hire as the team’s head coach. Drake Maye is ascending among the NFL’s elite young quarterbacks. Stefon Diggs has been awesome. They’ve already beaten the Bills.
The Patriots were expected to be a possible breakout team this year, and we’re seeing that come to fruition early on. We’ll see if they can keep it up, but this is looking like a truly great start to the year for a franchise that has been trying to figure things out since the dynasty era.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
I do struggle a little bit to put the Pittsburgh Steelers this high. While the Steelers are 4-1 to start the season, and likely even 5-1 after Thursday against the Bengals, I’m just not buying them quite yet.
I think when it comes to weekly power rankings, you “have” to put them up this high because of their win-loss record, but let’s say there’s an asterisk next to this team, because they’re not passing the eye test for me just yet. You can only play who’s in front of you, but congrats on beating the Jets, Carson Wentz-led Vikings, Dillon Gabriel-led Browns, and soon the Joe Flacco-led Bengals.
The Steelers don’t need to beat quality opponents to be in good playoff position, but style points matter when it comes to power rankings.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
Here’s my hottest take of the week, because the Kansas City Chiefs were just 2-3 a handful of days ago and it looked like they were going to be well on their way to a 2-4 start with the white hot Detroit Lions coming to town.
After dismantling the Lions, the Chiefs have now broken the Ravens and been a “stopper” for an offense that previously hadn’t been stopped since Week 1. It was as impressive of a win, especially considering the stakes of losing, that we’d seen all year.
The Chiefs have reminded everyone that they’re not going anywhere anytime soon, and the return of Rashee Rice in Week 7 makes an already dynamic offense even better on paper.
1. Indianapolis Colts
You can’t say the Indianapolis Colts are head-and-shoulders above everybody else in the AFC this season, but they have been consistently very good.
Daniel Jones is operating the offense well. The Colts have a plethora of offensive weapons. Shane Steichen is a very good coach. The defense is solid. The Colts have the makings of being one of the best stories in the NFL at the end of the season, but things are about to get real for them.
Out of the next 10 games on the schedule, only the Titans and Texans have a losing record currently, and the Texans have the #1 scoring defense in the NFL. The validity of the Colts’ hot start will soon be put to the test.