Without hesitation, every year we see it. College Football has their useless preseason rankings. In every sport “Power Rankings” before games are even played. What do we ACTUALLY know in August? Nothing at all.

Now, we’ve had four games played, bye weeks start this week and we can actually assess the list as something tangible. So, let’s get into it shall we?

The Chiefs hold the top spot, like it or not. The champs haven’t looked great to start the year. But, undefeated is undefeated. The loss of Rashee Rice will put Xavier Worthy on a fast track in the Reid, Nagy, Mahomes system. Which will be fine for Worthy, he does EVERYTHING fast.

Sam’s glass slipper is still shining. Darnold is the only QB entering the week with double digit TD passes (11) and he is at 68.9% completions. Defensively, the Vikes added another sack and used four forced turnovers to hold on at Lambeau. This defense is playoff ready.

Big home win on Monday night against a good Seattle squad for DC’s Lions. The two-headed attack of Gibbs & Montgomery is tough to slow down. A perfect night for Goff AND St. Brown passing as well. The Lions get the early bye before another trip to Dallas

Laugh all you want,  but Baker’s Bucs are good. Yes, they laid a steaming turd against Denver, but a road win in Detroit and destruction of Washington and Philadelphia have the Bucs with a 3-0 conference record to start the year. In this year’s NFC, that is a very important detail.

The Texans were the darlings of the offseason and they’re damn good. CJ Stroud isn’t showing regression signs. They were dismantled by Minnesota and they have a big test this weekend. The Texans are -15 in point differential which is a slight concern on the defensive side early.

Ok Bills Mafia, fire away. Buffalo was knocked back on Sunday by a good Ravens team. I mentioned the mini gauntlet for Buffalo and it continues this week at Houston. The lack of depth for the Bills is still what concerns me the most. Josh Allen can hide a lot of their deficiencies, but for how long?

Do you believe in my Commanders yet? There was a reason I picked them to go to the playoffs. Two words, Dan and Quinn. He knows how to coach, rally a group, and make them believe. The rising star of Daniels in Kliff’s offense and veteran leadership. There’s still a way to go still, but Washington is in a perfect spot in a down division.

Another team I was banging the preseason drum for. Tough loss on Monday. The early fumble changed the momentum, but this team under MacDonald’s leadership still battled. They should cruise to 4-1 with the helpless Giants coming in before hosting a divisional showdown with San Francisco on TNF.

The 49ers top the list of the 2-2’s. Why? Simple. They’re the most talented team in football, top to bottom. Brock Purdy is in the MVP race again whether you like it or not. The Niners still await a plethora of injured guys to return. The loss of Dre Greenlaw is bigger than anyone realizes and will continue to hurt them for a while.

New Orleans had a horrible loss last weekend that should’ve never happened. The Saints that went into Dallas are the real Saints…I think? If Monday’s game was in the dome I’d like the spot a lot more for them. A +57 point differential is nothing to roll your eyes at. Interested to see how the Saints D travels this week.

Baltimore, then Pittsburgh, Dallas, Jets and Packers are my next five. Yes Steelers fans, you’re behind Baltimore despite the better record. The record doesn’t always tell the story. My concern with Arthur Smith and the lack of offensive weapons has held true so far. That defense as always will carry you through a lot. But, there isn’t a guy on that offense that scares anyone. I heard Davante Adams wants a change of scenery, start there…not that Arthur Smith would know how to utilize him anyways.

10 for now and I’ll see you here next week!