I thought about not posting at all this week with what happened to Damar Hamlin. But then I thought maybe what we all needed were a few laughs. I was watching when it happened and it was a very scary and weird moment. I am sure we all had a lot of emotions and opinions about what should be done. My dad is a journalist and so I was raised to collect all the facts before making a judgement. The information of what happened and why it happened will slowly be revealed. What I do know is tragedy can bring out the best and worst in us. I saw many people tweeting about how the game needed to be finished because of their fantasy football teams. I also saw many tweets that they should cancel the whole season, which is less unreasonable than worrying about your fantasy team but still an unreasonable response. This proves my theory once again that there are a lot of dumb people on twitter. But most of the country was focused on Damar. Millions of dollars have been donated to his charity and many more prayers have been lifted up for him. He has a long ways to go but there are lots of positive signs as he has opened his eyes, squeezed hands, and seems to be neurologically intact. This is all great news. Also a big shout out to the medical staff at the game and at the hospital. Finally, I thought the ESPN staff did the absolute best they could in a completely unimaginable scenario. Let’s all keep Damar in your thoughts and prayers and hope for a full recovery. With that, lets have a little fun and dive into this weeks rankings.

Super Bowl Contenders: Eagles, 49ers, Bills, Bengals, Chiefs

The Eagles really struggled without Hurts this week. Can they recapture their magic when Hurts is reinserted into the lineup? I think they can but it is yet to be seen. Hopefully we will see it this weekend. The 49ers and Chiefs battled teams that looked like what most thought they would look like before the season started. The Raiders and Broncos both looked like functional football teams. More on them later. Purdy apparently is playing injured (no one is shocked that a 49er player is injured) which may be effecting his accuracy. Mahomes apparently can’t throw a deep ball..at least not to MVS. He missed two easy touchdowns that would have made the game a lot less close. Of course so would not fumbling a punt and missing a FG and an extra point. I left the game thinking Mahomes didn’t play well. He completed 70% of his passes for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns and 1 pick. This is a bad game for him. The bar is so high for him, it is sort of ridiculous. He joins Brady and Brees as the only 3 players with 2 seasons of over 5,000 yards passing. This is his 5th season as a starter. I have nothing snarky to say about the Bills and Bengals this week. They are two very solid teams that clearly have a shot at winning it all. I think these 5 teams are clearly the best teams when Hurts is playing and one of them will likely win it all.

Could be dangerous: Chargers, Cowboys, Jaguars

I don’t think any of these teams can make the Super Bowl but I do think they can all win a game or two. They have talented skill players, solid defenses and confidence. The Jags still have to beat the Titans to get in but it sure looks like that is going to happen. The Jags are playing their best ball and host the Titans Saturday night. One week after saying the Chargers aren’t putting up a lot of points they drop 31 on a pretty good Rams defense. I don’t think anyone would be shocked if the final 4 in the AFC is the Bills, Bengals, Chiefs and Chargers. The Chargers will likely play the Jags if they both win this weekend. So that would certainly be an interesting game. The Cowboys have a ton of talent that they can overcome their inconsistent QB and choke of a coach to win one or two games.

I have Tom Brady: Bucs

My niece joined our family fantasy league this year. She knows nothing about football nor does she care. As commissioner I try to help the new players out and so if she needed to make a change to her lineup, etc. I would let her know and her response was always “yeah, but I have Tom Brady.” That hasn’t really worked out well for her or the Bucs for most of the year but the Tom Brady we saw on Sunday against the Panthers sure looked pretty good. I am still rooting for the Bucs to rest their starters this week so they can finish 8-9 because losing teams in the playoffs is funny. But I am not ready to write off Brady and a bunch of veterans from making a run.

As I predicted…: Packers

Wow, I thought the Packers would win close but they weren’t messing around with the Vikings that are 11-0 in one score games. The Packers were up 14-3 at one point and had -1 passing yards after a kick return for a td and a pick 6. They did not look back. The Packers D has really turned it around and they completely shut down the best receiver in the league. If they beat the Lions at home then they go to the playoffs as I predicted and could be dangerous. Rodgers is always better as the underdog than the favorite in the playoffs.

In the playoffs and that is pretty good: Vikings, Ravens, Giants

Look, I have given these teams a hard time but hey they are in the playoffs and that is a pretty good accomplishment. I mean a lot of teams don’t make it. The Ravens are not very good anymore and will likely be one and done. The Vikings and Giants are probably going to play each other so I guess one of them will win at least one game in the playoffs but they won’t make it farther than that. The Giants apparently need to win by two or more scores otherwise give it to the Vikes.

Still in it and fun: Lions and Seahawks

The Lions and Seahawks are fun teams. They are fun stories. The Seahawks traded Russ and replaced him with journey man Geno Smith. Smith has played admirably and the Seahawks have been competitive in almost every game. They need to beat the Rams and the Lions to beat the Packers to get in. The Lions started the year 1-6 and now are 8-8 in one of the great turn arounds of any season. They need Seattle to lose to the Rams and then have to win in Lambeau, something they haven’t done since 2018. These are great stories but I think they end this week.

Won’t go away: Patriots, Steelers, Dolphins, Titans

The Patriots and Titans control their own destiny. The Titans have lost 6 in a row. Amazingly if they beat the Jags on Saturday night they will host a playoff game. Unless you live in Nashville you are probably cheering against that. The Patriots beat the Dolphins and now control their own destiny if they beat the Bills in Buffalo. The Steelers just simply won’t go away. If they beat the Browns they will finish with a winning record again, keeping Tomlin’s streak alive. The Dolphins continue their free fall dropping their 5th in a row. The Dolphins season has looked like this: 3 wins, 3 losses, 5 wins, 5 losses. They need to beat the Jets and have the Pats lose and then they still get in. Who knows what happens but at least one of these teams is playing in the playoffs.

Ruined good starts: Jets, Commanders

There was a lot of hope for these teams. But they fell apart down the stretch. The Jets had to play Zach Wilson and it turns out Mike White might not be that good either. They keep the longest playoff drought alive. They haven’t been since 2010. The Commanders made the switch back to Carson Wentz which lead to an embarrassing performance against the Browns. Speaking of embarrassing, have you seen the Commanders new mascot? It’s worth a google.

Irrelevant but not terrible: Browns, Panthers, Saints, Falcons, Rams

None of these teams really had a shot this year. I mean, I guess the NFC South teams did because the Bucs didn’t play well for most of the season, but it wasn’t because they were good. But they all won some games and were competitive at times. Besides maybe the Rams if they can stay healthy, I expect them all to be pretty much in the same boat next year.

Raiders gonna Raider: You know who

The Raiders switched quarterbacks and it actually worked. Their offense came alive which isn’t a great look for Derek Carr. And they were playing against one of the top defenses in the league. They battled all game and tied it with less than a minute to go. The 49ers drove down but then missed a FG attempt which led to OT. The Raiders got the ball first and were driving until their new QB threw a pick that was returned inside the 10 and that is all she wrote. It was a classic Raiders loss and their 9th loss by one score which eliminated them from the Playoffs.

They played this week? I thought they had a bye: Cardinals

How bad are the Cardinals? I had to look up to see if they played this week. That is how irrelevant they have become.

No Longer fun: Bears

Fields can really run. The problem is he can’t really throw. And he doesn’t have anyone to throw to. Or block for him. Or play defense against their opponent. They are a bad football team.

A Better Ride Next Year?: Broncos

The Broncos minus Hackett looked functional. They played hard, didn’t make any terrible decisions and were competitive for four quarters. Of course it could be because they were playing against the Chiefs who always play down to their competition. Also, although I didn’t think this would be the case the interim coach obviously gave them a boost. Russ wasn’t great but he wasn’t bad. Which is a huge improvement. Of course this could all be a way to give Broncos false hope for the offseason. Sort of like when Drew Lock won 4 of 5 to end a season. Or when they traded for Russ to begin with. But either way, I am sure I will hear about how good the Broncos will be next year for the next 6 months on the local radio station. Their misguided optimism is consistent every offseason.

Houston we have a problem: Texans

This team is not good. They organization is worse and the Quarterback play may be worse than that. They will probably beat the Colts next week so they don’t even get the #1 pick. That would be a classic Texans move. It doesn’t really matter though because they will just screw up the pick anyway.

Should have hired me: Colts

Since Saturday was hired, they beat the Raiders and then proceeded to lose 6 in a row, including a total collapse in the 4th quarter against the Cowboys and losing the biggest lead in NFL history against the Vikings. They then switched to Nick Foles at quarterback and somehow got less competitive. I am pretty sure I could have done what Saturday has done. He has clearly ruined the chances of guys with no coaching experience of getting NFL coaching jobs. Thanks a lot, Jeff Saturday. Now I have to keep my day job and just keep blogging.