Yesterday, after days of nervousness & anticipation, we released our first power rankings of season 2. These rankings are incredibly important as they are perfectly accurate and never change throughout the season. This sets the tone for the rest of the season, establishes expectations & is arguably more anticipated/coveted than the Lombardi Trophy. Now that you know I'm completely full of shit when I say that, let's get into it.
Before we go over these new rankings, I thought I'd just provide some stats and facts about the rankings up until this point:
Numbers Game:
- 23 teams featured in the rankings at some point during the 2022 season
- The Super Bowl featured nobody that held a top 5 spot going into the playoffs (#7 Atlanta, #9 Los Angeles Chargers)
- 5 teams consistantly stayed in the top 8 for the entire season: Titans, Seahawks, Lions, Packers, Falcons
- The Cleveland Browns & Minnesota Vikings enter the rankings for the 1st time, putting us at 25 teams that have featured in the rankings this cycle
- Two divisions have had all four (4) members feature in the rankings at some point: AFC North & NFC West
Alright, now that I've given you that useless knowledge we can get into it.
The first thing that's noticeable is the fact that we have three new faces in the top 3. The Detroit Lions hold down the top spot, and have followed up their impressive 14-3 inaugural season with a perfect 5-0 start to set the pace here in season 2. Already with key victories over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers & rival Green Bay Packers, they are setting themselves up nicely for shot at the top seed in the playoffs or at least a home game in the first round at worst. We'll learn a lot about them this week though as they make the trip down to Atlanta to take on the defending Super Bowl Champion Falcons in a heavyweight bout to determine who will stand as the lone remaining unbeaten in the league (not to mention what may turn out to be the all-important head-2-head tiebreaker).
Speaking of the Falcons (talk about a convenient transition!), they slot in just behind the Lions and are hot on their heels in the NFC with a matching 5-0 start to the year. They too have beaten the Buccaneers this season, and have yet to have a game finish closer than 18pts this season! Russ is red hot, Pitts looks like a potential MVP & calling the defense "shutdown" is an understatement. There's no sense of a Super Bowl hangover with this group, and after getting their first Lombardi in 2022 it appears they are on track to challenge for it once again.
Probably the biggest surprise, and most impressive, team to feature in these initial rankings are the San Francisco 49ers who come in behind the unbeatens at #3 & 5-1 overall. We saw the 49ers in our initial power rankings at the beginning of season 1, but after that point it turned into a season of struggles for them. Whatever they did in the offseason seems to be working though, as they head into week 7 already with the season sweep of the Seattle Seahawks who we've seen in the top half of the rankings constantly & hold down the top spot in the challenging NFC West. They do have a fairly difficult schedule the rest of the way, but with a shutdown defense & excellent run game, they are certainly looking a lot more like a contender rather than a pretender.
As we previously mentioned, Minnesota (4-1) & Cleveland (4-2) have entered the rankings for the first time at #11 & #15 respectively. The Vikings utilize a dynamic passing attack that features Justin Jefferson (22-556-5) & OROY candidate Will Broyles (31-403-5), and a stingy defense that has really made opponents work for their yards. It's only a season or so of a sample size, but they do tend to struggle to pick up those key victories when it comes to facing opponents with above .500 records. They face the Bucs, Cardinals & Falcons over the next three weeks and will be utilizing the momentum from this strong start to hopefully buck the trend and continue to make their way up the rankings. The Browns had a first season that was tough to judge with essentially the first half of the season essentially being force losses. Under new leadership, they were able to play pretty close to .500 ball the rest of the way in 2022 and kept the core intact heading into 2023. With the fresh slate they have found themselves in a tie at the top of the AFC North, setting things up nicely to be in the playoff picture later in the season. Nick Chubb has punished opposing defenses and four pass catchers have eclipsed 230yds on the young season already, making Cleveland a tough offense to stop let alone slow down. A pair of matchups with the Steelers during the latter half of the season, and a couple tests in between against the 49ers & Titans, provide plenty of chances for Cleveland to figure out where they stand in the hiearchy moving forward.
Be sure to check out our Twitter @GZMLCFM (shameless plug as always) to see the complete top 16 rankings, and be sure to tune into the Ground Zero Sports Network on twitch Wednesday, November 16th @ 7:00pm est (another shameless plug) for the 1st league stream of season 2 that has all sorts of exciting matchups scheduled! As always, if you are interested in getting involved and writing a blog every now and then, please reach out and let us know.
Our inaugural season of the Madden 23 cycle has concluded in the best way possible; with an incredible Super Bowl between two great teams that saw us crown a 1st time champ! How did the Bowl play out you might ask (if you were one of the few who missed it)? Have no fear and please stop panicing, because we got you covered:
SUPER BOWL LVII: I'm confident we'll have plenty of incredible Super Bowl matchups this cycle, but right off the bat the bar was set incredibly high. The Atlanta Falcons represented the NFC after entering the playoffs as the NFC South Champ at 13-4. Their first matchup could've easily been seen as a potential NFC Championship game going into the season as they took down the Green Bay Packers in Atlanta (shamelessly plugging the previous blog that has a recap of this game). What did that win them? Just a trip to the City of Brotherly Love and a matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles..... in the snow. A late touchdown there secured the surprisingly high-scoring 41-37 victory and another battle of the birds matchup in Seattle against the #1 seed & 15-2 Seahawks. These two faced off in week 3 of the regular season that ended 47-28 in Seattle's favor; so this game should be another high-scoring affair that favors the hosts right? WRONG! Atlanta came in focused, hungry for revenge, and turned in an all-star defensive effort that shut down MVP RB Kenneth Walker III and grounded the high-flying Hawks enroute to a convincing 31-3 victory.
Their opponent in the Bowl representing the AFC was none other than the LA Chargers. The Bolts came into the posteason as the #3 seed and AFC West Champ at 11-6. Their first matchup was incredibly intriguing as they were paired up against their division rival, the Denver Broncos. These two met twice in the regular season, including week 18 right before the playoffs. Similar to the Atlanta vs Seattle matchup, this game was a complete 180 compared to the regular season finale as the Chargers absolutely dominated the Broncos 44-0. Shamelessly plugging the previous blog again where this matchup was talked about in detail. Their divisional round matchup was a much tighter affair as they hosted the red-hot Buffalo Bills who were riding a 7-game win streak. Defenses ruled the day, in a few different ways. A 50+ yard defensive Pass Interference call set up the Chargers to take the lead in the 2nd half on a short Austin Ekeler TD run, and Khalil Mack & company caused all sorts of problems for the Bills passing game with multiple sacks and countless QB pressures, propelling the Chargers to a 23-15 victory. With the results elsewhere leaving them as the highest seed left, they had the honor of hosting the AFC Championship game against the #7 seed Pittsburgh Steelers who took down the conference's top 2 seeds to get to that point. The Chargers defense stepped up big time, forcing FIVE Baker Mayfield picks (Kenny Pickett makes some of those throws, just saying) to keep the Steelers off the board on numerous occasions. Their offense played efficient behind Herbert who went 16-19 passing on the day; and after it was all said & done the Chargers emerged as 30-16 victors with their sights set on the Super Bowl.
Alright, now that we know who was there we should probably get into the Super Bowl Game Recap itself. This game was everything we could've wanted and then some. A classic back-and-forth affair early on saw us go into the half tied at 10 following a classic Atlanta redzone stop by intercepting Justin Herbert in the endzone; followed by the Chargers defense answering the call and getting the ball right back through a pick of their own to set up an easy field goal right before the break. Riding that momentum, Austin Ekeler took the ball 75yds to the house on the 1st play of the 2nd half to put the Chargers up 17-10 quickly. The LA highs were short-lived however, as Calvin Ridley matched Ekeler with a 79yd catch & run TD of his own to put us right back where we started. Yet another Falcons goalline stand (shocker) resulted in Los Angeles settling for 3 to take the lead to start the 4th quarter, and a strip sack of Russell Wilson led to another field goal putting us at 23-17 LA with 3:38 to go. Down but not out, Wilson rebounded with a nice drive that saw him surgically march his team down the field. A swing pass out to RB Cordarrelle Patterson turned into a 15yd TD after some nice blocking on the outside, and after kicking the extra point the Falcons found themselves up 24-23 with just 49 seconds to go. Rashaan Evans came up with the biggest interception of his life, picking off a pass thrown by Herbert as he was getting hit by a Falcons pass-rusher, putting Atlanta on the cusp of hoisting the Lombardi. Afer gaining the 1st down and LA running out of timeouts, Russ was able to take a knee and watch the clock hit zero. Coach Marks could be seen dancing in the top right corner of his stream screen, showing just how much it meant to finally clinch his first Super Bowl in GZ.
THE ATLANTA FALCONS FINISH THE 2022 SEASON AS THE SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!! Q picks up his first title in GZ and etches his name into the history books as such. An incredible season by both teams, wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if next season's recap is deja vu talking about these same two teams.
The 2022 season in general had it all: lots of entertaining games, handful of close division races, few surprising teams that emerged as contenders, a BOATLOAD of interceptions thrown, records being broken.... the list goes on and on. We are now onto the offseason where teams will most certainly take advantage of free agency, trades & the draft to head into 2023 ready to give their best shot at claiming the elusive Lombardi Trophy for themselves. Congrats & shoutout to all of GroundZero for a great first season back on the Madden grind, can't wait to get season 2 rolling!
Boy do we have some catching up to do! A lot has happened since our last power rankings blog post came out in week 10: we released our newest power rankings, pre-season futures bets selections made by the coaches of GZ were revealed (that we all seem to have failed at miserably), the playoff bracket was released and we've even had four games already take place. We'll probably just do an end of the season recap blog in the near future to split this up a bit, so the main focus of today will be the playoff bracket & matchups.
If you haven't seen the bracket, below are the teams and seedings for each conference:
AFC:
1. Tennessee Titans (15-2)
2. Baltimore Ravens (13-4)
3. LA Chargers (11-6)
4. Buffalo Bills (10-7)
5. Indianapolis Colts (11-6)
6. Denver Broncos (11-6)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
NFC:
1. Seattle Seahawks (15-2)
2. Detroit Lions (14-3)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (13-4)
4. Atlanta Falcons (13-4)
5. Green Bay Packers (13-4)
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
7. Dallas Cowboys (9-8)
Just looking at the names on those lists, we knew we were in for an entertaining postseason where anything could happen. That was evident in the very first game:
#7 Pittsburgh @ #2 Baltimore (-2.5): We kicked off the playoffs with an AFC North matchup between the Ravens & Steelers. As division rivals, these two had already seen each other twice this season, with Baltimore winning both matchups by a combined score of 68-27. You wouldn't have guessed that by how this game went, as Pittsburgh played shutdown defense on their way to a 36-14 upset of the hosts. Forcing 7 turnovers in the game, including two interceptions from both Myles Jack & Terrell Edmunds, the Steelers were able to build a lead that allowed them to basically coast through this one. Chris Boswell was in the zone, booting through 5 (yes, FIVE) field goals with a long of 64, while Baker Mayfield tossed two TDs to his Tight-Ends Freiermuth & Ebron in route to the 22 point victory. Baltimore ran for an impressive 180 yards in the game, 141 coming from RB JK Dobbins, but the game script called for more passing and Lamar just never seemed to get comfortable. Pittsburgh is off to the #1 seed in Tennessee next week, while the Ravens can join this writer along with many others down in sunny Cabo San Lucas.
League Pick: 80% Baltimore (-2.5)
#6 Denver @ #3 Los Angeles (-1.5): Our second AFC matchup was another division pairing between AFC West foes. These two actually played earlier in the day to wrap up our week 18 slate, with Denver ballhawking their way to a 38-24 victory. That victory earned them a season split, and a rematch in the playoffs. With the momentum on their side, you would've thought the Broncos were poised to give us the second upset in as many games, but that was overwhelmingly not the case as the Chargers cruised to a 44-0 victory (although an infamous chip may have contributed to the massive difference in the scoreline, not to take anything away from the impressive performance from LA). Justin Herbert was the biggest comeback story of this matchup; having been picked off 5 times in week 18 he bounced back in a big way, going 17/21 with 240yds & 3TDs. Just like the previous matchup, TEs were the beneficiaries as they caught all 3 of those TD tosses with Gerald Everett snagging two & Donald Parham getting the other. The Charger safeties commanded the skies, accounting for 6 of rookie Desmond Ridder's 7 interceptions. The Chargers host the winner of our remaining AFC showdown between Buffalo & Indianapolis (shocker, not a division rematch) while the Broncos simply ride off into the sunset (and probably the bathroom, hope you're doing better man!).
League Pick: 78% Los Angeles (-1.5)
#5 Green Bay @ #4 Atlanta (-1.5): Switching over to the NFC side, we had an incredibly intriguing matchup that featured two 13-4 teams who came into the year as potential NFC favorites led by MVP level Quarterbacks. This was also the first playoff game where the opponents hadn't played against each other during the regular season, so there was no familiarity in what to expect from one another. The game was close throughout, but a few costly turnovers proved to be the difference was the Falcons defend home turf 27-17. Both QBs threw the ball well as expected; Aaron Rodgers going for 281yds & 2TDs, and Russell Wilson matching him with 260yds & a pair of TDs as well. FINALLY, receivers ruled the day catching all four TDs passes while both RBs really struggled to establish the ground game. In what was a shock to most, Kyle Pitts was "contained" by going a measly 6-92, Romeo Doubs posted a 3-95-1 scoreline to lead the Packers that was highlighted by an incredible catch & run in traffic. Like we eluded to, turnovers won the Falcons the game as Aaron Jones coughed it up twice to kill Packer drives. Atlanta now waits to see if they will be hosting the divisional round against rival Tampa Bay; or if they will be making the trip North to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Eagles in a Battle of the Birds. "Falcons country, let's ride!" - Russ Wilson, probably.... actually he's definitely saying that right now.
League Pick: 57% Atlanta (-1.5)
#7 Dallas @ #2 Detroit (-3.5): Our night cap featured the biggest spread of the Wild Card round as the Cowboys made the trip to Motor City to take on the Lions in a battle of Thanksgiving mainstays. These two met all the way back in week 7 in the Lone Star State, with the Lions coming out victorious 28-17. Ugly game for the QBs, combining for 12 interceptions, and an even uglier game for Zeke Elliott who could only muster 18 yards on the ground. Looking at those stats, you could never IMAGINE what happened in this one. Tony Pollard commanded the backfield carries, and put in an incredible performance rushing for 200yds on the dot and finding the endzone twice to lead Dallas to the 33-24 upset. Tim Edwards was much more careful with the ball for Detroit, only tossing 3 picks compared to the 7 he threw in the previous meeting, but D'Andre Swift just couldn't get rolling this time around after amassing nearly 100yds with 2 TDs in Dallas. After sneaking into the playoffs at the very last moment, Dallas is taking full advantage of the fresh slate and will look to keep the momentum rolling next week as they head to the Pacific Northwest where the #1 seeded Seahawks await.
League Pick: 92% Detroit (-3.5)
Two more intriguing matchups still remain before we wrap up the Wild Card Weekend and jump into the Divisional Round. Upsets dominate the headlines so far; will the trend continue, or will the favorites prove why they are just that? There really is nothing quite like postseason football!
We are officially over the halfway point in the season! As the games become even more important, and the playoff races start to take shape, we have our first updated power rankings. No, we are not breaking down all 16 teams this time around, so you all can relax. We will be highlighting the biggest movers within the top 16, who's on the outside looking in, and a surprising one or two that aren't featured. So without further delay, let's get into it:
The Highs & the Lows:
The top half of the power rankings nearly featured the same exact 8 teams as our initial rankings, but there was one team that has continued to excel and catapulted their way up into the top 5. The 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles have stayed scorching hot and check in this week at #4 in the rankings! Big division wins over Washington & Dallas, coupled with a game winning FG over AFC contender Pittsburgh on our League Stream (shamelessly plugging GroundZeroSportsNetwork on Twitch, follow us for updates whenever we go live with a stream!), have highlighted this middle stretch of games for Philly who have established themselves as the team to beat in the NFC this season.
Going the complete opposite way and falling out of the top 8, the Denver Broncos have hit a bit of a cold streak and plummeted from the top spot all the way down to #13. Before you hit the panic button or give up on the Broncos this season, take a look at the opponents they've had to play over this stretch. Among those games: Indianapolis (#15), LA Chargers (#3), Jacksonville (#12) & Tennessee (#1); they did pick up a sim win against the NY Jets (#5) along the way to help highlight the tough schedule. There's some prime opportunities for the Broncos to bounce back in the 2nd half of the season, which could lead to them becoming a red hot team going into the playoffs.
New Kids on the Block:
As was expected, we get to welcome some new faces to the list here in week 10. The Baltimore Ravens (6-3) slot in at #10, and lead the AFC North at the halfway point. After really struggling out of the gate, the New York Giants (5-4) have hit a groove and find themselves sitting at #11 as they look to keep pace with the Eagles in the NFC East. A strong showing from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) has them at #14 in the rankings and just a game out of the top spot in the NFC South. Rounding out the newcomers to the list we have the Indianapolis Colts (6-4) who sit at #15 in the rankings and are currently the top Wild Card team in the AFC. You never want to cross paths with a team that has momentum on their side, and that's exactly what these teams have. We'll learn a lot in the latter half of the season, but don't be shocked if you see one of these names playing late into the post-season.
On the Outside Looking in:
As with every rankings, and as we eluded to with the above section, when new teams come in that means some current teams have got to go. Moment of silence for those who fell out of the rankings: Cincinnati Bengals (5-4), Dallas Cowboys (4-5), Arizona Cardinals (4-6) & San Francisco 49ers (3-6)...... alright, moments gone. Time to highlight those who just missed the cut this time around:
The Minnesota Vikings rattled off five wins in a row after starting the season 0-3. What's the catch? Those teams have a combined 8-42 record. They've definitely taken care of business where they needed to, but until we see some wins against teams above .500 they'll lose pretty much every tiebreaker against teams with similar records. 5 of their last 6 games are against such teams, so they'll get their chances to prove they belong.
The Cincinnati Bengals may have fallen out of the rankings, but it wasn't without a bit of a discussion. Just like the Pittsburgh Steelers (who were the last team into the rankings at #16), they are within striking distance of the Ravens in the AFC North and will have opportunities down the stretch to solidify a spot in the postseason. Why leave them out if they are still doing well? Compared to the newcomers this week, the Bengals just weren't able to get it done against above .500 opponents over their last five games. Seeing a trend with how we determine who goes where?
Missing in Action:
To wrap this whole thing up, we wanted to revisit who we assumed would be a lock for the rankings that have yet to make an appearance.
The Buffalo Bills came into the year, and the cycle, with lofty expectations. Building off a strong M22 (which is impressive considering how bumpy of a ride that was), many picked the Bills to bring home the Lombardi trophy at some point. They had a rough start right out the gate and slipped to an 0-2 record after taking on the LA Rams (#9) & Tennessee Titans (#1). They've managed to regain some balance over the past few weeks, but still only sit at 4-5 on the season. There's still a chance to get hot and rattle off a win streak to make the postseason, and there's plenty of seasons left in this cycle to achieve the Super Bowl dream, but at this point in year one I think it's safe to say we are a bit surprised to not see them featured in either power rankings. Means nothing for year two & beyond though (hopefully foreshadowing so my prediction of a Bills Super Bowl comes true).
This one might be a bit of a stretch, but I think it's surprising that the Houston Texans haven't found their way into at least the mid-to-high teens yet. They have a franchise QB, a handful of promising young players and a user who has basically been a lock for the playoffs every season in the past. However, there are certainly a LOT of holes to fill on that team and it just shows that sometimes roster talent can make all the difference in a win or a loss. Even with the losses piling up, I'm sure this season can be viewed as a win in the long-term goals down in the Lone Star State. Higher draft capital, a year of development under their belt and the cap space to start really building the squad how they want has me thinking (and expecting) the Texans to make an appearance in the rankings sooner rather than later.
Plenty of action still left in the season, plenty of time to make a playoff push & plenty of time for teams to throw their position away. Anything can happen with intriguing matchups every single week; don't waste the opportunities when they're presented to you. It's getting down to crunch time gentlemen!
While 4 weeks isn't a massive sample size, it provides us with enough information to churn out our first power rankings of Madden 23. The top 16 went out on Twitter (@GZMLCFM) yesterday; if you aren't following it already, what are you doing? Since the rankings have no details in regards to why teams are placed where they are, we thought it would be a nice topic for the next blog. This post should help clarify the thought process that went into the rankings. Disclaimer: All rankings were made PRIOR to any week 5 game taking place.
1) Denver Broncos (4-0): Denver has started the season red hot, taking down two teams who we'll see featured later on this list (Seattle & San Francisco) to go along with a win over a Texans team that is a tougher opponent than their 1-3 record indicates. Led by a stout defense and arguably the best WR core in the league, the Broncos have gone from sneaky contender to potential Super Bowl favorite.
2) Los Angeles Chargers (4-0): No real suprise here, the Chargers were already considered a league favorite going into the season and have backed that up with a perfect start to the campaign. Highlighted by victories over Houston & Jacksonville, LA now has a slight chip on their shoulder and will have something to say about who's really the "Best in the West".
3) Tennessee Titans (4-0): Tennessee has had to really fight their way to this undefeated start, with three of their wins coming by 3 points or less (7pt difference combined for those games). They do have a victory over Buffalo, a team thought to be on the cusp of a Super Bowl in this league, to help keep them on the podium in the power rankings.
4) Seattle Seahawks (3-1): Only took us to #4 to have the first controversy in the rankings! Seattle slides in ahead of our final unbeaten team in the league (won't have to wait long to see that team on the list), which I'm sure has come as a shock to some. All four of Seattle's opponents are featured on this first power rankings with a combined record of 12-4, and the Seahawks lone loss came to the top team on the list. If this was the College Football Playoff, they'd have a legit argument to be in and that's exactly what we did here. The question shouldn't be 4th or 5th for the Pacific Northwest squad, it realistically should be 4th or 3rd!
5) Green Bay Packers (4-0): Like we foreshadowed above, the Green Bay Packers round out the top 5 as opposed to bringing up the rear of the 4 unbeatens. This team has the potential to win the Super Bowl, don't get this ranking twisted that we don't believe that, but they are victim to what is preceived to be a weaker SOS with the teams they've faced having some struggles to start the season. A combined record of 4-12 compared to 12-4 is a difference that can't be ignored, but that can all change when we revisit the rankings in a few weeks.
6) Detroit Lions (3-1): Right on the heels of their NFC North rivals, Detroit has had a solid start to the season. A team that has a lot of talent/promise on offense, but a shaky looking defense, Detroit has been able to keep pace with the Packers while picking up a key win over the Eagles (who we'll see later on this list). The Lions only loss came at the hands of the Seahawks, who we already touched on in detail about how good they are shaping up to be, and are positioning themselves nicely to be playing in some meaningful games late in the season for the first time in a long time.
7) Atlanta Falcons (3-1): You could honestly look at this ranking and think Atlanta has underperformed based off everyone's expectations going into the season, but a 3-1 start is solid if you're a Falcons fan. The roster has some young exciting talent, and they've made a massive splash on the trade front by landing Russell Wilson from the Broncos. Another victim of the Seahawks buzzsaw, the 1 in the loss column is nothing to be embarrassed about. Falcons have aspirations of a Super Bowl, and have the talent/quality to make it happen. Falcons country, let's ride!
8) New York Jets (3-1): Falling in the middle of the group of 3-1 teams we find the currently leaders of the AFC East. The first four games on the Jets schedule saw them take a tour of the AFC North, a division that early on has the making of a very balanced group top to bottom (put an * by that as the Browns have yet to play a game). Defense has been the key to the Jets success, though the struggles on offense could prove to be an issue for them down the road. Still, a solid start to the season with a young roster has things looking bright in New York (New Jersey).
9) Philadelphia Eagles (3-1): The first team picked in our team draft, the Eagles sit atop the NFC East roughly a quarter of the way through the season. This high flying offense can punch you in the mouth early and often, putting opponents in a position where they're going to be required to climb a mountain before it even reaches half-time. Following a week 1 loss to the Lions, Philly has settled in and is looking every bit like a contender in the NFC. Don't be suprised if you see them continue to show up higher on the rankings throughout the cycle.
10) Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2): If you want to call upsets in the rankings, this might be the best opportunity to call a "cinderella". The Jaguars have had a decent start to the season, nothing to write home about but not one that you immediately push aside. They lost by 3 on the road against the Chargers, and have also lost in Philly so far this season. However, in both those losses they played well and had moments that show how much potential this team has. There will be plenty of more opportunities to turn those big game losses into wins throughout the season, so take your hand off the panic button.
11) Dallas Cowboys (3-1): Dallas had the opportunity to showcase themselves on our 1st league stream in week 2, which was a shootout against Cincinnati that took a late pick-6 to seal the win. Some ballhawking defenders putting points on the board themselves have springloaded Dallas to their current 3-1 record, though compared to some of the teams above them the records and performances of the teams they've faced haven't jumped off the page which ultimately has them sitting where they are. Just like most teams on this list, the opportunities will be there to prove the rankings wrong and propel their way up towards the top.
12) Cincinnati Bengals (2-2): Cincinnati has been an exciting team to watch early on this season. A surprising victory over the Steelers really kickstarted their season, and solid performances against the Jets & Cowboys made them nearly impossible to leave off the list. Joe Mixon has been running the ball well, and their ability to put points on the board quickly prevents most leads from being safe. The AFC North is a logjam and a race that any of these teams can win, it'll be interesting to see who takes advantage of the opportunity.
13) Arizona Cardinals (3-1): Our final 3-1 team comes in at #13 on the power rankings. Arizona has taken care of business where they've needed to, but when the combined record of their opponents is at 2-10, it's not really something their going to be bragging about. That's not to say the teams they've beaten are bad however, but when you face a struggling opponent it obviously will be a victory you're expecting them to get. Arizona has taken care of the ball on offense, and forced enough turnovers on defense that will make them a tough opponent for anyone to beat and could easily find themselves playing well into January or even that coveted Sunday in February. The NFC West is the early favorite to be considered the toughest division in the league, so there's going to be plenty of marquee games to prove the rankers wrong.
14) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2): The Steelers are a team that you could easily consider to be 3-1, so I suppose you could argue that they need to be higher on the list. A week one loss to what is turning out to be a solid Bengals squad, and sim loss to the Browns, has them sitting at .500; but a recent victory over the New York Jets has them already back trending in the right direction heading into week 5. Baker Mayfield has settled in as the starter in Pittsburgh after getting dealt from Carolina, and we'll have to see how the results go over the next few weeks as he's certainly no Ian Book. Just like the rest of the AFC North, there will be chances to climb this list and edge closer to a division crown.
15) San Francisco 49ers (2-2): Another team who impressed on the League Stream, the 49ers find themselves as the penultimate 2-2 team on these first power rankings. They took the Seahawks down to the wire, with Seattle needing a couple clutch plays late to secure the win, and find themselves in the middle of the NFC West Slugfest. Their two losses are to the #1 & #3 teams on the power rankings, and they have a nice victory over the Rams who have been a tough team to beat. Trey Lance has thrown a 17 interceptions on the season, a rate that could ultimately cost this team some key games down the road.
16) Los Angeles Rams (2-2): Rounding out the power rankings, and bursting the bubbles of the other 2-2 teams, the LA Rams have been an impressive 2-2. They played the Falcons tough, falling 31-27, and have a nice victory over the Bills to start the season. They've thrown the ball better than anyone in the league up to this point, and have a solid running game to compliment it. The defense has been underwhelming, so expect most of their games to be high scoring, and if they run into an opponent that's able to slow them down they might find themselves struggling to win the game. In what will surely be a tight NFC race, this is probably the team that you don't want to run into on Wildcard Weekend.
Let us know what your rankings would be if you could make them! New power rankings will most likely be out around the midway point of the season, is there anyone not on this list who you think could feature in the next one?
We're going to kick things off with some game recaps from our first League Stream of Madden 23 that took place last night:
Dolphins @ Ravens: In a game that featured a whole lot of speed and explosive offensive potential, this game turned out to be everything but that as Baltimore out-slugged Miami 18-15 in overtime (much to the dismay of the over 52.5 betters, myself included). Early on, it seemed like we could be in for a shootout as Jaylen Waddle beat man coverage on a simple zig route and sprinted down the sideline for an 83yd touchdown. That turned out to probably be the only exciting offensive play of the game as redzone turnovers and missed opportunities led to a few exchanges of field goals with Justin Tucker drilling one from 50+ yards to send the game into overtime. Miami won the toss in OT, but came up short on a 4th and short from their own 32 as a pass attempt ended up just out of the reach of an open receiver. With a golden opportunity to seal the game, Baltimore was able to push forward a handful of yards before Justin Tucker fittingly ended the game with another field goal. Miami is now 0-2 to start the cycle (both loses coming in OT), and will face off against division rival Buffalo next week as both teams will look to catch that elusive first dub. Baltimore rebounds to 1-1 following the week 1 loss to the Jets and will look to keep the momentum going against New England next week (their 3rd straight AFC East opponent to start the season).
Seahawks @ 49ers: Our second game of the night featured a classic NFC West rivalry between Seattle & San Francisco. A slow first half had us all thinking deja vu before the 49ers defense & special teams made two incredible plays right before the break. Inside the 2min warning in a 7-7 game, San Fran blocked a Seattle field goal attempt and was able to scoop it up and take it to the house. Still in shock, Seattle looked to just hand the ball off and end the half with a positive play, but a massive hit stick from the 49ers defense popped the ball loose from rookie Kenneth Walker and was also returned for the second 49ers touchdown in the span of mere seconds. Seattle used the halftime break to settle down and came out calm, cool & collected. Behind an efficient performance from Drew Lock (15/20, 190yds, 3 TDs, 1 INT), and a stiffeling defense (7 INTs of their own), Seattle was able to claw their way back into the game that came down to the wire. Having been down most of the game, Seattle found themselves up 31-28 with less than 2min to go (for you gamblers out there, the line was Seattle -3.5 so a lot of people were SWEATING). The Seahawk secondary batted down a Trey Lance pass on 4th down to give them the ball in field goal range, looking to ice the game with a 1st down. Three straight runs had Seattle at 4th & 1 with everyone screaming into their screens: KICK THE DAMN BALL! After what felt like an eternity, the play call popped up on the screen and Seattle booted the ball through the uprights to stretch their lead to 34-28. One final pick from Trey Lance and the game was over. San Francisco falls to 1-1 and will head to Mile High next week to face a red hot Denver squad, while Seattle picks up their first win of the year and will welcome Russell Wilson back to Seattle with Atlanta coming to town for a battle of the birds.
Bengals @ Cowboys: Final game of the night was an expected shootout between two 1-0 teams, and boy they didn't disappoint. Coming off a game in which they had four (yes, FOUR!!) pick sixes, Dallas was punched in the mouth early as the Cincinnati defense forced a couple of picks themselves and converted them into points to put the +8.5 underdogs up by double digits. Knowing there was plenty of game left, Dallas remained calm and was able to rattle off 28 straight points to regain the lead and take control. A pivotal drive by the Bengals at the end of the half was capped off with an 18yd strike from Burrow to Boyd, leaving us with a halftime score of 28-21. Cincinnati started the 2nd half with a touchdown to put us right back where we started at 28-28 before Dallas reclaimed the lead with a field goal drive highlighted by an incredible 41yd grab by Dalton Schultz over the middle while getting hit by two defenders. Following a Cincinnati punt, Dallas gave themselves breathing space with a 78yd catch and run by Ceedee Lamb before a 100yd Micah Parsons pick six sealed the victory for the Cowboys, 45-28. Cincinnati falls to 1-1, having beaten AFC North rival Pittsburgh in week 1, and will look to rebound in New York (New Jersey) against the Jets. Dallas keeps things rolling and improves to 2-0, and will join Cincinnati on the flight to the Garden State as they take on the Giants.
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