PodcastFrom NFL: The Insiders
#3: Bengals, Chiefs climb; Bears, Buccaneers plummet
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
25 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 23, 2026
Published
Wed, September 23, 2026
22
Player insights
22
Players mentioned
Topics
Brock BowersBryce YoungCaleb WilliamsCeeDee LambChris OlaveDak PrescottDerrick HenryDeVonta SmithJalen HurtsJames CookJaxon Smith-NjigbaJayden DanielsJosh AllenKenneth Walker III
Player analysis
Player insights
Brock Bowers
NegativeRole21:42
Bowers is not available to start the 2024 season for the Raiders. Despite his absence, the Raiders are 2-0 through two weeks, suggesting the offense is functioning effectively without him early in the season.
Insight pageBryce Young
PositiveProjection18:17
Through two weeks, Young has six touchdowns to one interception and is climbing the QB index. The source notes he looks comfortable and decisive in Dave Canales' offense, finally understanding what he's supposed to do; he's been consistently good week-to-week rather than alternating great and disastrous performances as in the past. The source feels very good about him playing like the number one overall pick from 2023, though context includes the week two win came against the Falcons with backup QB Cooper Rush.
Insight pageCaleb Williams
NegativeInjury17:24
Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring injury in week 2 against Minnesota that may not be as bad as initially looked, but the source is concerned that even if he returns soon, he will likely be limited by the hamstring and unable to scramble and extend plays at full capacity, which reduces the ceiling of the Bears' offensive operation.
Insight pageCeeDee Lamb
PositiveUsage14:00
CeeDee Lamb is one of the best receiving connections in the NFL with Dak Prescott; the two connected on multiple difficult throws in week 2 against Washington, showcasing their elite chemistry.
Insight pageChris Olave
PositiveUsage15:00
Chris Alave has been going crazy through two weeks with Tyler Shuck in the Saints' offense under Kellen Moore, contributing to the team's offensive success.
Insight pageDak Prescott
PositiveProjection14:00
Dak Prescott looked fantastic in week 2 against Washington, performing much like the elite quarterback the source expected him to be this season; he completed many passes that were well below expectation, showing his ability to make difficult throws.
Insight pageDerrick Henry
NegativeRole6:18
Derrick Henry received only 5 carries in the second half of Baltimore's week 2 loss to New Orleans despite being available and the Ravens leading 14-3 at halftime; the source criticizes head coach John Harbaugh for abandoning the run game and losing offensive identity, similar to criticism Harbaugh faced late last season.
Insight pageDeVonta Smith
PositiveUsage13:00
Devonta Smith was a key target in the Eagles' game-winning drive against Tennessee in week 2, helping the team overcome adversity on the road without Saquon Barkley.
Insight pageJalen Hurts
PositiveProjection12:00
Jalen Hurts led a game-winning touchdown drive in week 2 against Tennessee despite playing in extreme heat and without Saquon Barkley for much of the game; the source notes this is classic Eagles football and Hurts' ability to overcome adversity on the road.
Insight pageJames Cook
PositiveUsage2:02
James Cook rushed for 135 yards in Buffalo's week 2 win over Detroit, contributing to the Bills' balanced offensive attack that scored on five of their first six possessions.
Insight pageJaxon Smith-Njigba
PositiveUsage1:23
JSN posted 9 catches for 155 yards and 3 touchdowns against Arizona in week 2, demonstrating he is the Seahawks' top receiving threat and critical to their offensive success even with starting QB Sam Darnold sidelined.
Insight pageJayden Daniels
NegativeInjury14:30
Jayden Daniels was running all over the Cowboys defense in week 2 before leaving the game; the source suggests the game would have been much closer if Daniels had been able to finish, indicating the Cowboys' defensive front struggles against mobile quarterbacks.
Insight pageJosh Allen
PositiveProjection2:08
Josh Allen threw 5 total touchdowns in week 2 against Detroit and was the source's MVP pick to start the season; he is looking like the MVP frontrunner through two weeks with improved movement, confidence, and throwing ability compared to week 1.
Insight pageKenneth Walker III
NegativeUsage4:33
Kenneth Walker is on track to have well over 400 touches this season with the Chiefs, which is not sustainable; while his heavy usage is working now and making the offense difficult to defend, the workload raises durability concerns.
Insight pageKirk Cousins
NegativeProjection21:42
Cousins is operating Clint Kubiak's offense as intended and fulfilling what was asked of him in the offseason—a veteran quarterback to get the Raiders started. The source notes he's playing with no fear of risk, throwing no-look passes and hitting wide-open receivers for touchdowns, and the Raiders are 2-0 even without Brock Bowers to start the season.
Insight pageKyler Murray
PositiveRole17:00
Kyler Murray will return to start for the Vikings in week 3 against the Buccaneers, replacing Carson Wentz; the source expects this to get the Vikings back on track offensively after they scored only 3 points in week 2.
Insight pageLamar Jackson
PositiveMatchup6:18
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense are expected to torch the Cowboys defense in week 3; the source believes the Ravens will get back on track against Dallas after their loss to New Orleans.
Insight pagePatrick Mahomes
PositiveProjection4:33
Patrick Mahomes looked significantly improved from week 1 to week 2, showing better movement, confidence, and throwing ability; the source is pleased with the Chiefs' balanced offense that no longer relies solely on Mahomes extending plays and scrambling.
Insight pageSaquon Barkley
NegativeInjury13:00
Saquon Barkley left the Eagles' week 2 game against Tennessee with a stinger and was ineffective for much of the game, forcing the Eagles to rely more heavily on Jalen Hurts and other receivers to win.
Insight pageTravis Kelce
PositiveUsage4:24
Travis Kelce had 9 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in Kansas City's week 2 win over Indianapolis, demonstrating his continued elite production and role in the Chiefs' balanced offensive attack.
Insight pageTre Tucker
PositiveUsage21:42
Tucker is receiving significant targets from Kirk Cousins in the Raiders' 2-0 start, including a big completion on a no-look pass. The source highlights this as part of Cousins' effective execution of the offense.
Insight pageTyson Bagent
NegativeRole17:24
Tyson Bagent will start Monday Night Football against the Eagles in week 3 with Caleb Williams sidelined by a hamstring injury, forcing the Bears to rely on a backup quarterback against a strong Eagles defense.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio.
0:06Welcome to NFL: The Insiders for week 3. I'm Colleen Wolfe here with the man that puts the power behind the rankings.
0:12It is Nick Shook. Let's take a look at teams 1 through 8 here.
0:16The top two teams, they remain unchanged. You have the Seahawks and the Bills.
0:19Then, okay, the Bengals quietly moving up. The Chiefs not so quietly, up 6 spots.
0:24Then you have the Ravens, the Broncos who remain unchanged.
0:26The Niners up 2 and the Rams at number 8 down 1 spot.
0:30Okay, we'll get into that. But let's start with the top.
0:33The Seahawks, they remain unchanged. And why are they not?
0:36Why aren't the Bills here? Why did you decide to keep the Seahawks up top?
0:40I think as of right now, the Seahawks are the most complete team in football.
0:44And you can just look at their statistical rankings through two weeks.
0:48It's essentially second in defense, 12th in offense. You're looking at Buffalo second in offense, but 28th in defense.
0:53Seattle put together a complete performance against the Arizona Cardinals where it was a 7-7 game and then suddenly it was a complete blowout.
0:59And they absolutely dominated the Cardinals in the second half with their suffocating style of play including like a 10-minute scoring drive to end this game.
1:07That's just exerting your will on an opponent. And I know it's the Cardinals, but through two weeks nobody has looked better
1:13and more like themselves as we knew last year than the reigning champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
1:17And that is without their starting quarterback, Sam Darnold.
1:20They have Drew Locke in there. So they look okay without Darnold.
1:23But JSN, 9 for 155, three touchdowns. They would not be okay if they lost their top wide receiver even though they have lost their top quarterback.
1:31I think they have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the entire league.
1:34And they have this defense and identity that kind of travels as well with them right now.
1:39But I think you might hear it from Bills fans.
1:42Yeah, I'm fine with that. And Drew Locke fans are going to love to hear that they may have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL.
1:50I'm not ready to go that far yet. But I will say that they've been very prepared for emergency in case of emergency break the glass situation.
1:57They've done well so far. Okay, let's move to the Bills at number two.
2:01And what a way to Chris in Highmark Stadium.
2:04Josh Allen, five total touchdowns in this game. They scored on five of their first six possessions.
2:08James Cook ran for 135 yards. Let's talk about the Bills here.
2:12All right. Well, I mean, Buffalo, we know their offense is fantastic.
2:15We know Josh Allen is the X factor. He was my MVP pick to start the season.
2:20He's looking like it so far. So we're excited about that.
2:23But there are a little bit of concerns about their defense, as I kind of alluded to earlier, which is that, look,
2:29you, I understand that you were able to win a game on the road against Houston in week one, but you gave up 31 points.
2:36And you end up giving a ton of points up to the Lions, even though you were basically out, just outrunning them, outscoring them.
2:43And that's a great strategy when you have a player like Josh Allen in such a multiple and diverse offense.
2:48But I am concerned if they run to a team that can keep up with them, how do they counter that?
2:54As of now, though, they are one of the strongest teams so far.
2:58That's why they still stay at number two. Okay.
3:00And they have the Chargers coming up next week.
3:03So we'll see if their defense can get right here in this game.
3:06Let's go to your number three team, the Bengals up one spot, the Bengals in the top three.
3:11This is interesting. So no 49ers here. I feel like some Niners fans might have something to say about that.
3:17But with the Bengals, this defensive transformation, the defense generated 27 pressures on 62 dropbacks.
3:21They held Houston without a touchdown. That was a massive streak ending Cincinnati's 65 game streak of allowing at least one touchdown.
3:27Tell me why you have them at three. First off, 65 games is insane.
3:3165 games. Absolutely insane. But they also did a great job against the Houston Texans offense.
3:35CJ Stroud was moving the ball up and down the field, but they just couldn't finish drives because that Bengals defense bend but do not break.
3:43And you know, if you look back to week one, all the force fumbles against the Buccaneers, you thought they can't do that every week.
3:49That's like a miraculous Sunday for them recovering all four of those.
3:53Oh no, we're just going to instead hold a team that scored 31 in week two or in week one to six points in week two.
4:00I thought that look, this is a tough matchup for the Bengals.
4:03They didn't find a lot of consistent success offensively, but they struck on big plays throughout this game.
4:08Jamar Chase helps out a lot. Yeah, so they're 2-0.
4:11Their offense still is kind of, it's imperfect right now, but the defense is holding up their end of the bargain.
4:17Now they have Pittsburgh next Sunday. How are you feeling about Cincinnati's ascending pass rush against Pittsburgh?
4:22Oh, I'm very worried for the Steelers because they had a very hard time against the New England Patriots.
4:27His defense is just not at the level that Cincinnati is playing at right now.
4:31And Cincinnati just beat one of the best defensive teams, at least in terms of reputation in Houston.
4:36I think the Bengals are going to be moving to 3-0 next week.
4:40Oh, all right. Let's talk about the Chiefs, who went from 10 to now 4.
4:44Patrick Mahomes and the offense, they looked unstoppable. Travis Kelsey had nine catches, 101 yards, and a score.
4:49Kenneth Walker once again running all over the place.
4:51So is it safe to say that Kansas City's offense is back?
4:55It is because Patrick Mahomes is back. Even from week one to week two, he looked so much better in his movement,
5:01in his confidence, and of course his throwing ability.
5:03He delivered a handful of strikes that were just beautiful in this game.
5:07I know it was a high-scoring game. I know that the Colts took them to the wire in overtime, but I'm so
5:13pleased with what I've seen from this Chiefs offense, which is balanced.
5:16For the first time in years, it's not just Patrick Mahomes find a way to move the chains on third down, whether
5:23it's with your feet, with you extending plays and completing passes.
5:26No, we can lean on Kenneth Walker. I am a little worried about their usage for Kenneth Walker.
5:31He's on track to have well over 400 touches this season.
5:34That's really not unsu...that's not sustainable. No. But as of now, it's working out well for them and it's making defending them very difficult for opposing defenses.
5:41Yeah, and after going one and nine in one-score games last season, they won its first such game in 2026.
5:47So they're back on the right track. And what a gift.
5:50Their first road game of the season is against 0-2 Miami.
5:53Yeah, I mean, schedule makers did them a favor.
5:55I would like to hope that this is not the one win in the one and nine record that the Chiefs had last year in those one-score games.
6:03I'm feeling good right now. Okay, we love that.
6:06Okay, Shook, let's go to the Ravens who are down two spots.
6:09And how worried are you about the squad after they've stumbled to the Saints?
6:13Because they led at halftime behind Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, and then they only gave Henry five carries in the second half.
6:19What? It was 14-3. The Ravens were up 14-3 in the Saints, and then the Saints for their second straight week woke
6:25up, and the Ravens had no response. And the big reason was they went away from Derrick Henry.
6:30Now, there was a moment in this game where he kind of grimaced on the sideline, but he was available in the second half.
6:37But much like John Harbaugh got, you know, kind of drilled for doing late last season, he just went away, Jesse Minner
6:43just went away from Derrick Henry in this game.
6:46And they lost their offensive identity. They opened the door for the Saints to come back.
6:50And while they got a defensive stop late, like midway through the third quarter, they were unable to prevent the Saints from
6:56marching down the field and scoring that go-ahead touchdown to end up winning this game.
7:00And look, I give a lot of credit to the Saints.
7:03They're a very scrappy bunch. They do not quit.
7:06Kellen Moore has this team playing well given their talent level.
7:09But the Ravens are going to look back on this one and think, man, we really let that one slip away.
7:15So that's why you drop a couple spots this week.
7:18All right. And then the Ravens, they have a monster matchup in Rio this week against the Cowboys.
7:23Who do you like in that game? I think that the Ravens get back on track.
7:27I think that their defense is sound enough most of the time to beat this Cowboys team.
7:32Now, they'll have to hang with this Cowboys offense.
7:34But on the flip side, I think Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and company, they torch this Cowboys defense.
7:39All right. Let's go to number six, the Broncos, who they did not move.
7:43And maybe that's more of a product of you not overreacting week one and where they were in the rankings.
7:49But why didn't they move up at all after beating a very good Jags team?
7:53Yeah. And this is a win that they should be proud of.
7:56But Broncos fans, they like to call me a hater of the Denver Broncos.
8:00And that's totally fine. I'll take that. But you have to be honest with yourself, Broncos fans.
8:05That offense didn't look very good until late third quarter, which is a lot like this team was for most of last season.
8:11Obviously, you went 14-3 last year. You figured it out down the stretch.
8:15But I mean, until they were able to run the ball effectively, until they got a turnover, Riley Moss with an interception
8:21that kind of swung the game in their favor.
8:23These Broncos were kind of sleepwalking in their home opener.
8:26So you've got to be proud of the victory.
8:29You've got to be proud of the way that you played all four quarters and were able to be the superior team
8:35by the time everything finished because they shut down this Jaguars offense in the fourth quarter.
8:39Also benefited from a Cam Little missed field goal.
8:42But I need to see it more consistently over four quarters.
8:45Davis Webb, offensive coordinator, been a big target of criticism so far.
8:48He's calling the plays and Sean Payton isn't anymore.
8:51And there was a good little cut up of Davis Webb being frustrated in this game.
8:55But I know that they were happy by the end.
8:58So maybe they can use this momentum going forward and play a more complete game in week two.
9:03Yeah, Denver, they rediscovered their defensive identity in this game.
9:06And now they have a really big matchup. Sunday night football, Rams at Broncos.
9:10Are you worried about them starting slowly at all in this one?
9:13Yeah, because they could end up getting buried. I mean, this is all the credit in the world of the Jaguars who
9:19were fantastic from the second half of last season to starting this regular season.
9:23But the Rams are at a different level, I think, than them.
9:26And so the Broncos are really going to have to lean on their defense to make sure that they can get this
9:32job done against the Rams offense that looked spectacular on Monday night.
9:36Okay, so let's go to those Rams who look spectacular.
9:38And at this point, no Miles Garrett, no Puka Nakua.
9:41Doesn't matter. And it was fine. So the Rams, they're at number eight.
9:45They're right below the Broncos there, two spots. So how did you assess where they were and Matthew Stafford and his offensive performance?
9:51Yeah, Rams fans are going to be mad at me because I moved them down a spot.
9:56But it was really a product of movement around them.
9:59The Niners moving up, the Chiefs moving up. Sometimes they just kind of balance out that way and you just don't get the movement that you want.
10:06That takes nothing away from this win. Now, did they benefit from the fact that the Giants lost Jackson Dart early?
10:12Yes. But Matthew Stafford to Devonta Adams was an extremely explosive combination.
10:15It was basically them at the peak of their powers.
10:18And they were able to just run away from a Giants team that looked more like the Giants that we expected to
10:24see in week two than the team we saw in week one.
10:28So it's a nice bounce back for them. But through two weeks right now, you have a game that's disappointing and a game that's very exciting.
10:35Where do you go from here? Yeah. And Aaron Donald in his return, I don't think anyone was waiting for him to light up the place.
10:42Yeah. But three tackles, one pressure and 32 snaps.
10:45What was your impressions of where Aaron Donald performed and where he can go?
10:48Mal Noa, the guard for the Giants did a really good job against him.
10:52And I give him a lot of credit for the performance he had against somebody who's a legend who's going to be in the Hall of Fame.
11:00But it's also Aaron Donald having not played football in a regular season in three years.
11:04And kind of shaking off some of the rust and being on a pitch count.
11:08I think he still did a good job. He had a tackle for loss.
11:12He impacted the game, just not at a level that we expect from him, which shouldn't be surprising given, you know, he's
11:18a guy in his 30s who hasn't played football in a few years.
11:22It's a good, nice little slow but steady start for Aaron Donald.
11:25Dear Commissioner, I'm back and we'll see him back again, maybe improving as the season goes on.
11:30Shook, I hate to say it, but the Cowboys, they figured it out at least for one week against the Commanders.
11:36How far up the rankings is Nick Shook moving them?
11:39You can find out next. Back here on Power Rankings, look at Nick Shook's teams, 9 through 16.
11:44The Jags, they fell four spots. They're the new nine team.
11:47The Eagles at 10 up one. The Texans at 11 up one.
11:50The Cowboys, they are up five spots. We're going to get into them at 12.
11:54Lions stood pat at 13. The Saints, they flew up the rankings, up seven spots to 14.
11:59The Vikings right behind them also up seven spots at 15.
12:02And then the Bears down eight spots to 16.
12:05Shook, let's start with the Eagles. And should we be a little worried that another week, another game that it took until
12:11the final minutes for the Eagles to put this to bed?
12:14Yeah, I mean, I would be a little bit worried, but it is a classic Eagles win.
12:18It is. Oh, Jalen Hurts threw an interception. Jalen Hurts made a great play.
12:22Jalen Hurts threw an interception. Jalen Hurts leads a game-winning touchdown.
12:25Like that is classic Eagles, classic Jalen Hurts Eagles.
12:28And it's also still a new scheme under Shawn Mannion.
12:31So I think they're still kind of working out the kinks.
12:34What I did like about this team was overcoming adversity on the road in an extreme kind of weather situation.
12:39It was incredibly hot in Nashville. Players' cleats were melting off?
12:42Has that ever happened to you? Have your shoes ever melted off?
12:46Yes, actually yes. Not melted off, but melted at the bottom.
12:49Turf fields get really hot. People don't realize that.
12:51Let's go full grass. We don't need this anymore.
12:54I agree. And the Eagles, it didn't matter what surface they were on because they were able to put together a game-winning
13:00drive thanks to the efforts of Jalen Hurts. They didn't have Saquon Barkley for much of this game because he left with a stinger and was really ineffective.
13:08It was all Jalen and Devonta Smith and a little bit of Dontavian Wicks and Darius Cooper catching the game-winning touchdown.
13:13They had to pull out all the stops. They're kind of banged up.
13:17And they beat a Titans team that played really well.
13:20So credit to them for getting the road win, but they do have to be better against some of the better teams.
13:26Dallas Goddard, he was hurt in this game. So the Eagles, they brought back Zach Ertz.
13:30They're running it back. Oh, I know that face.
13:33Hey! And so does Nick Sirianni. So now they will face on Monday Night Football.
13:37The Chicago Bears, we'll get to them in a second.
13:40But first, let's stay in the NFC East with the next team up.
13:43The Cowboys up five spots. The offense, it lives!
13:46It lives! It's alive! Thank the Lord! The Cowboys can score points!
13:49How about that? And they scored plenty of points in this game.
13:53They did! Dak Prescott looked fantastic. He looked much like the quarterback I expected him to look like this season.
13:58One of the best in the NFL. CeeDee Lamb, one of the best connections in the NFL.
14:03The amount of passes they completed that just, they were well below expectation.
14:07There's no way they should complete these passes. There was a lot of them in this game.
14:11And it was very early for Dak early. Very easy for Dak early in this game.
14:16So, this is what the Cowboys offense should be.
14:18But I still have some concerns about this defense.
14:21Jayden Daniels, before he left this game, was running all over them.
14:24I think that probably would have been a close game if he actually was able to finish it.
14:29And that's something that they're still going to have to get cleaned up.
14:33Yeah, so the offense, they scored on seven of eight possessions.
14:36But the defense, especially their defensive front, both games, they've been run all over.
14:40We saw the Giants rush for 165 on them.
14:42Washington rushed for 182. And this week, they go to Rio de Janeiro to take on the Ravens with Lamar Jackson and
14:48Derrick Henry, if they decide to give the ball to Derrick Henry.
14:52Yeah. That'll be a problem. That's a big question.
14:54I think Jesse Minter, Declan Doyle, hand it to Derrick Henry.
14:57Run through that defense. Yeah, that's fair. Time for the team of the week.
15:01It is your New Orleans Saints. Up seven spots.
15:03They went into Baltimore. They shocked a lot of people.
15:06Tyler Shuck was shocking everyone. Yes. When the Saints, where they go marching in, they marched into Baltimore and stole a victory from the Ravens.
15:13A game that the Ravens looked like they were going to cruise to victory in.
15:17The Saints woke up for the second straight week.
15:20This time they complete the comeback effort. Tyler Shuck shows off the toughness that you need on fourth and goal.
15:25Getting bent backward but managed to break the play and score the go-ahead touchdown.
15:29And the clutch gene, it is very present in this relatively young quarterback.
15:33Older than your average young quarterback but still pretty young with Kellen Moore's offense really just cooking.
15:38Devon Vele, Chris Alave going crazy through two weeks with Tyler Shuck.
15:41They deserve this. Their defense is greater than the sum of its parts.
15:45It shut down the Ravens in the second half.
15:47They deserve this praise. They're looking like a scrappy football team right now.
15:51Oh, so you're buying into the Kellen Moore team.
15:53They're my NFC South champion pick. Preseason pick. What?
15:56Yes. Chuck! Yes. You're a truth-sayer. Yes. You're a clairvoyant perhaps.
15:59I believe in the Florida League. Okay, alright. After two tough road games too, they have their home opener coming up against the Raiders.
16:05The Raiders who are 2-0. So that is like a very sneaky, spicy game coming up next week.
16:10I think I want to watch that one live.
16:13I like that one. Let's go to 15. The Vikings, they're up seven spots.
16:17Does anyone have an answer for Brian Flores' defense?
16:19And can he blitz any more than he is already blitzing?
16:22You know what's funny is Ben Johnson going into this game was 5-1 against Brian Flores' defense.
16:27It's going back to his time with Detroit. Huh.
16:30Didn't have an answer for that defense this week, I'll tell you.
16:33Because they scored three points. They managed to turn the ball over in multiple situations.
16:37And they were all caused by Minnesota's defense. Brian Flores has decided, I don't care about convention.
16:42I am going to blitz because it is my most likely chance of earning us a victory.
16:47Week 1, 78.3% in the blitz rate. Week 2, 79%.
16:49Let's get after Caleb Williams. Let's force fumbles. Let's let Dallas Turner go crazy and get the game-sealing sack.
16:55Look, this offense, we know Carson Wentz is a quarterback as of now.
16:58Although Kyler Murray is coming back this week. So that should be good and that should get them back on track.
17:04But this is a defensive-laden team. And what do we know?
17:07Defense wins championships. So far, it's won them a couple of games.
17:10Yeah, that's true. We didn't really see a whole lot of defense week one.
17:14But the defense, they showed up week two around the league in general.
17:18And yes, Kyler Murray will start on Sunday against the Bucs.
17:21Let's go to the Bears. Down eight spots. This was rough.
17:24Now, they may have dodged a bullet here with the Caleb Williams injury.
17:28The hamstring injury, it might not be as bad as it initially looked.
17:31But Tyson Bajan, he's going to be Monday Night Football against the Eagles.
17:35And now we have... This is tough, I think.
17:37Where are you with the Bears? Yeah, this explosive offense that was supposed to rewrite the record book suddenly feels like it
17:43doesn't have as much punch to it. Right. As much juice to it without Caleb Williams.
17:48And they move down eight spots because you lose Caleb and because you score three points against the Vikings in a game that was very winnable.
17:55But you also move down eight spots because even if Caleb is able to come back before long, he's going to be
18:01probably a little bit limited by that hamstring. It's not going to be 100%.
18:05And if you limit Caleb Williams ability to scramble and extend plays, you take away some of his effectiveness, which then just
18:11lowers the ceiling of this entire offensive operation, which is their strength right now because we know their defense isn't very good.
18:17Now, that was only a 9-3 game. The weather was weird.
18:20Yeah. We'll kind of chalk that up to a product of circumstance.
18:24Going forward, I'm a little concerned about this team now.
18:27And I think if you're an opposing defense, I wouldn't fear them as much as I would have going into last week.
18:33Well, of course. 59 points in week one and then three points.
18:36So that's a 56-point decline after everyone was talking about Ben Johnson having the most prolific offense.
18:41I'm just wondering where they are in, because that's a pretty big variance.
18:44So where they're going to stack up in the points department going forward.
18:48Again, they take on the Eagles on Monday Night Football.
18:51Coming up, we're going to talk about the 0-2 team.
18:54There are a few teams we're most worried about.
18:56And I'm looking at Baker Mayfield. I'm looking at the Chargers.
18:59Nick Shook's power rankings continue next. Back here on power rankings as we see teams 17 through 24, according to Nick Shook.
19:05At the top, you have the Panthers up 10 spots at 17.
19:09And also if you look at the bottom, you have the Bucs down 10 spots at 24.
19:13In between those, the Patriots at 18. You have the Colts big movers up 7 spots.
19:18Then the Packers, the Giants down 6 spots. The Raiders up 7.
19:21The Browns up 9. And then the Bucs, like I mentioned there, down 10 spots at 24.
19:26Let's go to the Panthers. Bryce Young, both last week and this week, he's had great performances.
19:30He now has six touchdowns to one interception through two weeks.
19:34What are you loving from what you're seeing from them?
19:36Because you moved them up 10 spots. I love that it's consistent.
19:40Because we've seen Bryce Young do this from time to time in the past.
19:44What he hasn't done is do it from one week to the next.
19:47Usually it's great game followed by a forgettable game or a disastrous game.
19:51Instead, he looks comfortable. He's decisive. He feels like he finally understands what he's supposed to do in Dave Canales' offense.
19:57And they're not afraid to take risks. And they're pushing the ball down the field.
20:01They were also helped a lot in this game by their defense, which forced a number of turnovers.
20:06But I mean, through two weeks, this is why Bryce Young is climbing the QB index as well.
20:11Because he's just looked like the player that they were supposed to get with the number one overall pick.
20:16But four years ago almost now, 2023. So I'm feeling very good about this.
20:20I also know that they were playing a Falcons team that was playing with Cooper Rush, a quarterback.
20:25So we can't put too much weight into this as an overall lopsided victory.
20:29But Bryce, from week one to week two, a loss and a win consistently good.
20:33You mentioned playing the Falcons. Devin Lloyd had the game of his life.
20:37He contributed to four different changes of possessions. He finished with nine tackles, a sack, two interceptions, a pick six.
20:42This was an incredible performance by him. But as you mentioned to Bryce Young also putting on a show, do you think
20:48the Panthers made a mistake by not paying Bryce Young?
20:51No, I think that they I mean, maybe at the end of the season, it might end up looking like a mistake.
20:57But you had to have him prove it because you couldn't make it.
21:01You couldn't have the two a tongue of a lower contract.
21:04The Dolphins had words. He's coming off of his best year and we also kind of need to confirm our own selection of him.
21:10Let's instead let him prove it and earn it.
21:13And through two weeks, he is. And you know what?
21:16GM Dan Morgan's got to be feeling pretty good about that money he spent on the defense in the offseason.
21:21Jalen Phillips, Devin Lloyd producing the game of his life results quickly.
21:25That's how a GM walks around with his chest all puffed out.
21:28Dan Morgan's got plenty of it. You know who else is putting up results quickly?
21:32It's the Raiders. 2-0. Up seven spots. So let's give Kirk some love here because this was a pretty impressive start.
21:38Now the Chargers, that's a different story, but let's talk about the Raiders.
21:42Yeah, I mean look, you want to talk about a quarterback who's also playing with no fear of risk.
21:47It's Kirk Cousins throwing a no-look pass down the field to Trey Tucker for a big completion.
21:52Hitting a wide open receiver for a touchdown earlier in this game.
21:55Just operating Clint Kubiak's offense as it's intended and really fulfilling what Clint Kubiak asked for in the offseason, which is a veteran quarterback to get us started.
22:03Kirk is doing everything that he was supposed to do in this offense.
22:06They're playing well enough on that side of the ball even without Brock Bowers to start 2-0.
22:11And really, most importantly to me, they're playing complete team football.
22:14They forced a couple of takeaways in this game.
22:17Hezekiah Masses, another guy who had kind of the game of his life with a couple of interceptions.
22:22Uh-huh, yeah. And look, the Raiders, they've been the punching bag, the laughing stock for a long time.
22:27They are not right now. They are a fun team to watch.
22:30They're not perfect, but they're a fun team to watch.
22:33And they are, I mean, there's a lot of teams that have lost games so far that are ahead of them in the rankings.
22:39Now, if you were just doing this based on results, then it wouldn't be as interesting.
22:44But are we underrating the Raiders perhaps? Not all wins are created equal.
22:47Okay, fair. We've got to kind of consider, they started the season against Miami.
22:51The Chargers looked like a mess through two weeks.
22:54So, I'm giving them credit where credit is due as of now, but they need to continue to sustain this to really earn that higher level ranking.
23:01We've been burned for too long. We have. Just trust issues right now.
23:05What can I say? Yeah, let's see it. Teams 25 through 32.
23:08And yeah, it's the Jets at 25. The Steelers, then the Titans, Commanders, Chargers, Cardinals, Falcons, and Dolphins.
23:13There's a handful of 0-2 teams in this quadrant.
23:16Who is the most concerning out of the 0-2 teams?
23:19I've got to go with the Chargers. This just doesn't look like a Jim Harbaugh coach team.
23:23This is not what we were sold in the offseason.
23:26They're sloppy. They commit mistakes in key spots. They let winnable games get away from them.
23:30That's what happened in week two against the Raiders.
23:33It just doesn't look like a team that has as much talent as this one does.
23:37They're not performing up to that standard. They have offensive line issues.
23:41Joel All had four false start penalties while facing Max Crosby in this game, which routinely set them back behind the sticks.
23:47It just doesn't look like a team that is prepared to go out on Sundays right now.
23:52And their schedule gets way more difficult. Tell me.
23:54After this week. They were supposed to, they had the easiest start in the NFL.
23:58They had Arizona in week one. They had the Raiders in week two.
24:02Everything's looking fine. Now they get Buffalo, Seattle, Denver, Kansas City by week.
24:05What? Rams, Texans, Ravens and the Jets by week 11.
24:08And the Jets, even though they dropped this week, I still have high hopes for them.
24:13Relatively high hopes. It could be a nightmare for the Chargers very quickly.
24:16I don't know. Maybe Jim Harbaugh needs to like switch up the Dockers and do like jeans or something.
24:22I don't know. Go denim instead of khaki. No pleats.
24:24There needs to be something, some type of change.
24:27But we hope that the Bucks can bounce back.
24:29We hope that the Steelers maybe bounce back as well.
24:32There's quite a few teams that we're excited to see next week.
24:35And we'll see you next week too. Later. NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio.
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