The NFL is a mess.
Three of the league's marquee players -- J.J. Watt, Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Rodgers -- are now on the sidelines for what looks to be the rest of the season. Rodgers still has a chance to come back after breaking his right collarbone Sunday in a loss to the Vikings, but the other two will not be coming back.
That's three faces of the league watching the rest of the way. That's never good.
That leads me to the question I ask every week in our green room here at CBSSports.com: Is any team any good?
They all have flaws and some might have big issues in trying to fix them. Usually we see the league's better teams start to emerge as we close in on Halloween.
Not this year.
The last undefeated team -- the Kansas City Chiefs -- fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home Sunday, but since they have a victory over the Eagles, the only other 5-1 team, they stay in the top spot in my Power Rankings.
The middle class of the NFL is bloated.
There are really just two teams -- the winless Browns and 49ers -- who are out of it. Even the 1-5 New York Giants have hope after beating the Denver Broncos on the road Sunday night. There are no dominant teams to hate.
So what have we truly learned through the first six weeks of the season? The NFL is a mess. Former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, who loved the idea of parity, is smiling down on his league now.
But is this mess really good for the game? Check back in a month. I still think the good teams will emerge and exert their power, but losing guys like Watt, Beckham Jr. and especially Rodgers will make that tricky for some teams.
They all have issues, some, like the Packers, worse than others now.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | I know they lost this week, but they did beat the Eagles, the other team in consideration for the top spot. So they stay at No. 1. | -- | 15-2-0 | |
2 | They are on a roll and showed at Carolina that they are one of the best teams right now. The defensive front is nasty. | 1 | 14-3-0 | |
3 | They won a game against the Jets last week, but they still don't look right. That defense has issues. | 4 | 4-13-0 | |
4 | That was a tough loss at home to the Eagles, but that's nothing to be ashamed about. Cam Newton regressed in that game, though. | 2 | 5-12-0 | |
5 | They righted things by going to Kansas City and beating the Chiefs. It's amazing what an embarrassing loss can do to a team. | 10 | 10-7-0 | |
6 | They jumped out to a big lead against the 49ers and then almost blew it. That can't happen when they face a top-tier team. | 2 | 12-5-0 | |
7 | The offense just hasn't clicked and it cost them against the Dolphins. They need a big offensive game against the Patriots this week. | 3 | 8-9-0 | |
8 | At 4-2, they lead the NFC North despite playing most of the season without Sam Bradford. Kudos to Mike Zimmer for where this team is now. | 8 | 14-3-0 | |
9 | They come off their bye with a long trip to the East Coast to play the Giants. I get the feeling they could be ready to surge. | -- | 10-7-0 | |
10 | At 4-2, they are one of the surprise teams of the league. Winning at Jacksonville was a good way to start a long trip that concludes at Twickenham Stadium in London this week against the Cardinals. | 2 | 10-7-0 | |
11 | They've won three consecutive games to become a factor in the NFC South. They face a tough game at Green Bay -- even without Aaron Rodgers. | 6 | 5-12-0 | |
12 | It's Brett Hundley time for the Packers. With a week to prepare as a starter, I bet he's improved from this past Sunday's relief role. | 10 | 11-6-0 | |
13 | That was an impressive victory at Atlanta for a team that needed it. They now face a big division game with the Jets. | 11 | 8-9-0 | |
14 | They have a ton of injury issues heading into a big game against the Chargers on the road. What happened against the Giants? | 9 | 10-7-0 | |
15 | That wasn't pretty in New Orleans, and they will have a week to think about it with the bye this week. They are reeling after two straight losses. | 5 | 15-2-0 | |
16 | They come off their bye with a home game against the Bucs. The offense has to be better than it was the first five games. | 5 | 13-4-0 | |
17 | They head to San Francisco after their bye this past Sunday. The Ezekiel Elliott situation hangs over this team. | 4 | 7-10-0 | |
18 | Deshaun Watson has been lighting it up at quarterback. He might need to do it the rest of the way with the defensive injuries. | 4 | 10-7-0 | |
19 | They just don't know how to string together victories yet. They can't pass it good enough to win consistently. | 5 | 4-13-0 | |
20 | They competed against the Patriots and now must play another big division game at Miami. They've already overachieved. | 2 | 5-12-0 | |
21 | At 3-3, they have had a lot of issues so far. Adding Adrian Peterson paid off for them against Tampa. Now they play the Rams in London. | 6 | 8-9-0 | |
22 | Winning at Baltimore was impressive for this young team. The defense won that game. | 6 | 5-12-0 | |
23 | They look like a mess after losing at Arizona. The defense was terrible. | 4 | 10-7-0 | |
24 | There's no excuse for losing at home to the Bears with a rookie quarterback making his first NFL road start. Their offense is bad. | 4 | 12-5-0 | |
25 | They come off the bye with a big road test against the Steelers. If the Bengals want to have any chance to win the division, they probably need that one. | 2 | 9-8-0 | |
26 | They are 3-3 after beating the Colts Monday night. The good news is Marcus Mariota is back. | 1 | 3-14-0 | |
27 | At 2-4, they aren't done after beating the Raiders. Now comes a big division game with the Broncos at home. | 2 | 11-6-0 | |
28 | They will likely be without Andrew Luck again this week against the Jaguars. They can't afford anther division loss after losing to the Titans on Monday night. | 2 | 8-9-0 | |
29 | This team is in a free fall. It's not a good look for Jack Del Rio and gang. They have a big one Thursday at home against the Chiefs. | 8 | 4-13-0 | |
30 | That was impressive against Denver. Where has that team been this season? | -- | 3-14-0 | |
31 | The move to go to C.J. Beathard is the right one. This team is competing, which is a good sign. | -- | 6-11-0 | |
32 | The move to Kevin Hogan didn't pay off at all. They need to just play DeShone Kizer the rest of the way. | -- | 3-14-0 |