NFL power rankings: Where does Washington sit following third straight loss?
By Jerry Trotta
22. Chicago Bears
The Bears are such an infuriating team. One week, it looks like Matt Nagy is on his way out the door and the next it looks as though he deserves an extension. We’re high on Justin Fields’ future, but he’s working behind an awful offensive line. It’ll be interesting to see how Chicago attacks the trade deadline.
21. Carolina Panthers
Didn’t take long for the Panthers hype train to come to a screeching halt. Sam Darnold was benched vs the Giants in light of his fourth lackluster game in a row. You really have to question Carolina’s decision to trade for Darnold in the offseason with no evidence to suggest he’d stop turning the ball over.
20. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are another candidate for the most disappointing team in the NFL. To put it simply, they lack an identity. Their defense hasn’t made the leap fans were expecting, and the offense has been far too reliant on Deebo Samuel. Both of those factors were on full display in their primetime loss to the Colts on Sunday night.
19. New Orleans Saints
What an ugly edition of Monday Night Football that was. Despite Seattle being unable to get anything going offensively, New Orleans couldn’t pull away. They need Michael Thomas back ASAP, because everything runs through Alvin Kamara. Though he’s an incredibly gifted player, checking it down to your running back can only get you so far. We expected better from the Saints in a favorable matchup.
18. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons sit at 3-3, but their only wins have come against the Giants, Jets and Dolphins. They’ve gotten steamrolled in all of their other games aside from their Week 4 loss to Washington. Kyle Pitts is a future superstar and Matt Ryan can still sling it, but Atlanta still has more to prove before we can take them seriously.
17. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings sit at 3-3 through six games, but they could just as easily be 5-1 or even 6-0. Two of their losses have come by a combined four points. Kirk Cousins has the offense humming, but we need to see Minnesota win a tightly-contested game against an upper-echelon team before we move them any higher.