Outside Looking in

Steelers (6-5, not ranked), Cowboys (6-5, down 2)

After a few years in which you could knock Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin for underachieving with the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, you could easily mark 2019 as one of his best coaching jobs.

Winning with third-stringer Devlin Hodges at quarterback, albeit at the Bengals, to put Pittsburgh at 6-5 after an 0-3 start leaves the Steelers as the sixth seed in the AFC Playoffs heading into week 13. That is flat out remarkable.

As we mentioned earlier, you could argue that Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett just didn’t have his team ready to play in the elements during a downpour in Foxboro against the Patriots.

Putting up 9 points with wide receiver Amari Cooper putting up a goose-egg with zero catches flat out just won’t win many games.

Lucky for Dallas, they just have to beat Philadelphia to win the NFC East in order to make the playoffs.

10.

Texans (not ranked)

It’s all out in front of the Texans as they welcome the Patriots to town for a Sunday night showdown. You can bet your bottom dollar that former Patriots head coach Bill O’Brien will be watching plenty of what the Ravens did to the Patriots back in week nine as a blueprint to beat his former team this week.

DeShaun Watson can certainly run it as well as Lamar Jackson and you could argue that he’s a better passer.

Plus, the Colts take on the Titans Sunday, so the AFC South could be looking very good for the Texans when the clock strikes Midnight.

9.

Bills (8-3, up 2)

Easily, the most underappreciated eight-win team in the NFL right now. All the Bills have done is win the games in front of them. Of course, now comes games against the Cowboys Thanksgiving Day, then the Ravens, the Steelers, and the Patriots.

The iron of the Buffalo schedule is here.

Time for the Bills to put up or shut up. If they can take three of those four, they’ll be in great shape heading into the AFC Playoffs and Josh Allen could be the next quarterback not named Lamar to be making noise.

8.

Chiefs (7-4, same)

With a home win Sunday against the Raiders, Kansas City could all but cinch up the AFC West after the Raiders got routed by Jets, 34-3 Sunday.

The week off should give wide receiver Tyreek Hill some time to heal that injured hamstring and one more week to get quarterback Patrick Mahomes closer to 100% with that dislocated kneecap.

It’s funny that with a couple of stellar weeks by Lamar Jackson, it seems like the league’s put Mahomes in the rear-view mirror. Fame is fleeting I guess in 2019!

7.

Packers (8-3, same)

Maybe the Packers should just stay out of Southern California.

First, the Pack gets sacked by the Chargers and then last Sunday, they get annihilated by the 49ers.

Now that the left coast portion of the schedule is over, Green Bay can put a bullseye on the NFC North as they and the Vikings (see #6) are now tied atop the standings at 8-3 with a one-on-one matchup coming in week 16 in Minneapolis.

6.

Vikings (8-3, same)

Do we dare say that in the battle of quarterbacks, Kirk Cousins is outplaying Aaron Rodgers the past couple of weeks? The Vikings have won twice while the Packers are 1-1. Rodgers threw for just 104 yards and a late score against the Niners.

Cousins meanwhile threw 3 touchdowns at the Broncos back in week 11.

The tide could turn this week though as Minnesota travels to Seattle Monday night while the Pack gets the lowly Giants on the road.

5.

Saints (9-2, same)

Sure, the Saints defeated the Panthers in a thrilling, last-second victory. But, do the Saints pass the eye test as a team that is just as good now as it was a month ago?

The Panthers moved up and down the Superdome field Sunday to the tune of 351 yards and 31 points and could’ve had a lead had it not been for a short field goal miss by Joey Slye in the final minutes.

Still, give New Orleans credit, they rallied to end up on top. And for that, they make the top five.

4.

Patriots (10-1, down 1)

Good news and bad news for the Patriots.

They sweep the two-game trip through the NFC East, following up a win over the Eagles with a 13-9 nail biter over Dallas.

That’s the good news since the Pats got the victory despite both Philip Dorsett and Mohamed Sanu missing the game with injuries and a monsoon going on in Foxboro.

The bad news, of course, is the fact that it’s another week that the defense and special teams had to carry the team while the offense struggled to just one Tom Brady to N’Keal Harry touchdown pass and a pair of Nick Folk field goals.

The question moving forward is simple: can Brady lead an offense to put up 24+ points in a game where it needs to, possibly against the Chiefs, Ravens, and Texans. They’ve done it before and there are signs that the running game will get better. It did against Dallas to the tune of 101 yards.

Getting offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn back helps that along with giving Brady a touch more time to throw. Hands down, if you live in New England and listen to the critics, you’d think the Pats are struggling to make the playoffs instead of leading the AFC with a 10-1 record. It’s not easy being the King they say! But then again, sometimes I think that Belichick likes it that way.

3.

49ers (10-1, up 1)

Talk about punching someone in the mouth. That’s exactly what the Niners did to the Packers Sunday night. Before you could say San Francisco treat, the 49ers turned Aaron Rodgers over and scored on its first possession, never looking back in a 37-8 drubbing!

The tumultuous triathlon continues this week with a cross-country treck to the hottest team in the NFL, Baltimore.

If there’s a team out there that can rope in Jackson, it just maybe this Niners defense, ranked #1 in total defense and passing defense in the league, who’s had plenty of chances to warm up against a running quarterback by playing Kyler Murray twice and Russell Wilson once already this season.

2.

Seahawks (9-2, same)

It was ugly and it wasn’t against a top-notch team, but anytime the Seahawks come East and throttle the Eagles, it’s a feather in their collective caps.

And talk about balance, Seattle threw it for 174 yards and ran it for 174 yards on offense. 

Put that with an opportunistic defense that turned Carson Wentz over four times (two interceptions, two fumbles) and Pete Carroll’s crew is in elite status in the NFC. The NFC West and the NFC’s top seed for that matter, may not be decided until San Francisco hits the Pacific Northwest in week 17!

1.

Ravens (9-2, same)

Lamar Jackson could become the NFL’s youngest MVP at 22-years old. Let that one sink in for a bit! Wasn’t it just a year ago, we anointed Mahomes as the second coming and MVP for years-to-come? Not only is Jackson leading the Ravens to seven straight wins, he’s doing it beating the Seahawks, the Patriots, the Texans, the Rams and more! Jackson became the first quarterback in Monday night history to throw five touchdowns in his first MNF game.

Quite “Lamar-kable” if you ask me. Adding in 95 yards to boot kept the Rams at bay while the Ravens scored on its first seven possessions.

Baltimore is now the favorite to win the Super Bowl, according to Super Book USA in a Tweet Tuesday.