Can the Bills finally reach the Super Bowl? Are the Rams still the NFL’s top team? Just how good are the Jaguars, Texans and Seahawks?
Those questions, and more, were answered by Colin Cowherd in the most recent edition of the “Herd Hierarchy.”
Remember, Cowherd isn’t ranking teams based on what they’ve done lately or their record. Rather, it’s an encapsulation of where each team in the NFL stands, holistically, taking into consideration which opponents each team has beaten, how healthy they are and their ceiling for the rest of the year.
That said, let’s take a look at Cowherd’s latest top 10 heading into Week 17 of the NFL season.
“Josh Allen [is] hurt. Did you see the offense once he went for an X-ray? They’ve been held under 200 passing yards in three of the last four games. They can’t stop the run. I am not as high on Buffalo as everybody else is. … I don’t see this as a team that can win three playoff games. They have no passing attack downfield.”
“I think you can really beat this team on the backend. Christian McCaffrey, 27 touches [in Week 16 win over the Indianapolis Colts]. They’re 0-4 [in] the game after he has 27 touches.”
Is San Francisco a dark horse Super Bowl contender? | The Herd
“Opposing quarterbacks this year have a passer rating of 74. I do think they’d be ugly, but I think they can get to the conference championship. I like the coach, I like the quarterback. If Woody Marks is healthy, they can run the football.”
“The defense since the Week 12 bye has gotten worse. It’s allowing 26 a game since the bye and it’s not the offense … Teams that play Denver are 3-11 the following week. That tells you they’re a really physical team.”
“They were 4-of-5 in the red zone, and teams had struggled all year against the Broncos in the red zone. Six-game winning streak, hard to run against them. I like their story. … Their receiving core is the real deal. Listen, when you’re bad for years and have top-10 draft picks, you got dudes. And Jacksonville at six has dudes.”
“I like Philadelphia … There’s only two teams in the league, the Rams one, Philly’s the other, that are top five in red zone offense and red zone defense. That’s Philadelphia.”
“They played an easy schedule, but they’re 11-2 since Week 3. They do not give the ball away, and they take the ball away. That is really good going into the playoffs. Their quarterback — he’s young, but he’s dynamic. Situationally, I love their head coach. … I don’t care that they get outplayed in the second quarter. I care they win games.”
Herd Hierarchy for Week 17: Bears stay put, Texans fall, Will the Rams be dethroned? | The Herd
Colin Cowherd lists his top teams entering Week 17, including the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, and Los Angeles Rams.
“They’ve had one stinker in the last 10 weeks, and they dominated the Buffalo Bills in the first half of that game they lost. I like them — 7-0 on the road [and] they’re doing it now without their left tackle and left guard. And the weakest part of this team right now is their run game because they’re all beat up on the offensive line. … Their receiving core is way, way underrated.”
“They lost to Seattle, I’ll put them at two. Three straight games with 500-plus yards, outgaining opponents this year by almost 1,100 yards. Nobody can stop Puka [Nacua], they’re doing it without Davante Adams now. Two running backs, three tight ends I like, getting a pass rush.”
“Seattle turns the ball over too much, but they’re very good against good teams. They couldn’t beat the Rams twice, beat them once. … It’s not just Sam Darnold. I’ve said it. If you turn the sound down when you watch the Seahawks, they look like the best team in the league. They can turn the ball over and still blow teams out, they can get outplayed for three-and-a-half quarters and still beat excellent teams.”
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