The New Orleans Saints are cooking with grease now.
With another major victory in the books, taking down the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 44-19, the Saints have seen a huge jump in the NFL power rankings from many of the major media outlets. Playing at a high level for one game did not convince many people, especially against the miserable Carolina Panthers, but doing so for two consecutive weeks and putting up a whopping 91 points in that time frame has turned many heads. Taking down a much-hyped Cowboys team has its perks.
The Saints got as high as 3rd on the rankings this week with The Athletic viewing them as a top team in the NFL, where the absolute bottom is 12th from Pro Football Focus and Yahoo Sports, which is nearly higher than last week’s highest rating (11th from The Ringer). Here is the full list:
ESPN: 9th (last week: 23rd)
Pro Football Focus: 12th (last week: 14th)
NFL.com: 8th (last week: 24th)
CBS Sports: 6th (last week: 25th)
Bleacher Report: 4th (last week: 18th)
ProFootballTalk: 10th (last week: 23rd)
Yahoo Sports: 12th (last week: 22nd)
The Athletic: 3rd (last week: 11th)
FOX Sports: 9th (last week: 21st)
The Ringer: 11th (last week: 25th)
High: 3rd – Low: 12th – Average: 8.4
Many outlets now see the Saints as we fans and Saints media do, as a competitive team that may be something to watch for come playoff time if they keep up this type of momentum. This would really be the case if they look good in their next few matchups, taking on the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, and Kansas City Chiefs during that span. Going 2-1 or even 3-0 during those games would launch the Saints even further up, and really solidify their standing for weeks to come.
First up is the Eagles though, and despite their 1-1 record, they have proven to be a competent opponent in the past with the Saints, and a team with a difficult to stop rushing attack for New Orleans in prior matchups. We will see if they are able to get to 3-0 and make their mark quickly on the landscape.
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