Tag: USA TODAY NFL power poll

Texans drop to No. 22 in USA TODAY NFL power rankings

The Houston Texans have fallen to No. 22 in the latest USA TODAY NFL power rankings.

Losing close games has consequences.

According to Nate Davis from USA TODAY, the Houston Texans come in at No. 22 in the power rankings following their 15-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 8.

22. Texans (17): Hoping to salvage a .500 season against the NFC South as they conclude a four-game sprint through the division with Sunday’s visit from the Bucs.

What gets lost amid the losses with Houston is the development of quarterback C.J. Stroud. The rookie has had two potential game-winning drives stolen from him as the defense has failed to come up with a big stop. Such was the case against the Atlanta Falcons and again versus the Carolina Panthers. Arthur Smith and Frank Reich knew how to work DeMeco Ryans’ game management and comfortably kick walk-off field goals. Until that changes, the upper-twenties is about fitting for the Texans.

Across the rest of the AFC South, the Indianapolis Colts are a tad better than the Texans at No. 21. The Tennessee Titans catapulted from No. 29 to No. 17 thanks to their win over the Atlanta Falcons. The Jacksonville Jaguars are No. 4 in the rankings after beating the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football.

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Texans exit bye week No. 17 in USA TODAY NFL power rankings

The Houston Texans are the best of the bottom half of USA TODAY’s NFL power rankings for Week 8.

In reality, bye weeks are welcomed they provide NFL teams a chance to regroup and rest as they face the balance of the season. However, power rankings never sleep. Some teams rise due to the action during their off week, and other clubs may see a dip relative to the entire 32-team field.

According to Nate Davis from USA TODAY, the Houston Texans were a team that saw their status take a step back over the course of Week 7. The 3-3 squad now enters their Week 8 showdown with the Carolina Panthers as the 17th-best team in the latest power rankings.

17. Texans (16): As if he hadn’t made enough of an early season statement, QB C.J. Stroud now gets a shot at Carolina, the team that passed him over with the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft.

Not only does Stroud get an opportunity to show Carolina what they passed over, but the Texans similarly will get a chance to witness what they missed with Bryce Young. Part of the rueage for Houston blowing the No. 1 overall pick was not having the selection to take Young as it passed to the Chicago Bears, who then traded it to Carolina.

Across the rest of the AFC South, the Tennessee Titans dropped from No. 25 to No. 29. Despite losing to the Cleveland Browns at home 39-38, the Indianapolis Colts rose from No. 26 to No. 22. The Jacksonville Jaguars improved from No. 7 to No. 5.

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Lions roar into the top 5 in latest NFL power poll

The Detroit Lions roar into the top 5 in latest NFL power poll after beating the Chiefs

It’s amazing what one win over a top team can do for the Detroit Lions. In a word: credibility.

Beating the Chiefs in Kansas City sent the Lions shooting up the NFL power rankings. The credibility from besting Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs saw pollsters confidence in Dan Campbell’s Lions hit a new high.

After Week 1, the Lions roared up the USA TODAY weekly power poll. Detroit now sits at No. 5 after beginning the year at No. 14.

Interestingly, the Chiefs are still one spot above the Lions at No. 4. That’s the earned credit of being a defending Super Bowl champion. San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas are the top three, in order.

 

Lions open outside the top 10 in USA TODAY’s preseason power poll

Despite considerable national hype, the Detroit Lions open outside the top 10 in USA TODAY’s preseason power poll

The NFL kicks off in three short days when the Detroit Lions head to Kansas City to face the Chiefs on Thursday night. The much-hyped matchup figures to be a great game, but at least one national media outlet doesn’t see it as a matchup between top-10 teams.

In the final preseason NFL power poll from USA TODAY, the defending champion Chiefs are ranked No. 1, as expected. The Lions, however, are unexpectedly looking up into the top 10. Analyst Jarrett Bailey slots the Lions at No. 14 to start the season.

After noting the team’s very realistic playoff aspirations and impressive upgrades in the offseason, Bailey concludes the explanation for the Lions’ relatively low ranking with this,

“Detroit is fun, they are America’s sweetheart team, but it’s not enough for fans to just be the lovable underdog- they have expectations now.”

The skepticism is certainly understandable; the Lions have never won the NFC North and started 1-6 a year ago. Detroit is the highest-ranked team in the division, too.

Editor’s note–Lions Wire is part of the USA TODAY network but did not have any input on the power poll

Lions brutal shutout loss sends them plummeting in NFL power polls

The Detroit Lions brutal shutout loss in Week 5 sends them plummeting in NFL power polls

Losing a winnable road game 29-0 sent the pollsters scurrying to drop the Detroit Lions down in the Week 6 NFL power polls. On the heels of scoring 45 points a week earlier and also managing to lose that game, the Lions are almost universally in the bottom rung of teams after five weeks.

The Lions plummeted down to 30th at Touchdown Wire after the shutout loss. Two bad losses in a row will do that to a team,

The Lions were seemingly doing well through the first three games of the season, but they had trouble with the Seahawks last week and were shutout on the road against the New England Patriots. The Dan Campbell way may need a refresher in the Motor City.

It was a precipitous drop at USA TODAY, too. Detroit is down to No. 26 after holding at 19 a week earlier. The Ringer also (rightfully) lost faith in Detroit, tumbling Dan Campbell’s team to 27th after the loss.

ESPN lowered the Lions to 30th, dropping from 25th a week earlier. The decline wasn’t as dramatic at NFL.com, where Detroit now sits 26th after being No. 24 following Week 4.

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High-scoring Lions slide in latest Week 5 NFL power rankings

The Lions rank 15th in point differential but aren’t rated so highly in the latest power rankings

This week’s NFL power poll roundup reflects the good news/bad news scenario that plagues the 1-3 Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell’s team leads the league in points scored, but also in points allowed. The minus-1 overall point differential ranks 15th in the league, but the lack of wins keeps the Lions from being slotted that highly in the power rankings.

At USA TODAY, analyst Nate Davis dropped the Lions from 14th to No. 19. Having the league’s No. 1 scoring offense weighs into the equation, as Davis notes,

They’ve scored 140 points and surrendered 141. Keep this up, and they’ll give up a league record 599 points … but, like Sunday, at least they’ll lose in entertaining fashion.

Detroit is down to No. 26 in Touchdown Wire’s polling. The Lions were No. 24 before the high-scoring loss to the Seahawks in Week 4. The rationale for the drop makes sense,

The Lions have the ignominious distinction of losing an offensive showdown with Geno Smith. The positive from the first four weeks is that Detroit’s offense is more prolific than initially imagined. The downside is the Lions still struggle to close out games, which is why they keep tumbling in the power rankings.

The Lions held serve at No. 25 in ESPN’s poll, which accurately ranks Detroit’s defense dead last. Losing to Seattle sent the Lions tumbling from 16th to 24th at NFL.com.

Detroit fell into the bottom tier at The Ringer (25th) and also slid back a spot at CBS Sports to No. 29. The Athletic remains more bullish on the Lions, where Detroit dropped only from 19th to 20th.

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Lions slide back to reality in most NFL power polls after Week 3 loss

A week after climbing up most NFL power rankings, the Lions’ Week 3 loss sends them back down the polls

After the stirring Week 2 win over the Washington Commanders, the Detroit Lions roared up the charts in most NFL power rankings. The ladders of supremacy were fleeting, however.

With the loss in Minnesota in Week 3, a game where the Lions held a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter, last week’s ladders have become this week’s chutes in the power poll roundup.

At Touchdown Wire, the Lions dropped back from 20th to No. 24. It’s a logical landing spot after blowing a potential win in Minnesota,

The Lions appeared to get on track with a win over Washington in Week 2, but they are still having trouble winning close games. If the Lions can ever stack wins, it will validate the Dan Campbell way and the Lions could be a tough matchup that teams won’t be able to count on for an easy win.

There were similar disappearing acts for the Lions rankings at NBC Sports (19th to 21st), ESPN (20th to 25th), Sporting News (21st to 25th) and  CBS Sports (26th to 28th)

The are some exceptions, the most prominent of which is USA TODAY, where analyst Nate Davis manned the battle station of Lions support. Detroit remains at No. 14 even with the loss to the Vikings. Detroit also sticks at 16th in the latest from NFL.com.

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Lions keep creeping up in the latest NFL power rankings

The Detroit Lions keep creeping up in the latest NFL power rankings after the first weeks of free agency

The arrow is pointing up for the Detroit Lions. In the latest updated NFL power rankings from USA TODAY, the Lions have moved up a few spots based on the first few weeks of free agency.

Detroit is up to No. 26 on the latest list after finishing 29th in the last poll of the 2021 season. The commentary offers definite optimism towards what is yet to come, which impacts the ranking more than the relatively quiet free agency period from GM Brad Holmes and the Lions.

Another squad poised to make a draft splash with three of the top 34 picks, including No. 2 overall. Detroit finished 3-3 last season after going winless in its first 11 games – momentum that could portend relevance in a playoff chase amid a seemingly weakened conference.

A big reason for the Lions moving up: other teams moving down. The Chicago Bears are now the lowest-rated team in the NFC North after shipping away Khalil Mack and several other key defenders. They fell from 25 to 28. Jacksonville also dropped from 27 to 28 and Atlanta plummeted to 31 from 25.

The Houston Texans remain firmly ensconced at No. 32 of 32. Seattle fell from 18 to 24 after trading QB Russell Wilson. The biggest faller is the Arizona Cardinals, from 10 to 20. Moving up the most is Tampa Bay, which got Tom Brady back from retirement and vaulted from 20 to 4. Indianapolis sprang from 21 to No. 8 after dumping Carson Wentz for Matt Ryan at QB.

The Browns hold tight in most NFL power polls for Week 8

The Cleveland Browns win over the Denver Broncos didn’t do much to impact the teams’ standing in Week 8 NFL power polls

The Cleveland Browns pulled out a win on Thursday Night Football in Week 7, edging the Denver Broncos 17-14 in the battle of attrition between the two depleted rosters. The win helped move the Browns back into the current AFC playoff picture, but it didn’t do much to impress with the eye test. That lack of enthusiasm is found in the latest NFL power polls from various outlets.

At Touchdown Wire, Cleveland sits just outside the top 10 in the Week 8 update. The Browns are 11th, up one spot from Week 7 after the win over Denver. The work by the backups impressed the pollsters,

The Browns, down to backup QB Case Keenum and third-string rusher D’Ernest Johnson topped the Broncos on a short week, 17-14. Keenum managed things well while Johnson ripped off 146 yards on the ground.

At USA TODAY The Browns moved from 12th to 14th, somehow losing ground despite a win propelled by so many reserves on offense.

Cleveland sits at No. 12 in ESPN’s latest poll, unchanged from a week ago. There was no change either at NFL.com, where the Browns remain 13th in the updated rankings. NBC Sports kept Stefanski’s Browns at No. 13 as well.

Lions surge up power polls despite remaining the only winless team

The Detroit Lions surge up NFL Week 8 power polls despite remaining the only winless team

It is not reflected in the win-loss standings, where the Detroit Lions sit at the bottom as the NFL’s only remaining winless team after Week 7. But the series of narrow losses to good teams and an impressive showing against the high-flying Rams in Los Angeles was enough to convince those who do award style points and use the “eye test” that Dan Campbell’s Lions are not the worst team in the league.

The Lions jumped up multiple spots in several Week 8 NFL power polls after the 28-19 loss to the Rams, a game they led into the fourth quarter. It was the third competitive loss against likely playoff teams, including the Ravens and Packers.

The Lions shot up from 31st to 29th at Touchdown Wire on the basis of the close loss to a good team. Two of the three teams below them, the Houston Texans (32nd) and New York Jets (31st) got annihilated by a combined score of 85-18. Detroit also leapt over Jacksonville with the Jaguars on a bye week.

Detroit also moved up a spot at NFL.com, passing over the Jets into the No. 30 spot. At NBC, the Lions surged from 32nd to 29th, ahead of the same three teams that fill out the bottom at Touchdown Wire. It was a two-spot jump in USA TODAY’s poll, from 32 to 30.

They didn’t rise up in every poll. ESPN still ranks the winless Lions at No. 32 of 32.

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