Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: The upstart New York Jets have a chance to show they’re among the NFL’s best teams, but they’ll have to beat the New England Patriots in order to do so.
It’s the same old story for the new-look Jets, as they’ll come to Foxboro this weekend with a 4-1 record and a chance to (at least temporarily) take first place in the AFC East away from New England. If New York’s going to have any chance of toppling the seemingly unbeatable Patriots, they’re going to have earn takeaways. The Jets’ defense has been one of the best in football this season, forcing 15 turnovers through just five games, the third-most in the NFL.
It’s going to be fascinating to see what new Jets head coach Todd Bowles can do against Tom Brady and the New England offense. Rex Ryan didn’t beat the Patriots a whole lot, but he was able to slow Brady at times. If Bowles and the Jets defense (now featuring Darrelle Revis, mind you) can find a way to keep the Patriots from moving up and down the field, this division is going to get real interesting.
See where the Jets and everyone else fell in this week’s NFL power rankings below.
1. New England Patriots (Last week: 1): The Patriots didn’t score 70 or whatever, but they more than took care of business on the road against a desperate team throwing everything it had. That’s not easy.
2. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 2): To say the Packers need a bye week is an understatement. The fact that they’re 6-0 with this injury list is impressive stuff.
3. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 3): The Bengals are also heading into the bye week, which might be a deterrent at this point. They’re playing as well as we’ve ever seen them play in the Andy Dalton/Marvin Lewis era.
4. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 7): Cam Newton struggled at times Sunday, especially early. But he made plays when he needed to, and the fact that he and the Panthers put up 27 points — with that receiving corps — in Seattle is good stuff.
5. Denver Broncos (Last week: 4): Denver is fascinating to watch. Peyton Manning looks terrible, but the defense continues to bail him out. They’ve got a bye this week with a Week 8 matchup with Green Bay looming.
6. New York Jets (Last week: 8): As has been the case in years past, the Jets will get a real benchmark test this Sunday when they go to Foxboro for a date with the Patriots.
7. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 5): I’m still high on the Cardinals, but they don’t look to be the team everyone thought they were after a few weeks. Carson Palmer looked like he did with the Raiders, which is not ideal.
8. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 6): The Falcons finally tripped up, and now we’ll look to see how they rebound after a loss. Getting the Titans next week should make that pretty easy.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 16): The Steelers, despite having to use three quarterbacks this season, are tied for the NFL lead in turnover differential. That’s how you stay afloat without Ben Roethlisberger.
10. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 13): Is there a team that could benefit more from Seattle’s struggles than Minnesota? They’re about to enter a rough stretch, though, with three of their next four on the road leading into a matchup with the Packers.
11. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 18): It’s really a miracle that we’re sitting here in late October, and the Eagles are tied for first place in the NFC East, especially when you consider Sam Bradford has five picks in his last two games — both Philadelphia wins.
12. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 9): I toyed with putting the Colts at No. 32 just because of this play.
13. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 12): The Bills reportedly were considering reopening the quarterback competition if E.J. Manuel played well Sunday. He was OK. I guess? Their quarterbacks stink.
14. New York Giants (Last week: 10): The Giants had a huge opportunity to create some separation in the NFC East, and they played their worst game of the season.
15. St. Louis Rams (Last week: 14): The Rams had a bye this week. Moving on.
16. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 15): Matt Cassel is taking over under center. He won a game last season, which is more than Brandon Weeden can say over the last three seasons combined.
17. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 11): There are five undefeated teams left in the NFL, and the Seahawks have played three of them this season.
18. San Diego Chargers (Last week: 17): Here’s something you might not know: Philip Rivers is on a record-breaking pace this season. Neat!
19. Oakland Raiders (Last week: 24): Only two teams have allowed more passing yards per game this season than the Raiders. First up after the bye? Philip Rivers and his league-leading 352.8 passing yards per game.
20. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 19): The Broncos gave the Browns every chance to win — and Josh McCown just threw those chances right back to the Broncos.
21. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 28): Joe Philbin might have been the biggest loser of Week 6. Must have stunk to watch his former team play like it actually gave a damn for once.
22. Washington Redskins (Last week: 20): Kirk Cousins attempted 43 passes and couldn’t break the 200-yard mark. That’s hard to do!
23. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 26): The Saints took advantage of the Falcons as the home team on Thursday night, but it’ll be a different story next week when the Saints are back on the road, where they’ve been outscored by an average of 13 points per game.
24. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 27): Colin Kaepernick has a 116.5 passer rating in his last two games, so maybe he doesn’t totally suck — yet.
25. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 25): It’s taken six weeks, but I think I’m ready to say the Ravens are a bad football team.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 22): Doug Martin should get plenty of touches Sunday against a Washington rush defense that’s allowing 4.6 yard per carry this season.
27. Chicago Bears (Last week: 23):Â Matthew Stafford’s passer rating through five games was 74.8. On Sunday, it was 117.7, thanks to 405 yards and four touchdowns. That’s a long way of saying the Bears’ pass defense has a hole or two.
28. Houston Texans (Last week: 32):Â The Texans actually won a game, thanks to DeAndre Hopkins, who might be the best player on an awful team. He’s averaging 10 catches for 144 yards in his last four games.
29. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 21): Allow Tom Petty to talk to you about the Chiefs this week.
30. Detroit Lions (Last week: 31): Maybe the Lions should have lit a fire under Matthew Stafford’s you-know-what earlier.
31. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 29): This video pretty much sums up the Titans’ level of suck better than anything I could say.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 30):Â The Jaguars are 30th in turnover differential, 27th in penalty yardage, 30th in points per game and 30th in points per game allowed. Other than that, things are going well.
Thumbnail photo via Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports Images
