Cabache's Corner

Week 12 of the NFL season is over and it dawned on me while writing this how close we actually are to the end of the regular season, and I’m sick about it. How can football come and go so quickly? Nevertheless, at this point in the season, I don’t remember a year where so many playoff spots seemed so wide open to any takers. So many teams are in play by virtue of the hilarious inconsistencies shown by everyone. Never before has the saying ‘get hot at the right time’ felt more appropriate. Only two teams in the NFC (Seattle and Detroit) are more than one game out of a playoff spot, while the AFC's outlook completely changes by the game. This season has been gloriously unpredictable on a weekly basis. With that said, read on to see how I see the NFL landscape heading into Week 13. 1.        Green Bay Packers (9-3) +1 On Sunday the Green Bay Packers asserted their dominance on the NFC. Despite his fractured toe, Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay more than ca...

As should now be expected, Week 11 continued the trend of division leaders losing against sub-.500 teams as another slew of shocking results ruled the week. As a result, these Power Rankings are becoming harder and harder to write. What exactly separates these teams when they all display fatal flaws and inconsistencies on such a regular basis? The vast majority of the teams in truth just blur into one big group in the middle of the pack, with nothing but their record to truly separate them. With wins today from the Texans, Colts and Vikings, there now have been 11 wins since Week 9 from teams with a .500-or-below winning percentage against division leaders, the most such wins to occur during Weeks 9-11 of a single season since 1970. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 22, 2021 If nothing else, it does mean we’re likely in for a hectic culmination of the regular season as teams continue to scrap and falter. So, heading into Week 12, this is how I see the landscape of the NFL...

Week 10 of the NFL provided another slew of crazy, unpredictable results in the year which will be dedicated to the underdog. This season is ridiculous. I don’t remember a season producing more blowouts or more surprising blowouts on such a regular basis. What’s disappointing, though, is the manner in which the upsets are occurring… they’re duds! Every team has now shown the ability to look like one of the worst teams in the NFL on any given Sunday. Upsets always happen, but rarely do they so repeatedly happen in such a one-sided fashion. The top of the NFC is pretty established, but only the Detroit Lions are more than one game out of a playoff spot. While in the AFC, the gap between the very top and the rest of the pack is marginal as each team keeps on stumbling. Never has it felt more apparent the importance of being hot at the right time. So, as we approach Thanksgiving, let's see where the chaos and unpredictability of Week 10 leave the NFL’s power balance. 1.  ...

The Pittsburgh Steelers brought Week 9 to an end on Monday Night Football with a comfortable win over the lowly Chicago Bears. The game brought to an end a week which was nothing short of chaos. Just a week after backup quarterbacks dominated the league, it was the turn of the underdogs as high-flying teams around the league flopped in spectacular fashion. I’m adding an element to my Power Rankings this week: tiers. The simple 1-32 ranking doesn’t quite do justice to the difference between the teams – especially this season. In reality, it feels the NFL has clear sections, in which truly anything can happen. So, moving forward I’ll be identifying these tiers, and teams within each tier are separated by very little, no matter how many spots are between them and another. ELITE  These are the best of the best – truly on a different level to the rest of the league. 1.        Arizona Cardinals (8-1) +1 After their tight loss last week, and without...