NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 7 edition

Week 6 of the NFL season is in the books, and the NFC North has separated itself as the best division in the NFL. We have no new obituaries this week, so let's get right to the Hierarchy.

Graveyard

Hierarchy

15) Rams (1-4): The Rams had their bye this week, and I don't have anything compelling to say about them, so this feels like an appropriate spot to show a snapshot of the NFC playoff seeding a little more than a third of the way through the season:

My biggest takeaway from that snapshot is that seven teams already have at least four wins. That got me curious what the NFC's record vs. AFC teams is this season. It's 18-13 (0.581).

Last week: 15

14) Giants (2-4): The Giants are improved, particularly in the pressure game, on both sides of the ball. In 2023, they gave up a staggering 85 (!) sacks on the season, by far the most in the NFL:

The five teams in the above chart had a combined record of 25-60 (0.294). If you can't protect the quarterback, you're probably not going to be a very good team. #Analysis.Those 85 sacks that the Giants allowed were good for the second-most in NFL history:

Defensively, they had just 34 sacks, which tied them for 28th in the NFL. Their sack differential was -51, lol.This year? Different story! They've allowed 14 sacks, with is tied for 15th-best in the NFL. They have also sacked opposing quarterbacks 26 times, best in the NFL. They're +12 in sack differential. HUGE improvement.They're going to win some games this year, which ultimately might not be the best thing for them, because those empty wins might give John Mara a false positive on Joe Schoen and Daniel Jones.

Last week: 14

13) Cardinals (2-4): One of the big criticisms of Jonathan Gannon in Philly was a failure adjust in-game to what opposing offenses were trying to do to his defense. Well, the Cardinals have given up 34 or more points in half of their games this season, which is pretty good indication that he isn't great at making adjustments in Arizona either.

Last week: 13

12) Saints (2-4): Since getting out to that 2-0 start with blowouts over the Panthers and Cowboys, the Saints have been outscored 118-76 (-42) and outgained 1829-1108 (-721). They're now two games behind the Falcons and Buccaneers, with losses to each of them. They're a sneaky candidate to be the second team in the graveyard.Last week: 11

11) Seahawks (3-3): After winning their first three games of the season, the Seahawks have now dropped three straight, but at least head coach Mike Macdonald would appeal to the troglodytes who posted up outside the NovaCare Complex last year with their "Run the Ball" sign:

"My hat says all you need to know about our plan" – Mike Macdonald during today's press conference pic.twitter.com/jltGHEv995

— Baker Breadman (@NFLonBread) October 9, 2024

Ultimately, the Seahawks never led against the 49ers last Thursday night, and as a result Geno Smith threw 50 times vs. 19 combined carries for 52 yards for Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. So, you know, they didn't "run the damn ball."

The Seahawks have now lost five straight games to the Niners, with the closest deficit being 8 points:

• 2022: L, 7-27
• 2022: L, 13-21
• 2022 (playoffs): L, 23-41
• 2023: L, 16-28
• 2023: L, 13-31
• 2024: L, 24-36

It's never a good thing when there's a team in your division that just owns you.

I will say this for the Seahawks — I loved their uniforms in the '80s, and I think I love them even more now.

The Seahawks throwbacks are out of control. One of the greatest color palettes in NFL history is finally coming back. pic.twitter.com/LhwRfJmMPZ

— NFL Fashion Advice (@fashion_nfl) July 19, 2023

Just switch full-time to those.

Last week: 8

10) Cowboys (3-3): Way back in June, it was pretty easy to identify that the Cowboys would be bad on both sides of the ball in the run game, as we did in our Dumpster Fire series. And sure enough…

So, dead last in rushing differential. (Side note: Holy crap, Ravens.)Anyway, that's a big reason why the Cowboys are prone to getting blown out, as they did Week 6 against the Lions, and Week 2 against the Saints. The Cowboys are 0-3 at home with a -66 point differential.Last week: 6

9) Bears (4-2): The Bears' turnover differential in each of their games this season:• Week 1 vs. Titans: +2
• Week 2 at Texans: -1
• Week 3 at Colts: -1
• Week 4 vs. Rams: +2
• Week 5 vs. Panthers: +3
• Week 6 vs. Jaguars: +1They won all four games they won the turnover battle, and lost the two games they didn't.The Bears' four wins have come against teams with a combined record of 4-18 (0.182), but there's something to be said for just not making big mistakes against bad teams.Last week: 12

8) Eagles (3-2): Remember "The Gauntlet" last year? Well, the Eagles are in the middle of the the opposite of a gauntlet right now.

Week 6: Browns: W
Week 7: At Giants
Week 8: At Bengals
Week 9: Jaguars

Those four teams have a combined record of 6-18 (0.250) with a combined point differential of -131.

The Eagles have one unsatisfying W in the books against the anti-gauntlet, three games to go.

Also, please flex that Eagles-Jags game out of Sunday night, NFL, thank you in advance.

Last week: 10

7) 49ers (3-3): The 49ers have only faced one team this season that has a winning record, and sit at 3-3 after six games. Five of their next six games are against teams that went to the playoffs last season:

• Week 7: Chiefs
• Week 8: Cowboys
• Week 9: BYE
• Week 10: At Buccaneers
• Week 11: Seahawks
• Week 12: At Packers
• Week 13: At Bills

Last week: 9

6) Falcons (4-2): The Falcons have done a good job so far of not overusing Bijan Robinson. Through six games, he has 82 carries (13.7 per game), and 21 receptions (3.5 per game). If they're going to do anything this season, they're going to need Robinson to be fresh in December and January, and they've been able to get Tyler Allgeier involved. Allgeier has 51 carries for 283 yards (5.5 per carry).

Last week: 7

5) Buccaneers (4-2): You know how the Eagles have trouble scoring in the first quarter of games? Well, the Bucs are scoring 8.8 points per game in the first quarter. Their first quarter drives this season:

1. Week 1, Washington: FG, FG, 6 points
2. Week 2, at Lions: FG, FG, Punt, 6 points
3. Week 3, Broncos: Punt, INT, Punt, 0 points
4. Week 4, Eagles: TD, TD, Punt, 14 points
5. Week 5, at Falcons: TD, FG, 10 points
6. Week 6, at Saints: TD, FG, plus an INT return for a TD, 17 points

After posting a few Eagles first quarter season stats during their matchup with the Browns yesterday, a few fans replied that first quarter scoring doesn't matter. Lol what?!?

Last week: 5

4) Commanders (4-2): The Commanders are one of the biggest surprise teams this season, and there's no shame in losing to the Ravens in Baltimore.

But I will just quickly note that they are playing some junk at CB, and Emmanuel Forbes can't even get on the field.

They are going to be a very fun team to watch this season, but they just have too many issues on defense. That'll be their priority next offseason.

Last week: 3

3) Packers (4-2): Jordan Love had his first very good game of the season on Sunday. 22 of 32 for 258 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT. But what I really like about this Packers team is that they have so many weapons in their offense who can make big plays.

Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, and Dontayvion Wicks all have at least 2 TD receptions. As a team, they have 14 TD receptions, which is second to just the Bucs (15), despite Love missing two games and not yet playing to his capability.

Last week: 4

2) Lions (4-1): Through the first 4.5 games of the season, Aidan Hutchinson had 7.5 sacks, 17 QB hits, and a forced fumble. He was an early Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and now his season is over after suffering a gruesome injury in the Lions' 47-9 beatdown of the Cowboys.

My guess is that most Lions fans would trade that win to have Hutchinson back. He has half of the Lions' 15 sacks this season, and their pass rush is going to be a major concern going forward.

Last week: 2

1) Vikings (5-0): The Vikings' bye comes at an interesting time. On the one hand they're 5-0 and rolling, and their week off could slow their momentum. On the other hand, they have two weeks to prepare for the Lions at home, while the Lions had to play on the road Week 6 in Dallas. That's a pretty nice advantage over the biggest threat to them in the NFC North, and if they can beat the Lions Week 7 they'll have a commanding lead.

Amazingly, the top four teams in the NFL in point differential are the four NFC North teams:

1. Vikings: +63
2. Lions: +60
3. Bears: +47
4. Packers: +41

Last week: 1

MORE: 10 awards from Eagles' win over Browns

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