BRB Power Rankings – Week 4: Texans at Rock Bottom?

Tank for C.J. Stroud?

I’m not sure how much of this Davis Mills thing I can take.

I just don’t think I can handle going into every 4th quarter with hope in my heart when it’s always going to get obliterated in a new fashion every time.

These plays hurt so much because they make you wonder, “how did I even fall for this? How did I let myself get invested in this?” And then you remember:

And:

Like…I’m not crazy…am I?

These are good throws! They aren’t otherworldly, but Davis Mills makes throws like these every game. Every game he will give you pause, and you’ll wonder if there really is something there, but week after week, it’s starting to feel more like fool’s gold.

Here’s my power rankings entering Week 4:

1. Philadelphia Eagles (3-0) (Last Week:3) – Jalen Hurts looks like MVP material in year 3, a great line and receiving group have changed everything for his trajectory.
2. Miami Dolphins (3-0) (Last Week: 7) – A fantastic, gritty win over probably the best roster in the NFL to stay undefeated is one heck of a way for Tua Tagovailoa to prove to everyone he’s worth keeping around.
3. Buffalo Bills (2-1) (Last Week: 1) – Amassing more than double the yardage Miami gained in that game and still losing isn’t pretty, but I’ll cut them some slack for goofing up under near 100-degree heat
4. Los Angeles Rams (2-1) (Last Week: 5) – A nice, steady win against the Cardinals is a good way to temper the loss in Week 1 and near-collapse in Week 2.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (2-1) (Last Week: 2) – A massive upset in Indianapolis provides plenty of reason to believe the Chiefs offense, particularly the receivers and rushing attack, have ways to go before they can reach their previous highs.
6. Green Bay Packers (2-1) (Last Week: 8) – A ugly win against another Super Bowl contender is still a great win for the season.
7. Baltimore Ravens (2-1) (Last Week: 9) – Lamar Jackson is showing that he’s improved significantly as a passer since his 2019 MVP year, which has made him practically unstoppable so far in 2022.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) (Last Week: 4) – Injuries to the line and receiving corps have discombobulated the Buccaneers and put a lot of pressure on Tom Brady early on.
9. Los Angeles Chargers (1-2) (Last Week: 6) – Injuries to Rashawn Slater, Jalen Guyton, Joey Bosa, Kenneth Murray, and Justin Herbert have put the Chargers dream season in serious doubt in just a month.
10. Minnesota Vikings (2-1) (Last Week: 11) – Coming back against a much better Lions team will go a long way in keeping the Vikings afloat during the Kirk Cousins rollercoaster ride through the season.
11. Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) (Last Week: 12) – Finally, a win! The Bengals are starting to look like their old selves, again. But against the Jets? Is that good?
12. Denver Broncos (2-1) (Last Week: 14) – The offense is still bad, but the defense played well enough that one touchdown drive is all they needed to be tied for first in the AFC West.
13. San Francisco 49ers (1-2) (Last Week: 10) – Jimmy Garoppolo looked worse than Davis Mills on Sunday. That’s all you really need to know.
14. Tennessee Titans (1-2) (Last Week: 21) – Derrick Henry is looking better, and that might be all they need to hang in the AFC South race.
15. New Orleans Saints (1-2) (Last Week: 13) – Jameis Winston is hurt and is not playing well at all, and now he’s going to London to try and beat Kirk Cousins! Even with Cousins’ aforementioned streakiness, I’ll take him having a better game than Jameis Winston with a fractured back.
16. Cleveland Browns (2-1) (Last Week: 24) – A good win against the Steelers keeps the Browns at the top of the division. Jacoby Brissett has for the most part been a very good complimentary quarterback, making me wonder how far they would’ve gone with him last year.
17. Detroit Lions (1-2) (Last Week: 18) – Losing to the Vikings in the final seconds really hurts, especially when the first half was such a success for the Lions. The return of Amon-Ra St. Brown and D’Andre Swift is paramount to their success.
18. Arizona Cardinals (1-2) (Last Week: 15) – This Cardinals team is really reminding me of the one Kyler Murray had in his rookie season. They went 5-10-1 that year.
19. New York Giants (2-1) (Last Week: 16) – Saquon looks good! Daniel Jones does not!
20. Las Vegas Raiders (0-3) (Last Week: 17) – It’s hard to rank an 0-3 team this high, but they’ve shown enough against the Cardinals and Titans that I believe they’ll right the ship before this turns into a complete disaster.
21. Dallas Cowboys (2-1) (Last Week: 27) – I was more than ready to sink the Cowboys after a disastrous start to the season. But, alas, Cooper Rush had other plans.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) (Last Week: 29) – Blowing the Chargers out of their building after shutting out the Colts the week before is a great way to show the league that they are finally making progress after all of the top 10 draft picks.
23. Chicago Bears (2-1) (Last Week: 25) – Roquan Smith was the major defender the Texans had to beat to win this game, and they didn’t. He’s absolutely fantastic.
24. Indianapolis Colts (1-1-1) (Last Week: 30) – I have no idea how they go from that loss against the Jaguars to beating the Chiefs, but sometimes the turnovers just keep going your way.
25. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) (Last Week: 20) – George Pickens had one of the most impressive catches I’ve ever seen, and that’s about all the Steelers could muster on offense. The offensive line is BAD.
26. Atlanta Falcons (1-2) (Last Week: 26) – Really exciting offensive performances from Marcus Mariota, Cordarelle Patterson, and rookie Drake London finally netted the Falcons a win.
27. Washington Commanders (1-2) (Last Week: 22) – Carson Wentz got sacked 9 times against the Eagles on Sunday. Is that even legal?
28. Seattle Seahawks (1-2) (Last Week: 23) – Geno Smith played adequately again, but the air in the Seahawks defense is really starting to kill their plan to this season. I can’t imagine their plan was for a Geno Smith offense to be scoring 25+ points a week, but they might just have to if they want to win any games.
29. New England Patriots (1-2) (Last Week: 19) – Mac Jones’ high ankle sprain practically kills their season, unless they decide to take a chance on Bailey Zappe!
30. Carolina Panthers (1-2) (Last Week: 32) – Avoiding starting 0-3 was essential for the Panthers to survive into late October, but Baker Mayfield needs to play better if they have any hopes of getting back to a winning record. When will we see Matt Corral?
31. New York Jets (1-2) (Last Week: 28) – The Joe Flacco renaissance is over.
32. Houston Texans (0-2-1) (Last Week: 31) – Here we are! After getting my heart ripped out by Davis Mills after that interception, there was only one place the Texans could go on the rankings.

Next week, the Texans host the Los Angeles Chargers. The Texans had three chances to get a win off an easy opponent to start the season, now, facing a heavily injured Chargers team that will probably put Chase Daniel out there come Sunday, they may be getting a fourth. If Davis Mills can’t out-play Chase Daniel, it’ll be time to move on.

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