Ranking all 32 NFL teams from first to worst, plus Monday night grades and early picks for Week 5

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

It’s the first day of October and I’d like to congratulate every NFL team — except for the Jaguars — for making it out of the first month of the season with a win. The Titans cut things pretty close: They had an 0-3 record going into Monday night, but they destroyed the Dolphins to pick up their first win of the season and they waited until the last day of the month to do it. 

Although that game was probably exciting for Titans fans, it wasn’t very exciting for anyone else. The good news is that there were two games last night and the other game was a wild one with the Lions beating the Seahawks 42-29. 

We’ll be handing out grades for both games today, plus Pete Prisco will be unveiling his Power Rankings and I’ll be making some early Week 5 picks. 

As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends and neighbors to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. 

1. Monday night grades: Lions and Titans shine

We hand out grades for every game each week and that includes the two games that went down on Monday night. Let’s check out the grades from the doubleheader: 

Titans 31-12 over Dolphins (Click here for our full recap)

• Titans takeaway: For the first time in three years, the Titans hit the 30-point mark, and they did it even though their starting QB got knocked out of the game in the first quarter. With Will Levis out and Mason Rudolph in, the Titans turned to their rushing attack and that strategy worked with Tyjae Spears (39 yards, 1 TD) and Tony Pollard (88 yards, 1 TD) pacing a group that ran for 142 yards. The Titans’ defensive performance might have been the highlight of the game for either side. The Tennessee secondary put the clamps on Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, holding them to just 59 total yards. The Titans also held the Dolphins under 100 yards until midway through the fourth quarter. The Titans might not win many games this season, but they finally got their first victory out of the way and that’s all that matters when you’re winless. Grade: A-
• Dolphins takeaway: The Dolphins started their third QB of the season on Monday night and they played like a team that was starting their third QB of the season. With Tyler Huntley under center, the offense looked absolutely lost with just 84 yards through three quarters before padding that total in garbage time. On their first 10 possessions, the Dolphins went three-and-out seven times. Miami also took a safety and botched an onside kick. It was an all-around disaster. This loss was on Mike McDaniel as much as anyone. If this is what the Dolphins are going to look like while Tua Tagovailoa is out, they’re not going to win many games while he’s sidelined. Grade: D-

Although Mason Rudolph came in and led the Titans to their first win of the season, it doesn’t look like he’ll be continuing as Tennessee’s quarterback. After the game, Titans coach Brian Callahan said that Will Levis will be the team’s starter as long as he’s 100% healthy. Levis left the game after injuring his shoulder midway through the first quarter. The Titans have a bye in Week 5 so no matter what Levis’ injury is, it will get an extra week to heal. 

Lions 42-29 over Seahawks (Click here for our full recap)

• Seahawks takeaway: The Seahawks had a chance to make a statement in Detroit, but instead, they got handed their first loss of the season. Seattle piled up 516 yards of offense, which will look good on paper, but the fact of the matter is that the offense got off to a slow start. A fumble by DK Metcalf in the first quarter led to a Lions TD that put Detroit up 14-0, and after that, the Seahawks spent the rest of the night playing catch up. Geno Smith threw for 395 yards and almost engineered a comeback, but Seattle ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. The banged-up defense struggled to rattle Jared Goff, who diced them up for 292 yards. Although the Seahawks didn’t win, they did learn that they can go toe-to-toe with a top-tier NFC team like the Lions and that’s something that could help them down the line. There’s no reason this team can’t end up winning the NFC West this year. Grade: B-
• Lions takeaway: The Lions offense played a nearly perfect game and that was mostly thanks to Jared Goff, who set an NFL record by completing 100% of his passes. Not only did the Lions QB go 18 of 18 for 292 yards and two touchdowns, but he also caught a TD pass. Goff’s passing kept the Seahawks defense off balance, which opened things up for Jahmyr Gibbs (78 yards, 2 TDs) and David Montgomery (40 yards, 1 TD) on the ground. Goff kept Seattle’s secondary guessing by getting all of his pass-catchers involved: The Lions have five receivers who finished with at least 40 yards. The Lions defense surrendered more than 500 yards, but it did force two turnovers and make a fourth-down stop, which is all the help the offense needed. It’s starting to feel like the two best teams in the NFC are in the same division. Grade: A-

The Lions made some NFL history on Monday night and we’ll be covering that in the next section. 

As for the other 28 grades that we handed out in Week 4, you can check those out by clicking here. 

2. Lions and Seahawks combine to make NFL history

For the second straight week, the NFL gave us a Monday night doubleheader and for the second straight week, the late game in the doubleheader was a historical one. Last week, the Commanders and Bengals gave us the first NFL game ever with no punts or turnovers. This week, the Seahawks and Lions also produced something that we’ve never seen before. 

Let’s check out the records: 

• Jared Goff pitches a perfect game. The Lions QB set the NFL record for most pass attempts without an incompletion. Goff went 18 of 18 for 292 yards and two touchdowns. The previous record was held by Kurt Warner, who went 10 of 10 in a game back in 2005, so Goff just didn’t break the record, he smashed it. Goff also set the record for the most passing yards without an incompletion. Warner threw for 115 in his perfect game while Goff more than doubled that. 
• Goff is on a roll. With his perfect game, Goff has now completed 87.8% of his passes over the past two weeks, which is tied for the second-best accuracy rate ever over a two-game span. Only Jayden Daniels, who completed 88.7% of his passes over the past two weeks, has been better. Before this year, the record had stood since 2008 when Peyton Manning completed 87.8% of his passes over a two-week span. 
• Lions pull off rare feat. Not only did Goff go 18 of 18, but Amon-Ra St. Brown also completed a pass, which means the Lions went 19 of 19 as a team. That made them the first team since the 1942 Giants to complete 100% of their passes in a game. The Lions record is much more impressive, though, because the Giants only threw one pass during their game. Also, although Kurt Warner held the record for most pass attempts without an incompletion, the Cardinals didn’t set the team record in 2005. Warner got knocked out of that game and his backup ended up going 14 of 24, which means Warner’s team went 24 of 34.  
• Rare connection. Not only did Amon-Ra St. Brown throw a pass, but that pass actually went for a touchdown to Jared Goff. The Lions QB also threw a TD pass to St. Brown, which makes them the eighth duo in NFL history to throw a TD pass and catch a TD pass from each other in the same game.  
• Seahawks set unfortunate record. The Seahawks racked up 38 first downs on Monday night, which is the most ever by a losing team in NFL history, according to Pro Football Reference. The previous record of 36 had been done multiple times with the most recent game coming in 2019 when the Rams had 36 first downs in a 55-40 loss to the Buccaneers. 
• Seahawks (kind of) set an unfortunate franchise record. The Seahawks piled up 516 yards of offense, which is the second-highest total they’ve ever had in a loss. There has only been one game in franchise history that was higher and that came in 2020 when they had 572 yards in a 37-34 loss to the Cardinals. However, that game came in overtime, so Monday’s game was the most yardage the Seahawks have ever totaled in a regulation loss. 

It truly was a wild game for the ages. 

3. Prisco’s Week 5 Power Rankings: Texans and Lions enter top five

If I’ve learned one thing over the past two weeks, it’s that there’s no bigger jinx for an NFL team than being put in Pete Prisco’s top five. Last week, we saw two teams go down after entering Prisco’s top five, and this week, we saw THREE TEAMS go down (Seahawks, Steelers, Bills). 

With three top-five teams going down, that means there are three new teams in the top five, so let’s check them out:

1. Chiefs (Same as last week)
2. Vikings (Up one from last week)
3. Texans (Up three from last week)
4. Buccaneers (Up five from last week)
5. Lions (Up five from last week)

I’m not going to spoil the rest of the Power Rankings here, but I am going to give you a few nuggets. Here’s what has changed since Prisco’s last Power Rankings: 

• For the second straight week, the biggest jump went to the Washington Commanders. Heading into Week 3, this team was ranked 29th overall, but after beating the Bengals, they moved up 12 spots. This time around, Prisco has moved them up another nine spots, which means they’re now officially in the top 10 at eighth overall.  
• The biggest jump in the AFC went to the Ravens. After watching Baltimore start 0-2, Prisco gave up on the Ravens, but he’s back on the bandwagon following their 35-10 win over the Bills. Baltimore moved up a total of seven spots from 13th to sixth. 
• The biggest drop in the rankings went to Philadelphia. The Eagles got beat down by the Buccaneers and because of that, Pete decided to drop Philly nine spots from seventh all the way down to 16th.  
• The biggest drop in the AFC went to the Chargers. Apparently, Pete wasn’t impressed by the fact that Chargers lost to his No. 1 team by one score. Following their loss to the Chiefs, Prisco dropped L.A. six spots from 14th down to 20th. 
• Now, let’s talk about the worst team in the NFL, and I have some big news here: We have our third new team in three weeks. Heading into Week 3, the title of worst team belonged to the Panthers, but then they won, so the title went to the Titans. Well, the Titans won on Monday night, so the title of worst team in the NFL now belongs to the Jaguars, who also happen to be the only winless team in the NFL.  

If you want to know where your favorite team ended up in Prisco’s Week 5 Power Rankings, be sure to click here. If you want to argue with Prisco over his rankings, you can do that on Twitter by clicking here. I argue with him all the time about everything. 

4. Ranking the most impactful injuries of the 2024 season

Through the first four weeks of the season, there have been a lot of big injuries around the NFL, so Cody Benjamin decided to rank the biggest injuries based on how much of an impact they’ve had so far or could have going forward. 

Let’s take a look at the top names on his list: 

1. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa (concussion). “Miami’s 2022 season was all but derailed when Tagovailoa suffered multiple head injuries, and history appears to be repeating itself.”

2. Eagles WR A.J. Brown (hamstring). “Never has Brown’s value been clearer to Philadelphia than during his three-game absence, in which the Eagles barely posted a 1-2 mark with more volatile offense.”

3. Browns OT Jedrick Wills (knee). “You could just as easily swap Wills out for right tackle Jack Conklin, or Pro Bowl guard Wyatt Teller, or any number of key Browns veterans nursing bumps and bruises. The fact is, Kevin Stefanski’s offense is as battered as they come.”

4. Chiefs WR Rashee Rice (knee). “Rice just went down on Sunday, but he’s likely to be out for the rest of the year. With Marquise Brown also sidelined indefinitely, that means the Chiefs will be dependent on rookie Xavier Worthy and journeyman JuJu Smith-Schuster at wide receiver.”

5. Rams WR Puka Nacua (knee). “Nacua was Mr. Reliable for Los Angeles in 2023, seamlessly stepping in for Kupp as Stafford’s go-to chain-mover. A knee injury bothered him this summer, however, and then sent him to injured reserve early this fall.”

Cody ranked a total of 10 players and you can see his full list here. 

5. Breech’s Week 5 NFL picks: Buccaneers win NFC South showdown, Bengals shock Ravens

After struggling through two straight weeks of bad picks, I almost retired from making picks, but it’s a good thing I didn’t, because I finally rebounded last week with an 11-5 record. This week, we’ll find out if that rebound was an anomaly or if I’ve finally figured out what I’m doing. Let’s hope it’s that second one. 

As always, this newsletter will feature three of my picks, and then if you feel like reading the rest of them, you can click through here and check them out. 

With that in mind, here are three of my main picks for Week 5, starting with the Thursday night game in Atlanta:  

• Buccaneers (+1.5) at Falcons: I’ve been watching the Falcons offense for four straight weeks and it still looks slightly out of sync. You can’t be out of sync when you’re facing a Buccaneers squad that might be the most underrated team in the NFC right now. PICK: Buccaneers 23-20 over Falcons
• Ravens at Bengals (+2.5): The Bengals have one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL, which is not something you want to be struggling with when you’re about to face Derrick Henry. On the flip side, the Ravens haven’t been able to stop the pass this year, which could open the door for Joe Burrow to have a big game. The Bengals QB has been on fire for three straight weeks and I think that continues here with Cincinnati winning a high-scoring game. PICK: Bengals 27-24 over Ravens 
• Vikings (-2.5) vs. Jets in London: This game is going to give us the best quarterback in the NFL against Aaron Rodgers. Sure, that sounds crazy to say, but the fact is that Sam Darnold has been one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL this year. On the other hand, Rodgers has looked like a 40-year-old. PICK: Vikings 27-20 over Jets

Once again, to check out the rest of my picks for Week 5, be sure to click here.   

6. Extra points: Cowboys star could miss two games

It was a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.

• Micah Parsons might not be back until Week 8. The Cowboys star still hasn’t been ruled out for this week’s game against Pittsburgh, but in reality, it seems like there’s a good chance he could miss at least two games with his ankle injury, especially with the Cowboys getting a bye in Week 7. In that situation, Parsons would miss Week 5 (Steelers) and Week 6 (Lions) before returning in Week 8 after the bye. “Probably makes sense to some [to sit out until after the bye], but when you are a real competitor, like I said, you only get 17 chances at this, and missing one of these opportunities to perform at the highest level bothers me. I feel like I want to play on Sunday,” Parsons said. He clearly wants to play, but if you read his full comments, he also clearly realizes that could make his injury worse. You can read his full comments here. 
• Christian McCaffrey’s injury is worse than originally thought. The 49ers star is dealing with bilateral Achilles tendinitis, which means he has Achilles tendinitis in BOTH legs. It’s still not clear how long he’s going to be out, but it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be returning to game action at any point in the next few weeks. You can read more about his injury here. 
• Brandon McManus won’t face NFL discipline. The former Jaguars kicker won’t be punished by the NFL over the sexual assault accusations he’s facing stemming from a team flight to London last year. The NFL found insufficient evidence that he violated the league’s personal conduct policy. McManus is currently a free agent and it won’t be surprising if a team that’s struggling at the kicker spot (like the Packers) brings him in for a tryout. 
• Extent of Rashee Rice injury still up in the air. Although there had been some reports that Rice tore his ACL, that still hasn’t been confirmed by the Chiefs. Teams will usually confirm news like that within 24 hours, but that hasn’t been the case here. The Chiefs’ leading receiver is going to seek a second opinion and undergo additional testing over the next few days, and at that point, the team should have a better idea of what he’s dealing with. The only thing we know for sure right now is that he won’t be playing in Week 5 against the Saints. You can read more about Rice’s situation here.