6. Pittsburgh Steelers (+0)
Right now there is no pass rush in the NFL more dangerous than the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that front is led by T.J. Watt who just continues to look like a DPOY candidate. Combine him with a front seven full of speed and power at both levels, and a star-sprinkled secondary and I think the Steelers might be the best defense in the NFL again this year.
The reason why I am not sure if they will be able to get much higher than this on the power rankings is that Big Ben can never stay healthy and he is already without two of his starting offensive linemen and a running game that isn’t as impressive as it looks on paper.
Can Ben stay healthy? If this offense can’t support him on the ground, is he going to have to throw the ball 500 times again this year? Because if the answer to those questions is no and yes, then this team could tumble quickly.
5. L.A. Rams (+0)
The Rams just won a game where Aaron Donald had 0 sacks, 0 TFLs, and 1 tackle, and Jalen Ramsey (their other top player on defense) had 0 PBUs or INTs.
Despite that, the Rams ended up with two interceptions and held Carson Wentz to less than 6 YPA. Last week in my power rankings I said that the Rams were finding ways to win by getting splash plays on defense and dealing on offense, but the fact that they can dominate a team like the Philadelphia Eagles without that splash plays is very impressive.
I still really don’t like Jared Goff, but it is getting harder and harder to knock this team because of him.