We are back!
Some of you may remember that when I first started First and Ten I ran these along with four other people. We combined our rankings to get an overall power ranking. I hope this gives a more balanced and hopefully correct view.
Week s brings us to London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for our second International Series game as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-3) host their NFC South Divisional rivals the Carolina Panthers (3-2). The first game in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week saw the Oakland Raiders overcome the Chicago Bears 24-21 in a thrilling match-up.
In what should have been a battle of two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks drafted in the same year, instead this game will be played out between one shot caller nearing retirement and another getting his first career start. Not the quarterback battle we wanted but one I can get behind.
One of these teams is likely to walk away from this one with a first win of the season. The Bengals had a good week one against the Seahawks but have been dismal since and the Cardinals haven’t been a great deal better.
This one sees a battle of two young backup quarterbacks that some would argue are outperforming their more experienced and certainly higher paid number ones.
Gardner Minshew, a sixth round rookie, has been something of a revelation since taking over from the injured Nick Foles. He led a big comeback in their last game against the Broncos and there is already talk about whether Foles will ever get the job back that he held for less than a quarter.
The 2019 International Series kicks off with the first ever NFL game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Raiders host the Bears in what looks like an interesting match-up, particularly with Khalil Mack going up against his old team for the first time since being traded just over a year ago.
It doesn’t look good for Washington heading into this weekend’s visit of New England but they will be hopeful of another weak offensive showing from the Patriots. Just 150 yards posted by Tom Brady last week was his lowest figure this season but was enough to get past the Bills with a huge helping hand from the ever impressive defence. Washington are still looking for their first victory in 2019 and last week’s trip to New Jersey was far from impressive.
Its Sunday Night Football for the Indianapolis Colts as they travel to Arrowhead Stadium to play the Kansas City Chiefs. This will be a big test for the Colts as they seek redemption after last seasons Divisional Round playoff loss.