NFL Power Rankings heading into 2018’s fourth quarter

#6 Houston Texans (9-3)

Nine straight? I’m not sure if anybody even dreamed of the Texans going on a run like this after their 0-3 start to the season, but these guys are as hot as any team in the league. However, I want to keep this in perspective a little. That streak includes one-score affairs against struggling teams and the only squad over .500 was the Redskins, who they beat by two despite losing Alex Smith for most of the second half. An argument can be made that their most impressive win came on Sunday versus the Browns.

With all that being said, in no way do I want to take any credit away from Houston – they have it going right now. After a slow start to his second season, Deshaun Watson’s numbers might be even better than they were in that magical half of his rookie season. He has been outstanding for stretches, delivering absolute dimes down the field and picking up crucial first downs with his legs. But he is not the only one getting it done on the ground for the Texans. Lamar Miller has looked as good as he ever has in that blue jersey, displaying excellent vision and burst en route to averaging five yards a clip.

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DeAndre Hopkins seems to make one spectacular catch every single week and he has a strong argument for being the game’s best wideout at the moment. They are still working Demaryius Thomas into the mix, rookie Keke Coutee has had some strong appearances and they have three viable options to work in multiple tight-end sets, especially in the red-zone. What really has me excited, however, is this Texans defense. J.J. Watt is as close as he has been to that three-time Defensive Player of the Year status, Jadeveon Clowney is the game’s premiere f-the-play-up defender, Whitney Mercilus is showing some flashes and they have big bodies on the interior.

Zach Cunningham just had an incredible pick-six and Benardrick McKinney is one of the more underrated linebackers in the league. Jonathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson are the old dogs in this secondary to go with an amazing draft pick in Justin Reid and an even better free agent acquisition in Tyrann Mathieu, who both show up everywhere on the field. I have not seen this group perform together in the postseason and they have faced a rather easy schedule, but they have all the talent in the world to make some noise in the postseason.

#7 Chicago Bears (8-4)

Let’s be very clear here – that team we just saw lose 30-27 in overtime to the Giants is not what the Bears really are. They had one slip-up without their starting quarterback and they faced two ridiculous athletes in Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. making crazy plays.

Chicago’s defense is still fourth in total yards and points allowed. We all see Khalil Mack running through the chests of offensive tackles and doing superhuman stuff, but it’s time to talk about Akiem Hicks as one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in football and their front-seven with those two dynamic linebackers running sideline-to-sideline.

However, the most important piece to this unit is free safety Eddie Jackson. His ability to control everything in-between the numbers on the deep level with his range is what allows that pass rush to get home and those corners to be as aggressive as they are. It is no mistake that Kyle Fuller, Prince Amukamara and Bryce Callahan are all having career years. They can be so aggressive at jumping routes and baiting quarterbacks, because they trust in Jackson to make up for when they do make mistakes. The perimeter corners like to shade to the outside, because they are not afraid of letting receivers release inside with the linebackers getting width in their drops and Jackson breaking on deeper routes over the middle.

Offensively it might sound weird, but the Bears are now fifth in the league, scoring 28.7 points a game. Matty Nagy has transformed this attack, by using a variety of formations and motions to keep defenses off balance. They have a great receiving crew, with Allen Robinson bringing and a ton of speed around him, and maybe the most dangerous player in space, when you look at Tarik Cohen, who had a ridiculous 12 catches for 156 yards at the Meadowlands.

Mitch Trubisky might not quite have a full grasp of this playbook yet, but his ability to make people miss and creating big plays with his feet when things break down is dangerous and what they have missed these last two weeks without him. I believe as we are entering December, Nagy will start getting Jordan Howard more involved as that big running back on inside zone plays, that will help them control the clock and keep the defense fresh. If they hold opponents to 20 points or under, the Bears have a very good chance of beating those elite teams in the league.