NFL: Power Rankings at the quarter-mark of the 2018 NFL season

8. New England Patriots (2-2)

Well, that was a beatdown. Did anybody ever feel like the Dolphins had a chance to come back against the Patriots? I didn’t. Miami actually didn’t even get into field-goal range until Brock Osweiler was inserted in the fourth quarter. BROCK FREAKING OSWEILER. Only now the Patriots get Julian Edelman back, Josh Gordon will get more involved in this offense on a weekly basis and Gronk might already be back in the line-up for Thursday.

No matter how potent this offensive lineup now looks, I was more encouraged by what I saw from that Pats D. They allowed just three first downs in the first half and one of them came with time running out, plus they forced a couple of turnovers. The Lions ran all over them the week prior and they made Blake Bortles look like a great quarterback, but New England and especially their defenses have been known to start the season slowly.

They will get their act together and play their best ball in December. The only team that looked like they had a chance to dethrone Brady and Belichick in the AFC East was Miami and that chatter ended quickly. When they get to the postseason, we have seen this movie plenty of times.

9. Cincinnati Bengals (3-1)

While I liked the roster itself, which has been the case with the Bengals for years now, I didn’t understand bringing back Marvin Lewis, Andy Dalton had levelled off at that spot where you see him just on the brink of being a franchise quarterback and the players just showed a lack of discipline.

Therefore starting 3-1 was pretty surprising for me. Yet, the Bengals have one of the most well-rounded offenses in the NFL when healthy. Joe Mixon has been a stud before getting banged up, Billy Price has been a great addition at center, A.J. Green is one the game’s best receivers despite never being talked like it and Tyler Boyd is becoming a guy, who consistently moves the chains.

The defensive line can get after the passer and rookie Jessie Bates has upgraded the defense in a major way because of the range he presents as that single-high safety and how it allows their corners to be aggressive at the line. When Andy Dalton plays above-average, this team can make a lot of noise.

The reason that they aren’t any higher is that Andrew Luck was driving down the field for a game-winning touchdown before his tight-end fumbled the game away and if the Falcons rookie corner didn’t completely mess up on the final play, they should have lost in Atlanta on Sunday.