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NFL Power Rankings Week 9

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Let’s start by stating the obvious: There’s a lot going on. Tensions are high. And the battle between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs at the top of the NFL power rankings is merely the tip of the iceberg.

So let’s get right to it.

On the day of the 59th U.S. presidential election, our expert NFL panel has elected to give you one telling stat for each team in our latest power rankings.

This week, the panel includes editors Geoff Lowe and Craig Battle, and staff writers Mike Johnston and Emily Sadler.

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1. Pittsburgh Steelers

2020 record: 7-0
Last week: 1
Telling stat: See the 2020 record above

Their 7-0 record tells you all you really need to know about how dominant this Steelers team is — the last undefeated club standing this season. (ES)

2. Kansas City Chiefs

2020 record: 7-1
Last week: 2
Telling stat: +9 turnover differential

Here’s one way to ensure you win ball games: give away the ball less than you take it away, and so far the Chiefs are leading the league by that measure with 14 takeaways against just five turnovers. They’ve also thrown the fewest interceptions in the league, with just one to date. (CB)

3. Seattle Seahawks

2020 record: 6-1
Last week: 3
Telling stat: 88.0%

So far this season, the Seahawks are scoring touchdowns on an NFL-best 88.0% of their red zone opportunities, which leads the next-closest team — the Titans — by more than eight percent. (CB)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2020 record: 6-2
Last week: 7
Telling stat: 70.3 opponent rushing yards per game

The Bucs are allowing the fewest rushing yards per game, and just 3.2 yards per rushing attempt. (MJ)

5. Baltimore Ravens

2020 record: 5-2
Last week: 5
Telling stat: 5-2

That five is great, but let’s talk about the two. The good news is that the Ravens’ only losses have come at the hands of two undefeated (at the time) clubs. The troubling part is QB Lamar Jackson’s performance in both defeats. Against Kansas City in Week 3, Jackson threw for just 97 yards with a single TD pass and a pair of fumbles. Sunday against Pittsburgh, another showing unbefitting of the reigning MVP: a season-low 46.43 pass completion percentage, two interceptions, and a trio of fumbles in the biggest game of his season to date. (ES)

6. Buffalo Bills

2020 record: 6-2
Last week: 8
Telling stat: 672 rushing yards allowed over last four games

What has always been a strength of Sean McDermott’s teams in Buffalo has suddenly become the Bills’ biggest weakness as the defence continues to bleed rushing yards. Opponents are averaging 168 yards on the ground against Buffalo over the last month, and will be a big part of opponent game plans in the future until the Bills prove they can stop the run. (GL)

7. New Orleans Saints

2020 record: 5-2
Last week: 10
Telling stat: 100+ in six straight

Alvin Kamara has gained 100 or more total yards in six straight games, which is the third-longest streak in Saints franchise history. It’s going to be all Kamara all the time, especially with Michael Thomas still out. (MJ)

8. Tennessee Titans

2020 record: 5-2
Last week: 4
Telling stat: Back-to-back rushing titles

Derrick Henry is on pace to be the first player to lead the NFL in rushing yards in back-to-back seasons since LaDainian Tomlinson did it in 2006 and 2007. (MJ)

9. Green Bay Packers

2020 record: 5-2
Last week: 6
Telling stat: 60%

Of Aaron Rodgers’ 20 touchdown passes thrown this season so far, more than half have been caught by either wide receiver Davante Adams (seven) or tight end Robert Tonyan (five). Imagine what Rodgers would do with a little more help. (ES)

10. Indianapolis Colts

2020 record: 5-2
Last week: 13
Telling stat: 11 INTs

The team’s defence deserves a pat on the back for leading the NFL in interceptions with 11. (MJ)

11. Arizona Cardinals

2020 record: 5-2
Last week: 11
Telling stat: 1st in yards, 8th in points

The Cardinals lead the league with nearly 420 yards of offence every game, but are just eighth overall with 29.0 points per game. Upping the efficiency is priority one if this team is to overtake the Seahawks, who excel in that regard (see above). (CB)

12. Los Angeles Rams

2020 record: 5-3
Last week: 9
Telling stat: 1-3 vs. non-NFC East teams

It’s been said before, and we’ll say it again. The 5-3 record is misleading here as four of the Rams’ wins have come against down-on-their-luck NFC East clubs. They scheduling gift has given them time to right the ship, but they’ve yet to show they can do it. (CB)

13. Chicago Bears

2020 record: 5-3
Last week: 12
Telling stat: Six straight games with one INT

Backup-turned-starter Nick Foles, at the helm of Chicago’s on-again, off-again offence, has thrown an interception in six straight games – the longest active streak going. (ES)

14. San Francisco 49ers

2020 record: 4-4
Last week: 14
Telling stat: .750

No, Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t looking great Sunday before re-aggravating his ankle injury. But the team is 3-1 this season when he’s been able to play a full game, and 1-3 in games in which he didn’t dress or couldn’t finish. Now Garoppolo is expected to miss at least a month, after which the 49ers’ season may be over. (CB)

15. Las Vegas Raiders

2020 record: 4-3
Last week: 16
Telling stat: 3.2 SRS

According to Pro Football Reference, that’s the average Simple Rating System number for Las Vegas opponents so far this year, and it’s the second highest in the league next to only the Texans. Which all goes to say the Raiders have faced a relative buzzsaw so far, and have gutted out a 4-3 record. (CB)

16. Miami Dolphins

2020 record: 4-3
Last week: 17
Telling stat: 18.6 points allowed per game

After a shocking blowout win over the Rams this past weekend, the Dolphins now boast the NFL’s best scoring defence and have allowed just 130 points in seven games. The story heading into this past weekend was a change at quarterback, but it might be time to start paying more attention to this Dolphins defensive unit. (GL)

17. Cleveland Browns

2020 record: 5-3
Last week: 15
Telling stat: 1.1 sacks per game

Myles Garrett’s nine sacks on the season has him atop the league (alongside Aaron Donald) in the category and saw him named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for October. His six-game sack streak heading into Sunday’s bout versus Vegas was the league’s longest.

18. Cincinnati Bengals

2020 record: 2-5-1
Last week: 23
Telling stat: 221 completions

Joe Burrow has completed 221 passes through his first eight games, which is the most completions made by a rookie quarterback in his first eight games in league history. His 2,272 passing yards on the year so far have him on pace to break Andrew Luck’s rookie record for total yardage through the air by a rookie QB. (ES)

19. Philadelphia Eagles

2020 record: 3-4-1
Last week: 22
Telling stat: 16 turnovers

Carson Wentz’s league-leading 16 turnovers have been the Eagles’ biggest impediment to success so far in 2020, and that’s saying something considering all of the injuries Philadelphia has dealt with this season. Wentz’s four turnovers on Sunday vs. Dallas would’ve cost the Eagles the game against almost any other team, and will be Philadelphia’s downfall if No. 11 can’t clean up his play. (GL)

20. Denver Broncos

2020 record: 3-4
Last week: 24
Telling stat: 1

Prior to Sunday’s furious fourth quarter, Broncos QB had thrown exactly one touchdown pass in 16 quarters. Then he threw three in the final frame against the Chargers alone. He’ll need to show more of that to stake his claim as the Broncos’ QB of the future. (CB)

21. Los Angeles Chargers

2020 record: 2-5
Last week: 18
Telling stat: %$!*&Q(W*#%&&!JDJ&@!

Sorry, the Chargers’ latest loss broke the calculator. (CB)

22. New England Patriots

2020 record: 2-5
Last week: 20
Telling stat: Telling stat: 19.4 points scored per game

New England’s 136 points is the fourth-fewest in the NFL through Week 8, and the Patriots offence has scored fewer than 12 points in three of its last four games. Bill Belichick’s team has finished as a top-10 scoring offence in each of the past 16 seasons, a streak surely to come to a halt in 2020. (GL)

23. Detroit Lions

2020 record: 3-4
Last week: 21
Telling stat: 97.1 rushing yards per game (and falling)

With just 680 rushing yards on the season, the Lions have the third-worst run game in the league. And just when it looked like Detroit might change its ways — they tallied 180 rushing yards against the Jaguars in week 6 — they went and posted just 93 in their next two games combined. (ES)

24. Minnesota Vikings

2020 record: 2-5
Last week: 28
Telling stat: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take*

*Past the line of scrimmage. (ES)

25. Atlanta Falcons

2020 record: 2-6
Last week: 27
Telling stat: 3 wins losses

The Falcons have lost three games this year during which they had a 95 per cent or better win probability. They hang on and win those games like they should’ve, and they’re a 5-3 team with realistic playoff aspirations. (MJ)

26. Carolina Panthers

2020 record: 3-5
Last week: 19
Telling stat: 8 sacks in 8 games

The pass rush has been an issue and Carolina is averaging just one sack per game. The Panthers have fewer sacks as a team than Aaron Donald and Myles Garret do individually. (MJ)

27. Houston Texans

2020 record: 1-6
Last week: 25
Telling stat: 4 takeaways

The Texans have forced just four turnovers in seven games, which ties them for the league low with the Raiders and Packers. They’re also the only team without at least two interceptions. (MJ)

28. Washington Football Team

2020 record: 2-5
Last week: 26
Telling stat: 185.9 passing yards allowed per game

While there’s still plenty of questions left to answer on the offensive side of the ball, Ron Rivera’s defence has been making it tough for opponents, especially in the passing game. Washington’s 1,301 total passing yards allowed are the fewest in the NFL by a significant margin, a result of an overhauled secondary and a dominant defensive line that only needs to rush four to get pressure. If Washington stays relevant in the NFC East, the defence will be why. (GL)

29. Dallas Cowboys

2020 record: 2-6
Last week: 29
Telling stat: 32.6 vs. 7.3

In the games Dak Prescott started for the Cowboys this season, the team was scoring an average on 32.6 points per contest. In the three games started by Andy Dalton and Ben Dinucci, Dallas’s offence is barely averaging a touchdown’s worth of points. You can look at many of the Cowboys’ stats since Prescott went down, but none is more telling than the 25.3 fewer points per game the team is scoring. (GL)

30. Jacksonville Jaguars

2020 record: 1-6
Last week: 30
Telling stat: 2.1 opponent punts per game

Jacksonville’s opponents are averaging just 2.1 punts per game, which is the lowest mark in the league through eight weeks. (MJ)

31. New York Giants

2020 record: 1-7
Last week: 31
Telling stat: 35 turnovers in 20 career games

Another turnover-happy quarterback in the NFC East, Daniel Jones now has 13 turnovers in eight games after handing the Buccaneers possession twice on Monday night in what was a very winnable game for the Giants. Jones’s 35 turnovers in 20 career games are on pace with only notorious draft bust Ryan Leaf, and will likely end the 23-year-old’s time as the starting QB for Big Blue. (GL)

32. New York Jets

2020 record: 0-8
Last week: 32
Telling stat: 32nd

Thirty-two is a number that can be applied to multiple facets of the Jets offence, an even more damning indictment on “offensively minded” head coach Adam Gase than New York’s 0-8 record. The Jets offence ranks 32nd in points, 32nd in total yards, 32nd in passing yards, 32nd in first downs, 32nd in third-down conversions, 32nd in red-zone percentage… you get the picture. (GL)

Source: – Sportsnet.ca

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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