The theme of this week’s power rankings is: punishment. For too long, I have held on to niceties when it comes to teams that are clearly destined to be uninteresting and fail me in the end. At this point, we must take into account all elemental factors: heat, light, promise and potential. So, yes, you’ll see the Cowboys quite high. This is a team with potential and room to grow. You’ll see the Steelers quite low, because, like a decades-old azalea bush in your front yard, it can only get so big and so beautiful every season before you kind of know what to expect.
When you love something you break it down into pieces and reassemble. This is the result of our new outlook on the 2025 season.
