National Football League

Herd Hierarchy: 49ers, Dolphins climb the ladder after dominant Week 1 outings

Published Sep. 12, 2023 6:53 p.m. ET

We finally have real NFL results to react to.

The opening weekend of the NFL season brought some surprising results and one devastating injury for the 2023 season.

Let's take a look at Colin Cowherd's post-Week 1 "Herd Hierarchy."

10. Green Bay Packers (Last week: Unranked)

Overall record: 1-0 | Last week: Packers won 38-20 @ Chicago Bears

Colin's thoughts: "Jordan Love led all quarterbacks with a 123 passer rating, and he was perfect on third and fourth downs. Situationally, they were fantastic. They have the youngest roster in the NFL with an average age of 25. So, they're gonna make mistakes and be imperfect. They're really young at receiver and tight end. But I will say, they were the second-highest-scoring team. I thought they looked organized."

Up next: Packers @ Falcons (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app)

Herd Hierarchy: Cowboys move up to No. 3, Packers sneak in Colin's Top 10 of Week 2

9. Los Angeles Chargers (Last week: 9)

Overall record: 0-1 | Last week: Chargers lost 36-34 vs. Miami Dolphins

Colin's thoughts: "I think their coach is over his head. They're 0-2 in their last two games despite zero giveaways and seven takeaways. That is an alarming sign. Their defense is 29th [in] scoring and 27th total in the Brandon Staley era, and they spend more money than anybody on defense. They may have the wrong coach."

Up next: Chargers @ Titans (1 p.m. ET)

8. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 6)

Overall record: 1-0 | Last week: Jaguars won 31-21 @ Indianapolis Colts

Colin's thoughts: "Jacksonville didn't play particularly well. But Trevor Lawrence throwing the ball downfield, this is what he does: 9-for-13 with a 150 passer rating. With Calvin Ridley, they're going to go over the top a lot. … Calvin Ridley changes this offense."

Up next: Jaguars vs. Chiefs (1 p.m. ET)

Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma recap the Jacksonville Jaguars' 31-21 win over the Indianapolis Colts

7. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 10)

Overall record: 1-0 | Last week: Ravens won 25-9 vs. Houston Texans

Colin's thoughts: "What was my concern about Baltimore before the season started? Why did I have them missing the playoffs? Because most of its good players have an injury history. What do you know, J.K. Dobbins is out for the year. Ronnie Stanley is hurt. Now, Tyler Linderbaum, an excellent young center, is banged up. … They're going to win a lot of games, but my concern is their injury history, and it's already the injury bug is already struck."

Up next: Ravens @ Bengals (1 p.m. ET)

6. Detroit Lions (Last week: Unranked)

Overall record: 1-0 | Last week: Lions won 21-20 @ Kansas City Chiefs

Colin's thoughts: "[The Lions are] 9-2 over their last 11 games. It's a good football team with a great offensive line. Jared Goff has 359 straight passes without an interception, the third-longest in league history. They held Patrick Mahomes to a 54% completion percentage. They've got a real pass rush."

Up next: Lions vs. Seahawks (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app)

Dave Helman reacts to Jared Goff, Detroit Lions' STUNNING win over Chiefs

5. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 2)

Overall record: 1-0 | Last week: Chiefs lost 21-20 vs. Detroit Lions

Colin's thoughts: "Kansas City may have lost but Travis Kelce was a huge factor. Listen, here's the good news for Kansas City: Mahomes, with Kelce, they'll be great, and their defense is young and spectacularly fast. This could be the best defense in the Mahomes era. But I do worry that if you can take out Kelce — I don't trust Kadarius Toney. They're really young and unproven at wide receiver, really young. I think the defense you got to feel great about it."

Up next: Chiefs @ Jaguars (1 p.m. ET)

4. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 3)

Overall record: 1-0 | Last week: Eagles won 25-20 @ New England Patriots

Colin's thoughts: "Philadelphia didn't blow me away in Week 1. Jalen Hurts is 18-1 and in his last 19 starts. But they were outscored 20-9 in the final three quarters and I think losing Shane Steichen changes their offense. Look at Josh Allen without Brian Daboll, he's got 20 turnovers. He's not the same guy. … Jalen Hurts is not going to put up last year's numbers, but they're very, very good."

Up next: Eagles vs. Vikings (8:15 p.m. ET on Thursday)

3. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 8)

Overall record: 1-0 | Last week: Cowboys won 40-0 vs. New York Giants

Colin's thoughts: "I saw what I saw, 40-0. The bottom line here is they're 11-1 in their last 12 games against the Giants. So this was a little bit of the bigm cool kid in the playground beating up on the small, defenseless kid. They just have a major matchup advantage over the Giants."

Up next: Cowboys vs. Jets (4:25 p.m. ET)

Dave Helman discusses Dak Prescott, Cowboys' defense in CRUSHING win over Giants

2. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 7)

Overall record: 1-0 | Last week: Dolphins won 36-34 vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Colin's thoughts: "Five hundred-plus total yards on the road. And by the way, big plays: Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL despite not having a big arm with 10.4 yards per attempt. This offense was spectacular. Spectacular. And they did it without their left tackle. It's only going to get better. I worry about this team down the stretch. But on Week 1 of the Herd Hierarchy, they blew me away."

Up next: Dolphins @ Patriots (8:20 p.m. ET)

1. San Francisco 49ers

Overall record: 1-0 | Last week: 49ers won 30-7 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Colin's thoughts: "Can we be honest? Brock Purdy is pretty good. It's not great. Nobody's saying top 10, But the kid's more athletic than I give him credit for. He led them on six scoring drives. Christian McCaffrey was a monster. Christian McCaffrey is insane. I don't even know what the comp is. He could be a wide receiver in the league. He's a running back. Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, the best left tackle in football, and Brock Purdy is not just capable and coachable. Like I said, he's better than that."

Up next: 49ers @ Rams (4:05 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app)

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