The power rankings usually work one way. One person counts down, everybody else argues. This week the show scrapped that.
Instead they held a draft, with the order decided by a spin of the Price Is Right wheel, and they built the top 10 from one down rather than Rich's usual 10 to one.
The wheel took a while. Colleen spun a 95 on the first try and got the top pick. The second spin produced a 60. TJ drew a 25, demanded a redo on the grounds that somebody had changed the spinning technique mid game, and respun into a 15.
"You get what you get."
Nobody was surprised by the first name off the board.
1. Buffalo Bills. Colleen took them and everyone admitted they would have done the same. Her case was about where Josh Allen did it. He went into Houston against a top ranked defense that sacked him eight times and forced three turnovers the last time, an abject disaster, and looked delighted to be back there. Buffalo looked flawless. Greg Rousseau was on it, and the DJ Moore addition has already paid. The one flag she raised is a pass rush that could stand to be better, and a defense that did not need to give up that many points.
2. Seattle Seahawks. The next pick went to respecting the champs despite an unlovely Week 1. The defense is still top flight, the run game still works even with the rookie back not fully going, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba went into takeover mode and reminded everyone why he is the reigning offensive player of the year, including a huge fourth down play. The Sam Darnold situation is the wrinkle. It is a soft tissue glute injury, likely two to four weeks, maybe into October, and crucially not a season ender. Drew Lock is a steady enough hand to hold the NFC West in the meantime.
3. San Francisco 49ers. TJ went here against his own wishes and announced as much.
"I don't like this team. Everybody knows that. But I'm a professional."
The Niners went down under and outclassed the Rams, and TJ thinks the discourse around Brock Purdy needs to be retired entirely. Forget Mr. Irrelevant. This is a legitimate top NFL quarterback. Mike Evans will keep doing Mike Evans things, catching first downs and touchdowns and being a red zone nightmare.
Asked to name his least favorite player on that defense, TJ passed on the obvious answer.
"Not Nick Bosa. He's got hair like me."
It is Fred Warner, who is enormously likable right up until he is playing the Cowboys.
4. Baltimore Ravens. Colleen came back with a genuinely remarkable stat. For the first time in the franchise's 31 year history, the Ravens had a 300 yard passer, a 150 yard receiver and a 100 yard rusher in the same game. Lamar Jackson, Zay Flowers and Derrick Henry, with the caveat that Flowers left the game.
She is sold on what Declan Doyle is building, believes it will maximize Jackson's talents by playing him under center more, and thinks that unlocks a level that should scare the rest of the AFC.
Asked whether that game said more about the Ravens or the Colts, she stayed on Baltimore, though she admitted Jonathan Taylor looked terrific and that she expected more from Indianapolis. Anyone who loves running backs was told to go rewatch it.
5. Kansas City Chiefs. Dedicated to Eric Stonestreet, and delivered with some surprise. Patrick Mahomes did not complete a pass more than six yards downfield and it did not matter, because Kenneth Walker turned in the number one running back performance of the week.
"That was an absolute punking that Kansas City laid on Denver."
The follow up question was when Kansas City last had a legitimate consistent running game. The answer took a minute and landed on Kareem Hunt's rookie season, with Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes invoked from further back.
6. Chicago Bears. TJ's pick, and he sourced it. He is in a group chat with two friends, and the text that arrived after the game read that it appears we have an offense. The correction came immediately from the other friend: not just an offense, the offense.
Everybody gets a touchdown in this Ben Johnson offense. Chicago told everyone the plan was to come out and stomp people, and then did exactly that.
The fantasy consequences were unavoidable. One person has Caleb Williams in his main league and is thrilled. Another had to play against him last week and is not.
7. Los Angeles Rams. Colleen took the first 0-1 team and made a point of it, refusing to be pigeonholed as a homer by reaching for the Eagles instead.
Her position is that Sean McVay gets a Week 1 mulligan and that this team will be fine by the end of the year, hopefully sooner. There is no pass rush to speak of right now and the whole thing was a tough look.
"That was not them."
The desk approved, on the grounds that a winless team belongs on the list and seven is the right spot. Colleen was informed that this makes her a good person, though not Canadian nice. Philly nice.
8. Houston Texans. The argument here is that giving up 36 points to Josh Allen is not cause for an identity crisis, because Buffalo is going to do that to a lot of teams and Allen is the current MVP front runner.
What matters is that Houston could have won. There was an interception sitting in a defender's hands that would have made them 1-0. The offense put up 31 points, which wins games almost every week in this league, C.J. Stroud's late fumble aside. The yardage and the points look like a one off against a quarterback at his peak.
The Bengals are up next, which everyone agreed is a spicy game Houston cannot afford to drop.
9. Jacksonville Jaguars. TJ's pick came with a story. This week is the anniversary of his move to Los Angeles, and the first car he bought here was a 1985 sky blue Jaguar.
The football reason is an admission. He never thought Trevor Lawrence was as good as everyone else did. Not hate, he clarified, just doubt. The end of last season and the start of this one have changed his mind.
Jacksonville was surgical against Cleveland. Make your jokes about the opponent, but Parker Washington and the rest took care of business.
"I'm happy to say that I was wrong about Trevor Lawrence."
The room treated that as genuine growth, in real time, and said so.
10. Philadelphia Eagles. Colleen brought it home with a go birds and a clear eyed assessment. Philadelphia let a far less talented Washington team hang around far too long. Jalen Hurts and the offense had no rhythm and looked sloppy.
They also won, and it was a division win, which is worth a great deal in January. Tennessee is next, and they should be 2-0.
That prompted a question nobody had the answer to, so they asked the internet. Teams that start 2-0 make the playoffs 64 percent of the time.
Good enough.
The one regret was scope. Somebody floated doing all 32 teams, and the response was that it would take an hour and be worth every minute. A bottom 10 was discussed as a compromise.
Watch the full interview on The Rich Eisen Show, streaming live on Disney+ weekdays Noon-3PM ET.
Adapted from the original segment on The Rich Eisen Show. How we cover the show.