NFL Power Rankings (Week 11)
I can’t remember a season where the NFL had as much parity as it does this season. Maybe that’s recency bias, but there’s no team that anyone can confidently say right now is a true Super Bowl frontrunner. Every “elite” team has had a hiccup, or two or three, throughout this season. And every “awful” team has either annihilated, defeated, or at least battled to the very last second a team that was viewed as far superior.
The Packers are atop my rankings simply because their hiccup was all the way back in Week 1, so I give them the biggest pass. They’ve shown that they can win with their ground game or with their defense this year, which is something Aaron Rodgers has never truly been able to say before. The Bills come in at #2 because I still think they are the cream of the crop in the AFC, where mediocrity reigns supreme. The Cowboys keep soaring up my rankings after bouncing back in a big way this week.
The Rams drop a bit with back to back disastrous performances these past two weeks. This team may be all flash and no substance with teams thinking they can simply physically dominate them. But you also have to realize this past week they played a game with Odell being there for three days, Robert Woods tearing his ACL two days prior to their game, and Desean Jackson leaving the week before. Give that new WR core a little time to gel before giving up on them. The Cardinals put up a total stinker in their second week without Kyler. They need to get healthy, and quickly. The Buccaneers lost their second straight game and have serious concerns of their own. But they do still have Tom Brady.
The Titans keep beating teams with good records. I want to so badly put them in my top tier, but I can’t do it until I know more about Derrick Henry’s injury. Is he done for the year or is there a chance he returns at some point? The answer to that question makes all the difference to me. Are the Chiefs back? They sure looked like it on Sunday Night as they won their third straight, but first one where they actually looked remotely close to how they’ve looked in recent years. I still have my doubts about their offense, but their defense has looked significantly improved in recent weeks. The Ravens had the head-scracther of the week as they looked completely baffled by Miami on Thursday Night. I’ve said all year that I think this team was overrated, but I still give them Super Bowl upside.
The Patriots continue to impress, with Mac Jones looking more in control with each passing week. A QB who can manage the game, a great defense, and a great coaching staff is a winning formula. I can’t figure out the Chargers or the Browns. On paper, these teams look great. But they don’t show it consistently. The Colts won again, but didn’t do so too convincingly against a team they should have. The Saints had a tough loss against a good team on the road, but that doesn’t change the fact that they can win with their QB situation the way it is. The Bengals had a well-timed bye as they’ll try to regroup following a rough couple of weeks against a free-falling Raiders team that looks like a total disaster.
The Vikings continue to confuse with a team loaded with talent, but it’s anyone’s guess how they show up any given Sunday. This week happened to be a good one for them, and in an NFC with 1–2 playoff spots seemingly wide open, they’ll hang around the conversation. The Steelers were outplayed by a winless Detroit team, but remain relevant. And the NFC West has two teams trending in opposite directions. The Seahawks posted a shutout in Russell Wilson’s return and looked miserable in the process. The 49ers looked like the team I expected to see all season for maybe the first time as they physically beat up the Rams.
With the NFC the way it is, the Eagles, Falcons and Panthers are all likely to at least be “bubble” teams in the playoff race, but barring some crazy turn of events, I don’t think they’re talented enough to get there. We’ll see if the Eagles can keep up their impressive run of late, particularly on the ground. We’ll see if Calvin Ridley returns, and if it means anything, for Atlanta. And we’ll see if Cam Newton can make a difference in Carolina. The Broncos couldn’t back up their impressive win from last week as they were dominated this week by a subpar team. The Dolphins finally showed signs of life with their defense looking like many expected it to look all season. The Football Team upset Tampa Bay out of nowhere. Good for them, but they’re not going anywhere. And the Giants and Bears had byes.
The Jaguars have actually battled for consecutive weeks now. Kudos to them. The Texans got a week off, which they probably enjoyed. The Jets, and their fans, wish they had a week off as they were embarrassed once again. This defense is putting up historically bad numbers. And the Lions had their second straight week without a loss, as they battled to the very end to get a tie this week. If only they had a QB or a Kicker who belongs in the NFL, they would’ve cracked the win column.
