Power Rankings (Week 10)

(Change from last week shown in parentheses)

1. Steelers (-): It wasn’t pretty but the Steelers remain undefeated after narrowly escaping with a victory over the Cowboys. There’s going to be some of these lackluster games throughout a season for any great team, so coming out of it with a victory keeps them atop the power rankings this week.
2. Chiefs (-): Much like the Steelers, the Chiefs won in disappointing fashion this week to a team they may have simply overlooked. Mahomes and the air attack looks primed to defend their title. The rest of the team needs work. The running game was nonexistent. The defense couldn’t stop Teddy Bridgewater. Overall, it just wasn’t what you’d expect from this team. That being said, they’re 8–1 going into their bye week. I guess that’s pretty good.
3. Saints (+8): Wow. What a performance on Sunday Night from this Saints team. I can’t remember watching a more dominating effort on both sides of the ball in any game in recent memory. And for it to come against a team like the Buccaneers, in primetime, makes it that much more impressive. After beginning the season 1–2, and dealing with all of the Michael Thomas issues, this team has rattled off 5 straight victories, none more impressive than this past one. The Saints are back to being the class of the NFC and should be viewed as the team to beat in that conference.
4. Bills (+1): I know it came against a Seahawks defense that can’t stop anyone, but Josh Allen has this air attack humming on Sunday. If he and the offense are playing like that, and their defense gets to the level that they’re expected to be at, this team will be a tough out in January. Bills mafia — this is your time.
5. Packers (+1): Say what you want about their game on Thursday Night against a 49ers team with essentially practice squad players suiting up and playing, the Packers did what they were supposed to do. It’s not their fault that’s who their opponent was. The Packers still haven’t shown that they can beat a physical, run-first opponent, but I’m not sure that matters much when looking at the top teams in the NFC this year. The Packers also hold the head to head tiebreaker against the Saints, which could be significant at season’s end.
6. Ravens (+2): They finally did it. They beat a good team. It wasn’t super impressive. This offense and Lamar still don’t look like how they looked last year. But this defense showed it can dominate a game. Defense and a strong running game typically are the ingredients for a team that can make a deep run in the playoffs. That being said, when you’re in the same conference as teams like the Steelers, Chiefs and Bills who have all shown capable of putting up a lot of points very quickly, it’d be nice to see this team be a little more explosive, particularly through the air.
7. Titans (-): The Titans broke their 2-game losing streak with a convincing victory against the plummeting Bears. It was a good win for this team though, despite the final score being relatively close. The Titans defense got back on track and shut the Bears out through 3 quarters. The offense wasn’t great, but it didn’t commit any turnovers against a good defense. The Titans have plenty of opportunities to show us how good they are with a tough upcoming 4 games: vs. Colts, @ Ravens, @ Colts, vs. Browns.
8. Seahawks (-5): I think I may have been fooled by this Seahawks team. All season, I thought they were dominant because of the electric numbers from MVP-frontrunner Russell Wilson and the otherworldly abilities of DK Metcalf. I was ok with ignoring the fact that this defense couldn’t stop anyone because of those two guys. But I can’t ignore it anymore. This defense is awful. Week after week, they’re not showing any signs of improvement, and Russell Wilson can only create so much magic. They have a win over a suddenly impressive Dolphins team this year, but the other 5 victories came against teams all towards the bottom of their divisions. With back-to-back division games coming up for this team, the time is now to figure it out on the defensive side of the ball.
9. Buccaneers (-5): Ugly. That’s the only way to describe how this team has played the past 2 weeks. I gave them the benefit of the doubt last week after being outplayed by the Giants. It was a trap game, a primetime battle against the Saints was coming up, the Giants stink, blah blah blah. No excuses for their performance this week. It was embarrassing. Offensively, defensively, it didn’t matter. They didn’t deserve to be on the same field as the Saints on Sunday night. The only glimmer of hope that fans of this team should have is that they do have weapons upon weapons in every position group. I’m sure it’ll look better as Tom Brady and Antonio Brown get acclimated with each other, but it better happen fast.
10. Dolphins (+4): Tua — more like two-o, as in 2–0… Bad puns aside, how about this Dolphins team? After starting the season 0–2, they’ve now won 5 of their last 6, including 4 straight, with 3 of those wins coming against the supposed powerhouse NFC West division. This team has a very good defense, a young and exciting QB, and enough weapons on offense to actually make a run at the playoffs in the AFC. This may be the biggest surprise team in the NFL this year.
11. Colts (-2): The Colts had an opportunity this week to really make a statement that they belonged in the elite tier of teams. They failed to take advantage of that opportunity. Their defense is very good. They held the Ravens to just 266 total yards. But their offense isn’t dynamic enough to really scare good teams. With limited weapons on the outside and a QB who is as stationary as they come, this elite offensive line and solid ground game can only do so much. They might be a playoff team, but it’s tough to see them going far.
12. Raiders (+1): Talk about a whirlwind of emotions. In a tough division battle, the Raiders escaped on the positive end of an overturned would-be game-winning touchdown with 0 seconds left on the clock. It wasn’t the best game ever played — they were nearly doubled in passing yards in the game. But they ran the ball extremely well, only committed 2 penalties in the game, and won a division game on the road. At 5–3 halfway through the season, Raiders fans should be happy with where this team is at.
13. Rams (-1): The Rams bye week went about as well as they could’ve hoped for. The other 3 teams in the NFC West all lost. The other 4 teams closest in the NFC wild card race also all lost (Buccaneers, Bears, Lions, Panthers). That had to help them deal with the extra week to think about their disappointing loss from the previous week.
14. Browns (+1): The Browns are eager to get back on the field following their loss two weeks ago to the Raiders. Out of their bye, they’ll have 3 games against sub-500 teams. If they handle their business, they’ll be in a great spot as December rolls around.
15. Cardinals (-5): With the Seahawks losing in the early slate of games, the Cardinals kicked off their game with a chance at finishing Sunday in first place in the NFC West. They failed to capitalize on that opportunity. It was such an exciting game — Kyler and Tua going back and forth the whole game. Ultimately, they lost the turnover battle and couldn’t get a stop in the red zone defensively. In a close game, that made the difference. Still, this is a good, exciting football team that’ll find itself playing meaningful football games into December and likely beyond.
16. Panthers (+3): What a performance by this team. Riding a 3-game losing streak coming into this week, all but extinguishing the excitement from their early season success, few gave them a prayer against the defending Super Bowl champs. They were a few yards to the right on a 67-yard field goal away from pulling off the upset. CMC is back which is good news for them and their fans, along with fantasy football owners. They’ll compete each week for sure.
17. Vikings (+5): Don’t look now, but following their 1–5 start to the season, the Vikings have won 2 straight division games and have a very winnable upcoming 4 game slate. Dalvin Cook had a down week following last week’s 4 TD, 226 yard performance. This week he only had 2 TDs to go along with 252 yards. His ability alone gives this team hope as they attempt to crawl back into contention.
18. Bears (-2): Held without a point until the 4th quarter, and without a touchdown until 5 minutes left in the game, the struggles on offense continue for this team. It’s painful to watch at times. There’s simply no spark, no creativity, no big plays made. It was very obvious when they were 5–1 that they were not good enough to be a 5–1 football team. Now at 5–4, I’m not sure they’re even good enough to be a 5–4 football team.
19. 49ers (-2): Not much to say about this team this week, considering the quantity and quality of players who were forced to miss their game on Thursday night. Injuries have been the story all year for this team. Despite a stable of running backs that have performed well and great coaching, it doesn’t look good for the defending NFC champs.
20. Eagles (+1): The division leading Eagles got a scare during their bye week with the Cowboys taking the Steelers to the brink. Ultimately however, the NFC East is still theirs to lose. Out of the bye they face the Giants fresh off of their victory against the Football Team.
21. Falcons (+3): Winners of 3 of their last 4, the Falcons are proving correct those who said they were much better than their 0–5 record to begin the season said they were. They may not compete for the playoffs, but they won’t be a layup win for anyone either the rest of the season.
22. Chargers (-2): If you’re one of those fans who want your team to play just well enough to get you excited about its potential, but ultimately lose the game to improve your draft spot, then you want to be a Chargers fan this year. This week was the second straight week where the Chargers were on the losing end of a last second play. This week, they actually celebrated what they thought was a game-winning TD as the clock expired, only to have that call correctly overturned upon replay review. Despite their 2–6 record, I don’t know if anyone is confident going up against this team.
23. Lions (-5): Remember 2 weeks ago when the Lions were winners of 3 out of 4 games, back at .500 on the season, and feeling good about their playoff chances? Well that’s over with. This team put up an absolute dud for the second straight week and showed they’re the same old Lions. Awful coaching, injuries to top players, dropped balls, and desperate QB play all contributed to this one. At 3–5 and with a very winnable 4 game stretch upcoming, it’s not officially over yet for this team. But they have no more margin for error. That’s for sure.
24. Bengals (-1): The Bengals got to enjoy their impressive victory over the Titans for an extra week as they had their bye this week. Up next: the undefeated Steelers fresh off of a wake-up call game from the Cowboys. It’ll be a nice test for Joe Burrow and this young team.
25. Giants (+1): It was a wire to wire victory for the Giants team this week. This was their second win of the season, both coming against the Washington Football Team. This team doesn’t have the talent to make any sort of a run, but they do appear to be very well-coached and play very hard. Not only that, but they’re getting very used to playing close games. Their last 5 games have been separated by a total of 10 points (they’ve won 2 of them). That’s a pretty crazy stat.
26. Texans (+3): Aided by a blatantly missed delay of game call on a 77 yard TD pass at a big spot in the 3rd quarter, the Texans grabbed their second win of the season. It wasn’t all that impressive — they allowed Jake Luton to throw for 304 yards, but they came away with a division victory on the road, so give them credit.
27. Broncos (-2): The Broncos had an opportunity against a beatable Falcons team to get back to .500 on the season and stay in the playoff race. They failed to capitalize. Up next for them is a brutal stretch of games against 4 teams all with winning records. It doesn’t look like this team will be playing meaningful December football.
28. Patriots (-1): I’ll start with the positives. The Patriots won a division game on the road this week. They didn’t turn the ball over. Cam Newton had an efficient game through the air and ran it in for a TD twice in the red zone. Now the negatives. They were dominated the entire game by the Jets. Their defense made Joe Flacco look like Joe Cool from 2010 in this one. Luckily for them, the Jets remembered they were the Jets at the end of the game to give them their 3rd win of the season.
29. Cowboys (+1): It was quite the impressive showing by this Cowboys team against the Steelers this week. They stifled the Steelers ground attack. They ran the ball efficiently themselves. And they made the Steelers sweat until the very last play. This is the second straight week where this team showed that they’re not ready to pack it in for the season yet.
30. Football Team (-2): The Football Team wasted a good opportunity to stay attached to the Eagles atop the NFC East. However, with a fairly easy upcoming 3 game stretch, this team could get on a run to at least make their December games meaningful. Also, seeing Alex Smith throw for 300+ yards was just awesome. I don’t even care that he threw 3 interceptions. With Kyle Allen out and Smith entrenched as the starter for the foreseeable future, the Comeback Player of the Year Award is officially spoken for.
31. Jaguars (-): The Minshew-less Jaguars competed. They gave the Texans everything they had. But they lost. It looks like the race for the top pick in the draft is officially a 2-team race.
32. Jets (-): The Jets were very impressive on Monday Night… for 3.5 quarters. Offensively, they moved the ball at will against the Patriots. Flacco was fantastic. The ground game was good enough. Defensively, despite being on the field for the entire second half, they held tough. But the Jets are the Jets. Penalties, turnovers, and questionable play-calling cost them the game late. Classic Jets.