This was by far the most difficult week yet this season for power rankings. The top 12 teams all lost or didn’t look very convincing (besides the No. 1 team) and there’s basically a case to be made for about 10 teams to be in the Super Bowl at this point in the season.
Parity in the NFL is at an all-time high, and it’s reflected in this week’s rankings.
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 32)
Nothing new from the Bucs this week. They’ve scored just 30 combined points in their past two games, and the defense is possibly one of the three worst, if not the worst, unit in the league.
31. Tennessee Titans (LW: 30)
The Titans are scoring the third fewest points per game of anyone in the league and are allowing the 10th most. This entire team is just underwhelming.
30. New York Jets (LW: 28)
I know it seems weird to have the Raiders ahead of the Jets and Jaguars here, but in a head-to-head matchup, I like the Raiders over both of these teams. The Jets can’t seem to get any quarterback to stick, and although Michael Vick is starting, it certainly doesn’t seem like he wants to be on the field. New York’s secondary is also the worst in the league, hands-down.
29. Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 29)
Jacksonville has the worst point differential of anyone in the league, and six of their last eight games are against teams with a record of .500 or better. The Jaguars are on the right track for the long haul, but in the interim, there’s no reason to be excited about them.
28. Oakland Raiders (LW: 31)
With Oakland’s upcoming schedule (Seahawks, Broncos and Chiefs twice each, etc.) there’s a decent chance it doesn’t win a game all season. Still, there’s at least more to look forward to about this team. Derek Carr has been protected well all year by his offensive line, and were it not for C.J. Mosley, Khalil Mack could be the Defensive Rookie of the Year.
27. Minnesota Vikings (LW: 26)
There’s a lot to like about this Vikings team: Jerick McKinnon is adjusting nicely to the NFL game after spending his college career as a quarterback, Anthony Barr is spending just his third year as a linebacker and Cordarrelle Patterson is capable of doing Cordarrelle Patterson things. However, they just haven’t been able to put all the pieces together, and their only three wins this season have come against teams who are currently have losing records.
26. St. Louis Rams (LW: 23)
After being handled by the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend, the Rams slipped back down the rankings again. The rushing game is a log jam right now, and the secondary hasn’t been able to stop anyone. They also face the 49ers, Cardinals, Broncos and Chargers in consecutive games now, which will probably lead to four more losses.
25. Atlanta Falcons (LW: 27)
For at least one half of their game overseas against the Lions, the Falcons showed that they can be a good team. Unfortunately, the protection for Matt Ryan didn’t hold up in the second half, and Mike Smith possibly coached himself out of a job for next year. Still, the strong performance in the first half and the offensive upside put Falcons over the other teams that lost this weekend.
24. Houston Texans (LW: 25)
On the surface, a 4-4 record for Houston certainly looks worthy of being in the 20/21 range. However, those four wins have come against the Redskins, Raiders, Bills and Titans, who have just nine wins between the four of them. Ryan Fitzpatrick simply isn’t good enough to keep up with better teams.
23. Chicago Bears (LW: 16)
Chicago plummets this week, which probably means I had them too high last week, but I’m certainly making up for it now. The Bears are down to their third strings almost everywhere on the defense, which is their main problem. Jay Cutler has taken a lot of heat for his turnovers, as he should, but he has to take risks in games when Chicago is trailing by 14 points all the time. Hopefully the bye week allows them to get healthier.
22. Washington Redskins (LW: 24)
I really can’t wait for the inevitable calls that are going to flood D.C. sports talk radio this week making a case for Colt McCoy over Robert Griffin III. All the credit goes to the defense for the Monday night victory. Bashaud Breeland allowed just five receptions on 11 targets, and E.J. Biggers only allowed 15 total receiving yards on 20 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
21. New York Giants (LW: 21)
The Giants remain stagnant after a bye week. No team played well enough to jump over them, but facing a tough Colts team this weekend, the Giants will likely drop a few spots next week.
20. Buffalo Bills (LW: 22)
Quick, name five quarterbacks who have a quarterback rating of 104, has thrown just three interceptions, and has averaged over eight yards per attempt. Would Kyle Orton be one of the guys you’d name? Probably not. The Bills just don’t have enough at other positions to make them a playoff team, but they’ll likely play spoiler for someone at the end of this season and ruin someone else’s postseason hopes.
19. Carolina Panthers (LW: 17)
Who wants to win the NFC South this year? Matt Ryan? How about you, Cam Newton? Bueller? Somehow, the Panthers are first in their division with a losing record, and I don’t feel confident about anyone taking ahold of it anytime soon, including the Panthers. Their defense has been effective, but the offensive line is the worst in the league in pass blocking, per Pro Football Focus, which has turned Newton into a constantly hurried quarterback.
18. New Orleans Saints (LW: 20)
Speaking of the NFC South, the Saints get a slight boost this week from Carolina’s loss and their win at home. Is is shocking to anyone that New Orleans won at home? No. But getting Mark Ingram back certainly seemed to help. No matter what the offense puts together, though, the defense is going to hold them back.
17. Cleveland Browns (LW: 19)
Cleveland’s win over the Raiders certainly wasn’t incredibly convincing, but Brian Hoyer and the defense looked good enough to give the Browns hope of at least being slightly competitive in the AFC North. If Cleveland beats Tampa Bay this weekend (which it should), next Thursday night’s game between the Browns and Bengals could be one of the most meaningful matchups between the two teams since the Browns returned to Cleveland.
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 18)
Do I feel confident that Pittsburgh can keep up this offensive momentum moving forward? Absolutely not. After all, this was team that lost to the Buccaneers and almost lost to the Jaguars. But for the time being, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and the rest of this offense deserves some serious credit.
15. Miami Dolphins (LW: 15)
As is customary for the Dolphins in the past few seasons, they’ll be competitive up until the last two or three weeks of the season, when they’ll inevitably lose winnable games and drop out of the playoff race. But for now, Miami should be recognized for rushing for the sixth most yards per game and having the eighth best scoring defense.
14. San Francisco 49ers (LW: 13)
The Cardinals are looking like they could run away with the NFC West, leaving San Francisco and Seattle to fight it out for a Wild Card spot. Right now, I like Seattle in that battle. The bye week should have allowed the 49ers to get some injured guys back, but on the season, they have a negative point differential and are just 19th in points per game.
13. Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 14)
Were it not for the awful game in Week 1 against the Titans, the Chiefs would be 5-2 right now. Their two other losses have come against the 49ers and Broncos (both teams that are in the top 14 this week) and they have three wins against the Patriots, Dolphins and Chargers (all in the top 15).
12. Baltimore Ravens (LW: 7)
For as good as the defense has been this season, Baltimore’s offense has been wildly inconsistent. Joe Flacco has the fourth most drops from his receiver of any quarterback in the league, and Torrey Smith is tied for the sixth most drops of any receiver, per PFF. There’s no continuity in the passing game on a weekly basis and now face tough games against the Steelers, Saints and Chargers in three of their next four games.
11. San Diego Chargers (LW: 5)
The Chargers three losses this season have come against the Cardinals, Broncos and Chiefs. They play in a very tough division, and now get a break with three straight games against the Dolphins, Raiders and Rams. There’s a real chance that San Diego is 8-3 by Week 13.
10. Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 6)
Nick Foles is tied for the fourth most pass attempts of any quarterback, even more than Jay Cutler and Peyton Manning, while LeSean McCoy has averaged just 3.7 yards per carry. Philly is relying too much on the passing game right now, and need to find a more balanced approach if it wants to pass the Cowboys in the NFC East.
9. Indianapolis Colts (LW: 4)
It may seem extreme for the Colts to slide five spots after just one loss, but Vontae Davis was injured in the loss, which just compounds on the Steelers throwing it all over Indianapolis. Davis was allowing the second lowest quarterback rating of any corner that had played at least 50 percent of his team’s snaps and had two interceptions. Even if he just misses a game or two, it’d be a huge blow to the Colts.
8. Seattle Seahawks (LW: 10)
As long as Russell Wilson is healthy, I have faith in the Seahawks. Wilson has won some games single-handedly for Seattle this season, and Marshawn Lynch has been more involved in the offense than people seem to want to realize. The Seahawks, while they may not make the NFC Championship game, will still be competitive all year.
7. Dallas Cowboys (LW: 3)
If Tony Romo’s back continues to be an issue, the Cowboys are in serious trouble. However, I’ll assume for now that Romo will be fine and that the loss to Washington was just a fluke thing.
6. Green Bay Packers (LW: 2)
Like I said for the Saints, Green Bay’s Sunday night loss certainly isn’t shocking. Aaron Rodgers’ potential hamstring injury is the bigger story. The injury, or tweak, definitely swung the game in New Orleans’ favor. If it’s a problem in future, the Packers will have a tough go of it.
5. Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 12)
I’m really interested to see what the Bengals do with A.J. Green back. The offense has been underwhelming for the most part, but have now swept the Ravens and are in place to win the AFC North. Five might be too high for these guys, but in a strange week where the Cowboys, Packers, Colts and Eagles all lost, it’s only fair to move the team that won this week up a few spots.
4. Detroit Lions (LW: 8)
The Lions probably didn’t deserve to beat the Falcons in London, but they’re now 6-2 all of a sudden. Detroit still has the best scoring defense in the league, and they’ve been winning games without Reggie Bush and Calvin Johnson. When those guys come back, the Lions are going to be a serious force.
3. New England Patriots (LW: 11)
If I learn one thing from this football season, it’s that I will never again count out Tom Brady. Now that Rob Gronkowski is back to 100 percent, or close to it, the offense has been humming along. The defense has also been strong, holding opponents to 22.1 points per game and they’ve put the Patriots first in turnover differential.
2. Arizona Cardinals (LW: 9)
There’s only two one-loss teams left in the league, and they’re at the top of the rankings this week. The Coach of the Year award should be going to the entire Cardinals coaching staff for the work they’ve done this year, especially with all of the injuries. John Brown seems to be quite the talent at receiver, and Larry Fitzgerald is finding his way back into the offense now. Put all of that together, and you’ve got the No. 2 team in the league.
1. Denver Broncos (LW: 1)
What were you expecting? The Broncos are the easy favorite to win the Super Bowl right now. They have the sixth best scoring defense and the best scoring offense, and the offense just seems to be getting better each week. I don’t see the Broncos falling out of this top spot for a while.