Post-Week 10 Power Rankings

1 – Packers (8-2) 1

The Packers are back on top, and for good reason. They didn’t have their flashiest game offensively against a bad Seahawks defense, but this team has shown us time and time again that they don’t need to do all that on offense to win. That’s thanks to having what I believe is the NFL’s best defense. Even without Jaire Alexander and ZaDarius Smith, this defense has been sensational in every facet. Their corners have been lockdown, their front seven has been ferocious, they don’t let you move the ball, and they rip it away from you whenever they please. The story of this team is not Aaron Rodgers or Davante Adams. It is that defense that Aaron has longed for for so long now, and if they keep up this level of play with reinforcements on the way, I don’t know if any team can slow them down.

2 – Cardinals (8-2) 1

I admittedly have no idea what to do with this team. They looked terrible on Sunday. Do I give them a pass since they were rolling out the B team? Or do I punish them because I saw that same B team dominate a capable 49ers team just last week? I just don’t know. I’m choosing the former because that was the first time the Cardinals didn’t look like themselves. As the season gets closer to Thanksgiving, we’re seeing so many great teams lay some duds. Everyone is allowed to do it. Especially if your backups are playing. I know that when this team is fully healthy, they’re arguably the best in football. They just need to hope and pray that they get there fast.

3 – Titans (8-2) 1

For the millionth straight week, I watched the Titans win and scratched my head as to how they did it. Once again, they were outgained and seemingly outplayed. But all this team does is win. Their defense stepped up when necessary, and although it was very close late, they got the stop they needed on the 2-point conversion to come away with a win. I don’t know how much longer they can keep this up for, but as long as they do it, they are firmly in the driver’s seat in the AFC.

4 – Cowboys (7-2) 3

I told you guys not to overreact. Now look at where we are. That being said, I don’t want to overreact in a different way after watching this team blow out the Falcons of all teams, but beating any team that badly is impressive. The offense clearly woke up after last week’s beatdown from the Broncos, and they looked like the Cowboys again. Moreover, their defense came to play and put together what might’ve been their best performance yet. Even the special teams got in on the action. I would love to see the Cowboys do this more consistently against better opposition, but alas. It was just a perfect game from a team that needed it badly, and now seems primed for a second half push at a potential 1 seed.

5 – Bills (6-3) 3

Like the team above them, the Bills woke up in a huge way this week. I understand that they were playing the Jets, but again, any win that huge is impressive. I was concerned with this offense, and they came out and looked like the Bills of October, and even the Bills of 2020. As I’ve said time and time again, Buffalo needs to take advantage of their cupcake schedule and show us that they’re a real contender. If they string together more performances like the one we saw on Sunday, they’ll quickly erase any doubt that may have risen in recent weeks.

6 – Rams (7-3) 1

I don’t know man. I really don’t. I think I have this team a bit high considering their last 2 performances, but I’m still giving them the benefit of the doubt. But man, they need to figure this out. Once again, they were absolutely dominated on both sides of the ball by a team that was simply more physical than they were. San Francisco absolutely bullied this team all game long, and the Rams didn’t look like they wanted to be there. Moreover, Matt Stafford has seemingly lost his touch and can’t stop making bad throws and spoon-feeding turnovers to opposing defenses. I think this week’s bye will help the Rams tremendously as they try to get these moving parts gelled together, and they better hope they get it done. This won’t continue to fly for very long.

7 – Buccaneers (6-3) 4

Something is fundamentally wrong with the Buccaneers right now, and what that is is fairly obvious. They just aren’t playing the guys they want to play. With Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown still out with injury, Tom Brady is clearly uncomfortable, as those guys are really his safety blankets. Granted, I don’t think you should be struggling when you’re throwing to the likes of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but we know the way Brady operates. When he doesn’t have his guys, he struggles. The defense is also still a mess and a conglomerate of moving parts that just aren’t working. There might be too many injuries on that side of the ball to overcome in such a short period of time. In any case, this team just looked flat out bad coming off a bye, and there are only so many excuses you can make for that. Will they turn it around? Probably. Was this a terrible look? Absolutely.

8 – Patriots (6-4) 2

There is no doubt in my mind that the Patriots are the hottest team in the AFC. Hell, they might be the best team in the AFC. Two games down the stretch against the Bills will answer that question for us. When New England isn’t playing their fellow blue team in the division, they are suffocating opponents with their awesome defense and picking them apart with their efficient but deadly offense. Mac Jones is still getting better by the week, and this offense has found itself with a plethora of playmakers that aren’t the flashiest, but simply get the job done. The “Patriot Way” is truly back with this team, and it’s pretty cool to watch. If they can keep this up down the stretch, this team genuinely has a chance at making a real run to the Super Bowl. Just when we thought we got rid of them.

9 – Ravens (6-3) 3

I truly can’t explain what happened to this team on Thursday night. Their defense wasn’t the problem for once. It was the offense that couldn’t get a single thing going from start to finish. That happens to everyone, but against the Dolphins? This is a team that couldn’t stop the Jaguars. What gives? I just don’t know. I trust Lamar Jackson and this offense enough to predict that we won’t see a performance that poor again, but I am officially concerned. This team needs to clean up its act in a hyper-competitive division and conference that can only send 7 teams to the playoffs.

10 – Chiefs (6-4) 7

This is a huge jump for a team that I’ve been very low on for a while now, so let me clear something up. This has less to do with what I think about the Chiefs and more to do with how the teams in this range have performed in the last week or so. That being said, I was still wildly impressed with KC on Sunday. Patrick Mahomes put together his first real Mahomes performance in a brilliant 406 yard 5 touchdown game. This offense was back to its old ways, getting everyone involved all over the field, and it was awesome to watch. Perhaps more impressive was their defense, which actually played defense for once. The Raiders are dealing with a lot right now, and did just lose to the Giants, but they have plenty of weapons, and they were all shut down against this defense. I don’t know if they can string together more performances like this, but I hope they can. I don’t want to be premature, but the Chiefs might be back.

11 – Colts (5-5) 3

It’s no secret that I really like the way this team plays. I love Jonathan Taylor and this defense, but I still have some concerns. The main one is Carson Wentz, who is starting to get a little more careless with the ball as the season progresses. The other one is the inability to close out games. This team plays bad teams close too much for my liking, but that might just be natural when you’re turning your season around. In any case, the Colts are back to .500 and have everything in front of them to make a potential playoff push. This week’s contest with the Bills will tell us a lot about whether this team is a playoff contender or pretender.

12 – Chargers (5-4) 3

It is getting really hard to keep any faith in this team. Seemingly every other week, they just lay down and die. Their offense completely disappears and their defense turns into Swiss cheese. This was the case on Sunday against a reeling Vikings team. I thought the game would be close, not a no-contest. Yes, the Chargers kept it close on the scoreboard, but anyone who watched the game knows they were never truly in it. They just never felt in it. They were outgained by 132 yards as Justin Herbert failed to reach 200 yards against a defense that Cooper Rush dotted up. The run game was also nonexistent once again. Meanwhile the defense got gashed all over the field for the millionth time this season. It’s just getting tiring watching this team be so inconsistent. Lord knows if they’ll find their groove at all in the back half of the season.

13 – Bengals (5-4)

I hope the Bengals made good use of their bye week. They have a lot to figure out, and they need to do it quickly in the AFC, especially if they can’t jump back to the top of their division. I know this team has what it takes. I just need to see it.

14 – Steelers (5-3-1) 3

Yes, tying with the winless Lions is extremely embarrassing. But, I will try to be nice to the Steelers. It’s very hard to win games in the NFL against anyone if your starting QB is Mason Rudolph. There is no way the Steelers would have lost that game had Ben Roethlisberger been playing. And at least they can say they didn’t lose to the Lions. The rest of the team did their job outside of a couple ugly turnovers, but it was an ugly game. What did you expect? This team will be fine once they get back healthy, but they need that to happen ASAP in what might be the NFL’s most competitive division.

15 – Saints (5-4)

I feel bad for the Saints. Once a week, one or two teams in the NFL fall victim to disgusting refereeing that undoubtedly changes the outcome of the game. This week, that team was the Saints. Extremely poor defensive penalties ruined any chance this team had of coming back and pulling off the upset of the Titans. Even after all that, they still were a 2-point conversion away from a late tie, but a false start put a fork in their odds. This team is already dealing with injuries out the you-know-what, and it’s not getting better by any means. In many ways, the Saints are the Titans of the NFC. They just don’t have a lot of luck on their side.

16 – Browns (5-5) 4

Is it… is it over with the Browns? This team that I had so much hope for, that looked so good just one week ago. There’s just so much bad to talk about with Cleveland that I almost don’t want to. Is this how it ends? A 38-point loss at the hands of Mac Jones and Rhamondre Stevenson? If so, then this is truly a tragedy. Maybe OBJ wasn’t the problem after all.

17 – Vikings (4-5) 3

The Vikings finally put together a complete performance on Sunday, and I am very pleased about it. I’ve been waiting for this for the entire season, and now that we finally got it, I can be happy with this team for once. Kirk Cousins played a great game, as did Dalvin Cook, and their defense locked down a (sometimes) potent Chargers offense. Can they replicate this more times down the stretch to put themselves in the playoff picture? Probably not. But this is a good step forward for a team that needed it badly.

18 – 49ers (4-5) 5

Like the Vikings, the 49ers put together the performance that I’ve been waiting to see from them all season long this week, and it was beautiful to watch. In primetime against their division rival with all their shiny new toys, the Niners smacked the Rams in the mouth from start to finish, and they did it by sticking to their brand of football. They ran the ball incredibly effectively, were efficient in the passing game, let their playmakers make plays, and their defense slammed the door shut on a reeling LA offense. Jimmy Garoppolo, Deebo Samuel, and even George Kittle all put together masterclasses offensively, and the defense had Matt Stafford looking dazed and confused. The 49ers needed a game like this desperately, as their season depended on it. Now, they find themselves in a position to potentially make a playoff push. Let’s see if they can pull it off.

19 – Eagles (4-6) 2

Once again, I am really impressed with the Philadelphia Eagles. This is honestly one of the most fun young teams to watch in the NFL. For several weeks now, they just make plays on both sides of the ball that you can’t take your eyes off of. Jalen Hurts is turning into a real QB right before our eyes, and Devonta Smith is getting more involved, which is doing wonders for the offense. The defense is also vastly improving as the season progresses, forcing turnovers and making plays left and right. This might not be a playoff team, but they have plenty to feel good about right now. I enjoy watching them every Sunday.

20 – Raiders (5-4) 4

It is very much over for this team. I’ve been ready to stick a fork in them for a minute now, and I’m just going to go ahead and do it. Between the never-ending off-the-field issues and the terrible on-the-field product, there’s just nothing to feel good about with the Raiders. Absolutely nothing. They have looked lifeless in back to back weeks, and I don’t see them finding their pulse anytime soon. They are cooked.

21 – Panthers (5-5) 5

Who would’ve thought that the key to saving the Panthers’ season would be to bring back Cam Newton? Ok, maybe saving is a bit hyperbolic, but the return of Cam clearly did something to this team to help them get things back track. This team played with life that I haven’t seen out of them all season. Cam didn’t even play most of the game, but his presence seemingly did enough to light a fire under this team that has been missing for 9 weeks. My only question is, what happens now? Cam will be the starter moving forward, but will his energy be enough to overcome his potential rust or shortcomings? This is a guy that hasn’t played NFL football in a while and lost his job to a rookie QB. Only time will tell.

22 – Broncos (5-5) 3

The Broncos of this week looked more like the Broncos we’ve seen for so long now. A lifeless team that head-scratchingly has no offense with a defense behind them that is flimsier than a book fair eraser. I wasn’t surprised with what I saw out of this team against Philly. If anything, I was surprised that they were truly that bad. If anything, this team is good at home. Coming to Denver and winning is never easy, but the Eagles made it look seamless. I think that tells us all we need to know about these Denver Broncos.

23 – Seahawks (3-6) 5

Oh, man. That was… oh, man. I don’t know if it was Russell Wilson rushing back from injury, Pete Carroll being a senile old man, or all of the above, but this team is just dreadful. Their defense wasn’t even that big of a problem on Sunday. It was their offense that was abysmal from start to finish to the tune of a whopping 0 points on the scoreboard. It was just embarrassing. Russ played a very poor game in his return from injury, and nobody else on the team picked up the slack. D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are turning invisible right before our eyes, and this defense is still a joke. That’s all this team is. A really bad joke.

24 – Falcons (4-5) 2

The Falcons put on one of the worst performances of the season, but it shouldn’t come as any surprise. This wasn’t even the first time this team didn’t show up to a game this season. However, considering the way they’ve been playing recently, this did come as a shock. I never bought into this team, but I was still surprised to see them play that poorly. They were dominated from start to finish in all 3 phases of the game, and it was never competitive. I would say I don’t expect to see such a lifeless performance again from this team, but these are the Falcons. This is practically the norm.

25 – Bears (3-6) 1

The Bears had Week 10 off, which probably felt nice after last Monday’s heartbreaker. Next up is a very tough matchup with the Ravens, but considering that team’s recent form, perhaps Chicago can find themselves a consolation W.

26 – Washington (3-6) 2

I promise you, nobody on Earth is more surprised with Sunday’s win than I am. I still can’t describe it. To see this team go out and flat out dominate the defending champs from start to finish was something I never would’ve predicted in a million years. The offense was efficient and immaculate in the 4th quarter, and the defense was lockdown all game long, finally looking like their 2020 selves. And while I still don’t think that’s who this team is, I absolutely loved watching it, and I’m hoping they can channel that into something moving forward. This team has lacked a pulse for over a month, so if they can find it and actually look like a team in the back half of the season, I’m all for it.

27 – Giants (3-6) 2

The Giants had a much needed bye week as they continue to get back healthy on offense. Even when that happens, this team won’t amount to much, but at the very least, they should have Saquon Barkley and Kadarius Toney healthy moving forward.

28 – Dolphins (3-7) 2

For the first time all year long, the Dolphins looked like the team we saw at the end of last season. Their offense wasn’t great, but their defense finally stepped up, suffocating the Ravens offense from start to finish in a physical fashion. Their front seven got after the ball, and their secondary made play after play in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. For their sake, I hope Miami can take the momentum from Thursday night and roll with it, because I know this team is far more talented than the way they’ve been playing in 2021.

29 – Jaguars (2-7) 2

The Jags actually managed to keep things close with the Colts, but they simply couldn’t get out of their own way late in the game. It seems like that’s going to be the story of this team moving forward. It’s a solid bunch, and they’ll certainly be competitive. But I just don’t think they have what it takes to win those close games. We can only hope that they’ll get there somewhere down the road.

30 – Lions (0-8-1) 1

Can you believe the Lions haven’t lost in back to back weeks? It’s a miracle! A lot of people thought this team would beat the Steelers, but I think even they’ll tell you that they’ll settle for a tie. You take everything you can get when you’re in a position like the Lions are in. It was an ugly, rainy game that nobody wanted to win. At least this team can say they didn’t lose.

31 – Jets (2-7) 2

Joe Flacco is starting for this team on Sunday. Nothing more needs to be said.

32 – Texans (1-8)

Congrats to the Texans for having a bye week! I’m sure their fans relished in that.

All stats taken from ESPN.