When creating the Power Rankings every week, there is largely a pecking order that most teams follow. This year has been especially hard to pick. For example, we have 17 teams in the NFL that currently have either four or five wins this season. In scenarios like this, there is a lot of room for disagreement because many of these 4-5 or 5-4 teams have played each other. So without further ado, here are your week 11 power rankings:
1. Dallas Cowboys (8-1; Last Ranking: 2)
HOW ‘BOUT THEM COWBOYS?! Going into Pittsburgh and winning is a really tough thing to do, but the Cowboys offensive line just proved to be too good at the end of the day. It would be interesting to see what happens if this team were to fall down by 14 or 17 early in a game.
2. Seattle Seahawks (6-2-1; Last Ranking: 5)
For the first time in a long time, NO ONE was picking Seattle to win a game. Coming off Monday Night Football, flying across the country, playing the Pats in Foxboro with New England coming off the bye, all Seattle did was waltz in and show everyone why they are still one the NFL’s premier franchises.
3. New England Patriots (7-2; Last Ranking: 1)
The Patriots are still probably the best team in football…unless you count Seattle. Even though the Pats do not sit atop the Power Rankings, they are still the undisputed Super Bowl favorites. If Brady doesn’t fumble his QB sneak, we might not even be having this conversation.
4. Oakland Raiders (7-2; Last Ranking: 3)
The Raiders enjoyed a bye before heading to Mexico City for MNF against Houston.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (7-2; Last Ranking: 6)
The Chiefs are a really good football team. They don’t do any one thing particularly great, except that they will sack you and turn you over. Their rush defense is fine, their pass defense is good, they have a good rushing attack, and Smith is a solid QB. If you don’t turn it over, they are beatable.
6. Denver Broncos (7-3; Last Ranking: 4)
The Broncos won the game but dropped by two spots. Why? Look no further than the last (important) play of the game where a blocked extra point was returned for a touchdown. This team should not have let this game get this close and the offense is the true issue.
7. New York Giants (6-3; Last Ranking: 11)
Like the Texans below, the Giants aren’t the 7th best team in the NFL. They are 31st in rushing yards, last in sacks, convert 35% of their third downs, and only the Jets and Jaguars have worse turnover differentials. This team is 6-3 because they know how to win games.
8. Houston Texans (6-3; Last Ranking: 9)
Houston might be ranked number 8, but they are not the 8th best team in the NFL. The only reasons they are this high is because of their record. If they played the teams that were ranked anywhere from 9-18, it’s tough to know if they would win.
9. Washington Redskins (5-3-1; Last Ranking: 10)
The Redskins are a team that has won the games it should have, and lost some tough ones too. Kirk Cousins has played well so far, but the real tough part of the schedule is coming. Their next four games: Packers, @Dallas, @Arizona, @Philadelphia.
10. Philadelphia Eagles (5-4; Last Ranking: 17)
The Eagles are another team that has been up and down throughout the season, with wins against Pittsburgh and Atlanta, but a 1-4 stretch in the middle of the season. It doesn’t get any easier: their remaining schedule includes either 2015 playoff teams or teams on track to make the playoffs this year.
11. Atlanta Falcons (6-4; Last Ranking: 7)
After a fairly successful season to this point, the Falcons folded against the Eagles when they had a chance to move to 7-3. Some might say that this is the beginning of their collapse at the second half of the season. They will have to beat Kansas City and Arizona the next two weeks to prove otherwise.
12. Minnesota Vikings (5-4; Last Ranking: 8)
The Vikings are fading and they are fading fast. When Minnesota was winning, Sam Bradford was throwing it an NFL-low 6.4 yards past the line of scrimmage. When you are 5-0, that stat is not a huge issue. When you are 0-4, that stat signals changes might be coming.
13.Baltimore Ravens (5-4; Last Ranking: 16)
It has been an up and down season for Baltimore to say the least. A three game win streak, followed by a four game losing streak, followed by a two game winning streak. After all that, they are sitting atop a weaker AFC North.
14. Detroit Lions (5-4; Last Ranking: 14)
The Lions spent their bye week preparing for a week to welcome the Jags to Detroit.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-5; Last Ranking: 12)
The Steelers were sitting at 4-1 with the number one seed in the AFC. One month later, they are coming off a four game losing streak, the defense has completely fallen apart, and they have no running game to speak of. Combine that with bottom five rankings in sacks and turnover and there are your reasons.
16. Buffalo Bills (4-5; Last Ranking: 15)
The Bills enjoyed a nice bye week and will face the Bengals in Cincy next week.
17. Green Bay Packers (4-5; Last Ranking: 13)
The Packers are in an absolute free fall at the moment and there is plenty of blame to go around. For the game against the Titans, the onus of responsibility goes to the defense. This secondary is banged up right now, and this slide could continue until they get healthy.
18. Arizona Cardinals (4-4-1; Last Ranking: 19)
People are not sure what to think about the Arizona Cardinals. If you look at their roster, you would hope for them to be about 7-2 or 6-3 with the schedule they have had. Instead they sit at 4-4-1 and have a tough schedule going down the stretch.
19. Miami Dolphins (5-4; Last Ranking: 22)
The Dolphins have now won four straight games, and many people will identify Jay Ajayi as the primary reason for this come back. But remember who the Head Coach is in Miami? Adam Gase, aka the quarterback whisper-er. He helped Peyton throw 55 TDs, Jay Cutler look serviceable, and now he’s doing the same with Tannehill.
20. Tennessee Titans (5-5; Last Ranking: 26)
The Titans have now won four of their last six games. In those games, Marcus Mariota has thrown for 17 TDs to only 3 INTs. One year (and and extra half a season) after the 2015 NFL draft, and maybe an argument could be made that Maroita should have been taken #1.
21. Indianapolis Colts (4-5; Last Ranking: 20)
A bye week for the Colts will lead into a home game vs. the red hot Titans next week.
22. Cincinnati Bengals (3-5-1; Last Ranking: 18)
The Bengals are clearly not the same team as last year, and Dalton is showing that he simply could not sustain the success he had last season. While the defense certainly showed up to make plays, it is obvious that the defense is a step behind where they have been the last few seasons.
23. San Diego Chargers (4-6; Last Ranking: 21)
The Chargers are a very, very good 4-6 team that just can’t seem to win games. Coming off a bye next week, they will enter week 12 with nine of their ten games having been decided by 1 possession.
24. New Orleans Saints (4-5; Last Ranking: 24)
New Orleans is a much better team than a lot of people realize. The Saints offense is one of the best in the NFL, and that was on full display as Drew Brees lead NOLA down the field for the winning score…or so they thought. They fly to Carolina for Thursday Night in week 11.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5; Last Ranking: 25)
The Buccaneers are what we like to refer to as “a year away.” The QB is progressing nicely in his second season, they have surrounded him with solid pieces like Mike Evans, and Doug Martin. However, and improvement in the trenches will push this team over the edge.
26. Los Angeles Rams (4-5; Last Ranking: 27)
The Rams are another team that will be perpetually stuck around .500 unless they can find a better QB and OL. The Rams are lucky enough to have franchise pieces on both sides of the ball, but they need to round out their roster so they can be a successful team. Goff will make his first career start this week to try and jumpstart the offense.
27. Carolina Panthers (3-6; Last Ranking: 23)
The Panthers absolutely, 100% blew it against the Chiefs. As this game progressed, we began to see flashes of the old Carolina Panthers. Then in the 4th quarter, the 2016 Panthers came back. This was a great opportunity to get a good win, and get within two games of Atlanta. Nope.
28. New York Jets (3-6; Last Ranking: 28)
The Jets are certainly a much better team than their 3-6 record shows, but their tough schedule from the beginning of the year has demoralized them. Losing in week 17 to miss the playoffs still clearly haunts this team.
29. Chicago Bears (2-7; Last Ranking: 29)
Daaaaaa Bears are another a team towards the bottom of the list that just doesn’t seem to have a lot of talent. Combine it with a suspended Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver, a lackluster defense, four turnovers, 22:00 TOP and you will lost a lot of times.
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7; Last Ranking: 30)
A lot of 2-7 teams don’t have the talent to compete with teams are the top of the rankings. However, the Jaguars are different in a way that they have really good young talent, but that talent is ready quite yet to compete at an NFL level. Soon they will be…
31. San Francisco 49ers (1-8; Last Ranking: 31)
San Francisco has played well, and they have had a couple of close games like this one last week against Arizona. If the 49ers are gonna turn this season around, it looks like having Kaepernick at the helm gives them their best option to win.
32. Cleveland Browns (0-10; Last Ranking: 32)
The Browns simply have a terrible team. Now that is not to say that it is all terrible, but everything never seems together for them. The Browns currently have the #16 offense in the NFL, but they are just too prone to making mistakes that cost them the game.