NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Updated Standings After Thursday Night Football

The Week 11 edition of Thursday Night Football told a tale of two teams heading in opposite directions and how the meeting of such franchises can impact power rankings. 

There, the Carolina Panthers survived the New Orleans Saints in an NFC showdown, meaning Cam Newton and the Panthers have now potentially saved their season by winning three of four. New Orleans has now dropped two straight, producing a tumble down the rankings.

Here's a look at updated power rankings after the Week 11 opener:

Rank	Team
1	Dallas Cowboys
2	Oakland Raiders
3	Seattle Seahawks
4	New England Patriots
5	Kansas City Chiefs
6	Philadelphia Eagles
7	Atlanta Falcons
8	Denver Broncos
9	New York Giants
10	Baltimore Ravens
11	Miami Dolphins
12	Pittsburgh Steelers
13	Detroit Lions
14	Washington
15	Arizona Cardinals
16	Carolina Panthers
17	San Diego Chargers
18	Buffalo Bills
19	Houston Texans
20	Tennessee Titans
21	Minnesota Vikings
22	Green Bay Packers
23	Indianapolis Colts
24	Cincinnati Bengals
25	New Orleans Saints
26	Los Angeles Rams
27	New York Jets
28	San Francisco 49ers
29	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30	Chicago Bears
31	Jacksonville Jaguars
32	Cleveland Browns

New Orleans had previously flirted with a serious climb, especially after upsetting the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8. But needing 17 fourth-quarter points just to take a 23-20 loss to a team the Saints had already beat once this year has obvious implications on the rankings.

Now it's Newton and the Panthers clawing back up the ranks—and anything is possible in the NFC South, where three teams boast four wins behind the 6-4 Atlanta Falcons.

After the Thursday game featuring late action, the schedule gives way to a weekend slate with plenty at stake. Here are two teams with the most to win or lose from a rankings perspective.

Philadelphia Eagles

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It's time to find out if the Philadelphia Eagles are for real.

The Eagles won three games to start the season before a bye. Two of those came against miserable Cleveland and Chicago teams. Against an uptick in competition and with the NFL figuring out this Carson Wentz rookie is pretty good, the Eagles have since gone 2-4.

The good news? Philadelphia went out and upset the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10, 24-15. The defense stunted Matt Ryan, holding him to one touchdown and an interception. Wentz didn't tally a number in either column, but he did get 109 yards and two scores from Ryan Mathews.

Impressive, but now the Eagles have to bring the same physical presence to a place they simply haven't found much success—the road. Sitting on a 1-4 record away from home this year, the Eagles have to dig deep and best the Seattle Seahawks.

"I think the biggest thing is you need to communicate a lot. You need to over-communicate," Wentz said, according to STATS LLC (via ESPN.com). "You need to work on hand signals both with the O-linemen and the receivers. You've got to work through a lot of those things."

Seattle, the 6-2-1 team coming off a road win against the New England Patriots and boasting a defense allowing 17.6 points and 96.8 rushing yards per game.

Last in the NFC East, the Eagles have much at stake in Week 11. An ability to match Seattle's physicality and get a shocking road win catapults them right back up the power rankings. A loss brings the slow rise after the Atlanta win to a halt, then puts the ride in reverse.

Green Bay Packers

This is it for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

Week 11 decides the season for a Packers team sitting third in the NFC North at 4-5 and losers of three in a row.

From a power-rankings standpoint, it was easy to forgive a loss to Atlanta in Week 8. Even a loss to the Indianapolis Colts the week after isn't overwhelming given the risks of going against a player such as Andrew Luck. 

Losing to the Tennessee Titans in 47-25 fashion? Crushing.

Green Bay didn't just lose, either. It coughed up four touchdown passes to Marcus Mariota, gave up 154 yards and a score on the ground and let Rodgers take five sacks while he tossed a pair of touchdowns and interceptions.

How bad was the loss? Digest this nugget by ESPN Stats & Info:

Now the Packers have to take on a Washington Redskins team boasting a defense with 25 sacks while allowing only 23.2 points per game. The offense isn't overly impressive, but this is another road game for the Packers, the second of three in a row.

If the receivers around Rodgers can't make an impact and the returning James Stark doesn't have a solid day, it is hard to see how the Packers turn the ship around. A loss dooms the season considering the team still has to play Philadelphia, Seattle and three more divisional games.

How Rodgers and the Packers respond with their backs to the wall makes for one of the most interesting storylines around Week 11.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.