NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Predicting Post-Monday Night Football Standings
Week 10 won't officially be in the books until the Monday Night Football spectacle between the Panthers and Eagles, but it's never too early to predict how this weekend's action will shake up the league's power rankings.
Surprises weren't exactly the norm throughout Sunday's slate, but upsets are a guarantee in a league built on parity, and this weekend was no exception. A couple of teams that notched those upsets slid up the rankings, while others still have work left to prove themselves.
Let's get right to it and break down some fresh power rankings heading into Week 11.
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32. Oakland Raiders
For the first 25 minutes of game play in the Raiders' meeting with the Broncos, they looked like a team capable of contending on both sides of the ball. Then, Peyton Manning woke up and threw five touchdowns to lead the Broncos to a 41-17 win, resting for much of the fourth quarter.
NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano captured the historical significance:
The Raiders are 0-9, can't run the ball—32nd in the league in run offense—and have serious talent issues at many key positions. The future is getting brighter with young players like quarterback Derek Carr and linebacker Khalil Mack, but 2014 is a lost cause.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars
Any glimpse of promise shown by Blake Bortles, Denard Robinson and the Jaguars offense is being stalemated by a porous secondary and a woeful run defense. Jacksonville has the second-most sacks in the league, but that's about all the 1-9 Jags have going for them this year.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs lost 27-17 at home to Atlanta on Sunday, which was actually a massive improvement from the 56-14 beating the Falcons laid on them in Week 3. The offensive disappearance isn't too unexpected. But head coach Lovie Smith's inability to field a competent secondary—after paying big dollars to free agent Alterraun Verner this offseason—is both alarming and concerning.
29. Tennessee Titans
Even when the Titans play inspired football and execute the game plan like they did Sunday in Baltimore, losses are inevitable. Such is the case with an underperforming offensive line and a rookie quarterback in Zach Mettenberger. Tennessee's defense is improving, but its offense can't put up points consistently enough to win.
28. New York Jets
Right when the Jets were dead in the water, they rose up to slay the red-hot Steelers at home to improve to 2-8. OK, so maybe New York is still dead in the water—but Michael Vick is finally producing that offensive injection so many expected, and the defense is finally getting decent play from their defensive backs.
Don't be surprised if Rex Ryan makes a late push to try to save his job. The Jets' next four games are all very winnable ones, facing Buffalo, Miami, Minnesota and Tennessee.
27. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons desperately needed a win following five consecutive losses, so they headed to Tampa Bay. But Atlanta can't shy away from the fact that two of its three wins have come against the 1-8 Bucs, and that it has struggled to contend against many of the best teams it has faced. This team was expected to make strides from last year, but it hasn't.
26. St. Louis Rams
The Rams clawed away in a NFC West slugfest with the Cardinals on Sunday, but the 31-14 final score got blown out of proportion by three late Austin Davis turnovers. The young quarterback has shown glimpses of promise but has few offensive weapons around him and is far too inconsistent to get St. Louis in contention.
25. Washington Redskins
Washington should be feeling ultra confident coming off its bye week, having won two of three before the break with the lone loss being a late slip-up to Minnesota. The Redskins' once-porous secondary—seventh in the league—is improving steadily, and Robert Griffin III will be fully healthy heading into the seven-week final stretch.
24. New York Giants
The Giants showed their grit and determination for three quarters in Seattle, playing the Seahawks to a 17-17 game heading into the fourth quarter. But Marshawn Lynch's burly running continued to expose a serious concern in New York—the Giants defense gets worn down considerably as games go along.
23. Minnesota Vikings
A few weeks ago, Minnesota was in overtime against Tampa Bay trying to avoid falling to 2-6. Now, the Vikings are 4-5 following two straight wins—and a much-needed Week 10 bye. The Vikings are averaging more than three sacks per game, and rookie Teddy Bridgewater is remaining effective in spite of his own immense pressure.
22. Chicago Bears
There's struggling, and then there's the current state of the Chicago Bears. They gave up six first-half touchdowns to Aaron Rodgers in Sunday night's 55-14 loss, and both sides of the ball are an absolute mess.
21. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers haven't won since Week 5, and it's unlikely to change on Monday Night Football against the Eagles. Without Nick Foles, Philadelphia will lean on its potent rushing attack and the 3-5-1 Panthers—who rank 26th in rush defense—won't be able to contain the likes of LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles.
20. Buffalo Bills
The Bills have made somewhat of a name for themselves in 2014 winning tight games, but a 17-13 decision against Kansas City didn't go their way. Still, Buffalo was in position to win 13-3 against a very good Chiefs team before the late meltdown, and Kyle Orton is playing winning football with seven touchdowns in his last three games.
19. Houston Texans
Houston enjoyed its bye in Week 10, but the Texans likely didn't enjoy much about it, as they have some ground to make up at 4-5. But Arian Foster is likely to return after the bye from another injury, and the fifth-ranked Texans run offense should have a shot at going on a late-season run if Ryan Mallett manages the games well.
18. New Orleans Saints
The Saints have got a knack for losing close games in excruciating fashion. On Sunday, it was Drew Brees fumbling in overtime to set up a game-winning San Francisco field goal. New Orleans' problems stem much deeper than secondary issues, and the 4-5 Saints now face a very uphill battle to make the postseason.
17. San Diego Chargers
Few could argue against the Chargers' place as a top-five NFL team after their sparkling 5-1 start, but things turned sour awfully quick with three straight defeats entering the Week 10 bye. A playoff spot is slipping away as well, with the Chargers at 5-4 and third place in the AFC West behind 6-3 Kansas City.
What a great time for San Diego to welcome in the 0-9 Raiders to Qualcomm Stadium.
16. Cincinnati Bengals
That 3-0 start in Cincinnati sure feels like a long time ago. Since then, the Bengals are 2-3-1, including an embarrassing 24-3 loss at home to Cleveland on Thursday. After having such a strong defense a year ago, the Bengals are 31st in the NFL against the run.
15. Cleveland Browns
Surprisingly enough, the Browns are alone atop the AFC North following their Thursday Night Football drubbing of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh's loss to the Jets. Ben Tate and Terrance West are both running wild, and Brian Hoyer is making the most of his weapons on offense.
14. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers began spiraling out of control following the Week 8 bye with a home loss to the Rams, but somehow, someway got back in the win column in New Orleans on Sunday. San Francisco's defense continues to stifle opponents—third against the pass, fifth against the run—in spite of injuries. However, Colin Kaepernick and the offense must find more consistency to make an NFC Championship Game return.
13. Miami Dolphins
After winning four of their previous five games, the Dolphins nearly knocked off one of the NFL's biggest surprises this season in the Lions before Matthew Stafford's late heroics closed the door. But there's no doubt Ryan Tannehill is playing at a high level, and the run game—whether it's Lamar Miller, Damien Thomas or even Tannehill—continues to impress.
12. Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore got some boos from its home crowd for letting the Titans hang around on Sunday, but the Ravens knocked their two-game skid with a 21-7 win over Tennessee. Baltimore's defense is sixth-best in the league at stopping the run, and it receives a much-needed bye entering Week 11.
11. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs' 2014 season has been night and day since their Week 6 bye. At 2-3 prior to the break, Kansas City has now won four straight coming off the bye, including a comeback win in Buffalo. Eric Berry and the Kansas City secondary tops the league in pass defense.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers' 20-13 loss to the Jets—after two straight historical performances from Ben Roethlisberger—had shades of their 31-10 drubbing from the Browns earlier in the season. Pittsburgh just hopes that like then, it can turn this upset into three straight wins. The Steelers might need to in order to stay near the top of the division.
9. Green Bay Packers
They did play against the hapless Bears, but the Packers were on fire Sunday night at home against Chicago. Aaron Rodgers is wreaking havoc on opposing secondaries, and a strong Green Bay pass defense is more than making up for its dead-last run defense.
8. Dallas Cowboys
Tony Romo is still ailing, but the Cowboys were able to get back in the win column in London against the Jaguars to improve to 7-3. Dallas will return to the states feeling confident heading into a much-needed Week 11 bye, but it's no secret that the biggest X-factor moving forward is a bone in its quarterback's back.
7. Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks let another team hang around that had no business doing so, but eventually throttled the Giants in a 38-17 home victory to improve to 6-3. Seattle is pounding the rock with Marshawn Lynch better than ever, but the wins will need to come in bunches to keep pace with the Cardinals in the division.
6. Detroit Lions
With four straight victories, the Lions are here to stay among the NFL's best teams with a sterling 7-2 record. Detroit kept on its winning roll with Calvin Johnson nursing a lengthy injury, and now he's back and healthy while the defense (fifth against the pass, second against the run) continues to play at a high level.
5. Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback Nick Foles is weeks away from even being re-evaluated on his injury, per CSNPhilly.com's Geoff Mosher. But even without him, the Eagles have a dangerous running game with LeSean McCoy, and Mark Sanchez looked more than capable of shouldering the gun-slinging load in relief of Foles last week.
Philly should have no trouble sprinting past the Panthers with an offensive explosion on Monday night to improve to 7-2. It will become more and more evident then that this team can win big even without Foles.
4. Indianapolis Colts
Every time the Colts have some uncharacteristic struggles, they bounce back with a dominating performance—Indianapolis did so again with a 40-24 win in New York after being toppled by Pittsburgh the week prior. Andrew Luck is coming into his own in his third season, leading the league in passing.
After a Week 10 bye, the Colts should be locked and loaded for a big finish to the season.
3. Denver Broncos
Even after struggling mightily for most of the first half, the Broncos throttled the Raiders 41-17 in Oakland, and Peyton Manning sat out almost the whole fourth quarter. The Broncos are 7-2 and stop the run better than anyone in the league, giving up 71.6 rush yards per contest.
When the Broncos host Oakland in Week 17, will Manning even play past halftime?
2. New England Patriots
If the Cardinals weren't on such an incredible roll, the Patriots would be the unquestionable top team in the land. New England dominated Denver at home before its Week 10 bye, and the Patriots will remain the class of the AFC despite tough upcoming games against Indianapolis, Detroit and Green Bay.
1. Arizona Cardinals
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer left Sunday's game against the Rams on a cart with a leg injury as the team trailed 14-10, but Arizona responded with determination and scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns—two defensively—to oust St. Louis and improve to 8-1.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Cardinals fear a torn ACL for Palmer, but with Drew Stanton at the helm—who started in wins over the Giants and 49ers this year—they won't be feeling any less confident. Per Bleacher Report's Matt Miller:
Stanton will have his hands full replacing Palmer for the rest of the season, if that ends up being the case, but until the Cardinals lose, it's impossible to ignore their status as the NFL's best team.
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