NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Predicting Post-Monday Night Football Standings

We have nearly reached the end of Week 9, which concludes with the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills on Monday night.

It's been an interesting week of football so far, to say the least. The Baltimore Ravens took control of the AFC North by battering the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Detroit Lions upset the Minnesota Vikings in overtime and the Oakland Raiders exerted their dominance over the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

Thankfully, we were spared another tie ballgame.

How does all of the action shake up the NFL landscape? Well, for starters, we now have three seven-win teams—and two probably aren't teams you would have expected when the season began.

Today, we're going to run down our post-Week 9 power rankings—utilizing our prediction for Monday night. We'll rank all 32 teams based on factors like record, schedule, team health and upside. We'll also take an in-depth look at some of the more notable rankings from our list.

NFL Week 10 Power Rankings

Rank	Team	Record
1	New England Patriots`	7-1
2	Dallas Cowboys	7-1
3	Oakland Raiders	7-2
4	Kansas City Chiefs	6-2
5	Atlanta Falcons	6-3
6	Denver Broncos	6-3
7	Seattle Seahawks	5-2-1*
8	Houston Texans	5-3
9	New York Giants	5-3
10	Washington Redskins	4-3-1
11	Detroit Lions	5-4
12	Minnesota Vikings	5-3
13	Green Bay Packers	4-4
14	Baltimore Ravens	4-4
15	Buffalo Bills	4-5*
16	Pittsburgh Steelers	4-4
17	Miami Dolphins	4-4
18	Philadelphia Eagles	4-4
19	New Orleans Saints	4-4
20	Indianapolis Colts	4-5
21	San Diego Chargers	4-5
22	Arizona Cardinals	3-4-1
23	Tennessee Titans	4-5
24	Cincinnati Bengals	3-4-1
25	Carolina Panthers	3-5
26	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	3-5
27	Los Angeles Rams	3-5
28	Chicago Bears	2-6
29	New York Jets	3-5
30	Jacksonville Jaguars	2-6
31	San Francisco 49ers	1-7
32	Cleveland Browns	0-9

Notable Rankings

2. Dallas Cowboys

Jason Miller/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys have been an incredibly pleasant surprise this season—unless, of course, you're a fan of one of the other NFC East teams.

Dallas has ripped off seven wins in a row and is now tied for the best record in football. If the Cowboys aren't actually one of the top few teams in the NFL, they're certainly close. They definitely look like the team to beat in the NFC right now.

It's hard to argue the Cowboys aren't legitimate title contenders, too. The offense has hit its stride behind rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. The defense, though far from elite, is playing well enough against most teams.

Offensively, the Cowboys are rated third overall by Pro Football Focus. Defensively, the team is rated 21st overall. Dallas is far from a perfect team, but the formula—hard running, efficient quarterbacking, opportunistic defense—is working to perfection.

Dallas seems to carry a lot of team chemistry as well, which is an often underrated aspect of football. The big question is whether the Cowboys dare risk affecting that chemistry by going back to quarterback Tony Romo once healthy.

Of course, if NFL Media's Ian Rapoport is to be believed, that decision won't even present itself for at least another week:

The next test for the Cowboys is a trip to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. According to our friends at Odds Shark, Dallas is going into the game as the underdog.

We're not sure the Cowboys should actually be underdogs against the Steelers, but playing at Heinz Field is always a challenge for visiting teams. If the Cowboys pound the Steelers the way they have the other two AFC North opponents they've played this season—a combined 63-24 score over the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals—then there will be little doubt left that this team is for real.

3. Oakland Raiders

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Along with the Cowboys and the New England Patriots, the Oakland Raiders sit atop the league standings with seven wins. The latest, a 30-20 romp over the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, shows that this is a team that needs to be taken seriously.

The Raiders are as dangerous as any team in the league offensively. Third-year quarterback Derek Carr is starting to emerge as a top signal-caller, and receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree form quite the dangerous duo.

In addition, the ground game in Oakland is beginning to take shape as the team sorts out roles for Latavius Murray, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington.

Offensively, the Raiders are rated second overall by Pro Football Focus.

What's truly impressive about Oakland's latest win, though, is that the team controlled the game with defense. Oakland limited the Broncos to just 299 net offensive yards, 33 rushing yards and 20 points. The defense only sacked Trevor Siemian twice, but it regularly forced him to rush his throws.

The Raiders also controlled the Broncos with strong offensive line play and constantly hard running.

"In the second half, we only ran two (running) plays," Raiders tackle Donald Penn explained, per NFL Media's Michael Silver. "We ran the same running play 10 times in a row. We kept wearing them down with double-teams. They knew it was coming. It didn't matter. That's when you take somebody's will."

Penn anchors a line that is rated first in the NFL in run blocking by Pro Football Focus. This makes Oakland extremely tough to beat because Carr and the passing attack have enough firepower to get out to an early lead. As Oakland proved on Sunday (with 218 rushing yards), the ground game is more than potent enough to put a game away.

If the defense can keep playing efficiently, this can be a team that makes a serious playoff run.

11. Detroit Lions

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Don't look now, but the Detroit Lions might just be making a run at the NFC North title. The Lions pulled off an amazing come-from-behind victory against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and they did it on the road.

An amazing catch-and-run by wide receiver Golden Tate ended the game on an overtime touchdown.

The win on Sunday moved the Lions to 5-4 and a half game back from the 5-3 Minnesota Vikings. Owning the first head-to-head matchup could come into play down the road if tiebreakers get involved.

It's now an extremely tight race atop the division (the 4-4 Green Bay Packers are also involved), but Detroit is the team that is surging right now. The Lions have won four out of their last five games, and quarterback Matthew Stafford is playing at a near MVP level.

Through nine weeks, Stafford has passed for 2,373 yards with 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He has also been extremely effective in clutch situations.

The problem for Detroit is a defense that is rated just 30th overall by Pro Football Focus. If the Lions do make it to the postseason, they could have some real trouble with top-tier teams like the Cowboys or the Falcons.

For now, though, the Lions have to be happy with how the past month has unfolded. With the Packers and the Vikings both slipping, Detroit could be the team that slides in and steals the NFC North in 2016.