NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Initial Standings Post Thursday Night Football

NFL Week 10 started with a trap game in the form of the Seattle Seahawks visiting the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. 

There, the Seahawks took care of business, stealing a road win in 22-16 fashion to move to 6-3. It wasn't exactly a huge splash when it comes to power rankings, but Russell Wilson tossing a pair of touchdowns in a defensive-minded affair is yet another sign these Seahawks are over an iffy start and fully rolling. 

Regardless of how the NFC West encounter panned out under the bright lights of a national game, it was a good appetizer for what comes next on a slate littered with odd matchups. New Orleans-Buffalo, Houston-Los Angeles Rams and Dallas-Atlanta are only a few of the tough games on the rest of the schedule. 

Before the slate kicks into high gear, let's step back and paint the league in broad strokes before what looks like chaos unfolds. 

2017 NFL Power Rankings and Super Bowl Odds

Rank	Team
1	Philadelphia Eagles (6-1)
2	Pittsburgh Steelers (7-1)
3	New England Patriots (7-2)
4	Minnesota Vikings (14-1)
5	New Orleans Saints (20-1)
6	Dallas Cowboys (20-1)
7	Los Angeles Rams (20-1)
8	Seattle Seahawks (10-1)
9	Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
10	Carolina Panthers (28-1)
11	Detroit Lions (40-1)
12	Washington Redskins (100-1)
13	Oakland Raiders (50-1)
14	New York Jets (250-1)
15	Buffalo Bills (66-1)
16	Atlanta Falcons (18-1)
17	Tennessee Titans (33-1)
18	Denver Broncos (66-1)
19	Jacksonville Jaguars (28-1)
20	Chicago Bears (150-1)
21	Los Angeles Chargers (100-1)
22	Houston Texans (75-1)
23	Green Bay Packers (40-1)
24	Baltimore Ravens (66-1)
25	Miami Dolphins (150-1)
26	Arizona Cardinals (150-1)
27	Cincinnati Bengals (66-1)
28	Indianapolis Colts (500-1)
29	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (150-1)
30	New York Giants (500-1)
31	Cleveland Browns (5000-1)
32	San Francisco 49ers (5000-1)

Minnesota Vikings

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

How long can the Minnesota Vikings keep a grip on a top slot in the rankings? 

It's hard to say, but so far so good for a 6-2 team sitting first in the NFC North while the rest of the teams sit on .500 marks or worse. One would think a team down a starting quarterback would have a rough outlook, yet the Vikings have perhaps the most unique situation in the NFL. 

Case Keenum has held down the fort for the Vikings with Sam Bradford hurt, completing 63.9 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. But now Teddy Bridgewater is back, as some such as Brandon McCauley of KARE 11 have pointed out.

It's hard to know if the Vikings will keep rolling with Keenum under center or turn to Bridgewater. Either way, the running game continues to be a force despite losing Dalvin Cook for the year, and the defense has 24 sacks and seven interceptions while allowing just 16.9 points per game. 

The Vikings aren't a fun team to watch. This isn't a high-flying offense, it's a smashmouth team leaning on a running game and elite defense stemming from the influence of defensive coordinator turned head coach Mike Zimmer. 

With Aaron Rodgers out, the NFC North looks like it could run through Minnesota. But games against Washington, the Los Angeles Rams and a Detroit Lions team that already beat the Vikings awaits, not to mention a possible quarterback change. Whether the Vikings can tough it out is something to watch. 

Dallas Cowboys

Things aren't what they seem with the Dallas Cowboys. 

While the Cowboys have only won three of their last five, it's important to point out the two losses: 

• Week 4: vs. Los Angeles Rams, 35-30
• Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers, 35-31

The Cowboys went down to a playoff-bound Rams team taking the league by storm and Rodgers when he was healthy, both by five points or less. 

Now? The Cowboys have won three in a row and sit at 5-3. Maybe they aren't catching the seven-win Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East, but they still have two shots at taking them down and making the division interesting. 

In Week 9, the Cowboys took down a strong Kansas City Chiefs team, bumping Dak Prescott to 16 touchdowns against four interceptions and Ezekiel Elliott to 783 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. 

Of course, the Cowboys still have the Elliott situation hanging over their collective head, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reporting on Thursday his six-game suspension is back on.

But he's running well, and so should most on the roster behind a strong offensive line. Meanwhile, Prescott's quiet, strong play has the offense compensating for a defense that struggles at times, like it did when coughing up 35 or more points in three out of four weeks. 

Provided Prescott keeps playing at this level, the Cowboys should be able to hang around the top 10 despite a schedule consisting of Philadelphia twice, as well as Atlanta, Oakland and Seattle. 

Kansas City Chiefs

Speaking of those Chiefs, it's understandable if viewers have trust issues with the team. 

These Chiefs started the year as the NFL's hottest team, winning five in a row—including back-to-back takedowns of the New England Patriots and Eagles. Since, the team has won a single game over four outings.

That isn't to say the recent schedule has been easy. Pittsburgh looks like a top team, and a road trip to Oakland is brutal given the divisional familiarity, as is a game against the Cowboys. 

But something bigger might be at play—the NFL has figured out the Chiefs. 

After a strong start, the Eric Berry-less defense has allowed 31, 19 and 28 points over its last three outings. Sensational rookie back Kareem Hunt has fizzled, rushing for less than 50 yards in three of his last four appearances. The same doesn't apply to Alex Smith over that span (seven touchdowns, one interception), but a team leaning on Smith to win games doesn't necessarily work, hence the recent results. 

Still, the Chiefs have a commanding lead in the AFC West and get an assist from slumping Oakland and Denver teams. The coaching staff knows it needs to scheme better to prevent adjustments from eliminating guys like Hunt. 

"That's our job, scheming that thing out, putting the line in the right place and him in the right place," assistant head coach Brad Childress said, according to ESPN.com's Adam Teicher. "We need to work harder doing that."

The Chiefs have a favorable-looking schedule the rest of the way and clearly boast the talent needed to right the ship. It's a matter of second-half adjustments the rest of the season, which will do much to tell the globe whether the opening of the season was a fluke. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.