NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Latest 2018 Standings and Reaction for All 32 Teams

We're officially into the second half of the 2018 NFL regular season after Week 9 concluded with the Tennessee Titans' 28-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

The Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers kick Week 10 festivities off on Thursday, but until then, here's a look at a new set of power rankings, the latest standings and some thoughts on the AFC and NFC wild-card races. 

Note that teams in the standings are organized via playoff ranking.

Week 10 NFL Power Rankings 

1. Los Angeles Rams (8-1)

2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-1)

3. New Orleans Saints (7-1)

4. New England Patriots (7-2)

5. Los Angeles Chargers (6-2)

6. Carolina Panthers (6-2)

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2-1)

8. Houston Texans (6-3)

9. Chicago Bears (5-3)

10. Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1)

11. Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)

12. Washington Redskins (5-3)

13. Miami Dolphins (5-4)

14. Philadelphia Eagles (4-4)

15. Atlanta Falcons (4-4)

16. Seattle Seahawks (4-4)

17. Tennessee Titans (4-4)

18. Baltimore Ravens (4-5)

19. Green Bay Packers (3-4-1)

20. Indianapolis Colts (3-5)

21. Dallas Cowboys (3-5)

22. Detroit Lions (3-5)

23. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-5)

24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)

25. New York Jets (3-6)

26. Denver Broncos (3-6)

27. Cleveland Browns (2-6-1)

28. Arizona Cardinals (2-6)

29. San Francisco 49ers (2-7)

30. Buffalo Bills (2-7)

31. New York Giants (1-7)

32. Oakland Raiders (1-7)

Week 10 AFC Playoff Standings

1. Kansas City Chiefs (8-1, AFC West leader)

2. New England Patriots (7-2, AFC East leader)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2-1, AFC North leader)

4. Houston Texans (6-3, AFC South leader)

5. Los Angeles Chargers (6-2, AFC Wild Card)

6. Cincinnati Bengals (5-3, AFC Wild Card)

7. Miami Dolphins (5-4)

8. Tennessee Titans (4-4)

9. Baltimore Ravens (4-5)

10. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-5)

11. Indianapolis Colts (3-5)

12. New York Jets (3-6)

13. Denver Broncos (3-6)

14. Cleveland Browns (2-6-1)

15. Buffalo Bills (2-7)

16. Oakland Raiders (1-7)

AFC Wild-Card Thoughts

The loser in the AFC West battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers almost assuredly has the top wild-card spot sewn up at this point, but the question is the identity of the second wild card. Regardless of what team that may be, this could be a tremendous struggle to the finish line.

The Cincinnati Bengals have a leg up by virtue of their 5-3 record, but they will be without star wide receiver A.J. Green for "at least two games" with a foot injury, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. They'll have to face the 7-1 New Orleans Saints without him on Sunday.

The Miami Dolphins offense took a significant hit when No. 1 wide receiver Albert Wilson was declared out for the year with a hip injury. The news wasn't good on Monday regarding quarterback Ryan Tannehill either, per Cameron Wolfe of ESPN:

The Titans are coming off an impressive win, but their offense has been inconsistent. The Baltimore Ravens have lost three straight, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are losers of four in a row. 

If you're looking for a super sleeper to take a wild-card berth, how about the Indianapolis Colts? They've battled through a significant amount of injuries but are getting healthy for the stretch run.

Of note, running back Marlon Mack, left tackle Anthony Castonzo, wideout T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jack Doyle are finally sharing the field together.

The team's results have been great of late, with the Colts winning games against the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders by a combined score of 79-33.

Granted, those two teams have three combined wins, but the Colts have been competitive in every game despite the injuries, losing none by more than two scores.

Indianapolis' schedule is manageable down the stretch: Five of its next seven games are at home, and four of those teams have .500 records or worse. A road tilt with the 6-3 Houston Texans should be tough, but the Colts could easily make a run.

Unless a team floating around .500 right now goes on a hot streak, we could be seeing a race to nine wins deciding a wild-card berth, much like last year. The Colts may just win that race.

Week 10 NFC Standings 

1. Los Angeles Rams (8-1, NFC West leader)

2. New Orleans Saints (7-1, NFC South leader)

3. Chicago Bears (5-3, NFC North leader)

4. Washington Redskins (5-3, NFC East leader)

5. Carolina Panthers (6-2, NFC Wild Card)

6. Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1, NFC Wild Card)

7. Atlanta Falcons (4-4)

8. Seattle Seahawks (4-4)

9. Philadelphia Eagles (4-4)

10. Green Bay Packers (3-4-1)

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)

12. Dallas Cowboys (3-5)

13. Detroit Lions (3-5)

14. Arizona Cardinals (2-6)

15. San Francisco 49ers (2-7)

16. New York Giants (1-7)

NFC Wild-Card Thoughts

We may see a clear divide between the top five or six NFC teams and the rest of the conference soon. You can already view a standings gap, as the current sixth-place team (the Minnesota Vikings) has a game-and-a-half edge on a trio of 4-4 squads outside the playoff picture.

Of course, eight more weeks must be played, but the prediction here is that gap becomes so prominent that the conference's playoff participants are decided before Week 17 (or perhaps earlier).

A few teams floating around .500 could fall out of contention by mid-December.

The Atlanta Falcons are on a roll, but they still need to face the Saints twice and the 6-2 Panthers on the road.

The Seattle Seahawks have four brutal games on their ledger (at the 8-1 Los Angeles Rams and Panthers, home versus the Vikings and 8-1 Chiefs).

The Philadelphia Eagles may not have that fate, as they may be the NFC East front-runners now. Not only did they acquire wideout Golden Tate from the Detroit Lions at the trade deadline, but the division-leading Washington Redskins are reeling after losing three starters to season-ending injuries:

Those three are in addition to ailments for left tackle Trent Williams, wideout Jamison Crowder and running back Chris Thompson, each of whom have missed time and were out Sunday versus the Falcons.

Therefore, the 'Skins could be dropping out of playoff contention soon, which is a bizarre thing to write after the team started so well at 5-2.

Plenty can change between now and Week 17, but the guess is that the Eagles and 'Skins trade places and the current NFC South and North runners-up secure wild-card berths.