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NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Patriots Fall After Browns Blowout, So Who's No. 1?
November 8, 2010NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Patriots Fall After Browns Blowout, So Who's No. 1?
NFL Week 10 Power Rankings are starting to take shape with one game left to play. But who's No. 1 with the Patriots upset and the Steelers projected to win tonight?
The Saints and Giants came out and did what they had to do this week, beating bad teams they were supposed to beat while it just gets uglier for Cowboys fans.
Hope is stirring towns like Oakland and Atlanta, but there is plenty of football to get through before the playoffs really start to take shape.
Power Rankings aren't necessarily based on record, but record is a major component.
Read on for the complete list.
The Bottom Two
32. Buffalo Bills: This team can't win on the road, at home, or their home away from home. They are the only winless team left in the league.
31. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers should be ranked last, but they have a victory, something the Bills can't seem to find this year.
One Step Up From The Bottom
30. Dallas Cowboys: If Wade Phillips still has a job come Tuesday, I'll be surprised. Given how bad this season has become, what's the point of keeping Phillips? He's a dead man walking and no player is going to listen to a guy on his way out.
29. Denver Broncos: The Broncos were off this week, but that just means they didn't get any worse.
Scrambling For Answers
28. Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals probably are going to lose tonight, so they fall below the 49ers. The Bengals have an offense that isn't good despite a bunch of talent that should say different, and their defense is inconsistent at best.
27. San Francisco 49ers: The Niners were idle this week, but they're still a very bad team. However, Troy Smith looked okay in his first start with the team last week, and there's hope he could be the answer, at least for the rest of 2010.
Teams That Should Be Better
26. Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals have a defense that can't stop much of anything and so many questions at quarterback, the Redskins are jealous.
25. Minnesota Vikings: Beating a struggling team in overtime isn't cause for celebration, and the Vikings certainly didn't do that in the posgame press conference as Ray Childress and Brett Favre took shots at each other..
Missing Pieces
24. Detroit Lions: The Lions lost, but they played well and there's a good chance if they don't make mistakes in the final drive of the fourth quarter, the Lions win that game. Matthew Stafford is hurt again, but he may have come back from the shoulder injury too early.
23. Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks have no offense and no defense to speak of at the moment, and it's amazing they're ranked this high with how bad the last two weeks have been.
Dealing With Issues
22. Washington Redskins: The Redskins were idle this week, but their soap opera is threatening to ruin the 2010 season, if it hasn't already.
21. Chicago Bears: The Bears beat the Buffalo Bills, but it took all four quarters. Jay Cutler didn't throw any picks, so they have that going for them this week. The Bears will continue to hang around this part of the rankings until they can find an offensive line, and start putting more points on the board.
20. Jacksonville Jaguars
Last Week: 19
The Jaguars were idle this week, and movement around them dropped them a spot, but the Jaguars are a team worth paying attention to this year as their 4-4 record is much better than a lot of their games would suggest.
19. St. Louis Rams
Last Week: 19
As with the Jags, the Rams were idle this week and dropped a spot due to movement from other teams. Sam Bradford, though, is proving to be a really good pick, and the Rams now have a legitimate chance of winning the NFC West, which they currently are leading.
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last Week: 16
The Bucs lose a few spots in the rankings after a loss to Atlanta, but the game was close and the Bucs still are a team to watch going forward. This division race is far from settled.
17. Houston Texans
Last Week: 14
The Texans continue to lose games to quality opponents, and that's something Texan fans need to be worried about. The Chargers, despite their record, are turning in their usual "Get on fire in the second half of the season" engine.
Plus, the Texans can't seem to put it all together like they were in the first third of the season, which brings up all other kinds of questions about how the Texans can get back on track and finish the season.
16. Miami Dolphins
Last Week: 11
The Dolphins are showing more and more signs that they are as inconsistent and sketchy as many feared coming out of training camp.
The Dolphins came out of training camp an enigma as far as the ability to take the talent they had and win games with it. As the season is progressing, more and more holes are being punched through the Dolphins exterior, and this season is starting to take a dark turn.
Not all is lost yet, but the Dolphins have to get themselves in better positions to win games, especially at home.
15. Cleveland Browns
Last Week: 20
I got some heat for ranking the Browns 20th last week, and look what happened. The Browns are a much better team than their 3-5 record indicates. They played the Bucs and the Chiefs very close before losing in the fourth quarter, and have had the lead going into halftime of every game but one this year.
Colt McCoy has instantly made this team much better, Peyton Hillis runs over everybody, and Rob Ryan's UFO defense now has completely neutralized the defending Super Bowl champions and Bill Belichick's Patriots.
While the Browns playoff hopes still are slim, they announced to the world yesterday that they finally are on the comeback trail.
14. San Diego Chargers
Last Week: 17
The Chargers continue their second half surge trend of recent years, holding on to beat a tenacious Texan team on a final drive mistake by Andre Johnson.
The Chargers should continue to rise in the rankings if they keep taking advantage of other team's mistakes instead of the other way around.
13. Indianapolis Colts
Last Week: 8
Injuries and a pourous offensive line are catching up with Peyton Manning and the Colts. The Colts had a lot of depth on offense to start the year, but just about everybody seems to be injured now, and Manning's protection wasn't all that great versus the Eagles yesterday.
The Colts still can hope some of their injured come back this season, but their road to the Super Bowl just got a whole lot bumpier.
12. Kansas City Chiefs
Last Week: 5
The Chiefs are showing the warning signs all rebuilding teams show at some point, the inability to put a complete game together week after week.
Not that the Raiders are a pushover anymore, but in this battle of rebuilding teams, the Raiders got the edge, and now Kansas City has to go back and figure out how to seal those cracks the Raiders exploited.
11. Oakland Raiders
Last Week: 15
The Raiders proved on Sunday they have the edge over Kansas City in the AFC West, and they also proved again they are a team to be respected going forward.
The Raiders may not be ready to win a Super Bowl, but don't be surprised now to see them in the playoffs. The AFC West is not locked down by any means with seven weeks to go.
10. Philadelphia Eagles
Last Week: 13
The Eagles played a good, close game with the Colts, but Michael Vick looked crazy good out there.
With a victory over a potential playoff team, the Eagles begin to rise again in the rankings.
DeSean Jackson had a good day in his return to the field, and Andy Reid outlasted the offensive monster that is Peyton Manning.
9. New England Patriots
Last Week: 2
The Patriots took their worst beating in recent memory from the upstart Cleveland Browns, so there's no way they remain in the Top 5 after that.
Bill Belichick's defense could not stop Peyton Hillis, allowed young rookie quarterback Colt McCoy to make plays when he needed to, and Tom Brady may as well have stayed home with how effective he was.
The last touchdown in the fourth quarter was a gimmee, and it's not going to be a fun week of practice in New England.
8. New Orleans Saints
Last Week: 9
The Saints move up a spot by doing what they were supposed to do and destroying a clearly inferior team.
The Saints were playing these kinds of games closer earlier in the season, so it's looking better for the Saints as we move into the second half of the season.
7. Tennessee Titans
Last Week: 4
The Tennessee Titans were idle this week, but they picked up Randy Moss off of waivers, which automatically drops them a few spots because of the havoc this guy can create in the locker room if his ego isn't happy with something.
It's the truth. If Vince Young has a bad day, Moss will quit playing and the drama will ramp up.
6. New York Jets
Last Week: 10
The Jets rallied to beat the rapidly improving Detroit Lions, but they needed overtime to do it.
That being said, Mark Sanchez rose to the occassion at the end of the game and Santonio Holmes proved why he's still one of the best receivers in the game.
Now they get the Browns this week, and we'll see if the Jets become the latest victim in Mangini's war on former employers.
5. Atlanta Falcons
Last Week: 7
The Falcons proved they are real contenders by beating the Buccaneers Sunday. Some questionable wins earlier in the season raised some doubt the Falcons were as good as their record, but Sunday's game should put some of those questions to rest.
The Falcons now control the division, and it's up to another team to take it from them.
4. Green Bay Packers
Last Week: 12
The Packers beat the Cowboys, which isn't news, but it did allow the Packers to get more momentum moving forward.
Not sure we learned anything from last night's beatdown, but the fact the Packers did dominate a much weaker, disorganized team speaks well of the coaching staff.
3. Baltimore Ravens
Last Week: 6
The Ravens defense finally showed up and played like they are supposed to and crushed the Dolphins in the second half.
If the Ravens defense is firing on all cylinders again, that's bad news for the rest of the league.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
Last Week: 3
This ranking is based on the prediction they will win against Cincinnati tonight. If the Steelers lose, you can drop them several spots for that.
But beating the Bengals only moves the Steelers up one spot since the Bengals have been so bad this year. The Steelers still are on the league's elite teams, and a genuine threat to win the Super Bowl.
1. New York Giants
Last Week: 1
The Giants hold on to the top spot two weeks in a row after demolishing the Seattle Seahawks 45-7 on Sunday.
The Giants offense and Eli Manning are a scoring threat every time they take the field, and the Giants defense is turning into an unbeatable monster.
If the Giants don't make it to at least the NFC Championship game at this point, something went horribly wrong.