NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Did Patriots Jump Back To No. 1 With Win?
The NFL Power Rankings for Week 11 are here, and it's time to rank all 32 teams from the bottom to the very top of the league.
With the exception of the Packers, Saints, Raiders and Chargers, every team played this week and there were some major shakeups.
Some of the league’s worst teams pulled out tough and unexpected wins while some of the league’s elite took L’s.
With the Steelers and the Ravens losing big games there is a serious power struggle at the top of the rankings.
Let's take a look at the NFL Power Rankings Week 11 to find out if the Patriots have returned to prominence.
32-21: The Worst Of The Worst
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32. Detroit Lions: The Lions have been close to beating some of the NFL’s best, but they lost to Buffalo, one of the NFL’s worst. (Last Week: 23)
31. Carolina Panthers: Carolina took a bad loss to a much better Bucs team, so they remain close to the bottom of the pile. (Last Week: 30)
30. Cincinnati Bengals: T.O. is having a good year, but Carson Palmer is off and the previously solid Bengals D looks as if they have given up. (Last Week: 28)
29. Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals have lost four straight, and there is no sign they will improve. (Last Week: 26)
28. Minnesota Vikings: And just that quick, Childress is back in the doghouse after a hapless offensive performance against the Bears. (Last Week: 24)
27. Buffalo Bills: After playing the Bears, Chiefs and Ravens close, the Bills finally won a game against the Lions. (Last Week: 31)
26. St. Louis Rams: If it were not for three 49er touchdowns being called back for holding, the Rams would have been blown out on the road…again. (Last Week: 17)
25. San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers almost allowed the Rams to get their first road win of the season. Troy Smith saved the day despite their horrible offensive line (Last Week: 25)
24. Cleveland Browns: The Browns played the Jets tough, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. (Last Week: 18)
23. Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys might not be 2-7 if they had played with as much inspiration under Wade Phillips as they did under Jason Garrett against the Giants. (Last Week: 32)
22. Denver Broncos: The Broncos offense finally woke up and won a game against the Chiefs. (Last Week: 29)
21. Washington Redskins: McNabb’s rematch against the Eagles didn’t go quite as well this time around. (Last Week: 19)
20. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 13)
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KC lost in a blowout to the Denver Broncos, but Cassel and Bowe still had great offensive games.
The defense, on the other hand, gave up four touchdowns to Kyle Orton (and two to Tebow) and also allowed Knowshon Moreno to get his first 100-yard rushing game in the NFL.
Who the Chiefs really are is anyone's guess, but with back-to-back division losses, Todd Haley better figure it out soon.
19. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 27)
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WR Mike Williams notched his second 100-yard plus game in a rout of the Arizona Cardinals. Matt Hasselbeck had his best game of the season, throwing for 333 yards as well.
The Seahawks stay in first place of the NFC West could be very short-lived as they play the Saints and Chiefs in the next couple weeks.
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18. Houston Texans (Last Week: 15)
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Even when the Texans secondary plays well enough to keep them in a game, they still give up the big play.
I guess Texans CB Glover Quin never heard Madden say "whap it down" because he surely didn't do that on David Garrard's last second "Hail Mary" pass that was tipped into WR Mike Thomas' hands. The play resulted in a miraculous Jags win.
After a very promising start, the Texans are now under .500 and sliding fast.
17: Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 9)
5 of 21
If Jeff Fisher and Vince Young want to keep Randy Moss from destroying the Titans locker room, they better figure out how to get him more than one catch per game.
An injured Young replaced an injured Kerry Collins in the second half of the game but he didn't fare much better against the tough Dolphins D, mustering only 92 yards passing and committing two turnovers.
16. San Diego Chargers (Last Week: 19)
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The Chargers were on a bye this week, but it looks as if they are making their annual late-season run at the AFC West title.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 22)
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WR Mike Thomas made one of the luckiest plays in the NFL this year. If he hadn't caught a game-winning deflection, the Jags could have easily headed into OT.
You simply can't ignore Jones-Drew's hard running and Garrard's gritty play. The Jags are tough.
14. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 21)
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Jay Cutler's three TD passes and Devin Hester's two big returns helped the Bears pretty much end any chance the Vikings may have had at making the playoffs.
The D also shut Brett Favre down in the second half, forcing three picks.
The Bears have beaten the teams that they were supposed to, but no one is taking them seriously until they show up against the NFL's elite.
13: New York Giants (Last Week: 1)
9 of 21
The New York Giants learned that it is hard at the top. After spending last week atop the rankings, the G-Men got killed by the Cowboys in the biggest upset of the week.
The Giants secondary make Cowboys fans forget that Romo was hurt. They made Kitna look like an All-Pro.
Eli didn't help matters by throwing two interceptions, one of which was returned for a 101-yard pick six.
12: Oakland Raiders (Last Week: 12)
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Coming off of their biggest win in the last several seasons, the Raiders got a chance to rest their many injured players courtesy of a bye week.
The real test comes as the Silver and Black head to Pittsburgh this Sunday.
11: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 20)
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The Bucs are clearly not the best team in the NFC, but they are a solid squad. As expected they beat up on a horrible Carolina squad.
However, that is not why they made a jump in the rankings. TB could have rolled over after a tough loss to the Falcons, but they showed and proved and came out and played tough football on Sunday, just like they have been doing all season long.
10: Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 14)
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The Dolphins finally broke their home losing streak, and they did it with a third-string QB.
Ricky Williams is still struggling to get good numbers running the ball, but a win is a win.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 3)
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It's not very often that we see the Steelers get blown out at home, but that's just what the Pats did to them.
The Pats came out of the chute fast and the Steelers were never able to catch up.
This should serve as a wake-up call to a team that many were rating as the best in the NFL.
8. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 8)
14 of 21
The Saints are not as dominant as they were last year, but they are still only one game behind the Falcons for the NFC South lead.
The bye week should do them a lot of good on the injury front.
7. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 5)
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The Packers have looked good in wins over the Cowboys and Vikings, but those teams are just not good.
They still don't have a running game, and a bye week is not going to solve that problem.
6. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 2)
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Baltimore's secondary could not keep up with Matty Ice and the Falcons when it was all said and done.
The loss brought the Ravens back down to earth, but they are still one of the better teams in the NFL.
It's very ironic that a Ravens team may be more relevant on offense than defense. Go figure.
5. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 11)
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Mike Vick has proven the critics wrong with some excellent QB play so far this season.
After beating Washington, the Eagles are now tied for first place in the NFC East.
When this team is clicking on all cylinders, there is not a defense that can stop them.
4. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 7)
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The Colts are like death and taxes, they are not going anywhere.
Sure, they beat the woeful Bengals but it was the way they did it.
Peyton Manning didn't throw a TD pass for only the second time this season and the Colts still found a way to win.
The Colts are beat up, but they keep plugging away.
3. New York Jets (Last Week: 3)
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The Jets' OT win over the Browns may not seem that impressive, but take into consideration that the Browns are coming off blowout wins over the Pats and the Saints.
The Jets are as talented and good as any team in the NFL, but they need to learn how to win at home. A record of 2-2 in your own house is not the mark of a potential Super Bowl team.
2. New England Patriots (Last Week: 9)
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Leave it to Tom Brady to make a rookie tight end the hero of a marquee game. Brady threw three TD passes to Ron Gronkowski to beat the Steelers at home.
Coming off of an ugly loss to the Browns, this game cemented the Pats as a team to be reckoned with.
The defense is still young and suspect, but Brady and Co. pick up the slack.
1. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 6)
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If you did not believe before, you should know now that the Atlanta Falcons are for real.
Their only two losses came to the Eagles and the Steelers on the road. Not too shabby at all. The team is also undefeated at home.
I'll be the first to say that the Falcons have not lived up to the hype in the past, but as of Week 11, they are the best team in the NFL.
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