NFL Power Rankings Week 11
The NFL Power Rankings for Week 11 are here after a fun-filled week of blowouts and memorable performances.
Football fans didn't get to see four playoff contenders—the Packers, Saints, Raiders and Chargers—in action, but the other 28 teams made sure to keep us more than entertained throughout this week's slate of games.
As always, we saw some major changes throughout the rankings, as my No. 1 team, the New York Giants, fell victim to a big upset at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys.
We also saw a few top teams pull out big wins to take one step closer to the top spot in this week's rankings.
So who plummeted and who climbed the ladder?
Here they are: the NFL Power Rankings Week 11.
32-21: The Road Less Traveled
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32. Carolina Panthers: I'd be really surprised if we see the Panthers win another game all season. They're just not very good in any aspect of the game. (Last Week: 30)
31. Cincinnati Bengals: Carson Palmer continues to look worse and worse each week, which is bad news for the Bengals considering what they have behind him. (Last Week: 28)
30. Arizona Cardinals: Arizona managed to to lose to the Seahawks by 18 points even though Seattle was destroyed in their last two games. (Last Week: 26)
29. Dallas Cowboys: Is Jason Garrett the answer in Dallas or did the Giants just not show up? Maybe it's a combination of both. (Last Week: 32)
28. Buffalo Bills: Congratulations, Buffalo. You will not go winless this season. (Last Week: 31)
27. Minnesota Vikings: Anyone else think that Brett Favre has already mentally checked out of Minnesota's season? (Last Week: 24)
26. Detroit Lions: The Lions didn't do themselves any favors by putting up just 12 points against the Bills this week. (Last Week: 23)
25. Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks got the win this week, but let's be real, it still came against the Cardinals. (Last Week: 27)
24. Denver Broncos: Kyle Orton, Kyle Orton, Kyle Orton, did you really have to have a game like that when I was playing against you in fantasy football? (Last Week: 29)
23. Washington Redskins: Maybe now everyone will realize that the Redskins are just not a good football team. (Last Week: 19)
22. San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers continue to show signs of life in a division that's wide open. (Last Week: 25)
21. St. Louis Rams: The Rams can't afford losses like they had against the 49ers if they want to win the NFC West. (Last Week: 16)
20. Houston Texans (Last Week: 15)
2 of 21
The Texans were on the wrong end of one of the luckiest plays in NFL history this week, but they put themselves in that position.
Houston has this unrealistic expectation that its defense can get torched for 342 yards through the air by David Garrard and they can still win the game.
That team is going nowhere if it continues to give up more than 450 yards of total offense on a weekly basis.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 22)
3 of 21
That Jacksonville offense may not have very many sexy names, but the team continues to get it done.
David Garrard has played unconscious the last two games, and the Jaguars will hang around if that continues to happen.
But I'm far from sold that the Jaguars are a legit contender considering how they won this week's game.
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18. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 18)
4 of 21
Cleveland has just three wins on the year, but it's hard to drop them down this list considering that they might have been a Chansi Stuckey fumble away from beating the New York Jets.
The Browns have now beaten the Patriots and Saints and gave the Jets all they could ask for in Week 10.
You have to love the way Colt McCoy, Peyton Hillis and Co. have shown up each and every week.
17. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 13)
5 of 21
I turned on the TV on Sunday, and apparently the Chiefs forgot to show up during the first quarter against the Broncos.
Seriously, only the Redskins managed to start off worse than the Chiefs this week, and there was just no way for Kansas City to recover.
But hey, at least Matt Cassel fantasy football owners got 469 yards and four touchdowns out of him, because that will never happen again.
16. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 21)
6 of 21
Chicago turned in an impressive performance against the Vikings this week, getting three interceptions from its defense and three touchdowns from quarterback Jay Cutler.
If you're a Bears fan, you have to like what you saw against Minnesota.
That's how the Bears are going to win football games.
15. San Diego Chargers (Last Week: 17)
7 of 21
The Chargers sat at home but move up thanks to a boatload of teams ranked ahead of them failing to show up this week.
I'm still sticking with San Diego winning the wild AFC West despite that terrible start.
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 20)
8 of 21
Ill never let Raheem Morris' statement about the Buccaneers being the best team in the NFC go, because it was beyond ridiculous.
But I will give his team props this week.
Tampa Bay put together a nice performance in a potential trap game, and Josh Freeman continues to mature into a quality NFL starter.
13. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 10)
9 of 21
Not to be the ultimate pessimist here, but does anyone else think Randy Moss is close to freaking out after catching just one pass this week?
I can see him getting tired of being a Tennessee Titan really quick if the team plays another game like they did against the Dolphins.
I guess we'll see how that experiment works out after a few more games, though.
12. Oakland Raiders (Last Week: 12)
10 of 21
I made a $100 bet with my dad at the beginning of the season that the Oakland Raiders would win at least eight games.
That bet is looking better and better every week.
11. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 14)
11 of 21
The Dolphins got a nice win over the Titans, but lost Chad Henne and Chad Pennington for the remainder of the season.
Tyler Thigpen played pretty well in relief on Sunday, but I'm not all that optimistic he can keep Miami on pace with New England and New York in the AFC East.
Crazier things have happened, though.
10. New York Giants (Last Week: 1)
12 of 21
And the award for the biggest one-week tumble in the NFL Power Rankings goes to...the New York Giants.
OK, maybe I overrated the Giants a bit last week when I put them at No. 1, but they got manhandled by the Cowboys from start to finish and somehow managed to give up 327 yards passing on 13 completions.
That's way too many big plays in one game, especially for one of the league's best defenses.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 3)
13 of 21
I've preached all season that Pittsburgh's poor pass defense will keep them from winning a Super Bowl. Lo and behold, the Steelers got shredded by Tom Brady for 350 yards passing and three touchdowns this week.
The Steelers can stop the run better than anybody, but that secondary was exposed against the Patriots.
The nice thing about Pittsburgh, though, is that they're good enough against the run and have a capable offense to compensate for a poor pass defense.
8. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 8)
14 of 21
The Saints had a much-needed bye in Week 10, and it appears Reggie Bush will be back for the team's game against the Seahawks on Sunday.
That's certainly good news for a team that's lacked any real explosive threat in the run game for most of the season.
7. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 2)
15 of 21
The Ravens very nearly beat the Falcons on the road this week, which would have been huge considering that Matt Ryan basically never loses at home.
It may seem like I'm dropping Baltimore a bit too low, but the Ravens pass defense all but disappeared from the game this week.
They gave up 316 yards and three touchdowns—a lot of that coming in crunch time—and that should be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
6. New York Jets (Last Week: 4)
16 of 21
The Jets are 7-2, but they could easily be 5-4 right now.
New York played the Lions and Browns way too close for comfort the past two weeks, which could be seen as a sign of resilience or one of weakness.
For now, I'll go with the latter.
The Jets should blow teams like that out of the stadium.
5. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 7)
17 of 21
When Peyton Manning doesn't throw a touchdown pass, his teammates have to step up. That's exactly what happened this week.
The Colts defense forced five turnovers—I know, that came against Carson Palmer—to give Indianapolis the victory over Cincinnati.
The Colts only won 23-17, but that game wasn't nearly as close as the score might indicate.
4. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 5)
18 of 21
The Packers got to stay home this week and watch the other elite NFL teams beat up on each other.
But I doubt that Green Bay has developed a running game during its time off, and that's the one thing I see holding this team back from a possible Super Bowl berth.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 11)
19 of 21
The Eagles skyrocketed up these rankings after that video-game-like performance on Monday Night Football.
Michael Vick had over 400 yards of total offense and six touchdowns against the Redskins in one of those games that defines an MVP-caliber season.
If Vick keeps playing like that, I don't see any team in the NFC who can stop Philadelphia.
2. New England Patriots (Last Week: 9)
20 of 21
New England got a monster win this week over the Steelers thanks in large part to Tom Brady and that new-look offense.
The Patriots may no longer have a stud wide receiver, but they've reverted back to that old-school style of Patriots football that relies on a bunch of quality players rather than one star.
If Brady continues to improve his chemistry with that receiving corps, the Patriots could be playing well into January.
1. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 6)
21 of 21
Matt Ryan entered the stratosphere of clutch quarterbacks with his performance against the Ravens this week, and Atlanta's offense looks like it has all the ingredients for a Super Bowl run.
The Falcons have a stud quarterback, a superstar wide receiver, a solid running game and a defense that can hold its own at times.
If Atlanta gets home-field advantage in the playoffs, watch out.
The Falcons are scary good at home.
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