NFL Week 10 Division Power Rankings

The quest to become the best division in the NFL tightened up further this week as the NFC South, AFC East, and AFC South all gained ground on the NFC East.  

No NFC East teams played non-divisional opponents in week 10, so they were unable to improve their record against non-NFC East opponents.

In the NFC South, the Carolina Panthers easily defeated the Oakland Raiders in the only non-divisional game for the week.  

The NFC South now stands just one game back of the NFC East in the standings.

The AFC East went 2-0 in week 10 as the Miami Dolphins defeated the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Jets clobbered the St. Louis Rams.  

The AFC East is now just one game back of the NFC South, and two games back of the NFC East.

The AFC South did have one blemish this week, but their 3-1 mark in non-divisional games in week 10 was good enough to put them just one game behind the AFC East.

The Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans all won this past week, while the Houston Texans suffered a defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.

Here are the updating conference standings for non-divisional games after week 10 (Rank, Team, Record, Average Margin):

1.  NFC East:  18-6 (7.21)

2.  NFC South:  17-7 (6.46)

3.  AFC East:  16-8 (4.42)

4.  AFC South:  15-9 (2.67)

5.  AFC North:  10-12 (0.95)

6.  NFC North:  7-15 (-3.05)

7.  AFC West:  6-18 (-8.50)

8.  NFC West:  6-18 (-9.33)

There was only one small change in the ordering of the teams for this week’s standings.

The AFC West climbed out of last place and ahead of the NFC West.  

This was on the heels of their first non-divisional win since week seven, as the Denver Broncos narrowly defeated the Cleveland Browns last Thursday.  

The AFC West wins the tiebreak against the NFC West, who also has not won a non-divisional game since week seven, because their average scoring margin in non-divisional games is better. 

It is clear that both the AFC and NFC West divisions have very bad average score differentials in their non-divisional games.

Some of the key non-divisional pairings for week 11 to look forward to are:

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cincinnati Bengals

New York Giants vs. Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers vs. Detroit Lions

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Atlanta Falcons vs. Denver Broncos

Miami Dolphins vs. Oakland Raiders

Buffalo Bills vs. Cleveland Browns

The division with the best opportunity to make a move in the standings this week is the NFC South, as each of their four teams play against a non-NFC South opponent this week, and each appear to be very winnable.

The NFC East and AFC East each have two non-divisional games in week 11, and both divisions should feel confident about going undefeated this week.

Unfortunately for the AFC South, they have no non-divisional games this week and will not be able to make up any ground unless there are a lot of upsets.

The two non-divisional games that look the most interesting are the Giants vs. Ravens and Buccaneers vs. Vikings.  

The Ravens have built a surprising 6-3 record and are currently atop the AFC North along with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  

However, they have still yet to beat a team with a record over .500.  They will get a chance to prove they can compete with a good team this week, as the Giants are a consensus top team in the league.

The Vikings and Buccaneers are both playing in very competitive divisions and both are currently in second place.  If the rest of the season pans out similar to the first half then both of these teams will be looking to grab a wild-card spot in the playoffs.  

This game could have a big impact at the end of the season.