NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Playoff Pretenders Who Will Continue to Slide

The NFL playoffs are just two months away, which does not leave teams on the outside looking with a lot of time to get back in the race. 

There are a few teams that at various points this season looked like they were serious playoff contenders but have fallen on hard times in recent weeks. Their seasons are far from over, though considering how they have played it does not appear that is going to happen. 

Perhaps we are to blame for labeling these teams as playoff contenders after they won a few games earlier in the season, but that is how the NFL works: If you win a few games that you aren't supposed to, we have to overreact and elevate you. 

Here are three teams that started out the season hot but will continue to fade into oblivion in Week 10. 

Kansas City Chiefs

After a four-game winning streak, it looked like the Chiefs were emerging as the top team in the AFC West. They still might be considering how terrible everyone else in the division looks, but when you lose by 28 points to a winless team, any goodwill you had built up goes away completely.

There is no excuse whatsoever for the Chiefs to lose a home game to the Dolphins and in such embarrassing fashion.

Since they got behind so quickly, they weren’t able to run the ball and Matt Cassel has proved over the years he is not capable of leading a team from behind.

The Chiefs blew any chance they had to prove they are serious playoff contenders by losing in Week 9.

Oakland Raiders

Remember three weeks ago, after the Raiders had just acquired Carson Palmer and were getting ready to play the Chiefs with a chance to push their record to 5-2?

Those days are long gone because the Raiders lost that game 28-0 and then give up 38 points to the punchless Broncos.

We knew that it would take Palmer time to adjust to the speed of the game after so much time off, but this defense has gone soft in recent weeks.

For a team that had so much hope not that long ago, the Raiders are now fighting for their playoff lives. Is Darren McFadden coming back anytime soon? Please, please, please.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills had their chance to prove that they were one of the best teams in the AFC and a potential force to be reckoned with come playoff time with a home game against the Jets.

Instead, they went out and laid an egg. The offense, which has been their bread and butter all season, had no rhythm until late in the game when the outcome was already decided.

The defense has been soft all year and it came back to bite them in this game. They allowed Mark Sanchez to complete nearly 75 percent of his passes and the Jets gained 348 yards of offense.

The Bills needed this win, or at least a strong showing, for their confidence and they did not get it. They are going to quickly fall out of the postseason race after that great start.

 

Week 10 NFL Power Rankings
1. Green Bay Packers (8-0)
2. San Francisco 49ers (7-1)
3. New York Giants (6-2)
4. Baltimore Ravens (6-2)
5. Detroit Lions (6-2)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
7. Houston Texans (6-3)
8. New Orleans Saints (6-3)
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3)
10. New York Jets (5-3)
11. Atlanta Falcons (5-3)
12. New England Patriots (5-3)
13. Buffalo Bills (5-3)
14. Chicago Bears (5-3)
15. Dallas Cowboys (4-4)
16. Tennessee Titans (4-4)
17. San Diego Chargers (4-4)
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4)
19. Philadelphia Eagles (3-5)
20. Kansas City Chiefs (4-4)
21. Washington Redskins (3-5)
22. Cleveland Browns (3-5)
23. Denver Broncos (3-5)
24. Oakland Raiders (4-4)
25. Minnesota Vikings (2-6)
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6)
27. Arizona Cardinals (2-6)
28. St. Louis Rams (1-7)
29. Seattle Seahawks (2-6)
30. Carolina Panthers (2-6)
31. Miami Dolphins (1-7)
32. Indianapolis Colts (0-9)