NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Pretenders That Will Miss Playoffs

Would you believe me if I said a preseason Super Bowl favorite is all but out of contention for the playoffs right now?

There are a number of teams who are pretty much all but mathematically eliminated from the postseason at this point and are already looking forward to the 2012 NFL draft and offseason.

Let’s take a look at some of these pretenders that actually were favorites to make the playoffs in the preseason, or duped us into thinking they were legit during the first few weeks of the season.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles' season is effectively done. They were preseason favorites, along with the Packers and Patriots, to win the Super Bowl, but now will be sitting at home watching the playoffs while either the Cowboys or Giants take home the NFC East.

I don’t even consider them a Wild Card threat at this point, while they have a 3-5 record and currently sit at 10th place in the conference.

They really blew it against the Bears on Monday Night Football, and it will be the game we remember that sunk their season.

Oakland Raiders

After Jason Campbell went down, the Raiders decided to go all-in on making the playoffs this season by trading for Carson Palmer.

The Cincinnati Bengals made them pay a heavy cost for their semi-retired QB’s services and snagged a first-round pick in the coming draft and at least a second-rounder next year.

Palmer obviously isn’t ready to be back starting in the NFL quite yet, and it shows as the Chiefs and lowly Broncos have beaten them in back-to-back games.

Not good for a team that had a great shot to take the AFC West a few weeks ago.

Tennessee Titans

Chris Johnson is really screwing up this season and it’s hurting the entire franchise.

They can’t get their ground game going and Matt Hasselbeck is no longer a QB who can carry a team on his shoulders.

They lost to the Bengals this past week at home in a game they should have won if they wanted any chance of winning the AFC South. They now concede the division to Houston and will watch the playoffs at home. 

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