NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Detroit Lions and Other Ridiculously Overrated Teams

If the Detroit Lions were a stock, I’d sell all of my shares this instant.

The team has gotten off to their best start in a decade, and it has the whole country falling in love with the sky blue.

Don’t fall for the trap.

The Lions have feasted on lesser opponents by instructing QB Matthew Stafford to play a game of pitch and catch with WR Calvin Johnson.

Good teams can stop Megatron, that’s why they dropped consecutive home games to the 49ers and Falcons. Good teams recognize that Detroit has absolutely no running game to speak of.

Starter Jahvid Best is the most fragile back in the league and is currently dealing with a concussion that will likely keep him out for a few more weeks. That means it's up to Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams to pickup the slack of the 27th-ranked unit.

Good luck.

Sure, the surprisingly strong pass defense has been spectacular, allowing the sixth-fewest passing yards in the league, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot when you are surrendering over 137 yards on the ground (28th in the NFL).

This team can’t run the ball or stop it…sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially considering they have Chicago, Green Bay (X2), New Orleans, Oakland and San Diego still on the slate. Expect them to take a huge tumble down the power rankings in the coming weeks.

Bold statement: The 6-2 Lions aren’t going to the playoffs.

Speaking of teams poised to drop in the rankings…

15. Buffalo Bills (5-3)

The Bills had a great first-half run, but everything is about to come crashing to a halt.

Buffalo has a great running game led by Fred Jackson, but that is the only thing they excel at. They are middle of the road in the passing game (15th) and in the bottom half of the league against the pass (25th) and the run (20th).

A dirty little secret about Buffalo: They haven’t won a road game since opening day against Kansas City.

With four of the next five games coming away from Ralph Wilson Stadium, this team is poised to unravel in a hurry.

21. Kansas City Chiefs (4-4)

KC blew any sort of chance at a winning season by getting throttled by the previously winless Dolphins last week.

With games at New England, against Pittsburgh, at Chicago, at New York Jets, against Green Bay and Oakland…the Chiefs are in big trouble. Especially considering they start a third-string running back, below-average QB and mediocre-at-best defense.

There is no way the Chiefs finish with more than six to seven wins by the end of the year. They will conclude 2011 with the worst record in the AFC West. 

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