The top three remain the same, 2 byes and a Saints victory. The Patriots, Bears, and Texans go up while the Chargers and Steelers are passed by. The middle of the pack gets shaken up as some teams dig in to make a push for the playoffs while others roll over and call it a season. Take a look at our NFL Power Rankings.
1. New Orleans Saints (10-1) – The Saints continue to dominate, taking down AFC South rival the Falcons easily, 31-17. They get the Panthers twice, Cowboys and a chance to redeem themselves against Tampa coming up.
2. Los Angeles Rams (10-1) – After the highest scoring game in NFL history, the Rams had a bye week. An NFC heavy schedule remains; on the road in Chicago will be interesting.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (9-2) – They’ve lost some big games already this year. After the bye, things could get rough with the Ravens, Chargers, and Seahawks remaining.
4. New England Patriots (8-3) – They are still a bit suspect, but the offense is beginning to click. They’ve done it before so it’s hard to count them out.
5. Chicago Bears (8-3) – Fewest days of rest since before the merger, check. On the road against divisional rival, check. Back up quarterback, check. Win, check.
6. Houston Texans (8-3) – Eight straight after a beat down of the Titans. Easy schedule coming up, this team is a sleeper.
7. Los Angeles Chargers (8-3) – They’ve lost to Denver too but have recovered against Arizona. Losing Melvin Gordon is going to be a problem.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3-1) – Wow, they were not supposed to lose to Denver. They still have the Chargers, Patriots and Saints to contend with.
9. Seattle Seahawks (6-5) – Russell Wilson does it again. The team does not look the same, but he’s still getting it done.
10. Minnesota Vikings (6-4-1) – They probably knocked Green Bay out of the playoffs and looked pretty good doing it. Solid defense and Kirk Cousins is starting to look comfortable.
11. Indianapolis Colts (6-5) – 3 more touchdowns for Luck. They squeaked by, but a win is a win.
12. Dallas Cowboys (6-5) – Elliott got his touches and they won. They’re riding a 3-game winning streak. With Washington being a quarterback down, Dallas could win the NFC East.
13. Carolina Panthers (6-5) – Bad goes to worse with a 3-game losing streak. They’ve got the Saints twice still to come. Not a good spot to be.
14. Baltimore Ravens (6-5) – Not a super-friendly schedule and likely entering a quarterback controversy. This team is a bit of a wildcard at this point.
15. Denver Broncos (5-6) – It took half a season but these Broncos are playing great. Close games against Kansas City and Houston and wins against the Chargers and Steelers. Wow!
16.Philadelphia Eagles (5-6) – They barely scraped by the sorry Giants. They’ve got some boogeymen in their future, it’s not so bright.
17. Tennessee Titans (5-6) – Defense is still missing. Mariota played great but inconsistency is the word of the season.
18. Green Bay Packers (4-6-1) – The marriage might be over. The Packers don’t look happy to be playing, it might be time for a change.
19. Washington Redskins (6-5) –Unfortunately, this season is probably over for the Redskins. Defense is solid but they don’t have enough offense to overcome a deficit.
20. Miami Dolphins (5-6) – Tannehill played well but they still lost. They have some winnable games coming up but the playoffs may not be attainable
21. Cleveland Browns (4-6-1) – It didn’t matter that Hue Jackson was on the other team, the Browns got it done. They’ve got a relatively tough schedule ahead, but this season has been a success by their standards.
22. Cincinnati Bengals (5-6) – They might have the worst defense in NFL history. Now they have injury concerns on offense. Not good for Marvin Lewis’s coaching future.
23. Atlanta Falcons (4-7) – The Falcons and Packers have similar body language when they play. They have the same record as Tampa…
24. Detroit Lions (4-7) – Yuck. How is it possible to lose to Chicago under those conditions. Stafford might be headed elsewhere.
25. Buffalo Bills (4-7) – They beat a team they should have. That’s always good. Josh Allen is still a work-in-progress.
26. New York Giants (3-8) – Eli is putting up stats but it’s not translating into wins. Something has to change in New York. Eli might be it.
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-8) – If they played with as much energy as they fought with, maybe they’d have a better record.
28. New York Jets (3-8) – They played New England with a backup quarterback. Enough said.
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7) – I don’t know what to say. They beat the 49ers and played the Giants close. They have a tough schedule ahead and more questions than answers moving into the off season.
30. Oakland Raiders (2-9) – They might make it to 3 wins this year. Raiders fans sure hope not. If the plan is to rebuild via the draft, they are on the right path.
31. Arizona Cardinals (2-9) – The losing streak continues. They can probably beat the Lions in a couple weeks. Where do they go? They have a quarterback .
32. San Francisco 49ers (2-9) – The 49ers made the Bucs look good. It looks like they will finish 2-14. The bar will be nice and low for Jimmy Garoppolo next year.
