NFL Week 10 power rankings: Saints move up on the heels of the Steelers and Chiefs
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-0) | Last week’s rank: 1
The struggles against the Cowboys were unexpected, and the injury to Ben Roethlisberger’s left knee and his placement on the covid-19 reserve list are concerning. But the Steelers are 8-0 for the first time, and these are good times for one of the NFL’s flagship franchises.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-1) | Last week’s rank: 2
For all the talk about Patrick Mahomes not being as spectacular as in other years, he has 25 touchdown passes against one interception and may be the MVP front-runner. His presence will make the Chiefs the team to beat entering the postseason, regardless of whether they’re the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
3. New Orleans Saints (6-2) | Last week’s rank: 7
No one was wondering Sunday night whether Drew Brees has enough arm strength left to be an elite quarterback. Brees and the Saints looked fantastic with wideouts Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders back in the lineup. This was the team the Saints were expected to be. Taysom Hill was terrific in his all-purpose role.
4. Baltimore Ravens (6-2) | Last week’s rank: 5
The defense did its part in Indianapolis, and the Ravens continue to hang around top-contender status. They’re far less spectacular on offense than they were last season, but they’re still capable of beating anyone.
5. Buffalo Bills (7-2) | Last week’s rank: 8
The Bills have steadied themselves with three straight wins after a two-game losing streak. Sunday’s offensive exploits were impressive, but the woes of the Seattle defense contributed. It looks like a two-team race between the Bills and Dolphins in the AFC East.
6. Green Bay Packers (6-2) | Last week’s rank: 10
The Packers won in predictably dominant fashion Thursday night against the shorthanded 49ers. With the issues for the Bucs and Seahawks, the Packers and Saints appear to be the NFC favorites.
7. Tennessee Titans (6-2) | Last week’s rank: 11
The victory over the Bears ended a two-game losing streak. The Titans remain formidable. They’re probably on relatively even footing with the Ravens and Bills and perhaps a half-step behind the Steelers and Chiefs in the race for AFC supremacy.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) | Last week’s rank: 3
The Bucs debut of wide receiver Antonio Brown made no difference. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers were no match, again, for Drew Brees and the Saints. The Sunday night debacle for the Bucs makes their path to the Super Bowl much more difficult and calls into question just how good they are.
9. Seattle Seahawks (6-2) | Last week’s rank: 4
The defense is awful. There is almost no margin for error for Russell Wilson and his receivers. So Wilson’s two interceptions were far too much for the Seahawks to overcome against the Bills.
10. Las Vegas Raiders (5-3) | Last week’s rank: 12
The Raiders were the beneficiaries of the latest episode of the Chargers doing Chargers things. They might not be happy with their penalties imposed by the NFL for protocol violations, but on the field, at least, things are looking up.
11. Miami Dolphins (5-3) | Last week’s rank: 13
Tua Tagovailoa had great moments as both a passer and as a runner. The QB switch from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tagovailoa was warranted all along, in the big picture. The huge victory at Arizona demonstrates it might not even cost the Dolphins a chance to reach the playoffs this season.
12. Arizona Cardinals (5-3) | Last week’s rank: 6
The young QB duel between Kyler Murray and Tagovailoa was captivating. Even with the defeat, there’s no reason to feel much differently about the Cardinals’ prospects, particularly in the long term.
13. Indianapolis Colts (5-3) | Last week’s rank: 9
The loss to the Ravens underscored that the Colts are not in the AFC’s upper tier. They’re good. But they’re not on the level of the top contenders.
14. Los Angeles Rams (5-3) | Last week’s rank: 14
The losses by the Seahawks, Cardinals and 49ers made it an extremely productive bye week for the Rams.
15. Cleveland Browns (5-3) | Last week’s rank: 15
The placement of QB Baker Mayfield on the covid-19 reserve list should not be a major competitive issue for the Browns as they return from their bye. Mayfield could be back on the practice field by midweek as his five-day quarantine could expire as soon as Wednesday.
16. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1) | Last week’s rank: 18
The Eagles emerge from their bye with a chance to get to .500 when they face the Giants on Sunday at the Meadowlands. The hope for the Eagles is that more of their injured players return and their lineup is not as depleted as it has been.
17. Chicago Bears (5-4) | Last week’s rank: 16
Things have gone awry since the switch from Mitchell Trubisky to Nick Foles at quarterback. Coach Matt Nagy could always switch back, but that seems unlikely to help. The best move is probably sticking with Foles and hoping he somehow regains his magic touch from his playoff runs with the Eagles.
18. San Francisco 49ers (4-5) | Last week’s rank: 17
The false positive test result for wideout Kendrick Bourne that sidelined him and his high-risk close contacts Thursday was unfortunate from a competitive standpoint. But, again, no one should expect competitive fairness in this coronavirus-altered season. It’s debatable whether the on-field results would have been much different.
19. Atlanta Falcons (3-6) | Last week’s rank: 20
The Falcons enter their bye with wins in two straight and three of four. The post-bye schedule is tough, however, so any notions of climbing back to close to the .500 level are probably overly ambitious.
20. Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1) | Last week’s rank: 21
The Bengals return from their bye with a tough matchup Sunday at Pittsburgh. But they did have a pre-bye victory over the Titans. Could they become the fourth straight Steelers opponent to have a chance to tie or win in the closing seconds?
21. Minnesota Vikings (3-5) | Last week’s rank: 22
Dalvin Cook has been unstoppable lately, and the Vikings are reassembling their broken season. But did they get started too late?
22. New England Patriots (3-5) | Last week’s rank: 27
The Patriots narrowly avoided losing to the Jets on Monday night, erasing a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and prevailing on Nick Folk’s field goal as time expired. Their season isn’t fixed. Far from it. But at least they didn’t suffer the ultimate indignity of losing to the Jets.
23. Denver Broncos (3-5) | Last week’s rank: 19
A late flurry made things interesting Sunday in Atlanta. But the comeback bid fell short, and the overall performance, with such a slow start, was disappointing, given the opportunity that existed to reach the .500 mark.
24. Detroit Lions (3-5) | Last week’s rank: 23
QB Matthew Stafford returned from his contact-tracing five-day quarantine to play Sunday at Minnesota, but that wasn’t enough for the Lions to win. Stafford wasn’t able to practice during the week. But, again, those are just the sort of competitive issues with which teams must deal if there’s going to be an NFL season at all.
25. Carolina Panthers (3-6) | Last week’s rank: 24
The Panthers played the Chiefs very tough and even had a ridiculously long field goal try at the end to complete the upset. But the ball sailed far wide to the right on Joey Slye’s 67-yard attempt and the season continues to slip away from the Panthers, who now must deal with a shoulder injury for RB Christian McCaffrey after he just returned from his ankle injury.
26. New York Giants (2-7) | Last week’s rank: 29
If they could play the Washington Football Team every week, the Giants would be thriving. Alas, the NFL schedule-makers are unlikely to comply.
27. Houston Texans (2-6) | Last week’s rank: 30
The Texans at least did not suffer the indignity of losing to the Jaguars this season. That’s not much. But it’s something.
28. Los Angeles Chargers (2-6) | Last week’s rank: 26
Does every Chargers game end the same way? Do they have to lose in such excruciating fashion every single time? The call made on the instant replay review was correct. The ball hit the ground and the Chargers’ would-be game-winning TD catch was rightly overturned. Even so, it was all just so Charger-ish.
29. Washington Football Team (2-6) | Last week’s rank: 25
The personal stories for Ron Rivera and Alex Smith are inspiring. But the harsh football reality is that this is now a 2-6 team with a 36-year-old starter at QB. So that means the present is bleak, and the future is not exactly promising.
30. Dallas Cowboys (2-7) | Last week’s rank: 28
The Cowboys have all but reached the point of asking for volunteers to come down from the stands to start at quarterback. The effort Sunday against the Steelers was spirited. Garrett Gilbert had some decent moments as he succeeded Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton and Ben DiNucci as the starting QB. But an actual win? Nope.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7) | Last week’s rank: 31
The upside of rookie QB Jake Luton was on display Sunday, particularly with his 73-yard TD on his second NFL pass. He should play the rest of this lost season so the Jaguars have some idea what he can and can’t do.
32. New York Jets (0-9) | Last week’s rank: 32
That was close. The Jets nearly made the mistake of winning and squandering their chance to be in position to draft Trevor Lawrence. You play to win the game? Not if you want the prize of next year’s NFL draft.
