NFL Power Rankings (After Week 11)



This week is strictly from the "nothing to see here, move along" category. The Top 8 teams in the rankings either won or had the bye week. They stay where they are. With Houston (No. 9) and Pittsburgh (No. 10) both getting touched up, they move out and moving in are the Oakland Raiders at No. 9 and the Dallas Cowboys at No. 10.

 1. (1 last week) Baltimore (9-2): Lamar Jackson threw for four touchdowns and 224 yards and ran for 86 yards, while Gus Edwards had 112 yards and a TD in a 41-7 wipeout of the Houston Texans. This team is rolling, but they will have a test Monday night in Los Angeles against a Rams team just outside the Top 10 waiting to get in.

 2. Seattle (8-2): After competing hard to this record (one of the losses to the No. 1 Ravens), the Seahawks had a well-deserved bye. They get back to it Sunday with a battle at Philadelphia against the Eagles.

 3. (3) San Francisco (9-1): Those pesky Arizona Cardinals again. Took Jimmy Garoppolo to find Jeff Wilson out of the backfield for the go-ahead TD with 1:41 to play to get San Fran over the top. The 49ers will have another big test on Sunday night when they host the No. 5 Packers.

 4. (4) New England (9-1): No, they didn't win exciting ... but they won nonetheless over the Eagles in a battle of defensive-minded teams, 17-10. Tom Brady can complain about his offense, but it brings everyone to the stadium. The defense wins those championships in the end.
5. (5) Green Bay (8-2): After a well-deserved bye week, the Packers go back at it on Sunday night to Santa Clara to face off with the No. 3 49ers and see if the rest was enough.

6. (6) New Orleans (8-2): The Saints followed that terrible outing against the Atlanta Falcons with a much-better effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their full-body Bloody Mary outfits they wore on Sunday in a 34-17 game. Drew Brees was 28-of-35 passing for 228 yards and three TDs and the Saints ran for 109 yards as a team. Yeah, THOSE Saints returned. The Saints entertain Carolina this Sunday.

 7. (7) Minnesota (8-3): Good thing the Vikings and Kirk Cousins saved their very best for last in the 27-23 comeback win over the Denver Broncos. People would be talking about "Same ol' Vikings" then. Minnesota gets the week off, then faces off with Seattle in the Pacific Northwest next week.

 8. (8) Buffalo (7-3): The Bills struggled at first with divisional rival Miami and then realized the Dolphins are the same ol' Dolphins most everyone has taken their shots at all season in a 37-20 win. Buffalo gets to entertain Denver this week.

 9. (NEW) Oakland (6-4): We've seen glimpses of how good Coach Jon Gruden's Raiders have been this year. Now we're seeing them being challengers to the up-and-down Kansas City Chiefs. They've won three in a row, though Detroit, the L.A. Chargers and Cincinnati won't make one shudder in their boots. And this week, it's a trip to New Jersey to face off with the New York Jets. But next week -- it's on like Donkey Kong as the Raiders and Chiefs battle in K.C.

10 (NEW) Dallas (6-4): When Dak (29-of-46, 444 yards, 3 TDs) and Zeke (73 total yards, 2 TDs) get it going, the Cowboys are awfully hard to stop. But we'll find out how much this inconsistent team has figured it out on Sunday when they travel to Foxborough to face off with the No. 4 Patriots.


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