NFLTR Power Rankings: Week 10

A 17-game season means there’s no clean halfway point anymore, but with every team having played at least eight games so far this is as good a time as any for some midseason power rankings. 

Something to remember: every year there is at least one team that starts the season hot and fades down the stretch. Conversely, there’s always a team with a losing record that hits its stride…

1 – Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)

• Last ranking: 5

Last time we ranked the league, the Eagles were coming off a disappointing loss to the Jets. That remains the lone blip on their record and since then Philadelphia has taken down the Dolphins and Cowboys to reassert their spot at the top of the league’s pecking order. They’re on bye this week to rest up for a killer stretch that includes games against the Chiefs, Bills, 49ers, Cowboys and Seahawks. It’s worth noting Philly is 5-1 in close games this season. 

2 – Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)

• Last ranking: 3

Despite this lofty ranking, the Chiefs have major concerns on offense. They scored just nine points against the Broncos in a loss and were shut out after a 14-point first half against the Dolphins. Fortunately, in a year where defense is making a resurgence, the Chiefs have one of the best units in the league on that side of the ball. That should give them time for HC Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes to figure things out on offense. 

3 – Baltimore Ravens (7-2)

• Last ranking: 7

Back in Week 7, we wrote that it felt like things were inevitably going to click for Baltimore, and when it did the Ravens were going to be a handful. After blowing the Lions and Seahawks out of the water, safe to say things are clicking for the Ravens. 

4 – Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)

• Last ranking: 10

While you can’t completely throw out the Bengals’ 1-3 start to the season, they sure have looked like a different team the further away they’ve gotten from QB Joe Burrow‘s calf injury — more like the Super Bowl contender everyone expected them to be. They won by two scores against the 49ers and took apart the Bills again. The defense and offense look like the tough-to-deal-with units they were expected to be coming into the season. 

5 – San Francisco 49ers (5-3) 

• Last ranking: 2

San Francisco is coming off its bye week and a shocking three-game skid, with the losses coming to the Browns, Vikings and Bengals. In those games, the 49ers vaunted defense sprang surprising leaks and QB Brock Purdy threw five interceptions to three touchdowns after having a 9:0 ratio in the first five games. However, I still don’t want to drop the 49ers too far. There’s too much talent on defense for them to stay down, and the addition of DE Chase Young at the trade deadline could be massive. And while Purdy’s not as good as some people thought after the hot start to his career, he’s not as bad as his detractors might lead you to believe either. 

6 – Detroit Lions (6-2)

• Last ranking: 4

Detroit has a fairly manageable stretch of the schedule coming up, with games against the Chargers, Packers, Saints, Broncos and twice against the Bears. As long as they take care of business for the most part, we probably won’t learn anything new about the Lions until the final three games of the season when they have a game against the Cowboys sandwiched by both games against the Vikings. 

7 – Miami Dolphins (6-3)

• Last ranking: 3

In three “measuring stick” games so far this year, the Dolphins have lost to the Bills, Eagles and Chiefs. Miami hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record yet. I wouldn’t go so far as to call them outright frauds but there are definitely some questions. Injuries have been a real factor, especially along the offensive line. The Dolphins have a chance to build momentum if they can get healthier, and the upcoming schedule provides an opportunity. They’re on bye this week and face the Raiders, Jets twice, Commanders and Titans before finishing the season with a three-game gauntlet against the Cowboys, Ravens and Bills. 

8 – Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)

• Last ranking: 8

The Jaguars took care of business the past two weeks against solid but beatable Saints and Steelers teams. They haven’t been lighting up the scoreboard on offense but they can move the ball in multiple ways and have a solid defense, though the pass rush outside of OLB Josh Allen is a concern. The game this week against the 49ers is a big test. 

9 – Dallas Cowboys (5-3)

• Last ranking: 9

The Cowboys had a chance to pull out a massive win against the Eagles but came up just short. At this point, that’s the defining theme for Dallas and it’s been that way for a while. 

10 – Seattle Seahawks (5-3)

• Last ranking: 11

The Ravens embarrassed the Seahawks, but Baltimore also embarrassed a very good Lions team that Seattle squeaked by in overtime, so I’m not going to ding them too much for that. What’s interesting about the Seahawks is they flash an extraordinarily high ceiling every week before inconsistency bogs them down. They need to figure that out, soon. They play the Commanders this week before a rematch with a Rams team that skunked them in Week 1, followed by a grueling stretch against the 49ers twice, the Cowboys and the Eagles. 

11 – Buffalo Bills (5-4)

• Last ranking: 6

If the playoffs started today, Buffalo would be on the outside looking in. There’s a lot of consternation in the local market about the offense, but the defense has really fallen off with all the injuries. It’s putting pressure on the offense to be perfect, not just good. Still, I like where Buffalo sits compared to some of the other wildcard contenders in the AFC like Pittsburgh or Cleveland, and winning the AFC East still isn’t out of reach. 

12 – Cleveland Browns (5-3)

• Last ranking: 13

The Browns’ defense is still one of the most powerful forces to be reckoned with in the NFL this season. The offense is not, even with QB Deshaun Watson back in the lineup — for now. He was better than QB P.J. Walker, but not by as much as you’d hope if you’re a Browns fan. His past track record is becoming less and less relevant, but with how good the Browns’ defense is playing, Watson might only need to be half as good as he used to be to get the team back into the playoffs.  

13 – Los Angeles Chargers (4-4)

• Last ranking: 12

The passing offense looks horribly out of sorts recently, and maybe it’s the injury to QB Justin Herbert‘s finger. Losing WR Mike Williams and the threat he presented down the field doesn’t help either. The defense is still a work in progress but there’s some hope with the edge rushing group. Joey Bosa is starting to look healthy, Khalil Mack can still flash the old dominance from time to time and second-round rookie Tuli Tuipolotu looks like a find. 

14 – New Orleans Saints (5-4)

• Last ranking: 17

New Orleans is on a two-game winning streak to take control of first place in the NFC South, though at the rate the division has gone this year, I’m not sure how long that will last. The Saints have been better on offense in recent weeks and the solution was apparently more of Taysom Hill. I’m skeptical the Saints can keep it together but they do have the highest ceiling of any NFC South team this year. 

15 – Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3)

• Last ranking: 19

The Steelers still have a minus-30 scoring differential which is by far the worst of any team with a winning record and lower than a lot of teams behind them in the standings. There’s just a floor that’s tough to drop this team past with HC Mike Tomlin at the helm, despite a host of other problems. 

16 – Minnesota Vikings (5-4)

• Last ranking: 22

The Vikings lost WR Justin Jefferson and looked like their season was over at 1-4. Then they rattled off three straight wins, including against the 49ers in the best game of QB Kirk Cousins‘ career. Cousins tore his Achilles the next week, but the Vikings got a heroic performance from brand-new QB Joshua Dobbs to beat the Falcons anyway. I don’t know how sustainable this is for HC Kevin O’Connell‘s crew but the Vikings look like an extremely tough team to kill and the No. 7 seed in the NFC is wide open. The upcoming stretch is friendly for the Vikings, too, with games against the Saints, Broncos, Bears and Raiders. 

17 – Houston Texans (4-4)

• Last ranking: 16

Texans first-round QB C.J. Stroud is legit. He’s the runaway favorite for offensive rookie of the year and looks like a future top-10 quarterback. As a team, the Texans are still lagging behind a little as evidenced by being the lone win on the Panthers’ schedule so far, but the future in Houston looks bright. 

18 – Washington Commanders (4-5)

• Last ranking: 20

Beating the Patriots isn’t as much of an accomplishment as it used to be, but it was encouraging to see the team didn’t pack it in after Washington sold at the trade deadline. The door is still technically open to steal the No. 7 seed in the NFC but the Commanders will need to be a lot more consistent on both sides of the ball. 

19 – Atlanta Falcons (4-5)

• Last ranking: 21

Falcons HC Arthur Smith finally pulled the trigger on sending QB Desmond Ridder to the bench, one week after calling criticism of Ridder “toxic groupthink.” Veteran QB Taylor Heinicke has sparked the offense a little and hasn’t turned the ball over as much, but it hasn’t been enough for wins. Even so, the Falcons aren’t out of the mix in the NFC South, with an opportunity to make up ground with two games still to come against the Saints. 

20 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)

• Last ranking: 15

The Bucs are in the midst of a four-game losing streak due in large part to a defense that’s had a tough time getting stops. They’re in a similar spot to the Falcons, too, with a chance to make up ground for the division in the second half of the season. Like the Falcons, Tampa Bay is also struggling with issues on the side of the ball where the head coach has more expertise. Bucs HC Todd Bowles‘ defense is the biggest issue right now, not the offense helmed by QB Baker Mayfield and the receivers. 

21 – New York Jets (4-4)

• Last ranking: 23

I know the Jets were dealt a bad hand at quarterback, but it’s still mind-boggling they did nothing to give themselves options down the stretch if QB Zach Wilson continued to struggle. They have a defense that can win games for them, they just need a spark at quarterback, even if there are plenty of other issues besides Wilson on that side of the ball. Now their options are even more limited. New York isn’t out of the playoff race at 4-4 but the loss to the Chargers on Monday night showed how far the gap between them and the good teams in the conference really is. 

22 – Green Bay Packers (3-5)

• Last ranking: 18

The Packers killed a four-game skid by taking care of business against the Brett Rypien-quarterbacked Rams. The same problems were still rampant, however, like penalties and mistakes from a super-young squad. Green Bay should improve over the back half of the season as the Packers get more experience. What’s more important than wins, however, is putting QB Jordan Love in an environment where his chances of future success can be properly evaluated. Love has had his share of struggles but his supporting cast has been letting him down in a major way, too. 

23 – Los Angeles Rams (3-6)

• Last ranking: 14

After a better-than-expected start to the season, the Rams’ depth has been exposed in a big way following a rash of injuries, the latest to QB Matthew Stafford that cost them a winnable game against the Packers and put them in a three-game slide. The silver lining is that Stafford’s injury isn’t expected to be long-term, and the team should get healthier coming out of the bye. But they’re in a big hole at this point, even in a weak NFC. 

24 – Tennessee Titans (3-5)

• Last ranking: 25

Second-round QB Will Levis has given the team a spark, throwing four touchdowns in his first game. He came back to earth a little bit in a loss to the Steelers, but at this point there’s no reason for the Titans not to ride him for the rest of the season and see what they have. 

25 – Indianapolis Colts (4-5)

• Last ranking: 24

If the Colts can ever put together a complete game, they could be friskier than this ranking. But the defense has struggled for most of the season outside of this past week against the Panthers, and the offense has had a hard time with turnovers. 

26 – Las Vegas Raiders (4-5)

• Last ranking: 26

Firing HC Josh McDaniels immediately lifted the mood in Las Vegas, and the team responded with perhaps its best game of the season in a 30-6 rout of the Giants. Still, this team as constructed has major issues. It’s not uncommon to see interim head coaches win early. It’s far less common to see them sustain it. 

27 – Denver Broncos (3-5)

• Last ranking: 30

The Broncos deserve credit for legitimately improving on defense and winning two straight games after a morose start to the season. If HC Sean Payton can keep up the momentum coming off the bye week, Denver could climb. I wouldn’t necessarily bet on that, though. The Bills on Monday night are next up, and a loss would kill any good vibes they have going. 

28 – New England Patriots (2-7)

• Last ranking: 31

A win against the Bills took some of the heat off everyone in New England, including HC Bill Belichick and QB Mac Jones. But it’s back on after two straight losses, the latest to the Commanders. I don’t know that Belichick the coach has completely lost his fastball but Belichick the general manager dealt him an impossible hand. 

29 – Chicago Bears (2-7)

• Last ranking: 28

Chicago won the first game UDFA QB Tyson Bagent started against the Raiders, then lost the next two as Bagent looked a lot more like a rookie. The Bears have been better since their woeful start to the season, but still aren’t good. 

30 – Carolina Panthers (1-7)

Last ranking: 32

The Panthers won a game for the first time this season by beating the Texans. That’s the only metric so far first-round QB Bryce Young has come out ahead of No. 2 overall pick Stroud in this season. It’s obviously too early to call Young a bust but it’s not too early to call Stroud a hit, which is unfortunate given how much Carolina traded to get the No. 1 pick. Young and the rest of the roster are feeling the impacts of that right now, and the team came crashing back to earth in a winnable game against the Colts. 

31 – Arizona Cardinals (1-8)

• Last ranking: 27

Yes, the Cardinals have the NFL’s worst record. It’s possible they also have the worst roster, too. But the return of QB Kyler Murray is an interesting wildcard for me to keep them out of the bottom spot. 

32 – New York Giants (2-7)

• Last ranking: 29

Misery in New York. Starting QB Daniel Jones tore his ACL and won’t have a chance to redeem himself from a miserable start to the season. The Giants are down to undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito at quarterback. The rest of the roster is littered with holes and HC Brian Daboll doesn’t have the same magic touch he did last year. There’s a lot of competition for the No. 1 pick this year and I wouldn’t count out the Giants.