Below are TGH’s official NFL Power Rankings ahead of Week 10.
To see a compiled and averaged ranking of NFL teams from seven major outlets (including CBS, ESPN and Bleacher Report), click here!
1. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals knocked off the 49ers in convincing fashion minus A.J. Green, Deandre Hopkins and Chase Edmonds (for most of the game). Oh, yeah, they also had backup quarterback Colt McCoy in the game. They retain the number one seed in the NFC with the best record in the NFL. Only thing to worry about now is Kyler Murray earning the moniker of “injury prone.”
2. Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love’s first start was uninspiring to say the least. The Green Bay offensive line kind of hung him out to dry, but even so, he was inaccurate and cost the Packers that game. Aaron Rodgers would have easily put 30-plus on the Chiefs’ awful defense and the Pack would have remained at the top of the rankings. In any case, Kansas City is still struggling and the defense held the Chiefs to only 13 points, including zero in the second half, which is great news for the Packers’ Super Bowl hopes. But let’s call a spade a spade here; if Rodgers were vaccinated, Green Bay would be 8-1. And if Love cannot improve quickly, there are dark times ahead in Wisconsin.
3. Tennessee Titans
The Titans continue to impress in face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Sure, Von Miller was not active in Week 9, but the Rams’ defense should have still been capable of stopping a Derrick Henry-less Titans offense. Instead, they got embarrassed by Tennessee. Most importantly, the Titans are 6-0 against playoff teams from last year. Time to label them true contenders, even without Henry.
4. Los Angeles Rams
Continuing the discussion from directly above, Stafford had a bad night and it cost the entire team. That started with the offensive line getting embarrassed by a Tennessee defensive front that was originally thought to be relatively weak, giving Sean McVay’s offensive schemes no time at all to develop. The Titans may have provided a blueprint to the rest of the NFC.
5. Baltimore Ravens
The narrative that the Ravens’ offense is too run-oriented to play from behind is officially dead. Baltimore has erased three double-digit deficits this season and has played in three overtime games, winning two of them. As Lamar Jackson puts together another MVP-caliber campaign, the Ravens continue to adjust to life with a platoon at running back. And it is working.
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Count Tampa Bay among the luckiest teams in the league in Week 9. While they sat at home, the Rams, Cowboys and Packers all lost, albeit in out-of-conference games. Even the Saints, who had started nipping at their NFC South lead got beaten in division by the Falcons. Either way, no movement for them this week.
7. Dallas Cowboys
Last week in the Power Rankings, it was stated that the Cowboys sat at the bottom of the (then) one-loss teams due to Mike McCarthy’s questionable decision making. Like clockwork, he decides to keep Dak Prescott, who had missed the previous week due to a hamstring injury, in a game in which the Cowboys were down 27-0. Prescott scored some garbage time points, as the game ended with a score of 30-16. So… congratulations?
8. Buffalo Bills
The Bills are now the reigning kings of the bizarre loss. First, a loss to the Steelers (who are not good, despite the teams’ identical records) on a blocked punt. Then, a failed fourth down sneak to ice the Titans, with a 6-foot-6 quarterback who kind of just fell on his face instead of getting the yard the Bills needed. Now, a riveting, barn-burning 9-6 loss to the terrible Jaguars. Buffalo still has a pretty easy schedule in front of them, but it seems as if there is no sure thing with this team anymore.
9. Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles relies goes as Justin Herbert goes. That is officially the narrative of the 2021 season for the Chargers. If he is bad, they are embarrassed. If he is great, then the team almost cannot lose. The Chargers have to beat themselves, either through bad quarterback play or awful penalties.
10. New England Patriots
Every NFL’s worst nightmare is the Patriots making a resurgence. It is officially on the cusp of becoming a reality as New England sits at 5-4 with three divisional games and a game against Jacksonville ahead of them. And if there are two things we know about Bill Belichick, they are that he wins divisional matchups and beats rookie quarterbacks. A Super Bowl run with a rookie at quarterback without a deep threat is a long shot, but no AFC team wants to meet up with Belichick in the playoffs, that much is certain.
11. Cleveland Browns
The narrative that “the Browns are better without OBJ,” might have actually been true, despite the seemingly ludicrous nature of that statement. With their running back room ravaged with COVID, Baker Mayfield and the “new look” wide receiver core has a tough matchup with New England in Week 10. A win here could bring the Browns back into favor.
12. Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City continues to struggle on offense, scoring zero points in the second quarter for the second week in a row. They were gifted the absence of Rodgers, who would almost assuredly have beaten them. To be fair, though, they took advantage of his absence, coming away with a slim win over Love in his first start. Playoffs are not out of the question, but this team needs to get it together in Week 10 against the division rival Raiders if they want a home game.
13. Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas is still replete with turmoil as Damon Arnette was cut this week after a video surfaced of him flashing guns and spewing threats. Will they play angry against the Chiefs, who are ripe for the picking, or do they roll over like they seemingly did against the Giants? Either way, Week 10 is huge for the Raiders.
14. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals might just be coming back down to Earth after getting stomped by the Cleveland Browns at home. This is a roller coaster team that, much like the Chargers, goes as their quarterback goes. Joe Burrow needs to bounce back after an awful two-interception performance. He will have the bye week to think things over.
15. New Orleans Saints
Coming back from a 19-point deficit is usually a good thing. Two circumstances prevented the Saints’ comeback effort from being just that. First, it was against in a divisional contest against an Atlanta team that is hopeless in terms of a sense of direction. Two, they did not even win the game after coming back. Trevor Siemian looks serviceable and this team could still be playoff-bound, though. They have the Titans in Week 10, who, as stated above, keep wrecking last year’s playoff teams. A win here proves New Orleans is no slouch.
16. Seattle Seahawks
Seattle gets Russell Wilson back this week and might have Chris Carson available, too. The bad news is that they travel to Green Bay where they will most likely have to face a very angry Rodgers who is looking to pick apart their very bad defense.
17. Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis rode one of the best offensive lines in the league (when healthy) and insanely productive running back in Jonathan Taylor to an impressive win that they had to have. The AFC South is all but gone if the Titans continue to play as well as they have, but the Colts could be a very dangerous Wild Card team.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers
Sorry, but the Steelers do not get to move up in the rankings after being handed a game by the refs against a bad Chicago Bears team. At least all NFL fans can use this game as an example that the emphasis on taunting has been misused and a complete failure. With that being said, they get the Lions next week, which should be an easy win.
19. Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins continues to let the Vikings down in big moments. Yes, he threw a clutch touchdown to tie the game with 1:05 left. But in overtime, the Minnesota defense secured an interception, which should have sealed the game in their favor. Instead, he came up terribly short on a third-and-nine and never saw the ball again. The Vikings just continue to be less than impressive, in short.
20. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers were embarrassed by the New England Patriots in Week 9. But, Bill Belichick does few things better than beat Sam Darnold, to be completely fair. If Christian McCaffrey can get back to 100 percent production, they might have a shot if they go on a streak, but this goose appears to be almost cooked.
21. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons beat the Saints, who beat the Buccaneers. Does that mean they are the best team in the NFC South? No, but kudos to them for surviving New Orleans’ 19-point comeback attempt. Younghoe Koo has to be in the discussion for one of the most clutch players in the league through nine weeks.
22. New York Giants
The Giants continue to surprise. After playing the Chiefs close, they clipped the Raiders, thanks to some solid defensive effort. It may be too little too late, but the offense has shown flashes of what it was designed to be.
23. San Francisco 49ers
Winning at home is now a foreign concept to San Francisco. The Niners have not won a game at Levi’s Stadium since Week 6 of 2020 against the Rams. That makes six straight at Levi’s Stadium and eight straight home games including those that were played in Arizona due to COVID-19. It may just be time for Kyle Shanahan’s seat to start getting warm.
24. Denver Broncos
The Broncos put up a monster game against the Cowboys, who clearly just looked past them. They amassed a 27-0 lead before letting off the gas, ending the game with a 30-16 victory. Rest assured, though, it was never close. They may be too low here, but this game looks more like a Dallas stinker than a Broncos statement.
25. Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia played the Chargers close, but could not stop Herbert in the end. They sit at second in the NFC East at 3-6, due to tiebreakers, but stand close to no shot at the playoffs. Their pass defense continues to look decent, even in a loss and Hurts might be the guy. He also might not be.
26. Chicago Bears
Congrats to the Bears and Justin Fields for making some strides against the Steelers in Week 9. In fact, they had that game in the bag if not for some bad officiating. Fields’ steps forward might be Nagy’s ticket to stay in Chicago, whether Bears fans want it or not.
27. Washington Football Team
The Football Team was on a bye in Week 9, so at least they could not lose. Washington, at 2-6, have a home game against the Buccaneers, who also had a bye last week. Does this have the makings of a trap game for the Bucs? Stranger things have happened.
28. Jacksonville Jaguars
That 9-6 win over the Bills was a strange one. But the Jaguars came to play against the current favorite for MVP, Josh Allen. The game plan was executed well and, ugly or not, a win is a win. Maybe the momentum will carry them to a divisional win against the Colts.
29. New York Jets
The final score of 45-30 in the Jets’ Thursday night loss to the Colts does not tell the whole story. It was really much less competitive than that. Backup quarterback Mike White went down with an injury, necessitating a Josh Johnson sighting, the rarest of all NFL things. Who will play in Week 10? Will it provide a spark? Does it matter?
30. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins got their obligatory second win against the Houston Texans. That is good. More talented teams should beat less talented teams. But this season is still extremely lost for Miami. So, so many questions need to be answered.
31. Detroit Lions
The Lions sit as the only winless team in the entire NFL. As most fans know, they have played better than their record indicates, but it is still 0-8. A road game against the Steelers is up next. They barely beat the Bears, so will they look past Detroit, or focus up?
32. Houston Texans
Houston remains the most talent-bare team in the league. They secured their one win, so 0-17 is not on the table. 1-16, though, might just be the best they can hope for.
Featured image courtesy of Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
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