NFL Power Rankings after Week 10: Seahawks top of charts,

Before I get into my recap of the week, let me just back up the stats with proof of the curse of our the top ranked team. Since Week 3, the top team in the Power Rankings has gone down in their following game in every week except Week 8 because the Lions had a BYE after they reclaimed top spot in Week 7. This week the Bills lost to the lousy Dolphins to continue the trend, the Colts bounced back in Berlin, The Pats rattled off their seventh straight just like the Broncos did on Thursday night. The Rams beat the Niners as Stafford strengthened his case for MVP and the Eagles won a slugfest in Lambeau on Friday night.

These are our Power Rankings after Week 10

1) Seattle Seahawks (7-2), last week 3

I’m sorry Seahawks fans I have to do this. I know I have been a curse to the team that I put in the top spot of the Power Rankings for about the last two months, but I can’t help it. The way the defense played on a day that should have been all about the offense and the addition of Rashid Shaheed tells me all I need to know about this team. I have been hesitant because Sam Darnold is the QB and we all know how his season ended last year, but if he has shown us anything over the course of his career, its that he can bounce back with the best of them and learn from his mistakes like the mature, seasoned vet that he is. Now, next week is going to be the real test for Seattle and for my curse as they take on the LA Rams in a heavyweight bought at home.

2) Los Angeles Rams (7-2), last week 6

I’m sorry but when you have an MVP level QB, the best WR in the league who isn’t even the leading WR on your own team, and a top two defense in the NFL than that earns you a spot in our top 2. I’m apologize to LA for not having them up here sooner, but they have deserved it for a while and honestly I think they’ll be happy that they are 2 and not 1 considering my recent history with the top ranked team and especially considering who they have to play next week (the Seahawks).

3) Indianapolis Colts (8-2), last week 2

This week was a test for the Colts. Everyone wanted to see how they would respond after they got worked by the Steelers. Their response in Berlin was enough for a win but not enough to instill the kind of confidence like we may have with other teams like the Rams or the Seahawks. The good news is they can take a breather after their OT win and focus their entire BYE on a way to beat the Chiefs in a couple weeks time.

4) Philadelphia Eagles (7-2), last week 5

The Eagles have come up with a multitude of ways to win games, and on Monday night in Lambeau it was all about the defense. It wasn’t like the Packers played poorly, it was just impossible to score on the Eagles for the first 50 minutes of the game. Hurts was quiet, and Barkley was kept in check but when it mattered most Barkley had a huge 3rd down conversion that went for 41 yards and then Hurts hit DeVonta Smith with a TD bomb on the next play. In those kinds of games you get one maybe two shots to break open the defense and they took it which ended up being the difference in the game.

5) New England Patriots (8-2), last week 9

Ok, the underestimating of this team is over. My apologies to Drake Maye and to Mike Vrable and to Robert Kraft and to the entire organization in New England. I was the first one in line to hop on the “their streak ends this week” ship as the Pats went down to Tampa Bay to take on a team coming off a BYE week. I thought TB would look fresher, more motivated and more dominant against a team that had rattled off six in a row. With seven straight in their pocket there may not be an end in sight with the Jets, Bengals and Giants coming up in their next three games.

6) Kansas City Chiefs (5-4), last week 7

BYE

7) Denver Broncos (8-2), last week 10

Are they real? Yes. Are they spectacular? No. There have been some really unflattering performances from the Broncos in their seven game win streak, but if you would have told Denver fans they would have had a seven game win streak this year they would have told you to stop hitting the dispensary so hard. That didn’t stop them from booing their team at times, but the Broncos did just enough to win the game as they have all season. They play to their opponents level, which hopefully they will be able to do next week when the Chiefs come to town off of their BYE.

8) Detroit Lions (6-3), last week 8

As the Lions so often do after a loss, they bounced back and gave a commanding performance over Washington in the nation’s capital. The offense got back on track, with over 500 totals, and the defense shut down an albeit limited Commanders offense. This was a perfect rebound game in which they could fine tune some things they want to get in order before their huge game against the Eagles next week.

9) Buffalo Bills (6-3), last week 1

Of course the Bills would lose to the Dolphins after we put them back at the top of the Power Rankings. Six straight wins against the Dolphins, and that streak snaps against what looks to be the worst Miami team we have seen in years. It was a wet, soggy game in South Beach and the Bills looked like a team that had no idea how to handle the conditions. Their run game was shut down, they fumbled the ball twice, and Josh Allen thew a pick as Devon Achane tore the defense apart with 174 yards and two TDs on the ground. Now everyone seems to be thinking the Bills are done. I’m not going to that extreme, but I’m also not going to ignore the curse of the Power Rankings that has plagued top ranked teams over the last few months.

10) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3), last week 4

I just fear the flame is starting to flicker in Tampa Bay. They were a fun team that had some spectacular wins and Baker Mayfield was in the running for early season MVP, but it’s a long season and you can’t win like that every week. They had one of their toughest tests of the season on Sunday, at home, coming off a BYE week, and they didn’t deliver. That was a litmus test to see who was the “for real” team in that match up and the Pats showed us that they are the true contenders, and Tampa might be in the pretender conversation.

11) Los Angeles Chargers (7-3), last week 14

The Chargers came into their game against the Steelers on a two game roll but against the ropes as injury problems reappeared on the offensive line. Their defense did the heavy lifting like they did in the early part of the season and like they will need to do for the rest of the year. Herbert didn’t have to play Superman because Kimani Vidal had a stellar game and a perfect game plan was drawn up against an overly aggressive defense that looked to tee off on the LA QB.

12) San Francisco 49ers (6-4), last week 11

There is only so much that Mac Jones and Christian McCaffrey can do to make up for of absurd amount injuries the Niners have on the offensive end. They needed a stop or two against the Rams to let Jones and the offense build a little momentum and get back into the game but they just didn’t have the personnel against the firestorm offense of the Rams. Even with Brock Purdy under center they might be able to beat some teams but Sunday showed us that the defense is going to be their weak point that will force the offense to be nearly perfect for the rest of the season.

13) Green Bay Packers (5-3-1), last week 13

At a certain point we have to start pointing the finger at the Packers offense. For two weeks in a row they have scored a total of 20 points and some of those worries that popped up after the first two weeks of the season are starting to cost them games and they are falling behind in the NFC North race. We expected this team to be a powerhouse. We expected them to contend for a Super Bowl, but they have some big problems scoring the football. Against the Eagles you can understand, but the dud they laid against the Panthers is incomprehensible which make their loss on Sunday sting ever more.

14) Chicago Bears (6-3), last week 16

This is how you know things are turning around in the Windy City. Their game against the Giants is one they should have won easily, but things got complicated late and they were on the brink of falling short in a game they had in the bag yet again. This is far from an elite team in the NFC, but their record would suggest otherwise. They have got a gauntlet of a schedule from now until mid December and that is going to tell us just how ready this team is to be taken seriously in the playoff race.

15) Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4), last week 12

It’s tempting to do with the Steelers considering they were the story of the summer, but we can’t get too high or too low on this team. In the end, they aren’t a bad team as they’ve shown against the Colts and the Patriots, but they aren’t a reliable team that you expect win games they should win or at least put up a fight in. This is an on and off team that will have good weeks and bad weeks, and that makes for another +.500 season in Pittsburgh but that’s not going to be enough in a city that is starving to be in the Super Bowl conversation. At the moment that’s not them and at the moment, they are just a game ahead of the Ravens who are suddenly looking like, the best team in the division.

16) Baltimore Ravens (4-5), last week 17

Well, well, well. It’s not all lost after all. The Ravens were careful and calculated bringing Lamar Jackson back from injury. They didn’t rush, and even got a win with back up Tyler Huntley which kicked off a three game win streak that was continued with Jackson’s return last week. Now they have won three straight and trailed the Steelers by just one game and they have some easy games coming up over the next month. They needed to get past the Vikings on the road, and they took care of business with another strong performance from the defense who is getting healthier and looking better as the weeks go on. They have given up just 11 points per game in the last month, and if you give Lamar Jackson that sort of defensive support, the Ravens are going to win every game they play.

17) Houston Texans (4-5), last week 21

Right when all seemed lost, and there was no reason to believe in the season, and their QB1 was sideline with a serious concussion and they trailed 29-10 in their game against the Jags all of the sudden Davis Mills of all people is the one who gives the Texans fans reason to believe. He threw three of the four fourth quarter TDs in a miraculous comeback over the Jaguars, and now Houston doesn’t have as big of a problem if they would have had they just threw in the towel after the third quarter and said you know what this isn’t our season.

18) Minnesota Vikings (4-5), last week 15

When you have a rookie QB there will be days like Sunday, especially when you can’t get the run game going. J.J. McCarthy threw the ball 42 times, getting picked twice and hitting less than 50% of his throws and to make matters worse, McCarty was the leading rusher with 48 yards. They beat the Lions last week, so it would have been awfully lofty expectations for the Vikes to beat the Ravens the week after, especially when you force your rookie QB to do everything for the offense.

19) Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4), last week 18

The collapse in Jacksonville is so ugly you almost can’t look away. Everything they have done since their big win over the Chiefs has been so spectacularly pathetic that you almost can’t help but root against them. Even their win against the Raiders was a disaster and they could have washed away the pain by holding on to a 29-10 fourth quarter lead but instead they let Davis Mills lift his team from the dead and sink the Jags. I doubt they will make it to the end of the season in the playoff race, but if by somehow they are still alive in the final few weeks of the season, this is going to be the game that tanks them.

20) Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1), last week 20

BYE

21) Carolina Panthers (5-5), last week 19

We said last week that the Panthers win over the Packers might have been their biggest win in ages. How do they follow it up? With a loss at home against one of the worst teams in the league. I want these guys to be good in spite of their owner, but they make it so easy to forget about them. They aren’t far from the Bucs in the standings but the eye test tells you they have almost no chance to win the division and even slimmer of a shot to get a Wild Card spot.

22) Atlanta Falcons (3-6), last week 22

Say what you want about the Falcons going to Berlin and staying in the game with the 8-2 Colts. They forced the game to OT, and lost to the Pats by a point last year. It doesn’t matter how tight the score was or how good their opponents are, they have still lost four straight and they are losing ground in the playoff picture. They have a couple of huge games coming up in the next two weeks against the Saints and the Panthers. Those are must wins if they are going to have any shot of making a move late in the second half of the season.

23) Cincinnati Bengals (3-6), last week 24

BYE

24) Arizona Cardinals (3-6), last week 23

The Cardinals got blasted by the Seahawks. The game was over in the first quarter as Seattle went up 21-0 and continued the onslaught in the second quarter stretching the lead out to 35-0. Luckily for ARI, the Seahawks took their foot off the gas and allowed the Cardinals to score a few TDs to make the scoreboard look mildly respectable.

25) Washington Commanders (3-7), last week 25

Washington’s season is officially over. It was over last week when Jayden Daniels went down with a season ending injury, but the offense isn’t the problem in the nations capital. The defense has given up almost 40 points a game in the last four games, and the Commanders five game losing streak has left them in no mans land with 8 weeks to go.

26) New York Jets (2-7), last week 31

The Jets had to know that their offense wasn’t going to do much against the lock down defense of the Cleveland Browns. The only way they were going to win on Sunday was to do it with defense and special teams, and that’s exactly what they did. A punt return and a kickoff return in succession put the Jets ahead early and forced a stagnant Browns team to have to come back fo the final three quarters. That’s two in a row in New York which is something they haven’t seen in the Meadowlands since Week 5 and 6 of the 2023 season.

27) Miami Dolphins (3-7), last week 29

Well I don’t think anyone expected that. The Dolphins played the Bills well in Buffalo early in the season and that performance might have saved some jobs in Miami , and with things heading south in a hurry in South Beach again the Dolphins somehow pulled out a victory against the Bills, snapping their six game drought against their hated division rivals. It’s not going to do them much good but for the first time in a while, they Dolphins gave their home fans something to get excited about.

28) New Orleans Saints (2-8), last week 30

Maybe it was those all white jerseys, or maybe it was the Tyler Shough show but whatever was in the water in Carolina, the Saints need to bottle it up and take it back to the Bayou. Shough had 282 yards which is more than you can ever ask for a rookie in his second start, and the defense gave up just 7 points and less than 200 yards which is all you can ask from a defense with a rookie QB under center.

29) Las Vegas Raiders (2-7), last week 28

The Raiders could have and probably should have won that game against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Unfortunately, even when you play like the better team and do all the things you need to to win, when you don’t have a lot of experience winning close games late, then what happened against the Broncos tends to happen.

30) New York Giants (2-8), last week 26

Just what the Giants needed to see only a couple weeks after Cam Skatteboo went down with a season ending injury. Jaxson Dart was knocked out of the game against the Bears and as things crumbled around him, Brian Daboll’s reign in New York came to an end after the Giants loss in Chicago. There was so much excitement in New York just a month ago, and now the two rookie sensations are sidelined with injury and the coach that was looking to ride them until the rest of the season is now unemployed.

31) Cleveland Browns (2-7), last week 27

It was the battle of two bottom feeders in New York, and we knew both teams were going to have trouble scoring the ball. The defense held up its end of the deal and the offense put 20 points on the board which should have been enough against a Jets team that 169 yards of offense, but on a day when the special teams couldn’t falter, they fell flat on their face and allowed back to back punt and kick off returns.

32) Tennessee Titans (1-8), last week 32

BYE

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