Week 11 NFL Power Rankings: Here come the Patriots; Chiefs are back

You think you know a team.

You think you’ve got a bona fide contender, free of flaws and headed for the Super Bowl, and then a club emerges from the basement and dismantles them.

Or, maybe, you’ve just dusted off your pant legs from leaping off a bandwagon only to watch it turn back into a Maserati and leave you in its dust.

This fun — and at times frustrating — parity-filled football league is never short on upsets, blowouts, and surprises… and we’re just now getting into the really good part.

Ten weeks into the schedule, the intensity is about to ramp up as we start talking about — yup! — playoffs.

Here’s a look at where each team sits right now in our weekly power rankings as we gear up for another big weekend in the NFL.

CAN WE BOOK OUR PLAYOFF TICKETS YET?

1. Green Bay Packers (8-2; Last week: 2)
2. Arizona Cardinals (8-2; Last week: 1)
3. Tennessee Titans (8-2; Last week: 5)
4. Dallas Cowboys (7-2; Last week: 8)
5. Buffalo Bills (6-3; Last week: 7)
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3; Last week: 3)

The Bills and Cowboys bounced back nicely and restored some confidence by bullying a pair of outmatched rosters. Tampa remains a top-tier team despite a surprising loss to Washington. The defending champs are still going to win the NFC South barring devastating injury news and should be a factor come playoffs. The health of Antonio Brown has got to be a growing concern for the Bucs, though, since they’re 5-0 with him and now just 1-3 without him this season. – Johnston

CHALLENGING FOR THE TOP SPOT

7. Los Angeles Rams (7-3; Last week: 6)
8. New England Patriots (6-4; Last week: 13)
9. Baltimore Ravens (6-3; Last week: 4)
10. Kansas City Chiefs (6-4; Last week: 15)

We see you, Patriots. On a week that brought many blowouts, New England’s dismantling of the Browns seriously stood out. Between elite line play on both sides of the ball, a rookie quarterback who’s looking more and more Brady-like each week, and the stylish mastermind that is Bill Belichick pulling the strings from the sideline, these Patriots can be underestimated no more. A win Thursday over Atlanta, plus a Buffalo loss Sunday against a hot Colts club, would see Mac Jones jump into the division’s top spot, but we’ll have to wait until these two team meet — Dec. 6 and 26 — to crown the champ. This is going to be a really fun race to watch.

That Browns loss was a blessing for Baltimore, who stumbled their way through last Thursday’s defeat to Miami but remain atop the AFC North by a hair.

Back-to-back losses see the Rams fall out of the top tier, but we’re not too worried. A well-timed Week 11 bye allows them to regroup after some major roster changes, including the addition of Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. and the loss of receiver Robert Woods. The Rams: Part II debut against the Packers in what will be must-see TV in Week 12.

Oh, and the Chiefs? Yeah, they’re back. – Sadler

HEATING UP + COOLING OFF

11. Indianapolis Colts (5-5: Last week: 16)
12. Los Angeles Chargers (5-4; Last week: 11)
13. Cleveland Browns (5-5; Last week: 9)
14. Cincinnati Bengals (5-4; Last week: 10)
15. New Orleans Saints (5-4; Last week: 17)
16. Minnesota Vikings (4-5; Last week: 20)
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3-1; Last week: 14)
18. Las Vegas Raiders (5-4; Last week: 12)
19. San Francisco 49ers (4-5; Last week: 22)
20. Carolina Panthers (5-5; Last week: 23)

Don’t look now but the Colts are 5-2 in their past seven and have worked back into the AFC playoff picture. Meanwhile, teams like the Browns and Chargers, who at times earlier in the year were playing like Super Bowl contenders, are suddenly floundering. There is far too much inconsistency among the teams in this group, so overall it’s unsurprising they’re all hovering around .500 at the moment. – Johnston

VARYING RESULTS (AND PRIORITIES)

21. Washington Football Team (3-6; Last week: 27)
22. Philadelphia Eagles (4-6; Last week: 24)
23. Denver Broncos (5-5; Last week: 18)
24. Miami Dolphins (3-7; Last week: 29)
25. Seattle Seahawks (3-6; Last week: 19)
26. Atlanta Falcons (4-5; Last week: 21)
27. New York Giants (3-6; Last week: 25)
28. Chicago Bears (3-6; Last week: 26)

Washington’s probably wishing they played Tampa Bay every week — Taylor Heinicke bested Brady with relative ease on Sunday — but while the win is reflected in the standings, the loss of Chase Young is too great to really register that as a true victory. Quarterback questions and ongoing struggles with consistency in Philadelphia, Denver, Miami, and even Seattle — if you’re Russell Wilson, are you staying beyond this year? — are the storylines in those markets, while the Falcons don’t have much time to lick their wounds after being absolutely dominated by Dallas over the weekend. The Patriots await on Thursday. (Salt, meet wound.) – Sadler

FAMILIAR FOUR

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7; Last week: 30)
30. New York Jets (2-7; Last week: 28)
31. Houston Texans (1-8; Last week: 31)
32. Detroit Lions (0-8-1; Last week: 32)

The Lions did it! They didn’t lose! Sure, they didn’t win the game against Pittsburgh, but at this point in the season not losing is a moral victory and any victory is wanted. Fun fact: Detroit’s success this season has been directly tied to whether they win the opening coin toss. They were 0-8 on coin tosses to begin the 2021 season. They won their first coin toss on Sunday and had their best result. That’s what you call football science, folks. – Johnston

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