B&T Power Rankings Week 10
By Luke Sims
Welcome to the B&T Power Rankings. The place where we rank the teams on their record, front office actions, and overall craziness. Expect some arbitrary explanations, some in-depth analysis, and your fair share of surprises.
Another strong performance from the Falcons, the Texans looks to be on a roll, and the Titans find ways to give the Bears the ball as much as possible. After another crazy week in the NFL it’s time to look at the power rankings.
Hate ‘em? Love ‘em? Agree? Disagree? Leave it in the comments.
#1 [1]. Atlanta Falcons, 8-0: Continuing to win is important for the Falcons as they fight for home field advantage in the playoffs. They haven’t beaten many quality opponents, but the team has won and that’s what matters most.
#2 [5]. Chicago Bears, 7-1: I’m not certain this defense can get any better. It creates opportunities that just don’t exist for other teams. The offense could improve but this defense makes it irrelevant.
#3 [2] . Houston Texans, 7-1: Beating the Bills wasn’t much of a challenge for the Texans. This team will see how complete it is this next week against the Bears.
#4 [4]. New England Patriots, 5-3: The Rams were nothing more than an extra week off while on vacation in London. The Pats will come out hot after their bye.
#5 [7]. San Francisco 49ers, 6-2: Coming off the bye, expect Jim Harbaugh’s unit to be ready to play and continue its dominance. The Rams this week are like another bye week.
#6 [9]. Green Bay Packers, 6-3: Beating the Cardinals isn’t much of a feat, but keeping Aaron Rodgers’ momentum is important.
#7 [6]. Denver Broncos, 5-3: It’ll be tough to beat the Broncos this season. They were vulnerable against the Bengals but Peyton Manning showed why he commands such a big contract.
#8 [3]. New York Giants, 6-3: If the Steelers and the Giants end up meeting in the Super Bowl then it goes to the Giants because they won’t be playing in their own stadium. But until this team can win at home don’t expect them to string together a ton of wins anytime soon.
#9 [10]. Pittsburgh Steelers, 5-3: Taking down the Giants is big. It’s even bigger since the Steelers have a roster that is showing just how strong and deep it is just at the right time.
#10 [8]. Baltimore Ravens, 6-2: Either we’ve all been underestimating the Bills or the we’ve all been overestimating the Ravens. I’m starting to think it’s the latter.
#11 [15]. Detroit Lions, 4-4: The Lions are putting it all together at the right time. They’ll have a tough road to the playoffs if only by virtue of the division they play in, but I think they could push for it.
#12 [11]. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4-4: They injured McFadden and game away with a win against the Raiders. They may not make the playoffs, but they’ll definitely be a speed bump for someone else.
#13 [14]. Seattle Seahawks, 5-4: They showed the league that the Vikings are nothing more than pretenders. Russell Wilson is looking like a great decision.
#14 [19]. Indianapolis Colts, 5-3: Can this team make the playoffs? Can Andrew Luck keep up the stellar play? If they lose to Jacksonville on Thursday then it’s all probably a dream. But if they punish their division foes for beating them earlier in the season then the rest of the NFL better be ready for the Colts to get serious, fast.
#15 [12]. Miami Dolphins, 4-4: I’m attributing their loss to the Colts more to the Colts than the Dolphins playing poorly. They’re still stronger than their record.
#16 [22]. New Orleans Saints, 3-5: That was a nice win agains the Eagles. I’m secretly rooting for Drew Brees to make it to the playoffs, if only to defy the odds.
#17 [13]. Minnesota Vikings, 5-4: If the Vikings continue to falter then they won’t have any hope at catching the rest of the division since they’re red hot. The burden of returning to form falls on Christian Ponder.
#18 [16]. Cincinnati Bengals, 3-5: I had hoped the Bengals would come off their bye much stronger after looking a mess before it. I was wrong. The Broncos are tough, but you have to stop them from coming back.
#19 [18]. Dallas Cowboys, 3-5: I expected a much bigger game from Atlanta, but the game still showed that the ‘Boys are well behind the better teams in the league.
#20 [21]. New York Jets, 3-5: Call it optimism or other teams playing worse this past week, either way the Jets go up.
#21 [17]. Washington Redskins, 3-6: This team just isn’t deep enough to overcome their injuries. They should have beaten the Panthers.
#22 [26]. San Diego Chargers, 4-4: It’s good to see the Bolts rebound after losing to the Browns the week before. Maybe if they treat every game like they’re playing the Chiefs they have a shot.
#23 [20]. Arizona Cardinals, 4-5: Five straight losses heading into their bye. Time to right the ship.
#24 [25]. Cleveland Browns, 2-7: That Ravens game was much closer than it should have been. The Browns could end up winning a few more before the season ends.
#25 [30]. Carolina Panthers, 2-6: It’s nice to see Cam Newton and company get it done. A lot of it has to do with the team’s running game though.
#26 [27]. Philadelphia Eagles, 3-5: The Eagles had a shot but couldn’t get it in the end zone. Andy Reid must be furious with his uber talented roster.
#27 [28]. Oakland Raiders, 3-5: There goes all the momentum. I can’t imagine this team stringing together another win or two without Darren McFadden.
#28 [23]. St. Louis Rams, 3-5: It was the bye week for the Rams but maybe all they realized is that this is year one of the Jeff Fisher era and he knows what he’s doing. They’ll get better but this year just isn’t their year.
#29 [29]. Buffalo Bills, 3-5: If the Titans hadn’t failed as hard as they did then the Bills would be at 30. It’s been a bad season for them.
#30 [24]. Tennessee Titans, 3-6: When your playmakers are making plays for the opposing team, you know you have issues. Bud Adams isn’t making it any easier for them to come back.
#31 [31]. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1-7: Their only hope of the season may be this week against the Colts again. I don’t see it happening though. Maybe if they took play calling duties out of OC Bob Bratkowski’s hands….
#32 [32]. Kansas City Chiefs, 1-7: If there is one team who needs the first overall pick more than the Chiefs…