B&T Power Rankings Week 11
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.
The Falcons finally fall, the Bears lose a battle of defenses, and the Colts continue their strong push for the playoffs. Can the Saints keep up the momentum? Can the Chiefs ever win another game?
Hate ‘em? Love ‘em? Agree? Disagree? Leave it in the comments.
#1 [1]. Atlanta Falcons, 8-1: 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.
#1 [3] . Houston Texans, 8-1: The battle of the defenses is over and the Texans have emerged victorious. As the season winds down, keep in mind that defense wins championships.
#2 [1]. Atlanta Falcons, 8-1: The Falcons have finally fallen! This is probably a good thing for a team with mounting pressure as the lone unbeaten. Get it out of the way now rather than lose in the playoffs….again.
#3 [7]. Denver Broncos, 6-3: This defense is too good to let this team lose. Imagine if someone other than Tim Tebow had been in Denver last year?
#4 [6]. Green Bay Packers, 6-3: They’ll pick up where they left off next week: winning.
#5 [4]. New England Patriots, 6-3: That Bills game was closer than Bill Belichick would like. But he won so I don’t think there will be much crying in New England.
#6 [2]. Chicago Bears, 7-2: This offense is definitely in its defense’s shadow. When the defense can be beat at its own game, this team just can’t win.
#7 [10]. Baltimore Ravens, 7-2: 55 points later and the Ravens quiet even more doubters. Well done to Joe Flacco and company.
#8 [9]. Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-3: Not having Ben Roethlisberger may hurt down the stretch, but the loss of Ryan Clark may hurt more.
#9 [5]. San Francisco 49ers, 6-2-1: Turns out the Rams aren’t like another bye week for the Niners. San Francisco could have lost this game twice but managed to hold on for the tie.
#10 [14]. Indianapolis Colts, 6-3: Will Andrew Luck really carry this team to the playoffs? While beating the Jaguars isn’t something to write home about, the Colts managed to keep their momentum going.
#11 [8]. New York Giants, 6-4: Dropping a game to the stumbling Bengals is embarrassing. Then again, the Giants could be making sure they don’t have home field advantage in the playoffs….again.
#12 [12]. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5-4: Josh Freeman and the Bucs are really heating up and could be tough for anyone to get past in the crowded NFC South.
#13 [16]. New Orleans Saints, 4-5: Finally knocking off the Falcons is huge in the competitive NFC South. The Saints’ defensive play is getting much better later in the season.
#14 [17]. Minnesota Vikings, 6-4: Adrian Peterson showed how to beat the Lions this week. The Vikings won’t be taking the NFC North crown away from the Packers this year, but they aren’t going away quietly.
#15 [13]. Seattle Seahawks, 6-4: The competition is getting tougher for the Seahawks. They really got after the hapless Jets but need some more wins against top-tier opponents.
#16 [18]. Cincinnati Bengals, 4-5: Beating the Giants is huge for the Bengals. Andy Dalton looked back on form with four touchdowns.
#17 [19]. Dallas Cowboys, 4-5: Playoffs may not be likely any more, but it’s always nice to beat a division rival.
#18 [11]. Detroit Lions, 4-5: When making that final push for the playoffs you simply can’t lose to a division rival. The Vikings may have put enough buffer between them to keep the Lions in last place.
#19 [15]. Miami Dolphins, 4-5: Turns out Ryan Tannehill isn’t as good as we all thought. He’s had a good rookie season, but the game against the Titans showed that he can’t generate offensive production alone.
#20 [21]. Washington Redskins, 3-6: Let’s see if RGIII has learned to stop taking hits during the bye week. Sad thing is, those extra yards he gains may be the best thing for the Redskins.
#21 [22]. San Diego Chargers, 4-5: This team is floundering worse than usual. IF history has any say in the matter, the Chargers will make a push in November. But then again, this just doesn’t seem to be their year.
#22 [23]. Arizona Cardinals, 4-5: Coming out hot will be hard for the Cardinals. It’s time for them to show that the start of the season was more than a fluke.
#23 [24]. Cleveland Browns, 2-7: If Trent Richardson can continue to move the ball on the ground, then this team may find some success late in the season.
#24 [28]. St. Louis Rams, 3-5-1: The Rams go up by virtue of tying the Niners. Well done to a team that is still outplaying its talent.
#25 [30]. Tennessee Titans, 4-6: If any team in the bottom half has any momentum, it’s the Titans. Chris Johnson had a very big game and has finally started to live up to his big contract. When CJ2K is running like he is right now, the Titans can survive Jake Locker only completing nine passes.
#26 [26]. Philadelphia Eagles, 3-6: Andy Reid will most definitely be gone by the end of the season. He is having a bad string of games to close out the season and a lot of that is due to personnel as well as coaching.
#27 [20]. New York Jets, 3-6: The Jets were trounced by the Seahawks. Rex Ryan’s group simply doesn’t have the same fire it used to.
#28 [25]. Carolina Panthers, 2-7: After a strong 2011 season the Panthers really need to think about what they can do to return to form. That may start with the draft rather than some action this season.
#29 [29]. Buffalo Bills, 3-6: The Bills/Patriots game was quite close but showed again that Buffalo simply doesn’t have the talent to win against the better teams.
#30 [27]. Oakland Raiders, 3-6: Allowing the Ravens to set a franchise record is a sure way to lose the game. The Raiders short run in the middle of the season probably won’t return.
#31 [31]. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1-8: With the Texans up next it will be difficult for the Jaguars to find any positives. If they somehow string something together they will distance themselves from the first overall pick…but maybe that’s a good thing.
#32 [32]. Kansas City Chiefs, 1-8: An overtime loss to the Steelers is better than expected. But this team couldn’t take advantage of Ben Roethlisberger leaving the game.