It’s hard to believe there is only one-quarter of the NFL season left. It’s about that time of the year when the playoff picture begins to take shape and teams on the outside-looking-in will do anything to stay in the hunt. This week’s power rankings feature less movement than the previous few weeks, but that shouldn’t be the case going forward with a plethora of division matchups down the home stretch of the season. Despite less activity in the rankings, a handful of teams still experienced a notable rise/fall, including a switch-up in the top ten.
Risers:
New England Patriots
Week 10 Ranking: 4 (+2)
New England jumps back into the top five as they move to 8-3 following another November division win, this time at the expense of the Jets, 27-13. Rob Gronkowski found the end zone in his return to the field, Sony Michel looked back in rhythm with 133 yards rushing and a score, and Tom Brady quietly became the NFL’s all-time leader in career passing yards. New England has also activated Rex Burkhead from IR, giving Brady another weapon to utilize as the Pats fight for home-field advantage.
Denver Broncos
Week 10 Ranking: 17 (+5)
Just as everyone expected, it was defensive tackle Shelby Harris with the game-clinching INT in the end zone with a minute left in the game, as Denver outlasted Pittsburgh 24-17 and improved to 5-6 on the year. Don’t look now, but following consecutive wins against two of the best teams in the AFC (Chargers and Steelers, respectively), the Broncos now have a stretch of winnable games as they look to make a late playoff push (at Bengals, at 49ers, vs Browns, at Raiders).
Fallers:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 10 Ranking: 8 (-4)
After sneaking out of Jacksonville with a late comeback win last week, the Steelers experienced a last-second loss in Denver on Sunday, each respective result thanks to Ben Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh falls out of the top five after seeing their six-game winning streak snapped. An important matchup looms this week when they host the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
Cincinnati Bengals
Week 10 Ranking: 24 (-6)
A second week in a row for the Bengals on the wrong side of the risers/fallers list. Apparently, Marvin Lewis bringing Hue Jackson aboard for some extra insight on Cleveland didn’t help stop Cincy’s struggles, as they got blown out at home by the Browns. While AJ Green could return this coming week, the Bengals have lost Andy Dalton for the season (thumb), placing their 2018 fate in the hands of Jeff Driskel.
Full Rankings
1 New Orleans Saints 2 Los Angeles Rams 3 Kansas City Chiefs 4 New England Patriots 5 Los Angeles Chargers 6 Chicago Bears 7 Houston Texans 8 Pittsburgh Steelers 9 Minnesota Vikings 10 Seattle Seahawks 12 Carolina Panthers 11 Indianapolis Colts 13 Dallas Cowboys 14 Baltimore Ravens 15 Philadelphia Eagles 16 Washington Redskins 19 Tennessee Titans 18 Green Bay Packers 17 Denver Broncos 20 Cleveland Browns 21 Atlanta Falcons 22 Miami Dolphins 24 Cincinnati Bengals 23 Detroit Lions 25 Jacksonville Jaguars 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27 Buffalo Bills 28 New York Giants 29 New York Jets 30 San Francisco 49ers 31 Oakland Raiders 32 Arizona Cardinals
Written By: Greg Lehr
Rankings: Blitz Team