NFL Week 11 Power Rankings

Here we are. Thanksgiving. The best holiday of the year for nothing but the football. It also marks the official start of the NFL season, as how any team does over the next six games has the most impact of any stretch of the season.

Can the Pittsburgh Steelers stay undefeated and keep hold of the number one seed in the AFC? Can the New Orleans Saints ride Taysom Hill to the number one seed in the NFC? Will the New York Jets manage to mess up getting the number one overall pick? With just six games remaining, the only mathematical certainty is that the New York Jets won’t make the playoffs, everything else is still to play for.

So, with all of the answers to those questions and more ahead of us, how does the power share in the NFL look heading into the final six weeks of the NFL season? 

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-0)

Another week, another win. The Steelers remain undefeated, and it is time we acknowledge that they really could go undefeated in the regular season. They have a pretty tough end to the season, facing the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns, but they have shown they can and will beat any team. And while they’re ‘perfect’ in the standings, as Mike Tomlin keeps saying, they are far from a perfect team.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (9-1)

The Chiefs eked out a win over the Las Vegas Raiders, but that’s what champions do. As I’ve mentioned before there is an inevitability to this team – if they get the ball with a chance to win the game late, there is no doubt they will. However, their path to the Super Bowl still passes through Pittsburgh.

3. New Orleans Saints (8-2) +1 

The Saints are now 7-0 over the last two seasons with their backup QB. Taysom Hill was much better than I was expecting and figures to improve as he gets more reps as the starting QB. The Chiefs are the only game on the Saints schedule which figures to present a real challenge, and it seems unlikely that Drew Brees will be back and good to go for that game, so if Hill can keep the Saints on course until then and keep it competitive or win against Kansas City, we may not have to see Brees again until the playoffs with the Saints holding the number one seed.

4. Green Bay Packers (7-3) -1

Sunday’s loss was the type of result the Packers needed to avoid. That seems obvious, but the number one seed in the NFC is perhaps the most important spot in the playoffs – the Saints are a significantly different team at home than away, and Lambeau in the cold is a gamechanger. The Packers have a tie-break over the Saints, but they now need to make up a game to get back into the number one seed, and the Saints are rolling.

5. Buffalo Bills (7-3) +2

The Bills had a bye after their painful loss to the Arizona Cardinals, but despite that loss their playoff prospects strengthened thanks to the Miami Dolphins falling to the Denver Broncos this weekend. The Bills must bounce back after their bye to maintain their position as the AFC’s third seed.

6. Las Vegas Raiders (6-4) +4 

The Raiders may have lost, and they may be on the outside looking in at the playoffs, but they are the only team to have beaten the Chiefs this season, and they almost beat them for a second time if not for one blown coverage at the end. This is a physical, fundamentally sound team and they are getting the most out of every player. The Colts and Dolphins are their toughest remaining games, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Raiders drop just one more game the rest of the way.

7. Los Angeles Rams (7-3) +4

I was not sold that the Rams were as good as their record suggested, but their last two games have gone a long way to prove the Rams belong atop the NFC West. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the passing game came alive as Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp combined for 23 catches for 275 yards and a touchdown. The Rams didn’t need to run the ball and the defense left Tom Brady and co. flustered for much of the second half.

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-4) -3

Despite their immense amount of talent this team is still going through significant growing pains. Defensively they need to be more consistent and the offense can’t seem to fully click and get in rhythm with any regularity. Their talent is what is keeping them this high, because they are so capable of putting together dominant performances, but they have to pull it together as we get closer to the playoffs.

9. Seattle Seahawks (7-3) +4

Thursday night was a significant win for the Seahawks. They had lost three of their last four and had slipped to third in their division thanks to losses to the Cardinals and Rams. The defense finally played well, against Kyler Murray, no less, and came up with the game clinching play courtesy of their newest acquisition Carlos Dunlap. That was the performance the defense needed, now they must build from it.  

10. Indianapolis Colts (7-3) +4 

After losing in poor fashion to the Ravens in Week 9, the Colts have rebounded with huge wins over the Tennessee Titans and now the Packers. On Sunday against the Packers the offense played well and matched Aaron Rodgers, and ultimately the defense came up with big plays when they needed them, and the Colts capitalized on that.

11. Tennessee Titans (7-3) +1

The Titans didn’t necessarily play a great game but they still came out with a huge win. Not only do they stay in the playoffs on their record alone, they now have a tie break over the Ravens, who may be one of their main rivals for a playoff spot. This week’s game against the Colts is a huge opportunity for the Titans to re-affirm their position among the NFL’s best.

12. Cleveland Browns (7-3) +3

Given their start to the season, and their performances against the Ravens in Week 1 and the Steelers in Week 6, I didn’t expect the Browns to be 7-3 and second in the AFC North by Thanksgiving. The Browns are a playoff team right now and have total control of that position.

13. Baltimore Ravens (6-4) -5

The Ravens have now lost two straight and the season truly feels like it is getting away from the team. The Ravens had a lead over the Titans into the second half and had contained the Titans offense, the game was in their control and they still let it slip. The offense is in trouble because it is so one-dimensional, and even then, its ‘strength’ is not a strength. The defense has also seriously struggled in two consecutive weeks with poor tackling and run stopping. Now they face an undefeated Steelers team – going from strength to strength – in a week in which they can’t be in the building due to COVID.

14. Arizona Cardinals (6-4) -8

Going into Thursday night’s game the Cardinals were first place in the division and coming off one of the wildest game endings of the season. Instead of galvanizing the team to sweep the Seahawks on the year, they came out flat on offense and saw Kyler Murray injure his shoulder. It isn’t believed to be serious, nor make him miss any time, but it clearly affected him during the game. They now sit third in the division, a game behind both the Seahawks and Rams.

15. Miami Dolphins (6-4) -6 

The Dolphins came crashing back down to earth against the Denver Broncos after riding a five game win streak to the thick of the playoff mix. Tua Tagovailoa seriously struggled – the week after saying the NFL wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be – and was benched. He’ll be back in the lineup next week but it was the first typical rookie performance of his career, and we should be ready for some more growing pains as the season progresses.

16. San Francisco 49ers (4-6) +1

The 49ers had a bye, but the week off will hardly fix their issues. They should have Deebo Samuel back and Richard Sherman is close to returning, too, but there is still a quarterback problem on this team. The 49ers are just the best of a bad group of teams, and the gap between them and the Dolphins feels pretty significant right now.

17. New England Patriots (4-6) -1

Last week’s high of beating the Ravens was very quickly brought back down to earth in losing to the Houston Texans. Cam Newton didn’t play badly – far from it – and the offense showed more positive signs, it was the defense which fell flat on Sunday. Perhaps their win over the Ravens was more of a comment on Baltimore’s quality than their own.

18. Minnesota Vikings (4-6) -1

Last Monday night’s win over the Chicago Bears may have put the Vikings right in the playoff mix, but it wasn’t convincing. Now they have followed it up with a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The main positive of the last two weeks has been the re-addition of Adam Thielen to the offense, along with the continuing rise of Justin Jefferson into the NFL’s elite at his position.

19. Carolina Panthers (4-7) 

The Panthers will most likely not be making the playoffs, but they continue to show more signs that they are heading in the right direction. Prior to this week they had been one of the leakiest defenses in the NFL, but they stiffened against the Lions, pitching a shutout, while former XFL star PJ Walker earned his first NFL win in his first NFL start. They do expect to have Teddy Bridgewater back this week, though. 

20. Chicago Bears (5-5)

The Bears had a bye week as both Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles worked back from injuries. Matt Nagy hasn’t offered a conclusive comment on who would be the starting QB next week, which suggests that, health permitting, there may be a change on the horizon. Will it make a difference? It doesn’t seem likely, but it can’t get much worse.

21. Denver Broncos (4-6) +4

A four place jump may seem generous, but the Broncos once again showed in a half what they are capable of, and they are also the first team to beat the Dolphins in their last five games. It’s a longshot, but they’re just two games out of a playoff spot.

22. Houston Texans (3-7) +6 

Deshaun Watson is a man on a mission. He is playing at truly elite level and he showed his toughness and will to still win when he trucked Devin McCourty into the endzone. Whoever takes over the Texans head coaching job is taking over control of an MVP-caliber QB.

23. Los Angeles Chargers (3-7) +4

The Chargers may be 3-7, and their win this weekend may have been against the New York Jets, but the player they have at QB is the reason they rose again. Justin Herbert will likely be the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and his connection with the Chargers’ plethora of weapons is reason enough to afford this team more ‘power’ in the landscape of the NFL.

24. New York Giants (3-7) -2

The Giants may not be first in the division, behind only the Philadelphia Eagles thanks to their tie, but they are the only team in the NFC East who have shown consistent reason for optimism. They are steadily improving behind a strong offensive line and Wayne Gallman’s play on offense, and the defense is competitive. They do, however, have a pretty brutal final stretch of the season – they face the Seahawks, Cardinals, Ravens and Browns.

25. Philadelphia Eagles (3-6-1) -5 

Carson Wentz is playing like the worst starting QB in the NFL right now. He leads the league in interceptions (14) and fumbles lost (10). He has accounted for 24 turnovers while creating 19 touchdowns. He’s playing so poorly that there really shouldn’t be any question of benching him for Jalen Hurts. This team’s tie is proving to be a huge advantage, but with the way they and Wentz are playing it is becoming moot.

26. Detroit Lions (4-6)

For the first time in his 159 starts, Matthew Stafford was shutout, and it came against the now 4-7 Carolina Panthers defense which has been one of the leakiest defenses in the league. Since Matt Patricia was hired this team has regressed, and the future doesn’t look bright either.

27. Atlanta Falcons (3-7) -4

Since Raheem Morris took over this team has had somewhat of a second wind, winning three of four games prior to their bye week. However, coming off said bye, they faced a Taysom Hill led Saints team and couldn’t get anything going. It further illustrated the gap between the Falcons and the NFL’s best, and this team has a long way to go.

28. Washington Football Team (3-7) +1

Football Team came up with a significant win on Sunday, even if the game will be remembered for very different reasons. By beating the Cincinnati Bengals, Washington kept themselves just a half-game out of first place in the NFC East. They have a few challenging games left on the schedule, but they’re keeping themselves in position to host a playoff game.

29. Dallas Cowboys (3-7) +2 

The Cowboys got back in the win column for the first time since Dak Prescott broke his leg. It showed off some of the reasons the Cowboys were heralded as contenders going into the season, be it CeeDee Lamb’s addition or Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield. The Cowboys are just a half-game away from hosting a playoff game, and seem to have the easiest final six games of anyone in their division.

30. Cincinnati Bengals (2-7-1) -6

Cincinnati’s worst fear was realized on Sunday when they saw Joe Burrow leave the field on a cart, and now the devastating nature of his injury has been confirmed. He tore his ACL and MCL and suffered additional structural damage – the most comparable recent injury is Carson Wentz’ in 2017. Burrow looked like a number one overall pick in all the best ways, now all attention must turn to his rehab and a complete, thorough, comprehensive rebuild of this offensive line to protect him.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-9) -1

The Jaguars are well in the mix for the first overall pick. Amazingly, one win will be enough to keep them out of the first overall pick. They have a tough final six games, so may not win another game – they just have to hope the New York Jets find a way to win one.

32. New York Jets  (0-10)

The Jets have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs – of course, we knew this was a matter of time. At this point there only goal has to be to acquire the first overall pick, if they don’t, what will this have been for?