Never before in NFL history had six teams won by scoring on the final play of the game, but the Lions, Browns, Cardinals, Seahawks, Texans and Broncos changed that, as all six kicked game winning field goals as time expired. Parity in the NFL was certainly on full display, as four other games this week were decided by four points or less, giving us a total of 10 games decided by four or fewer points.
We are now more than halfway through the regular season and scoring is down this year compared to prior years – and with weather becoming more of a factor in upcoming weeks, scoring may dip even more (I’m talking to those of you who enjoy betting over/unders).
In the rankings this week, the 49ers took the biggest leap, moving up eight spots, while their opponent, the Jags, took the biggest stumble, falling six spots.
The Prime Time Pick’em had its second consecutive 2-1 week, improving the season record to 22-10. The slate of prime-time games this week is much tastier than last week. In fact, all three games could go either way so if you’ve been parlaying my picks this year, this is the week to take a break. We’ll get things started this week with a pair of AFC North foes as the Bengals travel to Baltimore, where both teams will be looking to avoid a losing streak. Everything in my gut is telling me to take the Ravens, but I’m going to ride with Joe Burrow and company. The Sunday night matchup would have been an absolute clunker about a month ago, but all of a sudden it’s a good matchup as the Vikings will put their 5-game winning streak on the line against the Broncos, who have a 3- game streak of their own. This is another toss up as far as I’m concerned, so this time I’ll take the home team and their altitude advantage. And Monday night gives us our Super Bowl rematch as the Eagles head to Arrowhead to play the Chiefs. I’m going to go with the champs until they’re no longer the champs, but this feels like a game the Eagles may ultimately walk away from victorious.
Here are the rankings as we head to Week 11. Teams’ previous ranking in ( ).
1. Philadelphia Eagles (1): When you’re 8-1, sometimes you don’t even want a bye – but it couldn’t have come at a better time for Philly, as they face their toughest stretch of the year over the next five weeks.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (3): Take away their inexplicable loss to Denver, the Chiefs would be 7-1 with their only loss being by a single point to the Lions. Hard to fathom how people don’t think this team is still the biggest threat in the NFL.
3. San Francisco 49ers (11): When healthy, there’s little doubt this team is a force. The addition of Chase Young on defense is really not even fair to the rest of the league.
4. Dallas Cowboys (4): If only they could play the Giants in the playoffs, they would be the heavy favorites to win it all.
5. Cleveland Browns (7): Imagine if this team still had Nick Chubb. Even without him, they have proven themselves to be a formidable force in the AFC.
6. Baltimore Ravens (2): You can’t blow a 14-point lead at home to a divisional opponent. The defense fell apart in the second half after having played some of their best football in recent weeks.
7. Detroit Lions (8): This team has a legitimate chance at the #1 seed in the NFC. Finishing the season 14-3 is a distinct possibility.
8. Cincinnati Bengals (5): While I expected a tight game against the Texans, I still presumed Cincinnati would prevail. I still think they’re a highly dangerous team come playoff time, but at 5-4 the playoffs are no longer a lock.
9. Miami Dolphins (9): Miami comes off their bye with a favorable schedule in the coming weeks. The AFC East is theirs for the taking assuming they beat the teams they are supposed to (which they have to this point in the season).
10. Minnesota Vikings (15): Not only are the Vikings not dead, they’re currently sitting in final playoff spot, with a 2-game cushion. If Joshua Dobbs can continue to play the way he’s playing, this team is going to go from 1-4 to the playoffs.
11. Seattle Seahawks (12): Seattle got a win they had to have if they want to dethrone the 49ers at the top of the NFC West. After this week’s game against the Rams, they have four straight games against teams ranked in the top 4 of this week’s power rankings.
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (6): I’m not sure what I would be more concerned with as a Jags fan, the poor showing against the 49ers this week or the fact that the Texans appear to be for real and now sit just one game behind the Jags in the division.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (14): The Steelers put up 17 points in the first half, but reverted to form in the second half as they were only able to put up two field goals. Nonetheless, it was enough to get the win (and once again they were outgained by their opponent).
14. Houston Texans (18): If not for their puzzling performance against the winless Panthers, this team would be near the top 10. Nonetheless, you have to love what DeMeco Ryans is building in Houston and CJ Stroud is not only a lock for rookie of the year, he might challenge for MVP.
15. Los Angeles Chargers (10): The offense was up to the challenge, but the defense wasn’t. This was the 100th game in the last 10 years for the Chargers that was decided by one score. They’re only one game out of a playoff spot, but there’s a lot of teams ahead of them at the moment.
16. Buffalo Bills (13): The Bills have completely lost who they are. They tend to play better when they play good teams, so I won’t be surprised if they find a win or two coming up against some of the best teams in the league. With that said, their overall remaining schedule is the third toughest and it’s hard to see them getting into the playoffs at this point.
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (19): To say Tampa needed a win would be the understatement of the year. They had lost four straight and four of their next five are on the road, including this week against the 49ers.
18. New Orleans Saints (16): The Saints sit atop the division at 5-5, but the health of Derek Carr is up-in-the-air. They get a much-needed bye this week prior to a relatively soft schedule the rest of the season.
19. Denver Broncos (26): Don’t look now but Denver has won three straight and is playing their best football of the year. It may be too little too late in a loaded AFC, but at the very least they are certainly building some momentum into the 2024 season.
20. New York Jets (17): The Jets may very well be 4-7 after their next two games, in which case you have to believe there would be no reason for Aaron Rodgers to rush back. New York is going to kick themselves as they’ve lost three games they very easily could have won against the Patriots, Chiefs and Raiders.
21. Los Angeles Rams (20): At 3-6, the Rams are in must-win mode for the next few weeks, but if Matt Stafford can’t play, their season is essentially over.
22. Indianapolis Colts (22): The Colts are a team nobody is talking about, but at 5-5 they are certainly in the mix. They have a bye this week followed by two very winnable games against Tampa and Tennessee.
23. Washington Commanders (21): Just add this game to the list of close games Washington has found a way to lose. They’re certainly one of the better 4-6 teams you’ll ever see, but that doesn’t count for much.
24. Las Vegas Raiders (27): Two straight wins under interim coach Antonio Pierce has the Raiders back at .500 but games against Miami and Kansas City coming up may knock them back down to earth.
25. Tennessee Titans (23): This team stinks. How they beat the Bengals and Chargers is still puzzling to me. They may sniff a couple more wins this season but their playoff hopes are gone.
26. Atlanta Falcons (24): The Falcons lost their third straight, all by five points or less. They’ll use the bye this week to regroup but I’m not sure it matters. The division isn’t very good but the Saints and Bucs are both better football teams in my eyes.
27. Green Bay Packers (25): Jordan Love played one of his best games of the year, until the final two drives when he was picked off in the end zone. We knew there would be growing pains this season, but I still maintain this could be a dangerous team as early as next year – though a coaching change is likely needed.
28. Chicago Bears (30): Chicago beating the Panthers greatly increased their chances of obtaining the #1 overall pick – a true win-win.
29. New England Patriots (28): New England is dead last in the AFC and going nowhere fast. The entire football world is curious to see whether or not Bill Belichick will return next season.
30. Arizona Cardinals (32): Kyler Murray returned and led the Cardinals to just their second victory of the season. They had a great shot at obtaining the #1 overall pick – so I can’t say I agree with the decision to let Murray play this year.
31. New York Giants (29): They scored 17 points in the second half (after the game was already decided) which is more points than they have scored in any full game this year, outside of Week 2.
32. Carolina Panthers (31): Unless this team somehow turns things around, and there’s no reason to believe they will, 1-16 is sure looking like a distinct possibility.
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