I know it’s been
a while since my last set of rankings, but it’s better late than never! Without
further ado, here are the week 11 rankings.
32) Oakland
Raiders (0-9)
No further
analysis required.
31) Jacksonville
Jaguars (1-9)
They have a win,
only reason they aren’t in last place.
30) Tampa Bay
Buccaneers (1-8)
At least Tampa
sort of has some potential upside in their wide receiving core. But the O-line
and quarterback position is a total mess so it really doesn’t mean anything.
29) Tennessee
Titans (2-7)
Aside from their
first win of the season they haven’t done anything notable. No, their win
against the Jaguars does NOT count as being notable. As bad as the Titans are,
they aren’t Jacksonville.
28) New York
Jets (2-8)
With a win
against Big Ben and the red-hot Steelers, their credit got a slight bump. Mike
Vick is playing as best as he can behind that broken line of theirs, but the
Jets are still on a fast track to nowhere.
27) St. Louis
Rams (3-6)
They actually
owned a 14-10 lead until about halfway through the fourth quarter. But then the
game was blown wide open and the Rams suffered a rather large defeat. Austin
Davis hasn’t been playing at the same level that he was at in the first half of
the year, and it’s a big reason for why the Rams are struggling to put points
on the board.
26) Atlanta
Falcons (3-6)
As odd as it may
seem, the Falcons aren’t as good s they’re record, and their record isn’t even
good. They’ve only recorded two other wins this year. In week 1 they beat the
Saints in overtime. Their only other wins have come against Tampa, and they
aren’t exactly a high-end team.
25) Washington
Redskins (3-6)
The Redskins are
next in line on this list. They play in a tough division in the better of the
two conferences and they have a dilemma to solve at QB.. Between Cousins, RG
and McCoy, If they can figure out their identity, they might bee able to scrape
out a couple more wins.
24) Carolina
Panthers (3-6-1)
I don’t have a
clue as to why the Panthers defense is so bad this year. But rather than
proving to the league why they are a force to be reckoned with, they’ve done
the exact opposite.
23) Chicago
Bears (3-6)
The Bears have
so much potential, escpecially on offense. With Marhsall, Jeffery, Bennett and
Forte, they shouldn’t have any issues on offense. However, they’ve lost their
last two games by a combined score of 106-37.
22) New York
Giants (3-6)
The G-Men have
lost 4 games in a row, but they haven’t been playing poorly. They just have the
toughest schedule out of any team in the league. During this four game skid,
the Giants have played four teams with a combined record of 25-11 (Philly,
Dallas, Indy and Seattle.)
21) Houston
Texans (4-5)
Coming off the
bye, Houston is ready to push for the playoffs. They feel that starting Ryan
Mallet on the gridiron is their best shot to make a run, but they are in a
tough position. They currently sit in 12th place in the AFC, largely
in part due to their sub-par defense. The Texans have given up 30 or more
points in 4 of their 5 losses, and if they can’t find a way to get more stops
they’ll be hard-pressed to find their way into the postseason.
20) Minnesota
Vikings (4-5)
Minnesota has
won 2 straight games to re-enter into the playoff race. Amidst the Adrian
Peterson controversy they’re rushing for the 10th-best 119 yards a
game, and it’s keeping them in the hunt. If Peterson does manage to come back
sooner rather than later, the Vikings have put themselves in a decent position
to make a run from the outside.
19) New Orleans
Saints (4-5)
Mark Ingram is
having a breakout season, totaling 6 touchdowns and 535 yards in the 5 games
he’s been fully healthy for. But his dominance hasn’t been enough to maintain
the Saints’ winning ways. Drew Brees is having his worse year as a Saint, but
he’s done enough to keep them in the top spot in the lowly NFC South. The
Saints might make the playoffs due to the poor division they play in, but
they’re looking at an early exit if they can’t get their act together.
18) San Diego
Chargers (5-4)
After owning the
best record in the NFL for a few short weeks, the Chargers have plummeted
downwards. Their season isn’t over by any means, but they’ve lost 3 straight
games including a 37-0 blowout in Miami. They were on the bye this past week,
and have what should be an easy matchup against Oakland this week to get back
on track.
17) Buffalo
Bills (5-4)
I keep wondering
how long the Bills are going to hang around in the AFC. They’ve beaten some
good teams and with Kyle Orton at the helm, they’ve made a name for themselves.
Having one of the best defenses in the league will be a huge help as they
concentrate on making the playoffs.
16) Baltimore
Ravens (6-4)
The Ravens head
into their bye week with a decent record, but no momentum. Per usual, they’ve
had a confusing year. Joe Flacco remains to be the only quarterback who has can
look terrible, bad, decent, good, and great all in the same season. The run
game and defense is relatively consistent, but it’s entirely unpredictable.
They currently sit just outside the playoff picture, but have a strong chance
of creeping in.
15) Miami
Dolphins (5-4)
The Dolphins
have kept their identity silent pretty much all year. They’re a silently
dangerous team, and if you don’t know what your getting into then you’ll be in
for a long day. Like the Bills, they sit on the outside of the playoff
discussions, but with a little more sneaky play they might just find themselves
playing in January.
14) Cincinnati
Bengals (5-3-1)
The Bengals are
truly a disappointment this year. They were primed to find success this year,
but thanks to injuries and poor play from quarterback Andy Dalton, they’re in
danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
13) Pittsburgh
Steelers (6-4)
After
demolishing the Colts and Ravens, Big Ben and company got pumped by the Jets.
Up until the last minute of the game, the offense was unable to get anything
going. However, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with if they can reestablish
their dominant passing game.
12) San
Francisco 49ers (5-4)
The 49ers were
able to grind out a win against the Saints last week even though they allowed
over 100 yards to the opposing back for the first time since week 1 (DeMarco
Murray). Part of this is due to injuries
to Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman and Chris Borland, and the suspension to
Aldon Smith. If they can rebound from their banged up defense, they might be
able to stay in the playoff race.
11) Kansas City
Chiefs (6-3)
The Chiefs are
in the midst of a 4-game win streak after their shaky start, and are now in
line to make the playoffs. Of course there’s still a lot of football left, but
Chiefs are one of the hottest teams in the league.
10) Cleveland
Browns (6-3)
The Browns are
another hot team right now, winning 3 straight. They’re playing well on both
sides of the ball, and Hoyer is looking as confident as ever. Rookie running
back Terrance West is thriving is the newly featured premier back, and the
Browns are on a roll.
9) Green Bay
Packers (6-3)
This is another
team that struggled in the early goings of the season. But the Packers offense
is now churning and ready to rock, even though the defense still needs some
work if they’re going to make a deep run this season.
8) Seattle
Seahawks (6-3)
Marshawn Lynch
went full beast mode last week in a 4-TD effort, and helped put the Seahawks on
a 3 game win streak. The defense is still banged up but with Byron Maxwell
back, the secondary looked much better this week. Russell Wilson is still
saying that he needs to play better, and if he follows through with those words
Seattle will be lethal.
7) Indianapolis
Colts (6-3)
Andrew Luck is
having an amazing year, but the defense isn’t good enough to keep the top
offenses in the league at bay. That being said, having Luck at your disposal is
enough to keep them in every game.
6) Philadelphia
Eagles (7-2)
The Eagles are
getting bruised as of late, but the Sanchise has been able to fill some big
shoes. He’s been a key factor in their last two wins, but can he keep it up?
5) Dallas
Cowboys (7-2)
The Cowboys are
entering the bye coming off a solid win at Jacksonville. Coming out of the bye,
stud players DeMarco Murray, Tony Romo and Dez Bryant will be well rested and
ready to rumble as the Cowboys look to secure their playoff birth.
4) Detroit Lions
(7-2)
The Lions are
the proud owners of the league’s best defense, and now that Megatron is back on
the playing field, Matt Stafford is looking comfortable again.
3) Denver
Broncos (7-2)
Peyton Manning
is in a race with Tom Brady and the Patriots for the AFC’s best record, but
after Brady manhandled the Broncos defense two weeks ago, it’s clear that the
Pats have a leg up.
2) Arizona
Cardinals (8-1)
Despite owning
the NFL’s best record, if we were to pit the Cards against the Pats right now,
the Pats would come out on top. Arizona allows too many passing yards, and
playing the high-powered New England passing attack would prove to be their
downfall. Back to reality, the Cardinals lost Carson Palmer for good. And even
though Drew Stanton played well his first series of games, it’s unclear if
he’ll be able to do the same in the second half of the season.
1) New England
Patriots (7-2)
After a long
wait, the Patriots are back to being the number 1 team in the league. They’re
firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball, and until they come back down
to Earth, I don’t think anybody can beat them.
