After weeks of trumping up the Kansas City Chiefs as the No. 1 team atop our NFL power rankings, we have to acknowledge that they got thoroughly outplayed in Buffalo last week.
That’s not to say that means anything in the big picture — the Bills beat the Chiefs in the regular season last year too and still lost to them in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.
The Chiefs had plenty of company among top teams losing over the weekend, with the Green Bay Packers inexplicably getting stifled and defeated by the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field, the Indianapolis Colts imploding with six turnovers in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Detroit Lions somehow unable to match the J.J. McCarthy-led Minnesota Vikings.
(It was a bad week for NFL bettors playing the favorites!)
The power rankings are a reflection of both the latest results and analysis as well as teams’ top-end potential, so we aren’t suddenly going to pretend like those teams won’t be factors in the playoffs based on one bad week. But nonetheless, it’s time to shake things up again.
Here are the Week 10 NFL power rankings heading into the start of action Thursday night.
RELATED: NFL Week 9 Winners And Losers
Top Super Bowl Contenders
1. Philadelphia Eagles (6-2, up 1 spot): The Eagles were on bye last weekend and got to watch four of the top six teams in our Week 9 power rankings lose. Really, the top four teams here have been trading spots and reshuffling all season, but we’ll again give the nod to the reigning Super Bowl champs, who looked impressive in wins over the Vikings and Giants before the bye. It remains unclear if star running back Saquon Barkley (groin) is playing this week, but things are trending up for Philadelphia overall with the offense taking flight the last two games. They have a big showdown at Green Bay on Monday night.
2. Buffalo Bills (6-2, up 2 spots): As noted, until the Bills show they can overcome the Chiefs when it truly matters in the postseason, it’s hard to put too much weight on a regular-season clash between the two AFC favorites. But for what it is, it was a mighty impressive 28-21 win. Josh Allen was terrific (23-of-26 passing for 273 yards and a touchdown) and James Cook continued his strong season (27 carries for 114 yards), but it was the defense (shoutout safety Cole Bishop and his four pass breakups) that made the biggest impression. The Bills were vulnerable defensively earlier in the season — if that has been shored up this could well be the year they get over the hump in the postseason.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (5-4): The Chiefs may be 5-4 and they may have just lost to their top challenger in the AFC, but … they’re still the Chiefs. Until presented with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that’s how we’re going to continue to see it. But even QB Patrick Mahomes had to acknowledge the Chiefs can only take so many setbacks. “We’ve got to learn from it, but we’ve got to do it now,” he said. “There’s no easy game coming up, and there’s no more chances that we can really take losses.”
4. Detroit Lions (5-3, down 1 spot): The Lions are somewhat hard to figure through eight games. We know their top-end potential, at least offensively. They are as talent-loaded on that side of the ball as any team in the league. The defense, overall, has been the best of the Dan Campbell era. And yet … Detroit is 5-3, got manhandled by the Packers in Week 1, got beat handily by the Chiefs a few weeks ago and then lost at home, 27-24, to J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings this week. It wasn’t even that close — Minnesota led by 10 points for much of the third quarter and went back up 10 in the fourth before a late Lions touchdown narrowed the gap in the end.
5. Los Angeles Rams (6-2, up 2 spots): If the Rams can keep star wide receiver Puka Nacua healthy with his physical style of play, they are an elite offensive team. Nacua had 7 catches for 95 yards and a TD in his return from a sprained ankle, in a 34-10 win over the Saints, but he took a shot to his ribs during the game and has been limited in practice this week. Los Angeles ranks top 10 in both total offense and total defense and has won three straight and four of its last five. QB Matthew Stafford is turning back the clock with a vintage season with 2,147 yards, a NFL-high 21 TDs and just 2 INTs. This has all the makings of a team that could make another Super Bowl run, including a head coach in Sean McVay who has already been to two and won a championship.
6. Indianapolis Colts (7-2, down 1 spot): The Colts were due for a letdown game. It’s the NFL, no team avoids it. We’re not bailing on them for one ugly loss — 27-20 at Pittsburgh after being down 17 points for much of the fourth quarter. But there was always the question of whether Old Daniel Jones would resurface, and well …
Jones had 3 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles (as the Colts had 6 total turnovers). That said, he leads the NFL with 2,404 passing yards (14 TDs and 6 INTs), Jonathan Taylor continues to lead the league in rushing (895 yards and 12 TDs) and the Colts just traded for star cornerback Sauce Gardner from the Jets to shore up the secondary. So there’s still a ton to like here.
Super Bowl Dark Horses
7. Seattle Seahawks (6-2, up 3 spots): Seattle looked highly impressive yet again Sunday in a 38-14 win at Washington. The Seahawks have won six of their last seven, they’re 4-0 on the road and their two losses — to the 49ers and Buccaneers — came by a combined 7 points. QB Sam Darnold was sublime Sunday, completing 21-of-24 passes for 330 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT, and has proven to be a real upgrade over Geno Smith. And Jaxon Smith-Njiba has taken the leap in becoming one of the NFL’s true star receivers, going over 120 yards in five of eight games so far and over 95 yards in seven of the eight. His 948 yards receiving are 117 more than any other player in the NFL.
8. Green Bay Packers (5-2-1, down 2 spots): For all the hype the Packers received entering the season and still consistently through the first two months, they’ve rarely looked the part of a top contender. The 16-13 loss at home to Carolina on Sunday was the most jarring result, but Green Bay has looked plenty vulnerable most weeks. It lost 13-10 to the Browns, tied the Cowboys, needed a 14-point fourth quarter to rally past the Cardinals (27-23) and needed a 21-point fourth quarter to rally past the Steelers (35-25). The Packers also just lost emerging star tight end Tucker Kraft for the season with a torn ACL. They really need to show something Monday night against the Eagles to continue to be treated as a Super Bowl contender. Until then we’ve knocked them down to this second tier for the first time all season.
9. Baltimore Ravens (3-5, up 5 spots): The Ravens are the best 3-5 team in the NFL in … a while (the research team is still digging into that). QB Lamar Jackson returned to action Thursday in a 28-6 win at Miami, completing 18-of-23 passes for 204 yards and 4 TDs, signaling that the Ravens are back to looking like the Ravens. They’re just two games behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North and the rivals still have two head-to-head games to come this season. Honestly, calling the Ravens a Super Bowl “dark horse” is unfair, but we weren’t ready to put them in the top tier just yet as their margin for error remains slim after the injury-plagued start.
10. Denver Broncos (7-2, down 2 spots): Here’s the thing — the Broncos keep winning (six straight) and their only two losses were by a combined 4 points to good teams on the road (Colts and Chargers), but it’s always a high-wire act. And that just proves hard to sustain over the long haul and into the postseason. It’s still early, though, and perhaps as second-year QB Bo Nix continues to find his confidence (he’s had some really nice games in the last month), Denver takes it to another level. For now, we have to maintain a dash of skepticism despite the record. The Broncos managed just 7 points through the first three quarters Sunday vs. Houston’s very legitimately good defense and were down 8 points before rallying yet again for an 18-15 win — on a 34-yard Will Lutz field goal as time expired. They had a big fourth quarter rally to beat the Eagles earlier this season, rallied late to eek by the lowly Jets and needed a miracle comeback to beat the Giants. We’re not discounting the 7-2 start, but we’re also not diving in head first just yet on the Broncos’ potential for a deep playoff run.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2, down 2 spots): The Bucs were on a bye last week. They continue to lead the NFC South, and their only losses were to the Eagles and Lions. Tampa Bay has been besieged by injuries, particularly across the offense. Right tackle Luke Goedeke (out with a foot injury since leaving the Bucs’ Week 2 game early) looks to be on track to return this week. When the Bucs get RB Bucky Irving and WR Chris Godwin back remains less clear.
12. San Francisco 49ers (6-3): Backup QB Mac Jones bounced back with a needed strong performance, completing 19-of-24 passes for 235 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs in a 34-24 road win over the Giants. Christian McCaffrey had 173 combined rushing/receiving yards and 2 TDs. It’s hard to count out a Kyle Shanahan team, even one depleted by injuries on both sides of the ball, but it’s also hard to see Jones quarterbacking a team to a deep postseason run or a compromised Brock Purdy playing through a serious turf toe injury doing so either.
Good But Can’t See Them Going All The Way
13. New England Patriots (7-2, down 1 spot): We’ll acknowledge we may be underranking the Patriots, but we’ll hold firm on the evaluation that this team is at least another year away from being a true contender. Second-year QB Drake Maye is the real deal and has led New England to six straight wins, but the last four have come against the Saints, Titans, Browns and a 24-23 win over the Falcons on Sunday. If the Patriots keep the winning streak going on the road at Tampa Bay this week, we’ll readily acknowledge they need to be ranked higher.
14. Los Angeles Chargers (6-3, down 1 spot): The Chargers were in a tight battle with the one-win Titans for most of the game before gaining a little separation with an early fourth-quarter touchdown on the way to a 27-20 road win. That’s two straight wins, but also Los Angeles is just 3-3 over its last six games. The potential is always there for this team, though.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3, no change): Pittsburgh’s 27-20 win over the Colts was one of the most notable results of the week. The Steelers seemed to be losing control of the AFC North, but that win maintained a two-game lead on the resurgent Ravens for now. The biggest thing, though, was Pittsburgh’s defense coming to life and forcing six turnovers.
Don’t Know What To Make Of Them
16. Minnesota Vikings (4-4, up 3 spots): We were ready to write the Vikings off before last week. There was a reason they stretched out J.J. McCarthy’s recovering from an ankle injury as long as possible — until backup QB Carson Wentz physically broke down to the point of needing season-ending surgery. But then Minnesota goes and beats the Lions with McCarthy back at QB. Go figure. The second-year QB wasn’t overwhelming (14 of 25 for 143 yards, 2 TDs 1 INT and a rushing TD), but he was much better than the last time he took the field in Week 2. We’re still very skeptical that he can get the job done consistently enough, though.
17. Houston Texans (3-5, up 3 spots): The Texans might have the NFL’s best defense — statistically they do at 15.1 points per game allowed and 267.4 yards per game. But the offensive line has been a liability all season, and that’s been hard to overcome. Starting QB C.J. Stroud was knocked out of that narrow loss to the Broncos with a concussion and will miss Houston’s game vs. Jacksonville this week as Davis Mills gets the start.
Mediocre But Interesting
18. Chicago Bears (5-3, up 5 spots): The Bears have won five out of six games after a wild back-and-forth 47-42 shootout victory over the Bengals. Second-year QB Caleb Williams connected with TE Colston Loveland for a 58-yard go-ahead touchdown with 17 seconds remaining.
It was a breakout game for that connection between the Bears’ 2024 and 2025 first-round picks, as Loveland hauled in a season-high 6 catches for 118 yards and 2 TDs, while Williams was as sharp as he’s been all season (20 of 34 for 280 yards and 3 TDs). Also, rookie running back Kyle Monangai had a breakout game in a spot start with 26 carries for 176 yards plus 22 receiving yards. There’s no denying the Bears’ trajectory is pointing straight up under first-year coach Ben Johnson. But let’s see where this season goes from here. Chicago’s wins are over the Cowboys, Raiders, Commanders, Saints and Bengals and they lost by at least two touchdowns to the Lions and Ravens (plus a loss to McCarthy and the Vikings).
19. Atlanta Falcons (3-5, up 2 spots): The Falcons sustained one of the most painful losses of Week 9, rallying from 14 points down against the Patriots and scoring what seemed to be a game-tying touchdown with 4:40 left in the game. But kicker Parker Romo missed the extra point and Atlanta lost 24-23. The Falcons have lost three straight heading into a tough matchup with the Colts.
20. Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1, down 4 spots): Dallas’ 27-17 loss at home to Arizona on Monday night was just plain ugly. The Cowboys got totally stifled offensively and abused defensively by backup QB Jacoby Brissett. Yes, Dallas made two big trades this week to add star DT Quinnen Williams from the Jets and LB Logan Wilson from the Bengals, but the Cowboys’ defense looked to be well more than two upgrades away from good.
21. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3, down 4 spots): The Jags’ 30-29 overtime win over the Raiders might have been the ugliest entertaining game of last week. Las Vegas opted to go for two in overtime and failed, rather than tie it and extend the game. Jacksonville could easily be 4-4 with three straight losses.
22. Cincinnati Bengals (3-6, no change): Veteran (if ever the word applied, it’s here) QB Joe Flacco has given the Bengals a major boost offensively — he threw for 470 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs in the loss to the Browns — but he can’t do anything to save Cincinnati’s abysmal defense. And watching that side of the ball cost this team another win is clearly not sitting well for the Bengals’ offensive stars.
23. Carolina Panthers (5-4, up 1 spot): We don’t know how they’re doing it, but the Panthers have a winning record more than halfway through the schedule. That 16-13 win in Green Bay — on a 49-yard Ryan Fitzgerald field goal as time expired — was quite a statement, though. Still, the Panthers won despite QB Bryce Young throwing for just 102 yards, 0 TDs and a pick.
Just Not Their Season
24. Arizona Cardinals (3-5, up 1 spot): There’s absolutely reason to believe coach Jonathan Gannon can get the Cardinals moving in the right direction. The dominant win in Dallas was a strong statement to that end, and that came after a string of close calls and late losses. The point being, Arizona’s 3-5 record is probably a worst-case scenario for how things could have played out. Starting QB Kyler Murray is now on injured reserve and out another month at least with his foot injury, but that also seems convenient as he probably wasn’t going to take his job back from Jacoby Brissett with the way the offense is humming.
25. Washington Commanders (3-6, down 7 spots): Speaking of worst-case scenarios. If reaching the NFC championship game last year was Washington outperforming its odds, then being 3-6 with four straight losses is surely the opposite. With QB Jayden Daniels now sidelined for the third time this season, with that gruesome dislocated non-throwing elbow, it’s time to write off Washington in 2025.
Nothing To See Here, Folks
26. New York Giants (2-7, no change): QB Jaxson Dart looks to be a cornerstone for the Giants rebuild, but it’s not going to happen over the rest of this season. Will coach Brian Daboll still be around next year to see it through?
27. Las Vegas Raiders (2-6, no change): Well, at least the Raiders have the best tight end in football. Brock Bowers had 12 catches on 13 targets for 127 yards and 3 TDs in the loss to Jacksonville in his return from injury.
28. Cleveland Browns (2-6, no change): As Browns fans know too well (and cling to), there’s always next year.
29. Miami Dolphins (2-7, no change): The Mike McDaniel Era, the Tua Tagovailoa Era, injured WR Tyreke Hill’s Dolphins tenure … all of it seems in grave peril.
30. Tennessee Titans (1-8, up 2 spots): This is the definition of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, as the saying goes. All of these teams are interchangeable, but the Saints looked especially bad last week and the Jets traded their best players, so …
31. New Orleans Saints (1-8, no change): New Orleans made the change to rookie QB Tyler Shough, who was perfectly mediocre in passing for 176 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in a 34-10 loss to the Rams.
32. New York Jets (1-7, down 2 spots): The Jets traded defensive keystones DT Quinnen Williams (to the Cowboys) and CB Sauce Gardner (to the Colts) for three first-round picks and a second-round pick in the next two drafts.