NFL Power Rankings: Week 11 Edition

Now that Week 10 of the 2021 NFL season is in the books, it’s time for everyone’s favorite meaningful exercise: NFL Power Rankings! What differentiates these rankings from others is that they’re the only truly accurate ones in the entire universe. Let’s take a look at how all 32 teams stack up entering Week 11. Even more league-wide discussion in this week’s episode of The ODDcast on The SB Nation NFL Show.

BLG’S WEEK 11 NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 - Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 1) - Six wins in a row, the league’s longest victory streak. The Titans got taken down to the wire by New Orleans but ultimately held on. As a result, they’re atop the AFC playoff picture with two more wins than any other team in their conference. Losing Derrick Henry has not been the death knell some thought it might be.

2 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 4) - Aaron Rodgers was understandably rusty in his first game back from the COVID-19 list. But he wasn’t as rusty as Russell Wilson, who really struggled. Green Bay capitalized to hold the future Hall of Fame quarterback to his first-ever shutout. The Packers’ defense has been quietly better than you might expect, ranking fifth in opponent offensive points per game (17.9).

3 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 6) - After losing to Jacksonville, the Bills had a get-right game against NYJ. A 45 to 17 win is a good way to get the bad taste out of your mouth.

4 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 2) - The Cardinals were not able to win without Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins for the second week in a row. When wiil they be back? It sounds like Murray might miss another game. The bigger picture is obviously important but the Cards are losing valuable ground in the meantime.

5 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 8) - The Cowboys proved that their loss to Denver was more about one bad game than it was a sign of struggles to come. Dallas enjoyed seeing a lot of the other top NFC teams losing in Week 10, giving them a better chance to get the No. 1 seed. I really have this awful feeling that this team is going to win the Super Bowl.

6 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 3) - The Rams are front-runners. They’re clearly quite capable of rolling when everything is going their way. When they get punched in the mouth, though? They get rattled and lose their composure. The Rams were simply bullied on Monday night. Matthew Stafford struggled with accuracy and decision-making and also suffered from untimely drops. Sean McVay is 0-5 in his last five meetings against Kyle Shanahan.

7 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 5) - One would’ve thought the Bucs would be able to have a huge day against a leaky Washington defense. Especially with the Football Team losing their best player. But, for whatever reason, Washington has Tampa’s number. The quarterbacks that haunt Tom Brady is an unusual list: Eli Manning, Nick Foles, and now Taylor Heinicke.

8 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 10) - After blowing out Las Vegas on the road, everyone is saying that the Chiefs are back. We’ll see to what extent that’s true as they host the Cowboys at Arrowhead this week. Andy Reid might have his team in position to make a second half run.

9 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 7) - So much for the “Lamar Jackson is easily the MVP” talk. Scoring 10 points in a loss to the Dolphins is pretty pathetic. Miami’s defense was giving up 26.9 offensive points per game prior to Week 10. Only four teams were allowing more. The Ravens may have cost themselves their shot at the No. 1 seed.

10 - New England Patriots (LW: 11) - There’s a case to be made the Pats should be higher. New England owns the league’s second-longest win streak with four straight dubs. Mac Jones is playing at a high level; since Week 5, the rookie is Pro Football Focus’s HIGHEST graded quarterback. The Pats might steal the AFC East back from Buffalo.

11 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 9) - Why. Why did the Chargers have to turn out to be the Same Old Chargers? Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi is taking heat for limiting Justin Herbert and trying to make him into Drew Brees. Let the young man throw the ball down the field.

12 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 12) - An especially poorly timed false start contributed to the Saints missing a two-point conversion to take the Titans to overtime. New Orleans also got really screwed by a bad roughing the passer call that wiped out a Ryan Tannehill interception in the end zone. Their ceiling is only so high with Trevor Siemian under center but this is still a plucky team with Sean Payton at the helm. They’re not just going to roll over.

13 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 13) - The Steelers tying a winless Detroit team at home is really like a loss for them. Then again, they were missing their starting quarterback on short notice. But Pittsburgh also deserves blame for Mason Rudolph being their best backup plan. We’ll keep the Steelers here for now but their schedule is pretty tough down the stretch. Their next four: at LAC, vs. CIN, at BAL, at MIN. Not capitalizing in Week 10 could come back to bite them.

14 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 14) - It’s looking like a lost season for the Browns. Their playoff hopes are hardly dashed but where are they really going with an injured and inconsistent Baker Mayfield at the helm? Cleveland should swing big at the quarterback position in the offseason rather than pay him big money.

15 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 15) - The Bengals return from their bye to play in Las Vegas. A win would be big for their hunt for a wild card spot.

16 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 17) - Carson Wentz’s struggles (PFF’s 25th graded QB) are being masked by the fact that Jonathan Taylor is awesome. I mean, the guy is logging 5.8 yards per carry this season. He leads the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,240. The next closest player is 104 behind.

17 - Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 16) - Two straight losses for the Raiders. Can they stop the bleeding against Cincy? It feels like things might be headed in a bad way for them.

18 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 20) - Kirk Cousins is still Kirk Cousins. And by that I mean he’s the perfect quarterback if you want to be a mediocre team. The win over the Bolts was nice but you know there’s going to be disappointment not far around the corner.

19 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 22) - The 49ers’ opening drive against Los Angeles was vintage smash-mouth football. San Fran set the tone by imposing their will on an 18-play, 93-yard drive. They ground the Rams into dust. Running the ball 44 times in total was a necessary strategy given Jimmy Garoppolo’s limitations. Getting the ball to Deebo Samuel was also pretty important; he’s awesome.

20 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 24) - Jalen Hurts turned in his best half of NFL football in the Eagles’ win over Denver, which is encouraging for Philly’s outlook in both the short-term and long-term. Hurts continues to find DeVonta Smith, who is the PFF’s highest graded receiver over the past four weeks. The Eagles were able to rely on their running game and defense to close it out for their fourth win. With one of the NFL’s easiest remaining schedule, the Birds just might be primed to steal a wild card spot in the NFC playoff picture.

21 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 25) - A feel-good moment for Panthers fans with Cam Newton announcing that he’s back. Is Carolina suddenly going to be really good? Eh. One should have their doubts about that. He might be able to be better than Sam Darnold, which isn’t really saying much.

22 - Denver Broncos (LW: 18) - Take it from our friends at Mile High Report: “The Broncos stink.” Their wins this year don’t really mean much because they clearly need a new head coach and quarterback. Their ceiling is mediocrity with their current cast. Vic Fangio is too old school. Teddy Bridgewater is impressively unspectacular.

23 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 19) - Russell Wilson was downright awful in his first game back from injury. It seems like he might not be ready to play. As the struggles continue in Seattle, there are questions if Wilson and/or Pete Carroll will be back in 2022.

24 - New York Giants (LW: 23) - The G-Men return from their bye to take on the reigning Super Bowl champs. One would imagine Tom Brady is going to be pretty annoyed after losing to Washington. The Giants are staring 3-7 in the face.

25 - Washington Football Team (LW: 29) - Washington had one of the best drives of the season to pull off the upset over Tampa. They went 80 yards in 19 plays and took 10:26 off the clock. Ron Rivera correctly went for it on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line to seal the game instead of making it a seven-point contest and giving Tom Brady a chance to send it to OT. Well-deserved W by Washington.

26 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 21) - The Falcons are trash. They’ve beaten some bad teams but they stink. Only three teams have a worse point differential: Detroit, NYJ, Houston.

27 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 30) - Don’t look now but the Dolphins might still be alive in the AFC playoff picture. They have their work cut out for them but their next four games aren’t looking so tough: at NYJ, vs. CAR, vs. NYG, vs. NYJ. Bad news for the Eagles, who own Miami’s 2022 first-round pick. Tua Tagovailoa has the potential to upset some Philly fans.

28 - Chicago Bears (LW: 28) - Da Bears return from their bye to host Baltimore. Big opportunity for Justin Fields to continue his positive momentum and pull off a big upset.

29 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 26) - The Jags could’ve played worse in their loss to Indy. They showed some fight. So, I guess that’s something.

30 - Detroit Lions (LW: 31) - The Lions will not become the first team to go 0-17! They’re now technically on the board with half of a win. They simply don’t offer much hope with Jared Goff under center. It’ll be nothing short of a miracle if they can manage to get a full win.

31 - New York Jets (LW: 27) - The Mike White era was fun while it lasted. The Jets are back to being really terrible. Their -135 point differential ranks worst in the league.

32 - Houston Texans (LW: 32) - The Texans return from their bye to take on the No. 1 team in these rankings. Assuming Tennessee doesn’t sleep on them, Houston is looking at their ninth straight loss.