NFL Power Rankings: Week 10 edition

Now that Week 9 of the 2022 NFL season is in the books, it’s time for everyone’s favorite meaningful exercise: NFL Power Rankings! What differentiates these rankings from the others is that they’re the only truly accurate ones in the entire universe. And so let’s take a look at how all 32 teams stack up ahead of Week 10.

BLG’S WEEK 10 NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 - Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 2) - With Buffalo losing and KC looking shaky, the undefeated Eagles should be the undisputed No. 1 team in NFL power rankings. The Birds have led by at least 12 points in every game and have never trailed in second half action. The Eagles rank first overall in DVOA, second in point differential, and have an MVP candidate at quarterback. It’s fair to acknowledge they have holes; their tackling is an issue, which is related to a concerning run defense. But the positives greatly outweigh the negatives here. I mean, they’re off to their best start in franchise history. The Eagles have a very attainable path to 9-0 with a home game against Washington up next.

2 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 1) - The Bills lost despite being 10.5-point road favorites. Josh Allen has thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdown passes in his last two games. Allen is also now dealing with an elbow injury. Doesn’t seem great.

3 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 3) - If the Eagles are going to get discredited for not totally demolishing Houston on a short week road game, we can acknowledge how the Chiefs trailed Tennessee until 2:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. And then needed overtime to beat a quarterback who completed just five passes against them. You can count on the Chiefs to find a way to win more often than not but this team has their own vulnerabilities.

4 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 4) - There’s a case to be made the Vikings are not as good as their record indicates. They only rank eighth in point differential despite having one loss. They also rank 15th in overall Pro Football Focus grading and 18th by DVOA. Minnesota’s next four games should tell us more about them: at Buffalo (though maybe no Josh Allen), vs. Dallas, vs. New England, and vs. NYJ.

5 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 5) - The Ravens followed up a disappointing loss to NYG with three straight wins. The last two victories have been decisive outcomes in prime-time games. After being discounted as a No. 1 seed candidate, they could be back in the mix.

6 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 6) - There’s a lot of “OBJ to the Cowboys” speculation as Dallas returns from their bye to play in Green Bay. The Mike McCarthy revenge game.

7 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 7) - The Dolphins are undefeated this season when Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t miss any snaps. No quarterback has a better passer rating (115.9) so far.

8 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 8) - The 49ers will return from their bye to host the Bolts. They should be able to beat that team.

9 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 9) - Geno Smith has a 105.5 passer rating over his last three games. He’s legit and so is this Seahawks team. They have a real chance to win the NFC West in a year where many thought they’d be dead last in the division.

10 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 11) - The Bengals have the fifth-best point differential in the NFL. They don’t always win ... but when they do, they win big.

11 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 10) - Credit to Mike Vrabel and the Titans for being able to be very competitive in a tough game where their quarterback only completed five passes. But Malik Willis clearly isn’t ready to play right now. They need Ryan Tannehill to get healthy.

12 - New England Patriots (LW: 13) - The Pats logged nine sacks en route to advancing to 5-4. They’re in the mix for a wild card spot in a competitive AFC playoff picture.

13 - New York Jets (LW: 14) - Statement win over Buffalo. The message is that the Jets are no longer to be considered a joke. Robert Saleh has whipped the defense into shape. Zach Wilson, meanwhile, posted the best passer rating of his career: 101.1. His previous high of 99.3 was in Week 5. Maybe he’s making some progress? Still need to see a lot more.

14 - New York Giants (LW: 12) - The G-Men return from their bye to host Houston and then Detroit. They have a very viable path to 8-2 before playing Dallas again.

15 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 15) - The Chargers’ last three wins have been about their opponent beating themselves at the end more than them being great. This is a middling team given their injury issues. Hard to get too excited about their ceiling in that regard.

16 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 19) - Never. count. out. Touchdown. Tom. Seriously, though, for as bad as the Bucs have looked ... hardly to completely dismiss them with him there. The Bucs are in good shape to finish on top in a very winnable NFC South.

17 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 16) - The reigning Super Bowl champions are very uninspiring. They should probably be lower in these rankings. It’s just that there are also a lot of other bad teams.

18 - Denver Broncos (LW: 18) - The Broncos return from their bye to play in Tennessee. They need that game a lot more than their opponent does. Will they play like it?

19 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 17) - They currently owe the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to Philadelphia. The Saints are alive in a bad division and they have two winnable games coming up: at Pittsburgh and vs. LAR.

20 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 20) - Last year’s 7-0 start feels forever ago after beginning this season with a 3-6 record. They’re 0-3 in division games after getting swept in their season series with Seattle.

21 - Washington Commanders (LW: 21) - Washington has kept their games competitive lately. Taylor Heinicke deserves some credit for that. But his limitations are clear. The Commanders are averaging just 19 points per game in their last three outings. They’re not scoring enough.

22 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 22) - All-time chokers choke again. Shocker.

23 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 24) - The Browns have three games remaining until Deshaun Watson returns: at Miami, at Buffalo, vs. Tampa Bay. They need at least one win to keep their playoff hopes on life support.

24 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 25) - The Stillers return from their bye to host New Orleans. Getting T.J. Watt back is a big deal considering how they’ve only ever won one game without him since he joined the team.

25 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 27) - Things were not looking good with the Jags down 17-0 while riding a five-game losing streak. But Doug Pederson has a track record of being able to navigate through adversity and that’s what the Jags did to stage a much-needed comeback win.

26 - Chicago Bears (LW: 29) - Knowing that I’m a big Justin Fields skeptic, someone told me that I needed to eat crow after his strong game on Sunday. People are really ready to take victory laps on a game where Fields had 4.4 yards per pass attempt and 116 net passing yards. This isn’t to suggest his historic rushing performances should be discounted. But he’s ultimately going to have to rely on his arm more and there are still major questions about him in that regard.

27 - Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 22) - Josh McDaniels is clearly not it.

28 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 24) - Remember when the Eagles won the Super Bowl solely because of Frank Reich and not at all because of Doug Pederson? Reich is now out in Indy. He’s clearly not the only person to blame for their failures but the Carson Wentz trade a pretty big misstep last year. When it comes to making Jeff Saturday their interim head coach, I actually don’t hate it as much as others. Not because I necessarily think Saturday is going to be great. But what’s the worst case scenario here? The Colts lose out and get in position for a good pick ... to maybe find an answer at quarterback? Not a terrible outcome.

29 - Detroit Lions (LW: 31) - The Lions played their butts off to earn a win over a struggling Green Bay team. Dan Campbell can avoid some heat for the time being.

30 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 28) - How could anyone possibly pick the Packers to win a game right now? The vibes are awful. Aaron Rodgers looked cooked. What is there to hang their hats on?

31 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 30) - Their very slim playoff hopes, which only exist due to playing in a very bad division, will be truly crushed with a loss to Atlanta on Thursday night.

32 - Houston Texans (LW: 32) - Dameon Pierce is a nice player. The Texans don’t have too much else going on for them this year. It’s all about revamping the team with those two high picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.