NFL Week 11 Power Rankings; Shuffled and Cut
By Mel Payne
Nov 4, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) celebrates stuffing a run against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-US PRESSWIRE
After a crazy week 10, the rankings have shifted and last week’s rankings have been shuffled and re-shuffled. Two top teams were toppled, the Titans blew out the Dolphins in Miami, there was a rare tie in the NFL, and the Bengals finally woke up. The whole week left our heads spinning.
Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up to the coveted number one powerful spot in the NFL coming into Week 11.
#32 Jacksonville Jaguars – Does this shock anyone? Crickets…Bueller? No The Jags have a 1-8 record and they are showing no signs of life. Gabbert is struggling and Jennings is no MJD. They have been outscored by 119 points this season and they have lost six games in a row.
#31 Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs are 1-8, as well, but they show hope and it is just a matter of time before they get that win. They held their ground against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, taking the game into overtime. Now if Cassel could just remember what color his team wears on the field.
#30 Cleveland Browns – The Brownies have a 2-7 record. Weeden hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in nine quarters and they have yet to win on the road this season. They are re-building, so it is just a matter of time…this just isn’t it.
#29 New York Jets – The Jets are 3-6 and, in my opinion, it is clearly time for the Staples “Easy” Button. This team cannot get anything going on offense. Mark Sanchez couldn’t complete a pass against a local high school team and now the Jets players have been quoted as saying that Tebow is terrible and they would prefer Sanchez under center. If Timmy, their back up, is worse than Mark, the Jets are doomed!
#28 Carolina Panthers – Carolina is 2-7 and has lost their last four home games. The NFL has found an answer for Mr. Newton’s athleticism this year and his team just can’t get anything going.
#27 Oakland Raiders – They just got beat down by the Ravens, giving up 55 points in one game. The 3-6 Raiders have given up a total of 934 yards in their last two games. Out of nine games, they have allowed 400+ yards in five of them. Things aren’t looking so good for the silver and black.
#26 Philadelphia Eagles – The 3-6 Eagles just can’t seem to win. It has really been a bad luck season for the guys in Philly. First, their head coach has his job threatened, and then his son sadly passes at training camp. Then the team started strong and all of a sudden plummeted and now their starting quarterback went down with a concussion. They can’t catch a break and I don’t think they will anytime soon.
#25 Buffalo Bills – Last week’s game against the Patriots gave the 3-6 Bills hope. They held their ground, but still lost 31-37 all because of costly turnovers. The game even ended on an interception pass by Fitzpatrick. The quarterback now has 15 turnovers in just nine games. If they can get the interceptions and fumbles under wraps, they will move up, but until then, 25 it is.
#24 Washington Redskins – The team is 3-6 with a lot of potential. They are coming off a bye to face the Eagles who have lost their starting quarterback and have been dismal for a good part of the season. They should get a win this week, but it not, it will tell the tale of the rest of their season.
#23 Arizona Cardinals – The Cardinals are 4-5 and have lost five straight games since they began the season undefeated at 4-0. They are headed to Atlanta this week to face a Falcons team that just had their dreams of a perfect season dashed. That’s all.
#22 Tennessee Titans – Tennessee is 4-6 and they have been up and down all season. Two weeks ago the Bears clobbered them and last week they clobbered the Dolphins in Miami. They are struggling at the quarterback position and on defense the team has given up over 300 yards this season, which is more than any other team.
#21 St. Louis Rams – At 3-5 the Rams played the 49ers tight last week. So tight, the game ended in a tie. They had chances to win, but they just fell to the wayside. I guess they didn’t lose, though.
#20 San Diego Chargers – San Diego is 4-5 and just like every year with the Chargers, they should be winning more games. On paper they look great, but in real life they can’t seem to get it done week after week. Every game I have seen this season, the receivers cannot seem to catch balls thrown their way. They are the only losing team with a positive scoring differential. It is there, they just can’t get it.
#19 Miami Dolphins – The 4-5 Dolphins were on a roll until Sunday’s loss, more like demolishing, on their own field to the Titans. The game was filled with turnovers and mistakes. Chuck it up to a bad game, but the Dolphins must recover to keep the hope alive this season.
#18 Detroit Lions – Detroit took a big loss to Minnesota last week bringing their record to 4-5. Megatron finally got on the board, but Stafford struggled along with the run game.
#17 Cincinnati Bengals – The Bengals are 4-5, but can capitalize on their momentum against the next two week’s opponents. The whole team played well, finally. The defense got the pass rush going for the first time this season and Andy Dalton finally had a non-turnover game. He threw for four touchdown passes to four different receivers. With Ben Roethlisberger’s injury now being said to be in the ribs and much worse than they thought, the Bengals could be on the rise if they play every game like they did last week.
#16 Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys are also 4-5. They got a much needed win last week against Philly and they have Cleveland this week. If they can get back to .500, they will be in the hunt again.
#15 New Orleans Saints – The team that struggled at the start of the season is now in the middle of the pack with a record of 4-5. They got a big win last week over the NFL’s unbeaten Falcons, showing they are still the boss in their division. Who Dat!
#14 Minnesota Vikings – The Vikes are 6-4 and got a big divisional win last week. Adrian Peterson looks to be back to form after his Achilles injury in the offseason. This team is gaining steam.
#13 Indianapolis Colts – The Colts are 6-3 after a terrible season last year. This is in part due to good play calling, but a lot of it has to do with the rookie under center. In the beginning of the season no one could stop talking RGIII. Now here comes Luck, leading his team into a possible playoff berth.
#12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Everything is coming together for the resilient Bucs. The team is 5-4; Josh Freeman is clicking with his receivers and they have a crazy running back, of many nicknames, in Martin. This team is right in the thick of the playoff hunt in the NFC.
#11 New York Giants – The Giants are 6-4, but you couldn’t tell that on Sunday. The Bengals chewed them up and spit them out on both sides of the ball. The G-Men are going to need to use their bye week to re-group before getting back out on the field.
#10 Seattle Seahawks – The Seahawks are heading into a bye week with a record of 6-4.
#9 Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers are 6-3, but look for them to be dropped down lower in next week’s rankings. News is out and Roethlisberger’s injury is more severe than expected. Forget about the shoulder, they are now calling a rare rib injury that could hurt the rest of Pittsburgh’s season. So stay tuned.
#8 Denver Broncos – Peyton has been spectacular in the Broncos 6-3 record. The Broncos play with intensity every game and are on the rise in the rankings.
#7 New England Patriots – Tommy and Billy pulled out a close one against the Bills last Sunday. Their record is now 6-3 and the rest of their season hinges on the defense. The defense is struggling once again this season and can’t seem to stop big plays in the secondary.
#6 San Francisco 49ers – They were the second half of the Rams tie last week. Their record now stands at 6-2-1 for the season. Alex Smith left the game early with a concussion and the team just couldn’t finish off the Rams. The kicking team, overall, for the 49ers has struggled this season. Akers had a chance to end last week with a win, but missed. He is only hitting 70 percent of his kicks.
#5 Green Bay Packers – The Packers were on a bye last week, which was a good thing with all of their injuries. The team is 6-3 heading into week 11.
#4 Chicago Bears – Last week, the 7-2 Bears, got the win despite Cutler having to leave the game with a concussion. Campbell took over in his place, securing the victory for Chicago.
#3 Baltimore Ravens – The 7-2 Ravens put up 55 points last week against the Raiders, proving once again that they are powerhouses in the AFC North.
#2 Atlanta Falcons – No longer undefeated, the team finds themselves at 8-1 after losing to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
#1 Houston Texans – Can anyone get through this defense? This whole team is playing really well. There isn’t one downside to the Texans that I can think of. They are tied for the best record in the NFL at 8-1 and atop of the power ranking for week 11.