Week 10 should have been about championing the Arizona Cardinals as the NFC's best team. Instead, a season-ending ACL tear suffered by quarterback Carson Palmer shrouds their future in doubt. Palmer had just signed a three-year, $50 million extension a few days earlier. Now Arizona must make due with Drew Stanton at the controls. Regardless, the team's 8-1 record places them atop the SB Nation power rankings.
NFL power rankings, Week 11: Cardinals hold onto top spot without Carson Palmer
The NFC North and AFC West are well represented in the top 10.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Elsewhere in the NFC, the race between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers continues to tighten. While the Lions needed another fourth quarter comeback to seal a 20-16 victory over the Miami Dolphins, they remain in the No. 4 spot in this week's power rankings. Meanwhile, the Packers move up a spot into sixth on the back of their 55-14 dismantling of the Chicago Bears. The Lions and Packers won't play against until Week 17, for what could be a monumental bout.
Power is concentrating atop the AFC West. A few weeks ago, the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos duked it out within the top five of the power rankings. However, San Diego is in the midst of a mid-season swoon, and the Kansas City Chiefs have jumped up to to fill the void. The Broncos come in at No. 3 this week, with the Chiefs not trailing far behind at No. 7.
One of last week's top five teams managed to fall out of the top 10 altogether. The Pittsburgh Steelers were expected to trounce the hapless New York Jets. Instead, the Steelers produced just three points through three quarters, ultimately losing 20-13. Currently, no team from the AFC North occupies a spot in the top ten.
Here’s a full look at how major sports media outlets ranked the teams after Week 10:
Team | Record | SB Nation | ESPN | NFL.com | Football Outsiders | Average |
Arizona Cardinals | 8-1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 5.0 |
7-2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3.0 | |
Denver Broncos | 7-2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2.5 |
Detroit Lions | 7-2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 6.8 |
7-2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4.5 | |
Green Bay Packers | 6-3 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 5.8 |
Kansas City Chiefs | 6-3 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9.3 |
6-3 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7.0 | |
7-3 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 9.0 | |
6-3 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 7.5 | |
6-3 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 12.5 | |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-4 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12.3 |
6-4 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 10.8 | |
5-4 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 13.8 | |
5-3-1 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 20 | 16.3 | |
Miami Dolphins | 5-4 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 6 | 13.8 |
5-4 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 16.5 | |
San Diego Chargers | 5-4 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 17.0 |
4-5 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 12 | 17.3 | |
3-6 | 20 | 25 | 24 | 28 | 24.3 | |
4-5 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 25 | 22.0 | |
4-5 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 21.3 | |
3-6 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 22.0 | |
New York Jets | 2-8 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 26.0 |
3-6 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 23.0 | |
Washington | 3-6 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 25.0 |
3-6-1 | 27 | 22 | 25 | 29 | 25.8 | |
Chicago Bears | 3-6 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 27.0 |
2-7 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 28.5 | |
1-8 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 30.5 | |
1-9 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31.0 | |
0-9 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 31.5 |
The four polls we use:
We use four different rankings for our weekly average. The thought is to get a wider sense of where all 32 teams are being valued with 10 weeks complete. Our power rankings sources include ESPN, NFL.com and our in-house rankings. We also factor in DVOA rankings from Football Outsiders to add an objective statistical measurement to the formula.
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