Football is back! Well I actually don’t know if it is or not, but Week 10 was the first fun Sunday we’ve had all season as football fans, so let’s enjoy this for however long the feeling lasts (it will probably end Thursday when we have to watch the Panthers vs. Saints). What a wild NFL season it has been, and by wild I mean it’s been pretty shitty for the most part, and I did not expect the Dallas goddamn Cowboys to be the juggernauts that they are, which, for the record, sucks because nobody likes the Cowboys. As good as the Cowboys have been, don’t sleep on my New York Giants as they are currently on a four-game winning streak, and still very much alive in the playoff race. Now do I have any idea as to who I think is going to win the Super Bowl after ten weeks of football? There are a few teams I think can contend, but stranger things have happened so I’ll probably end up being very wrong about who I think is going to win it all (the Patriots, for the record). So, as we get into Week 11, here are your weekly NFL Power Rankings:
1. Dallas Cowboys
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Everything about writing this sucks. I’ve hated the Cowboys for my entire life and want bad things to happen to that franchise, but goddammit are they good at football. They have two, freaking TWO, rookies who are not only the top two choices for Rookie of the Year, but are also in MVP contention, with Zeke Elliot probably leading the race. Both him and Dak Prescott benefit greatly from playing behind the best offensive line in football, but I also think they’re both really good, and probably going to give me nightmares as a Giants fan for years to come. Also, in case you forgot, the Cowboys’ only loss this year was courtesy of the G-Men, no big deal or anything.
2. New England Patriots
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Tom Brady finally threw his first interception, so that’s something. I actually don’t read too much into this recent loss for the Patriots. Seattle is one of the better teams in the NFL and when push comes to shove, the Pats are still the best team in the AFC. I think they have some issues on defense that they’re going to need to take care of, but I wouldn’t worry at all about this loss if I happened to be a New England fan.
3. Oakland Raiders
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If there’s anyone from the AFC that could give the Patriots trouble come playoff time, it’s the Raiders. While I don’t think they would beat New England in a playoff game, they have an explosive enough offense that could potentially expose a Patriots’ defense that hasn’t been great this year as I previously touched on. Oakland has been the funnest team to watch this year, and I’m hoping they can keep up their level of play for the rest of the season, unless they meet the Giants in the Super Bowl, then the hell with that.
4. Denver Broncos
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The Broncos had one of the craziest endings to a game I’ve ever seen on Sunday, where they blocked an extra point and returned it for two points after the Saints looked to have scored the go ahead touchdown (I had Denver in this game as one of my picks, so that was pretty awesome). I don’t know if I’ll ever fully trust Trevor Siemian at quarterback, but he’s got enough weapons around him on offense and a good enough defense, both to the point at which I don’t think it really matters who’s at quarterback for them.
5. Seattle Seahawks
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Seattle right now. If there’s a team that Dallas doesn’t want to see in the playoffs, it’s the Seahawks. Their win on Sunday at New England was one of the most impressive this season, and I think one that gets them going for the rest of the season. Russell Wilson has finally seemed to get out of the slump he was in a few weeks ago, and has looked as good as he has all season, which is huge as the team heads closer towards the postseason. And although they aren’t as good as they’ve been in years prior, this is still a defensive group I would not want to go up against.
6. Kansas City Chiefs
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Are the Chiefs the sneakiest 7-2 team in NFL history? I’ve written the same thing about them each week, but I have no idea how they continue to pile on the wins with the team that they have. That’s not to say that I think they’re a bad team with bad players, they just really don’t have anyone on the team that truly wows me or is a big box office name. They may have stolen one (and by stolen one I mean the Panthers literally gave that game away) in Carolina on Sunday, but a win is a win, and the Chiefs have seven of them. Tip of the cap to you, Kansas City.
7. Atlanta Falcons
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My stance on the Falcons changes week by week, and if I’m being honest I’m getting pretty sick of them. I will say that I think they are a good team, even if they do play in a pretty bad division, but they just can’t seem to stay consistent. They’ll most likely end up making the playoffs, and they have a good enough offense to where they may be able to win a playoff game or two, but I wouldn’t consider them to be much of a threat for winning the NFC.
8. Houston Texans
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Even if it comes from playing in the worst division in football, a 6-3 record is going to get you in my top ten rankings for the week, and that’s where the Texans are. Do I think the Texans are going to make a run in the AFC playoffs? The answer to that question is a resounding no, because it turns out Brock Osweiler kind of sucks, and not having JJ Watt, regardless of how big of a loser I think he is, will hurt them come playoff time. So congrats Houston, getting a top ten ranking for the second straight week in my power rankings is probably the greatest achievement you’ll have all season.
9. New York Giants
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I’m writing this on Monday and am banking on the Giants winning their game tonight against the Bengals, so if they lose I’ll have to make some adjustments to this article, but bare with me. Stay hot G-Men, four straight wins and counting! The defense has been playing very well these past few weeks, and they are finally causing some turnovers! The offense can still be a little bit better, but hey we’re sitting at 6-3 so who the hell cares?! I’m not sure that the Giants will be able to overtake Dallas for the division lead, so hopefully they can at least stay in the mix of the wild card hunt. If the Giants do lose this game tonight, hopefully it’s because Jeremy Hill has a monster game and gets 26 fantasy points to win me my fantasy game.
10. Detroit Lions
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Look who’s leading the NFC North! Washington or Philadelphia could probably also be in this tenth spot, but I hate both of those teams so division-leading Detroit gets this week’s final spot. All of Detroit’s wins have been come-from-behind wins on a final drive, so at least in that sense they’re consistent. I don’t expect the Lions to be in my power rankings very much for the rest of the season, just because I can’t imagine them continuing to win games with how they’ve been doing all year, and their division is also kind of awful (thoughts and prayers to the Minnesota Vikings). I’ll say it one more time, the Lions are leading their division in the month of November. What a time to be alive.