New face at the top as Patriots plummet after 1st defeat
Here are out NFL power rankings heading into Week 10:
1. Saints: Very productive bye week as RB Alvin Kamara and TE Jared Cook got needed rest, and New Orleans’ hold on first-round bye strengthened.
2. 49ers: NFL’s No. 1 defense suffered lapse in desert, but Jimmy G is heating up offense.
3. Ravens: How balanced is league’s top-scoring team? Baltimore
could be first ever to average 200 yards per game on both land and in air in same year.
4. Patriots: Exposed? Tripped up by bad matchup? Or are apparent cracks in armor growing?
5. Texans: Defense turns in best performance of season in its first game without J.J. Watt.
6. Packers: “Good slice of humble pie for us,” said Aaron Rodgers of loss to Bolts.
7. Chiefs: They put an incredible load on quarterback’s shoulder, whomever it is.
8. Vikings: Time for Kirk Cousins to prove he’s over that whole prime time bugaboo.
9. Seahawks: Right team to support troubled WR Josh Gordon. Yet maybe not right offense for him.
10. Rams: Jared Goff throwing more than ever, yet his stats have plummeted.
11. Colts: They dropped from AFC’s No. 2 seed to sixth.
12. Cowboys: They remain a half-step ahead of Philadelphia in NFC East, but Dallas better start notching wins against quality opponents soon.
13. Eagles: They haven’t had a 100-yard rusher in 37 consecutive regular-season games.
14. Panthers: Christian McCaffrey’s has 207 touches, and he hasn’t fumbled.
15. Bills: With Battle of Lake Erie ahead, would you rather have Buffalo’s roster or Cleveland’s ?
16. Steelers: Squeaking past Colts could prove massive tie-breaker with Pittsburgh now trailing them by one game for AFC’s final playoff slot.
17. Raiders: How well is greenhorn GM Mike Mayock’s first draft class performing? Rookies scored all four Oakland touchdowns in win against Detroit.
18. Lions: Matthew Stafford will remain only QB with more than 40,000 career passing yards and not a single playoff win.
19. Chargers: Amazing what happens when you get K Michael Badgley going.
20. Jaguars: Does decision to go back to Nick Foles really make sense at this point?
21. Cardinals: Since September’s end, they’ve scored 25-plus points in four of five games.
22. Bears: A guy like Cam Newton might solve a whole lot of problems with Chicago’s fast deteriorating offense.
23. Broncos: After all of John Elway’s “swinging and missing” for a QB, how ironic would it be if Brandon Allen winds up as an inside-the-park home run?
24. Titans: Their best player is DL DaQuan Jones... which is great, but probably also part of the problem here.
25. Giants: Swagger without substance not worth much.
26. Buccaneers: Top-ranked run defense... which maybe explains why ball is in air against Bucs more than any other team.
27. Browns: Baker Mayfield went from a beard to a Fu Manchu to a mustache in span of a few hours Sunday.
28. Falcons: Next five are against NFC South foes, so Atlanta gets a jump on opportunity to be a significant spoiler.
29. Redskins: Adrian Peterson averaging almost 100 rushing yards over past four weeks.
30. Dolphins: Unless you advocate tanking, good thing Miami got first win as productive players continue to go down.
31. Jets: Having moved on from seeing ghosts, Sam Darnold is now seeing his linemen, dressing him down on field.
32. Bengals: Welcome to the deep end of the pool, Ryan Finley.
(USA Today/TNS)
On TV: NFL Week 10: Sunday: Kansas City Chiefs at Tennessee Titans (live on METV at 8 p.m.); Los Angeles Rams at Pittsburgh Steelers (live on Sport5+Live at 11 p.m.); Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers (live on METV at 11:15 p.m.); Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys (ive on Sport5 at 3:30 a.m.).
Monday: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (live on Sport5 at 3:30 a.m.).