2013 Week Ten NFL Power Rankings

By: Matt Harmon

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-8)
  • The Jaguars were on a bye this week, so at least they did not lose a game. They did, however, lose one of their five best players in wide receiver Justin Blackmon. The hill to climb just got a little steeper. 

31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-8)
  • The Bucs gave a valiant effort in Seattle but still came away without a win. The players have to be incredibly frustrated with the coaching staff’s inability to adjust in he second half, and the way they tried to “run and hide” from Seattle. Never take your foot off the gas, NFL coaches. 

30. Minnesota Vikings (1-7)
  • Tn response to whether Christian Ponder would start Thursday night against the Redskins, Leslie Frazier said he saw “no reason” why he would not. It was easy to find reasons for why Josh Freeman failed in Tampa Bay, but his inability to get back on the field for the Vikings is a damning indictment on the young quarterback. 

29. New York Giants (2-6)
  • The Giants come off a bye with some hope that they can still compete in their division. However, with their only two wins being of the very unimpressive variety, that is a hard scenario to division. 

28. Atlanta Falcons (2-6)
  • Atlanta has reached that hopeless point in this lost season. They have fallen too far to turn it around, and their best player, Matt Ryan, has fallen off a cliff while trying to carry this team. What does Atlanta have to hang its metaphorical hat on any more?

27. St. Louis Rams (3-6)
  • Could Zac Stacy make a late push for Offensive Rookie of the Year? It is certainly possible. It may be difficult to overtake the Packers rookie running back, Eddie Lacy, but one difference between Lacy and Stacy is that Stacy is the main cog and focus of the Rams offense, where as Lacy has been benefitting from attention being given to the Packers passing game. 

26. Buffalo Bills (3-6)
  • It looks like E.J. Manuel will be returning to the starting quarterback job this week after dealing with an injury. That news sadly spells the end of the Thad Lewis era, but it also means that the Bills will be an even more competitive team than they have been thus far. It is not too farfetched to think the Bills would have beaten the Chiefs if Manuel, or even Lewis, has played on Sunday. 

25. Houston Texans (2-6)
  • You heard it here first that Case Keenum would be successful as the starting quarterback. If the Texans defense had stopped Andrew Luck in the fourth quarter, or the kicker could make a field goal, the Texans season may have been given new life. As it stand today, it is hard to see the Texans even sneaking into the wide-open sixth AFC playoff spot, even if Case Keenum sustains his strong play. 

24. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6)
  • The Steelers put out a terrible performance against the Patriots, especially defensively. It is easy to pick on players like rookie Shamarko Thomas, as Tom Brady did with regularity on Sunday, but one veteran who has been sneakily bad is linebacker LaMarr Woodley. Woodley had blown assignments with regularity and does not look capable of being the featured pass rusher on a defense. What a fall from grace for a former Pro Bowler in Woodley.  

23. Oakland Raiders (3-5)
  • The Raiders took a massive step back. There is just no excuse for allowing a mediocre quarterback to throw seven touchdowns against you at home. The Raiders will need to rediscover the defense they showed prior to Week Nine if they plan on climbing back into the playoff picture. 

22. Washington Redskins (3-5)
  • It is time to accept that RG3 is probably going to have a short career. Let’s face it, he just plays better when he has a disregard for his body, and the entire team plays better when he is a threat as a runner. Could that style we saw Sunday lead to an early career physical collapse reminiscent of the one Michael Vick is experience? It most likely will, but let the man play his way, and we can all enjoy some pretty special and dynamic years; even if the story has an early ending. 

21. Cleveland Browns (4-5)
  • This is scary to think about, but how much better would the Browns be if they had never started Brandon Weeden this season? With some combination of Brian Hoyer and Jason Campbell, it is not outlandish to believe the Browns would at least have a winning record, and may even have been in the driver’s seat in the AFC North. 

20. Philadelphia Eagles (4-5)
  • Ah, so the Eagles are a decent team when they do not have to start a quarterback who is a third-string rookie or injured? What a novel concept. It will be interesting to see if Nick Foles can sustain his strong play, or if Peyton Manning just took his place during the Broncos bye week.  

19. Arizona Cardinals (4-4)
  • The Cardinals return from their bye week as a sneaky contender for the last spot in the NFC Wildcard race.

18. Baltimore Ravens (3-5)
  • The time has come for the Ravens to tumble down the Power Rankings. The Ravens defense is a good unit, but it showed against the Jason Campbell led Browns that it is not good enough to make op for one of the worst offenses in the entire NFL. 

17. Miami Dolphins (4-4)
  • Richie Incognito has been suspended from the Miami Dolphins after a series of racist and threatening voicemails and text messages that Incognito left Martin were discovered. Here’s to hoping he never plays another down in the NFL; he is not even a good enough player to justify his antics anyways. 


16. Tennessee Titans (4-4)
  • If Chris Johnson can sustain the level of play he showed on Sunday, the Titans could be threat to the Colts in the AFC South. If Chris Johnson could face Alec Ogletree every week, the Titans could be a threat to the Colts in the AFC South. If only. 

15. New York Jets (5-4)
  • If you told anyone that the Jets would have a winning record in the middle, or really at any, point of the NFL season you would have probably been laughed out of the room. The Jets are a pretty good team with the potential to almost beat anyone, especially on odd numbered weeks. The Jets just need to stay out of their own way.

14. San Diego Chargers (4-4)
  • The Chargers have crushing losses too often to be considered a true contender. There is absolutely no excuse to not be able to punch the ball in at the one-yard line against the Redskins to win that game. Mike McCoy has been fantastic, but that may have been yet another instance of a coach outsmarting himself. 

13. Dallas Cowboys (5-4)
  • Dallas better not look behind, or else it will see its inferior division rivals nipping at the Cowboys’ heals. By not blowing out the Vikings at home, the Cowboys keep the door open for questioning whether they really will run away with their division. If they manage to choke this division away, it will be an epic failure. 

12. Chicago Bears (5-3)
  • Josh McCown looks more than capable of leading this team while Cutler comes heals, and frankly, it would be a mistake to put Cutler back out there until he is truly one hundred percent. This defense is not playoff worthy, but the Bears still have a chance to sneak in.

11. Carolina Panthers (5-3)
  • The Panthers continue to roll, but they face two very big tests in the coming weeks when they travel to San Francisco and play New England. If the Panthers can at least split those two games, then it will be time to consider them a legitimate and scary team in the NFC. Winning the NFC South is not out of the question.

10. Detroit Lions (5-3)
  • With the injury to Aaron Rodgers, the Lions might be the favorite to win the NFC North. The scope of their season has caustically changed coming off their bye week.

9. Cincinnati Bengals (6-3)
  • The Bengals are falling away from the elite teams in the AFC. Giovani Bernard absolutely needs to get more touches going forward. He has made some moves this season that the NFL has not seen since Barry Sanders prematurely left the league. 

8. San Francisco 49ers (6-2)
  • The 49ers come out of the bye and probably smell a little blood in the water given the recent poor play shown by their division rival Seahawks. They have a very real chance to win this division. 

7. Indianapolis Colts (6-2)
  • The Colts must have left the Texans’ collective jaw dropped with how they came back to win that game. Andrew Luck is probably going to leave many more teams feeling that way over the next decade or so. 

6. New England Patriots (7-2)
  • The Patriots look to be rounding in to form, as many predicted they would right around this time. If Brady and his receivers can play that well every Sunday, it is not hard to envision this team making another super Bowl appearance. 

5. Green Bay Packers (5-3)
  • The Packers hold strong in the top five for now, but with Aaron Rodgers out, all bets are off. Maybe the Packers can run their offense through Eddie Lacy, but Seneca Wallace did not look capable of carrying his end of the bargain. If that defense puts up many more performances like the one we saw Monday night, this team is cooked. 

4. New Orleans Saints (6-2)
  • That was a really bad loss. The Saints do not look like the same team outside in the cold, and that will be a huge problem come playoff time. The Saints must secure home field advantage. 

3. Kansas City Chiefs (9-0)
  • The Chiefs finally crack the top three! Some of this ranking is a product of the need to move other teams down, but this team is undefeated and you cannot argue they do not belong in this spot. The Chiefs head into their bye with a much more daunting second half the schedule not far ahead. 

2. Seattle Seahawks (8-1)
  • Some pundits are dropping the Seahawks, but think about it; this team continues to win when they have not played their best, and their offensive line is only going to get healthier. The biggest concern with this team is the fact that their run defense has been lackluster, at best the last two week. That cannot continue. 

1. Denver Broncos (7-1)
  • The Broncos bye probably came at a perfect time for old man Peyton, who was suffering from a few ailments last we saw him. The Broncos cannot afford to have Manning at less than his best. 

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...