Another week has come and gone, football fans.
There were some surprising outcomes Week 9 — Saints romp over Buccaneers, Bills outshooting Seahawks, Dolphins running past Cardinals, Cowboys covering against Steelers, Patriots’ fourth-quarter comeback against Jets, etc. — and some unsurprising feats, as well.
Here’s how all that impacted NESN.com’s Week 10 NFL Power Rankings. (If you need a refresher from last week, here’s the Week 9 list.)
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-0, last week: 1)
Pittsburgh won another ugly game, failing to cover as a 13.5-point favorite over the Dallas Cowboys. Good news, though: The Steelers are still the NFL’s only unbeaten team, and that’s all that matters.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-1, 2)
The Chiefs’ stars stepped up, pulling out a win over the Carolina Panthers with both Travis Kelce (10 rec., 159 yards) and Tyreek Hill (nine rec., 113 yards) coming up clutch.
3. Baltimore Ravens (6-2, 5)
The Ravens earned a convincing win in all three phases against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Baltimore’s defense came alive in the second half, after having already scored a first-half touchdown.
4. New Orleans Saints (6-2, 6)
The Saints completely dominated their NFC South rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 38-3 win on “Sunday Night Football.” New Orleans now is in the driver’s seat for the division.
5. Buffalo Bills (7-2, 9)
OK, so maybe Buffalo is, in fact, for real. The AFC East-leading Bills earned their most impressive win of the season against the Seattle Seahawks, beating Russell Wilson in a 44-34 shootout. We’ll now see how they look against the Arizona Cardinals.
6. Green Bay Packers (6-2, 7)
On a short week, the Packers bounced back with a one-sided win over the injury-depleted San Francisco 49ers. Green Bay should have no problem handling the Jacksonville Jaguars this coming weekend.
7. Seattle Seahawks (6-2, 4)
Seattle has lost two of its last three games as its defense can’t stop a nosebleed. The Seahawks allowed 44 points to the Bills, Buffalo’s most points scored this year.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3, 3)
Tom Brady suffered the worst loss of his career in regards to point differential against the Saints. It was the second consecutive week where the offense looked out of sync, and now Tampa will have to figure it out.
9. Tennessee Titans (6-2, 8)
Desmond King II made quite the first impression, scoring on a 63-yard fumble return in his Titans debut. The Tennessee defense held the Chicago Bears without a point in the first three quarters, before ultimately hanging on for a win.
10. Miami Dolphins (5-3, 13)
The Dolphins earned arguably the league’s most notable Week 9 win. Head coach Brian Flores has the defense making game-changing plays, which was the case again in their verdict over the Arizona Cardinals.
11. Arizona Cardinals (5-3, 10)
Kyler Murray put on a clinic in the Cardinals’ loss to the Miami, but a missed fourth-quarter field goal and the Arizona defense didn’t do enough to win.
12. Indianapolis Colts (5-3, 11)
Philip Rivers has been far from consistent this season, as was the case again Sunday in a 14-point loss to the Ravens. The defense proved legit again, though, allowing just 266 yards in the contest.
13. Los Angeles Rams (5-3, 12)
The Rams return from their Week 9 bye with a NFC West clash against the Seahawks.
14. Las Vegas Raiders (5-3, 16)
The Raiders featured seven different pass catchers and a nice 1-2 mix at running back as the offense helped pull out a hard-earned win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
15. Cleveland Browns (5-3, 14)
Cleveland will return from its Week 9 bye with a favorable three-week stretch against the Texans, Eagles and Jaguars.
16. Chicago Bears (5-4, 15)
The Bears are reeling. Chicago tallied 150 more yards of offense than the Titans, but fell in their third consecutive game. The Bears may have to be careful about losing the NFC North’s second seed to the Vikings, too.
17. San Francisco 49ers (4-5, 14)
The 49ers are in the midst of a drop as their injuries are proving insurmountable. It was on display during a Week 9 loss to the Packers.
18. Minnesota Vikings (3-5, 20)
The Vikings could be the best team with a sub-.500 record in the league. Running back Dalvin Cook has led Minnesota to consecutive NFC North wins, and the Vikings will travel to Chicago Week 10.
19. Carolina Panthers (3-6, 18)
The Panthers were certainly happy to have running back Christian McCaffrey back in the fold, but ultimately Carolina fell in a shootout against the Chiefs.
20. Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1, 19)
The Bengals may be riding high after their Week 8 win over the Titans, but will return from their bye week to face the unbeaten Steelers.
21. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1, 21)
The Eagles return from their Week 9 bye looking to extend their division lead with a NFC East clash against the New York Giants.
22. Atlanta Falcons (3-6, 26)
The Falcons’ defense is playing a bit more competent, and did enough to help the offense earn a win over the Broncos, despite being without receiver Calvin Ridley.
23. Denver Broncos (3-5, 22)
Quarterback Drew Lock accounted for 360 yards of offense, but it wasn’t enough as the Broncos fell to the Falcons.
24. Los Angeles Chargers (2-6, 23)
Is there a team who is more snakebitten in the NFL?
25. New England Patriots (3-5, 24)
Sorry Pats fans, but we’re not doing any favors after it took a fourth-quarter comeback for New England to beat the winless Jets on a game-winning field goal.
26. Detroit Lions (3-5, 25)
After a promising two-game stretch, Detroit dropped its second consecutive game, this one against the three-win Vikings.
27. Houston Texans (2-6, 29)
Any win is a good win when when you only have two of them, right? Even when it comes down to a two-point verdict against one-win Jaguars.
28. Washington Football Team (2-6, 27)
We already know that nobody deserves to win the NFC East, but does anyone want to? Washington fell to the New York Giants in another display of bad football.
29. Dallas Cowboys (2-7, 28)
The Cowboys may have got a moral victory on Sunday against the unbeaten Steelers, but the fact is Jerry Jones’ team has lost four straight.
30. New York Giants (2-7, 31)
One win over Washington propelled the Giants from last in the NFC East to merely a half-game back of The Football Team for the division’s No. 2 seed. Incredible.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7, 30)
Quarterback Jake Luton, who played for Gardner Minshew, threw for 300-plus yards and one touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as the Jags lost their seventh consecutive contest to Houston.
32. New York Jets (0-9, 32)
New York had no business losing “Monday Night Football” against the Patriots, but alas, the Jets will Jet.
