This is one of the most difficult power rankings I can remember in the 10 or so years I’ve been putting it together. I’m stuck between teams I love (Seahawks), teams that are very good right now and have yet to have faults exposed (Colts) and teams that you know you have to love but just don’t right now for some reason (Bills, Eagles). Then there are the teams that people will complain about if you don’t love yet (Patriots) followed by the teams that you know you are going to look stupid for not being ahead of the curve on loving (Ravens). 

And so, you splatter all this paint onto a canvas and this is what we came up with. I hope you enjoy. And, yes, I agree your team should be higher. 

1. Kansas City Chiefs (5–3)

Last week’s ranking: No. 1
Last week’s result: beat Commanders, 28–7
This week: at Bills

Is it strange that I am far more in awe of the 4–3 Chiefs than the 7–0 Chiefs at the same point last season? 

2. Indianapolis Colts (7–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 2
Last week’s result: beat Titans, 38–14
This week: at Steelers

NextGenStats did not record a single Titans defensive snap in which Tennessee had more than eight defenders in the box against Jonathan Taylor. I hope to God this was some sort of (predictable) A.I. related error and not the fact that a dominant running back who scores three touchdowns a week is simply getting away with one light box after another. 

3. Seattle Seahawks (5–2) 

Last week’s ranking: No. 3
Last week’s result: idle
This week: at Commanders

Blow the whistles. Blow the horns. 

4. Denver Broncos (6–2)

Last week’s ranking: No. 11
Last week’s result: beat Cowboys, 44–24
This week: at Texans

The Broncos’ rookie class is soaring and, while RJ Harvey’s three-touchdown game was somewhat opportunistic, cleaning up the grunt work from J.K. Dobbins, his impact on the field reminds me of a Lions team that moved more toward Jahmyr Gibbs after a Gibbs/David Montgomery platoon.

5. Los Angeles Rams (5–2)

Last week’s ranking: No. 5
Last week’s result: idle
This week: vs. Saints

It seems more and more likely that Sean McVay will lose his third defensive coordinator to a head coaching job since 2021. The Rams are off a bye and back to anchoring the No. 5 spot in the power rankings, showing no signs of slowing down. 

6. Detroit Lions (5–2)

Last week’s ranking: No. 4
Last week’s result: idle
This week: vs. Vikings

It seems more and more likely that Dan Campbell will lose his second defensive coordinator to a head coaching job since 2024. Watch Kelvin Sheppard give the game ball back after one of his players tries to hand it to him. 

7. Green Bay Packers (5–1–1)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love
Packers quarterback Jordan Love completed 20 consecutive passes in Green Bay's 35–25 win over the Steelers. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Last week’s ranking: No. 9
Last week’s result: beat Steelers, 35–25
This week: vs. Panthers

The Packers are getting healthy at the right time, and with no real defensive tackle presence on the trade market, it would seem its cornerback or nothing for Green Bay. Still, I wouldn’t waste a Super Bowl opportunity that feels more real than at any other point in the Jordan Love era. 

8. Buffalo Bills (5–2) 

Last week’s ranking: No. 7
Last week’s result: beat Panthers, 40–9
This week: vs. Chiefs

One hundred and forty one of James Cooks’ 216 yards on Sunday came before first contact. That doesn’t mean James Cook doesn’t break tackles. It means that no one can touch James Cook.

9. Philadelphia Eagles (6–2)

Last week’s ranking: No. 6
Last week’s result: beat Giants, 38–20
This week: idle

I love A.J. Brown. But I also think he has a Super Bowl ring because this team is far more than a feeding tube for an elite wide receiver. And I think that the endless charade of cryptic social media messages and the deletion of tweets mentioning Jalen Hurts are sophomoric at best. Don’t be surprised if the “blockbuster” offer Philadelphia reportedly seeks before the trade deadline nearly materializes, scaring Brown into believing that he could be in New Orleans, for example. 

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6–2) 

Last week’s ranking: No. 8
Last week’s result: beat Saints, 23–3
This week: idle

Is this the absolute coldest pick-six of all time? 

Side note: I know I am going to get heat for dropping Tampa Bay after a win over the Saints. At this point, they are like the very nice Pottery Barn wedding picture frame a friend got me as an engagement gift—incredible, but I have no idea where to put it. 

11. New England Patriots (6–2)

Last week’s ranking: No. 14
Last week’s result: beat Browns, 32–13
This week: vs. Falcons

Last week this very column was a launching pad for a groundswell of haughty, blindly confident Patriots fandom the likes of which we haven’t seen since … like four years ago when the Patriots’ dynasty was still kind of a thing. 

12. San Francisco 49ers (5–3)

Last week’s ranking: No. 10
Last week’s result: lost to Texans, 26–15
This week: at Giants

The Rams have a little more than $2 million in salary on all of their various injury lists this season. The 49ers have a little more than $96 million in salary on those lists (calculated by adding up the average per year salary of each player). 

13. Los Angeles Chargers (5–3)

Last week’s ranking: No. 15
Last week’s result: beat Vikings, 37–10
This week: at Titans

The Chargers have Tennessee, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh before the bye and would theoretically be closer to full strength for a back-season stretch that includes Philadelphia, Houston, Kansas City and Denver. I maintain that this team could still very easily end up in the AFC championship game. 

14. Chicago Bears (4–3) 

Last week’s ranking: No. 13
Last week’s result: lost to Ravens, 30–16
This week: at Bengals

The Bears are so close in identity to the Jaguars. While needing to run the ball and create turnovers is an obvious path to success, both of those teams struggle to find a competitive avenue without it.

15. Baltimore Ravens (2–5)

Last week’s ranking: No. 23
Last week’s result: beat Bears, 30–16
This week: at Dolphins

Now that Lamar Jackson is back, can we ask about why Cooper Rush was there for so long in the first place? The Ravens had done such a good job of matching Jackson with a stylistic doppelganger. Rush was anything but, and the frenzied Baltimore offense went stale and left Jackson quite a hole to dig out of.

16. Pittsburgh Steelers (4–3)

Last week’s ranking: No. 12
Last week’s result: lost to Packers, 35–25
This week: vs. Colts

The Steelers feel old to me. They don’t play well in second halves. They need to win in a very specific way that involves getting up on opponents and creating turnovers. But with this iteration of the roster, there needs to be a trade deadline upgrade focused on speed, durability and pieces that Mike Tomlin can use to generate pressure.  

17. Houston Texans (3–4) 

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud
Stroud threw for 318 yards and two touchdowns in Houston's win over the 49ers. | Sean Thomas-Imagn Images

Last week’s ranking: No. 24
Last week’s result: beat 49ers, 26–15
This week: vs. Broncos

I thought some of C.J. Stroud’s best throws of the day were against pressure. That, after watching Seattle completely undress the Texans’ offensive line and Stroud by association, was the kind of relief that gives me faith in a playoff berth. 

18. Minnesota Vikings (3–4)

Last week’s ranking: No. 17
Last week’s result: lost to Chargers, 37–10
This week: at Lions

I think that the only way to prevent the football world from digging into the strange timing of the J.J. McCarthy injury and even stranger insistence that an injured Carson Wentz play when McCarthy was seemingly healthier, is for McCarthy to start playing lights out. He reenters the fold this week against … the Lions. 

19. Cincinnati Bengals (3–5)

Last week’s ranking: No. 19
Last week’s result: lost to Jets, 39–38
This week: vs. Bears

I don’t know what this says about the Bengals other than the fact that, the last four times the team has scored 38 or more points, Cincinnati is 1–3. Lou Anarumo is now in Indianapolis, so Zac Taylor remains the unfortunate common thread. I don’t think the season is over by any stretch, but the Bengals better pray the Ravens don’t have the run in them Vegas believes they do.

20. Jacksonville Jaguars (4–3)

Last week’s ranking: No. 20
Last week’s result: idle
This week: at Raiders

From Mike DiRocco over at ESPN: Don’t be surprised if the Jaguars stop treating Brian Thomas Jr. like WR1 after a struggle-laden, drop-heavy first half of the season. That means Travis Hunter fantasy owners, much like RJ Harvey, might finally find their pot of gold. 

21. Washington Commanders (3–5)

Last week’s ranking: No. 18
Last week’s result: lost to Chiefs, 28–7
This week: vs. Seahawks

The Commanders came into Monday night’s game second in missed tackles, which may say just as much about the team’s current predicament as how long they’ll be without Jayden Daniels.

22. Dallas Cowboys (3–4–1)

Last week’s ranking: No. 16
Last week’s result: lost to Broncos, 44–24
This week: vs. Cardinals

Here’s a fun/wild/unlikely fix for the Cowboys defense that I wrote about on Monday. 

23. Carolina Panthers (4–4)

Last week’s ranking: No. 21
Last week’s result: lost to Bills, 40–9
This week: at Packers

I thought Dave Canales did an admirable thing, first by welcoming Chuba Hubbard back into the starting lineup, then admitting how exceptional Rico Dowdle has been and that he would have no choice but to feed Dowdle until the heat wears out. That’s as beyond coachspeak as one is going to get in these times. 

24. Atlanta Falcons (3–4) 

Last week’s ranking: No. 22
Last week’s result: lost to Dolphins, 34–10
This week: at Patriots

I like when we get this deep into the season that coordinators can apply common-sense strategies based on a healthier sample size of film. Josh Norris wisely points out here that the delirious run from Bijan Robinson occurred without anyone reasonably asking: Are we supposed to respect Kyle Pitts as a blocker? 

25. New York Giants (2–6)

Last week’s ranking: No. 25
Last week’s result: lost to Eagles, 38–20
This week: vs. 49ers

The Cam Skattebo injury, at the end of this brutal string of tough losses and even tougher injuries, was a twisted and macabre end to the strangest month of football I can remember. At the very, very least, I can attest that Skattebo had a great meal post-surgery thanks to Big Dom. 

26. Arizona Cardinals (2–5)

Last week’s ranking: No. 28
Last week’s result: idle
This week: at Cowboys

The Cardinals have returned from the bye and, with them, comes Kyler Murray back into the starting lineup. We’ll see if he can tamp down the growing narrative that this offense was more efficient in his absence (which is kind of true, though Murray is oddly still a better fourth quarter quarterback). As a gift, he gets the absolutely directionless Cowboys defense.

27. Las Vegas Raiders (2–5)

Last week’s ranking: No. 29
Last week’s result: idle
This week: vs. Jaguars

I don’t think the Tyler Lockett signing makes the Raiders any more interesting, but with games against the Cowboys, Browns and Jaguars upcoming, I think we’ll see whether or not Pete Carroll and his staff can carve out a longer-term opportunity in Las Vegas. Remember, it is believed that Carroll signed a shorter-than-normal coaching contract that can be more easily moved on from. 

28. Miami Dolphins (2–6) 

Last week’s ranking: No. 31
Last week’s result: beat Falcons, 34–10
This week: vs. Ravens

How—how—does an NFL quarterback who is clearly struggling have his best game when one of his eyes is swollen shut. How?! Just look at this thing…

29. New Orleans Saints (1–7)

New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore
First-year Saints coach Kellen Moore opted to change quarterbacks against the Buccaneers, but still couldn't get the offense going. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Last week’s ranking: No. 27
Last week’s result: lost to Buccaneers, 23–3
This week: at Rams

A quarterback change did little to juice the Saints, who have gone from interesting and plucky to sort of moribund again—and rife for conversation about how they’ll handle the upcoming trade deadline. 

30. Cleveland Browns (2–6)

Last week’s ranking: No. 26
Last week’s result: lost to Patriots, 32–13
This week: idle

A suggestion from Albert Breer on this week’s MMQB Podcast: Myles Garrett should re-up his trade request. Garrett should take note from the Joe Thomas tenure in Cleveland that this franchise almost never provides the kind of success befitting a legendary player’s career. If Garrett wants to win and reach the Hall of Fame, he must do so elsewhere else.

31. New York Jets (1–7)

Last week’s ranking: No. 32
Last week’s result: beat Bengals, 39–38
This week: idle

Here’s a column on Nick Mangold, the Jets and what Sunday really meant. Some players in that locker room felt something special on the field. Having gotten to meet Nick a few times, I can see where they’re coming from.

32. Tennessee Titans (1–7)

Last week’s ranking: No. 30
Last week’s result: lost to Colts, 38–14
This week: vs. Chargers

I have a lot of sympathy for Mike McCoy, who is apparently being directed to simply keep the ship straight while the Titans figure out a plan at head coach for the long term. But what is directly under his control are game events like fourth downs. If you were an interim coach, why would you attempt anything but complete radicalism? You know you’ll be somewhere else next year and that you’ll probably be hired to coach quarterbacks. Why not explore the ceiling of this opportunity and go for it all the time?

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Power Rankings: Broncos' Offense Powers Surge to the Top Tier.