NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Offense is all that matters in 2018

The NFL’s top teams continue to dominate and have the same thing in common: They average more than 33 points per game. That’s the Saints (36.7 ppg), Chiefs (35.5 ppg), and Rams (33.5 ppg), who rank one to three respectively in that category. Defense in 2018 has become far less important than offense as the NFL’s top defenses in terms of points allowed per game are the Titans, Ravens, and Cowboys — none of which would make the playoffs if the season ended today.

It should come as no surprise that the top three teams in this week’s power rankings are the Saints, Chiefs, and Rams. Each of these teams has one loss, they’ve all been dominating opponents week after week, and their offenses are proving that they can almost always win. The exception is when they play each other, as the Saints and Rams did in Week 9 and as the Chiefs and Rams will do in Week 11.

Buckle up, Week 11 is going to be a fun one! Here’s where the NFL power rankings stand as we head into the action.

On the rise

The Chargers and Steelers inched just a bit close to the top of the rankings as both teams are riding impressive winning streaks. The Steelers have won five straight while the Chargers have won six straight. Los Angeles’ only two losses are to the Chiefs (Week 1) and Rams (Week 3).

The Bears beat the Lions for just the second time in their last 11 meetings and Chicago pretty much killed off any lasting hopes of Detroit making the playoffs. It’s not just the Bears’ defense winning them games, Chicago’s offense is averaging the fifth most points per game (29.9).

Washington also is climbing the rankings. Its offense is nowhere near the NFL’s best (19.6 points per game and 337.4 yards per game) but Jay Gruden is finding ways to win in spite of that. Washington is the only team currently in position to make the playoffs that doesn’t have a top 16 offense in terms of points per game.

The Titans’ big win over the Patriots has instilled some confidence in Tennessee as they embark on an important stretch of their schedule that has them set to take on their three division rivals in the next four weeks. The Titans scored more than 28 points for the first time this season against the Patriots. The result was a 34-10 win. Maybe the Texans’ grasp of first place in the AFC South isn’t as secure as we thought.

On the decline

The Eagles have offered up some small glimpses of hope this year, but then they do things like lose to the Cowboys at home on primetime television. Philly hasn’t had a convincing win this season; their biggest victory was defeating the 2-7 Giants by 24. Other than that, they’ve won two games by six points and one game by four points. Consider us unimpressed by the defending Super Bowl champs.

As for the Eagles’ Super Bowl opponent from last season, the Patriots also took a small fall in this week’s power rankings. But, there’s no need for New England fans to freak out. The Patriots will surely bounce back.

The Jaguars finally got running back Leonard Fournette back from injury, but they lost anyway. Making it worse was the loss came against their fellow AFC South team, the Colts. Making it even worse than that is Jalen Ramsey seems to be beefing with ... his own team!

The bottom of the rankings

The Browns’ win over the Falcons along with the revived offense under interim head coach Gregg Williams has Cleveland on the rise heading into Week 11. Where have the Browns been hiding Nick Chubb? Against the Falcons, the rookie had 176 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, including a 92-yard run that was the longest in Browns’ history. With that said, the Browns still live near the bottom of the bunch (23).

Worse than the Browns in this week’s ranking are the Lions, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Bills, Jets, Giants, Cardinals, 49ers, and all the way at the bottom, the Raiders.

The Giants and 49ers squared off on Monday Night Football and New York left with the win in the game but in loss in next year’s draft standings.