The Denver Broncos have assumed the top spot in the power rankings, thanks to the Seattle Seahawks' loss at home Sunday. No one in the right mind thought the Dallas Cowboys - yes, the Cowboys - would be sitting at No. 2 with a 5-1 record, but here we are, as Dallas took down Seattle. How long will the good times roll for the Cowboys? After Sunday's upset win, they're proving that their defense is truly revitalized, so they could be here to stay.
The San Diego Chargers round out the top three, as quarterback Philip Rivers remains an early MVP candidate. The NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles are right behind the Chargers following their wins.
SB Nation's Power Rankings
SB Nation's Power Rankings
The San Francisco 49ers put away the St. Louis Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals played their way to a tie against the Carolina Panthers, while the Baltimore Ravens obliterated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After a convincing 31-10 win at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cleveland Browns made a huge jump in the rankings, from 14 to 21. This is uncharted territory for Cleveland, but could move up even more next week with a matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who maintain the last spot in the rankings. The Steelers fell from No. 12 to 20 after the loss.
The Oakland Raiders dropped to 0-5, yet moved up two spots. That's just how bad it is for some teams out there. The St. Louis Rams jumped out to a 14-0 lead Monday night, but completely fell apart in the second half and lost 31-17 to the San Francisco 49ers. Such is life at the bottom.
|
Rk. |
Team |
Record |
SB Nation |
ESPN |
Football Outsiders |
Average |
|
|
1 |
Denver Broncos |
4-1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
|
2 |
Dallas Cowboys |
5-1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
10 |
4.8 |
|
3 |
San Diego Chargers |
5-1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
3.8 |
|
4 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
5-1 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
4.3 |
|
5 |
Arizona Cardinals |
4-1 |
5 |
6 |
8 |
19 |
9.5 |
|
6 |
San Francisco 49ers |
4-2 |
6 |
7 |
9 |
15 |
9.3 |
|
7 |
Seattle Seahawks |
3-2 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
5.0 |
|
8 |
Green Bay Packers |
4-2 |
8 |
9 |
6 |
4 |
6.8 |
|
9 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
3-1-1 |
9 |
11 |
12 |
5 |
9.3 |
|
10 |
Indianapolis Colts |
4-2 |
10 |
8 |
7 |
13 |
9.5 |
|
11 |
Baltimore Ravens |
4-2 |
11 |
12 |
10 |
2 |
8.8 |
|
12 |
New England Patriots |
4-2 |
12 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
11.0 |
|
13 |
Detroit Lions |
4-2 |
13 |
13 |
13 |
7 |
11.5 |
|
14 |
Cleveland Browns |
3-2 |
14 |
15 |
14 |
9 |
13.0 |
|
15 |
Chicago Bears |
3-3 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
16 |
16.0 |
|
16 |
New York Giants |
3-3 |
16 |
20 |
18 |
21 |
18.8 |
|
17 |
Carolina Panthers |
3-2-1 |
17 |
14 |
15 |
22 |
17.0 |
|
18 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
2-3 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
14 |
16.5 |
|
19 |
Houston Texans |
3-3 |
19 |
19 |
20 |
24 |
20.5 |
|
20 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
3-3 |
20 |
22 |
19 |
20 |
20.3 |
|
21 |
Buffalo Bills |
3-3 |
21 |
21 |
21 |
18 |
20.3 |
|
22 |
New Orleans Saints |
2-3 |
22 |
17 |
23 |
25 |
21.8 |
|
23 |
Miami Dolphins |
2-3 |
23 |
23 |
22 |
17 |
21.0 |
|
24 |
Atlanta Falcons |
2-4 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
12 |
21.0 |
|
25 |
Minnesota Vikings |
2-4 |
25 |
27 |
25 |
30 |
26.8 |
|
26 |
Tennessee Titans |
2-3 |
26 |
25 |
28 |
26 |
26.3 |
|
27 |
New York Jets |
1-4 |
27 |
29 |
29 |
28 |
28.3 |
|
28 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
1-4 |
28 |
30 |
30 |
32 |
30.0 |
|
29 |
Oakland Raiders |
0-5 |
29 |
31 |
31 |
29 |
30.0 |
|
30 |
Washington |
1-4 |
30 |
28 |
27 |
23 |
27.0 |
|
31 |
St. Louis Rams |
1-3 |
31 |
26 |
26 |
27 |
27.5 |
|
32 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
0-6 |
32 |
32 |
32 |
31 |
31.8 |
The four polls we use:
We use four different rankings to compile our weekly average. The idea behind that is to try to get a wider sense of where all 32 teams are being valued with three weeks of play in the books. Our power rankings sources are from our in-house rankings, ESPN.com and NFL.com. We also factor in the DVOA rankings from Football Outsiders to add an objective statistical measurement to the formula.