The 2022 season has been unique, and it’s made the NFL Power Rankings incredibly complex to navigate throughout the first half of the season. However, now that we’re through 10 weeks of play, it’s becoming clear who is and who is not contenders.
No team in the NFC has fewer than three wins, which is a respectable mark. However, that doesn’t mean those teams have a hope of rattling off enough wins to compete for the playoffs. And looking forward to the 2023 NFL Draft is not a problem.
Week 11 NFL Power Rankings: Tier 5 | It’s Already Draft Season
Draft season can’t come soon enough. Luckily, Pro Football Network has a Mock Draft Simulator with premium features for free.
32. Houston Texans
Houston may have won against New York if they had been able to get better play from Davis Mills. While Mills’ completion rate and yards gained looked good, there were far too many errors throughout the game that cost his team. The good news is that Houston will have a chance to draft their franchise quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Houstons’ defense played well against New York, but a few missed tackles cost them throughout the course of the game, as the Giants picked up a few crucial third downs.
31. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders are a broken team. At 2-7, they’re in possession of the league’s second-worst record. Despite adding Davante Adams during the offseason, their offense has been underwhelming, and they have the worst defense in the league, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA.
Nothing seems to be working well. Almost every time Derek Carr drops back, he’s under siege. And when he’s not, he’s been incredibly inconsistent. Josh McDaniels will have a lot to work on during the offseason. However, for now, Las Vegas needs to do everything in their power to improve that defense.
30. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers aren’t a very good football team, but they’ve become competitive over the past few weeks. PJ Walker is proving that he can be a long-term answer as a backup/spot starter in the NFL, given his athleticism.
It was nice to see a talented defense finally play well again. They’d been embarrassed by Atlanta the first time around and Cincinnati in the following game. Could a strong performance from the team in the second half of the season secure Steve Wilks a second coaching gig after being set up for failure in Arizona?
29. Chicago Bears
A missed extra point was the difference in the game against Detroit. An ugly pick-six sullied what was looking like yet another wonderful performance from Justin Fields. While his growth has been undeniable, he still needs to understand his limits and choose his battles.
MORE: Week 10 NFL Playoff Picture and Standings
Chicago’s defense is not good. Losing Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith were significant blows, but their performance isn’t what is important. The Bears were never going to compete in 2022. They needed to figure out how to thrive with Fields, and they’re learning as the season goes.
28. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions played an incredibly competitive game against their divisional rival, and a few timely plays (and a missed Chicago extra point) were the difference. Nobody is stopping the Bears’ rushing attack at this point, so Lions fans shouldn’t feel too bad about allowing 258 yards on the ground.
Allowing a 67-yard scamper from Fields and a 50-yard Cole Kmet touchdown reception will have Dan Campbell face-palming during the film session. Allowing explosive plays in the secondary has haunted the Lions all season, and it almost cost them their first win on the road in the Campbell era.
27. New Orleans Saints
Dennis Allen and the Saints made their bed, and now they must lie in it. The decision to keep Andy Dalton entrenched as the starter over a healthy Jameis Winston was a questionable decision for the present and future. Against Pittsburgh, Dalton finished 17 of 27 for 174 yards, one TD, and two INTs.
The Saints’ defense had a fine day against the Steelers’ offense. Pittsburgh only averaged 4.8 yards per play and couldn’t get anything going in the passing game. With another season of control on Winston’s contract, there is no excuse to go another game without him as the team’s starting QB.
26. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers were the far better team on Sunday against New Orleans. Pittsburgh’s defense was outstanding, and the return of T.J. Watt made a massive impact on the Steelers’ pass rush. Although they only sacked Dalton twice, they consistently got pressure and forced the ball out quickly.
The Steelers’ passing attack is still struggling, but their run game got going a little bit against the Saints, who are historically one of the most difficult teams in the league to run against. They still need to get more from Kenny Pickett to feel comfortable with him moving forward, but the entire offense needs to be better to get a good grasp on his ceiling.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville simply didn’t have the firepower to contend against Kansas City. The Jaguars haven’t had many issues moving the ball between the 20s this season, but that was not the case against the Chiefs. They punted on five of their first six offensive drives and failed to pick up more than one first down on all six.
The Jaguars found themselves in a 20-0 deficit against arguably the best offense in the NFL. The Chiefs slowed things down in the second half, and Jacksonville didn’t get enough possessions to make a legitimate comeback.
24. Denver Broncos
The Broncos’ offense is broken. Denver punted nine times against Tennessee, and Russell Wilson could only complete 21 of 42 attempts. But what’s most frustrating is how lost the passing attack looked. Every time Wilson dropped back, it seemed like he was frozen in time.
Without seeing what was happening in the secondary, it’s difficult to know exactly what was going wrong. But with how often it happened, it’s safe to assume Wilson wasn’t comfortable with the looks he was given.
It’s tough to watch Denver waste what might be the league’s best defense on an offense scoring just 14.6 points per game.
23. Cleveland Browns
Cleveland is simply trying to survive until Deshaun Watson returns. With Buffalo and Tampa Bay next on the schedule, there’s a good chance they’re looking up at a 3-8 record upon his return.
MORE: Deshaun Watson Is Not Saving the Browns’ Season
The Browns’ defense has been a problem all season, and if they want to make a legitimate playoff push in 2023, they must improve their defensive interior. They can’t stop the run, but their secondary has struggled intermittently throughout the year as well.
Week 11 NFL Power Rankings: Tier 4 | Outside Shot at the Playoffs
Each team in Tier 4 has an outside shot at the playoffs, but it will take quite a few things going right in the second half of the season to accomplish that goal.
22. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts had one of the wildest weeks I can remember. Capping it off with a win has to feel sweet for the organization and for the fanbase. Making Jeff Saturday the interim head coach was a controversial decision, but winning will make them feel a lot better about the decision.
MORE: Jeff Saturday is Undefeated
Jonathan Taylor finally got going for the first time this season, and Matt Ryan had an efficient day under center. How things progress in Indianapolis will be fascinating to follow. They’re in uncharted territory.
21. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are a lost cause. Their offense was already broken before Cooper Kupp’s injury on Sunday. If he misses any significant time, LA’s offense has no chance going forward. Les Snead and the rest of the Rams’ front office consistently mortgaged the future for the present, and it won them a Super Bowl.
Now, they lack depth at far too many spots, and their offensive line dissolved during the offseason, which has left their running game worse off than it’s been the past two seasons. At 3-6, their season is on life support.
20. Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals won the battle of the backups Sunday afternoon, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. The Rams’ offense was completely lost with a healthy Matthew Stafford. Without Stafford, the offense averaged just 4.3 yards per play.
Arizona was also down their starting QB, but Colt McCoy has been around the block a time or two, playing some good football for Arizona along the way. With the 49ers and Chargers upcoming, the Cardinals need to keep winning games to keep their playoff hopes alive in the NFC.
19. Atlanta Falcons
Marcus Mariota has played admirably so far for Atlanta in 2022. What we saw from him on Thursday Night Football against the Panthers was reminiscent of a 52-year-old father picking up a controller for the first time trying to navigate multiplayer on Call of Duty. He ran around like a chicken with his head cut off and made tactical error after tactical error.
Atlanta’s offense needs to carry the team because they don’t possess the defensive firepower to consistently get stops against competent offensive units. With Tampa Bay stringing together a few wins, Atlanta needs wins against the Bears, Commanders, and Steelers before the bye week if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.
18. Washington Commanders
The organization used Brian Robinson’s horrific shooting to side skirt responsibility for their own actions, something the players were frustrated by. Washington’s defense has steadily improved so far throughout the season, but the Washington offense must find something more than their 27th-ranked EPA performance thus far.
Congratulations are in order for the Washington offense against Philadelphia. They didn’t move the ball with much explosiveness aside from Terry McLaurin’s big 41-yard reception. Rather, they simply walked the ball down the field methodically. Time of possession is an overrated statistic, but keeping overall possessions down by running the ball and converting 12 third downs is a nice way to avoid regression against a better football team.
They probably don’t have the requisite QB play to be legitimate contenders in the NFC, but they could fight for the seventh playoff spot in a down NFC.
17. Green Bay Packers
After losing five games in a row, the Green Bay Packers were a desperate team. But down by 14 with less than 15 minutes to go, the Packers were able to put together two touchdown drives to tie the game against Dallas late.
A questionable no-call on 3rd-and-4 forced Dallas into a decision, and Mike McCarthy chose to go for it instead of kicking the 50+ yard field goal. They couldn’t convert, and the Packers waltzed down the field to kick the game winner.
Christian Watson’s three touchdowns, and in particular his outrageous speed, was the difference in the game, but Green Bay’s rushing attack had themselves a day as well.
Week 11 NFL Power Rankings: Tier 3 | The Playoff Contenders
Some of the teams in Tier 3 have shown warts, but each team looks like a playoff contender, especially in what has been a year filled with parity.
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers needed to get back on track eventually, and it seems they’re on their way after beating a good Seattle team in Germany.
MORE: Is Tom Brady Back?
Tampa Bay’s defense has been a top-10 unit for the entire season. It has been their offense that has let them down in 2022, ranking just 17th in DVOA before the start of Sunday’s action.
Tom Brady is happy to have Chris Godwin back. The veteran receiver is beginning to get back to his old self, and Brady looked more comfortable against Seattle than he has recently.
15. New England Patriots
The Patriots are one of the most intriguing teams in the NFL. Their offense has been underwhelming at best, but the team has survived to compete for the playoffs on the back of their top five defense.
Despite losing Stephon Gilmore and J.C. Jackson in consecutive seasons, New England has found a few rookie cornerbacks in Jack Jones and Jonathan Jones.
Mac Jones must start playing cleaner football if this team wants to be a legitimate contender. He’s taken it upon himself to try being more of a playmaker in 2022, but his ability outside of structure leaves a lot to be desired.
14. Los Angeles Chargers
“Frustrating” is becoming too kind of an adjective to describe the Chargers’ offense. Joe Lombardi and Tom Telesco have put a rucksack filled to the brim with cement and strapped it to Justin Herbert’s back. The young QB is consistently forced to thread the needle in a scheme as predictable as a fan being upset about a loss by their favorite football team.
Once again, the Chargers’ offense fell flat. Their first drive put us all into a false sense of happiness, going 75 yards in seven plays to score a touchdown. They scored 16 points in the first half but could only manage three total first downs in the second half, which kept their already depleted defense on the field for most of the second half against San Francisco.
Without Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, Los Angeles didn’t have enough firepower.
13. New York Jets
The Jets headed into their bye week riding the highest of highs, beating the Buffalo Bills for the first time since 2019. New York now looks like a legitimate contender in the AFC.
MORE: Sauce Gardner Proving His DROY Status
Their defense absolutely flies to the football and ranked six in defensive DVOA heading into Sunday’s games. New York’s defense has playmakers on all three levels, but the additions they made to the secondary have made the most significant differences in their defensive production.
The Jets’ weakest link is their quarterback. They need Zach Wilson to play under control and keep the football safe if they want to make noise in January.
12. Seattle Seahawks
Seattle just did not look like themselves against Tampa Bay in Munich. Their defense didn’t play poorly, but they couldn’t seem to get off the field on third down, and their offense couldn’t convert when they saw third down.
Tampa Bay’s defense was the dominant force in this contest. Seattle couldn’t find anything on the ground, gaining just 39 yards on 14 carries.
While the Buccaneers haven’t looked like the same team we saw in 2020 and 2021, that potential still looms. The Seahawks head into the bye needing a rest. With the Raiders, Rams, and Panthers coming up after, there’s a good chance Seattle leads the NFC West heading into Week 15 against San Francisco.
11. Tennessee Titans
The Titans’ offense is not very good, but it doesn’t seem to matter much. Tennessee has the innate ability to “muck” games up. Nothing about the Titans on paper appears special, but they were the top seed in the AFC a season ago and, just a week ago, went toe-to-toe against the Chiefs while completing just five passes.
They’re different. Nobody plays the game like Tennessee, so it’s difficult to quantify how good or bad they are. No matter how ugly things may look on offense, Mike Vrabel and his team know how to win football games.
10. San Francisco 49ers
At 5-4, the San Francisco 49ers trail only the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. The 49ers offense hit a lull on offense after their first drive field goal, and their defense went from allowing movement to stifling the Chargers’ offense.
MORE: The 49ers All-YAC Offense is Eye Candy
When San Francisco’s pass rush is able to pin its ears back, they’re tough to beat. The 49ers’ secondary is well-coached, and the entire team flies to the football. Talanoa Hufanga and Jimmie Ward are a fantastic safety tandem as well.
Offensively, they’re built on yards after the catch. Each of their top five pass catchers are menaces to tacklers in the secondary.
9. New York Giants
The Giants didn’t necessarily run away and hide against the Texans, but it was clear that they were the better team. They allowed Houston to crawl back in the fourth quarter a bit, but had multi-possession leads for most of the contest.
However, if New York’s defense wasn’t so dominant inside of the red zone (1 for 6), this could have been a much different story. New York took a conservative approach to their offensive game plan against Houston, throwing the ball only 17 times in the game.
8. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals rolled into their bye week as arguably the most talented inconsistent performer in the league. They have produced some epic performances this season but have also laid a few complete duds.
Still, Cincinnati is top 10 in both offensive and defensive DVOA. So their second-half performance should be impressive enough to contend for the top Wild Card spot in the AFC at the very least.
Getting Ja’Marr Chase back is crucial for the Bengals’ ceiling, but they’re able to put points up in a multitude of ways, especially after figuring out how to run the ball more consistently from shotgun and almost completely abandoning under-center snaps.
7. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys outplayed the Packers for most of the game, but that doesn’t matter. Turnovers turned into Green Bay points twice. CeeDee Lamb had a monster game for Dallas, but miscommunications with Dak Prescott persist, and it’s led to three interceptions over the middle in recent weeks.
MORE: The Cowboys Squander A Remarkable Opportunity
The Cowboys’ run defense is a real issue now. Fans have long felt that it was a problem, but Dallas had only truly struggled against running quarterbacks. Green Bay ran on Dallas with their backs, and the Dallas defense struggled to consistently get Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon down on the ground.
With the Vikings and Giants up next, Dallas has to get back to their winning ways, or they’ll end up looking at the seventh seed in the playoff picture instead of the fifth.
Week 11 NFL Power Rankings: Tier 2 | Conference Championship Contenders
The teams in Tier 2 are good, and it makes sense that they’ve had so much success so far this season.
6. Miami Dolphins
It wasn’t an easy decision to elevate Miami into Tier 2. Their secondary is hopelessly undermanned, and it’s made it incredibly difficult to consistently get stops defensively. But they have the most efficient offense in the NFL with a healthy Tua Tagovailoa, and it’s tough to see where their offensive firepower ends.
MORE: Are the Dolphins better than the Bills?
Miami’s offensive line thoroughly dominated the Browns’ defensive front. Jeff Wilson Jr. and Raheem Mostert did whatever they wanted, and the Dolphins’ QB distributed the ball to a host of pass catchers in a way we haven’t seen in a passing attack so dominated by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
5. Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore is unique. But their recipe is working well. As long as their defense can keep the game in a neutral script, the Ravens can compete with any team in the NFL. They rank first in rushing DVOA and fourth in passing. Their defense has shown improvement so far throughout the season, but Baltimore has seen some curious issues in the fourth quarter this season.
Each of their three losses came from a fourth-quarter lead, something unheard of throughout John Harbaugh’s tenure. But the fact they’ve been in the lead during each of their nine games shows how impressive they are as a team.
4. Buffalo Bills
If Cam Lewis punches a fourth-and-18 into the stratosphere instead of trying to intercept it, we’re almost surely discussing a Bills win. Instead, Justin Jefferson made the catch of the year, and the Vikings went on to… not score.
But Josh Allen fumbled a snap from the half-yard line, and Minnesota recovered it for a touchdown. Allen drove the Bills down the field to tie the game, but an overtime interception sealed Buffalo’s fate.
The Bills let a 17-point lead go when it looked like they had everything going their way. Allen’s thrown four interceptions in two weeks and has seen his MVP hopes start to slip away.
NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Tier 1 | The Elite Teams
In the spirit of Power Rankings, it’s impossible to keep Minnesota out of Tier 1. They’re a one-loss team through 10 weeks and just beat a team out of Tier 1.
3. Minnesota Vikings
Just when it looked like Minnesota was showing us they weren’t quite as serious as their record suggested, they mounted a massive comeback against the team many believed was the best in the NFL.
What’s happening isn’t quantifiable. It’s been an incredibly improbable run. Each of the Vikings’ wins during their seven-game streak has been a one-score win. They’ve consistently made things interesting against lesser opponents, but they’re winning nonetheless.
And with Dallas and New England up next, they’ll get two more chances to prove themselves.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
As PFN’s Arif Hasan waxed this past week, the Kansas City Chiefs are inevitable. The Jaguars have made a season out of dressing up like a good football team just to consistently take their costume off before the game ended.
Kansas City dominated the entire game on Sunday. Things almost got a little frisky in the second half, but the Chiefs held Jacksonville to a field goal instead of a touchdown and then went down to score a touchdown of their own.
Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are unstoppable together offensively.
1. Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia is a better team than the Washington Commanders, and they were the better team on Monday Night Football. But a few wacky turnovers kept the Eagles’ offense from scoring a few times, and untimely penalties ultimately cost them the game.
This was Philadelphia’s first stumble against a “lesser” opponent since 2020. They handled business a season ago and had all season up to this point. They have proven themselves the best team in the NFL thus far, but they do have some legitimate issues defensively that need to solve.
They need Jordan Davis back from injury. He’s a force multiplier on their defense. He allows the linebackers to play slower to the football and allows the defensive linemen around him to play the aggressive style that best suits them. Without him in the lineup, the Eagles’ run defense has some responsibility gaps.