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The Eagles retain top spot in the Pickswise NFL Power Rankings this week and the view from their couches must have been good as they watched last week’s #2 and #4 teams, Baltimore and Jacksonville, being beaten.
The Chiefs were also off this week, with the squad apparently visiting Argentina among other places, but they don’t get to move up just yet.
The Vikings and Texans move into the top half, while the Browns regain their highest position of the season after a 7-week gap. Oh, and we should probably mention that there’s a new team at #32 too, just to keep you reading!
You can also check out our early pick for NFL Week 11 and look at the NFL odds any time you like. Now, let’s get to this week’s rankings.
Pickswise NFL Power Rankings for Week 11
1 (-) Philadelphia Eagles
As you’ll know from the spoiler above, the Eagles stay in their lofty nest at the top of the rankings tree, but they’re still not favorites for the Super Bowl with the sportsbooks, ranking only 3rd in the SB market at both FanDuel and DraftKings.
2 (up 4) Dallas Cowboys
Part of the reason for the Eagles not being rated higher by oddsmakers is the threat to them in their own division from the Cowboys. Last week’s head-to-head win was huge for Philly, but the Cowboys bounced back by crushing the Giants for the second time this season. We can’t put too much merit in that, but they could easily have 3 more wins on their record by the time of next month’s rematch with the Eagles. They are only 6th in the Super Bowl odds, though.
3 (-) Kansas City Chiefs
It would have been nice to have the Chiefs at #2 this week, so their game against the Eagles could be a straight fight between 1st and 2nd for next week’s #1 spot. Even so, if KC wins, that would probably be good enough to do it, however many Dallas might beat the Panthers by (which is a lot). DraftKings has eased the Chiefs from +475 to +500 for the Super Bowl this week for daring to take the week off.
4 (down 2) Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore led from the first minute at home to Cleveland until the final seconds, but the Ravens were behind as the clock expired on another wild AFC North matchup. That has cost them a valuable tiebreaker in both the division and the conference standings but they remain 5th favorites for the Super Bowl at +1000.
5 (-) Detroit Lions
The Lions got their 6th win in 7 games, but it makes sense to leave them behind the Ravens, who crushed them just 3 weeks ago. As we say every week, their soft schedule means it’s hard to see them slipping far in this list any time soon.
6 (up 3) Cleveland Browns
The Browns overcame a pick-6 on their second offensive play, a muffed punt that handed the ball over inside their own 20 and a missed PAT that would have tied the game, and still staged a clutch final drive to get a huge win in Baltimore. With Deshaun Watson going 14-of-14 in the second half despite picking up an ankle injury, the Browns are on the up, but they need to cancel out another divisional tiebreaker deficit when they face the Steelers this week.
7 (up 1) San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers snapped their 3-game losing streak in style against the Jaguars, and their head-to-head results enable us to slot them in neatly above Jacksonville, who they just beat, and the Browns, who set them off on that losing skid. DraftKings has seen enough already and has them as co-favorites for the Super Bowl with Kansas City at +500 odds, but they have 2 wins to make up on the Eagles in the NFC playoff race.
8 (down 4) Jacksonville Jaguars
Last week’s comment that #4 felt too high for the Jaguars turned out to be accurate as they were humbled by the 49ers as they sleepily emerged from their bye week. They are only 1 win ahead of the Texans in the AFC South standings now, but are -220 odds to keep 1st place.
9 (up 1) Miami Dolphins
A week off after the long flight home from Germany might have done the Dolphins some good as they search for answers about how to beat teams with winning records. They don’t get to try that this week, though, as they return against the Raiders. Maybe beating a 5-5 team would be the stepping stone they need.
10 (down 3) Cincinnati Bengals
Losing to the Texans isn’t yet a disaster for the Bengals – even though it has left them back in 4th place in the ultra-competitive AFC North, but it could be if they don’t shake it off before Thursday’s monumental matchup against the Ravens. If that goes well, they have the Steelers after their mini-bye and everything could be looking just dandy again.
11 (up 1) Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers hung with the Lions but didn’t quite find a way to win, which was very in-character. The team below them needs to be punished, though, so LA gets a 1-place improvement.
12 (down 1) Buffalo Bills
Well, we said you can’t be in the top 10 with 4 losses last week, Buffalo, so I guess also losing to the Broncos means the top 11 is out, too. The team fired OC Ken Dorsey on Tuesday, but he wasn’t responsible for a lot of the dumb things they did on Monday night.
13 (-) Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have been outgained in all 9 of their games this season but have won 6 of them. They will be getting a lift if they can pull that off for the second time this season against the Browns on Sunday.
14 (up 3) Minnesota Vikings
Dobbs! Dobbs! Dobbs! Dobbs! The Vikings’ rocket man Joshua Dobbs blasted them to a 5th straight win by beating the Saints on Sunday and there could still be plenty to play for when they meet the Lions in Weeks 16 and 18. Justin Jefferson should be back soon, too.
15 (up 3) Houston Texans
The Texans’ back-to-back clutch wins over the Buccaneers and Bengals, while impressive, have made the loss to the Panthers that preceded them even more perplexing. Their game against the Cardinals this week should be a lot more watchable than we would have expected a few weeks ago.
16 (down 2) Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks were one of this week’s group of walkoff field goal teams, and it’s unlucky for them that they get jumped by the Vikings and Texans, but they remain a force at Lumen Field, where they are 4-1 this season.
17 (down 2) New Orleans Saints
The Saints’ bye has arrived at the perfect time for them as they picked up injuries to Derek Carr, Michael Thomas and Marshon Lattimore in the loss to the Vikings, but 2 weeks might not be enough to get them all back.
18 (up 3) Denver Broncos
Well, if it isn’t the 4-5 Denver Broncos, winners of 3 straight games as we all expected after Week 6. That TD grab by Courtland Sutton deserved to win any game, but the Broncos have a brutal run coming up with the Vikings, Browns, Texans, Chargers and Lions in their next 5 games.
19 (up 3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs got their first win in 5 games against the Titans, holding Tennessee to just 6 points. Whether the same defensive plan will work against the 49ers we will find out this week, but the oddsmakers don’t think so as they’re double-digit ‘dogs.
20 (up 3) Indianapolis Colts
Let’s not go crazy in rewarding the Colts for back-to-back wins over the Panthers and Patriots, but they will have gone into their bye week feeling better about themselves and back at .500.
21 (up 5) Las Vegas Raiders
Stacking wins gets you moving in the right direction and Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce moved to 2-0 with an ugly victory over the Jets. The road goes uphill from here, though, with the Dolphins and Chiefs being their next opponents.
22 (up 3) Washington Commanders
We have one of those rankings anomalies here as the Commanders move up despite not quite getting the win in Seattle, but it was a solid showing against a higher-ranked team and the next few teams have far more negative momentum.
23 (down 4) Atlanta Falcons
Just when the Falcons thought they had settled on their quarterback, Taylor Heinicke gets injured and we’re back to Desmond Ridder. Sigh. After 4 losses in their last 5 games the vibes are not good.
24 (-) New York Jets
The need to rush back Aaron Rodgers is really becoming less urgent as the Jets slipped to 13th in the AFC standings with a loss to the Raiders that they should really have avoided. Zach Wilson vs Josh Allen should be a fun one this week, though.
25 (down 9) Tennessee Titans
It looks harsh, I know, but the Titans picked a bad week to put in a 6-point performance against the Bucs and have been overtaken by a pack of teams. At 3-6, they have only the New England Patriots below them in the AFC standings. Imagine reading that sentence 10 years ago!
26 (down 6) Los Angeles Rams
The good news is that Matthew Stafford should be back to face the Seahawks this week after Brett Rypien, who started the game before their bye, was cut. Otherwise we will be seeing Carson Wentz, straight from his couch, which might have been more interesting.
27 (up 5) Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray is back and the Cardinals look a different team already. A week after being shut out with Clayton Tune at QB, the Cardinals looked a proper team again as Murray and RB James Conner both came off IR to help to beat the Falcons. The Cards have been at #32 in 4 of the first 10 weeks of these rankings and they have a chance to avoid that happening again, although their remaining schedule is not easy.
28 (down 1) Green Bay Packers
It’s 5 losses in the last 6 now for the Packers, who may well be picking high enough to consider taking another first-round quarterback, should they feel the need. None of their 3 wins was against a team that has a winning record, either.
29 (up 1) Chicago Bears
The Bears beat the Panthers in what was a fierce battle for 29th place in the Pickswise Power Rankings. Justin Fields may not be desperate to get back this week to face the Lions on the road as a double-digit underdog.
30 (down 1) Carolina Panthers
Lose to the Bears and you go below the Bears — it’s only fair. Worse still, if the Panthers keep losing, they will unbelievably be handing over the first overall pick in the draft to the Bears.
31 (down 3) New England Patriots
Anti-climax is not even the word to describe the situation if Bill Belichick’s legendary Patriots dynasty finally sinks below the waves during a debate about whether Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe starts at quarterback. How did it come to this?
32 (down 1) New York Giants
The Giants are just not a serious team at the moment, so they fall to the bottom of the list for the first time this season, becoming the 4th team to have that dishonor. That said, their next 2 games are against the Commanders, one of the 2 teams they have won against this season, and the 31st-ranked Patriots, so there is maybe some hope.