NFL Power Rankings

My current NFL Power Rankings.

I’m going to use these rankings as the order for my 2019 NFL Mock Draft during the 2018 draft season. Follow @walterfootball.

I’ve gone from WORST to FIRST, so if you don’t see reverse numbering (via Javascript), don’t worry; the 49ers and Cardinals aren’t my top teams.

Updated: Nov. 6

Buffalo Bills (2-7) – Previously: 32.
The Bills just lost at home to the Bears by the score of 41-9. I think you know what time it is!

The Adventures of Derek Anderson’s Magic Flask!

LeSean McCoy: This is so depressing. We went all out against the Patriots on national TV, yet have nothing to show for it.

Derek Anderson: I hhaavvee idddeeaa guuyyss, drririnkk frrroom mmyy fllalssskk hic!

LeSean McCoy: You’re not even going to play, Derek!

Derek Anderson: Yeahaha mmaann myyy ellobooww huuurrts oouuucchhh!

LeSean McCoy: I thought you were concussed?

Derek Anderson: Ohhh yeyeyaah myyy hheeardd huururts huuurrts oouuucchhh!

Jason Croom: Did someone say magic flask?

Zay Jones: I want to try!

Terrelle Pryor: Me too! Drinking on the job sounds like something we did in Cleveland!

LeSean McCoy: Oh, good grief…

*** Ten minutes later ***

Jason Croom: Oohh maaann I ccanna”t seee straiight. Whherree’s Chcharriis Berrmamnn thiiiss weeek? I wanannt tooo sedxxualllly pplleasusure himm.

Zay Jones: I wwass hooldlddingn mmyy walllett innnn myyy haanndds annnd I drooppeed ittt.

Terrelle Pryor: You guys are drunk? I took more sips out of that flask than you did! Ah well, I guess I built up my tolerance from my time in Cleveland.

Oakland Raiders (1-7) – Previously: 30.
The Raiders are clearly the worst team in the NFL, and Jon Gruden’s not looking so hot…

Gruden, by the way, told the media that people are dying to play for the Raiders. I think what he meant by that is that the old players the Raiders collected this offseason are going to die soon.

Arizona Cardinals (2-6) – Previously: 29.
The Cardinals have only beaten the 49ers this year. But not the Nick Mullens-led 49ers. They beat the C.J. Bearhard-led 49ers. They certainly would’ve been destroyed by the great Nick Mullens!

New York Giants (1-7) – Previously: 28.
Last week, I wrote:

Eli Manning must be benched during the bye week. The Giants can use their week off to get Kyle Lauletta ready to play. It would be irresponsible of them to not see what they have in Lauletta prior to the 2019 NFL Draft. I still have them selecting Justin Herbert in my 2019 NFL Mock Draft, but that’ll change if Lauletta is as good as he looked in the Senior Bowl.

Lauletta was arrested for hitting a police officer with his car the day after. But even with that in mind, I still think he should be the starter. Lauletta was able to show some great skill with his car in hitting the officer. I believe that if Manning tried this, he either would’ve missed, or he would’ve cowered and rolled into a ball.

San Francisco 49ers (2-7) – Previously: 31.
R.I.P. Nick Bosa to the 49ers.

The Nick Mullens performance was awesome, and his interview with Erin Andrews where he was trying to hold back tears might have just been worth it. Maybe. I mean, sure, the 49ers lose out on an all-world edge rusher, but we got to see a kid from Mississippi cry on national television.

Denver Broncos (3-6) – Previously: 27.
Case Keenum has held the Broncos back before, but now it’s the offensive line. Already down talented guard Ronald Leary, the unit just lost center Matt Paradis for the year. Paradis is an exceptional center, so he’ll really be missed. The Broncos are going to find it difficult to win games against teams not named the Raiders down the stretch.

New York Jets (3-6) – Previously: 26.
What in the world happened to Sam Darnold? He was good in a couple of games earlier in the year. I know his receiving corps has been injury-ravaged, but they were all back against the Dolphins, and yet he threw four interceptions. He was so horrible, that if a story came out about Darnold suddenly being color blind as a result of a hit he took a few weeks ago, I would not be surprised one bit!

Miami Dolphins (5-4) – Previously: 25.
The Dolphins keep winning bogus games and are somehow 5-4. Good lord, are they going to make the playoffs? I hope so because I’d love to bet against them in the first round.

What a dumb victory, by the way. I can’t believe the Dolphins won. The Jets outgained them by 120 net yards, and Miami averaged just 3.1 yards per play. That’s one of the worst yards-per-play performances by any team this entire season! Sam Darnold gift-wrapped that game for them.

Cleveland Browns (2-6-1) – Previously: 24.
The Browns didn’t stand a chance against the Chiefs to begin with, and they couldn’t cover the spread once they lost several defensive players to injury, including Denzel Ward.

Still, it was an improvement over what we saw from Hue Jackson. Or what we heard from Hue Jackson…

Ladies and gentlemen, the Cleveland Browns.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5) – Previously: 23.
I heard some TV football talkers opine this week that Jameis Winston will never see the field again for Tampa. I think that’s absurd. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if Winston were re-inserted into the lineup in a few weeks after Ryan Fitzpatrick has a dreadful performance. You have to remember that Dirk Koetter has nothing to lose because he wants to keep his job, so he’ll try anything. Plus, I think the Buccaneers will bring in a new coach to help Winston next year, only to cut Winston following the 2019 season once they officially give up on him. The timing works out because the 2020 NFL Draft class is packed with good quarterbacking talent, as you can see in my 2020 NFL Mock Draft.

Jacksonville Jaguars (3-5) – Previously: 22.
The Jaguars did well to rid themselves of a lazy bum, recouping third- and fifth-round picks for him. Dante Fowler is gone, but the player who needs to go is Blake Bortles, who was likely responsible for a big chunk of that $46,000 bar tab.

Bortles, by the way, should really consider going to the CFL once the Jaguars cut him this offseason. I say that quite seriously, as the CFL fields are wider, which helps mobile quarterbacks. Plus, I’m sure Canadian bars have some great specials on Friday nights.

Detroit Lions (3-5) – Previously: 21.
I had the Lions designated as overrated two weeks ago. Here’s why:

I’m listing the Lions as an overrated team because their defense is horrible. Brock Osweiler looked like a great quarterback against them! Also, I don’t know if any of their wins are overly impressive. Yes, they beat the Patriots, but so did the Jaguars in September. New England was sleepwalking through that game, as the team is wont to do early in the year. The Lions defeated the Packers, who had countless missed field goals from Mason Crosby. They then defeated the Dolphins and Osweiler, and that’s not all that great. Meanwhile, they were blown out by the Jets and were the only team to fall to the 49ers, albeit with Jimmy Garoppolo under center.

And this was before the Lions traded Golden Tate. They looked miserable against the Vikings, as Matthew Stafford appeared lost without his favorite receiver. It’s no wonder he was sacked 10 times.

Dallas Cowboys (3-5) – Previously: 20.
What a surprise that the Cowboys lost to the Titans on Monday night! Did people actually think that trading a first-round pick for a No. 2 receiver would help their playoff chances? I wonder how Michael Irvin feels about this after getting so hype on First Take…

Washington Redskins (5-3) – Previously: 9.
The Redskins might be done. I’m not overreacting to one loss, but they’ve lost Trent Williams for a month, and then suffered two injuries to starting offensive linemen, including the extremely talented Brandon Scherff. Morgan Moses is also banged up. If Williams and Scherff are out a while, the Redskins aren’t going to win many more games.

Indianapolis Colts (3-5) – Previously: 19.
Man, how much worse does Indianapolis’ victory over the Raiders look after the 49ers dumpster fired Oakland on Thursday night? The Colts are still definitely better with T.Y. Hilton and Jack Doyle back from injury, but that result certainly puts a dark cloud over what Indianapolis did prior to its bye.

Atlanta Falcons (4-4) – Previously: 18.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Falcons are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Cincinnati Bengals (5-3) – Previously: 17.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Bengals are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Seattle Seahawks (4-4) – Previously: 16.
I could have made a case for the Seahawks to appear on the overrated page last week, as they beat some bad teams and their offensive line looked much better than it really is as a result.

However, they’re closer to underrated now. They were hosed by a couple of bogus calls against the Chargers, and Russell Wilson had several potential touchdowns that were dropped. Seattle was +8 against the Rams on the Westgate advance line, but that spread is now +10. That’s quite the overreaction!

Houston Texans (6-3) – Previously: 15.
The Texans have somehow won six in a row despite some bad coaching, poor offensive line play and long bus rides for Deshaun Watson.

Speaking of bad coaching, it’s great that Bill O’Brien yelled “dumb f**k” at Vance Joseph after Joseph iced his kicker to see him miss, only to have the kicker drill the field goal when it really counted. I hate when teams ice kickers, as it just slows the game down, so hopefully O’Brien’s “dumb f**k” comment will entice coaches to stop with this nonsense.

Tennessee Titans (4-4) – Previously: 14.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Titans are an underrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1) – Previously: 13.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Vikings are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Green Bay Packers (3-4-1) – Previously: 11.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Packers are an underrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Baltimore Ravens (4-5) – Previously: 6.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Ravens are an underrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2-1) – Previously: 12.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Steekers are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Los Angeles Chargers (6-2) – Previously: 10.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Chargers are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Chicago Bears (5-3) – Previously: 8.
The Bears have beaten some terrible teams recently, but they haven’t had their best receiver or defensive player available, as Allen Robinson and Khalil Mack have been missed. Fortunately for Chicago, it has another certain victory coming up against Detroit, so the Bears should be 6-3 heading into a big battle against the Vikings in Week 11.

Philadelphia Eagles (4-4) – Previously: 7.
The bye week was huge for the Eagles. The Redskins lost and suffered injuries to multiple offensive linemen. And speaking of linemen, Jason Peters and Lane Johnson have been banged up, so the week off has allowed them to heal. More importantly, the Eagles were able to acquire Golden Tate, who seems like a great fit for both the offense and the locker room. For more, check out my NFL Trade Grades page.

Carolina Panthers (6-2) – Previously: 5.
If I didn’t lose five units on the Panthers, I’d find it amusing that they didn’t even know that they have a game coming up against the Steelers in four days. You’d think they’d preserve some energy for that game and not go all out to beat the terrible Buccaneers!

Los Angeles Rams (8-1) – Previously: 3.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Rams are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

New Orleans Saints (7-1) – Previously: 4.
The victory over the Rams was enormous. The Saints are nearly unstoppable in the Superdome, so being able to host any team there in the playoffs will make it very difficult for New Orleans to lose.

Of course, Michael Thomas can dominate anywhere, both as a player and a father:

New England Patriots (7-2) – Previously: 2.
Remember back after Week 3, when people posting in the comments section on this page thought the Patriots were terrible? I ‘member:

It just goes to show how foolish it is to overreact to one or two games.

Kansas City Chiefs (8-1) – Previously: 1.
The Chiefs have a bye week coming up against Arizona before they take on the Rams in Mexico City. I expect Justin Houston to play in that game, and he’ll provide a huge boost to the defense. It would be cool to see Eric Berry finally return for that game as well.

The MVP race:

1. Patrick Mahomes
2. Drew Brees
3. Cam Newton
4. Tom Brady
5. Todd Gurley

Mahomes is the clear-cut MVP leader right now, and I’d say that Brees is second after beating the Rams. Many people have Todd Gurley second, but the Rams are packed with talent, and I’d feel uncomfortable putting a running back that high in the MVP balloting.