NFL games are hard to predict this time of year and the games are chaos. The Def Pen Sports team has analyzed the Week 10 games and made the needed adjustments for Week 11 of the 2021 NFL Power Rankings. The contributors to this week’s rankings are Dylan Hargis and Xavier Santos. Team names will be followed by their record and the number of spots they moved up or down from last week’s rankings.
2021 NFL Power Rankings: Week 11
1. Green Bay Packers 8-2 (+1)
The defense was dominant. The offense did just enough. It wasn’t the prettiest game for the offense but they got the job done. The team awaits news on star-running back Aaron Jones. AJ Dillon has shown flashes and it will be interesting to see what he does with starter touches.
2. Tennessee Titans 8-2 (+1)
The Titans continue to win games and haven’t missed Derrick Henry in a game at the moment. This team looks like the best the AFC has to offer and if they can get their star running back to end the season they may cause some problems for other teams.
3. Arizona Cardinals 8-2 (-2)
It’s tough to knock a team without its two most important players on offense. It was a tough loss but health is the most important thing moving forward. With it, this team is a potential contender.
4. Dallas Cowboys 7-2 (+3)
As we predicted, last week was one of those clunkers that, while ugly at the moment, can be cast aside as a one-week exception to the rule. Dak Prescott and company looked unstoppable.
5. Los Angeles Rams 7-3 (-1)
The Rams got embarrassed on Monday Night Football and it became even more clear what their problem is. A lack of talent outside their best players. This team is still a major Super Bowl contender, but this game exposed some flaws.
6. Buffalo Bills 6-3 (+2)
Much like the Cowboys, last week was an exception to the rule for the Bills. The loss to the Jaguars looks bad, but the team took out their frustration on the New York Jets.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-3 (-2)
The offense has stagnated the past couple of weeks. Could the return of Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski turn things around? Tom Brady and the Buccaneers better hope so.
8. Baltimore Ravens 6-3 (-2)
The Ravens laid an egg on Thursday Night Football and lost to the Miami Dolphins. Lamar Jackson looked uncomfortable all night and couldn’t put many points up. This is probably a fluke, but are the Ravens really title contenders?
9. Kansas City Chiefs 6-4 (+3)
It is a little too early to say the Chiefs are back, but the beatdown they put on the Raiders on Sunday Night Football was the spark we were waiting to see from the team. The Cheifs return to the top ten of the 2021 NFL Power Rankings.
10. New England Patriots 6-4 (+7)
The Patriots have been winning games and have looked good while doing it. Cleveland looked ill-prepared for the onslaught the Patriots handed them on Sunday. Suddenly the Bills don’t look like a lock for the AFC East.
11. New Orleans Saints 5-4 (-2)
Trevor Siemian and the rest of the Saints team came to play but fell short against a red-hot Titans team. They are still in the thick of things but need some key players back healthy if they have any hopes of saving their season.
12. Los Angeles Chargers 5-4 (-2)
The Chargers are in a free fall right now and are in jeopardy of not making the Playoffs. We knew this team had problems, but this is a serious problem. The Chargers will continue to fall in the 2021 NFL Power Rankings at this rate.
13. Las Vegas Raiders 5-4 (-2)
It appears Las Vegas has finally hit that wall we have been talking about after the Gruden and Ruggs problems made national media. The Chiefs made this team look inept and incapable of winning football games.
14. Denver Broncos 5-5 (-1)
The Denver Broncos are a rollercoaster ride this year. They beat down Dallas last week and then blow a game against the Eagles. This team is still in the mix for the playoffs, but this team doesn’t feel like a playoff team. The Broncos are an average-at-best team on the 2021 NFL Power Rankings.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers 5-3-1 (-1)
How do you tie with the Detroit Lions of all teams? We don’t really care that Ben Roethlisberger didn’t play. This team is still in the division and playoff race, but that was just sad to watch. Steelers’ fans should be demanding a new quarterback next season.
16. Cincinnati Bengals 5-4 (-)
BYE WEEK
17. Indianapolis Colts 5-5 (+1)
The Colts have quietly crept back into the Wildcard discussion, but they are going to need some help from other teams later down the road. Jonathan Taylor is a top-level running back and Carson Wentz finally looks healthy.
18. Cleveland Browns 5-5 (-3)
This is the Browns team we are historically used to seeing on the field. It is pretty obvious to us at least, that Baker Mayfield is not a franchise quarterback. The team’s run game isn’t enough against top-level defenses.
19. Carolina Panthers 5-5 (+1)
Cam Newton’s return went as well as anyone could have predicted. It will be interesting to see if he is given the reins as the starter next week. Will the Panthers make a run up the 2021 NFL Power Rankings?
20. Minnesota Vikings 4-5 (+3)
This team has the talent to make a run in the next few weeks and contend for a playoff spot. For that to happen, Kirk Cousins has to play like the quarterback we saw in the second half as opposed to the one we saw for most of the first half.
21. San Francisco 49ers 4-5 (-)
The 49ers showed some life against the Rams on Monday Night Football. This team is so up and down we can’t make heads or tails of them sometimes. Are they good? Are they bad? We decline to answer this week.
22. Chicago Bears 3-6 (-)
BYE WEEK
23. Atlanta Falcons 4-5 (-4)
That was a brutal watch. The blowout loss stopped the team’s recent momentum in its tracks but all is not lost for the Falcons. They still have a chance to move up in the 2021 NFL Power Rankings.
24. Washington Football Team 3-6 (+2)
It’s always nice to get a win but it may have come with a heavy price tag. Initial reports suggest start defensive end Chase Young may have torn his ACL. It would be a brutal end to the season for the promising second-year player.
25. New York Giants 3-6 (-)
BYE WEEK
26. Philadelphia Eagles 4-6 (+1)
The offense has taken a step forward the past few weeks. The Jalen Hurts to Devonta smith duo is playing the way many envisioned when the season started. Will it be enough to convince Philly that Hurts is their starting quarterback for next season?
27. Seattle Seahawks 3-6 (-3)
Even with the injury to Russell Wilson, no one imagined they’d be shut out by the Packers. Barring a miraculous late-season run, this season is over and so is Wilson’s tenure as Seattle’s starting quarterback.
28. Miami Dolphins 3-7 (+2)
The Dolphins’ defense looked like a playoff-caliber defense against the Ravens, but it may have been a fluke. Inconsistency is the name of the game for the Dolphins this year. They still oddly have an outside shot at the playoffs this year.
29. Jacksonville Jaguars 2-7 (-1)
We already knew the Jaguars weren’t any good at playing football. The win against Buffalo last week had to be some kind of weird wish from a genie. This team is nowhere near competing for anything other than a top 5 draft pick.
30. New York Jets 2-7 (-1)
Mike White shockingly is not the next coming of Tom Brady. Who knew? We will pause for the obvious eye-roll from all of the non-Jets fans. The Jets are not a good football team. They are still a bottom-dweller on the 2021 NFL Power Rankings.
31. Houston Texans 1-8 (-)
BYE WEEK
32. Detroit Lions 0-8-1
0-17 might be off the table, but 0-16-1 is not.
* The biggest movers of the week were the New England Patriots (+7) and the Atlanta Falcons (-4) *
