2022 NFL power Rankings Week 11: Vikings win in thriller, Cowboys choke in the clutch

The Dallas Cowboys choked on the road and the Minnesota Vikings scored a huge win in Buffalo, shaking up the Week 11 edition of the 2022 NFL Power Rankings

One of the most intriguing matchups this weekend happened in Buffalo as the bills hosted the Minnesota Vikings. While Buffalo seemed to have things in control, the Vikings kept fighting and stole a win to improve to 8-1.

While they proved themselves against an elite team, the Dallas Cowboys choked on the road as they lost despite a 14-point lead late in the third — against a Packers team that had lost five in a row.

Now that the dust has settled on Sunday’s games, we look at how each team stacks up against one another in our latest 2022 NFL Power Rankings.

2022 NFL Power Rankings Week 11

32. Houston Texans

It’s hard to find a team with less of a vision than the Houston Texans. They continue to make strange moves, this time stripping Brandin Cooks of his captaincy before the game.

As strange as that whole situation is, the team as a whole has never acted like one with a plan. They overdraft players, upset their top stars continually, and make head-scratching coaching hires. The one positive they have right now is Dameon Pierce, but outside of that, there’s nothing to get excited about.

It could be that they’re trying to get the No. 1 pick in the draft but even when they did have an elite quarterback, they didn’t want him — yes, the off-field issues with Deshaun Watson started after the relationship between him and the team was spoiled.

31. Las Vegas Raiders

How bad have things gotten for the Las Vegas Raiders? It’s so bad that they just lost to a high school football coach.

The Colts fired Frank Reich and brought in Jeff Saturday — which was a huge shock. Saturday was a beloved player in Indy but his only coaching experience was as a high school coach. Even so, the Raiders fell 25-20 and are now 2-7 on the season.

When the year began, the AFC West was supposed to be dominant and there were predictions that all four teams could make the playoffs. However, the Broncos and Raiders have been a mess and Las Vegas is now in contention for the No. 1 pick.

30. Carolina Panthers

When P.J. Walker couldn’t move the ball at all in Week 9, the Carolina Panthers turned to Baker Mayfield who ended up moving the offense while throwing two touchdowns against the Bengals. Then in Week 10, Mayfield was back on the bench as Walker got the start again.

Carolina pulled off a 25-15 win but they were carried by D’Onte Foreman who ran for 130 yards and a touchdown. They also had a great outing from their defense as Marcus Mariota was sacked five times and got hit so often that he started trying to throw the ball from his back.

In the end, this win probably did nothing more than give Houston the inside track to C.J. Stroud. The players on the field surely don’t care about that, but the fan base will if Walker is competing with a bridge quarterback in 2023.

29. Jacksonville Jaguars

That 2-1 start for the Jacksonville Jaguars feels like a lifetime ago. They struggled through five losses in a row before beating the Raiders in Week 9. Then in Week 10, they had to take on the Kansas City Chiefs — who just so happen to be one of the best teams in the game.

No one expected them to pull off the win but they did at least keep things closer than expected. They wound up losing 27-17 as Patrick Mahomes had four touchdown passes to four different players.

Jacksonville fell to 3-7 on the season and they host the Baltimore Ravens next week, which could be another loss for this young squad.

28. Detroit Lions

A huge win over the Green Bay Packers last week could be what the Detroit Lions needed to get things going. They were able to win 15-9 against the Pack and then handed the Chicago Bears a 31-30 defeat.

Jamaal Williams scored a touchdown with just over two minutes to play and the defense was able to hold, which was a bit of concern since Justin Fields had 147 yards on the ground and four total touchdowns.

It wasn’t pretty since the defense gave up so many yards but Detroit scored 21 in the final quarter and found a way to pull it off.

27. Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns had a huge win in Week 8 then headed to the bye with a sense of hope. That was dashed by the Miami Dolphins who completely tore them apart on both sides of the ball.

Cleveland is now 3-6 on the season and any hope of making a run is dead. They never really had much hope anyway but knowing Deshaun Watson was nearing his return to the field at least gave them something to look forward to.

Now, it’s going to be all about preparing for the 2023 season. They’ll use the rest of this year to figure out what holes to fill as they try and get things figured out. Sounds like we’ve said this before.

26. Los Angeles Rams

Matthew Stafford was out of the game which meant John Wolford got the start for the Los Angeles Rams against the Arizona Cardinals. The visiting team was also without their starter as Kyler Murray was replaced by Colt McCoy.

The Rams were at the disadvantage with McCoy having the edge over Wolford and that showed as they spent the majority of the game playing from behind. In the end, they lost 27-17 and the defending champs are now just 3-6 on the season. It’s never easy to predict anything that will happen in the NFL but the Rams struggling this much never seemed like a possibility.

25. Chicago Bears

Justin Fields has turned things around this season and finally looks like the player the Chicago Bears expected him to be. On Sunday, he was able to score four touchdowns as he had two through the air and two on the ground — while also running for 147 yards.

As a whole, the Bears went for 258 yards rushing and they were up 24-10 heading into the final quarter. That’s when their defense fell apart as they surrendered 21 points in the final 15 minutes and lost by one point.

The problem remains a complete lack of talent. Outside of Fields, no one else really stood out and the inability of the defense to make a stop in the fourth was a major problem as well. But hey, at least it seems they have the quarterback situation figured out.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Tomlin is in danger of his first losing season in his career as a head coach but he won’t give up that easily. On Sunday, he led his Pittsburgh Steelers to their third win of the season as they moved to 3-6 with a 20-10 win over the New Orleans Saints.

The key to their success in this one was the ground game as they had 217 yards on 43 rushes. Najee Harris had 99 of those yards and quarterback Kenny Pickett took off for 51 and a touchdown.

On top of their great play on the ground, the defense had two picks and two recovered fumbles. It was a complete game and could give them something to build on. Of course, showing they can do this against a winning team is the next step.

23. New Orleans Saints

This entire season has been frustrating for the New Orleans Saints and they hit another low on Sunday as they fell to 3-7 with a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Facing a team with just two wins entering the weekend, New Orleans surrendered 217 yards on the ground and managed just 10 points on the day. They couldn’t get anything going as they finished with 29 yards on 15 rushes and had 157 passing yards with two interceptions and two lost fumbles.

The four turnovers from Andy Dalton doomed the team and will lead to even more questions about what to do under center going forward. Either way, they’re still alive since the division is terrible but the hope should still be very, very minimal.

22. Denver Broncos

When the game started in Week 10, the Denver Broncos looked like a different team. They had a 66-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Jalen Virgil and with just over two minutes to play in the half, they were up 10-0. But then, things fell apart.

Tennessee scored 17 unanswered points and their chances ended on a fourth-and-eight from the Titans’ 25-yard line when Wilson was picked off by Terence Mitchell. That knocked the Broncos down to 3-6 on the season which is a huge shock.

After adding Wilson in a huge offseason trade, they were supposed to be contenders this year. Instead, they’re one of the worst offenses and there’s little hope of that changing in 2022.

21. Atlanta Falcons

Early on this season, the Atlanta Falcons were one of the teams surprising the league as they were pulling off several unexpected wins. Now, they’ve come back down to earth as they’re 1-3 in their past four games with two losses in a row.

Their latest loss was huge as they fell to 4-6 and allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to take over in the NFC South. It was frustrating not only due to the fall in the standings but they were facing a team with just two wins in Carolina.

Even more concerning is the play of Marcus Mariota who is trending in the wrong direction — and it’s happening in a hurry.

20. Indianapolis Colts

This was a weird week for the Indianapolis Colts as they decided to fire Frank Reich. If that was a surprise to anyone, it was nothing compared to the shock that came when they named his replacement. Former center Jeff Saturday was brought in despite the fact that he’s never had any coaching experience at the NFL level.

So naturally, he got a win in his debut. Indy was led by Matt Ryan — who was back in the starting role — and Jonathan Taylor who had 147 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Even Ryan scored a rushing touchdown and somehow managed 38 yards despite the fact that he never runs.

At 4-5-1, the Colts aren’t in great shape but it was interesting to see some life out of them.

19. Arizona Cardinals

The biggest losers this weekend were those who were stuck watching the Arizona Cardinals taking on the Los Angeles Rams. Both starting quarterbacks were out as Colt McCoy took over for Kyler Murray and John Wolford replaced Matthew Stafford.

Arizona had the edge there as McCoy isn’t a great starter by any means, but he’s a capable replacement. He did enough in this one to get the win as he threw for 238 yards and a touchdown and James Connor added two touchdowns on the ground.

They’re still alive in the West after the Seattle loss but they’re also just 4-6 and haven’t done much to inspire confidence.

18. Washington Commanders

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. the Philadelphia Eagles

The Washington Commanders could be for sale and if another owner replaces Dan Snyder, they should fix their awful name. Of course, that’s not as important as correcting the terrible leadership that he’s offered for years but they really dropped the ball with Commanders.

Anyway, back to the field. The Commanders take on the Philadelphia Eagles this Monday and it will be a huge opportunity for them. Should they win, they would improve to 5-5 and put themselves in the race in the NFC East. Sure, they would still have a lot of ground to cover but knocking off the last undefeated team would give them a ton of confidence.

17. Green Bay Packers

A five-game losing streak came to an end for the Green Bay Packers as they were able to beat the Dallas Cowboys 31-28 in overtime. It was a back-and-forth game as the Packers were up 14-7 before Dallas scored 21 unanswered.

They fought back and tied it up before the Cowboys decided to go for it on fourth down in overtime, giving them a shot at the win. Now at 4-6, there’s still too much space between them and the Vikings to catch up in the AFC North but a Wild Card spot isn’t out of the question — especially if Christian Watson continues to play as he did in Week 10.

16. New England Patriots

It’s still weird to see the New England Patriots struggling to figure things out. After years of domination under Tom Brady, they had one losing season in 2020 before making it back to the playoffs in 2021. This year, they’re 5-4 thanks to a strong defense but on the other side of the ball, they can’t get things rolling.

Mac Jones is still the preferred option under center but he’s been a mess for much of the season. Bailey Zappe has had his moments but he’s a mid-round rookie so it’s hard to trust him completely. Even with those questions, they’re in good shape at the break — but need to reel off some wins since they’re in the toughest division in the NFL.

15. Los Angeles Chargers

Another team that was supposed to be a contender this year but has failed to live up to those expectations is the Los Angeles Chargers. They suffered another loss this weekend against the San Francisco 49ers and fell to 5-4.

The Niners are now also 5-4 but that means the Chargers have lost to every team they faced this season that has a winning record. They have all the tools but they need to win against the good teams if they’re ever going to be taken seriously.

They did have some issues in this one with all the injuries on offense but that doesn’t excuse the rest of the season.

14. Tampa Bay Bucs

Even if they lost, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have been tied for first place in the NFC South, which is easily the worst division in football. That didn’t happen though as the Bucs knocked off the Seattle Seahawks in Munich, Germany — which was the first NFL game played in that country.

Tampa played a very solid game in all three phases. Brady made a mistake with a pick late and a trick play where Leonard Fournette tried to throw to Brady also led to an interception that allowed Seattle to change around. Without those two plays, this would likely have been a blowout.

Instead, they evened up their record and now get a week off to prepare for the Cleveland Browns.

13. Seattle Seahawks

Playing in Munich, Germany, the Seattle Seahawks had a chance to secure a win for America by defeating Tom Brady. Sure, Brady has plenty of fans but there’s a huge faction of the country that wants to see Brady miss the playoffs and allow someone else to finally get some time in the spotlight.

That’s very unlikely to happen now as the NFC South is terrible and the Bucs are now in first place with a 5-5 record. Seattle falls to 6-4 but the good news for them is that they’re still ahead of the 49ers but their lead is falling.

In this loss, they couldn’t get the ground game going and while Geno Smith brought them back at the end, the one-sided nature of their offense was a problem. They’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen again down the stretch in order to keep their lead in the West.

12. San Francisco 49ers

A win on Sunday Night Football was huge for the San Francisco 49ers as they improved to 5-4 putting them a half-game behind the Seahawks in the standings. However, they did already knock the Seahawks off once so all they need to do is tie them and they can sneak out a division win.

San Francisco is never going to be a team that blows anyone away with their offensive prowess but they’re able to slow down just about any offense in the NFL — and they don’t make the critical mistakes when they do have the ball.

11. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 8 was a shocker for the Cincinnati Bengals as they were thoroughly beaten by the Cleveland Browns. The loss on Halloween night stopped a two-game winning streak and is the reason the Bengals are looking up at Baltimore in the AFC North standings.

Their frustration was taken out on the Carolina Panthers as they dropped 42 points on them before taking all their starters out in the final quarter. That sent them to their bye week on a high note and with Baltimore also off, they’re still just one game away from the division lead.

They have a winnable game against Pittsburgh next week and they have to keep pace with the Ravens to make their Week 18 showdown meaningful.

10. Dallas Cowboys

The Green Bay Packers are one of those teams that just beats the Dallas Cowboys all the time. Sure, Dallas might get a lucky win occasionally, but for the most part, they own this team.

That was again the case on Sunday as Mike McCarthy made his return to Lambeau Field. It was an emotional game for him but a bad one for his team. Dak Prescott threw two terrible picks, including one in the end zone.

Defensively, they couldn’t cover Christian Watson as he finally had a breakout game. Dallas seemed to turn it around as they were up 28-14 in the second half but then completely fell apart. Now, they have to take on the Vikings and if they drop another, they could be in real danger of falling out of the race in the NFC East.

9. Tennessee Titans

Say what you want about Ryan Tannehill but the Tennessee Titans are a different team when he’s under center. With Malik Willis, they were able to keep it close against the Kansas City Chiefs but they couldn’t get the ball downfield with the passing game — which led to their loss.

This weekend, they started out with a 10-0 deficit against the Broncos and gave up a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Virgil. But then, the offense got it together as Tannehill finished with 255 yards and two touchdowns.

That resulted in a 17-10 win for them as they improved to 6-3. Right now, they’re running away with the AFC South. It doesn’t always look pretty for them but this team just keeps winning.

8. Buffalo Bills

As good as Josh Allen is, he’s made some terrible decisions this season with the football. Allen has had some bad interceptions and against the Minnesota Vikings, he had two of them in the end zone. The second one wound up costing them the game as he was trying to take the lead in overtime and Patrick Peterson picked him off.

While a tie is less than ideal, the Buffalo Bills were in position to have that be the worst-case scenario before Allen threw that chance away.

They’re now 6-3 and fell to third in the AFC East with Miami improving to 7-3 and the Jets owning the tiebreaker over them. Buffalo is still a Super Bowl favorite but they have to figure out how to protect the ball as well as the lead after letting Minnesota fight back from 17-points behind.

7. Baltimore Ravens

With a record of 6-3, the Baltimore Ravens head to the bye week in first place — and on the heels of a three-game winning streak. They were also able to close out two close games in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns and Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That had been their downfall earlier in the year as they lost close games to the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and New York Giants. All three of those games were well in hand, so Baltimore could just as easily be 9-0 as they are 6-3.

Having said all of that, they’re the top team in their division and have been improving. That’s where they want to be as they take a break to plan for the final push.

6. Miami Dolphins

It’s now four wins in a row for the Miami Dolphins who completely annihilated the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. With the Browns doing all they could to eliminate the deep ball, Miami showed off their ground game with Jeff Wilson, Jr. and Raheem Mostert each getting into the end zone.

They have another winnable game in Week 11 against the Houston Texans as they could put themselves into a position to make a run at first place in the AFC East. That won’t be easy since their division is so tough but they do have a win over Buffalo and New England and finish the year at home against The Jets, the only East team that has knocked them off in 2022.

5. New York Giants

Brian Daboll all but has the NFL Head Coach of the Year award in the bag. The first-year coach of the New York Giants has led the biggest turnaround in the NFL as he’s led his G-Men to an impressive 7-2 start.

Their latest win was over the lowly Houston Texans but New York did what they were supposed to against a bad team — they won easily. Saquon Barkley had yet another huge day on the ground while Darius Slayton was the top wideout.

In most seasons, their record would be enough for New York to be on top of the NFC East but that’s not the case since this has been the best division in the NFL. Still, they’re in line for a playoff berth which is a massive change from what we’ve seen the past several years.

4. New York Jets

Over the past six games, the New York Jets are 5-1. They’ve put their 1-2 start well in the rearview and won a huge game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9 before heading to the bye week.

When they do hit the field again in Week 11, it’s going to be a tough contest for them as they face the one team they lost to over the past six weeks, the New England Patriots. They won’t have the bye week as an advantage either, as the Pats are off as well giving them equal time to prepare.

For New York, a win there would be huge as they continue to surprise everyone with their shutdown defense.

3. Minnesota Vikings

The most exciting game of the weekend was easily the contest between the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills. Playing in Western New York, the Vikings were still out to prove they’re not pretenders. For some reason, no one wants to show them any love but they might have made believers of everyone this weekend.

Despite facing a 27-10 hole, they managed to score 13 points in the final quarter to force overtime. They were able to overcome a fourth-down stop at the goal line as they recovered a Josh Allen fumble in the end zone to take the lead.

Buffalo then tied it up on a great drive but an interception by veteran Patrick Peterson in the end zone ended the game in overtime as the Vikings improved to 8-1 on the season.

2. Kansas City Chiefs

A team that was already incredibly explosive might have found a way to be even more dangerous on offense. The Kansas City Chiefs added Kadarius Toney before the trade deadline and the former first-round pick of the New York Giants had the best game of his career.

Toney went for 33 yards on the ground and 57 through the air while also catching one of four Patrick Mahomes touchdowns. They also had a great outing from rookie running back Isiah Pacheco who had 82 yards on 16 attempts.

Defensively, they didn’t force any turnovers but they limited the big plays for the Jacksonville offense and sacked Trevor Lawrence five times. That was more than enough as they improve to 7-2 on the year.

1. Philadelphia Eagles

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. the Washington Commanders

The Philadelphia Eagles are still No. 1 in these 2022 NFL Power Rankings as their game has yet to be played. They take the field on Monday Night Football as they host the 4-5 Washington Commanders.

These two teams met back in Week 3 and Philly made it look easy with a 24-8 win over Carson Wentz and the Commanders. This time, they’ll face Taylor Heinicke, who has been a better leader than Wentz but still is limited.

Philadelphia’s defense will make life hard on him and their balanced offensive attack continues to be difficult to stop. A win here would move them to 9-0 and make it hard for anyone to catch them in the NFC East.