The NFL playoff picture is hilariously muddy after 10 weeks of play are nearly in the books. With everyone's season already shockingly into November (time flies when you're having fun), we know less now than you certainly expect to know at this point of the season. As we look at the latest 2023 NFL power rankings leading up to Week 11, there are only nine NFL teams with fewer than four wins right now, including the Denver Broncos, who haven't played just yet.
It was a thrilling week of NFL action on Sunday with teams blowing leads, others coming up clutch, and amazing storylines all across the league. Arguably the best story in the NFL right now will take center stage in prime time on Sunday Night Football in Week 11 as Joshua Dobbs and the Minnesota Vikings absolutely rolled to their sixth straight win.
The Vikings have overcome an 0-4 start, the Houston Texans just won a playoff-type game on the road in Cincinnati, the Cleveland Browns keep on making noise, and the 49ers are back. Let's get to our Week 11 NFL power rankings.
2023 NFL Power Rankings, Week 11
32. New York Giants (2-8)
There may be worse teams than the Giants in record right now, but I think this team has proven to be the absolute worst in the NFL so far this season. At least the Carolina Panthers have a plan at the quarterback position. The Giants just don't have the look of a team that's going to win another game this season.
Watching the Giants trot out Tommy Devito against the Dallas Cowboys felt like watching the Denver Broncos trot out Kendall Hinton against the New Orleans Saints back in 2020. You just wonder while you're watching it, "What are we doing here? Seriously."
Watching the Giants trot out Tommy Devito against the Dallas Cowboys felt like watching the Denver Broncos trot out Kendall Hinton against the New Orleans Saints back in 2020. You just wonder while you're watching it, "What are we doing here? Seriously."
31. Carolina Panthers (1-8)
The Carolina Panthers added insult to injury this past week. Not only did they lose to the Chicago Bears with rookie undrafted free agent Tyson Bagent starting at quarterback, but their loss to the Bears put the Panthers back in the driver's seat to send Chicago the 1st overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Even after an incredible offseason, the Panthers have been horrendous this season. The process with Frank Reich looks like it's going to take more time than anyone really anticipated.
30. New England Patriots (2-8)
At this point, things are beyond recognition in New England. Although the team lost in Frankfurt, Germany this past weekend, they have proven absolute offensive incompetence no matter if they are on American soil or not. This team lost a horrendous 10-6 game against the Indianapolis Colts in which Mac Jones threw an embarrassing interception on a potential go-ahead drive deep in the red zone.
It feels like massive changes are coming in New England at some point in the near future, perhaps even with Bill Belichick deciding to move on.
The Patriots are officially a shell of their former selves, as if that weren't already the case.
29. Arizona Cardinals (2-8)
Kyler Murray made his triumphant return to the field for the Cardinals in Week 10, and it seemed like that entire team really rallied around him being back.
I still don't understand why Joshua Dobbs was unceremoniously benched the week prior, but good for the Cardinals getting Dobbs to a situation where he's playing his way into a big pay day.
Arizona has played some really inspired football at times this season, coming up short in most cases, but looking better in most games than I think anyone really could have anticipated. Jonathan Gannon has done a solid job, along with his staff, of developing some of the young players there in Arizona and maximizing talent overall.
28. Chicago Bears (3-7)
After winning their third game of the season against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night, I think the Bears all but cemented the fact that they won't be earning the #1 pick in next year's draft themselves. But the Panthers might earn it for them. Wouldn't that be wild if the Bears effectively ended up trading last year's no. 1 overall pick for the 2024 no. 1 overall pick, DJ Moore, and all of the other picks they received?
Tyson Bagent has been resilient, the Bears have gutted out some wins, and I think there are signs of improvement here.
27. Los Angeles Rams (3-6)
The Los Angeles Rams got a much-needed bye week in Week 10 after injuries started taking their toll on this team once again. The Rams weren't able to win going into their bye week with Brett Rypien getting a start at QB for the injured Matthew Stafford, whose lack of availability is really going to force Les Snead and Sean McVay to re-evaluate the position in the offseason.
For the time being, the Rams have added Carson Wentz, the former no. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. That 2016 NFL Draft was the same one in which the Rams chose Jared Goff over Carson Wentz, and that's also the last time the Rams had a first-round pick.
26. Green Bay Packers (3-6)
The Green Bay Packers became the latest victim of the Pittsburgh Steelers and their really weird statistical trend this past weekend. Green Bay out-gained Pittsburgh, which has been common for Pittsburgh's opponents to do this season, but still somehow found a way to lose.
Green Bay is entering potential top-five territory in the 2024 NFL Draft, and if that holds up, it's going to put them in really interesting territory considering most NFL fans these days have just really never seen the Packers in this position.
The last time the Packers had a top-10 pick was in 2009 (BJ Raji). They haven't had a top-five pick since 2006 (AJ Hawk).
25. Tennessee Titans (3-6)
The excitement over Will Levis and his debut with the Tennessee Titans a handful of weeks ago has dwindled a little bit over the last two games as Levis and the Titans have now dropped their second straight game, and this one a seemingly “winnable” game against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers. The Titans have named Levis their starter for this season, and they owe it to themselves to get a true evaluation on him.
Let’s find out as the season progresses if Levis can make the necessary adjustments and start proving that the Titans don’t need to enter the QB market again in 2024.
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got themselves another win on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, and Baker Mayfield continues to sort of make you wonder, doesn’t he? I think that’s one of the most underrated storylines of this season. Mayfield, just in general, is a polarizing player. So what happens if he leads the Buccaneers to an NFC South title this season, or maybe just a playoff appearance?
This Bucs team absolutely tortured both Will Levis and Derrick Henry in this week’s matchup in Tampa Bay, racking up a whopping 13 QB hits, 10 tackles for loss, and 4.0 sacks.
This defense has always had some playoff juice, and while the Buccaneers aren't overly flashy as a team (they're not scoring 30 points per game or anything), they are a pretty good sum of their parts when everything is rolling.
23. Denver Broncos (3-5)
The Denver Broncos don’t play until Monday night against the Buffalo Bills, but I think they deserve a spot outside of the 10 “worst” teams in the league right now. Over the last three games they’ve played, very few defenses across the league have been better than Denver, which allowed 19 to Kansas City back in Week 6, 17 to the Packers in Week 7, and then just 9 points to the Chiefs again in Week 8.
Denver was on a bye week in Week 9, but if they can keep their winning streak going against the Buffalo Bills, this team will be right back in the thick of the AFC playoff picture which seemed impossible after they gave up a whopping 70 points to the Miami Dolphins earlier this season.
22. Atlanta Falcons (4-6)
The Atlanta Falcons just so happened to be the unfortunate team to have to play against Kyler Murray in his first game back this season. Anytime a team changes coaches or gets a key player at QB back from injury, you kind of just expect the entire team around them to get up for the game, and that’s what happened for the Cardinals against the Falcons on Sunday afternoon.
The Falcons are now 4-6 this season but they are still very much in the mix in the weak NFC South, which again looks like the most average of all divisions in the NFL.
Atlanta lost Taylor Heinicke to injury in this game, paving the way for Desmond Ridder to return to the field. And Ridder did his job. He got the Falcons a fourth quarter lead, but the Falcons’ defense let Kyler Murray make too many plays on the final drive for Arizona, and they were able to bleed out the clock en route to a win.
Atlanta has a crucial divisional matchup coming against the Saints on deck.
21. New York Jets (4-5)
The New York Jets are the Iowa Hawkeyes of the NFL.
20. Indianapolis Colts (5-5)
The coaching job being done by Shane Steichen to have this Colts team at 5-5 this far into the season is rather staggering. The Colts came into this season with a roster that looked like it was clearly in evaluation mode. Well, I guess the Colts just figured, why don't we win a bunch of games while we evaluate?
The only unfortunate aspect of this 5-5 record for the Colts is the absence of rookie Anthony Richardson. Richardson looked like an absolute stud in the games he was healthy enough to play, which was a sigh of relief for Colts fans everywhere. This team had been in QB purgatory and Richardson's got them out of it.
Meanwhile, this team just keeps on finding ways to win, which has added another juicy element of chaos to the overloaded AFC in 2023.
19. Washington Commanders (4-6)
Wow, you can’t help but feel for the Washington Commanders a little bit. Ron Rivera’s crew fought hard on Sunday afternoon in Seattle, and Sam Howell engineered a very impressive drive late in the fourth quarter to tie the game, but Geno Smith and DK Metcalf shut down any excitement the Commanders may have been feeling.
Washington, incidentally, could have used a decent pass rush at the end of that game, eh?
The Commanders aren’t competing for one of the top two spots in the NFC East at this point, but a win in Seattle would have kept their hope for the 6th or 7th seed in the NFC decently strong. Now, they have very little margin for error the rest of the way.
18. Las Vegas Raiders (5-5)
You’ve really got to hand it to the Raiders. Somehow, some way, this team has found a way to be 5-5 after 10 games this season. With all of the dysfunction, all of Jimmy Garoppolo’s turnovers and injury issues, and so much else going on, the Raiders are right in the mix with seven games left to play.
It’s impressive even if it’s not all been pretty.
The Raiders certainly don’t strike you as a “contender” at this point but if Patrick Graham’s defense can keep building on the performances we’ve seen in recent weeks (even against some bad offenses), perhaps the Raiders can ride a tough brand of football all the way to the postseason.
17. Los Angeles Chargers (4-5)
I mean, you almost feel bad for the Chargers at this point.
The Chargers went back and forth all afternoon with the Detroit Lions at SoFi Stadium in one of the most entertaining games of the entire week.
Unfortunately, none of it matters as the Chargers took a loss at home and are now in danger of dropping to third or possibly even fourth place in the AFC West by the end of Monday night action. And if that holds up, the Chargers would likely be making wholesale changes to the coaching staff.
This team had no issues scoring against Detroit, but the Lions had their way offensively for all four quarters. The Chargers look like pretenders once again.
16. New Orleans Saints (5-5)
As of right now, the New Orleans Saints are on top of the NFC South. This is a division that could come down to a photo finish between the Saints and Buccaneers, and whoever wins this division might only need eight or nine wins again to do it.
New Orleans was forced to play Jameis Winston against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10 after Derek Carr went out with a shoulder injury as well as a possible concussion. Not good.
The Saints can ill-afford anything to halt whatever progress had been made for the offense finally starting to click, and you especially hate to see any player dealing with a head injury. As far as this team as a team, it’s just hard to view them as a legitimate contender. What is it the Saints do exceptionally well? What makes them a playoff team?
At this stage, for pure entertainment purposes, you almost find yourself rooting for the Buccaneers to find their way in to at least provide some intrigue out of this division.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3)
The Pittsburgh Steelers do not make sense.
They are simply getting out-gained by everyone they go up against. Their offense is not putrid, but it’s not good. Yet they somehow do just enough every week.
They did just enough in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers, winning by a final score of 23-19 for my Monsters, Inc. fans out there. It’s one of my favorite scores to predict every week on this site.
I mean, Kenny Pickett is basically doing nothing for this Steelers team. The defense is doing the heavy lifting, and I guess as long as the Steelers are winning, who really cares? That is a long-term question that can be answered when football isn’t being played, but as of right now, the Steelers don’t look like they’re going away anytime soon.
14. Seattle Seahawks (6-3)
Hopefully, Seattle Seahawks fans don't feel disrespected by this ranking. Seattle is obviously a resilient team and even a good team, but they aren’t passing the eye test lately, even in victory.
Why is that? Maybe you can put your finger on it. At the end of the day, this team is what their record says they are. They’re right on pace with the San Francisco 49ers at 6-3 so far this season and they are headed for a collision in less than two weeks (11/23).
Until then, I think the jury is still very much out on Seattle overall. They haven’t exactly beaten the best teams in the NFL among their six wins, although they have a quality win against Detroit as well as Cleveland, although that was against backup PJ Walker.
I’m skeptical of the Seahawks but I think putting them above the middle of the NFL is fair right now.
13. Buffalo Bills (5-4)
The Buffalo Bills have an absolutely crucial game on Monday night against the Denver Broncos, a game in which they are in serious danger of moving to 5-5 on the season.
The Bills are not a “bad” team by any means, but they have definitely been up and down all year long and no longer look like they are going to just steamroll their way to an AFC East title and playoff appearance. If they lose on Monday night to the Broncos, they will need to do some serious soul-searching.
Yes, injuries have played a critical role in the overall product we’ve seen this team put on the field in 2023. And through it all, we’ve seen the Bills still maintain a top-10 ranking in scoring offense and scoring defense.
Nobody’s going to feel sorry for these guys. The Bills have had a window in recent years and as of right now, it looks like they’re in danger of letting it slip again.
12. Cincinnati Bengals (5-4)
Wow, the Cincinnati Bengals gave their fans some serious hope in Week 10 and then the Houston Texans ripped the rug right out from underneath their feet.
I think Cincinnati is obviously one of the better teams in the AFC, but they got off to such a slow start to the season that they are playing catch-up right now. It would be easy based on their record to just lump them in with all of the other four-loss teams in the league, but everyone who watched this team play over the first month of the season knows that this is a completely different squad over the last month.
With that being said…A loss at home to the Texans?
With all due respect to the Texans, this is a game the Bengals should have won at home against a rookie QB. This is a team that expects to be in the final four when all is said and done.
11. Minnesota Vikings (6-4)
Over the first month of the season, the Minnesota Vikings were like Cinderella's pumpkin after midnight. It was apparent that the magic for this team had run out after their unprecedented success in one-score games last season. But over time, it looks like Kevin O'Connell is a better coach than anyone maybe thought, perhaps even his biggest supporters.
This Vikings team has overcome losing both Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson at this point, and when you throw in the team's decision to let go of Dalvin Cook in the offseason, there's been a ton of change to take on.
And this team has won six straight games going into Week 11 where they go on the road to Denver to take on the Broncos. The Vikings may not have as good of a record right now as they had at this point last year, but all things considered, I think this is a better team overall.
10. Houston Texans (5-4)
I think most of us expected the Houston Texans to struggle this season, but they might be fun along the way. Well, they’ve been fun along the way, and they have done anything but “struggle” this season.
The Houston Texans are 5-4. They just went on the road in Week 10 and got a surprising win against the Cincinnati Bengals. It was close in the end, but there was one point in the fourth quarter that it looked like the Texans might have had the Bengals like fish in a barrel.
Rookie quarterback CJ Stroud is the real deal. Rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans? He’s the real deal. This Houston team has played well on both sides of the ball. They are well-coached and they are getting contributions from all over the roster.
9. Dallas Cowboys (6-3)
It hasn't exactly been a seamless season for the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have been dominant in the majority of their wins, but their three losses have been brutal.
They lost in a blowout to the 49ers, a game where you might burn some sage along with the game tape. They lost an ugly one to the Arizona Cardinals, still one of the most confusing losses by an NFL team this season. And then they lost a tough one they probably should have won against the Eagles last week.
But the Cowboys got a gimme in Week 10 against the New York Giants, who trotted out Tommy Devito at the quarterback position. No, that’s not a character from the old Backyard Baseball game. Tommy Devito is apparently a real quarterback, and he started a real game against a team that ranks in the top five in scoring defense.
It ended exactly as you would have expected it to, but this might have been another “get right” game for some Cowboys skill players offensively. Specifically, we saw some good things from Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks at the receiver position.
8. Cleveland Browns (6-3)
I was getting ready to write up the Cleveland Browns as a Week 10 loser when all of a sudden, they erased a 14-point deficit against one of the NFL’s top defenses and put up 33 points on the road in a game that I expected to be won by the Baltimore Ravens in classic, low-scoring fashion.
Well, it was a 33-31 stunner, which I don’t think anyone saw coming.
The Browns got a clutch performance in this one from quarterback Deshaun Watson, which was a great sight to see for this Cleveland fan base which has just been waiting and waiting for Watson to show us some of his vintage self.
Cleveland has a championship-caliber defense. They have an offense that is obviously capable of making some serious waves when the pressure is on. If this team can stay healthy, they might be the most underrated in the AFC right now.
7. Miami Dolphins (6-3)
The Miami Dolphins got a much-needed bye week in Week 10 after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in a very close game overseas against the Chiefs.
The Dolphins scoring 70 points earlier this season set really unfair expectations the rest of the way, so watching them score just 14 points in a loss was undoubtedly frustrating for their fans, to say the least. Especially against a team like Kansas City on a neutral field, where you want to see the Dolphins prove they are legitimate contenders, not continue to struggle against their AFC "big brother" right now.
I still think Miami is a legitimate contender coming out of the AFC, but there are major question marks about this team’s ability to finish close games against great teams.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3)
You almost feel bad for the Jacksonville Jaguars with the way things went in Week 10. The Jaguars hosted the San Francisco 49ers, who were coming off of a bye week and three straight losses before that.
It just felt inevitable that the 49ers were going to get back on track, and it felt like it didn't matter who they played in Week 10. This turned out to be basically a throwaway game for the Jaguars, who were absolutely taken to the cleaners against the 49ers to the tune of 34-3.
Jacksonville had just 221 yards of total offense in Week 10 against the 49ers and was 0-4 in the turnover battle. If the Jaguars expect to be a contender late this season, that's not going to fly.
5. Baltimore Ravens (7-3)
The Baltimore Ravens really blew this one at home against the Cleveland Browns. I’m not sure you can call a game ‘must-win’ at this stage of the season, but the Browns clearly approached it in that way and the Ravens let it slip away.
After looking like they might be the best and most well-rounded team in the entire league through their first nine games, the Ravens let the Browns come screaming back into the game even though they were down by 14 points in the 4th quarter. It was an utter disaster for the Ravens with breakdowns both offensively and defensively, and they were just unable to overcome the funk in the end.
I'm sure Baltimore will bounce back, but losing at home against a division rival in November hurts.
4. Detroit Lions (7-2)
I just don't think I have enough hyperbole for the Detroit Lions at this point.
I love this team. I love watching this team. I love watching Jared Goff truly emerge as a legitimate stud quarterback after he was cast off by the Los Angeles Rams in the Matthew Stafford trade.
I love the fact that the Detroit Lions laughed in the face of conventional thinking, taking running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell with their top two picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, and how well their overall team-building strategy is working out.
The Lions are one of the best teams in the NFL. They belong in the postseason, and they knew it was going to be a long road to get there. But Dan Campbell has this team playing some of the best football of any team in the league and I think the Lions have proven they can beat anybody.
3. San Francisco 49ers (6-3)
After the first five weeks of the season, there was arguably not a more dominant or impressive team in the entire NFL than the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers were 5-0, rolling in all phases, and not showing any signs of slowing down.
That is, until Week 6 and beyond.
The 49ers lost three straight games, scoring just 17 points in each of those losses, before they had a bye in Week 9. After resetting during the bye week, the 49ers came out with a vengeance and, unfortunately, the Jacksonville Jaguars were the first team in their way.
The 49ers' 34-3 win on the road in Jacksonville is the most impressive win of the week thus far and likely will stand as such.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)
The Kansas City Chiefs were on a bye in Week 10 after facing off against the Miami Dolphins overseas last week, and they look ready for a second-half run. The Chiefs are not without flaws at this point. They lack a true secondary weapon in the passing game besides just Travis Kelce. But thanks to Patrick Mahomes and a really good Chiefs defense, this team is poised to be in Super Bowl contention once again.
After losing the season-opener against Detroit, the Chiefs got a humbling loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 8, but have mostly been that same impossible team to beat for a variety of reasons. There’s not much they don’t do well.
1. Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)
The Philadelphia Eagles proved a couple of weeks back that they are human, but this is one of those teams when you look across the NFL that just has too many ways to win. The Eagles struggled quite a bit last week against the Dallas Cowboys, especially against the pass, and even gifting the Cowboys the length of the field in penalties, the Eagles were still able to win with their elite-level pass rush.
The Eagles were on a bye week in Week 10, so their standing here isn't changing. They remain at least arguably the best team in the NFL right now, regardless of record.
With Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown leading this offense, as well as a pass rush that is capable of closing games out from all different angles, this Eagles team is a serious contender once again in 2023 to win it all.