Week 10 Power Rankings

In last week's power rankings, one of my valued readers questioned my reasoning for putting the Seahawks ahead of the Saints. Bottom line - they have better players. Still, the Saints are still very much alive in the NFC South, but next week at Houston looks like a huge game for both teams. The Jaguars made the biggest move up, jumping 7 spots, and the Chiefs made the biggest move down, falling 10 spots.

1. New England Patriots (9-0) (Last week: 1) AFC East - 2 1/2 lead on the Colts with 7 to play, just give them homefield
2. Indianapolis Colts (7-2) (2) AFC South - should have beat Chargers, but injuries hay have caught up with them
3. Dallas Cowboys (8-1) (4) NFC East - did have a 2nd half lead against New England
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2) (3) AFC North - besides at New England, their 2nd half schedule is favorable
5. Green Bay Packers (8-1) (6) NFC North - Ryan Grant has run for 100+ in 2 out of 3, starting to become a complete team
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3) (13) AFC South - take away loss to Colts and they've won 6 out of 7
7. Tennessee Titans (6-3) (5) AFC South - 3-2 in games decided by 4 points or less
8. Cleveland Browns (5-4) (8) AFC North - Thomas, Winslow, Edwards, and Cribbs are cinch Pro Bowlers; they've had only 1 since 1999
9. San Diego Chargers (5-4) (12) AFC West - get blown out by Vikings one week, beat the Colts the next?
10. New York Giants (6-3) (10) NFC East - their most impressive win is at Washington, could be staring at another 2nd half slide
11. Seattle Seahawks (5-4) (11) NFC West - could easily run the table in the second half
12. Buffalo Bills (5-4) (15) AFC East - Dick Jauron, 2 time Coach of the Year?!?
13. Detroit Lions (6-3) (9) NFC North - they play Green Bay in 2 weeks in their biggest Thanksgiving day game ever
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-4) (17) NFC South - if they drafted Peterson they'd be the NFC favorite
15. Houston Texans (4-5) (18) AFC South - they're getting Andre Johnson back and could make a run
16. Denver Broncos (4-5) (21) AFC West - play 4 out of the next 6 on the road
17. Washington Redskins (5-4) (16) NFC East - still have to play Dallas twice and Giants in New York, probably not making playoffs
18. New Orleans Saints (4-5) (14) NFC South - Bush had no chance on 4th and 1, exactly why he can't be a #1 back
19. Arizona Cardinals (4-5) (24) NFC West - have lost 3 games in the last 30 seconds
20. Kansas City Chiefs (4-5) (10) AFC West - LJ injury was huge, could easily lose out
21. Philadelphia Eagles (4-5) (25) NFC East - they have 2 flukish losses, but 2 flukish wins as well
22. Baltimore Ravens (4-5) (19) AFC North - 0-4 against AFC North, 3-0 against NFC West
23. Carolina Panthers (4-5) (20) NFC South - are you surprised Testaverde turned into a pumpkin?
24. Chicago Bears (4-5) (27) NFC North - is Grossman the starter now? Who cares?
25. Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) (26) AFC North - 1-6 against teams not named the Ravens
26. Atlanta Falcons (3-6) (28) NFC South - 2-0 coming out of their bye
27. Minnesota Vikings (3-6) (23) NFC North - without Peterson this is generous
28. Oakland Raiders (2-7) (22) AFC West - JaMarcus Russell is too well paid to be 3rd string
29. New York Jets (1-8) (29) AFC East - time to see what they have in Clemens
30. San Francisco 49ers (2-7) (30) NFC West - time to cut the cord on Nolan and Alex Smith
31. St. Louis Rams (1-8) (32) NFC West - their schedule was too weak to go winless, will target Jake Long in draft
32. Miami Dolphins (0-9) (31) AFC East - at home against Buffalo coming off a bye was their best shot at a win

Division Power Rankings (by sum of team rankings)
AFC South - 30 (-8 from last week)
NFC East - 51 (-1)
AFC North - 59 (+3)
NFC North - 69 (+4)
AFC West - 73 (+8)
AFC East - 74 (-2)
NFC South - 81 (+2)
NFC West - 91 (-6)