What a week in the National Football League! Seven of the 14 games were decided by three points or less. including one-point victories by the Ravens and Steelers. It was also a week in which the road clubs prevailed in more than half (8) of the 14 contests. What to make of the fact that less than half of the 32 teams in the league (14) are above the .500 mark?
As for the foursome that didn’t play in Week 10, the Browns, Packers, Raiders, and Seahawks were all off this past week. However, it is somewhat fascinating to note that all but Green Bay currently resided in their division basements.
Every team in the league has now played at least nine games, and suddenly there’s only eight weeks remaining in the regular season. Here are the latest NFL Divisional Power Rankings, not to be confused with the 32-team version. There was plenty of shuffling this week when it came to the upper half of the list.
The updated NFL Divisional Power Rankings
8. AFC South
Last week: 8th
All four teams in the division were in action on Sunday, and it proved to be a troubling day for this group. Doug Pederson’s last-place club would be without quarterback Trevor Lawrence as they took on the visiting Vikings, while Tennessee headed west to battle the Chargers. The Colts welcomed the surging Bills to Indianapolis, Finally, the first-place Texans hosted the Lions on Sunday night in a battle of division leaders. When the dust settled, all four clubs fell, securing this group’s spot at the bottom of the rankings.
Start with Shane Steichen’s club, which was done in via too many mistakes from veteran Joe Flacco. He threw an early pick-six and turned over the ball four times in a 30-20 loss. The Jaguars picked off Minnesota’s Sam Darnold, but Mac Jones (in for injured Trevor Lawrence) had three turnovers of his own in a 12-7 setback. For the first time in ‘24, the Titans did not turn over the ball, and still fell to the Bolts. The slumping Texans squandered a 23-7 halftime lead vs. the Lions, and are 1-3 in their last four games.
7. NFC South
Last week: 7th
The first-place Falcons were on the road for just the fourth time, but were already playing their fifth game vs. a divisional rival. They had an opportunity to sweep the struggling Saints (who were also facing an NFC South rival for the fifth time this season) for the first time since 2016. The Panthers were overseas to take on the Giants, while the battered Buccaneers, losers of three straight games, hoped to take advantage of a 49ers’ team that has erratic at best this year but was getting back running back Christian McCaffrey.
All three games were decided by three points. Atlanta rolled up 468 yards, but Kirk Cousins had his issues avoiding the Saints’ pass rush. Falcons’ kicker Younghoe Koo had a forgettable day. He missed three of his four field goals tries in every way possible, and New Orleans snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 20-17 win. Carolina and the Giants went to overtime, and the Panthers came up with a 20-17 victory—their second straight. The undermanned Bucs lost at the gun, 23-20, their fourth consecutive setback.
6. AFC East
Last week: 6th
All four members of the AFC East were on the road. The first-place Bills made their way to Indianapolis, the Patriots were in the Windy City, and the disappointing Jets were in the desert to take on the NFC West leaders. The final game of Week 10 took place on Monday night at SoFi Stadium as the Dolphins, in the midst of their second three-game losing streak of the season, took on Sean McVay’s rejuvenated Rams.
Josh Allen and the division leaders were not at their best, but had more than enough to fend off the mistake-prone Colts. Allen threw a pair of interceptions (4 in his last 3 games), but the Bills forced four turnovers in winning their fifth game in a row. The Pats sacked Bears’ quarterback Caleb Williams in a 19-3 victory. The Dolphins held the Rams to five field goals in a huge 23-15 win. Talk about disaster? Aaron Rodgers and the Jets’ defense looked ill-prepared and inept in a humiliating 31-6 loss to the Cardinals.
5. NFC West
Last week: 5th
Entering the weekend, the surprising Arizona Cardinals were the only club in the NFC West with a winning record. They hosted the well-rested Jets looking to make it four consecutive wins. Meanwhile, the 49ers and running back Christian McCaffrey headed east to Tampa in a battle of 2023 division champions. The resurgent Rams welcomed the Dolphins to SoFi Stadium on Monday night. The slumping Seahawks, 1-5 in their last six games after a 3-0 start, had some time off to contemplate what has gone wrong as of late.
Jonathan Gannon’s club remained hot, and pushed around the Jets by a 31-6 score. Red-hot Kyler Murray orchestrated TD drives of 70, 70, 70, and 88 yards, respectively, in the impressive victory. Brock Purdy threw for 353 yards and two scores, but kicker Jake Moody pushed three of his first five field goal tries either wide left or wide right. He nailed a 44-yarder on the final play of the game and the Niners escaped Tampa, 23-20. The Rams settled for nothing but field goals on Monday night in a 23-15 loss to Miami.
4. NFC East
Last week: 2nd
The improved Commanders could double their victory total from 2023 if they could cool off the AFC North-leading Steelers. Earlier in the day in Munich, the Giants and Panthers squared off in a clash of 2-7 teams. There was a big divisional rivalry renewed as the Cowboys, without Dak Prescott, took on an Eagles’ team riding a four-game winning streak. Hence, only one team in this division managed a victory.
New York was down 10 points late to Carolina, rallied to tie the game. In overtime, Giants’ running back Tyrone Tracy lost a fumble, setting up the Panthers’ game winning field goal. Dan Quinn’s team owned a 10-point third-quarter lead, but fell at home for the first time this season. Washington was limited to a season-low 242 total yards. The Cowboys have dropped four in a row, and the home losing streak has now reached five games. Dallas dropped to 3-6, meaning there won’t be a fourth straight 12-5 season.
All told, the current losing streaks by the Giants (5) and Cowboys (4) caused this division to slip two spots.
3. AFC West
Last week: 4th
This is a division worth watching, perhaps with the exception of the Silver and Black. After splitting their first four games, the Raiders are in the midst of a five-game skid and have been outscored a combined 154-90 in those setbacks. On Sunday, the Chiefs looked to extend their 14-game overall winning streak as the Broncos visited Kansas City. Meanwhile, the improving Chargers hosted the disappointing Titans.
At Arrowhead Stadium, Sean Payton’s squad won most of the battles, but wound up losing the war per se. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw for 215 yards and two scores, and led the club down the field late in the fourth quarter for a game-winning 35-yard field goal attempt. Seemingly, all 11 Chiefs poured in front of Denver kicker Wil Lutz, and Andy Reid’s team survived once again, 16-14. The Bolts’ ground game and defense were once again the story as the club moved to 6-3, one more win than all of last season. Despite two consecutive losses by the Broncos (5-5), three teams in the division bear watching down the stretch.
2. AFC North
Last week: 3rd
While the disappointing 2-7 Browns were off, there was a rematch of one of the wildest games of the season to kick off Week 10 in the NFL. Earlier this year at Cincinnati (Week 5), the Ravens outlasted the Bengals in overtime, 41-38, at Cincinnati. Meanwhile, there was a somewhat-unexpected battle of first-place teams in Landover on Sunday when the rejuvenated Steelers visited the surprising Commanders.
Both games were one-point victories. John Harbaugh’s club overcame a 21-7 third-quarter deficit, as well as an electrifying performance by Bengals’ wideout Ja’Marr Chase (11 receptions for 264 yards, 3 TDs), to take a 35-28 lead with 1:49 to play on Lamar Jackson’s fourth TD pass. Joe Burrow and Chase connected for a five-year score with 38 seconds to play, then failed on a two-point conversion try. Mike Tomlin’s club owned a 14-7 lead over Washington, fell behind by 10 points in the third quarter, then rallied for the victory. Russell Wilson’s 32-yard TD toss to newly-acquired Mike Williams (and the PAT) with 2:22 were the difference, as was drawing the Commanders’ defense offsides late in the game to kill the clock.
1. NFC North
Last week: 1st
The third-place Packers were off but the other teams in the division were all in action. Only the slumping Bears were at home as they faced the struggling New England Patriots. The Vikings were in Jacksonville, while the red-hot Lions took a six-game winning streak to Houston in a prime time battle of division leaders. There were some ugly performances by the three starting quarterbacks in the NFC South, but two of those clubs managed to come away with victories. Meanwhile, the slide continues in the Windy City.
The Bears dropped their third straight game. Over that stretch the team has scored only two touchdowns, totaled 27 points and allowed 18 sacks. On Monday, head coach Matt Eberflus spoke of changes, so stay tuned. Against the Jaguars, Vikings’ quarterback Sam Darnold was picked off three times and the club settled for four field goals in a 12-7 victory. On Sunday evening in the Lone Star State, Detroit’s Jared Goff served up five interceptions. However, the club scored the final 19 points of the game in a 26-23 triumph.