NFL Power Rankings – Week 10

Who’s up, who’s down? Frank Schwab surveys the NFL landscape following the Week 9 games.

The Bills are knocking on the door, but the Raiders’ performance last Thursday was so absolutely dreadful, they have to stay in the basement.

This is the worst offense we’ve ever seen, right? In this era of offenses moving the ball at will, it certainly seems like it’s the worst ever. (Chris Ivory)

Are we sure the NFL can’t flex Giants-49ers out of “Monday Night Football” next week? (Odell Beckham Jr.)

David Johnson has had more than 20 touches in a game just once this season. The Cardinals can’t sustain drives and game scripts have been bad, but the first game-plan meeting each week for the offensive coaches should start with how they’ll get Johnson more than 20 touches. (David Johnson)

Nick Mullens caught the matchup of a lifetime against a Raiders defense that is horrendous and also looked like it quit. (Nick Mullens)

One thing new offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens figured out right away: Get the ball to Duke Johnson. He had a season-best nine catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. (Duke Johnson)

John Elway saying he’s more encouraged this season by the Broncos, who have lost six of seven, and that he isn’t planning any significant changes is, in a word, unexpected. (Brandon McManus)

Most years, we get one Week 1 result that looks absolutely crazy by the end of the season. This year’s inexplicable result is Buccaneers winning at the Saints in Week 1, and there’s no other candidate. (Ryan Fitzpatrick)

We’re at a fine line with Sam Darnold. Not every mistake is proof that he’ll be a bad quarterback. But he also can’t keep putting up games with ratings of less than 40. (Sam Darnold)

That about does it for the Cowboys’ season. Mathematically they’re not done, but they don’t look like the type of team that can get on a roll against the tough schedule that remains. (Jason Garrett)

It was nice to see guard Quenton Nelson win AFC rookie of the month for October. An offensive lineman has never won offensive rookie of the year and Saquon Barkley is making sure it won’t happen this year. (Quentin Nelson)

The Lions looked horrendous on offense in their loss to the Vikings on Sunday. They’ve invested too much into the offensive line for it to be giving up 10 sacks. (Matthew Stafford)

The best theory on the weird Reshad Jones situation, in which he pulled himself out of the game for the final three quarters is that he was miffed about splitting snaps with rookie Minkah Fitzpatrick. (Reshad Jones)

This seems like a big week for the Jaguars. If they can get Leonard Fournette back and win at the Colts, they would be 4-5 and likely favored to win five of their next six games before going to Houston in Week 17. (Leonard Fournette)

The Marcus Mariota roller coaster continues. It was up on Monday, with 240 passing yards and two touchdowns, to go with 32 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Titans desperately need that Mariota most weeks over the second half of the season. (Marcus Mariota)

There’s a lot of chatter about John Harbaugh’s job security. If the Ravens fire him, would they do so without asking themselves, “Can we find anyone better?” Because I think the answer to that question is clearly no. (John Harbaugh)

This current six-game stretch will define the Seahawks’ season. The six games come against the Chargers, at Rams, Packers on a Thursday night, at Panthers, vs. 49ers and then they host the Vikings. They already dropped one at home to the Chargers. (Shaquill Griffin)

Not many teams had a worse Sunday. It wasn’t just the blowout loss at home. Right guard Brandon Scherff, left guard Shawn Lauvao and wide receiver Paul Richardson suffered season-ending injuries. (Brandon Scherff)

If we assume it’ll take 10 wins to get a wild-card spot in the NFC, that means the Falcons have to win six of their last eight. It’s still a very long road, but at least they’ve given themselves a chance. (Julio Jones) AP

A.J. Green will miss “at least” two games with a toe injury, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said. There are some news items that don’t need much more explanation, because we all know what it means. (A.J. Green)

Since we all know the hole the Packers are in now, how about some positive news: Rookie receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a serious find. The third of three fifth-round picks by the team, Valdes-Scantling has two 100-yard games in the past three weeks and looked great on Sunday night. That looks like a home-run pick. (Marquez Valdes-Scantling)

Three times this season Houston has benefited in a very close game from an opposing coach’s weird decision. Having other coaches screw up regularly certainly doesn’t seem like a sustainable plan for the Texans, but it has gotten them to 6-3. (Justin Reid, J.J. Watt)

Most coaches wouldn’t rest Khalil Mack in back-to-back weeks like Matt Nagy did. The Bears won both games. Most veteran head coaches don’t like gambling like that, much less a rookie head coach. But it was smart. (Matt Nagy)

Considering the Eagles still have road games remaining against the Saints and Rams, they still don’t have a lot of room for error. But the NFC East is STILL there for the taking. (Nelson Agholor)

The Vikings made the Lions look terrible with 10 sacks. Is that the sign the somewhat dormant Vikings defense is back? If that’s a sign of things to come, don’t sleep on the Vikings the rest of this season. (Danielle Hunter)

If the Steelers end up winning the AFC North, Joshua Dobbs’ contribution should be properly noted. When Ben Roethlisberger got the wind knocked out of him, Dobbs came into a terrible situation: second-and-20 at their own 5-yard line, with the Ravens trailing by only a touchdown in the fourth quarter. And Dobbs was cold off the bench against a good defense. Dobbs calmly hit JuJu Smith-Schuster for 22 yards and an enormous first down, then Roethlisberger came back in. The Steelers kicked a field goal at the end of that drive, and ended up holding off the Ravens. That’s one heck of a clutch play by Dobbs. (Joshua Hobbs)

Who is the most under-the-radar 6-2 team in the NFL? Because it seems like everyone is sleeping on the Panthers and Chargers at an equal rate. (Donte Jackson)

It seems like the Chargers haven’t had an easy win since the 1980s. Every game seems to be harder than it should. But, they got a big road win at Seattle. (Mike Williams)

Josh Gordon had 130 yards and it looks like he’s going to be a dominant force down the stretch. Who could have ever guessed that the Patriots paying nothing for a player of Gordon’s talent in a trade could end up being a good deal? (Josh Gordon)

It’s tough to put the Rams at No. 3. And there’s an argument for them to still be No. 1. But the Saints were still up on them by 21 at one point last weekend. (Garrett Sickels, Marqui Christian)

Over the last four games, the Saints look like the best team in football. It might not be all that close. (Michael Thomas)

When you review the totality of the Saints’, Rams’ and Chiefs’ resumes, K.C. earned this ranking. The Chiefs are No. 1 for now, though the margin is razor-thin among the top three teams. (Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill)