Analysis
11/2/21
9 min read
Domo’s NFL Power Rankings: Bucs Dethroned as Saints Rise
1) Cowboys (6-1) Previous: 2
Last week: W20-16@MIN
This week: v. 4-4 Broncos
Good news: They beat the Vikings on the road without Dak Prescott.
Bad news: Dak’s calf injury could keep him out of at least one more game, maybe more.
2) Bills (5-2) Previous: 4
Last week: W26-11MIA
This week: at 1-6 Jaguars
Good news: Coming off a bye and playing the Dolphins, Jaguars and Jets is like returning from vacation and being sent on a 21-day business trip to Hawaii.
Bad news: RBs Devin Singletary and Zack Moss have averaged a combined 3.5 yards per carry in the last three games.
3) Packers (7-1) Previous: 5
Last week: W24-21@ARI
This week: at 4-4 Chiefs
Good news: Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon give the Packers a strong run game that can control the clock and make Aaron Rodgers even more dangerous than Jake the State Farm guy.
Bad news: The win over the Cardinals came with a huge cost. One of Rodgers’ top go-to guys, TE Robert Tonyan, suffered a significant knee injury.
4) Cardinals (7-1) Previous: 3
Last week: L21-24GB
This week: at 3-4 49ers
Good news: Kyler Murray injured his foot against the Packers, but it doesn’t appear to be serious. He is expected to play this week against the Niners.
Bad news: For the fourth time in eight games, the Cardinals defense gave up 150-plus rushing yards, which allowed the Packers to control the clock for nearly 38 minutes.
5) Bucs (6-2) Previous: 1
Last week: L27-36@NO
This week: Bye
Good news: Bucs don’t play another team with a winning record until mid-December.
Bad news: Run defense has been shaky lately. Opponents have averaged 4.9 yards per carry the last four games.
6) Rams (7-1) Previous: 6
Last week: W38-22@HOU
This week: v. 6-2 Titans
Good news: The Rams bolstered an already potent pass-rush by trading for eight-time Pro Bowler Von Miller
Bad news: The Rams have beaten just one team that currently has a winning record (Bucs).
7) Titans (6-2) Previous: 8
Last week: W34-31@IND
This week: at 7-1 Rams
Good news: The Titans have a three-game lead in the division and already have swept the second-place Colts.
Bad news: They’re going to need that three-game lead. League rushing leader Derrick Henry has a broken bone in his foot and will miss at least the rest of the regular season.
8) Raiders (5-2) Previous: 10
Last week: Bye
This week: at 2-6 Giants
Good news: Derek Carr has a 127.0 passer rating in the last two games, including an 80.3 completion percentage and a 10.9 yards-per-attempt average.
Bad news: The Raiders aren’t very good against the run and the Giants will be getting Saquon Barkley back. They are 26th in opponent rush average (4.6) and have allowed the sixth most runs of 10 yards or more (24).
9) Saints (5-2) Previous: 17
Last week: W36-27TB
This week: v. 3-4 Falcons
Good news: Saints have wins over the 6-2 Bucs and 7-1 Packers and have intercepted Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady a combined four times.
Bad news: QB Jameis Winston suffered a likely season-ending knee injury in the Bucs’ win.
10) Bengals (5-3) Previous: 7
Last week: L31-34@NYJ
This week: v. 4-4 Browns
Good news: The Bengals have scored 106 points in their last three games.
Bad news: They lost to the freaking Jets and a face-in-the-crowd quarterback — Mike White — who threw three TDs against them in his first career start.
11) Ravens (5-2) Previous: 11
Last week: Bye
This week: v. 3-4 Vikings
Good news: Lamar Jackson has 29 rushing first downs and is averaging 8.6 yards per pass attempt.
Bad news: They had a 24-point loss to the afore-mentioned lost-to-the-Jets Bengals before the bye week.
12) Patriots (4-4) Previous: 15
Last week: W27-24@LAC
This week: at 4-4 Panthers
Good news: The Patriots have held six of their first eight opponents to 24 points or less.
Bad news: New England went 1-for-4 in the red zone against the Chargers, are 28th in red-zone touchdown percentage (53.5).
13) Chargers (4-3) Previous: 9
Last week: L24-27NE
This week: at 3-5 Eagles
Good news: RB Austin Ekeleler has eight rushing and receiving touchdowns and is averaging 6.2 yards per touch.
Bad news: Chargers have given up 558 rushing yards in the last three games and have the worst opponent rush average in the league (5.1).
14) Chiefs (4-4) Previous: 13
Last week: W20-17NYG
This week: v. 7-1 Packers
Good news: It was harder than it should’ve been against the Giants on Monday night, but the Chiefs managed to climb back to .500.
Bad news: Their next three games are against the 7-1 Packers, (at) the 5-2 Raiders and the 6-1 Cowboys.
15) Vikings (3-4) Previous: 14
Last week: L16-20DAL
This week: at 5-2 Ravens
Good news: Dalvin Cook appears to be over the ankle injury that sidelined him in Week 6. He has rushed for 218 yards the last two games, averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
Bad news: Kirk Cousins disappeared again in the second half against the Cowboys. He has a 123.7 first-half passer rating this season with 11 TDs and no INTs. In the second half: an 86.4 rating with just 3 TDs and 2 INTs.
16) Steelers (4-3) Previous: 19
Last week: W15-10@CLE
This week: v. 3-5 Bears.
Good news: With three straight wins, the Steelers are right back in the thick of the AFC North title race.
Bad news: This defense has created just six takeaways, including only two interceptions.
17) Browns (4-4) Previous: 12
Last week: L10-15PIT
This week: at 5-3 Bengals
Good news: The Browns have held opponents to a league-low 3.5 yards per carry.
Bad news: They have scored a total of 41 points in their last three games.
18) Colts (3-5) Previous: 16
Last week: L31-34TEN
This week: v. 2-5 Colts
Good news: They don’t have to play the Titans any more.
Bad news: They’re three games behind Tennessee in the AFC South standings after losing both meetings.
19) 49ers (3-4) Previous: 18
Last week: W33-22@CHI
This week: v. 7-1 Cardinals
Good news: Elijah Mitchell notched his second straight 100-yard rushing performance to help the Niners snap a four-game losing streak.
Bad News: They’ve got to play the 7-1 Cardinals Sunday for the second time in four games. And the Cardinals are coming off 10 days of rest following their Thursday night loss to the Packers.
20) Panthers (4-4) Previous: 21
Last week: W19-13@ATL
This week: v. 4-4 Patriots
Good news: Sam Darnold didn’t throw an interception against the Falcons.
Bad news: For the second straight week, he also didn’t throw a touchdown pass.
21) Bears (3-5) Previous: 20
Last week: L22-33SF
This week: at 4-3 Steelers
Good news: QB Justin Fields, who rushed for 100 yards against the 49ers, has averaged 7.7 yards per carry and has nine rushing first downs in the Bears’ last three games.
Bad news: Fields has just three touchdown passes in his first six starts.
22) Seahawks (3-5) Previous: 23
Last week: W31-7JAX
This week: Bye
Good news: The Seahawks are hopeful that Russell Wilson will return after the bye.
Bad news: They haven’t been very good with or without Wilson.
23) Falcons (3-4) Previous: 22
Last week: L13-19CAR
This week: at 5-2 Saints
Good news: Rookie TE Kyle Pitts is off to an impressive start. He’s third among NFL tight ends in receiving yards (484) and yards per catch (14.7).
Bad news: The Panthers converted 10 of 17 third-down tries against Atlanta. The Falcons defense has the third worst third-down rate in the NFL (50.0).
24) Broncos (4-4) Previous: 24
Last week: W17-10WAS
This week: at 6-1 Cowboys
Good news: The Broncos may manage to sidestep Cowboys QB Dak Prescott this week. He’s still recovering from a calf injury.
Bad news: The composite record of the four teams the Broncos have beaten is 7-23.
25) Eagles (3-5) Previous: 26
Last week: W44-6@DET
This week: v. 4-3 Chargers
Good news: Eagles rushed for a season-high 236 yards against the Lions and will be facing a Chargers team that has the worst run defense in the NFL.
Bad news: The Lions were just the second team the Eagles have held under 28 points since Week 2.
26) Giants (2-6) Previous: 25
Last week: L17-20@KC
This week: v. 5-2 Raiders
Good news: RB Saquon Barkley, who has missed the last three games with an ankle injury, is expected to return this week.
Bad news: Daniel Jones has averaged just 5.7 yards per attempt and thrown three TD passes in the last three games.
27) Jets (2-5) Previous: 30
Last week: W34-31CIN
This week: at 3-5 Colts
Good news: The Jets beat the Bengals with a quarterback who was making his first career start.
Bad news: Even a blind squirrel finds an occasional acorn.
28) Washington (2-6) Previous: 27
Last week: L10-17@DEN
This week: Bye
Good news: The bye gives them a week to get their affairs in order before Tom Brady and the Bucs come to down.
Bad news: Their offense has scored just 33 points in the last three games
29) Jaguars (1-6) Previous: 28
Last week: L7-31@SEA
This week: v. 5-2 Bills
Good news: No more trans-Atlantic flights to London.
Bad news: The Jags have a league-worst minus-11 turnover differential.
30) Dolphins (1-7) Previous: 29
Last week: L11-26@BUF
This week: v. 1-7 Texans
Good news: They’ll always have that Week 1 win in Foxboro.
Bad news: Five first-round picks and four second-round picks in the last two drafts, and they’re 1-7. Unforgiveable.
31) Lions (0-8) Previous: 31
Last week: L6-44PHI
This week: Bye
Good news: Nobody, and I mean nobody, needs a bye week more right now than these guys.
Bad news: If anyone was wondering why the Rams were so willing to trade away Jared Goff, mystery solved.
32) Texans (1-7) Previous: 32
Last week: L22-38LAR
This week: at 1-7 Dolphins
Good news: There will be no more inane Deshaun Watson trade questions for the rest of the season.
Bad news: Head coach David Culley, who had to wait until he was 65 to get his first head-coaching opportunity, deserves much better than this mess of a franchise.
