NFL Power Rankings: Week 11

They are ecstatic about staying at the top

Welcome to the Week 11 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings.  Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube.  For Week 11, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and Smokey.  So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

For the fifth straight week, the Saints and Colts held on to the top two spots in the rankings after their respective close wins.  However, for the first time in a month, it was not unanimous, as Walker chose to give the Colts the nod as the NFL’s top team and Gideon moved the Patriots up to No. 2 despite their loss.

After a big win over the Eagles, the Chargers jumped back into the Top 10 for the first time since Week 3, moving up four spots to No. 7.  Also re-entering the Top 10 were the Ravens, who also moved up four spots to No. 8.  Falling out as a result were the Eagles and Falcons, who each dropped two spots following their losses.

The bottom of the rankings got another change this week, as it appears the dreadful teams are separating themselves from those that are just merely awful.  The Cleveland Browns found themselves in the No. 32 position for the first time all year, slightly below the Buccaneers, Chiefs, Raiders and Rams.  The bottom third of the rankings got two new entries, as both the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers fell after their miserable Thursday night game.

There was less movement in the ranks than there has been the past few weeks, as nine teams stayed in the same position as last week.  Of the 23 teams that did move, eight of them moved at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The biggest positive movement this week came from the aforementioned Chargers and Ravens, who tied with the Jaguars by moving up four spots from the previous week. The biggest downward mover was not surprising, as the Chicago Bears dropped four spots after failing to find the end zone on Thursday night.

The disagreements among the rankers remained few and far between this week, but when they did occur they were a little bigger. There were just four disagreements of at least seven spots in their ranks, but there was a double digit disagreement between two of the contributors.  And back to our old ways, all four disagreements involved our pal Smokey.

Philadelphia Eagles (10) – Walker 7, Smokey 17

Green Bay Packers (9) – Smokey 9, Mickey 18

Baltimore Ravens (7) – Jacob / Smokey 8, Mickey 15

Arizona Cardinals (7) – Smokey 11, Gideon 18

On the divisional side, the NFC East’s lead has evaporated, as they now rank fourth among the divisions.  Leading the way is the AFC North with an average score of 12.95.  They barely edge their friends from the AFC South, who come in with an average of 13.45.  The bottom division remains the same for the eighth consecutive week, and this time it isn’t close.  The NFC West checks in with a 22.55 average score, while second to last was over 3.5 points higher, with the AFC West coming in with a score of 19.00.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here.  Without further ado, onto the rankings.  As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses.

1.  New Orleans Saints (1) – The Saints’ win over St. Louis was too close for comfort, as they fought through their fourth straight multiple turnover game from QB Drew Brees.

2.  Indianapolis Colts (2) – You can believe the Patriots lost Sunday night rather than the Colts won it, but regardless, they are still 9-0.

3.  New England Patriots (3) – Despite the failed fourth down conversion attempt, the Patriots need to be encouraged by Tom Brady’s connection with Randy Moss, teaming up for 179 yards and 2 TDs.

4. Minnesota Vikings (4) – The Vikings beat the Lions in the air and on the ground, getting a 344-yard day from Brett Favre and 7.4 yards per carry from Adrian Peterson.

5. Cincinnati Bengals (6) – The Bengals pulled out a gutsy win to take first place in the AFC North, but lost leading rusher Cedric Benson to a hip injury in the process.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (5) – The Steelers defense didn’t allow an offensive touchdown, but the offense couldn’t find paydirt either as they dropped to second in the AFC North.

7.  San Diego Chargers (12) – The most encouraging part of the Chargers’ victory had to be LT scoring twice against a tough Eagles defense.

8. Baltimore Ravens (11) – It wasn’t pretty, but Baltimore kept themselves in the AFC North race with a shutout of division rival Cleveland.

9. Denver Broncos (7) – After going up 14-7 on Washington, the Broncos proceeded to lose Kyle Orton to injury and then the game.

10. Dallas Cowboys (8) – Tony Romo’s personal November win streak is over, as Dallas was shut down in Green Bay.

11. Philadelphia Eagles (9) – Philadelphia’s inability to convert in the red zone was costly, as they took three first-half drives past the San Diego 10-yard line before settling for field goals in a 31-23 loss.

12. Atlanta Falcons (10) – After an injury to Michael Turner and with Jerious Norwood out already, it looks like the Falcons will turn to Jason Snelling in their backfield.

13. Houston Texans (13) – The Texans can really help themselves coming off their bye, facing three straight divisional opponents.

14.  Arizona Cardinals (15) – Tim Hightower may be one of Kurt Warner’s favorite receivers, but Beanie Wells is emerging as the guy in the Cardinals’ backfield, scoring twice in a 31-20 comeback win over Seattle.

15. Green Bay Packers (18) – Aaron Rodgers really spread the ball around on Sunday, finding 10 different receivers in the win over Dallas.

16. New York Giants (14) – The Giants don’t get any help from the schedule makers in their attempt to stop a four game slide, with Atlanta, Denver, Dallas and Philadelphia next on the schedule.

17.  Miami Dolphins (16) – The Dolphins came back to win after blowing a 13-point lead to in-state rival Tampa Bay, but Ronnie Brown added his name to the growing list of running back injuries in the process.

18. Carolina Panthers (20) – There’s the original Steve Smith!  The Panthers’ WR caught two TDs in Sunday’s win over Atlanta, one more than he had on the season coming into the game.

19. Jacksonville Jaguars (23) – Maurice Jones-Drew’s heads up decision to kneel down at the 1-yard line puts Jacksonville above .500 for the first time this season.

20. New York Jets (17) – Since starting 3-0, the Jets have lost five of six and have to take a trip to New England on Sunday.

21. Tennessee Titans (22) – What more can you say about Chris Johnson?  Another double-triple (100 yards rushing and receiving) has him as the clear leader in rushing yardage in the NFL.  I know what his opposing fantasy owners are thinking.

22. San Francisco 49ers (21) – The 49ers didn’t look overly impressive in their win over the Bears, but the curse of Crabtree has officially been broken.

23. Chicago Bears (19) – While three of them weren’t his fault, Jay Cutler’s five interception performance was absolutely miserable in a bad loss to San Francisco.

24. Seattle Seahawks (24) – Despite the loss, Seattle needs to be encouraged by what they saw from RB Justin Forsett in relief of the injured Julius Jones.

25. Buffalo Bills (25) – Terrell Owens had his best game of the year in the stat book, but was a culprit on Tennessee’s game sealing interception returns.

26. Washington Redskins (26) – Ladell Betts was questionable to fill in for the injured Clinton Portis, but ended up having over 100 yards and the game winning TD against a tough Denver defense.

27. Detroit Lions (27) – The Lions are having trouble playing the NFC North, as Sunday’s loss was their 13^th straight within the division.

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (31) – The Bucs were 10 seconds away from a two-game winning streak, but instead fall to 1-8 on the season.

29. Kansas City Chiefs (29) – I didn’t see the Chiefs beat the Raiders, but I’ll be the most exciting part of the game was Gus Johnson announcing.

30. Oakland Raiders (28) – After scoring twice in the first quarter for the first time all season, the Raiders didn’t put up another point and fell to the Chiefs.

31. St. Louis Rams (32) – Not that it’s any consolation, but the Rams did have the game’s leading passer, rusher and receiver in their loss to New Orleans.

32. Cleveland Browns (30) – Say what you want about Derek Anderson, but the Browns were never shut out with him under center this season.

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