2015 NFL Week 10 Power Rankings

Week 10 Game Balls

Offense — Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings. Peterson tied O.J. Simpson for most 200-yard rushing games in a career, six. He also tied Jerome Bettis and Franco Harris for rushing touchdowns in a career, 91.

Defense — Terence Newman, DB, Minnesota Vikings. In on four tackles, including a solo tackle for a loss, plus he had 5 passes defensed, including 2 interceptions. It was Derek Carr's first multi-interception game of the season, and Newman got both of them.

Special Teams — Dustin Colquitt, P, Kansas City Chiefs. First punt netted 48 yards, followed by punts downed (with no return) at the 11, 9, 9, and 1.

Rookie — Jeremy Langford, RB, Chicago Bears. 73 rushing yards, 109 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns. Langford had five plays of more than 10 yards, including an 83-yard TD reception.

Honorable Mentions: RB Jeremy Langford, DL Aaron Donald, K Stephen Gostkowski

Five Quick Hits

* Nous sommes unis.

* The Bills and Jets dressed like crayons on Thursday night. In addition to being ugly, the uniforms prevented colorblind fans from telling the teams apart. I guess there are a few more Thursday games in which teams plan to wear their pajamas, but that plan needs to be reconsidered.

* This week, Matt Prater made 49-yard and 51-yard field goals, but missed two extra points. That's weird.

* The Broncos and Packers both went into their Week 7 byes undefeated, 6-0. Since then, Green Bay is 0-3 and Denver's only win came against Green Bay. Isn't the bye supposed to help?

* Road teams went 11-3 this week.

Moving on with the power ratings, brackets indicate last week's rank.

1. New England Patriots [1] — I've written before about how injuries make it hard for NFL teams to establish dynasties. It's so hard to stay healthy for two seasons in a row, especially when your season lasts 19 or 20 games. The Patriots played without Dion Lewis, without Jamie Collins, without Sebastian Vollmer, and they won, but they didn't look like a great team. Now Julian Edelman has a broken foot, and he's projected to miss the remainder of the regular season. There are leaks in the ship.

2. Carolina Panthers [3] — The Titans didn't like Cam Newton's celebrations, but I'm usually crabby about this stuff, and I think they're pretty innocuous. While I don't have a problem with Newton's celebrations, I do have a problem with his response to criticism: "If you don't want me to do it, then don't let me in." That sentiment — and it's not unique to Newton — expresses terrible sportsmanship. Cam's statement could be used to excuse any bad behavior, without limit. Sportsmanship is when you're able to embarrass an opponent, but you choose not to, because you have class.

I think Cam does have class, but what he said makes him sound like a bully.

3. Cincinnati Bengals [2] — More fuel to the fire in the "can't win in primetime" narrative, but it's tough to pin this one on Andy Dalton. Tyler Eifert dropped a number of passes, and A.J. Green lost a fumble to close out the game. The Bengals can redeem themselves in a big game at Arizona on Sunday night.

4. Arizona Cardinals [6] — Scored 39 points, the most Seattle has allowed since 2010 (Pete Carroll's first season). Larry Fitzgerald caught 10 passes for 130 yards, and Michael Floyd had 113 yards and 2 TDs. Because this is the sort of thing that interests me, here's every pair of 100-yard receiving duos the Cardinals have had since 1960:

Sonny Randle and John David Crow, September 1960
Sonny Randle and Bobby Conrad, December 1962
Sonny Randle and Taz Anderson, December 1962
Jackie Smith and Bobby Conrad, November 1964
Jackie Smith and Bobby Conrad, October 1967
Jackie Smith and Bobby Conrad, November 1968
Dave Williams and John Gilliam, November 1969
Jackie Smith and John Gilliam, September 1970
Jackie Smith and MacArthur Lane, December 1970
Ike Harris and Pat Tilley, November 1976
Dave Stief and Pat Tilley, December 1978
Dave Stief and Pat Tilley, September 1979
Roy Green and Ottis Anderson, December 1984
Roy Green and J.T. Smith, December 1986
Roy Green and Jay Novacek, September 1987
Roy Green and J.T. Smith, December 1987
J.T. Smith and Jay Novacek, September 1988
Roy Green and J.T. Smith, September 1989
Ernie Jones and Robert Awalt, November 1989
Ernie Jones and Roy Green, November 1990
Ernie Jones and Roy Green, December 1990
Ernie Jones and Ricky Proehl, September 1991
Rob Moore and Larry Centers, November 1995
Frank Sanders and Rob Moore, November 1997
Frank Sanders and Rob Moore, January 2000
Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, October 2005
Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, October 2005 [again]
Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, November 2005
Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, December 2005
Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, November 2006
Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, September 2008
Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and Steve Breaston, September 2008*
Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, November 2008
Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown, October 2014
Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, November 2015

* The Cardinals lost this game, 56-35, at the New York Jets. Arizona committed eight turnovers, and the Jets led 34-0 at halftime. It was a weird game. Kurt Warner passed for 472 yards but committed six turnovers (3 INT, 3 lost fumbles). The Cardinals followed a scoreless first half with back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back drives, scoring all five TDs in a row. The Jets scored all their points in the second quarter (34) and the fourth quarter (22).

5. Minnesota Vikings [7] — Lost the Monday night opener in San Francisco, but since then they're 7-1. In preseason, I advised fantasy football owners not to draft Adrian Peterson. All Day leads the NFL in rushing by over 200 yards (961). Sorry.

Nose tackle Linval Joseph had another excellent game. He's having a Pro Bowl-caliber season.

6. Kansas City Chiefs [14] — Charcandrick West gained 161 yards and scored 2 TDs. The defense forced 5 sacks and 5 interceptions. Cairo Santos kicked five field goals and Dustin Colquitt pinned three punts inside the 10-yard line. They won in all phases.

7. Seattle Seahawks [8] — Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald both topped 100 yards receiving, the first time Seattle has allowed two 100-yard receivers since 2008 (Anquan Boldin and Fitzgerald). Every pair of 100-yard receiving teammates ever against the Seahawks:

NE: Stanley Morgan and Irving Fryar, September 1986
NYJ: Al Toon and Wesley Walker, November 1986
KC: Carlos Carson and Stephone Paige, December 1987
RAID: Mervyn Fernandez and Willie Gault, December 1988
PHX: Roy Green and J.T. Smith, September 1989
PIT: Eric Green and Dwight Stone, December 1993
KC: Derrick Alexander and Tony Gonzalez, October 2000
JAC: Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith, November 2000
BUF: Peerless Price and Eric Moulds, December 2000
NYG: Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard, December 2001
CAR: Muhsin Muhammad and Keary Colbert, October 2004
STL: Torry Holt and Kevin Curtis, January 2005 (playoffs)
NYG: Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress, November 2005
KC: Eddie Kennison and Tony Gonzalez, October 2006
CIN: T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Sideshow Chad, September 2007
ARI: Boldin and Fitzgerald, November 2008
ARI: Floyd and Fitzgerald, November 2015

8. Denver Broncos [4] — Missing Aqib Talib, gave up a season-high 29 points. But let's talk about the real issue: Peyton Manning's 5-of-20, 35 yards, 4-INT, 0.0 passer rating performance. Since 1960, there have been 21 games in which a passer with at least 20 attempts recorded a 0.0 rating. Only seven have come since the rule changes of the late '70s that created the modern passing game, the most recent being Jeff Garcia with the Browns in 2004 (8-of-27, 71 yds, 3 INT). But Garcia had twice as many yards, and fewer interceptions, than Manning. The only really comparable game was Todd Collins with the Bears in 2010: 6-of-16, 32 yards, 4 INT, 6.2 rating.

Looking through the record, I'm inclined to suggest that Manning's performance might be the worst statistical game by a quarterback in NFL history. I tend to go easy on the QBs of the '60s and '70s, when the rules were tougher for passers, or a couple of late-career Joe Namath games would be serious contenders, as well. Manning obviously isn't healthy, and he won't play in Week 11, giving Brock Osweiler the start.

9. Buffalo Bills [13] — Opportunistic defense, good special teams, and they did a great job of shutting down the Jets' horizontal passing game. LeSean McCoy rushed for 112 yards, including several surprisingly easy gains through the middle.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers [16] — I've noted several times this year that Ben Roethlisberger tends to play poorly when he rushes back from injury. And statistically, that's true. But this week, Roethlisberger came off the bench and he was magnificent. The Steelers have a bye in Week 11, so Ben should be close to 100% for the team's next game.

11. Oakland Raiders [11] — They're 4-5. They beat the 2-8 Browns, 2-7 Chargers, 2-7 Ravens, and 5-4 Jets. They lost to the 8-1 Bengals, 7-2 Broncos, 7-2 Vikings, 6-4 Steelers, and 4-5 Bears. They beat bad teams (CLE, SD, BAL), they lose to good teams (CIN, DEN, MIN, PIT), and they split against average teams (NYJ, CHI).

This part of the rankings, 7-20, is pretty closely packed right now. I have the Raiders on the higher side of the group, but they're obviously a pretty average team. They could just as easily rank 17th.

12. Miami Dolphins [18] — Ndamukong Suh has been playing great since the coaching change in Week 5. This week, he had seven tackles and a sack. But looking at the stats, it's hard to understand how Miami won. The Eagles had twice as many first downs (29-15), 147 more yards, they even won time of possession. The Dolphins punted on seven of their last eight drives, they had more penalties, they even gave up a safety on a botched kickoff return. But Philadelphia couldn't turn yards into points. More on this below.

13. Philadelphia Eagles [10] — Lost Sam Bradford and Ryan Mathews to injuries. They outplayed the Dolphins, but a missed field goal, a blocked punt, and a red zone interception turned the game. Bradford sprained his non-throwing shoulder, and he and Mathews both got concussions. Mark Sanchez will probably start at quarterback in Week 11. Sanchez was ineffective filling in for Bradford, but the Eagles' offense, which reached the red zone on its first three possessions, was slowing down already, with five straight punts on Bradford's last five drives.

14. St. Louis Rams [9] — Worst third down percentage in the NFL, by far. The league leader is New England, 49%. The league average is 39%, with a median of 37%. The 31st-ranked team is Miami, 30%. The Rams are 28/115, 24%. They're also 2/7 on fourth down conversion attempts, which is behind everyone but Miami. I can't imagine Case Keenum is the answer, but Nick Foles wasn't playing well, and their playoff hopes are slipping away.

15. New York Giants [17] — The NFL's ridiculous "catch is not a catch" rules burned the Giants twice at the end of Sunday's game. First, Odell Beckham's game-winning touchdown was ruled an incompletion, forcing New York to settle for a field goal. Then, Landry Collins' game-clinching interception was ruled an incompletion, allowing the Patriots to drive for the winning field goal.

The more time passes, the more I hate the policy about what constitutes a catch. I thought this might fade with time, that I'd get used to it, but it's the other way around: this policy is so stupid, it's more and more infuriating every time it affects a game.

16. New York Jets [12] — Lost because they were -4 in turnovers, including a lost fumble returned for a touchdown. But I was really impressed by the Jets' offensive and defensive lines. Coming into this season, Ryan Fitzpatrick's career sack rate was 6.0%. So far this year, it's 2.4%. The Jets are giving him great protection. Defensively, Muhammad Wilkerson was the clear standout. He had two sacks, and a number of plays which he impacted without showing up on the stat sheet. Linebacker Demario Davis had a nice game, as well.

17. Indianapolis Colts [15] — Andrew Luck's lacerated kidney, among other ailments, will force him to miss at least a month. Matt Hasselbeck played well in two starts earlier this season, but he's the oldest QB in the league, and you wonder how long he can sustain that level of play.

18. Green Bay Packers [5] — Aaron Rodgers threw a career-high 61 passes this weekend, but for only 333 yards (5.46/att). Davante Adams was targeted 21 times, and caught 10 passes for 79 yards. That's under 4 yards per target, and how does a wide receiver — in a Mike McCarthy-Aaron Rodgers offense — average 7.9 yards per reception? The Packers haven't had a 100-yard receiver since Week 3.

I haven't heard anyone mention this ... the Packers wasted their last timeout on a failed two-point conversion. Would an extra :15, or the freedom to use the middle of the field, have been enough to get Mason Crosby into range? I tend to think yes.

19. Chicago Bears [21] — Jay Cutler threw two 80-yard touchdown passes, and put two players over 100 yards receiving. What's interesting is that neither 100-yard receiver was a WR; it was RB Jeremy Langford and TE Zach Miller. It's the first time two non-WR teammates have gained 100 receiving yards in the same game since October 2011: TE Joel Dreessen (5 rec, 112 yds, TD) and RB Arian Foster (5 rec, 116 yds) in the Texans' 25-20 loss to Oakland.

20. Houston Texans [24] — Brian Hoyer, T.J. Yates, doesn't matter. When they win, they win with defense. An exchange from the fourth quarter:

Mike Tirico: "This is their best tackling game by a wide margin, here."

Jon Gruden: "A wide margin."

The Texans are 0-5 when they allow more than 20 points, 4-0 when they allow 20 or fewer.

21. Washington [19] — Kirk Cousins had a perfect passer rating against New Orleans: 20-of-25, 324 yds, 4 TDs, 158.3 rating. Washington is 4-1 at home, 0-4 away. Per ESPN, Cousins averaged 3.3 air yards per attempt Sunday, and Washington receivers gained over 200 yards after catch.

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [23] — Beat the Cowboys without Tony Romo. But the Bucs were missing Vincent Jackson, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and Jacquies Smith. They won with defense, shutting down Darren McFadden and forcing the Cowboys to pass.

23. Dallas Cowboys [27] — Tony Romo is expected back next week, and not a moment too soon. Jimmy Johnson said a couple times on FOX this weekend that the Cowboy defense has blown games, that "one more stop" in each of several games could have Dallas first place in the NFC East. He's not wrong, but come on, the Cowboys' offense is why they're losing. Against the Bucs, they had 216 yards, 12 first downs, and 6 points. They've been held without a touchdown in three of the last five games.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars [28] — The NFL has admitted that officials missed a game-ending penalty that should have saved the win for Baltimore. I realize the Jags (technically) won this week, but it's been nine games, and they have only one rushing touchdown.

25. San Diego Chargers [25] — Dealing with a ton of injuries; hopefully they'll return from the bye week closer to full strength.

26. New Orleans Saints [20] — Fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Senior defensive assistant Dennis Allen, the former head coach of the Raiders, is expected to replace Ryan. Allen coached the Saints' secondary when they won Super Bowl XLIV, and he served one season as the Broncos' defensive coordinator.

27. Atlanta Falcons [26] — Opened 4-0. Since then, they're 2-3, against a weak schedule (WAS, NO, TEN, TB, SF) that combines for a 17-29 record. The Falcons have fallen apart, and despite their easy remaining schedule, it's hard to see them as a serious wild card contender.

28. Detroit Lions [32] — Averaged 1.7 yards per carry. Joique Bell (14 att, 17 yds), Ameer Abdullah (5 att, 15 yds), and Theo Riddick (3 att, 1 yd) combined for a 1.5 average on 22 rushes. The Lions are last in the NFL in rushing, 602 yards (66.9/gm). They're also last in rushing first downs (24) and percentage of rushes that create first downs (13.6%). They're second-to-last in rushing TDs (2) and third-to-last in rushing average (3.42).

29. Baltimore Ravens [22] — Committed four turnovers against a Jacksonville defense that only had seven takeaways in the first eight games combined. Baltimore is -10 in turnover differential, tied with Detroit for worst in the NFL.

30. San Francisco 49ers [30] — Offense looked better with Blaine Gabbert last week, but I'm still pretty skeptical that Gabbert has improved enough to make this an average offense. He'll have an awfully tough test in Week 11, at Seattle.

31. Tennessee Titans [29] — Defense played well intermittently, sacking Cam Newton 5 times and forcing 4 straight punts at one point. But it wasn't consistent, and the offense was totally ineffective. Tennessee scored on a 25-yard touchdown, but never ran a play in the red zone.

32. Cleveland Browns [31] — Five straight losses, including four in a row by double-digits, and the last two both by 21 points. They were a bad team even without injury problems, and now they're terrible.