It was a crazy week in the NFL as teams playing in the early timeslot just couldn't seem to put it together, even though they were likely favored to win.
Of course, most of those teams were losers anyway. But there were a few teams in the Rankings that didn't really show up, although a couple of them were playing each other and that makes things more difficult.
Also, the Monday night survival by Pittsburgh brings them back into the fold and knocks Cleveland out. Hey, they lost to the Texans. You can't lose to the Texans (who have one good player) and expect to stay here.
Here are the Rankings for Week 11:
1.) Arizona (9-1) [no change]
Drew Stanton threw two TD's in the first quarter. That was enough to beat Detroit and keep the #1 spot here.
Next opponent: at Seattle (11/23)
2.) New England (8-2) [no change]
Forget about Brady being bad on the road against winning teams, at least for this week. He and the Pats went into Indy and blew out the Colts. Even if the first half performance left something to be desired, the second half more than made up for it. Gronkowski has been great, which surely helps.
Next opponent: vs. Detroit (11/23)
3.) Green Bay (7-3) [+5]
They started slow and had an inexplicable loss at New Orleans, but other than that, the Packers have been blowing people out and have surely had a lot of fun doing it. They're the class of the NFC North and look like a surefire #2 seed.
Next opponent: at Minnesota (11/23)
4.) Kansas City (7-3) [+6]
I don't want to say something silly like "the Chiefs are a revelation"! We saw that this team can be good under certain circumstances. They may be setting offensive football back about a generation (alongside every team in the NFC West), but they're successful and they're not entirely boring to watch thanks to Jamaal Charles running over and around everybody. And while they may be ahead of Denver for the moment, the Broncos still have the tiebreaker and are the better team regardless of what they did (or didn't do) this week.
Next opponent: at Oakland (11/20)
5.) Dallas (7-3) [+1]
Why did the Cowboys move up while on a bye, back into the top 5 where they most likely do not belong? Because three of five teams ahead of them lost. That's why.
Next opponent: at NY Giants (11/23)
6.) Philadelphia (7-3) [-3]
It was inevitable that Sanchez would fall back to earth. As dramatically as he did on Sunday? Well...maybe not, but that's what happened, and that's how the "narrative" will go for this week and maybe beyond.
Next opponent: vs. Tennessee (11/23)
7.) Detroit (7-3) [-3]
Matthew Stafford is not a great QB. Is he a good QB? Probably. But he's terrible on the road against good teams and Detroit is far from a lock to win their division thanks to the presence of the beasts in Lambeau. It's hard to project this team into the playoffs, even, thanks to what they did last season in blowing their chances.
Next opponent: at New England (11/23)
8.) Denver (7-3) [-3]
I don't know how much credit to give the Rams defense. It was a poor effort by Denver, who never really looked like they were in the game. What does that sound like? The Super Bowl they played against Seattle, of course. Pathetic.
Next opponent: vs. Miami (11/23)
9.) Pittsburgh (7-4) [-]
Not a good win on Monday, but every win counts equally. Le'Veon Bell was a beast while Roethlisberger was generally mediocre. I don't know how Tennessee blows that game, though, especially given the Steelers' struggles with crappy teams. But now the Steelers are back in provisionally.
Next opponent: vs. New Orleans (11/30)
10.) Indianapolis (6-4) [-3]
Another comprehensive dismantling, this time by the Pats. I'm not worried about the Colts because of the awful division they play in, though.
Next opponent: vs. Jacksonville (11/23)
That's all for this week, see you next week.
