NFL rankings: Who's the best 1-loss team right now?

Heading into Week 11 of the NFL season, only three teams remain with a single game in the L column. But not all one-loss teams are created, and so are the nation's best writers have vastly differing opinions on which team is truly the best.

Who's the best one-loss team, and why?

Christian: It's gotta be the New Orleans Saints, even with their MASH unit of a receiving body. They've got the best quarterback (with apologies to Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff) in Drew Brees. He's not only putting up the best numbers of his career – a 21: 1 TD-INT ratio along with an absolutely wild 77.3 percent completion rate – but he can also claim 100 percent of the playoff wins among the group. The fact that he's done this with Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and a lineup of Madden.

The New Orleans Defense is Rounding Into Its Making, Making Week 1's performance against the Buccaneers look like a real aberration. Cameron Jordan is on pace for another double-digit sack season. Marshon Lattimore is returning to the Bowl form (albeit a little slower than the Saints had hoped). So far, that group has held three different opponents to 300 total yards of offense or fewer.

Plus, the Saints have the season's best win – a 45-35 victory over the Rams. Maybe their defense is not up to the task, but 2018 seems intent on proving defense does not matter. The Saints did not go to LA in Week 9, and that's all the evidence.

Charles: I think the Kansas City Chiefs are the best one-loss team in the league because they've been able to keep up their explosive offensive while facing some of the tougher defenses in the league. They were able to score on the Browns, Seahawks, Cardinals, Jaguars and Chargers in a multitude of ways. Even in games where Patrick Mahomes was not throwing for 400 yards and five touchdowns, like the game against the Jaguars, they were still able to put up 30+ points.

The defense has been developed into a bend-don't-break unit after giving up an amount of money at the beginning of the year. Since giving up 43 to the Patriots, they've allowed 10, 23, 21, and 14 points in the four games since. They've also been getting the amount of turnovers and sacks they're getting, too – they currently rank 11th in turnovers and 15th sack percentage. These numbers will not blow you away, but it will not be easy to get a grip on the subject.

Christian: Counterpoint! Those four games were against the Bengals, Broncos, Browns, and Cardinals and the Chiefs STILL rank 29th in the league in yardage allowed. The broke-bad Lions and Titans held the Patriots to 20 combined points while the Chiefs gave up 43, which seems … problematic.

Charles: I do not think yardage is a good way to look at defense anymore. This is 2018, we do not use volume stats. Their defense is seventh in opposing the net, which is the pbading statistic that correlates the most with the NFL.

So while the defense can be used in TV, they are improving drastically in the stats that matter most.

Adam: Hello there, let's talk about only team that looks the same offensively every week. There are only two times the Los Angeles Rams did not score between 33-39 points:

1. When they had 270 rushing yards against the Broncos and ate all the clock in a 23-20 win.

2. When Todd Gurley decided not to score against the packers to preserve a 29-27 win.

If we're looking for consistency, we're looking for an elite offense. The Saints and Chiefs have each had a couple less convincing weeks.

Charles: They did not allow the Derek Carr-led Raiders to score more than one point, but I digress.

Christian: and They would have lost to the Packers if not for Ty Montgomery screwing up so badly that he'd be traded later.

Which team has the best chance to win?

Christian: The Saints still have two games against the Panthers, which looked a lot more intimidating before the Steelers hollowed them out and wore them like a mask in Thursday's 52-21 win. This is a double date because of between 15 days and 17 days with Pittsburgh.

Conversely, if the Rams get past the Chiefs next week The only outlier in the lineup is the Bears, who can not actually be good at leading the NFC North. Kansas City's Seahawks, Chargers (pretty good this year!), And probably-desperate Ravens to close out the season.

So yeah, LA got it easiest from here on out. If the Rams win Monday night, they could go 15-1 and force New Orleans into the mild inconvenience of playing a neutral field game on the West Coast.

Charles: I'm going to go with the Chiefs. If they can get past the Rams on Monday night, they have two games against the Raiders, a game against a possible Lamar Jackson-led Ravens squad, and games against the Chargers and the Seahawks.

Christian: There is no lack of luck in Lamar Jackson-led Ravens team, Joe Flacco, and the Chargers and Seahawks are sneaky great this year.

Adam: It's gotta be whoever wins that Rams-Chiefs game in Mexico. If it 's the Rams, it' s probably safe to say the 49ers and Cardinals will not fight against the Rams in the last two weeks, nor will the Lions to begin December. It really does come down to the wildly up-and-down Eagles.

Charles: That's a good point about the Rams schedule. I might lean that way now that I think about it. The Saints are interesting too, but I think they might drop one of those games against the Panthers.

Which team had the worst loss and why?

Christian: The Rams lost to the Saints, who are good! The Chiefs lost to the Patriots, who are the Patriots. The Saints lost to Ryan Fitzpatrick and gave up 48 points in the process. Fortunately, this was way back in Week 1, but anyone who wants to roast New Orleans on that one is not going to get any argument there.

Charles: Yea, gotta give that one to New Orleans. There was a time when the Bucs loss did not look terrible, but that team has completely imploded. It was in Week 1, but still.

Christian: Even if we're chalking that up to #FitzMagic, it's tough to excuse.

Adam: 529 yards allowed in that one! Yeah, that loss to the Bucs makes the Saints the easy consensus here.

What's each team's biggest vulnerability?

Christian: I'll concede to Charles 'point the Chiefs' bend-don't-break defense is getting better, but it's not like Kansas City has had a challenging 43 points to the Pats. In their last four games, the Chiefs have two rookie quarterbacks (Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield), Case Keenum, and a Marvin Lewis-led team. I'm not sold.

Plus, is the Chiefs a weakness in itself? History suggests this gentle stream ends with a raging waterfall that cascades down to a 48-41 Divisional Round loss.

As for the Rams, Cooper Kupp (89 yards, 1 TD vs. NO) is out for the season with a torn ACL. And great veteran quarterbacks have done pretty well against them, whether it's Brees' 346-yard, four-touchdown gold performance Aaron Rodgers falling one fumbled kickoff back short of a game-winning drive.

More, do we know what Sean McVay can do in the postseason yet? His only playoff appearance saw him stuck at 13 points against the Falcons in last year's Wild Card round.

Ultimately, I think the Saints' unfinished business from last year's playoffs – losing on the Minnesota Miracle, somehow – gives them a little more pissed-off motivation than the stretching L.A. or Kansas City's similarly-embarrbading playoff exits.

Adam: The thing that makes me worried about the Saints – the fact that their wide receiving body is Michael Thomas and … uh … nobody else – is that the defense does not make many plays. Yards are not a big deal in 2018, but if you're going to get into shootouts every week, you need to create chaos. The Rams and Chiefs are top 10 in sacks, the Saints are 25th.

Cameron Jordan is a good player, but he does not wreak havoc the way someone like Aaron Donald. Not even close.

Charles: I think the biggest hit is their cornerback play. As Michael Thomas showed on the game-clinching touchdown against the Rams, Marcus Peters is not exactly the corner he used to be – whether he's playing injured or not. The Rams rank 25th in opposing It's Aaron Donald versus the world for them on the defense right now … which is not the worst strategy. But even Donald needs some help from the secondary.

The Saints have an interesting dynamic with their pbad defense as well. They rank 29th in opposite of the previous year, but they do not matter which way they dominate. Every week it feels like the Saints' pbad defense is going to break down and lose a game for them, but Brees has been n good that they've been able to overcome it. Offense reigns supreme in 2018 and the Saints have the most clear example of that.

Christian: Guys, guys, guys, it's not like the Saints have a history of catastrophic failures from their side in important games or anything.

Charles: I would laugh at the Saints for their defense failing them in big games, but unfortunately I'm an Atlanta Falcons fan.

Adam: The Rams adding Dante Fowler might make a big difference, honestly. As overrated as he is, he's good for a game, and his one big time against the Seahawks. The Rams is still a problem, but Donald, Suh, Brockers and Fowler are going to get chances to cause problems.

Christian: But it might not matter, because Marcus Peters could get spooked by a quick slant and get burned for a 67-yard touchdown in the two seconds between the ball being snapped and Aaron Donald crashing into the pocket.

Adam: Is that that different than the Chiefs' version of Marcus Peters? He's pretty much always having an opportunistic player who makes the turnovers, but does not exactly lock the receivers down.

Charles: His style definitely does not look good when the turnovers are not coming. Still wonder how much the injury is slowing him.

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Who's your pick for the best one-loss team in the NFL right now?