Week 10 2018 NFL Power Rankings Saints of New Orleans climb to top 3



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For the first time since week 3, we have a new number 1.

The Saints, winners of seven consecutive games, not only made the Rams lose their first loss of the season Sunday, but chased them out of the Power Rankings penthouse. New Orleans was ranked No. 3 in the pre-season, then dropped to No. 9 before climbing the ladder regularly.

How did your team rank among the 32 before the season? Our NFL Nation reporters look at the Power Rankings before the season and the positive or negative results of the 10th week.

How We Rank: Our group of experts – a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities – evaluated the teams' performance during the first nine weeks of the season.

Previous ranking: 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Preseason

Pre-season rank: 3 | Week 9: 3

Expectations were obviously high for the saints to begin with. But they have passed them so far by proving that they can win with different styles during a brutal sequence of three games (slugfests coming from behind in Baltimore and Minnesota, then a 45-35 home run versus the Rams). It's useful for Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas to prepare one of the best "triplet" seasons in NFL history. – Mike Triplett

Pre-season rank: 11 | Week 9: 2

Patrick Mahomes was better than expected. The leaders were convinced that he would end up playing well, but not right away. In nine games, Mahomes has 29 touchdowns, a record distance from the team. – Adam Teicher

Pre-season rank: 6 | Week 9: 1

The Rams had to have a big season after adding three All-Pros to Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters and Ndamukong Suh in defense, and the offensive added quick receiver Brandin Cooks. At 8-1, it is safe to say that the Rams have exceeded expectations, especially in attack. Todd Gurley II pleads in favor of MVP as he leads the league in rushing yards and touchdowns, and the addition of Cooks has provided a consistent deep balloon threat to Jared Goff. – Lindsey Thiry

Pre-season rank: 2 | Week 9: 4

A brace was not unexpected, partly because Julian Edelman was serving a four-game suspension in the NFL and the Patriots had struggled at the start of the season in recent years, but that's not all. is the main reason why the club has had two matches. -Increased pre-season expectations. But the credit also goes to the Rams and Chiefs, two teams that have far exceeded expectations, even if the Patriots suffered their only defeat of the season. – Mike Reiss

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Pre-season rank: 10 | Week 9: 5

The Chargers are a little ahead of what they were supposed to be in the pre-season, thanks to Philip Rivers playing perhaps his best professional football. He completed 67% of his passes for 2,238 yards and 19 touchdowns, and he only made three interceptions. Rivers did a good job staying steady and playing by himself, letting the game play. – Eric Williams

Pre-season rank: 12 | Week 9: 6

Before the season, it was unclear whether Cam Newton would be able to become an effective passer, Norv Turner thought that he could do it with a 58.5 career success rate. And there was uncertainty as to whether an offensive line decimated by injuries in a training camp could hold up. Newton far exceeded expectations, completing 67.3% of his passes and scoring 15 touchdowns with just four interceptions. The line has played so well that one wonders about the position of the left tackle Matt Kalil, since he can come back from the injured reserve. – David Newton

Pre-season rank: 5 | Week 9: 7

The Steelers are down slightly from their pre-season spot, which is not surprising given their 1-2-1 start after the screenings for a season with at least 10 wins. But Pittsburgh looks like a competitor because of an improved defense, one of the best offensives in the league for the red zone and an offensive line that makes everything move. – Jeremy Fowler

Pre-season rank: 4 | Week 9: 8

With a new quarter entering a new offense, there were inevitably bumps on the road. Kirk Cousins ​​sometimes exceeded expectations, but he also had growth problems. The match should be better, but the injuries inflicted on Dalvin Cook and the difficulties encountered by the offensive line have hurt production. With Cook back, Minnesota's hasty attack has the explosive spark that he lacked. In total, accumulating five wins before the 10th week is something the Vikings are naturally proud of, given the brutal extent of the games they faced in the first nine weeks. – Courtney Cronin

Pre-season rank: 1 | Week 9: 9

For Philly, the hangover of the Super Bowl was real. Persistent injuries (Alshon Jeffery, Tim Jernigan) from last season mixed with new ones (Rodney McLeod, Mike Wallace, Jay Ajayi) to exhaust a championship roster that had little time to recover from the long run . The offensive went from Nick Foles to Carson Wentz in the third week. She has not managed to do it all – perhaps adapting to the loss of offensive coordinator Frank Reich and quarterback coach John DeFilippo. The Eagles broke the .500 record at the break, hoping that the second half of the season will treat them more nicely. – Tim McManus

Pre-season rank: 26 | Week 9: 14

The Bears were a surprise because the defense is still playing better than expected – and it's with Khalil Mack who has missed the last two games due to an ankle injury. In addition, the Chicago offensive is slowly increasing under quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who has limited his mistakes over the past two weeks. – Jeff Dickerson

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1:40

Field Yates, Matthew Berry and Stephania Bell discuss Demaryius Thomas pedestrian day against his former team, but they think the wide receiver will still have a bright future ahead of him.

Pre-season rank: 15 | Week 9: 16

Although the Texans made a bad start, they are a little better than we thought through nine matches. Houston is a very talented team but sometimes has trouble staying consistent throughout an entire match. But even with an easy schedule in the last six games (all won), the Texans have beaten teams they should beat. Houston is still led by its impressive defense, but that was the case in the past. In the end, the team will go as far as Deshaun Watson. – Sarah Barshop

Pre-season rank: 27 | Week 9: 12

Most pre-season projections predicted a defeat for the Bengals. They have already exceeded expectations thanks to a new attack and the emergence of wide receiver Tyler Boyd. However, their defense was much more difficult than expected this year and the injuries hit the team hard. Although they have already won five games, it could be a battle to stay in the thick of it unless they are in good health. – Katherine Terrell

Pre-season rank: 8 | Week 9: 11

The lack of talent of some putrid pre-project classes, combined with an offensive plan that seems outdated, has caught up with the Packers. And the quarterback did not play very well either. Yes, Aaron Rodgers has 15 touchdowns and one interception, but he has not been as sharp as in the past. This is seen in his percentage achievement (60.6, at the pace of the lowest of his career) and in his ranking smuggler (98.9, almost 5 points below his career average). – Rob Demovsky

Pre-season rank: 19 | Week 9: 13

Well, the problem is that, even with an improved ranking, the injuries made it hard to say that Washington is really improved. The Redskins placed three starters in the injured reserve on Monday (guards Brandon Scherff and Shawn Lauvao and receiver Paul Richardson). However, the Redskins were better in the standings largely thanks to better defense – especially against running – solid play (thanks to Adrian Peterson) and a lack of turnovers. It's hard to think that after the 24-point loss to Atlanta on Sunday, but that's the formula that they used to score at 5-3. – John Keim

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1:31

Domonique Foxworth asks if his former team needs a new coach.

Pre-season rank: 21 | Week 9: ten

The Ravens are better in power rankings than expected, but Baltimore remains stuck in mediocrity. After a good start, Baltimore lost three times in a row to fall to 4-5. Quarterback Joe Flacco struggled to put the offensive in the end zone and the NFL's top-ranked defense suddenly seemed vulnerable. The Ravens seem to be on the verge of reaching the playoffs before being defeated. That's why Baltimore is constantly at the center of the NFL squad. – Jamison Hensley

Pre-season rank: 9 | Week 9: 17

The Falcons fell below expectations and started 1-4 mostly due to injuries. They currently have six starters in the injured reserve, although linebacker De Pro Jones, from the Pro Bowl midfield, is back in two weeks. Still, the Falcons – behind a worthy MVP show from Matt Ryan – have managed to win three straight wins and are back in the playoff race. – Vaughn McClure

Pre-season rank: 17 | Week 9: 15

The Seahawks looked like a .500 team after being re-equipped out of season, which made them leave the field. Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett and Jimmy Graham have not missed as much as expected. And they seemed to be better than a .500 team in a warm first half, in which they had four wins out of five and almost annoyed the Rams. Yet 500 are where they are after the defeat against the Chargers on Sunday. – Brady Henderson

Pre-season rank: 32 | Week 9: 19

The 15 interceptions, one of the best in the league, have allowed the Dolphins to remain competitive in the AFC playoffs. Despite the growing number of injuries involving Ryan Tannehill and others, the Dolphins far exceeded the ESPN standings, which ranked them as the worst NFL team in the pre-season. This team is extremely incoherent, but the main defensive game makers such as Xavien Howard and Kiko Alonso have allowed the Fins to feast against smaller opponents. They are the second best team in East Africa and are much closer to the average than the bad ones. – Cameron Wolfe

Pre-season rank: 7 | Week 9: 18

There is not enough room to tackle everything, but the most important issues are the QB game and injuries. Blake Bortles is very inconsistent, turns the ball too much (11 times in eight games) and needs the things around him to be perfect for the offensive to be effective. The Jaguars are injured on their third and left rope. In addition, Leonard Fournette played in the first half of two games only because of a sore hamstring injury. As a result, the offense has sometimes been marginal. – Mike DiRocco

Pre-season rank: 14 | Week 9: 22

There is still time for the Titans to get back on track at the start of the season. It all comes down to Marcus Mariota and the offensive. Matt LaFleur must give pace to Mariota and replicate its fourth quarter performance. No quarterback has led his team on more winning discs (six) than Mariota in the last two years. The defense will always keep Tennessee in the games, but can the offensive score points? – Turron Davenport

Pre-season rank: 13 | Week 9: 21

The Cowboys got into the season thinking that they could replace Jason Witten and Dez Bryant with a committee approach, and that did not work, especially with the wide receiver. That's why Dallas gave up a first-round pick in 2019 to acquire Amari Cooper. The Cowboys also felt that their offensive line, consisting of three professional players, would play better. but Travis Frederick did not play bad weather this season because of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and the group did not play regularly enough, resulting in a change of coach at the station. Finally, there is the lack of success outside the house: the Cowboys were 12-4 from home during the first two years of Dak Prescott, and they equaled their total losses until they reached the home. now this season. – Todd Archer

Pre-season rank: 20 | Week 9: 20

Lions are, in many ways, what we thought we would be at the beginning of the season – although the way they got here, at 3-5 and gone down, was a surprise. The defense, which seemed to be the weakness of Detroit, has withstood the pass (less in the race). The Lions found an execution game, but Matthew Stafford and the passing game were inconsistent. It was not thought that this team would be a candidate at the start of the season and, especially after escaping against the Golden Tate, she should not be one either. – Michael Rothstein

Pre-season rank: 29 | Week 9: 24

The Colts had a better start than expected. Andrew Luck eliminated the rust (after missing all of last season) by scoring 23 touchdowns. The offensive line, which played an important role in Luck and missed 26 games from 2015 to 2017, played nearly four straight games without giving up a sack, while also playing a role in the Colts' victory. at least 220 yards. two games. Finally, rookie linebacker Darius Leonard, who leads the NFL in tackles (88), also forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles. – Mike Wells

Pre-season rank: 22 | Week 9: 23

The Broncos are close to their pre – season standings, but they simply made too many mistakes at key moments of the matches. (See: 10 INT by QB Case Keenum and 21 with penalty in attack – third total in the league.) During a season when they played four games against teams with at least six wins, they did not play. have not been good enough to overcome these mistakes. They lost all four games by a total of 16 points, with the penalties costing them at least seven points in a three-point loss to the Rams. – Jeff Legwold

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1:43

Tim Hasselbeck, Ryan Clark and Adam Schefter explain what Buccaneers should do with Jameis Winston.

Pre-season rank: 25 | Week 9: 25

The Bucs are ranked where they deserve to be. They lack stability at the quarterback position, while Jameis Winston is in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick, although that did not slow them down. The defense is where are their real problems. They fired defensive coordinator Mike Smith after the 6th week. Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, safety group Chris Conte and linebacker Kwon Alexander are both in recovery. Kendell Beckwith, who has not yet played this season after an off-season car accident, forced him to undergo an operation on his ankle. – Jenna Laine

Pre-season rank: 31 | Week 9: 26

They are up because they've won two games, which is for the Browns a step ahead of 2016 without a win. But if they do not finish the skidding, they lost four games in a row, very difficult to stop considering the timing – their end-of-season rankings could be lower than pre-season forecasts. – Pat McManamon

Pre-season rank: 30 | Week 9: 27

The Jets are slightly ahead of their pre-season rankings, but that does not say much. In fact, they played a notch below expectations, which came after a dominant victory in Detroit in the first week. The reason: Sam Darnold's growing pains are sharper than anyone could have imagined (14 interceptions at the top of the league). – Rich Cimini

Pre-season rank: 16 | Week 9: 31

The 49ers are in free fall after the devastating injuries of LCA's Jimmy Garoppolo and RB Jerick McKinnon. Of course, the 49ers have their share of problems to solve, whatever their health problems, but losing your starting quarter and return for the rest of the season, just three weeks, is a rather fast way to reach a season disappointing. The injury virus did not stop there either, as the Niners also dealt with a series of short-term problems from week to week. The Niners are 1-4 in single-possession games this season, including three losses of three points or less. – Nick Wagoner

Pre-season rank: 23 | Week 9: 29

Nobody really thought that a rehearsal of the season 3-13 of last year was possible with a new coach, with the addition of Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. back in the formation. But it was. In fact, the Giants are about to finish with a worse record right now with only one win after eight games. – Jordan Raanan

Pre-season rank: 24 | Week 9: 30

The Cardinals believed that they would go like Sam Bradford, and that came to fruition. Bradford struggled in three starts with a total of 400 passing yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions, before hitting rookie Josh Rosen. Nobody expected the cardinals' offense to be as bad as it was. That was part of Bradford and the misuse of RB David Johnson by Mike McCoy. All this adds to the fact that the cardinals are well below expectations. – Josh Weinfuss

Pre-season rank: 28 | Week 9: 28

Nathan Peterman is what we thought we were and the bills are the ones we thought we were. Since Josh Allen's last touchdown in a Titans Week 5 win, the Bills have made more selections (three) than touchdowns (two). Peterman launched two of these pick-six; Derek Anderson was responsible for the other. – Mike Rodak

Pre-season rank: 18 | Week 9: 31

Was not Jon Gruden just supposed to give the Raiders a new scrub, polishing foundations like Khalil Mack, Bruce Irvin, Derek Carr and Amari Cooper? Gruden instead pressed the detonation button – Carr is all that remains of the four – in the latest deconstruction / rebuilding project put in place before the team moved to Las Vegas in 2020. While offense showed a glimpse of Gruden's offense on the west coast, the defense threatens to be the worst in franchise history. – Paul Gutierrez

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