The 2016 NFL season is 11 weeks into its schedule, and at this point, what fans really want to know is who’s better than who? The playoff picture is becoming clearer, as a handful of teams are emerging as true contenders. Yet a few other teams still look questionable. How do they stack up against the competition? Could they be Super Bowl teams or are they merely playoff hopefuls? Which teams are getting hot and which are sliding fast?
Take the analysis, previews, breakdowns and smack talk, and it boils down to a simple hierarchy: If any two given teams played, who would win? That’s what power rankings are all about, and that’s how the 32 NFL teams are slotted here each week.
https://vine.co/v/5tO5Ima1gxa
32. Cleveland Browns
Oh dear, Cleveland. I’m afraid this could be a thing. The New York Giants are not going to be a pushover, either, I’m afraid.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars
They put up a valiant fight in Detroit, but a 2-8 team is a 2-8 team—and almost not-losing to the Lions is a far less impressive non-accomplishment than some of the next few teams on this list just not-managed.
30. New York Jets
The Jets had a bye this week, but head coach Todd Bowles announced they’re going back to Ryan Fitzpatrick for absolutely no reason? Just about everybody but backup Bryce Petty probably wishes they could just skip to the end of the season right now.
29. Chicago Bears
The Bears made Eli Manning and company work for their 22-16 win. I gladly gave them a little bump over the Jets for their effort. But with Jay Cutler lost for the season due to a torn labrum, the outlook from here on in is grim.
28. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers battled the New England Patriots valiantly into the fourth quarter, but you can’t raise a “13-10 Fourth Quarter Deficit Against the Pats” banner, and for all the improvement on both sides of the ball over the past few weeks, the 49ers still can’t climb much higher than here on this list.
27. Cincinnati Bengals
What went so horribly wrong this team? After 11 weeks of not-quite-good-enough performances, the Bengals have lost wideout A.J. Green for the season. Now they’re just plain old not good enough.
26. Green Bay Packers
The Sunday Night Football disaster against Washington marked the end of any idea that these Packers are going to be able to flip a switch and be the Packers we all knew. Unless Aaron Rodgers throws 60 touchdowns in the last six games, this team is toast.
25. Los Angeles Rams
Somehow, after holding their last four opponents to a combined 50 points, Rams fans are mad at the defense for letting down rookie quarterback Jared Goff. After going 17-of-31 for 134 yards and no points, though, it doesn’t seem like the defense is the problem — and it doesn’t seem like Goff is going to fix what’s actually wrong, at least not this season.
24. Indianapolis Colts
Full credit to the Colts for upending the Tennessee Titans, when their season was on the line. For all the buzz the Titans had picked up over recent weeks, the Colts are now a half-game up on them, and just one game behind the division-leading Texans. Of course, all this mostly serves to prove none of the teams in this division are particularly strong.