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Jarrett Bailey

2023 NFL power rankings, Week 11: Texans climb into top 10

We;re halfway through November, and well over half of the NFL still has a reasonable chance at playoff spots. The AFC North remains completely above .500, and the AFC South has two strong teams. How do they all currently stack up against one another? Here are the Week 11 power rankings

32. New York Giants

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Last Week: 32

It’s a shame Tommy DeVito’s mom couldn’t buy him a win. Or a remotely close game. It certainly looks like the Giants will be in the Caleb Williams sweepstakes.

31. New England Patriots

(Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Last Week: 29

Mac Jones threw the worst interception you’ll ever see, and then Bailey Zappe said “Hold my beer.” Switching from Jones to Zappe is like switching from Mountain Dew to Mello Yello- they are the same person, and the Patriots are doomed.

30. Carolina Panthers

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Last Week: 30

I would spend pay-per-view type prices to not have to watch another down of the Panthers’ offense this season. And by the looks of it, so would Bryce Young.

29. Arizona Cardinals

(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

Last Week: 31

Kyler Murray is back, and is already doing Kyler Murray things- scrambling around, extending plays, and leading game-winning drives. If the Cardinals to decide to keep him, pairing him with Marvin Harrison Jr. (Or Tee Higgins in free agency? Eyeball emoji) should be a top priority.

28. Tennessee Titans

(Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 26

Are the Titans the most boring team in football? The Patriots may be bad and boring, but at least there’s something thrilling about watching the empire fall. The Titans have nothing entertaining about them, save for Tyjae Spears when he gets his touches.

27. Green Bay Packers

Syndication: The Post-Crescent

Last Week: 27

There were holes for Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris big enough to build a new Primanti Brothers restaurant. The Packers cannot stop anybody in the run game.

26. Chicago Bears

(Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 28

Wait, I stand corrected- the Bears are the most boring team in the league. Everyone who watched their Thursday night game with the Panthers should be entitled to financial compensation.

25. Atlanta Falcons

(Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 24

I look forward to Arthur Smith scheming plays where a backup tackle reports as eligible and is the No. 1 read while Kyle Pitts blocks and Bijan Robinson is on the sideline- a real offensive genius at work.

24. Washington Commanders

(Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 21

The Commanders don’t have the best record, but I’d argue Sam Howell is the most talented quarterback from the 2022 draft class, and they give teams hell every week.

23. Denver Broncos

(Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 25

The Broncos earned a big win over a Bills team that needed a win desperately. They are still alive in a very deep AFC.

22. New Orleans Saints

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Last Week: 19

The Saints might be at the top of the bad teams pyramid. Even at 5-5, this team is not to be taken seriously. Right now, they’re playing for the right to get dominated at home by the Cowboys in the Wildcard round.

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

(Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 22

Jigsaw couldn’t come up with a more torturous trap than watching an NFC South team play for three hours. The Buccaneers topped the Titans, but my Lord, was that an uneventful time. Mike Evans is still great, though.

20. Los Angeles Rams

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The 3-6 record would usually signify a team should be lower, but if it was Matthew Stafford under center against Green Bay, they are just a game under .500 and still in the hunt for a Wildcard appearance. Now, it’s much harder.

19. New York Jets

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Last Week: 16

Remember in Semi-Pro when Jackie Moon blocked Scootsie Doubleday’s shot to prevent the Flint Tropics from scoring another point because he promised free corndogs to the crowd if they scored 125 points without even having corndogs? That’s what Ty Conklin did to Garrett Wilson on the hail mary to end the game.

18. Las Vegas Raiders

(Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 23

If Antonio Pierce doesn’t get the full-time job in Las Vegas, something is wrong, and there will be a protest aimed at Mark Davis. The Raiders went from laughing stock with a numbskull head coach and subpar pretty boy at quarterback to a .500 record and vying for a playoff spot in the matter of two weeks.

17. Indianapolis Colts

(Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 20

The Colts are Yosemite Sam- crazy, unhinged, and fun. The game in Germany may not have been the best embodiment of that, but they’ve put up points like crazy this season (entered the week scoring the seventh most points/gam) and Shane Steichen has this team in the hunt even without Anthony Richardson.

16. Pittsburgh Steelers

(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 17

The Steelers are likely going to be a playoff team, which is great. They will also likely get their brakes blown off if they think having a quarterback go 14-of-23 for 126 yards will get them past the Wildcard round.

15. Los Angeles Chargers

(Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 14

That was a pretty typical Chargers’ loss. Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen play like Batman and Robin, but what good is it when The Joker is your head coach and defensive play-caller?

14. Cleveland Browns

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Last Week: 15

What a comeback that was by Cleveland. Now, they need to take care of business at home against a Steelers team they lost to in Week 2 to get to 7-3.

13. Minnesota Vikings

(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Last Week: 13

I seriously don’t know how Josh Dobbs keeps doing this, but if the Vikings do decide to not pursue a future with Kirk Cousins, they seem to have a guy in the building for 2024.

12. Seattle Seahawks

(Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 12

The Seahawks continue to get little to no attention, but they are 6-3 and continue to take care of business. They face the 49ers twice in the next month- those games will determine the NFC West.

11. Buffalo Bills

(Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 8

No team goes out of their way to make everything as hard as possible quite like the Buffalo Bills. If they continue to play like this against the Eagles, Chiefs, and Cowboys, they’ll miss the playoffs altogether.

10. Houston Texans

(Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 13

To quote Big Sean, “This is not a drill, this the real thing.”

C.J. Stroud isn’t just the best rookie quarterback in the league, he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league, period. Houston may not have many superstars, but the results don’t lie. At 5-4, and with an easy remaining schedule, they look like a team that will be in the playoffs.

9. Jacksonville Jaguars

Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports

Last Week: 5

Every team has a burn the tape game- that was Jacksonville’s. Take it in, move on, and get back on the horse, because Houston is right behind you.

8. Miami Dolphins

(Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 7

The Dolphins face a hungry Raiders team this week in Miami. All due respect to the Raiders, Miami should win this handedly.

7. Dallas Cowboys

(Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 10

That was the most complete game the Cowboys have played in a long time. CeeDee Lamb continues to be the Grim Reaper, Brandin Cooks had a huge game, Michael Gallup was heavily involved, and Dak Prescott had five total touchdowns.

6. San Francisco 49ers

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Last Week: 9

That was quite the way to end a three-game skid. Chase Young and Nick Bosa are already making miserable music for opposing linemen, and Deebo Samuel showed how much valuable he is in his return.

5. Baltimore Ravens

(Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 3

The Ravens are the Chargers, but if they actually won more games. They have blown so many big leads over the past two seasons- Miami last season, Buffalo last season, Pittsburgh this year, and now Cleveland. Now they have the Bengals on the horizon. A two-game losing streak could be in their future.

4. Cincinnati Bengals

Syndication: The Enquirer

Last Week: 4

The Bengals lost to a good Texans team in a thriller. That said, if Tyler Boyd catches the ball in the end zone, they win. They are still as dangerous as anyone in football, and I think they beat Baltimore on Thursday.

3. Detroit Lions

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Last Week: 6

Detroit is 7-2, and they have shown they can win in multiple ways. Their defense is capable of shouldering more of the load if the offense is struggling, and their offense is capable of scoring 41 points against another high-scoring offense. They are the definition of a complimentary team. An NFC Championship Game in Detroit would feed families.

2. Kansas City Chiefs

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Last Week: 2

The Chiefs, and the No. 1 team, were idle this week as they gear up to face one another next week on Monday Night Football.

1. Philadelphia Eagles

(Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)

Last Week: 1

And now, the week-long conversation about the Super Bowl rematch begins.

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