It’s not every week you get to see a regular-season matchup between two teams with legitimate claims to “best in class,” and the Sunday tilt between the Rams and Saints didn’t disappoint.
Not only was it a thrilling shootout, but, according to our expert power-rankings panel, it also resulted in a new No. 1.
This week, the panel includes editors Geoff Lowe and Craig Battle, as well as staff writers Donnovan Bennett and Emily Sadler.
1. New Orleans Saints
2018 record: 7-1
Last week: 4
How much fun was the win over the Rams? Drew Brees playing at an MVP level, Alvin Kamara scorching L.A.’s defence, and Michael Thomas paying tribute to Joe Horn to cap off the most impressive win of the season for any team. The Saints are the NFL’s best, and they proved it Sunday. (GL)
2. Los Angeles Rams
2018 record: 8-1
Last week: 1
The league’s last remaining undefeated team has suffered its first loss at the hands of a worthy opponent in a thrilling offensive showdown that exposed a few flaws in the Rams’ secondary. Don’t be surprised if we see these teams meet up again in January. (Fingers crossed, football fans!) (ES)
3. New England Patriots
2018 record: 7-2
Last week: 2
This team has plenty of flaws (Cordarelle Patterson is their go-to rusher!!), but great coaching and execution has helped the Patriots win six straight. (GL)
4. Kansas City Chiefs
2018 record: 8-1
Last week: 3
The Chiefs’ offence rolled through Cleveland, with Kareem Hunt leading the charge in his hometown with a hat trick of touchdowns while Patrick Mahomes added to his MVP ballot with a career-high 375 passing yards. His 2,901 yards and 29 touchdowns on the season have him atop the league in both categories. (ES)
5. Los Angeles Chargers
2018 record: 6-2
Last week: 5
In the standings, this team is a contender, but we’re still trying to figure them out. They held on for a crucial win over the Seahawks on Sunday, but have yet to defeat an elite team this season. (ES)
6. Carolina Panthers
2018 record: 6-2
Last week: 6
Cam Newton’s 6–0 touchdown-to-interception ratio and combined 114.8 passer rating over the Panthers’ three-game win streak has them keeping pace with the red-hot Saints in the NFC South as they prepare for a Thursday-night matchup in Pittsburgh. (ES)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
2018 record: 5-2-1
Last week: 7
James Conner has recorded 10 TDs, the most ever by a Steelers player through the first eight games of a season. He’s the first player in NFL history with four games of 100-plus rushing yards, 50-plus receiving yards and a touchdown in a single year. Their “back-up” running back is a big reason they have three straight AFC North wins. (DB)
8. Minnesota Vikings
2018 record: 5-3-1
Last week: 8
The Vikings defence put up a franchise-record 10 sacks today against the Lions, which single handedly won them the game. Against the Lions the Vikings had fewer first downs than Detroit, lost the turnover battle and had a 13-minute disadvantage in time of possession, yet still won the game by double digits. (DB)
9. Chicago Bears
2018 record: 5-3
Last week: 9
The Bears somehow won with 190 yards of offence, which is the second-fewest all time for a team with 40-plus points in a game (the 1966 Rams gained 147 yards in a 41-point game). No franchise has won more games in the last 15 years while totalling 200 or fewer yards of offence than the Bears, who won their seventh game since 2003 while doing that in their 41–9 win over the Bills. (DB)
10. Houston Texans
2018 record: 6-3
Last week: 11
Last year around this time, Texans fans were mourning a lost season in the aftermath of Deshaun Watson’s devastating knee injury. A year later, the young quarterback is back at the top of his game — and the division’s standings — as the red-hot team hits a well-deserved bye week riding a six-game win streak. (ES)
11. Cincinnati Bengals
2018 record: 5-3
Last week: 10
A.J. Green is in a walking boot and will miss games with a toe injury. The Bengals’ defence will have to make up for his loss despite the fact they’ve allowed 1,608 total yards the last three games. And the schedule isn’t doing them any favours: Their next opponent is the surging New Orleans Saints. (DB)
12. Atlanta Falcons
2018 record: 4-4
Last week: 19
Matt Ryan registered his 50th game with 300-plus passing yards in Sunday’s win over Washington, and is quietly on pace for his best season yet despite the Falcons’ mediocre record. (ES)
13. Baltimore Ravens
2018 record: 4-5
Last week: 12
The Ravens’ third-straight loss sends them into the bye week at 4-5. During this streak their playmaking defence has fallen apart. Baltimore’s last interception came on Baker Mayfield’s third pass of their Week 5 match-up — 163 passing attempts ago. (DB)
14. Washington
2018 record: 5-3
Last week: 13
Sunday’s loss to the Falcons at home exposed this Washington team’s limits: If they fall behind and the defence isn’t at its best, the offence has no shot at getting them back in it. Now a rash of season-ending injuries have plagued the team as it attempts to hold on to the division lead. (GL)
15. Green Bay Packers
2018 record: 3-4-1
Last week: 14
The Packers have now fallen short of .500 at the midpoint of the season for three straight years. The biggest issue is they’re 0-4 on the road. The last time they went winless in their first four road games was 2005. (DB)
16. Philadelphia Eagles
2018 record: 4-4
Last week: 15
The bye week couldn’t have gone much better for the Eagles, who acquired a big piece for the offence in Golden Tate and saw both Washington and Dallas lose. (GL)
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17. Miami Dolphins
2018 record: 5-4
Last week: 18
It was far from pretty on Sunday – Miami’s only TD came from a Jerome Baker pick-six – but the Dolphins’ fifth win of the season keeps the team in the AFC wild-card conversation for now. (GL)
18. Seattle Seahawks
2018 record: 4-4
Last week: 16
Their touchdown celebrations are on point, but the Seahawks couldn’t enjoy a win Sunday against the Chargers in a game that went down to the final play. Things won’t get much easier in Week 10 with a visit to the Rams followed by a Thursday night date with the Packers. (ES)
19. Tennessee Titans
2018 record: 4-4
Last week: 20
October was cruel to the Titans, who hadn’t won a game since that OT victory over the Eagles on Sept. 30. That skid ended with Monday night’s road victory, and it keeps Tennessee within reach of Houston in the division with a big home game against New England up next. (GL)
20. Detroit Lions
2018 record: 3-5
Last week: 17
Without Golden Tate the Lions might have the worst offence in the league. The Lions averaged just three yards per play on Sunday, their lowest efficiency since 2010. Matthew Stafford was pressured on 35 per cent of his drop backs overall, his highest rate in a game this season. In addition to the 10 sacks, he was hit 17 times. Stafford went 0-7 when under duress, his most attempts without a completion under duress in his career. (DB)
21. Jacksonville Jaguars
2018 record: 3-5
Last week: 21
They went into the bye on a four-game losing streak and have found themselves at the bottom of the AFC West. They can climb out with a win over the Colts on Sunday. (ES)
22. Denver Broncos
2018 record: 3-6
Last week: 23
The defence put together a strong performance against the Texans, but the offence once again fell short. They’ve moved on from veteran wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, and much of the fanbase sounds ready to move on from head coach Vance Joseph, too. (ES)
23. Indianapolis Colts
2018 record: 3-5
Last week: 24
Coming out of their bye week, the Colts are riding a two-game win streak (over the Bills and Raiders, but still…) and get two in-division games against the hardly unbeatable Jags and Titans. A playoff spot is somehow still up for grabs for the team that started the year 1-5. (CB)
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2018 record: 3-5
Last week: 22
Say this for the Bucs, losers of five of their last six: They haven’t been losing to dogs. Seven of their eight opponents are currently .500 or better, and the one that wasn’t — the Browns — they beat. (CB)
25. Dallas Cowboys
2018 record: 3-5
Last week: 25
Monday’s loss was Dallas’s first at home this season, and means the Cowboys fall further behind in a tight division race. If Dallas misses out on the post-season, are Jason Garrett’s days as head coach numbered? (GL)
26. New York Jets
2018 record: 3-6
Last week: 26
Sam Darnold’s rookie season has quickly gone from one of excitement for the future to one where there should be legitimate concern about whether it’s doing more harm than good. (GL)
27. Cleveland Browns
2018 record: 2-6-1
Last week: 27
Apparently Hue Jackson wasn’t the issue. The Browns lost — and looked lost — even with Gregg Williams as the new head coach. (DB)
28. San Francisco 49ers
2018 record: 2-7
Last week: 32
Nick Mullens went from “who?” to hero on Thursday night, turning a sloppy basement brawl against the Raiders into a great prime-time story with a near-perfect passer rating in his NFL debut. He’s got another prime-time matchup coming up Monday against another underwhelming opponent: the Giants. (ES)
29. Buffalo Bills
2018 record: 2-7
Last week: 28
What else is there left to say? It doesn’t get much worse than Sunday’s blowout loss at home to the Bears. On a rare positive note for Buffalo, rookie quarterback Josh Allen could return as soon as Sunday. (GL)
30. New York Giants
2018 record: 1-7
Last week: 29
Can the bye week help the Giants snap out of their first-half slump? We have our doubts, but they get a chance to prove us wrong against Nick Mullens and the 2-7 49ers on Monday. (GL)
31. Arizona Cardinals
2018 record: 2-6
Last week: 30
Hopefully Arizona got plenty of rest during their bye, because they’re about to face the Chiefs. Look away, Cardinals fans. (ES)
32. Oakland Raiders
2018 record: 1-7
Last week: 31
Can Gruden’s group tally more than a field goal against the Chargers? Can the offensive line better protect Derek Carr? Is anyone even reading this anymore…? Sigh. (ES)