Checking In On The NFL Power Rankings

Every week the experts discuss the landscape of the NFL and come up with the Power Rankings, ordering all 32 NFL teams from worst to best.

As well as providing a topic for discussion in offices up and down the country, the Power Rankings also heavily influence the NFL odds. If a team finds themselves lowly ranked by the experts, you can be sure as heck that their betting odds will worsen.

In this article we take a look at the latest NFL Power Rankings, picking out some of the biggest overachievers and most disappointing underachievers.

32. Houston Texans

Rock bottom of the Power Rankings are Lovie Smith’s Houston Texans who lost 27-23 to the Dallas Cowboys to bring their record to 1-11-1. It’s not all bad news for the Texans though as that loss essentially secured the No.1 pick for the 2023 NFL Draft. Every cloud has a silver lining…

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(The Texans heated clash with rivals Dallas Cowboys may have ended in defeat, but it has guaranteed the Texans first pick in the 2023 Draft.)

27. Los Angeles Rams

After winning the Super Bowl in February, things have gone pretty badly for Sean McVay and the Rams. Their narrow 17-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday has only served to paper over the cracks after recent defeats to the Seahawks, Chiefs and Saints.

21. Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 28-19 in their last outing, but in their previous game they gave up 40 points to the Philadelphia Eagles in defeat. It’s been that kind of season for the Packers, with the highs not quite being high enough and the lows being just that bit too low.

When the playoffs disappear off the radar, the Packers should focus all of their efforts on squad building and creating a team around Jordan Love that’s capable of competing.

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Such is the reputation of Tom Brady that there are still people who actually have a good knowledge of football and think the Buccaneers could go on to do something this season. Unfortunately for Tampa fans that’s nothing more than a pipe dream.

The defense is tragic and was ruthlessly exposed yet again in their latest defeat, this time a 35-7 hammering at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.

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(Tampa Bay’s defensive woes continued as they were dismantled by San Francisco at the weekend.)

13. Washington Commanders

There’s plenty to be downbeat about amongst the NFL’s most high-profile teams, but in Washington fans are dreaming of a playoff appearance. Under the guidance of Taylor Heinicke, the Commanders have demonstrated a good habit of picking up important wins and rallying around their coach.

9. Detroit Lions

Many fans and pundits had the Detroit Lions as their outside bets at the beginning of the season. That was before a poor October though in which the Lions lost 48-45 to Seattle Seahawks, 29-0 to New England Patriots, 24-6 to Dallas Cowboys and 37-27 to Miami Dolphins.

That’s a poor run of form in anyone’s book, but fortunately for Lions fans their team has picked up, winning 5 out of 6 since that loss to the Dolphins at the end of October. Last weekend’s 34-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings was a complete offensive performance that will have fans dreaming of playoff success.

5. Dallas Cowboys

It has been a good season so far for the Dallas Cowboys, but their most recent win, a 27-23 victory against the beleaguered Houston Texans should serve as a wakeup call for the franchise.

Mike McCarthy’s side have been superb all season but if they continue to allow complacency to creep in, they could blow their chances of ending the Cowboys long wait for a Super Bowl win.

1. Philadelphia Eagles

Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles became the first team to clinch a playoff spot with an imperious 48-22 win over the New York Giants last weekend to take their record to the season for 12-1.

Home advantage is now on the cards for the Eagles and with some pundits putting forward the theory that this team has the best offense in the history of football, perhaps their name is on the Vince Lombardi Trophy…

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(The future looks bright for Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles.)