NFL Power Rankings - Week of October 31, 2019

Thursday, October 31, 2019

John Crowe GoLocal Sports Contributor

Trick or Treat! We’ve hit the halfway mark of the 2019 NFL season and with it being Halloween this week, what better time to see which teams are true treats and which teams are tricking their way to the top of our weekly power rankings.

And here’s a spoiler – it could be a scream to those of you here in New England!

See the Power Rankings in the Slideshow Below

What’s becoming more and more prevalent is the fact that the NFC is completely stacked with the power teams in the league. Sure, San Francisco is the only undefeated team at 7-0, but you could easily argue that the Saints and the Packers are every bit as good as the team by the Bay at the moment.

Add in the steady Seahawks, the vaunted Vikings and now, an Eagles team that has seemingly put its season back on track with a physically dominating road victory at Buffalo and you’ve got a race to the playoffs that could be very unpredictable as contenders knock each other off en route to postseason posturing and seeding.

Conversely, over in the AFC, what was a top tier of two with the Patriots and the Chiefs coming into the season is now just the Patriots at 8-0 and clearly the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of the NFL. With Bill Belichick celebrating his 300th victory in Sunday’s win over his former team, Cleveland, the argument could be made that the Browns handed them the game with turnovers on three straight offensive plays leading to 17 New England points.

But that’s the style points, right? And speaking of style, quarterback Tom Brady couldn’t resist taking a shot at the Browns’ while talking about his coach’s latest accomplishment.

“It’s been a great journey. Just proud of him, everything he’s accomplished. Amazing to think that he (Belichick) coached for another place and they didn’t think he was good enough, and then he comes here and does a great job. It’s a great celebration for him and certainly hard-earned, well-deserved. And the only thing better than 300 is 301. So, we’ll be back at it this week,” said Brady in his post-game press conference.

The Ravens could strike the first blow into the Pats armor as the two teams tangle in Baltimore Sunday night in a primetime matchup.

And let’s not forget, it was the head coach John Harbaugh who initially dropped the dime to the Colts to start DeflateGate back in 2015, after Brady ruffled feathers about Harbaugh not knowing the rules in the Patriots AFC Divisional win.

As for the candy corn of the league, that’s got to be the winless Dolphins and Bengals along with the hapless, one-win Atlanta Falcons! But then again, we’re here to talk about the good stuff! So, onto our latest top 10 (and beyond)!

See the Power Rankings in the Slideshow Below

Related Slideshow: NFL Power Rankings - Week of October 31, 2019

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Outside Looking In

Bills (5-2), Cowboys (4-3), Chiefs (5-3)

Welcome back to reality Buffalo. The Bills were dominated by the Eagles at home as Philly rammed the ball down their throats to the tune of 218 yards and 3 touchdowns. It could be back to playtime for the Bills though as what’s up next: the Redskins, Browns, Dolphins, and Broncos, who have a combined record of 5-25.

The Cowboys come off the bye week with a cushy matchup at the 2-6 Giants Monday night. The bye week should help Dallas get their wide receiver and offensive line tandems a tad healthier and closer to 100 percent.

Give the Chiefs credit, they battled back against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers Sunday night, trailing 14-0 before eventually losing 31-24 on a game-clinching Aaron Jones 69-yard touchdown screen pass. It wouldn’t be surprising to see quarterback Patrick Mahomes back from his dislocated kneecap after seeing him practice twice last week. The Chiefs are now losers of three of its last four games, all coming a home at Arrowhead Stadium.

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10.

Texans (5-3)

Is there anyone more electrifying than Deshaun Watson these days? With three more touchdowns against Oakland, Watson willed the Texans to a comeback victory with an amazing spin move and touchdown throw after getting kicked in the eye by a Raiders lineman.

Watch it here on NFL.com, it’s amazing.

Now with defensive end J.J. Watt on injured reserve for the third time in four years with a torn pectoral muscle suffered in Sunday’s victory, even more of the pressure goes to Watson.

A trip to London this week against the Jaguars shouldn’t slow them down.

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9.

Rams (5-3)

With back-to-back easy wins, albeit over the Falcons and Bengals, the Rams have seemingly found their identity again, especially offensively.

Quarterback Jared Goff’s clean game against Cincinnati, throwing for 372 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions, is just what the doctor ordered for Los Angeles.

The issue for the Rams, in third place in the NFC West, is that they trail first-place San Francisco by 2.5 games heading into the bye with the Steelers and Bears coming up on the other side.

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8.

Ravens (5-2)

A bye week slides the Ravens three spots down this week but it’s a week in which they get to prepare for the team’s toughest test of the 2019 season: a Sunday night home game against the undefeated New England Patriots.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson should give the vaunted Patriots defense fits as he tries to become the first “young” quarterback to beat Bill Belichick.

Now by young, we mean from the 2018 NFL Draft class as Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Luke Falk, and Sam Rosen have all failed.

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7.

Colts (5-2)

It may not be pretty or flashy, but all the Colts are doing these days is win.

The latest example comes on the foot of 46-year old Adam Vinatieri’s 51-yard field goal in the final minute to beat the Broncos, 15-13 Sunday.

Just call the Colts the kings of close games as they’ve had all seven games decided by seven points or less, the first team to do that since 1970 according to the Colts website.

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6.

Seahawks (6-2)

If not for a ho-hum victory in Atlanta against a depleted Falcons team, Seattle could be in the top five this week. But a win is a win especially rebounding from a home loss to Baltimore in week 7.

Head coach Pete Carroll blamed himself for the Seattle's lack of success in the second half of the game.

“That's lousy on our part that that happened. It should not happen like that. Really, I didn't do a good enough job in the transition from the first half to the second half," Carroll said in his post-game press conference.

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5.

Vikings (6-2)

Even without wide receiver Adam Thielen, who’s out with a hamstring injury, the Vikings continue to roll.

What’s been the key to their three-game win streak? Balance. In the three victories, the Vikings have run the ball an average of 35 times while passing it 30 times.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt when your stars step up to perform as Dalvin Cook ran for 171 yards and a touchdown while Stefon Diggs caught seven passes for 143 yards.

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4.

Packers (7-1)

I guess you could say the Aaron Rodgers-Matt LaFleur relationship is going well, Cheese Heads?

Wide receiver Davante Adams has missed four straight games and the Pack hasn’t missed a beat.

Instead of Adams, running back Aaron Jones is picking up the slack.

The latest example coming in the form of 226 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns out of the backfield, including a game-winning, 69-yard screen pass for a touchdown Sunday night in Kansas City.

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3.

49ers (7-0)

51 points offensively. A standout defensive performance highlighted by three sacks and an interception from rookie Nick Bosa.

Put them together and you could have the best team in the NFL.

The only knock against San Francisco is the schedule. It’s only the second time the 49ers have been 7-0 in franchise history and the first time since 1990.

How tough is San Francisco’s defense? It’s in its last four games, they’ve allowed just under six points per game and under 200 yards of total offense, per the team’s website.

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2.

Patriots (8-0)

What? The reigning, defending and to this point, undefeated Super Bowl Champions aren’t ranked number one?

Patriots Nation surely will not agree with me on this one!

Maybe we’re nitpicking or just bored with New England. The wins are there, clearly. Yet, the flashy offense, 16th best per NFL.com, we’re accustomed to seeing just hasn’t been there for the Patriots in 2019.

Injuries on the offensive line to David Andrews, Isaiah Wynn and Shaq Mason, along with a revolving door at wide receiver and tight end will do that to a quarterback, even the G.O.A.T. – Tom Brady.

We’ll find out this Sunday night in Baltimore if the Patriots are truly the toast of the AFC.

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1.

Saints (7-1)

Welcome back Drew Brees!

Brees, who missed five games – all wins by New Orleans with backup Teddy Bridgewater – returned to throw for three touchdowns and nearly 400 yards to defeat the Cardinals.

If you believe in the team of destiny theory, the Saints could be it after being denied a trip to the Super Bowl last season with a missed pass interference call on the Rams.

All three phases are clicking for New Orleans and the only thing stopping the Saints is this week’s bye week.

The Falcons (twice), Buccaneers and Panthers await them on the other side. So, 11-1 is a distinct possibility.