Week 10 disappears in the rearview mirror, time for the new SPOX Power Ranking! The top group is set apart, but there is a new number 1 – and the Steelers are clearly climbing to the top. In addition: a midfield with many question marks, clear cellar children – and a new tail light.
Position in last ranking: 29.
No other team in recent years has come as close to systematic ranking in the NFL as this raiders team. Jon Gruden – with the security of his ten-year contract and the drastic cut through the impending move to Las Vegas on the horizon – has delivered his best players in Amari Cooper and Khalil Mack both offensively and defensively. Just like his best remaining passport pusher in Bruce Irvin. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has ended his career, Rashaan Melvin has apparently lost his place, just like Reggie Nelson. Oakland’s offense is schematically extremely simple, the offensive tackles are a huge problem and Derek Carr has no weapons to help him with the pressure, while the defense has no pass-rush and is vulnerable in the secondary. The Raiders have some interesting young players in the defensive line – otherwise there are many, many question marks.
Ranking in last year’s ranking: 25.
The game against the Bills was nothing more than a disgrace, but it shouldn’t make you forget the bad performances in the weeks before. The offense against Miami was a complete debacle, Sam Darnold had his worst game of the season after a downward trend that had lasted for several weeks and in the games before that the jets had no chance against good teams. Apart from a small intermediate high against Denver and the Colts, the Jets have been playing a bad season with a clear negative trend for weeks now. The offensive line is a huge problem, defensively you always come back to the pass rush. New York needs a restart to steer Darnold’s development in the right direction; and that restart cannot come soon enough.
Ranking in last year’s ranking: 32.
Buffalo’s Offense is on course to have a historically bad season in a season full of offense explosions; and despite all understanding for the upheaval, the quarterback carousel is now difficult to justify in view of the coach’s decisions. In the absence of injured Josh Allen, Derek Anderson was the uninspiring veteran backup solution to be expected, while Nathan Peterman stumbled from turnover to turnover – and was recently overtaken by Matt Barkley. Peterman is out now, Barkley surprised against an indisposed jet team. But with this quarterback situation – even if Allen returns soon – this offensive line and this receiving corps will be little to expect from the Bills offense in the second half of the season. The defense, on the other hand, has become the top 12 unit hoped for before the season. In view of the fatal offense of one’s own, of course one should not let oneself be blinded by the game of jets, but in the end this is not enough either.
Ranking in last year’s ranking: 31.
You have to let the 49ers fight. Kyle Shanahan still shows that he can freely scheme receivers in every game and the duel against the Raiders two weeks ago showed drastically the differences between these two teams – in terms of individual quality, but also in terms of coaching. But it is also clear that the Niners, with their third quarterback, a toothless pass-rush, one of the league’s most vulnerable secondaries outside Richard Sherman, and ongoing injury problems on their skill positions this season, won’t be making any big jumps. But at least this season San Francisco should provide the chance for one of the top pass rushers in the upcoming draft – and for the rest of the season Niners fans can follow the development of Nick Mullens.
Position in last ranking: 28
On the trade deadline, the Giants admitted that a radical change was necessary – and that the assessment of being able to attack Eli Manning one last time was a mistake. The rest of the second half of the season should be like this. The offensive line is extremely vulnerable, making the run game inconstant and Manning having huge problems with pressure. As a result, Manning throws less and less deep passes and is extremely inaccurate, so the Giants only have the opportunity to play isolated Big Plays through the individual abilities of Beckham, Barkley and Co. The defense is solid against the run, otherwise mostly below average. The G-Men have clear tasks for the upcoming offseason on the piece of paper, and that starts with the quarterback position.
Position in last ranking: 30.
Similar to all the other teams in this list so far, the Cardinals will not be playing too much of a role in the rest of the season, purely sporting; individual developments and progress in coaching will be in the foreground. And there are at least some positive tendencies: Josh Rosen constantly hints at his potential, the Offense is much more dangerous and contemporary since the coordinator exchange, especially as far as David Johnson is concerned. Defensively the Pass-Rush finds itself better and better, here Arizona could cause surprising problems for the Chiefs. But it’s also true that the Cardinals still have the worst offensive line in the NFL, which Rosen’s development will suffer from in the games to come. And the linebacker problem still leads to some vulnerabilities in the run defense. However, improvements are noticeable, and that is the best possible outlook for the other games.
Ranking in last year’s ranking: 20.
This Bucs team is a disaster. After Dirk Koetter – by the way already for the next game against the Giants – decided on Ryan Fitzpatrick again, he had a rollercoaster game against the Panthers and then a horrendous Red Zone game against Washington. Tampa could move the ball without any problems, but in the Red Zone the Bucs surpassed each other with turnovers and bad play calls in the first game, in which Koetter – for whatever reason – took over the play calling again. Meanwhile, the defense is one of the two, three worst of the season, despite all the investments. They grab in the run defense, but against the pass hardly any team is more susceptible.
Ranking in last year’s ranking: 27.
By far the most positive insight about Miami this season is likely to be coaching: In a season in which he has to get by without his quarterback, in which he defensively loses his most important run defender and in which the Offensive Line, just like the Receiving Corps, has to struggle once again with serious injury problems, Adam Gase held Miami in the playoff race over the first half of the season. The fact that the season will not be a highlight without one of the most important weapons in the person of Albert Wilson and with an absolutely inconstant run game – in an offense that relies heavily on big plays after the catch – is no secret. The central question is: when is Tannehill coming back, and can the offense with him be good enough to win some tight games with an average pass defense?
Page 1: From Oakland to Miami
Page 2: From Detroit to Dallas
Page 3: From Seattle to Houston
Page 4: The top group – a new number 1, four times AFC and NFC