NFL Power Rankings: Patriots, Cardinals, Packers, Chiefs in control

1. New England Patriots (8-2): Both the Patriots and Cardinals have won six games in a row, but there’s little doubt as to which team has been more impressive since Oct. 1. Tom Brady had a relatively bad outing in Indy on Sunday, and the Pats still hung 42 points on the Colts. Jonas Gray won’t likely be flirting with 200 yards rushing in a single game again, but does it really matter? The Pats always adjust.
2. Arizona Cardinals (9-1): Wide receiver Michael Floyd had been struggling over the course of the last month. While he still hasn’t had a 100-yard receiving day since Week 3, both of Floyd’s catches against the Lions went for touchdowns. Oh, and Arizona’s defense is more than legit. The Lions were unable to score a touchdown on Sunday, the first time that’s happened to them since 2009.
3. Green Bay Packers (7-3): The Packers offense is great. We all know that. But give the Green Bay defense a hand. It forced four Philadelphia turnovers on Sunday and made Chip Kelly’s high-flying offense look pedestrian.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (7-3): Only the Patriots and Cardinals have won more games in a row than the Chiefs. Kansas City does less with more as Alex Smith hasn’t thrown for more than 225 yards in any game throughout the Chiefs’ five-game win streak. But the most important number for Smith is “0” as he hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 5.
5. Philadelphia Eagles (7-3): The Birds will head back home this Sunday and will have a cushy game against the Titans waiting for them. The Eagles are undefeated at “The Linc” this season at 5-0 but are just 2-3 on the road. Oddly enough, Philly hasn’t played the Cowboys yet this season but will get them twice in the span of 17 days coming up.
6. Denver Broncos (7-3): The Broncos just wrapped up a three-game road trip and on the journey they had a pair of flat tires, getting blown out at New England and having scored just seven points at St. Louis. They’re back home this Sunday, but a suddenly formidable Dolphins team will be in town. No cakewalk.
7. Detroit Lions (7-3): According to Patspulpit.com, Matthew Stafford is 0-15 on the road against winning teams. Unfortunately for Stafford, he will again be on the road this weekend against the winningest team of the past decade and a half in the Pats. And New England’s secondary is finally back to where it was when it was winning Super Bowls.
8. Dallas Cowboys (7-3): The Cowboys are in the opposite boat that the Eagles, Broncos and Lions find themselves in. They’re the ultimate road warriors, with a perfect 4-0 record away from the Jerry Dome. That number should improve to 5-0 this weekend at MetLife Stadium as Dallas faces the Giants.
9. Cincinnati Bengals (6-3-1): What are these guys doing here? Oh right, they went into New Orleans and won, handing the Saints their second straight home defeat. This is simply a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” deal, however, as no one would be shocked if Cincy loses this Sunday at Houston.
10. San Francisco 49ers (6-4): The 49ers’ wins over the Eagles and Chiefs in Weeks 4 and 5 look mighty good right about now. And their loss to the Rams in Week 9 doesn’t look so bad anymore. Still, the latest Jim Harbaugh rumor has him going to Oakland. Those weekly nuggets aren’t going away.
11. Baltimore Ravens (6-4): Remember when Steve Smith Sr. looked like Steve Smith Jr. earlier this season. Well, those old legs are finally catching up with him. He hasn’t had over 70 yards receiving in over a month and hasn’t found the end zone in over a month. The Ravens’ bye week should help.
12. Indianapolis Colts (6-4): Few teams have cornerbacks like Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner to throw at T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne but New England laid out a pretty good blueprint for the rest of the league to follow when it comes to beating the Colts.
13. Seattle Seahawks (6-4): Doesn’t it feel like the Seahawks’ record should be 3-7 right now? It just seems like they’ve done a whole lot of losing this season. The defending champs better get their act together quick as they face the Cardinals, 49ers and Eagles in a row.
14. Miami Dolphins (6-4): Dan Marino would have sold his right arm to have a defense like the one Miami employs right now. The Dolphins have given up an average of 11.2 points per game the past five weeks.
15.San Diego Chargers (6-4): Are we positive that Chargers-Raiders game actually took place this past Sunday? I don’t recall seeing one highlight on any of the bazillion highlight shows Sunday night. A mole told us that Derek Carr and Philip Rivers COMBINED to throw for 365 yards. A real barn-burner.
16. Cleveland Browns (6-4): The Browns probably don’t want to get in a shootout with anyone, but there was Brian Hoyer on Sunday, throwing 50 passes and completing just 20 of them. He finished the game with a 61.3 QB rating with Ryan Mallett outplaying him.