NFL Power Rankings

My current NFL Power Rankings.

I’m going to use these rankings as the order for my 2019 NFL Mock Draft during the 2018 draft season. Follow @walterfootball.

I’ve gone from WORST to FIRST, so if you don’t see reverse numbering (via Javascript), don’t worry; the 49ers and Cardinals aren’t my top teams.

Updated: Oct. 9

San Francisco 49ers (1-4) – Previously: 32.
I was losing my mind when the 49ers established a 6-0 lead against the Cardinals. “OK, fine, C.J. Beathard is the best quarterback of all time,” I shouted at the TV, even though Beathard was tossing nothing but checkdowns. My wife heard this, and I’m shocked that she didn’t ask for a divorce because I was yelling like a raging lunatic.

Fortunately, Beathard began turning the ball over, and Arizona prevailed. Phew. The Cardinals covered, I’m still married, and all is right with the world.

Arizona Cardinals (1-4) – Previously: 31.
Josh Rosen played very well in his first start despite losing to the Seahawks. However, Rosen took a major step backward this past weekend even though he won. He really struggled, and I don’t want to hear that he was playing in a tough road environment; ever since the 49ers built their stadium two hours away from San Francisco, the fan support in home games hasn’t been all that great.

Buffalo Bills (2-3) – Previously: 30.
Buffalo’s season has been amazing thus far. Their three losses have been by a combined score of 100-23. And yet, they’re 2-3 and just one game back of the division lead! That said, the Bills got lucky with the Vikings and Titans completely overlooking them. Their offensive line can’t block, Kelvin Benjamin is completely mailing it in, and Josh Allen still has a long way to go. The Bills could just as easily finish 2-14. Let me look at their sched… never mind. They can beat Houston next week.

Oakland Raiders (1-4) – Previously: 27.
I got an e-mail from a Raider fan on Sunday night, asking me if his team can fire Jon Gruden.

I like to e-mail everyone back, but I almost didn’t have the heart to tell him that the Raiders hired Gruden to a 10-year deal. So, no, Gruden’s not going anywhere. He’ll be around until 2028.

Let me just say that I’m not anti-Gruden like most of the mindless drones in the media are. I think Gruden will turn things around, but this is a rebuilding year.

New York Jets (2-3) – Previously: 29.
It was nice to see that Sam Darnold actually took shots downfield. It paid off, as the Jets scored some long touchdowns. That said, fans shouldn’t get too excited yet, as beating the Broncos outside of Denver isn’t all that impressive. I’ll talk about the Broncos’ road woes when I discuss them, but as a spoiler, it’s not pretty.

New York Giants (1-4) – Previously: 28.
Good job by Odell Beckham Jr. complaining about Eli Manning, only to fail to catch a fourth-and-3 and then be responsible for a muffed punt turned into a touchdown. Beckham did eventually have a great game though, as the Giants nearly won. Granted, it looked like the Panthers were sleepwalking for most of the afternoon, but it was a close contest regardless.

Detroit Lions (2-3) – Previously: 26.
The Lions are 2-3 heading into their bye. That sounds nice, until you consider that their two wins were against the sleepwalking Patriots, who didn’t try at all against them, and the Packers, who whiffed on 13 points worth of kicks via Mason Crosby. You could argue the Lions should be featured as an overrated team on the Overrated-Underrated page, but because they don’t play next week, I don’t know what the public’s betting habits are regarding them.

Dallas Cowboys (2-3) – Previously: 25.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Cowboys are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Indianapolis Colts (1-4) – Previously: 23.
It’s so hard to rank the Colts right now. They just have so many injuries, and it’s unclear who will be available in Week 6.

Also, the Colts have 12 drops in their past two games. That’s pretty bad, but it’s not nearly as horrible as Teddy Bradshaw’s weak attempt at humor during halftime of the Thursday night game.

“The Colts need a lotta luck haha … if you know what I’m talk… what I’m talkin’ bout! Not a… not a lotta good luck in the first half, haha!”

Huh? Oh… wait… luck as in Andrew Luck! Buhahahahaha!

Seattle Seahawks (2-3) – Previously: 24.
You could make a case for the Seahawks to appear as an overrated team in the Overrated-Underrated page as well. They played a close battle against the Rams, but Los Angeles didn’t bring its “A” game, especially when considering that two of its three best receivers were knocked out with concussions prior to halftime. That was Seattle’s Super Bowl, and yet, despite the loss, the Seahawks moved from pick ’em on the Westgate Advance spread to -3 versus the Raiders this upcoming week. That sort of line movement is definitely not warranted.

Denver Broncos (2-3) – Previously: 21.
As promised, here’s the Broncos’ track record on the road with Vance Joseph:

1-8 straight up, 1-8 against the spread.

Denver’s sole road victory under Joseph has been at Indianapolis in Week 15 last year when the Jacoby Brissett-led Colts were playing a Thursday game coming off a grueling overtime battle against Buffalo. Indianapolis was competitive early, but simply ran out of gas

The Broncos have been outscored by an average margin of 27.8-14.6 on the road. In fact, only one of their eight losses has been decided by single digits, which was a 21-14 defeat at Oakland last year.

In summary, I don’t think Vance Joseph is having the time of his life anymore.

Houston Texans (2-3) – Previously: 22.
I’d say someone could tell Bill O’Brien what a quarterback sneak is during a team meeting this week, but I don’t think that’s going to happen, given that O’Brien fires every single person who disagrees with him. How the most incompetent coach in the NFL still has a job, I have no clue.

And by the way, I fear for Deshaun Watson’s life. Not his playing career. His life. The amount of hits he’s taking could literally kill him. It’s been that brutal, but I don’t expect O’Brien to have any answers or ideas.

Miami Dolphins (3-2) – Previously: 20.
How in the world did the Dolphins not cover at Cincinnati despite leading 17-0? I’m asking rhetorically because I watched the game, unfortunately. The good news is that it ended up costing me just one unit. The bad news was that it ruined a potential 9-0 start on the early games page.

I think it’s clear that Ryan Tannehill needs to go. He’s better than Jay Cutler, sure, but that’s like saying you found someone less repulsive than Rosie O’Donnell. That’s not exactly an impressive feat.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2) – Previously: 19.
The Buccaneers are in rough shape. I know they’re 2-2, but three of their next four games are against the Falcons, Bengals and Panthers, with two of those contests being on the road. The lone exception in that span is Cleveland, and even that’s not an easy game. The defense is abysmal, so the Buccaneers could easily be 2-6 in four weeks.

Los Angeles Chargers (3-2) – Previously: 18.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Chargers are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Atlanta Falcons (1-4) – Previously: 14.
The Falcons are going to be a great bet to win the Super Bowl next year. They can’t win games now because they have so many injuries on defense, but they’ll be a top-10 team again once they get all of their stud defensive players back in 2019. Perhaps they’ll even have better odds to win the Super Bowl than the Browns, right Joe Buck?

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2-1) – Previously: 17.
I almost listed the Steelers as an overrated team. The NFL Network analysts were saying things like, “Pittsburgh’s problems might be fixed!” though some weren’t convinced.

No, the Steelers’ problems have not been fixed. They still can’t defend the middle of the field because of Ryan Shazier’s absence, and their secondary still has too many miscommunications. That said, Joe Haden was an animal against the Falcons. I hope he wins some type of award for his performance.

Cleveland Browns (2-2-1) – Previously: 16.
The Browns could be 5-0 right now. They definitely should be 3-1-1. They’re 2-2-1, but that’s still miles ahead of where they’ve been the past two years. The defense was initially responsible for the team being more competitive, but Baker Mayfield has put them over the top. It’s astonishing how far ahead Mayfield is of the four other first-round rookie quarterbacks, and no one should be surprised by that.

By the way, the Browns are undefeated when a possum is in their stadium – seriously – so they’re considering a logo change that I fully support. I found this on Facebook, and I love it:

I should say that I’m with Jesse in wondering when “opposum” became “possum.”

Green Bay Packers (2-2-1) – Previously: 13.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Packers are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

By the way, this was a good summary of what happened in Detroit:

Washington Redskins (2-2) – Previously: 12.
Alex Smith remains a mediocre quarterback. But hey, at least the Redskins didn’t have a younger, more physically talented quarterback on their roster that they got rid of for him.

Minnesota Vikings (2-2-1) – Previously: 15.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Vikings are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2) – Previously: 10.
Blake Bortles sucks. I really don’t want another Jaguar fan defending him in the comment board ever again. He really sucks.

I will continue to post this, as it once again applied. Bortles was absolutely terrible against a horrible defense. The Jaguars really need to add a quarterback this offseason. Here’s the 2019 NFL Draft Quarterback Prospect Rankings.

In the meantime, I think we’ve uncovered Bortles’ true identity:

Tennessee Titans (3-2) – Previously: 9.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Titans are an underrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Carolina Panthers (3-1) – Previously: 11.
The Panthers looked so lethargic in their win versus the Giants. They opened with two procedural penalties, and Cam Newton had some bad interceptions. Then, if that wasn’t bad enough, Newton and the rest of the offense took their grand old time on the final drive. Had the Panthers played with any desperation, they could’ve gotten Graham Gano into a position to hit a 45-yard field goal for the win, yet Gano had to settle for a 63-yard try. Fortunately for Carolina, Gano delivered on a day in which kickers were unusually incompetent.

Baltimore Ravens (3-2) – Previously: 7.
I don’t think losing to the Browns, especially in Cleveland with all the possums running around, is anything to be ashamed of anymore. Besides, it’s not like the Ravens couldn’t have won the game. They were close, but had some untimely drops and poor red-zone miscues.

Oh, and then there was this…

Buck Allen, what the f**k are you doing? Why did you run 96 yards the wrong way!?

Chicago Bears (3-1) – Previously: 8.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Bears are an underrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Cincinnati Bengals (4-1) – Previously: 6.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Bengals are an underrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) – Previously: 1.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Eagles are an underrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

New Orleans Saints (4-1) – Previously: 5.
The Saints looked amazing on Monday night, but let’s not forget the fact that they hit the Redskins with a maelstrom, as all of the players had so much energy to help Drew Brees set the all-time passing record. Their defense remains a concern, but perhaps the bye will allow the coaching staff to make some adjustments.

Los Angeles Rams (5-0) – Previously: 4.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Rams are an overrated NFL team in our new Overrated-Underrated page.

Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) – Previously: 3.
It seems like every week we can say that Patrick Mahomes will be facing his toughest test yet. That’s the case again this week. Even though the Patriots don’t have the great personnel that the Jaguars possess, and Foxboro is not the same type of environment as Denver, Mahomes will have his hands full against defensive mastermind Bill Belichick, who will have extra time to prepare for the first-year starting quarterback. If Mahomes can beat Belichick, the Chiefs will have to be considered the overwhelming favorites to win the Super Bowl.

New England Patriots (3-2) – Previously: 2.
“It wasn’t going to take a couple of September losses to move the Patriots down at all. They’ve been 2-2 before and went on to be world champions. They were 2-2 last year, actually, and they at least went to the Super Bowl.”

Well, well, well, they’re now 3-2, and they’re on top of their division. Still, the Patriots have some defensive issues that they need to take care of, but I imagine Bill Belichick will figure something out as the season progresses.

NFL Picks - Dec. 11

2025 NFL Mock Draft - Dec. 11

NFL Power Rankings - Dec. 9

2026 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 29

Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4