Several teams have a case for No. 1 in the 2025 NFL power rankings for Week 11.
1. Denver Broncos (8-2) | Last week: 2 (+1)
While I ultimately think the Broncos might not have quite enough firepower compared to other contenders, right now they deserve the top spot in the power rankings for finding a way to win games. Obviously, the defense just did a lot of the heavy lifting last Thursday night versus the Raiders, but people blew the play of quarterback Bo Nix way out of proportion. Remember, the offense went off for 33 points in the fourth quarter when the Denver defense had an off day against the Giants.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) | Last week: 3 (+1)
The play of the Philadelphia defense—with Jaelan Phillips making an impact in his first game with the team—at Lambeau Field was very encouraging for their repeat chances. The offense still must get more creative, though—with A.J. Brown far too quiet. We haven’t seen a trademark catch-and-run slant from Brown for a while, but to be fair Jalen Hurts did miss him for a potential big gain or touchdown when he was wide open on a crossing route where Hurts tucked it and ran instead of standing in the pocket.
3. Detroit Lions (6-3) | Last week: 4 (+1)
Dan Campbell calling the plays clearly helped the offense get into a great rhythm in their 44-22 rout of the Commanders that saw the stars involved (including Jameson Williams, who could have a big second half). The Lions were initially going to go back up to No. 1, but we’ll see what happens this Sunday night in Philly, which’ll be a much tougher test.
4. Indianapolis Colts (8-2) | Last week: 5 (+1)
After maybe the greatest international performance in NFL history for Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (286 total yards and three touchdowns), it finally sounds like he’s getting serious early MVP consideration. He’s finding his footing with Indy, but having Sauce Gardner at cornerback—and willing to follow No. 1 receivers—certainly boosts the championship hopes of the squad.
5. Buffalo Bills (6-3) | Last week: 1 (-4)
Letdowns happen, but to lose that way at Miami was extremely disappointing for Buffalo. They could drop further in the power rankings, and the degree of difficulty—e.g., they played a pretty flawless game on offense against the Chiefs and made defensive stops we haven’t seen enough of recently—is too high right now.
6. Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) | Last week: 6
Andy Reid is phenomenal off the bye week (22-4 career record), so it came at a perfect time ahead of a road matchup with Denver—and the Broncos aren’t expected to have Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II (pectoral) at cornerback. At 5-4, this is an uncommonly huge game for KC at this time of year.
7. Los Angeles Rams (7-2) | Last week: 7
These next couple of teams could be much higher in this week’s rankings, and arguably as high as No. 1. The Rams offense is on fire, with Matthew Stafford throwing 13 touchdowns and no interceptions over the past three games. It can’t be overstated how much of a difference Davante Adams has been for finishing drives with touchdowns in 2025.
8. New England Patriots (8-2) | Last week: 9 (+1)
Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson had a full-blown breakout in a road win at Tampa, with 14 carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns—and he can be a major weapon for them this year and beyond. You can talk about the overall schedule, but seeing the success of Mike Vrabel in Year 1 with the Patriots it makes me shake my head (again) at the Titans firing him a couple of years ago.
9. Seattle Seahawks (7-2) | Last week: 10 (+1)
The Seahawks demolishing teams has become a relatively common occurrence under Mike Macdonald, and to do it against a divisional opponent in the Cardinals is an ultra-positive sign. Tyrice Knight (both forced fumbles) and DeMarcus Lawrence (both touchdowns) combined for two scoop-and-score touchdowns in Week 10.
10. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) | Last week: 14 (+4)
It looked like the early dropped interception by Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. might have somehow settled Justin Herbert into the game, and he did a nice job of getting rid of the ball to avoid the Pittsburgh pass rush on Sunday night. Running the ball and the quick pass game can certainly take pressure off the injured offensive line.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) | Last week: 8 (-3)
A healthier Emeka Egbuka—plus fellow rookie Tez Johnson continuing to perform—was a boost on offense, but it’s rare to see Todd Bowles’ defense get shredded on the ground like they did by New England. Next up the Bucs go to Buffalo, but the Bills are set to be without star tight end Dalton Kincaid (hamstring).
12. Baltimore Ravens (4-5) | Last week: 15 (+3)
The steady climb continues for the Ravens, and I’m actually still leaning toward my preseason pick of them coming out of the AFC in what looks like a wide-open year. They’re heavy favorites to beat the Browns this Sunday and climb back to .500 after the 1-5 start.
13. San Francisco 49ers (6-4) | Last week: 11 (-2)
The Niners might’ve just run into a red-hot offense in the Rams, and losing the turnover battle was going to make it difficult to win even with the San Francisco offense moving the ball. I love the way Brian Robinson Jr. is carrying the rock right now, and I wonder if we see more of him—along with Christian McCaffrey on the field at the same time—down the stretch.
14. Green Bay Packers (5-3-1) | Last week: 12 (-2)
Yesterday morning I heard about the questions regarding Matt LaFleur’s job status with the Packers and was totally perplexed. You can argue he perhaps shouldn’t have been as outwardly frustrated with Jordan Love like he was on Monday night, but the bottom line is Love must get a lot more consistent for a Super Bowl hopeful.
15. Chicago Bears (6-3) | Last week: 15
The vibes are awesome for Year 1 of the Bears under Ben Johnson, who said his quarterback Caleb Williams has ice in his veins after the comeback win over the Giants. For someone as talented as Williams, it’s a scary sight for his confidence to be rising with his clutch play late in games (as was also the case in the fourth quarter of his rookie year).
16. Houston Texans (4-5) | Last week: 19 (+3)
Speaking of clutch, Davis Mills went off for three total touchdowns including the game-winner on the ground to stun the Jaguars and potentially save the Texans’ season. Derek Stingley Jr.’s one-handed interception helped spark the comeback, and both Woody Marks and Nick Chubb looked good for Houston as they didn’t abandon the ground game.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4) | Last week: 13 (-4)
I’m a fan of the signing of Asante Samuel Jr. at cornerback, allowing the Steelers even more comfort in sticking with Jalen Ramsey at safety, where he has settled things down despite the team struggling overall last week against the Chargers. When DK Metcalf is taken out by defenses, it’s often a slog for Pittsburgh—making it very surprising they didn’t do whatever it took to add on the outside at the trade deadline.
18. Carolina Panthers (5-5) | Last week: 17 (-1)
The Panthers went from winning at the Packers to losing at home to the Saints, speaking to the crazy parity around the NFL in 2025. When teams slow down Rico Dowdle on the ground, Carolina must take advantage and make them pay down the field, which hasn’t happened enough this year.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4) | Last week: 18 (-1)
Jacksonville is coming off one of the most crushing losses of the season in the collapse against the rival Texans, and on top of that Travis Hunter is now done for 2025 due to knee surgery. Of course, it’s not an actual must-win yet, but the Jags must find a way to beat a team like the Chargers this week to get to where they want to in the AFC.
20. Minnesota Vikings (4-5) | Last week: 20
He’s not even made a handful of starts yet, but J.J. McCarthy hasn’t gotten a consistent connection going with all-world receiver Justin Jefferson—and he’s still seemingly too amped up at times and hasn’t found sustainable touch on his throws for a squad that entered the season hoping to build on their 14-win campaign.
21. Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1) | Last week: 22 (+1)
The Cowboys will be playing with very heavy hearts after losing defensive end Marshawn Kneeland. Look for them to play inspired football in the second half, and it’ll be really interesting to see Quinnen Williams, DeMarvion Overshown, and Logan Wilson added to the defense off the bye.
22. Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) | Last week: 24 (+2)
Joe Burrow (toe) is back at practice for the Bengals, with a realistic shot to potentially play against the Ravens on Thanksgiving Night—which would be awesome. However, the Cincy defense must get a lot better no matter who is under center, as Joe Flacco has been excellent at quarterback for a team that’s felt a lot like last year.
23. Arizona Cardinals (3-6) | Last week: 21 (-2)
The Cardinals had a short week on the road but couldn’t build on their Week 9 win at Dallas, basically running into a Seahawks team playing like a juggernaut right now. A very challenging schedule for Arizona continues with the 49ers, Jaguars, Bucs, Rams, and Texans through the middle of December.
24. Miami Dolphins (3-7) | Last week: 26 (+2)
Staying despite general manager Chris Grier getting fired, Mike McDaniel might have been coaching freer in the upset win versus the Bills—wanting Tua Tagovailoa to chuck it down field to Jaylen Waddle and company. The defense played tough, and De’Von Achane ran the ball extraordinarily well with 174 yards and two long touchdown runs on 22 attempts. Consistency has been a problem, but the Dolphins can play spoiler.
25. Atlanta Falcons (3-6) | Last week: 23 (-2)
Consistency is certainly an issue for the Falcons, and it’s been more bad than good overall with a 3-6 record for one of the trendy breakout picks during the preseason. That said, Atlanta will look to stack wins with the Panthers, Saints, and Jets the next three games.
26. Washington Commanders (3-7) | Last week: 25 (-1)
Dan Quinn is taking over the defensive playcalling for the Commanders, which is really interesting for a team that—as stated before—just looks too slow. Washington does appear to be a genuinely close-knit group, though, and Marcus Mariota and the offense can do enough to win games if the defense is somehow able to improve.
27. New York Jets (2-7) | Last week: 32 (+5)
The Jets had back-to-back punt return and kick return touchdowns to spearhead their second straight win. You could say it was the Browns, but give Aaron Glenn’s squad credit for coming out and playing after dealing away two of their best players at the trade deadline.
28. New Orleans Saints (2-8) | Last week: 30 (+2)
The defense as a unit—but especially the run defense—really stepped up for the Saints to beat the Panthers on the road. Offensively, Tyler Shough threw the ball well, and Chris Olave made plays down the field in the first game without Rashid Shaheed.
29. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) | Last week: 29
I feel bad for seemingly harping on it every week, but Geno Smith’s struggles are making it difficult a Raiders team that was hoping to be competitive and push for maybe around the .500 mark and see what happens with close games to do just that. It might be the Day 2 pick and contract given up for Smith that’s holding Vegas back from giving Kenny Pickett a shot.
30. New York Giants (2-8) | Last week: 27 (-3)
Brian Daboll used Jaxson Dart (checked for a concussion four times since the preseason) in a way that was best for him to have early success in his career and in an effort to win games and keep his job, but it became reckless—like trying to speed up the concussion check against the Eagles on TNF and sticking with designed runs with games out of hand—and that ultimately might have given the greenlight to fire him.
However, to be clear, Daboll was the one who identified and pushed hard for Dart, with general manager Joe Schoen very clearly not convicted. I’m not saying Dart is going to be a star, but losing the coach that believed in you heavily can hurt. It’ll be interesting to see who the Giants hire as their next head coach—and if Schoen really does stick around in 2026, as fans are understandably apoplectic over him staying.
31. Cleveland Browns (2-7) | Last week: 28 (-3)
While the Browns had nearly twice as many first downs and outgained the Jets by over 100 yards (278-169), the two return touchdowns given up were a major difference in the loss. Dillon Gabriel avoided turnovers, but the offense looks very limited with him at quarterback right now, and Cleveland must pave better lanes for Quinshon Judkins to run the ball more effectively.
32. Tennessee Titans (1-8) | Last week: 31 (-1)
Hopefully the bye week gave wide receiver Calvin Ridley and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons time to return from hamstring injuries. Rookie quarterback Cameron Ward will be tested mightily versus the Texans and Seahawks defenses over the next two games.