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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Tim Weaver

NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Texans rise, Rams and Seahawks fall, Ravens on top

USA TODAY Sports NFL Seahawks USA TODAY Network Baltimore (Organization) Denny Simmons Kareem Elgazzar Ken Blaze Paul Rutherford Stephen Lew

There’s no shame in being beaten by the best. That little bit of ancient carny wisdom is probably not much comfort to the Seattle Seahawks (-5) after they got embarrassed by the Baltimore Ravens by 34 points on Sunday. Still, if you’re going to get blown out by anybody it might as well be the best team in the league – and that’s exactly what Baltimore is.

This week’s dismantling of the Seahawks is the second time this season that Baltimore has absolutely destroyed an NFC contender on their home field. They already had the best scoring defense in the NFL this year and now they’re just outside the top five in scoring offense. Baltimore remains No. 1 in total DVOA by what is now a massive margin.

So, despite the Philadelphia Eagles (-1) pulling off another win we had no choice but to drop them from the top spot in our rankings again. Philly is still by far the toughest team in the NFC – but their margins of victory remain slim and Jalen Hurts is still not playing at the level we’ve come to expect. If they ever start playing at their best the Eagles will be an easy Super Bowl favorite. Until then, No. 2 is probably as high as they should go.

The team that made the biggest jump in our rankings this week is the Houston Texans, who rose eight spots on the strength of an outstanding performance by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. He posted 470 passing yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winner over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Another team that rose significantly is the Washington Commanders (+6), who we ranked No. 32 last week after they sent away Montez Sweat and Chase Young for a pittance. Their Sunday victory over the New England Patriots proves that they don’t belong in the basement, though – and they might just provide a tough test for Seattle this week at home.

The Kansas City Chiefs also took a big jump, going from No. 9 last week up to No. 4 after defeating the Miami Dolphins in Germany. While Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are still formidable, what’s remarkable about this current KC team is that they’re winning almost exclusively thanks to a tenacious and modern defense. That will come in handy in the playoffs.

The team that took the largest tumble in our rankings this week is the Los Angeles Rams, who managed to only score three points in a loss to the Green Bay Packers (+4). Truthfully, they haven’t looked too great ever since their Week 1 win over the Seahawks. LA is now down seven spots and flirting with the lowest tier in our rankings.

Speaking of the bottom of the barrel, there’s a new team at No. 32 this week. The New York Giants lost their franchise quarterback Daniel Jones for the season due to an ACL tear – and they also got crushed by 24 points by the lowly Las Vegas Raiders (+3).

Let’s get to the full list. Here’s how we rank all 32 teams around the NFL heading into Week 10.