2021 NFL Week 11 power rankings: Tennessee Titans take over top spot, Dallas Cowboys back in top three

Week 10 is in the books for the National Football League and things remain as unpredictable as ever!

The Dallas Cowboys got themselves a rather enjoyable win, but what happened across all of the teams that played? Who is rising? Who is falling?

Every single week we put together power rankings on how the league looks and corral how the rest of the internet is viewing America’s Team.

You can visit our rankings from last week right here.

---

1 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 3)

There is a new king atop the power rankings and it is the best team in the AFC, the Tennessee Titans. They are on a roll and it is hard to see them slowing down.

2 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 6)

It is time to say it. Matt LaFleur is this season’s Coach of the Year. I realize that the Packers didn’t look marvelous on Sunday, but he is finding ways to win amid the chaos that has surrounded his team over the last almost two weeks.

3 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 7)

The only way we were going to believe that the Broncos game was a one-time thing was if they thrashed their next opponent. 43-3 is a thrashing.

4 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 1)

It is hard to totally knock them given that they have played their last two games down some serious offensive firepower. They are legit, but they need to get healthy.

5 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 11)

Just like with the Cowboys it made sense to not freak out over Buffalo’s ugly loss last week. They re-entered the conversation with a nice domination of their own in Week 10.

6 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 2)

It is certainly troublesome that the Buccaneers would lose to the Football Team in general, but that it would happen after their bye. Are the wheels starting to loosen on this ship?

7 - New England Patriots (LW: 9)

Well would you look at that? The Patriots are back.

8 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 13)

Prior to Sunday the Chiefs had won two games in a row in about the least glamorous way possible. Their offense woke up in Las Vegas though and just in time for a game against our Cowboys. Buckle up.

9 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 4)

They lost to the Dolphins! To the Dolphins! The Miami Dolphins!

10 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 5)

Monday night was the second loss in a row for the Rams since acquiring Von Miller and their first since signing Odell Beckham Jr.. Is there now a dreaded blueprint for them?!

11 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 8)

There is a clear ceiling on this version of the Browns. They are a fringe playoff team at best.

12 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 15)

Don’t look now, but the Colts could wind up in the playoffs. They have a tough stretch coming up, though.

13 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 10)

The world wanted the Chargers to be great this season and at the beginning of it things seemed like they were trending in that direction. You cannot - under any circumstances - lose to the Vikings the way that they did. They had a huge lead in the AFC West and completely blew it. Forever the Chargers.

14 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 12)

Pittsburgh will actually visit the Chargers on Sunday night this week and Ben Roethlisberger will likely be back. I - like a lot of people - am not a believer in Big Ben this season, but it is hard to count on the Chargers for anything. The Steelers seem to always find a way. It’s admirable. I wouldn’t freak out over the tie without Ben in the fold.

15 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 21)

Last week I proclaimed that Minnesota’s season is over, but the NFC is going to have at least one super weak team earn a Wildcard berth. The Vikings are totally in contention for that.

16 - Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 14)

Perhaps this year has just been too much for them.

17 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 26)

Thank you to the Panthers for the help this week! It will be interesting to see if Cam Newton can actually do this whole thing. It is one of the better stories going on in the league right now.

18 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 16)

Russell Wilson hyped up how much he rehabbed to get back on the field for Seattle and while that is admirable they were shut out and looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL on Sunday. It is clear that this team’s better days are behind them.

19 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 17)

Welcome back from the bye.

20 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 23)

They had their way with the Rams on Monday night. They are technically alive in the Wildcard race.

21 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 25)

They exposed the Broncos for the Not Contenders that we knew Denver wasn’t.

22 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 19)

If the playoffs started today then Dallas would host New Orleans in the Wildcard Round. While there is no shame in the Saints losing on the road in Tennessee it is starting to feel like their season is slipping away from them.

23 - Washington Football Team (LW: 28)

Who would have ever imagined them beating the Buccaneers?!

24 - New York Giants (LW: 22)

They were the only NFC East team to not win in Week 10, but they were on bye so does that really count?

25 - Chicago Bears (LW: 24)

Will they be better from the bye? Doubtful.

26 - Denver Broncos (LW: 20)

They destroyed the Cowboys and deserve all credit in the world for that, but it was blatantly obvious that they are not actually a good team. They were exposed as mentioned. Teddy Bridgewater has some tough questions to answer this week.

27 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 18)

Sorry, friends.

28 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 29)

What a huge win for them on Thursday night. It doesn’t change how bad they are, though.

29 - New York Jets (LW: 27)

The Mike White Ride appears to be over.

30 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 30)

Sigh.

31 - Detroit Lions (LW: 31)

At least they didn’t lose!

32 - Houston Texans (LW: 32)

Some things never change.

---

NFL.com: 3 (LW: 5)

Welcome to the top three.

You don’t want to play an angry Cowboys team. A week after getting blown out by the Broncos in one of the most surprising outcomes of the season, Dallas returned the favor against a Falcons team that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. After the 43-3 demolition — a game in which Dallas took a 36-3 lead into halftime — Jerry Jones said he couldn’t remember a more dominant performance in his 30-plus years as owner. The win — paired with a Cardinals loss to the Panthers — moves the Cowboys one game out of the top spot in the NFC as they hit a critical juncture in their schedule with matchups against the Chiefs, Raiders and Saints over a 12-day span. Buckle up.

ESPN: 4 (LW: 7)

The worldwide leader also picked the most important remaining game for the Cowboys. While Arizona makes obvious sense its place on the schedule might be too late to carry the juice we want it to. We will see, though.

Most important remaining game: Jan. 2 vs. Cardinals

With nearly a four-game lead in the NFC East, it’s difficult to say any of the four remaining division games are the biggest games. Dec. 2 at New Orleans is pretty big for conference purposes, but the biggest is the Cardinals matchup, because home field advantage in the NFC could be up for grabs. The Cowboys might feel like they owe Arizona a little too after they were throttled 38-10 at AT&T Stadium a year ago. The Cowboys still have some business they must tend to for that game to be as big as it possibly can be, but if they want to be real contenders, they will be in position to lay claim to the top spot in the conference. — Todd Archer

USA Today: 2 (LW: 6)

High praise for the Cowboys.

High cotton for a club that probably played its most complete game in decades after throttling Atlanta by 40. But as nearly insurmountable as Dallas’ 3½-game lead in the NFC East looks, four of the next five are on the road – starting in Kansas City.

Yahoo: 4 (LW: 5)

On the rise.

Well, that loss to the Broncos looks like an outlier. The Cowboys were great on offense, stifling on defense and even got a special teams touchdown off a blocked punt. Next week’s game against the Chiefs will be highly entertaining.

CBS Sports: 5 (LW: 8)

A bump up.

The offense got cranked up again against Atlanta, which is what we expected to see. They will be tough to beat come playoff time.

Sports Illustrated: 4 (LW: 9)

40-point wins generally impressive people.

The Cowboys’ two losses this season have been by a two-point margin to the defending Super Bowl champions in the opener and Dak Prescott’s first game back from his calf injury. Being the best team in the NFC East has often been a dubious distinction, but the 2021 Cowboys are also one of the best teams in the NFC—and the NFL.

Sporting News: 4 (LW: 7)

The Dallas Cowboys are a top five team at the mom

The Cowboys’ offense took full advantage of their get-well game against the Falcons’ defense with Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and CeeDee Lamb pushing their scoring into overdrive. The bonus was Trevon Diggs and the defense also getting right in the ultimate Dan Quinn revenge game.

---