Not all wins are weighed the same in these rankings.
Beating good teams is better than beating bad teams. Winning big is better than sneaking out a scary win. Winning and playing well on the road means more than doing the same at home. These are a few obvious concepts.
And because of that, Seattle won this week and still got booted from the No. 1 spot in the power rankings.
The Seahawks looked lethargic for Monday night's game against St. Louis. The most important thing is they did save a win, thanks to one big offensive play (Golden Tate's touchdown was 80 of the team's 135 yards ... yes, 135 yards) and a great goal-line stand at the end. The Rams are not a good football team. And St. Louis was starting Kellen Clemens at quarterback in front of a crowd that got loud only when Matt Holliday homered across town. And the Seahawks were outplayed.
It's probably just a one-game blip for the Seahawks, but it was bad enough that it justifies a new No. 1.
Here are this week's power rankings:
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-8, Last week: 32)
The 2008 Lions, the only 0-16 team in NFL history, lost four of their first eight games by less than 10 points. Eight of their 16 total losses were by 10 points or less. The Jaguars have lost all eight games by double digits this year.
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7, LW: 31)
Almost any other year, they'd have the bottom spot locked up.
30. Minnesota Vikings (1-6, LW: 30)
You have to be really confident about your ability to re-sign pending free agent end Jared Allen, or you're making a huge mistake if you don't trade him.
29. Washington Redskins (2-5, LW: 27)
No back in the NFL's top 14 in rushing yards has fewer attempts or more yards per carry than Alfred Morris. The Redskins won their final seven games last year, and Morris had at least 20 carries in every game. He hasn't had 20 carries in a game yet this season. Pretty baffling, if you ask me.
Still down with the dregs until they do something against a good team.
27. Philadelphia Eagles (3-5, LW: 24)
The NFC East, everyone!
26. Houston Texans (2-5, LW: 23)
Matt Schaub will sit another week because of injury, but Case Keenum deserved another look whether Schaub was healthy or not.
25. St. Louis Rams (3-5, LW: 28)
Does it say anything about Sam Bradford that the Rams played that well with journeyman Kellen Clemens replacing him?
24. Atlanta Falcons (2-5, LW: 18)
Got a little too excited about a possible resurgence in last week's rankings. Shouldn't have given them that much credit, since it was just the Buccaneers they beat.
23. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5, LW: 20)
Had Shaun Suisham not missed two short field goals, maybe they're 3-4 and it's a totally different conversation this week.
22. Oakland Raiders (3-4, LW: 25)
Their next four opponents before Thanksgiving: Eagles, Giants, Texans and Titans. And they're one game out of the sixth seed. Hmmmm ....
21. Buffalo Bills (3-5, LW: 22)
Mario Williams has 11 sacks in eight games. Maybe Buffalo overpaid for him in free agency last year, but that's what they had to do to get him, and he's earning his money.
20. Baltimore Ravens (3-4, LW: 21)
Baltimore, with Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce at running back, are averaging a NFL-worst 2.8 yards per rushing attempt as a team. That seems impossible, but it's true.
19. Cleveland Browns (3-5, LW: 17)
It felt like, at least, they were going to take undefeated Kansas City to overtime if Davone Bess didn't muff that fourth-quarter punt at midfield. If they draft the right quarterback ...
18. Tennessee Titans (3-4, LW: 19)
In their next six games, they play Indianapolis twice and the Broncos once. That means they better win games like Sunday at St. Louis to stay in the race.
17. Arizona Cardinals (4-4, LW: 26)
Imagine how much better the offense would have been had they actually used their best running back before Week 8.
It's pretty hard to have a point-differential of minus-68 and still be 4-4, but the Jets have found a way to pull it off. For perspective, the Buccaneers' point differential is minus-63 and the Vikings are minus-62.
15. Miami Dolphins (3-4, LW: 15)
They played much better than the 10-point loss vs. New England would indicate, they couldn't catch a break or get a call. Then again, moral victories won't get them the sixth seed.
14. Chicago Bears (4-3, LW: 16)
They're one of only 13 teams with a winning record, yet it seems like they're being totally written off. Who knows, let's see what Josh McCown can do. He has weapons to throw to.
13. Dallas Cowboys (4-4, LW: 11)
Since 2011 teams that are plus-four in turnover margin, as Dallas was at Detroit, are 54-2. What Dallas did on Sunday is the clear definition of screwing up a win.
12. San Diego Chargers (4-3, LW: 10)
In Week 8 they became the clear favorite for the sixth seed in the AFC, and they didn't even play.
11. Carolina Panthers (4-3, LW: 13)
A win over Atlanta this week wouldn't validate them, but it's necessary. A chance for validation comes the week after, at San Francisco.
10. Detroit Lions (5-3, LW: 12)
The final score and frenetic finish doesn't indicate how well Detroit played. They out-gained Dallas 623-268. Four turnovers almost blew it for them, and since turnovers haven't been a huge problem for the Lions this season, we won't be too alarmed.
9. New England Patriots (6-2, LW: 9)
Tom Brady's hand looks bad. I still think the coaching staff can get the most out of this team, and Brady will gut it out, but it's getting really thin for New England.
8. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2, LW: 8)
Can you guess which quarterback, coming into Monday night, ranked fifth in the NFL in passing yards, eighth in completion percentage, tied for fourth in touchdowns, and sixth in quarterback rating? Yeah, Andy Dalton might be better than he gets credit for.
I'd easily take the 49ers in a neutral field game against the team ranked No. 6, so I'm breaking one of the power ranking's tenets by keep them at No 7. But, the 49ers aren't undefeated, so ...
6. Kansas City Chiefs (8-0, LW: 6)
Come on, you knew they weren't moving up after barely beating the Browns and Jason Campbell.
5. Green Bay Packers (5-2, LW: 5)
The schedule got easy at an opportune time. Next two weeks? Home games against the Bears without Jay Cutler and the Eagles.
4. Denver Broncos (7-1, LW: 4)
A year ago, Knowshon Moreno's career seemed to be pretty much dead. He's one of the most productive backs in the league right now. Pretty amazing story, especially considering the Broncos drafted Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball the last two years to replace him.
3. Seattle Seahawks (7-1, LW: 1)
The offensive line is starting to look like a real problem that could derail a very promising season. They need their tackles to get healthy, and soon.
2. Indianapolis Colts (5-2, LW: 3)
It'll be interesting to see their offense this week without Reggie Wayne.
1. New Orleans Saints (6-1, LW: 2)
They were rooting hard for the Rams to finish off Seattle on Monday night. Home-field advantage in the NFC means everything this season.
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via Y! Sports Blogs - Yahoo Sports http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/shutdown-corner-nfl-power-rankings-monday-night-no-044602464--nfl.html
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