The Wide World of Dirt

Another thrilling week of football is in the books with some high-profile matchups shaking up our power rankings.

Last week’s #1 team lost to our #3 team, our #6 team fell to our #2 team, and our #7 team eviscerated our #10 team. What a week!

Without any further ado, let’s get down to business and see how the most powerful teams in the National Football League stack up with three weeks to go.

#10: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6)

Last Week: Not Ranked

Will: The Buccaneers are the beneficiary of Seattle’s fall from our first ranking of the season, but make no mistake, this is a spot earned by a team tested by injuries and the (last?) heroics of Kirk Cousins.

Coming off of a 40-17 demolition of a very solid Chargers team, the Bucs are poised to win their division and host a wild card matchup now that they’re as healthy as they can be moving forward.

Keep in mind, this is a team with wins this year against multiple teams featuring in these rankings; they are not be taken lightly.

#9: Washington Commanders (9-5)

Last Week: #10 (+1)

Will: The Commanders take care of business against a struggling New Orleans team in spite of both their best efforts and the clock operators in NOLA.

A huge game against Philadelphia looms this week with the Commanders hosting the team that (spoilers) will be featuring very high in these rankings.

Can the Commanders finally turn one of these competitive losses to good teams into a signature win? Until they do, Washington will feature no higher in these rankings.

#8: Baltimore Ravens (9-5)

Last Week: #8

Jey: Coming out of the bye, most of us expected the Ravens to run roughshod on the Giants, which they did.

However, it was not on foot; rather, the Ravens spread their wings and took to the skies as Lamar Jackson tossed more touchdown passes than incompletions in their 35-14 rout of the Giants.

This team looks more formidable than ever as long as Lamar can replicate something similar to this performance with the threat of King Henry right there.

This week, Baltimore looks to take the AFC North back from Pittsburgh and set their sights on rectifying playoff runs of years past.

#7: Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4)

Last Week: #6 (-1)

Jey: Unfortunately, the “Battle for the Keystone State” went the way everything else in Pennsylvania does: straight to Philly.

The Eagles grabbed an early stranglehold in this game and never let it loosened their talons’ grip.

Losing George Pickens and potentially TJ Watt to injury, the alarm bells may be growing louder in Pittsburgh.

If they can’t bounce back against Baltimore this week, they might not be able to hold onto to the AFC North crown.

The Steelers’ ship can be righted, but Captain Tomlin and company must act quickly before it’s too late.

#6: Green Bay Packers (10-4)

Last Week: #7 (+1)

Jey: I firmly believe in giving flowers where they’re due.

The Packers have earned their flowers from me. They went into Seattle and not only beat them but absolutely decimated them on every front, even before Geno Smith left with an injury.

This team looks legit and poised to build on the small run they had in January last year.

If I wound up a division winner in the NFC, I’d hate to draw them in the wild card round this season.

The Packers just showed the league how dominant they can be on the road.

#5: Kansas City Chiefs (13-1)

Last Week: #5

Dirt: While I know this placement might continue to be controversial, this team does not play 60 minutes of good football. If that offends you, I implore you to sit down and watch the Chiefs attempt to play 60 minutes of football.

Kansas City escaped this game with a two-score victory for the first time since the Super Bowl rematch against the 49ers in week 7, a two-score victory that can only be attributed to a phenomenal performance from the defense.

Steve Spagnuolo’s unit forced five turnovers in the 21-7 victory, three of those coming from intercepting Jameis Winston. They even added a fourth pick when backup QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson entered the game.

The Chiefs’ offense didn’t exactly inspire confidence as the running backs combined for 27 carries for just 88 yards with the only rushing TD coming from WR Xavier Worthy. All of this while Mahomes went 19/38 for 159 and 2 TDs.

To make matters worse, Mahomes went down late in the game with what is now known to be a high-ankle sprain. The Chiefs welcome a tenacious Texans’ team hungry to prove themselves as the postseason nears, so KC should hope that Mahomes can take the field. Otherwise, they’ll have to rely on Carson Wentz.

#4: Minnesota Vikings (12-2)

Last Week: #4

Powered by a running game averaging nearly four yards per carry and a revitalized signal caller completing 60% of his passes against a stout defense, Kevin O’Connell’s Minnesota Vikings decimated the Chicago Bears, 30-12.

Though Sam Darnold threw his 11th interception on the season, the Vikings’ defense shined as they held Chicago to 284 yards, got to Caleb Williams twice, and forcing a fumble while holding the Bears to just one third-down conversion.

Justin Jefferson looks to be regaining his form, hauling in his eighth score of the year on a seven-yard pass from Darnold while Aaron Jones pitched in a score of his own in the third quarter to extend the lead to three scores.

Heading into a showdown with a Seattle team that has a lot to prove, playing in Lumen Field with a possible playoff berth on the line will certainly be difficult, but against a hobbled Seahawks offense, Brian Flores’ defense should feast similar to Green Bay this past week.

As has been the case all season, whether Minnesota wins will rely on Sam Darnold, and frankly, that’s worked out pretty well for them thus far.

#3: Detroit Lions (12-2)

Last Week: #1 (-2)

Tanner: I need to be clear that I really like Dan Campbell as a coach and admire his ability to rally his players around him.

Sunday’s loss to Buffalo ended their improbable 11-game winning streak and ended the seasons of several key players, including DT Alim McNeill and RB David Montgomery. Not only that, they lost CB Carlton Davis to a broken jaw.

This team manages to compete in spite of these immense setbacks, but you have to wonder when the wheels will really fall off for them. Losing this many key pieces throughout the season adds up eventually, and that’s what we saw on Sunday when they were down 35-14 deep into the fourth quarter.

Full credit to Campbell and the coaching staff because they could’ve curled up and died like they did in Baltimore last season, but they fought back to within a score of Buffalo and made a game out of it.

A divisional game against the Bears before taking on the Niners and Vikings should be a great game to reset and get new players plugged into their system. The lack of depth does worry me for their postseason viability, though.

#2: Buffalo Bills (11-3)

Last Week: #3 (+1)

Will: In all seriousness, Buffalo continues to ride the MVP frontrunner to wins.

This week, the Bills defeated former #1 Detroit at Ford Field, even with near-perfect play from opposing QB Jared Goff.

That’s how good Josh Allen is playing right now.

Is this Bills’ defense becoming a problem? Yes. Will Amari Cooper get targeted next week? No idea.

As long as Allen plays like this, Buffalo can take the fight to any team in the National Football League.

#1: Philadelphia Eagles (12-2)

Last Week: #2 (+1)

Sean: The Eagles passed the biggest test of the season against a good Steelers team with a tremendous defense.

Not only that, the passing offense — one that has been under the microscope for the past week — showed what it’s capable of when it’s firing on all cylinders.

This version of the Eagles’ offense showed flashes of Philly at its best. Both star wideouts eclipsed 100 yards while Hurts orchestrated scoring drives in rhythm.

Although Saquon Barkley was banged up, the run game was key when called upon in the final frame. The icing on the cake? A 21-play, 88-yard game clincher.

Yeah…good luck to any team that has to play this offense in January. Also, Wawa is better than Sheetz, once again.

Honorable Mentions: Houston Texans (9-5), Los Angeles Rams (8-6)

(Top Photo Credit: Nic Antaya/Getty Images)