NFL power rankings entering Week 11 of the 2024 season (previous rank in parentheses):
1. Kansas City Chiefs (1): Their +58 point differential is the smallest ever for a 9-0 team. They’ll take it. They’d also take a win at Buffalo on Sunday, which would effectively give them a four-game lead over the Bills, Ravens and Chargers in the race for the AFC’s top seed given a K.C. triumph in Western New York would mean wins over all those clubs.
4. Buffalo Bills (4): A team on a five-game roll – and 8-2 for the first time in three decades – is close to getting LB Matt Milano back from a torn biceps and might be able to bring back LB Tyrel Dodson, too, after he was waived Monday by Seattle.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
5. Philadelphia Eagles (10): QB Jalen Hurts has caught fire simultaneously with a team back atop the NFC East. His lowest passer rating during Philly’s five-game win streak is 115.0, a stretch during which Hurts became the first quarterback ever to rush for at least 10 TDs in four seasons (all consecutively incidentally).
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (8): Sunday, they’ll become the final AFC team to play a divisional game this season – and good chance QB Russell Wilson throws a TD pass for a league-best 23rd consecutive game while taking aim at a Baltimore pass defense ranked dead last in the NFL.
7. Washington Commanders (5): Local excitement around QB Jayden Daniels and this team remains palpable … yet still hasn’t prevented teams like the Steelers from enjoying home games at Northwest Stadium.
9. Green Bay Packers (7): Following the somewhat surprising trade of OLB Preston Smith, time for 2023 first-rounder Lukas Van Ness to deliver given he has yet to start in the NFL and has played fewer than 50% of the team’s snaps in both of his seasons.
12. Houston Texans (12): Their ongoing struggles continue to coincide with a depleted receiver corps. Yet how cool was it to see WR John Metchie III score his first NFL TD more than two years after his career was interrupted by a battle with leukemia?
15. Cincinnati Bengals (18): WR Ja’Marr Chase is the only player in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to have multiple games with at least 250 receiving yards and two TDs. Cincy is 1-1 in those contests.
18. Miami Dolphins (23): Though certainly modest by his standards, WR3 Odell Beckham Jr. is slowly integrating into this offense, snaring all five of his targets the past two games for a team suddenly sniffing the fringes of the wild-card race.
All NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.
21. Indianapolis Colts (21): Little to be excited about here, especially with CB Kenny Moore II calling out his teammates’ effort. But one who’s providing more output is rookie WR Adonai Mitchell, whose six-catch, 71-yard day Sunday was his best yet.
23. Chicago Bears (14): Taken down 15 times the past two weeks, rookie QB Caleb Williams has now been sacked a league-high 38. (Memo to next OC: Give. Swift. The. Ball.)
27. New Orleans Saints (31): Is RB Alvin Kamara a future Hall of Famer? Now this franchise’s all-time leading rusher, he has more games (24) with 50 yards rushing and receiving than anyone aside from HOFer Marshall Faulk (41) and McCaffrey (30).
29. Dallas Cowboys (26): It’s rare when a team gets rid of the same player a year too early and a year too late. But these are the Cowboys, who never should’ve re-signed washed-up RB Ezekiel Elliott, now averaging 3.2 yards per carry … when he’s actually active.
32. Las Vegas Raiders (32): Can the Turners turn around this offense? Given the Silver and Black lead the league in turnovers while managing the fewest rushing yards – only one way to go. Right?
***
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.
