Beginning in Week 3, the Los Angeles Rams ascended to the top spot in the power rankings for nearly every outlet that covers the NFL.
The undefeated Rams remained there for every subsequent week – until now?
Playing on the road in New Orleans, the Rams lost to the Saints 45-35 on Sunday afternoon and also lost in the court of public opinion as many now consider the Saints to be the team to beat in the NFC.
By beating the best team in the league up to that point, the Saints served notice that they are for real and also evened their record with LA’s (both teams are now 7-1).
Also, by winning that game, the Saints now have the all-important tiebreaker which would force LA to play in New Orleans yet again in the playoffs should the clubs finish with the same record.
Coming off a tough three-game run where they faced, and beat, the Ravens, Vikings, and Rams, things don’t get any easier for the Saints as they now will take on the Bengals in Cincinnati, followed by the Super Bowl champion Eagles and explosive Falcons at home.
If they get through that stretch and are still tied with the Rams, it might be a sign the Saints are the best team in the NFC – and not just for one week.
But how do the power rankers from ESPN, NFL.com, and USA Today see it?
Find out in the latest edition of RealClearLife‘s Ultimate NFL Power Rankings, which combine ratings from those three outlets to get a single rank for all 32 teams in NFL and use segmented tiers to arrange them.
Also, for an even greater perspective on how the season has been progressing, check out how each team’s season average ranking compares with where they finished this week and last.
The Best of the Best (1.00-5.33)
No. 1.00, last 3.00, two weeks ago 3.33, season average 4.84: New Orleans Saints (ESPN, 1), (NFL.com, 1), (USA Today, 1)
No. 3.00, last 3.00, two weeks ago 3.00, season average 3.40: Kansas City Chiefs (ESPN, 2), (NFL.com, 3), (USA Today, 4)
No. 3.00, last 1.00, two weeks ago 1.00, season average 1.48: Los Angeles Rams (ESPN, 3), (NFL.com, 4), (USA Today, 2)
No. 3.00, last 3.00, two weeks ago 2.66, season average 4.73: New England Patriots (ESPN, 4), (NFL.com, 2), (USA Today, 3)
No. 5.00, last 5.00, two weeks ago 5.33, season average 8.84: Los Angeles Chargers (ESPN, 5), (NFL.com, 5), (USA Today, 5)
The Best of the Rest (5.34-10.66)
No. 6.33, last 6.66, two weeks ago 8.66, season average 8.66: Carolina Panthers (ESPN, 6), (NFL.com, 6), (USA Today, 7)
No. 6.66, last 6.66, two weeks ago 8.33, season average 9.88: Pittsburgh Steelers (ESPN, 7), (NFL.com, 7), (USA Today, 6)
No. 8.00, last 8.33, two weeks ago 5.66, season average 8.36: Minnesota Vikings (ESPN, 8), (NFL.com, 8), (USA Today, 9)
No. 10.33, last 13.00, two weeks ago 13.00, season average 13.44: Chicago Bears (ESPN, 10), (NFL.com, 9), (USA Today, 12)
No. 10.33, last 11.00, two weeks ago 12.33, season average 8.73: Philadelphia Eagles (ESPN, 9), (NFL.com, 13), (USA Today, 9)
So You’re Saying There’s a Chance (10.67-15.99)
No. 11.33, last 15.00, two weeks ago 16.33, season average 19.51: Houston Texans (ESPN, 11), (NFL.com, 10), (USA Today, 13)
No. 12.66, last 13.33, two weeks ago 13.00, season average 11.95: Cincinnati Bengals (ESPN, 12), (NFL.com, 16), (USA Today, 10)
No. 13.00, last 17.00, two weeks ago 17.66, season average 14.66: Atlanta Falcons (ESPN, 16), (NFL.com, 12), (USA Today, 11)
No. 14.00, last 11.33, two weeks ago 7.33, season average 11.25: Baltimore Ravens (ESPN, 15), (NFL.com, 11), (USA Today, 16)
No. 14.00, last 9.66, two weeks ago 11.00, season average 14.84: Washington Redskins (ESPN, 13), (NFL.com, 9), (USA Today, 7)
No. 14.33, last 11.66, two weeks ago 12.00, season average 11.03: Green Bay Packers (ESPN, 13), (NFL.com, 15), (USA Today, 15)
Stuck in the Middle with You (16.00-21.32)
No. 17.00, last 15.33, two weeks ago 16.33, season average 20.36: Seattle Seahawks (ESPN, 17), (NFL.com, 17), (USA Today, 17)
No. 19.00, last 21.66, two weeks ago 22.00, season average 19.29: Tennessee Titans (ESPN, 20), (NFL.com, 18), (USA Today, 19)
No. 19.33, last 20.66, two weeks ago 19.66, season average 17.62: Miami Dolphins (ESPN, 18), (NFL.com, 22), (USA Today, 18)
No. 20.00, last 18.66, two weeks ago 19.33, season average 21.14: Dallas Cowboys (ESPN, 21), (NFL.com, 19), (USA Today, 20)
It’s Probably Not Your Year (21.33-26.65)
No. 21.33, last 21.33, two weeks ago 15.66, season average 11.18: Jacksonville Jaguars (ESPN, 19), (NFL.com, 24), (USA Today, 21)
No. 22.33, last 19.00, two weeks ago 17.00, season average 22.77: Detroit Lions (ESPN, 22), (NFL.com, 23), (USA Today, 22)
No. 23.33, last 23.00, two weeks ago 22.66, season average 21.07: Denver Broncos (ESPN, 24), (NFL.com, 20), (USA Today, 26)
No. 23.66, last 23.66, two weeks ago 26.66, season average 25.43: Indianapolis Colts (ESPN, 23), (NFL.com, 21), (USA Today, 27)
No. 24.33, last 24.33, two weeks ago 23.00, season average 19.10: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ESPN, 25), (NFL.com, 25), (USA Today, 23)
No. 25.33, last 25.33, two weeks ago 24.00, season average 22.95: Cleveland Browns (ESPN, 26), (NFL.com, 26), (USA Today, 24)
No. 26.33, last 26.33, two weeks ago 26.00, season average 25.44: New York Jets (ESPN, 27), (NFL.com, 27), (USA Today, 25)
See You in 2019 (26.66-32.00)
No. 28.66, last 29.00, two weeks ago 30.66, season average 30.47: Arizona Cardinals (ESPN, 30), (NFL.com, 28), (USA Today, 28)
No. 28.66, last 31.00, two weeks ago 30.66, season average 27.92: San Francisco 49ers (ESPN, 28), (NFL.com, 29), (USA Today, 29)
No. 29.66, last 28.66, two weeks ago 28.00, season average 27.10: New York Giants (ESPN, 29), (NFL.com, 30), (USA Today, 30)
No. 31.00, last 29.33, two weeks ago 29.00, season average 29.81: Buffalo Bills (ESPN, 31), (NFL.com, 31), (USA Today, 31)
No. 32.00, last 32.00, two weeks ago 31.66, season average 30.21: Oakland Raiders (ESPN, 32), (NFL.com, 32), (USA Today, 32)
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