2017 NFL Power Rankings: Week 10
Teams Ranked 12th to 1st
While the perception that “nobody is good or bad this year” is probably overstated, few teams embody this concept more than Carolina. If the Panthers are not the hardest team in the league to figure out, they are certainly on the list.
| Rank | Team | nERD | Rec | Playoff Odds | Off. NEP Rank | Def. NEP Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Detroit Lions | 1.96 | 4-4 | 32.80% | 21 | 5 | +7 |
| 11 | Houston Texans | 2 | 3-5 | 17.60% | 14 | 14 | -3 |
| 10 | Carolina Panthers | 2.24 | 6-3 | 60.70% | 23 | 3 | +6 |
| 9 | Washington Redskins | 3.27 | 4-4 | 21.90% | 18 | 8 | +3 |
| 8 | Kansas City Chiefs | 3.51 | 6-3 | 94.40% | 2 | 26 | -2 |
| 7 | Seattle Seahawks | 3.67 | 5-3 | 66.60% | 15 | 10 | +3 |
| 6 | Minnesota Vikings | 4.54 | 6-2 | 77.50% | 10 | 11 | +1 |
| 5 | New Orleans Saints | 7.69 | 6-2 | 90.70% | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Eagles | 7.92 | 8-1 | 97.90% | 3 | 13 | -1 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Rams | 8.99 | 6-2 | 85.50% | 5 | 9 | +1 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 9.27 | 6-2 | 98.70% | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 15.94 | 5-3 | 89.60% | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Heading into Week 3, they had climbed into the third spot in our rankings and rated as nearly four points better than an average team. After five weeks, Carolina was 4-1 and 11th in our rankings but looked awful in its next to games to fall to 18th. Since then, the Panthers seem to have regained their form from earlier in the season.
| Panthers | Avg. Point Differential | Yards Per Play | Y/P Against | TO Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 - 5 | 2.2 | 5.2 | 4.8 | -4 |
| Weeks 6 - 7 | -9.5 | 4.0 | 4.8 | -5 |
| Weeks 8 - 9 | 8.5 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 1 |
Their season has been driven almost entirely by their defense, which ranks third in Net Expected Points (NEP). Cam Newton and the Carolina offense rank just 23rd.
In a sense, they are the anti-Bills, as their success has come from stopping opponents from moving the ball rather than forcing turnovers. For the season, the Panthers rank seventh in yards allowed per play (4.9) but 27th in turnovers forced per drive.
Offensively, they have been poor in both areas (24th in yards per play, 30th in turnovers per drive). Overall, they rank 14th in average scoring margin (+1.0) but have done so against the league’s eighth-most difficult schedule, per Pro-Football-Reference.
Further up the list, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh retained the top two spots in the rankings. Philadelphia dropped down to the fourth spot but it had actually nothing to do with the Eagles’ performance and everything to do with that of the Rams.
Philadelphia’s nERD score shot up by over two points thanks to their impressive 51-23 win over the Broncos, but Los Angeles increased its rating by almost four points.
The Rams demolished the Giants, 51-17, on the road and outgained New York by 3.0 yards per play.
