Two months have come and gone off the NFL calendar. Between the impending flip to November and the Lions’ bye week hitting at a much-needed time, it’s a good opportunity to update the Lions Wire NFL power poll.
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Quite a bit has happened at both the top and the bottom of the poll in recent weeks. Three weeks ago I’d have put San Francisco as No. 1 or No. 2, but now it’s a struggle to place them in the top 10.
As for the 6-2 Lions? You’ll have to scroll down a good way before you find them in the rankings from 32 to 1…
The bottom 5
More based on how the teams are performing and their injury statuses going forward than their current records.
32. New York Giants
31. Carolina Panthers
30. Las Vegas Raiders
29. Chicago Bears
28. Arizona Cardinals
Close to the bottom
These teams sure look a lot closer to No. 30 than they do top-20.
27. Green Bay Packers
26. New England Patriots
25. Washington Commanders
24. Denver Broncos
23. Atlanta Falcons
Lower-middle class
Too good to be considered bad, not good enough to be considered good.
22. Minnesota Vikings*
21. Los Angeles Rams
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
19. Pittsburgh Steelers
18. Tennessee Titans
17. Houston Texans
16. Indianapolis Colts
*The Vikings would have been no lower than 16th if not for the Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson injuries
Upper-middle class
Getting into the range of teams that can realistically win a playoff game by means other than a freak act of the football gods.
15. Cleveland Browns
14. New Orleans Saints
13. New York Jets
12. Los Angeles Chargers
11. Buffalo Bills
Top 10
Fans of every team here should have a realistic expectation that their team can win at least one postseason game.
10. San Francisco 49ers
9. Cincinnati Bengals
8. Dallas Cowboys
7. Kansas City Chiefs
6. Jacksonville Jaguars
5. Miami Dolphins
4. Detroit Lions
3. Seattle Seahawks
2. Baltimore Ravens
1. Philadelphia Eagles