ESPN NFL

The NFL draft is critical, pivotal -- franchise-altering.

The moves teams make generate strong reactions. Analysts quickly decide which teams filled needs, which teams got great value, which teams helped themselves the most and which teams could have used a different approach.

Despite generating so much reaction, the 2012 draft failed to immediately move voters for ESPN's NFL Power Rankings.

Seventeen teams emerged from this draft with the same overall ranking they held in our polling from March. Another seven teams moved only one spot from last time. Overall, 31 teams moved three or fewer spots from the previous rankings.

The Super Bowl champion New York Giants remained No. 1 despite another No. 5 vote from John Clayton. The Indianapolis Colts remained 32nd despite adding Andrew Luck (of course, we knew heading into the previous rankings that Luck would be headed to Indy).

The Philadelphia Eagles were the big movers, jumping five spots to No. 7. The Eagles improved on every ballot but one. Ashley Fox, who lives in Philadelphia and has covered the Eagles for years, kept them at No. 11 on her ballot.

"I wasn't slighting the Eagles by leaving them at 12. I didn't move many teams up or down as a result of the draft. Philadelphia had a solid draft, filling some needs along the defensive line and continuing to rebuild the linebackers, and they unloaded Asante Samuel to Atlanta," Fox said.

"Philadelphia certainly should be among the top teams in the NFC this season if -- a big if here -- Michael Vick can stay healthy. I just wasn't ready to vault them into the top 10 yet."

And now, a closer look at the ranking, beginning with a look at how teams changed (or did not change) in the rankings from before the draft:

Falling (8): Carolina Panthers (-3), Denver Broncos (-2), Detroit Lions (-2), New Orleans Saints (-2), Tennessee Titans (-2), Chicago Bears (-1), Jacksonville Jaguars (-1), San Francisco 49ers (-1).

Rising (7): Philadelphia Eagles (+5), Cincinnati Bengals (+3), Arizona Cardinals (+2), Atlanta Falcons (+1), Baltimore Ravens (+1), Miami Dolphins (+1), Pittsburgh Steelers (+1).

Unchanged (17): Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Bucs, Washington Redskins.

Deadlocked: We broke three ties this time. Chicago edged Atlanta at No. 11 based on the first tiebreaker, head-to-head results (the teams played last season). Tennessee prevailed over Arizona at No. 18 based on the second tiebreaker, overall record (from last season, in this case). The Jets edged Carolina at No. 20, also on the second tiebreaker.

Like minds: Every voter had the Packers second or third and the Vikings 30th or 31st. Those were the only teams separated by no more than one spot across all five ballots.

Agree to disagree: Four panelists had the Bills ranked between 22nd and 25th. AFC East blogger James Walker had them 16th.

"I like that expectations are low for the Bills, because they are my sleeper pick for 2012," Walker said. "It's not just defensive end Mario Williams. Buffalo made some solid acquisitions in the draft and free agency that are under the radar. I think the Bills are going to surprise people this year."

The Bills surprised us last year, only to fade into oblivion and squander the benefit of the doubt among most voters.

A look at the teams generating high-low disparities of at least seven spots in the rankings:

• Bills (9): Walker had them 16th, higher than any other voter had them. Fox had them 25th, lower than any voter had them.
• Bucs (8): Clayton 19th, Kuharsky 27th.
• Seahawks (8): Sando 17th, Kuharsky 25th.
• Cardinals (8): Fox 16th, Clayton 24th.
• Panthers (7): Kuharsky 16th, Clayton 23rd.

Power Rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the NFC East ranked 12.8 on average, highest for any division. That was a change from Week 18 last season, when the AFC North and NFC North were 1-2 in highest overall ranking average.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least four spots since before the draft:

• Sando: Panthers (-4), Eagles (+6), Bengals (+6).
• Clayton: none.
• Kuharsky: none.
• Walker: Jaguars (-4), Cardinals (+5), Cowboys (+5).
• Fox: none.

Note: No Excel file this time. The file sheds light on potential voting inconsistencies during the season, when on-field results can be used as a reference.

Crushing bounty-related penalties levied against the New Orleans Saints forced a re-vote in ESPN.com's first NFL Power Rankings looking ahead to the 2012 season.

We planned to run the rankings after Peyton Manning signed with Denver, figuring that would be a good time to reassess the NFL landscape. Voters cast ballots by Tuesday. But when the Saints' punishment came down Wednesday, complete with a one-year suspension for coach Sean Payton, one of the highest-ranked teams was suddenly reeling.

Every panelist downgraded the Saints. John Clayton pointed to the Payton suspension as the single greatest blow. He saw New Orleans dropping from 12 to nine victories.

"Payton's mind, play-calling ability and leadership will be impossible to replace," Clayton wrote. "Payton took a Super Bowl ring away from Peyton Manning with his decision-making. His call for an onside kick to start the second half of Super Bowl XLIV is a classic example of how a coach can win a game. Plus, his creative game plans and bold gambles will be missed."

The Saints and Oakland Raiders each dropped nine spots from our most recent rankings, which ran after the regular season. The Broncos climbed six spots to No. 8 after adding Manning as voters hedged somewhat over Manning's health. The Chicago Bears jumped a league-high 10 spots as voters anticipated Jay Cutler's return to the lineup.

The New York Giants were a near-unanimous No. 1 after winning the Super Bowl. Clayton ranked them fifth while other voters figured the defending champs should start at the top. "Unless they suffer giant losses, the Super Bowl champs deserve to be No. 1 in any preseason poll," voter Paul Kuharsky said. "That is my default setting."

And now, a closer look at the ranking, beginning with a look at how teams changed (or did not change) in the rankings from Week 18 last season:

Falling (15): New Orleans Saints (-9), Oakland Raiders (-9), Cincinnati Bengals (-8), Atlanta Falcons (-5), Miami Dolphins (-4), Tennessee Titans (-4), Pittsburgh Steelers (-3), Arizona Cardinals (-3), Green Bay Packers (-2), Cleveland Browns (-2), Dallas Cowboys (-1), San Francisco 49ers (-1), Minnesota Vikings (-1), Seattle Seahawks (-1), New York Jets (-1).

Rising (14): Chicago Bears (+10), New York Giants (+8), Denver Broncos (+6), Carolina Panthers (+5), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+5), Kansas City Chiefs (+5), Houston Texans (+4), Philadelphia Eagles (+3), Buffalo Bills (+2), St. Louis Rams (+2), New England Patriots (+2), Detroit Lions (+1), San Diego Chargers (+1), Washington Redskins (+1).

Unchanged (3): Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars.

Deadlocked: We broke four ties. Denver prevailed over Pittsburgh at No. 8 based on the first tiebreaker, head-to-head results. New Orleans edged Philadelphia at No. 11 based on the second tiebreaker, overall record. Arizona edged Seattle at No. 21, also on overall record. St. Louis beat out Cleveland at No. 29 based on head-to-head results.

Like minds: Only one spot separated high and low votes for the Packers, 49ers and Cowboys. Two spots separated high and low votes for the Patriots, Saints, Chiefs and Vikings.

Agree to disagree: Ten spots separated high and low votes for the Cardinals. Panelist James Walker ranked them only 27th, 10 spots lower than Paul Kuharsky and Ashley Fox ranked them.

"I think the Cardinals are stuck in the mud with Kevin Kolb," Walker said. "He's not a franchise quarterback, and the Cardinals can only go as far as Kolb takes them. Arizona has to live with that mistake for at least another year or two."

Walker, who covers the AFC East, was much higher on Buffalo. He ranked the Bills at No. 16. Everyone else had them between 22nd and 25th.

"The Bills have done everything right this offseason," Walker said. "I expect them to take the next step to at least the middle of the pack in 2012 -- if not more. It's not just the Mario Williams signing. Buffalo also gets back a healthy Fred Jackson and Kyle Williams."

A look at the teams generating high-low disparities of at least seven spots in the rankings:

• Cardinals (10): Kuharsky and Fox ranked them 17th, higher than any other voter ranked them. Walker ranked them 27th, lower than any other voter ranked them.
• Bills (9): Walker 16th, Sando 25th.
• Panthers (8): Kuharsky and Fox 16th, Clayton 24th.
• Bengals (8): Walker 14th, Kuharsky and Fox 22nd.
• Jets (8): Clayton 15th, Sando 22nd.
• Seahawks (8): Sando 17th, Kuharsky 25th.
• Buccaneers (8): Clayton 19th, Kuharsky 27th.
• Titans (7): Sando 16th, Walker 23rd.

Power Rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the NFC East ranked 12.8 on average, highest for any division. That was a change from Week 18 last season, when the AFC North and NFC North were 1-2 in highest overall ranking average.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since Week 18:

• Sando: Bengals (-9), Saints (-8), Dolphins (-5), Raiders (-5), Titans (-5), Broncos (+6), Buccaneers (+7), Giants (+8), Bears (+12).
• Clayton: Raiders (-13), Saints (-9), Bengals (-8), Giants (+6), Eagles (+8), Buccaneers (+9), Bears (+10).
• Kuharsky: Bengals (-11), Saints (-9), Titans (-7), Raiders (-6), Dolphins (-6), Panthers (+5), Broncos (+5), Chiefs (+6), Redskins (+7), Giants (+9), Bears (+9).
• Walker: Saints (-9), Titans (-9), Dolphins (-9), Raiders (-6), Falcons (-6), Steelers (-6), Cardinals (-6), Texans (+6), Giants (+7), Bills (+8), Broncos (+8), Buccaneers (+9), Bears (+9).
• Fox: Bengals (-12), Saints (-10), Raiders (-7), Titans (-6), Falcons (-6), Jets (-5), Texans (+5), Redskins (+6), Panthers (+7), Giants (+8), Bears (+10).

Note: No Excel file this time. The file sheds light on potential voting inconsistencies during the season, when on-field results can be used as a reference.

Take a bow, Green Bay Packers. You sailed through ESPN's NFL Power Rankings as the top team from Week 1 through the regular season.

There was lots and lots of movement beneath you, however.

Our power rankings voters -- John Clayton, Paul Kuharsky, James Walker, Ashley Fox and me -- tip our caps to the four teams making double-digit jumps from Week 1 to the present.

The San Francisco 49ers finished a league-high 23 spots higher than they started, settling in at No. 3 after peaking one spot higher. The Cincinnati Bengals finished 11th after starting dead last at No. 32. Denver (plus-13) and Tennessee (plus-11) also outperformed initial expectations relative to other teams.

These four surprise teams invited skepticism for various reasons.

The 49ers were breaking in a new coaching staff following the lockout while sticking with Alex Smith at quarterback. The Bengals were transitioning away from Carson Palmer to rookie Andy Dalton. Denver was coming off a disastrous season. Tennessee got more from Matt Hasselbeck than we might have expected.

There were underachievers, too.

The Indianapolis Colts finished 23 spots lower than anticipated, dropping from ninth amid preseason concerns over Peyton Manning's health to 32nd without their quarterback playing a single snap all season. Tampa Bay (-17), St. Louis (-14), the New York Jets (-12), Philadelphia (-11) and Minnesota (-10) also fell at least 10 places since Week 1.

Two teams, No. 1 Green Bay and No. 24 Miami, were exactly who we thought they would be. Their rankings finished right where they started. Sixteen other teams finished within five spots of where they started, with Cleveland, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta finishing within one spot of Week 1 expectations.

And now, a closer look at the rankings through Week 17, beginning with a look at how teams changed (or did not change) in the rankings from last week:

Falling (10): Oakland Raiders (-3), New York Jets (-3), Seattle Seahawks (-3), Dallas Cowboys (-2), Carolina Panthers (-2), Detroit Lions (-1), Houston Texans (-1), Cincinnati Bengals (-1), Denver Broncos (-1), Indianapolis Colts (-1).

Rising (9): Tennessee Titans (+3), San Diego Chargers (+3), New York Giants (+2), Philadelphia Eagles (+2), Arizona Cardinals (+2), Chicago Bears (+2), Atlanta Falcons (+1), Kansas City Chiefs (+1), St. Louis Rams (+1).

Unchanged (13): Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings.

Deadlocked: We broke one tie this week. The Cowboys prevailed over the Broncos at No. 13 based on the third tiebreaker, which team won most recently. Head-to-head and overall record did not come into play.

Like minds: All five voters ranked the Packers first and the Saints second.

Agree to disagree: Some of the wildly inconsistent teams generated larger disparities on voters' ballots. Oakland finished 8-8, for example, but how good were the Raiders, anyway?

A look at the teams generating high-low disparities of at least five spots in the rankings:

• Cowboys (5): Clayton ranked them 12th, higher than any other voter ranked them. Fox ranked them 17th, lower than any other voter ranked them.
• Raiders (5): Clayton 14th, Sando and Fox 19th.
• Cardinals (5): Fox 16th, Walker 21st.
• Bears (5): Kuharsky 18th, Sando and Clayton 23rd.
• Seahawks (5): Sando 18th, Walker 23rd.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the AFC North maintained the highest average ranking for any division, ahead of teams from the NFC North.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Chargers (+5).
• Clayton: none.
• Kuharsky: Jets (-5).
• Walker: none.
• Fox: Cowboys (-5), Eagles (+5), Chargers (+5).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

Buffalo, Kansas City and Seattle each defeated five teams ranked higher than them this week, tied for most in the league. The teams ranked second through fourth -- New Orleans, San Francisco and New England -- were 0-1 against higher-ranked teams (the Saints lost to the Packers, but the other teams in question did not play one another).

Eleventh-ranked Cincinnati was the lowest-ranked team without a victory over a team ranked higher this week.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

Sorry, NFC West fans, but it's tough to blame East Coast bias for this one.

A West Coast team, San Diego, bore responsibility for the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals losing ground in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings despite victories in Week 14.

Those unwilling to fault the Chargers can find the real culprit right here, on the AFC South blog. Paul Kuharsky moved up San Diego 11 spots on his ballot, enough to bump the Chargers past the Seahawks and Cardinals.

San Diego moved up three spots to No. 18. Arizona and Seattle, a combined 9-3 since Week 9, each fell one spot.

"It was a market adjustment," Kuharsky explained. "I probably dropped the Chargers too much last week based off the losing streak, even as they beat Jacksonville. They've played well the last two weeks and didn't deserve to be behind some of the teams I had them behind."

The Chargers do not play the Seahawks or Cardinals this season, but if they did right now, Kuharsky said he'd take San Diego on a neutral field. Voters had varied opinions on San Diego overall. James Walker (15th) and Kuharsky (16th) were on the high end. Ashley Fox and I had them down at No. 20.

The Cardinals and Seahawks weren't the only NFC West teams falling in the rankings. The San Francisco 49ers dropped three spots to No. 6 after losing at Arizona. Thus ended an eight-week stretch with the 49ers ranked between second and fourth.

New Orleans, Pittsburgh and New England moved past the 49ers, but a San Francisco victory over the Steelers in Week 15 would change perceptions once again.

And now, a closer look at the rankings heading into Week 15:

Rising (11): New York Giants (+4), Jacksonville Jaguars (+3), Philadelphia Eagles (+3), San Diego Chargers (+3), Carolina Panthers (+1), Denver Broncos (+1), Detroit Lions (+1), New England Patriots (+1), New Orleans Saints (+1), New York Jets (+1), Pittsburgh Steelers (+1).

Falling (11): Dallas Cowboys (-5), San Francisco 49ers (-3), Buffalo Bills (-2), Kansas City Chiefs (-2), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2), Arizona Cardinals (-1), Cincinnati Bengals (-1), Cleveland Browns (-1), Miami Dolphins (-1), Oakland Raiders (-1), Seattle Seahawks (-1).

Unchanged (10): Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins.

Deadlocked: We broke one tie this week. The Titans prevailed over the Cowboys at No. 13 based on the third tiebreaker (which team won most recently). The first tiebreaker (head-to-head results) did not come into play. The second tiebreaker (overall record) was indecisive.

Like minds: All five voters ranked the Packers first, the Ravens second, the Rams 31st and the Colts 32nd. Four voters ranked the Saints third and the Steelers fourth.

Agree to disagree: We all knew the Raiders were likely going to lose on the road against the unbeaten Packers. John Clayton decided against penalizing the Raiders too heavily. He moved them down only one spot to No. 10.

Kuharsky dropped them from 18th to 21st, leaving an 11-spot gap between highest and lowest votes for Oakland. No team generated a wider disparity among voters.

A look at the eight teams generating disagreements of at least five spots:

• Raiders (11): Clayton 10th, Kuharsky 21st.
• Titans (7): Sando 10th, Fox 17th.
• Redskins (7): Sando 22nd, Fox 29th.
• Chargers (5): Walker 15th, Sando and Fox 20th.
• Seahawks (5): Sando 17th, Kuharsky 22nd.
• Bills (5): Clayton and Fox 21st, Sando 26th.
• Dolphins (5): Kuharsky 20th, Sando and Clayton 25th.
• Jaguars (5): Sando 23rd, Fox 28th.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the AFC North (12.4 average) maintained the highest ranking on average, well ahead of teams from the NFC North (14.8). The AFC South was the lowest-rated division.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Chiefs (-5), Eagles (+5), Jaguars (+7).
• Clayton: None.
• Kuharsky: Chargers (+11).
• Walker: Eagles (+5).
• Fox: Cowboys (-6).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

None of our top six teams this week has defeated a higher-ranked team. Houston is the only top-10 team with a victory over a higher-ranked opponent. The seventh-ranked Texans defeated the fourth-ranked Steelers.

It's somewhat uncommon for more than a few teams to rank lower than three of the opponents they have defeated. The Raiders, Seahawks, Bills, Chiefs, Redskins and Browns fall into that category this week.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos keep turning skeptics into believers. Even those not yet convinced have had to acknowledge the Broncos' recent successes.

Denver has climbed steadily in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings from 28th entering Week 9 to 10th this week -- the highest the Broncos have stood since they held the same spot late in the 2009 season. They are up six spots from last week.

"I don't know if Tebow is sustainable, but he is working now," voter Ashley Fox said. "The Broncos are playing with confidence and as a team. Everyone believes. It is impressive."

Any quarterback with 13 total touchdowns, three turnovers and a 6-1 starting record must be doing something right. Speaking of quarterbacks, three other teams once considered in the running for Andrew Luck gained the most in the rankings from last week. Arizona and Seattle joined Denver in jumping at least five spots from last week.

But with the top seven teams from last week winning while the next tier suffered losses, there was minimal movement near the top overall.

A closer look at the rankings heading into Week 14 ...

Rising (9): Arizona Cardinals (+7), Denver Broncos (+6), Seattle Seahawks (+5), Miami Dolphins (+4), New York Jets (+4), Tennessee Titans (+4), Carolina Panthers (+3), Atlanta Falcons (+1), San Diego Chargers (+1).

Falling (12): Philadelphia Eagles (-6), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6), Chicago Bears (-5), Oakland Raiders (-5), Washington Redskins (-4), Kansas City Chiefs (-2), New York Giants (-2), Buffalo Bills (-1), Cincinnati Bengals (-1), Cleveland Browns (-1), Dallas Cowboys (-1), Detroit Lions (-1).

Unchanged (11): Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams.

Deadlocked: We broke one tie this week. San Diego prevailed over Miami at No. 21 based on head-to-head results.

Like minds: All five voters ranked the Packers first, Ravens second, Patriots sixth, Texans seventh, Rams 31st and Colts 32nd. I cannot recall such uniformity. The order among the top seven remained the same.

Agree to disagree: Seven teams generated disparities of at least seven spots among voters. Paul Kuharsky moved up the Jets seven spots to No. 8 on his ballot, while John Clayton ranked them only 15th.

Why the big jump, Paul?

"Because I had to move Dallas, Cincinnati, Chicago and Detroit down," Kuharsky explained. "So I judged the Jets to be the best of the small pack of teams that went up to make those moves down happen. It was a market adjustment week."

A look at the seven teams generating disagreements of at least seven spots:

• Chargers (9): Walker ranked them 18th, higher than any voter ranked them. Kuharsky ranked them 27th, lower than any voter ranked them.
• Raiders (9): Clayton ninth, Kuharsky 18th.
• Jets (7): Kuharsky eighth, Clayton 15th.
• Titans (7): Sando and Kuharsky 10th, Fox 17th.
• Bills (7): Clayton 18th, Sando 25th.
• Dolphins (7): Kuharsky 17th, Clayton 24th.
• Eagles (7): Kuharsky 19th, Sando 26th.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the AFC North maintained the highest ranking on average despite slipping from last week. That's partly because some teams from the runner-up NFC North also fell in the rankings after the division went 1-3.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Bills (-7), Raiders (-6), Eagles (-6), Bears (-5), Titans (+5), Panthers (+6), Broncos (+7), Cardinals (+8).
• Clayton: Eagles (-6), Buccaneers (-6), Redskins (-6), Seahawks (+6).
• Kuharsky: Raiders (-5), Buccaneers (-5), Dolphins (+5), Panthers (+5), Broncos (+6), Seahawks (+6), Titans (+6), Jets (+7).
• Walker: Eagles (-6), Buccaneers (-6), Bears (-5), Raiders (-5), Cardinals (+7).
• Fox: Broncos (+6).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

Here's a nightmare scenario for Arizona Cardinals fans: Kevin Kolb flounders while a reborn Matt Leinart leads the Houston Texans deep into the playoffs.

The 7-3 Texans' outlook minus injured starting quarterback Matt Schaub framed the biggest debate our voters faced in putting together ESPN's NFL Power Rankings through Week 10.

John Clayton ranked them fourth and Ashley Fox had them fifth. Paul Kuharsky ranked them eighth. I had Houston 11th and James Walker voted them 14th despite four consecutive double-digit victories and a No. 8 ranking last week.

"I was conflicted on the Texans," Fox said, "and decided to rank them based on past performance, rather than the potential for future failure. We will see."

Kuharsky, our AFC South blogger, suspects Leinart could outperform expectations fewer than two years after the Cardinals decided they were better off with Derek Anderson, John Skelton and Max Hall.

"I'm not going to jump to write off the Texans with the Schaub news," Kuharsky said. "Gary Kubiak knows quarterbacks and he loves Leinart."

Cardinals fans would be happy to offer their Leinart video collections. But as ESPN Stats & Information pointed out, Leinart has a slightly above average 52.9 Total QBR on 147 plays since 2008, counting playoffs. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 220 yards and a 73.9 QBR against Tennessee in his last regular-season start in 2009.

"The Texans missed on their last try at a quality backup with Dan Orlovsky," Kuharsky said. "I don't think they'll miss twice in a row. I expect they have enough to win with Leinart playing. But, like everyone, I need to see him play."

And now, a closer look at the rankings heading into Week 11 ...

Rising (12): Arizona Cardinals (+6), Oakland Raiders (+5), Tennessee Titans (+5), Chicago Bears (+4), Denver Broncos (+4), New England Patriots (+4), Seattle Seahawks (+4), Dallas Cowboys (+3), Jacksonville Jaguars (+2), Miami Dolphins (+2), New Orleans Saints (+1), Pittsburgh Steelers (+1)

Falling (15): Philadelphia Eagles (-6), Carolina Panthers (-5), Washington Redskins (-4), Baltimore Ravens (-3), Buffalo Bills (-3), Cleveland Browns (-3), Detroit Lions (-3), Minnesota Vikings (-3), New York Jets (-3), Kansas City Chiefs (-2), Tampa Bay Bucs (-2), Cincinnati Bengals (-1), Houston Texans (-1), New York Giants (-1), San Diego Chargers (-1)

Unchanged (5): Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams.

Deadlocked: We broke two ties this week. Cincinnati prevailed over Dallas at No. 11 based on the second tiebreaker, overall record. Denver prevailed over Tampa Bay at No. 19 on the third tiebreaker, which team won most recently. The first tiebreaker, head-to-head results, did not come into play.

Like minds: All five panelists ranked the Packers first, the 49ers second and the Colts last.

Agree to disagree: Last week, eight spots separated the highest and lowest votes for the Bears. That margin shrunk to five this week, with Chicago moving into the top five for the first time this season. Walker and I ranked the Bears fourth. I've had them in the top eight for a month after admittedly underrating them earlier in the season.

"The Bears are going to be the playoff team no one wants to face in January," Walker said. "They’re not catching the Packers in the standings, so Chicago will be a dangerous wild card. The Bears match up with anyone because they can beat you with offense, defense or special teams."

A look at the eight teams, including Chicago, producing disparities of at least five spots between highest and lowest votes:

• Texans (10): Clayton fourth, Walker 14th.
• Browns (7): Clayton 24th, Sando and Walker 31st.
• Redskins (6): Clayton 23rd, Walker and Fox 29th.
• Bears (5): Sando and Walker fourth, Fox ninth.
• Chiefs (5): Fox 19th, Sando 24th.
• Cardinals (5): Sando, Kuharsky and Fox 22nd, Clayton 27th.
• Seahawks (5): Sando 21st, Clayton and Kuharsky 26th.
• Vikings (5): Kuharsky and Walker 25th, Clayton and Fox 30th.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the NFC North fell from 10.7 to 11.3 in average ranking, but that was still good enough to keep the top spot among divisions, well ahead of the AFC North (12.5 average ranking). The NFC West, coming off its first 4-0 week since realignment in 2002, stands seventh this week, ahead of the AFC South.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Browns (-9), Eagles (-5), Cardinals (+7), Cowboys (+7), Raiders (+7), Seahawks (+7).
• Clayton: Ravens (-5), Panthers (-5), Lions (-5), Vikings (-5), Eagles (-5), Bears (+6), Titans (+6).
• Kuharsky: Eagles (-8), Panthers (-5), Lions (-5), Cardinals (+5), Bears (+6), Patriots (+8), Cowboys (+9), Broncos (+9).
• Walker: Eagles (-8), Redskins (-7), Cardinals (+5), Broncos (+5), Bears (+6), Raiders (+6), Seahawks (+7).
• Fox: Panthers (-6), Vikings (-6), Jets (-6), Redskins (-6), Cowboys (+5), Cardinals (+7).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

Baltimore is the only one of our top eight teams with a victory over a team ranked higher this week. The sixth-ranked Ravens own two victories over the fourth-ranked Steelers. The Chargers are 18th and have not defeated any of the teams ranked higher than them. They are the only team ranked between 12th and 31st without at least one victory over a higher-ranked team.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

So much for the AFC East.

New England and Buffalo suffered the largest drops in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 10, with the Patriots leaving the top 10 for the first time since they were 11th back in Week 14 of the 2009 season. The seven-spot drop to No. 12 left New England with its lowest ranking since the 2008 team was 17th without Tom Brady.

The Patriots lost a little mystique Sunday when the New York Giants ended Brady's 31-game home winning streak during the regular season. The outcome caught at least one of our Power Rankings voters by surprise. AFC East blogger James Walker had left the Giants 16th on his previous three ballots, but he moved them up to seventh this week and sought forgiveness.

"I apologize for under-voting the Giants," Walker said. "I thought they were overrated and didn’t have a true identity. But New York keeps winning and beat the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. I will not underrate them any longer."

The Bills joined the Patriots at 5-3 and in dropping seven spots from last week. Buffalo's No. 14 ranking is the Bills' lowest since sitting at No. 16 heading into Week 3.

And now, a closer look at the latest rankings ...

Rising (12): Dallas Cowboys (+6), Denver Broncos (+5), Cincinnati Bengals (+4), Houston Texans (+3), New York Giants (+3), New Orleans Saints (+2), New York Jets (+2), Arizona Cardinals (+1), Baltimore Ravens (+1), Chicago Bears (+1), Detroit Lions (+1), Tampa Bay Bucs (+1).

Falling (13): Buffalo Bills (-7), New England Patriots (-7), Oakland Raiders (-4), Pittsburgh Steelers (-2), San Diego Chargers (-2), Atlanta Falcons (-1), Carolina Panthers (-1), Cleveland Browns (-1), Jacksonville Jaguars (-1), Kansas City Chiefs (-1), Minnesota Vikings (-1), Seattle Seahawks (-1), St. Louis Rams (-1).

Unchanged (7): Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins.

Deadlocked: We broke two ties this week. New Orleans edged Pittsburgh at No. 4 on the third tiebreaker (which team won most recently). Cincinnati edged the Jets for the 10th spot on the second tiebreaker (better record). The first tiebreaker, head-to-head results, did not come into play.

Like minds: All five panelists ranked the Packers first. Four ranked the Texans eighth. All five ranked the Redskins 22nd or 23rd. All five ranked the Colts last.

Agree to disagree: Eight spots separated the highest and lowest votes for the Bears. A look at the seven teams producing disparities of at least six spots between highest and lowest votes:

• Bears (8): Sando ranked them sixth, higher than any other voter ranked them. Clayton ranked them 14th, lower than any other voter ranked them.
• Bengals (6): Clayton seventh, Walker 13th.
• Jets (6): Fox seventh, Sando 13th.
• Patriots (6): Walker eighth, Kuharsky 14th.
• Cowboys (6): Walker 14th, Kuharsky 20th.
• Buccaneers (6): Sando 15th, Kuharsky 21st.
• Broncos (6): Fox 22nd, Kuharsky 28th.
• Steelers (6): Sando, Kuharsky and Walker fourth, Clayton ninth.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the NFC North rank 10.7 on average, just ahead of teams from the AFC North (10.8). The NFC South is third at 15.0, well behind the top two.

A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Bills (-7), Patriots (-7), Giants (+5).
• Clayton: Raiders (-9), Patriots (-6), Steelers (-5), Jets (+5), Eagles (+5).
• Kuharsky: Bills (-9), Patriots (-7), Eagles (-5), Falcons (+5).
• Walker: Bills (-9), Patriots (-5), Ravens (+5), Cowboys (+5), Broncos (+7), Giants (+9).
• Fox: Patriots (-6), Chargers (-6), Cowboys (+6), Texans (+6).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

The Texans are the only one of our top 11 teams that has defeated a team ranked higher than them. They beat Pittsburgh. The 17th-ranked Chargers are the lowest-ranked team with a record of .500 or better and zero victories over any teams ranked higher than them.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

Alex Smith and the San Francisco 49ers outrank Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings entering Week 9.

Yeah, we saw that coming back in Week 1.

The 49ers were 26th then. The Patriots were first. Not now.

San Francisco, at 6-1, edged 6-2 Pittsburgh for the No. 2 spot behind Green Bay in the latest rankings. Both teams received two second-place votes, one third-place vote and two fourth-place votes. The first tiebreaker, head-to-head results, did not come into play. The 49ers prevailed on the second tiebreaker, overall record.

"I think the 49ers have earned it with their record," said voter Paul Kuharsky, who joined me in ranking the 49ers second. "I'm not sure I'd expect them to beat, say, New England or New Orleans, but I can't let my affection for some teams like the Pats and Saints this season over-influence my picture of right now."

Having watched the 49ers every week and the Saints some weeks, including in their unfathomable defeat to previously winless St. Louis, I think Frank Gore could rush for 200 yards against New Orleans. I think the 49ers would overwhelm the Saints' offensive line and handle them on special teams. More on San Francisco in a bit.

Five of the top six teams from last week changed position in the latest rankings.

The 7-0 Packers remained first following their bye. The 49ers moved up two spots from fourth after beating Cleveland for their fifth consecutive victory outside the NFC West. The Steelers moved up two spots to third after beating the Patriots. Baltimore moved up two spots to fourth, trailing Pittsburgh despite a dominating victory over the Steelers in Week 1.

The Patriots and Saints each tumbled three spots following defeats, but voter James Walker left New England third on his ballot. He joined Ashley Fox in ranking the Steelers second. John Clayton ranked Baltimore second and the 49ers third.

"Beating Tom Brady and the Patriots carries a lot of weight," Walker said in explaining why he ranked the Steelers two spots higher than the 49ers. "I don't think that's something the 49ers can do. Plus, the Steelers are more of a proven commodity, coming off a Super Bowl appearance."

Fox spent Sunday in Pittsburgh and also came away impressed. She pointed to the Steelers' ability to keep Brady off the field.

"Had they been able to score touchdowns in the red zone, the game would've been a rout," Fox said. "It was as impressive a performance as I've seen so far this season. That's why I moved Pittsburgh up."

The 49ers were second on my ballot because they've produced a consistent formula for winning. They run the ball effectively, play phenomenal defense, dominate on special teams and keep turnovers to a minimum.

Questions about Smith's limitations at quarterback are valid. So far, however, he has come through. He threw the winning touchdown pass in the final two minutes to beat Detroit at Ford Field. At Philadelphia, he completed 9 of 9 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns during the third quarter as the 49ers overcame a 20-point deficit to win.

And now, a closer look at the latest rankings ...

Rising (11): Philadelphia Eagles (+6), Minnesota Vikings (+5), Kansas City Chiefs (+3), Atlanta Falcons (+2), Baltimore Ravens (+2), Cincinnati Bengals (+2), New York Giants (+2), Pittsburgh Steelers (+2), San Francisco 49ers (+2), Houston Texans (+1), St. Louis Rams (+1).

Falling (13): San Diego Chargers (-6), Dallas Cowboys (-3), New England Patriots (-3), New Orleans Saints (-3), Carolina Panthers (-2), Oakland Raiders (-2), Tampa Bay Bucs (-2), Washington Redskins (-2), Arizona Cardinals (-1), Denver Broncos (-1), Jacksonville Jaguars (-1), Seattle Seahawks (-1), Tennessee Titans (-1).

Unchanged (8): Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets.

Deadlocked: We broke two ties this week. The 49ers prevailed over the Steelers at No. 2. The Giants edged the Bears at N0. 9, also on the second tiebreaker (better record).

Like minds: All five panelists had the Packers first. Four of five panelists -- everyone but Fox -- had the Dolphins 31st and the Colts 32nd. She had them flipped.

Agree to disagree: The Eagles and Raiders produced the largest disparity between high and low votes. Kuharsky ranked the Eagles 10th, 10 spots higher than Clayton ranked them.

"The Eagles have one of the biggest up arrows of anyone right now," Kuharsky said. "They are up because they are hot, and look like the team I had ranked high at the start."

A look at the seven teams producing disparities of at least six spots between highest and lowest votes:

• Eagles (10): Kuharsky 10th, Clayton 20th.
• Raiders (10): Clayton 11th, Sando 20th.
• Jets (9): Fox seventh, Kuharsky 16th.
• Giants (8): Clayton eighth, Walker 16th.
• Chargers (8): Fox 11th, Kuharsky 19th.
• Lions (7): Walker fifth, Fox 12th.
• Bills (6): Kuharsky fourth, Fox 10th.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: The NFC North holds a narrow lead over the AFC North for the highest ranking on average, 10.9 to 11.0. The AFC East is third at 14.0. The NFC West lags at No. 8, behind the AFC South.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Chargers (-6).
• Clayton: Chargers (-9), Bengals (+10).
• Kuharsky: Patriots (-5), Saints (-5), Vikings (+6), Eagles (+10)
• Walker: Cowboys (-6), Chargers (-6), Saints (-5), Bengals (+5), Texans (+5), Eagles (+6).
• Fox: Cowboys (-6).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

Baltimore, Buffalo and the Giants are the only top 10 teams with victories over teams ranked higher than them this season. Oakland, Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville are the only teams with two victories over higher-ranked teams. No team owns three such victories.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

Four teams ranked third through ninth in ESPN's previous NFL Power Rankings lost in Week 7.

Three of them remained in the top nine anyway when John Clayton, Paul Kuharsky, Ashley Fox and James Walker joined me in casting ballots this week.

As bad as some of these highly ranked teams looked, voters had trouble finding worthy alternatives following an unimpressive week. The Chicago Bears and idle New York Giants crept closer to cracking the top 10, but voters weren't ready to move them any higher just yet.

"The Giants are the biggest smoke-and-mirrors team in the NFL," said Walker, who ranked them 16th, lower than anyone else ranked them. "They're a 4-2 team that's probably going to be 5-2 after this week, but I can't name two things they do well on a consistent basis."

The Giants nonetheless ranked 11th. They have been between 10th and 12th four times in the past five weeks. They're home against Miami before playing road games against No. 2 New England and No. 4 San Francisco.

New Orleans moved up two spots to No. 3 after the Saints' 62-7 victory over NCAA Division III Indianapolis. Baltimore dropped three spots to No. 6 after losing to Jacksonville. The Chargers remained in the top 10 for a fifth consecutive week despite losing. The Bears cracked the top 10 for the first time since Week 3.

Green Bay remained the only team to hold the No. 1 spot this season, with New England ranking second for the sixth time in eight rankings this season.

A closer look at the voting this week ...

Rising (13): Atlanta Falcons (+5), Houston Texans (+5), Chicago Bears (+4), Jacksonville Jaguars (+4), Buffalo Bills (+3), Dallas Cowboys (+3), Kansas City Chiefs (+3), New York Jets (+3), Pittsburgh Steelers (+3), Carolina Panthers (+2), Cincinnati Bengals (+2), New Orleans Saints (+2), St. Louis Rams (+1).

Falling (12): Oakland Raiders (-6), Tennessee Titans (-6), Tampa Bay Bucs (-5), Washington Redskins (-5), Seattle Seahawks (-4), Arizona Cardinals (-3), Baltimore Ravens (-3), Detroit Lions (-2), Philadelphia Eagles (-2), San Diego Chargers (-2), Cleveland Browns (-1), Miami Dolphins (-1).

Unchanged (7): Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers.

Deadlocked: We broke no ties this week.

Like minds: All five voters ranked the Packers first and the Patriots second. Only one spot separated high and low votes for Indianapolis and New Orleans.

Agree to disagree: The Giants generated the largest disparity between highest and lowest votes. At least seven spots separated high and low votes for the following seven teams:

• Giants (9): Paul Kuharsky ranked them seventh, higher than any other voter ranked them. James Walker ranked them 16th, lower than any other voter ranked them.
• Bengals (8): Kuharsky 12th, Clayton and Walker 20th.
• Cowboys (8): Walker 13th, Kuharsky 21st.
• Jets (8): Fox seventh, Clayton 15th.
• Raiders (8): Kuharsky 10th, Sando 18th.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the NFC North ranked 12.2 on average, up slightly from last week and enough for the division to rank first on average. Teams from the AFC North remained second at 12.9, also up slightly. The NFC West, 0-3 in Week 7, dropped slightly below the AFC South as the last-ranked division. Highest votes in red. Lowest votes in blue.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Raiders (-9), Titans (-8), Chargers (-6), Falcons (+6), Texans (+6), Chiefs (+7), Jets (+8).
• Clayton: Texans (+5).
• Kuharsky: Buccaneers (-5), Redskins (-5), Bears (+5), Chiefs (+5)
• Walker: Raiders (-6), Buccaneers (-6), Titans (-6), Seahawks (-5), Falcons (+6), Texans (+7).
• Fox: Titans (-8), Raiders (-7), Redskins (-6), Seahawks (-5), Buccaneers (-5), Falcons (+5), Texans (+5), Chiefs (+5), Bears (+6), Cowboys (+6), Jets (+6).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

None of the top five teams this week has defeated a team ranked higher in the standings. Oakland, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville are the only teams with more than one victory over a team presently ranked higher than them. Each owns two such victories.

Baltimore and Buffalo are the only teams in the top 10 with a victory over a higher-ranked team. The sixth-ranked Ravens beat the No. 5 Steelers. The seventh-ranked Bills beat the No. 2 Patriots.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

The last season in which the San Francisco 49ers fielded a playoff team, they peaked at No. 2 in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings.

That was way back in Week 11 of 2002, when Steve Mariucci, Jeff Garcia, Terrell Owens and Garrison Hearst defined the 49ers' identity.

The 2011 team is gaining ground quickly. Four consecutive victories, three of them on the road, have vaulted the 49ers of Jim Harbaugh, Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Justin Smith and Patrick Willis to a 5-1 record and No. 4 standing in our rankings entering Week 7.

That is the 49ers' highest ranking since ranking tied for fourth in Week 12 of the 2002 season. They rose five spots this week, moving past New Orleans, Detroit, San Diego, Pittsburgh and Oakland.

"They are the real deal this year and have won more QUALITY games than any team playing," 81sanfranman wrote.

The 49ers have beaten three teams that currently have winning records (Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Detroit). They also won on the road against preseason NFC favorite Philadelphia.

"There will be some very hard words if the NFC West guy doesn't place the 49ers either No. 2 or No. 3," Hypchucky9 wrote. "We lost to the Cowboys, the Patriots lost to the Bills and the Ravens lost to the Titans. If the rankings are usually about power with regard to talent and efficiency, you would be hard bent to put us lower than No. 3."

The NFC West guy (that would be me) ranked the 49ers fourth. No one else ranked them higher. The Packers are the obvious No. 1 team. New England is more firmly established as a top team, and the Patriots have the better quarterback. Baltimore has won convincingly over teams that have periodically appeared among the top 10 this season (Pittsburgh, Houston and the New York Jets).

The 49ers are on the rise. They opened the regular season at No. 26 and have climbed from 16th to ninth to fourth over the past three weeks. They visit Baltimore in Week 12 and play a Monday night home game against the Steelers in Week 15. They'll have opportunities to move up even more.

Before taking a closer look at the rankings heading into Week 7, I'll pass along comments from our voters covering issues that stood out to me from their ballots.

• Kuharsky downs San Diego: Paul Kuharsky ranked San Diego only 16th, 10 spots lower than anyone else ranked them. He pointed to the teams the Chargers have beaten while acknowledging San Diego cannot control its schedule. Kuharsky: "San Diego is definitely due for a big jump from me. I had them 12th before the bye and felt I needed to move up Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, the Giants and San Francisco. So, the Chargers suffered for it. Generally, I am reluctant to move a team up off a bye. Tennessee was also off and also suffered -- dropping from 10th to 15th."
• Walker has Chargers' back: James Walker ranked the Chargers fourth, higher than anyone ranked them. Walker: "The Chargers aren't elite, but they are beating the teams on their schedule. I also like the fact they're starting fast this season, because the Chargers are notoriously slow starters."
• Clayton on the Bengals: John Clayton, on why he has the Bengals only 21st, nine spots lower than Kuharsky has them: "Even though they are 4-2, the Bengals have won games against teams that are 7-16. They have been helped by the schedule."

OK, here we go ...

Rising (11): San Francisco 49ers (+5), Chicago Bears (+4), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+4), New York Giants (+3), Arizona Cardinals (+2), Baltimore Ravens (+2), Cincinnati Bengals (+2), Oakland Raiders (+2), Kansas City Chiefs (+1), New York Jets (+1), Philadelphia Eagles (+1).

Falling (8): Dallas Cowboys (-6), Houston Texans (-5), Washington Redskins (-5), Buffalo Bills (-4), Detroit Lions (-2), Minnesota Vikings (-2), New Orleans Saints (-2), Carolina Panthers (-1).

Unchanged (13): Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans.

Deadlocked: We broke one tie this week. San Diego prevailed over Pittsburgh at No. 7 based on the second tiebreaker, overall record.

Like minds: All five voters ranked the Packers first and the Patriots second. Four ranked the Ravens third.

Agree to disagree: Twelve spots separated high and low votes for the Chargers. Five other teams produced high-low disparities of at least eight places. Let's take a look:

• Chargers (12): Walker ranked them fourth, higher than anyone else ranked them. Kuharsky ranked them 16th, lower than anyone else ranked them.
• Jets (9): Walker and Fox 13th, Sando 22nd.
• Bengals (9): Kuharsky 12th, Clayton 21st.
• Giants (8): Kuharsky eighth, Walker 20th.
• Bears (8): Sando 10th, Kuharsky 18th.
• Redskins (8): Fox 12th, Sando 20th.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the NFC North rank 12.3 on average, ahead of teams from the runner-up AFC North (13.0). The chart below shows how each voter ranked each division on average. Highest votes in red. Lowest votes in blue.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Redskins (-8), Giants (+5), 49ers (+5), Bucs (+7).
• Clayton: Redskins (-5), Giants (+5).
• Kuharsky: Texans (-6), Titans (-5), Bengals (+6), Giants (+7), 49ers (+8).
• Walker: Texans (-7), Redskins (-7), 49ers (+5), Bucs (+7).
• Fox: Texans (-7).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season. None of the top nine teams this week has defeated a team ranked higher in the standings. Buffalo, ranked No. 10, has defeated two teams ranked higher, New England and Oakland.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

The West is not yet won in the NFL, but it's winning.

Teams from the two Western divisions climbed a combined 13 spots from last week in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings, with teams from their Southern counterparts falling 23 places in all.

That was the theme for the week after John Clayton, Paul Kuharsky, James Walker and Ashley Fox joined me in casting ballots heading into Week 6.

The top five teams remained in the top five, with New England overtaking New Orleans for the second spot after Walker, the AFC East blogger, dropped the Saints two places to No. 4 on his ballot. Walker also made a statement by ranking the Dallas Cowboys 11th, four spots higher than anyone else ranked them.

"Of all the NFC East teams, I think the Cowboys are the most believable," Walker said. "I don’t trust the Redskins’ offense or the Giants in general. And the Eagles may have dug themselves too big a hole. Dallas is getting healthy and can be pretty good once it puts it all together."

There was significant volatility outside the top five, with the San Francisco 49ers climbing a league-high seven spots following their 48-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They would threaten the top five with a victory at Detroit in Week 6.

The bar is considerably lower for the Cincinnati Bengals. They can get to 4-2 and likely continue their methodical climb in the rankings with a victory over Indianapolis. The Bengals are the only team to move up every Tuesday since Week 1 (32, 30, 28, 27, 21, 20).

And now, a closer look at the rankings heading into Week 6 ...

Rising (13): San Francisco 49ers (+7), Pittsburgh Steelers (+5), Minnesota Vikings (+4), Oakland Raiders (+4), Buffalo Bills (+3), Kansas City Chiefs (+3), Seattle Seahawks (+3), Dallas Cowboys (+2), Washington Redskins (+2), Cincinnati Bengals (+1), Miami Dolphins (+1), New England Patriots (+1), St. Louis Rams (+1).

Falling (11): Houston Texans (-6), Arizona Cardinals (-5), Tampa Bay Bucs (-5), Tennessee Titans (-5), New York Giants (-4), Indianapolis Colts (-3), Jacksonville Jaguars (-3), New York Jets (-3), Cleveland Browns (-1), New Orleans Saints (-1), Philadelphia Eagles (-1).

Unchanged (8): Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers.

Deadlocked: We broke two ties this week. The Giants prevailed over the Cowboys at No. 14 based on the second tiebreaker, overall record. The Dolphins edged the Rams at No. 30 based on the fourth tiebreaker, previous ranking.

Like minds: All five voters ranked the Packers first. Only one spot separated votes for the Patriots (second or third on all ballots) and Colts (31st or 32nd on all ballots).

Agree to disagree: Seven spots separated high and low votes for the Cowboys. Nine other teams produced high-low disparities of at least six places. Let's take a look:

• Cowboys (7): Walker ranked them 11th, higher than any voter ranked them. Fox ranked them 18th, lower than any voter ranked them.
• Chargers (6): Sando, Walker and Fox sixth, Kuharsky 12th.
• Texans (6): Kuharsky eighth, Walker 14th.
• Giants (6): Fox 13th, Sando 19th.
• Buccaneers (6): Kuharsky 14th, Sando 20th.
• Jets (6): Walker and Fox 15th, Sando 21st.
• Eagles (6): Clayton 18th, Fox 24th.
• Seahawks (6): Sando 17th, Clayton and Walker 23rd.
• Panthers (6): Walker 22nd, Fox 28th.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the NFC North rank 12.2 on average, well ahead of teams from the runner-up AFC North (13.9). The chart below shows how each voter ranked each division on average. Highest votes in red. Lowest votes in blue.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Giants (-11), Texans (-6), Buccaneers (-6), Jaguars (-5), Seahawks (+7), 49ers (+8).
• Clayton: Texans (-7), Titans (-5), 49ers (+6), Steelers (+7).
• Kuharsky: Buccaneers (-7), Bengals (+5).
• Walker: Texans (-8), Buccaneers (-7), Cardinals (-6), Giants (-5), Vikings (+5), Raiders (+7), Steelers (+7), 49ers (+7).
• Fox: Falcons (-5), Texans (-5), Buccaneers (-5), Chiefs (+5), Vikings (+6), Steelers (+6), Raiders (+8), 49ers (+8).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

Stability at the top marked ESPN's NFL Power Rankings following Week 4.

The top five teams, led by Green Bay, remained unchanged. The Packers have been No. 1 all the way and that's not likely to change while they remain undefeated.

Much has changed since our preseason rankings published Sept. 6, however. A quick look at the five teams whose standing has fluctuated by at least 15 spots in the last month:

• Buffalo (24 spots): high of sixth, low of 30th, currently ninth. No one around here or virtually anywhere foresaw the Bills winning their first three games. Voters' showed some respect for the Bills by dropping them only three spots following a defeat at Cincinnati.
• Indianapolis (21): high of ninth, low of 30th, currently 29th. Curtis Painter's 87-yard touchdown pass Monday night was longer than any Peyton Manning has ever completed, but the Colts are 0-4. Yeah, we saw this coming.
• Philadelphia (17): high of third, low of 20th, currently 20th. Dream Team? Our Philly-based voter, Ashley Fox, dropped the Eagles to 21st, lower than anyone ranked them. She must have been watching Sunday.
• Tennessee (17): high of eighth, low of 25th, currently eighth. Matt Hasselbeck was the NFL's lowest-rated passer with at least 35 starts from 2008-10. Looks like the Seattle Seahawks had something to do with that.
• Washington (16): high of 12th, low of 28th, currently 12th. The Redskins' victories aren't inspiring much confidence, but they have three of them thanks to a couple dates with the NFC West.
• St. Louis (15): high of 17th, low of 32nd, currently 32nd. Speaking of the NFC West, weren't the Rams favored to win the division? They were. Not now. Not with Sam Bradford on pace to take 72 sacks.

And now, a closer look at the rankings heading into Week 5 ...

Rising (10): Tennessee Titans (+7), Cincinnati Bengals (+6), Washington Redskins (+4), San Francisco 49ers (+4), Kansas City Chiefs (+4), Tampa Bay Bucs (+3), San Diego Chargers (+2), New York Giants (+2), Houston Texans (+2), Indianapolis Colts (+1).

Falling (14): New York Jets (-7), Dallas Cowboys (-6), Buffalo Bills (-3), Philadelphia Eagles (-3), Pittsburgh Steelers (-3), Carolina Panthers (-2), Miami Dolphins (-2), Minnesota Vikings (-2), Oakland Raiders (-2), Cleveland Browns (-1), Denver Broncos (-1), Jacksonville Jaguars (-1), Seattle Seahawks (-1), St. Louis Rams (-1).

Unchanged (8): Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints.

Deadlocked: We broke one tie this week. Miami prevailed over St. Louis at No. 31 based on the fourth and final tiebreaker (previous ranking). The first three tiebreakers -- head-to-head results this season, overall record this season and which team won most recently this season -- proved indecisive.

Like minds: All five voters ranked the Packers first. Four ranked the Patriots second. Four ranked the Chiefs 28th.

Agree to disagree: Nine spots separated highest and lowest votes for the Chargers and Raiders, the biggest gap this week. A look at the five teams generating gaps of at least seven spots between high and low votes:

• Raiders (9): Paul Kuharsky ranked them 11th, higher than any voter ranked them. James Walker ranked them 20th, lower than any voter ranked them.
• Chargers (9): Clayton and Fox sixth, Kuharsky 15th.
• Jets (7): Walker 11th, Sando 18th.
• Steelers (7): Sando and Kuharsky 10th, Clayton 17th.
• Buccaneers (7): Kuharsky seventh, Sando 14th.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: The NFC North held onto the highest average ranking (13.1) despite dropping from 11.8 last week. The NFC South overtook the AFC East for the second spot. The chart below shows how each voter ranked each division on average. Highest votes in red. Lowest votes in blue.



A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Jets (-10), Cowboys (-7), Bills (-6), Eagles (-5), Giants (+5), Titans (+5), Bengals (+6).
• Clayton: Cowboys (-6), Broncos (-6), Jets (-6), Raiders (-6), Ravens (+5), Chiefs (+5), Titans (+5), Bengals (+6), 49ers (+7).
• Kuharsky: Jets (-7), Titans (+5), 49ers (+7).
• Walker: Vikings (-7), Steelers (-5), Eagles (-5), Bengals (+7), Titans (+8).
• Fox: Steelers (-10), Cowboys (-9), Jets (-9), Eagles (-6), Bengals (+7), Titans (+9), Texans (+10), Redskins (+10).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

One of the NFL's more fascinating weekends shook up ESPN's Power Rankings.

Voters agreed on the top (Green Bay) and bottom (Kansas City). A food fight broke out in between. New Orleans, New England, Detroit, Baltimore and Buffalo rounded out the top six even though there was little consensus among voters.

John Clayton honored won-lost records in moving 3-0 Detroit and 3-0 Buffalo into the top three spots on his ballot. Paul Kuharsky left the Bills all the way down at No. 10, eight spots lower than the New England team they defeated Sunday. Ashley Fox showed similar restraint on Buffalo while listing the Lions eighth, lower than anyone else ranked them.

We've got some explaining to do, in other words.

"Normally, in the third week of the season, I try to take account of who beat teams where and when," Clayton said. "I put Detroit and Buffalo near the top because they are 3-0 and they have quality wins. The Lions have two road victories. Impressive. The Bills have beaten the Patriots and a Raiders team that is making some noise of being in contention for the playoffs."

What say you, Kuharsky?

"I see the Patriots' loss to the Bills as a blip -- a great result for Buffalo, but a blip for the Patriots," he said. "Brady's not throwing picks like that again this season. I jumped the Bills eight spots, which is a ton. I never jump a mid- or low-ranked team that beats a high-ranked team all the way above the team they've beaten. It give too much weight to one game."

James Walker joined me and Fox in listing Green Bay, New Orleans and New England at the top. I put the Lions and Bills in my top five. They did not. I would have moved the Bills past the Patriots if they had beaten New England on the road or if they had controlled the game from start to finish. Buffalo's comeback was impressive and compelling, but not quite enough for me to move the Bills all the way past New England on my ballot.

"The challenge this early is weighing which teams are playing well versus which teams are truly better," Walker said. "Is Philadelphia a better team than Oakland? Absolutely. Are the Eagles playing better than Oakland right now? Probably not. It’s a delicate balance weighing the short and long term."

Baltimore and Tampa Bay were among the teams languishing on some ballots despite their victories. And the previously unbeaten Houston Texans dropped all the way to No. 17 on Fox's ballot following their defeat at New Orleans.

"I really look at Nos. 8-18 as being virtually interchangeable at this point," Fox said. "They are good, but not yet great teams. All have the potential of moving up significantly, or falling off. I penalized the Texans because they have beaten two of the worst teams in the league in Indianapolis and Miami, and then collapsed against one of the best. But they certainly could be back in the top 10 in a matter if weeks."

And now, a closer look at the rankings heading into Week 4 ...

Rising (14): Buffalo Bills (+10), Cleveland Browns (+8), Seattle Seahawks (+8), Detroit Lions (+7), Oakland Raiders (+7), New York Giants (+6), Carolina Panthers (+5), San Diego Chargers (+3), San Francisco 49ers (+3), Baltimore Ravens (+2), Dallas Cowboys (+2), New Orleans Saints (+2), Tennessee Titans (+2), Cincinnati Bengals (+1).

Falling (15): Atlanta Falcons (-11), Philadelphia Eagles (-11), St. Louis Rams (-9), Chicago Bears (-8), Arizona Cardinals (-4), Jacksonville Jaguars (-4), Miami Dolphins (-4), New York Jets (-4), Houston Texans (-3), Denver Broncos (-2), Minnesota Vikings (-2), Kansas City Chiefs (-1), New England Patriots (-1), Pittsburgh Steelers (-1), Washington Redskins (-1).

Unchanged (3): Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Bucs.

Deadlocked: We broke three ties this week. Tennessee prevailed over Washington at No. 15 based on the third tiebreaker (which team won most recently). Seattle prevailed over Jacksonville at No. 24 based on the third tiebreaker. Miami prevailed over Indianapolis at No. 29 based on the fourth tiebreaker (previous ranking).

Like minds: All voters ranked the Packers first and the Chiefs 32nd.

Agree to disagree: The Texans generated the largest gap between highest and lowest votes. Walker ranked them fifth, higher than any voter ranked them. Fox ranked them 17th, lower than any voter ranked them. A look at the six teams generating gaps of at least eight spots between high and low votes:

• Texans (12): Walker fifth, Fox 17th.
• Ravens (10): Kuharsky and Walker fourth, Clayton 14th.
• Steelers (9): Fox sixth, Clayton 15th.
• Raiders (9): Clayton eighth, Walker 17th.
• Bucs (8): Kuharsky ninth, Sando 17th.
• Vikings (8): Walker 23rd, Kuharsky 31st.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: The AFC East overtook the AFC North as the highest-ranked division on average. The chart below shows how each voter ranked each division on average. Highest votes in red. Lowest votes in blue.

A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least eight spots since last week:

• Sando: Falcons (-11), Bears (-11), Eagles (-9), Cardinals (-8), Rams (-8), Raiders (+8), Giants (+8), Lions (+8), Bills (+8).
• Clayton: Falcons (-11), Bears (-11), Rams (-10), Jaguars (-8), Giants (+8), Seahawks (+8), Raiders (+11), Bills (+12).
• Kuharsky: Falcons (-10), Eagles (-10), Rams (-8), Bills (+8), Raiders (+8).
• Walker: Falcons (-9), Cardinals (-8), Eagles (-8), Giants (+9), Bills (+10).
• Fox: Eagles (-10), Rams (-9), Texans (-8), Chiefs (-8), Browns (+9), Bills (+10), Seahawks (+10).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

More than a few Buffalo Bills fans wanted to know what it would take for voters to give their team a little respect in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings.

"Please tell me why you and your friends that do the power rankings have the Bills ranked below the Chiefs when the Bills went into Arrowhead and won by 34 points," Mike from Coal Valley, Ill., wrote last week. "I just really would like some sort of explanation."

We've got one for you, Mike: We were wrong, but now we're right -- at least for a week.

The Bills' Week 2 victory over Oakland, though narrow, was enough for voters to push Buffalo up a league-best 11 places. The Bills are 16th overall heading into their Week 3 game against the New England Patriots, who remained second behind Green Bay despite picking up another first-place vote (mine). That is the Bills' highest ranking since the 2008 team was fourth in Week 8. That team slumped to a No. 23 finish, losing seven of eight at one point.

The current Bills stand 15 spots higher than the Chiefs and 14 above Indianapolis. For the Colts, losing at home to Cleveland sent them sliding down ballots as voters concluded the team was doomed, not just diminished, without Peyton Manning.

AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky dropped the Colts 12 spots, the largest drop for Indianapolis on any ballot. Last week, Kuharsky had billed that Browns-Colts game as one that would determine whether Indy was average or plain horrible. Now we know.

The Colts weren't the only team heading south for the winter. The Chiefs dropped 17 spots on John Clayton's ballot after getting blown out again and losing Jamaal Charles to a knee injury. They fell 10 spots in the rankings, the largest drop from last week.

The Seattle Seahawks, shut out at Pittsburgh, hit a new low by displacing Cleveland as the last-ranked team. They dropped one spot after previously never ranking lower than 29th (2008, Week 14) since 2002.

And now, a closer look at the rankings heading into Week 3 ...

Rising (13): Buffalo Bills (+11), Tennessee Titans (+8), Houston Texans (+5), Washington Redskins (+4), Denver Broncos (+4), Atlanta Falcons (+3), Cleveland Browns (+3), New York Jets (+2), New Orleans Saints (+2), Carolina Panthers (+2), Cincinnati Bengals (+2), Detroit Lions (+1), Miami Dolphins (+1).

Falling (15): Kansas City Chiefs (-10), Indianapolis Colts (-7), Jacksonville Jaguars (-6), Philadelphia Eagles (-3), Baltimore Ravens (-3), Chicago Bears (-3), San Diego Chargers (-3), Arizona Cardinals (-3), Oakland Raiders (-2), St. Louis Rams (-2), Minnesota Vikings (-2), Pittsburgh Steelers (-1), New York Giants (-1), San Francisco 49ers (-1), Seattle Seahawks (-1).

Unchanged (4): Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Deadlocked: We broke no ties this week.

Like minds: Only one spot separated highest and lowest votes for the Packers, Patriots and Jets. Two votes separated votes for the Cowboys and Seahawks.

Agree to disagree: The Titans generated the largest gap between highest and lowest votes. I ranked them 14th, higher than any voter ranked them. Ashley Fox ranked them 25th, lower than any voter ranked them. A look at the six teams generating gaps of at least eight spots between high and low votes:

• Titans (11): Sando 14th, Fox 25th.
• Vikings (10): James Walker 20th, Kuharsky 30th.
• Colts (9): Fox 23rd, Sando 32nd.
• 49ers (8): Walker 18th, Fox 26th.
• Dolphins (8): Kuharsky 23rd, Fox 31st.
• Chiefs (8): Fox 24th, three voters 32nd.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: The NFC North held onto the highest average ranking (11.8) for any division despite slipping slightly. The AFC East was close behind at 11.9 after another impressive victory from Buffalo. The chart below shows how each voter ranked each division on average. Highest votes in red. Lowest votes in blue.

A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Chiefs (-10), Chargers (-5), Jaguars (-5), Titans (+5), Browns (+5), Texans (+6), Broncos (+6), Bills (+12).
• Clayton: Chiefs (-17), Eagles (-8), Vikings (-6), Ravens (-5), Rams (-5), Jets (+5), Broncos (+6), Texans (+7), Lions (+8), Bills (+12).
• Kuharsky: Colts (-12), Jaguars (-6), Chiefs (-6), Raiders (-5), Cowboys (+5), Bills (+6), Redskins (+6), Titans (+9).
• Walker: Jaguars (-7), Chiefs (-6), Titans (+7).
• Fox: Colts (-7), Dolphins (-7), Raiders (-5), Bills (+7).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.