NFL Power Rankings, Week 10: Seahawks and Rams soar into top 2 spots amid major midseason shakeup

Folks, we just experienced Power Rankings history.

Never before — at least on my watch — have the top four teams all lost in the same week. But that happened on a wild Sunday, as the Lions, Colts, Chiefs and Packers all went down, with two of those nominal Super Bowl contenders falling at home. Perhaps we’re underrating the Panthers and Vikings (with J.J. McCarthy back), yet it’s still a tough look for those of us who slave all week long in the Power Rankings laboratory, trying to cook up the most accurate NFL pecking order.

That’s why I wanted to reward the Seahawks for their rollicking win at Washington on Sunday night, when they controlled the game from jump street. Some eagle-eyed Seattle fans rightfully raked me over the coals last week for dropping their team two spots after its bye, even if my intent was to spotlight a few clubs that shined while the Seahawks enjoyed their rest. The ‘Hawks looked beyond rested against the Commanders, improving to 4-0 on the road in dominant fashion. Also dominant were the division-rival Rams, who have won three straight. We’re at the midpoint of the 2025 campaign, and it’s hard to say many teams have been as consistently good as these NFC West rivals — who, we should note, are set to meet in two Sundays.

It’s rarely clean or easy around here, but when it comes to the Power Rankings, we aim to right wrongs and get everything as correct as we can, even if that means swabbing down the entire deck every few weeks.

NOTE: Up/down arrows below reflect movement from the Week 9 Power Rankings.

In the last edition of the Power Rankings, I dropped the Seahawks following their bye, looking to reward some teams that had done well in Week 8. Boy, that blew up in my face. Spanking the Commanders something fierce reminded me of what I first saw in Seattle when I had it cracking the top three not long ago: a really dangerous football team when the ‘Hawks are playing at their best. And their best best could still be in front of them, with the acquisition of WR Rashid Shaheed and with a lot of younger players manning big roles, especially on defense. They can also get healthier on that side of the ball, which makes Sunday night’s dominance all the more impressive. Seattle’s defense really only has been stressed once this season — in the Week 5 loss vs. Tampa Bay — and Sam Darnold looked pretty great Sunday following some so-so play before the bye.