Make New York Post a Preferred Source There was more chalk in the NFL in Week 9 than there was in a 1990s classroom.
Only one team with a worse record than its opponent pulled off the upset: The Saints hung on to beat the Browns, 23-22, in overtime when Shedeur Sanders’ two-point conversion pass for the win the game fell incomplete.
And the chalk has been happening for a while: Only four games out of 44 the past three weeks were won by a team that still trailed the losing team by more than a game in the leaguewide standings after the result.
So, after both games billed as potential Super Bowl previews (Bills-Vikings and Packers-Patriots) fell flat, The Post’s NFL power rankings for Week 10 look a lot like they did last week:
James Cook carried 31 times for 107 yards and a touchdown as the key to the plan to keep the blitz-happy Vikings defense at bay in a 23-6 road victory. Fourth-string tight end Keliki Latu caught Josh Allen’s only touchdown pass. Terrel Bernard had one interception and dropped another thrown right into his hands. Tyler Bass improved to 19-for-19 on field goals.
Brock Purdy threw for two touchdowns and ran for another touchdown in a 38-17 win against the Raiders. The 49ers forced five second-half takeaways, including two fourth-quarter interceptions of Kirk Cousins, for the first time in 20 years (also against the Raiders). Christian McCaffrey set the record for most receiving touchdowns by a running back (37).
The Broncos ran their winning streak in one-score games to 16 by beating the Panthers, 26-21, behind Bo Nix’s 237 passing yards and two touchdowns. But the win wasn’t clinched until Nik Bonitto’s strip-sack and fumble recovery with 84 seconds remaining. Nix converted a third down with his legs to run out the clock. Devon Key was granted an interception after a controversial review.
Caleb Williams threw a career-high four interceptions but atoned for his mistakes with a 38-yard pass to Colston Loveland to set up Cairo Santos’ walk-off 38-yard field goal in a 27-24 win against the Buccaneers. Luther Burden had 97 yards receiving and a touchdown but lost a fumble while suffering a concussion for giveaway No. 5. The Bears haven’t trailed at all during a four-game winning streak.
Starting in place of Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz was dreadful in the loss to the Bills. He completed 8-of-25 passes with two interceptions, posting the lowest QBR by any player since 2019. Maybe the game would’ve looked different if replay review hadn’t overturned Andrew Van Ginkel’s second-quarter strip-sack recovery at the 1-yard line. The Vikings allowed a season-high 23 points.
Kenneth Walker III scored three touchdowns, including two through the air, and finished with 143 yards from scrimmage in a 35-12 pounding of the Jets. The Chiefs had five sacks and allowed just four field goals, pitching a second-half shutout. Patrick Mahomes overcame an elbow injury on a strip-sack. Three different rushers scored touchdowns, including Travis Kelce.
Jaylen Warren spent the bye week as the NFL leader with 5.9 yards per carry on the way to 704 yards. But the Steelers only have four rushing touchdowns, leaving Aaron Rodgers (13 touchdown passes) to turn back the clock in the red zone. T.J. Watt’s 7.5 sacks lead a defense that ranks among the stingiest in points allowed.
Joe Burrow threw three touchdowns compared to five incompletions to continue staking a claim for NFL MVP in a 34-17 victory against the Falcons in Madrid. Ja’Marr Chase was unstoppable with 10 catches for 155 yards. It didn’t even matter that Jordan Battle dropped a walk-in pick-six. The Bengals head into their bye week with four straight wins.
The defense treated Joe Fagnano the way that you’d expect to treat a 25-year-old rookie third-stringer in his first career start, intercepting him twice and holding him to 60 yards passing in a 33-10 win against the Ravens. Bhayshul Tuten capped a game-opening 77-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Parker Washington’s 50-yard touchdown catch pushed the halftime lead to 17-3.
Jake Bates made four field goals as the Lions survived the lowly Dolphins, 19-9, despite an underwhelming day from their explosive offense. Jared Goff only threw for 170 yards and was intercepted for just the second time this season, but Jahmyr Gibbs picked up his teammate with an eight-yard rushing touchdown. Players arrived in injured teammate Jack Campbell’s No. 46 jersey.
It took hiring John Harbaugh and Jameis Winston coming off the bench to throw the go-ahead touchdown pass in place of an injured J.J. McCarthy, but the Giants finally halted their 13-game losing streak in Philadelphia with a 19-11 win against the Eagles. Dominic Zvada was 4-for-4 on field goals. Arvell Reese had three of the Giants’ seven sacks.
The Garrett Wilson-less Jets managed 58 total yards in the second half of the blowout loss in Kansas City, where they haven’t won since 1998. Geno Smith passed for just 89 yards through three quarters. Rookie David Bailey sacked Mahomes twice and forced two fumbles. The much-speculated running-back division of labor ended up with Breece Hall’s 15 carries to Braelon Allen’s eight.
