In a strange week of upsets and strange blowouts, we get strange impacts. The formula is pretty simple, a team’s rating is:
50% their scoring margin (with blowout margins getting less credit)
50% opponents scoring margin against other teams (i.e. factoring out the results against that team)
The Steelers have been #1 all season with the combination of schedule strength and results. With this being their bye week, not much changed. There were some shakeups though:
| Rank | Team | W | L | T | Margin | Sched Rtg | SOS Rank | Last Wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steelers | 3 | 1 | 0 | 20.917 | 10.229 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Jets | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14.6 | 2.4 | 12 | 2 |
| 3 | Titans | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12.842 | 4.042 | 6 | 7 |
| 4 | Ravens | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12.45 | 6.35 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Colts | 3 | 2 | 0 | 11.383 | 2.283 | 13 | 9 |
| 6 | Patriots | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11.073 | 0.885 | 18 | 6 |
| 7 | Falcons | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10.1 | 0 | 26 | 10 |
| 8 | Packers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9.963 | 1.863 | 16 | 8 |
| 9 | Chiefs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9.625 | 2.875 | 8 | 3 |
| 10 | Lions | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8.829 | 4.929 | 3 | 21 |
| 11 | Chargers | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7.988 | -0.613 | 27 | 5 |
| 12 | Bears | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7.633 | 1.933 | 15 | 18 |
| 13 | Eagles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6.325 | 0.475 | 22 | 11 |
| 14 | Giants | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5.675 | 2.675 | 10 | 24 |
| 15 | Broncos | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4.158 | 4.458 | 5 | 13 |
| 16 | Vikings | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3.604 | 2.854 | 9 | 23 |
| 17 | Cowboys | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3.531 | 3.281 | 7 | 14 |
| 18 | Redskins | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3.033 | 2.233 | 14 | 12 |
| 19 | Browns | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.325 | 4.725 | 4 | 19 |
| 20 | Bengals | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.067 | 0.367 | 24 | 16 |
| 21 | Seahawks | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.391 | -0.859 | 29 | 17 |
| 22 | Bucs | 3 | 1 | 0 | -0.979 | -1.229 | 30 | 25 |
| 23 | Texans | 3 | 2 | 0 | -1.425 | 0.775 | 20 | 15 |
| 24 | Rams | 2 | 3 | 0 | -2.454 | -1.904 | 31 | 20 |
| 25 | Raiders | 2 | 3 | 0 | -3.125 | 0.075 | 25 | 28 |
| 26 | Saints | 3 | 2 | 0 | -3.763 | -4.563 | 32 | 22 |
| 27 | Dolphins | 2 | 2 | 0 | -3.99 | 0.76 | 21 | 26 |
| 28 | Jaguars | 3 | 2 | 0 | -4.15 | 0.45 | 23 | 27 |
| 29 | 49ers | 0 | 5 | 0 | -6.196 | 2.504 | 11 | 29 |
| 30 | Cardinals | 3 | 2 | 0 | -6.338 | 1.313 | 17 | 30 |
| 31 | Panthers | 0 | 5 | 0 | -11.033 | -0.833 | 28 | 32 |
| 32 | Bills | 0 | 5 | 0 | -12.525 | 0.875 | 19 | 31 |
The noteworthy items?
- The Lions are almost certainly not a Top 10 team, but a 44-6 result will do that for you. Mix some close results against decent teams in … the long run ought to solve this – but we have not reached the long run yet.
- Chiefs fall to 9, but they do look like a Top 10 defense at least against the Colts. Matt Cassel though does not smell like a QB for this caliber of team though.
- Three 3-2 teams in the bottom 8. When you don’t beat anybody who is demonstrably good, this will happen. Saints are better than this – I am not sure the Cardinals and Jags are though.