C.J. Stroud threw five touchdowns, Jordan Love lit up New England, and Buffalo’s defense won another game without asking Josh Allen to do everything. Baltimore’s quarterback crisis sent the Ravens tumbling, while turnovers buried the Patriots and Minnesota could not keep its defense off the field.
PFM’s Latest Ranking Changes page shows how every NFL team moved in the latest update. Here are the three biggest risers and fallers heading into Week 10, and the games that pushed them up or down the rankings.
Houston gained 1.32 points and jumped four places, while Green Bay’s 1.29-point surge was worth three spots. Buffalo moved just one spot despite another impressive win. On the other side, Baltimore lost 3.10 points, more than New England and Minnesota combined. The size of a score change and the distance between teams are not the same thing.
How the rankings work: PFM’s Team Score looks beyond wins and losses to evaluate each team’s offense, defense, quarterback play, and recent performance. These are the biggest risers and fallers heading into Week 10. See how all 32 teams stack up in the PFM NFL Power Rankings.
One useful distinction: Houston’s 1.32-point gain brought a four-spot jump, but Buffalo moved just one place with a 0.78-point improvement. Baltimore lost four spots, while Minnesota’s 1.12-point decline cost it only one. A ranking move depends as much on the teams around you as it does on your own score.
1. C.J. Stroud Finally Gave Houston the Offensive Explosion It Needed
Biggest riser · +1.32 · No. 16 → No. 12
Week 9 Score 79.6
Week 10 Score 80.9
Week 9 Result: 44-22 at LAC
Houston came out of its bye at 2-5 and badly needed something more convincing than another close loss. For much of the first half against Los Angeles, it looked like another grind. Then C.J. Stroud hit Tank Dell for a 63-yard touchdown, and the Texans never looked back. Stroud finished with 384 passing yards and five touchdowns in a 44-22 win.
Kayshon Boutte caught two of those touchdowns and finished with 125 yards. Dell cleared 100 yards in his second game back, and Nico Collins added a spectacular scoring catch of his own. The defense did not sit back and watch, either. Houston sacked Justin Herbert eight times and took the ball away twice. It was the complete game DeMeco Ryans had been waiting to see.
PFM raised Houston’s Recent Performance from 73.78 to 77.23 and Explosiveness from 81.16 to 82.69, pushing the Texans from No. 16 to No. 12. There is a catch: the Chargers are now 0-8. This win does not erase Houston’s first seven games. But Stroud finally had room to attack deep, and the Texans looked dangerous on both sides of the ball instead of asking one unit to rescue the other.
2. Jordan Love Picked Apart New England, and the Packers Broke Into the Top Eight
Riser · +1.29 · No. 11 → No. 8
Week 9 Score 82.8
Week 10 Score 84.1
Week 9 Result: 45-27 at NE
Jordan Love did not play it safe against New England. He challenged a defense that had been one of the Patriots’ strengths, completing 23 of 29 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns. Christian Watson caught seven passes for 171 yards, and Matthew Golden hauled in 10 for 164. That is 335 yards from two receivers in one afternoon.
The Packers also made Drake Maye pay for his mistakes. Xavier McKinney had two interceptions, and Green Bay finished with four takeaways. A game that was 24-14 at halftime turned into a 42-14 rout before the Patriots put up late points. This was not just Love piling up yards in a shootout. Green Bay took control early and kept finding explosive plays when New England needed a stop.
Offense Strength jumped from 79.61 to 82.37, while Explosiveness rose from 81.11 to 83.68. That lifted Green Bay from No. 11 to No. 8. Interestingly, its Defense Strength dipped slightly despite the four takeaways. The strongest case for the Packers this week is the quarterback. When Love is this accurate downfield, opponents have a problem even before the running game gets going.
3. Buffalo Won a Defensive Game Against a Six-Win Vikings Team
Riser · +0.78 · No. 5 → No. 4
Week 9 Score 86.1
Week 10 Score 86.9
Week 9 Result: 23-6 at MIN
For the second week in a row, Buffalo’s defense gave Josh Allen an easier job. The Bills beat Minnesota 23-6 on Monday night, holding Carson Wentz to 81 passing yards and forcing three turnovers. Minnesota entered the game 6-1, and its offense never found a way to stay on the field.
Greg Rousseau recovered a backwards pass on an early Minnesota possession. Dorian Williams and Terrel Bernard intercepted Wentz in the third quarter. The Bills’ offense was hardly perfect, but James Cook III kept hammering away with 31 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown. Buffalo held the ball for more than 42 minutes. That is how a good defense turns a tight game into a comfortable win.
Defense Strength climbed from 76.69 to 79.26, moving Buffalo from No. 5 to No. 4 overall. The offensive grade actually slipped a little. Minnesota was without injured starter Kyler Murray, so the quarterback situation matters when judging this result. Still, the Bills have now won two very different games without needing Allen to outscore everyone. That is a better sign than another 40-point passing show would have been.
4. Baltimore’s Quarterback Emergency Is Now a Four-Spot Rankings Drop
Biggest faller · -3.10 · No. 15 → No. 19
Week 9 Score 79.7
Week 10 Score 76.6
Week 9 Result: 10-33 vs. JAX
Baltimore had to start undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano on Thursday night with Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley on injured reserve. Jacksonville knew exactly what it was facing. The Jaguars forced three turnovers, held the Ravens to three points for most of the game and left Baltimore with a 33-10 loss. Justice Hill’s 65-yard touchdown run came after Jacksonville had built a 33-3 lead.
The Ravens have lost four straight, and they have scored fewer than 14 points in four consecutive games. The team responded by trading for veteran Jacoby Brissett, who was not available for the Jaguars game but is expected to start against the Chargers next Monday. Brissett gives Baltimore experience and a chance to run a steadier offense. He does not give the Ravens Lamar Jackson’s ability to turn a broken play into a first down.
PFM’s QB Stability grade fell from 85.30 to 75.60, the biggest single component swing among this week’s featured teams. Offense Strength dropped from 84.20 to 82.28, and the Team Score fell 3.10 points, from No. 15 to No. 19. The injuries explain why the situation changed so dramatically. Four straight losses explain why Baltimore cannot afford to treat Brissett’s arrival as an automatic fix.
5. New England Scored 27, but Four Turnovers Ruined the Afternoon
Faller · -1.41 · No. 12 → No. 13
Week 9 Score 82.2
Week 10 Score 80.8
Week 9 Result: 27-45 vs. GB
Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes and nearly reached 300 yards against Green Bay. Normally, those numbers would give New England a chance. Not this time. Maye also threw three interceptions, Rhamondre Stevenson lost a fumble, and the Packers turned the mistakes into points in a 45-27 loss at Gillette Stadium.
The damage was not limited to the turnovers. Love attacked downfield all afternoon, and Christian Watson and Matthew Golden combined for 335 receiving yards. Green Bay led 42-14 late in the third quarter. New England had enough offense to make the final score less ugly, but the defense could not get enough stops to keep the game competitive while it still mattered.
PFM cut the Patriots’ Recent Performance from 83.73 to 79.41 and Defense Strength from 82.21 to 80.22. The offense grade actually ticked up, which makes the point: this was not simply a case of Maye doing nothing. New England dropped from No. 12 to No. 13 because the mistakes and coverage breakdowns were too much to overcome. There is still plenty to like about a 5-4 team, but it cannot keep handing good opponents extra possessions.
6. The Vikings Defense Had No Chance to Rest Against Buffalo
Faller · -1.12 · No. 14 → No. 15
Week 9 Score 79.9
Week 10 Score 78.8
Week 9 Result: 6-23 vs. BUF
Minnesota came into Monday night at 6-1, but the matchup with Buffalo turned into a long evening for its defense. Kyler Murray was out with a hamstring injury, and Carson Wentz could not keep the offense moving. He completed eight of 25 passes for 81 yards with two interceptions in a 23-6 loss. The Vikings did not convert a third down.
Minnesota had the ball for just 17 minutes and 28 seconds. Its first turnover came on a backwards pass that Buffalo recovered, and Wentz threw interceptions on consecutive third-quarter possessions. Meanwhile, James Cook kept taking short gains and turning them into manageable downs. Even a strong Vikings defense can only absorb so many drives when the offense keeps giving the ball back.
PFM’s Recent Performance fell from 86.91 to 82.20, and Offense Strength slid from 71.71 to 69.63. Minnesota dropped from No. 14 to No. 15. The quarterback absence clearly hurt, but the result also exposed the bigger worry: an offense with Justin Jefferson and plenty of talent still could not stay on the field. Getting Murray healthy would help. It would not erase how badly the Vikings struggled to sustain a drive.
What Week 9 Actually Changed for PFM
Houston finally saw C.J. Stroud turn explosive throws into a comfortable win, though beating the winless Chargers does not settle the Texans’ larger questions. Green Bay gave Jordan Love the keys against one of the tougher defenses it had faced, and he delivered his best argument yet that the Packers belong in the top eight. Buffalo moved into the top four because the defense backed up last week’s breakthrough.
Baltimore is dealing with more than another bad loss. Jackson and Huntley are on injured reserve, Brissett is arriving to steady the offense, and the Ravens have fallen four spots. New England got touchdowns from Maye but could not overcome four giveaways or its coverage problems. Minnesota’s offense hardly stayed on the field without Murray, leaving the defense to absorb drive after drive.
The biggest contrast this week is what quarterback play did to opposite ends of the board. Stroud and Love moved their teams up by making difficult throws look routine. Baltimore lost ground because its quarterback situation went from an injury problem to a completely different offense. Buffalo is the exception: it keeps climbing because Allen no longer needs to do all the heavy lifting.
See every Week 10 change, not just the six biggest moves.
Sources and PFM Data
- PFM NFL Team Scores: November 10, 2026 update
- PFM 2026 NFL Team Rankings
- PFM Latest Ranking Changes
- PFM 2026 NFL Standings
- Houston Texans: Week 9 win and passing-game recap
- Green Bay Packers: Week 9 recap and Jordan Love performance
- Buffalo Bills: Monday night win over Minnesota
- Baltimore Ravens: Thursday night recap and fourth straight loss
- New England Patriots: turnovers and defensive breakdowns vs. Green Bay
- Minnesota Vikings: Week 9 offensive struggles vs. Buffalo
- Baltimore Ravens: Jacoby Brissett trade and role
- Minnesota Vikings: Carson Wentz named starter with Kyler Murray sidelined
