An exciting pair of young gun quarterbacks have moved their rising teams further up the charts in The Post’s weekly NFL Power Rankings.
Miami and Arizona — led respectively by Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray — firmly have established themselves as playoff contenders, adding to their résumés with impressive wins on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a couple of longtime Top-5 staples — Baltimore and Seattle — continued their recent slides, with the Seahawks falling to a season-worst No. 11 ranking.
1. Kansas City Chiefs, 8-1 (Last week: 1)
Patrick Mahomes (25-to-1 TD/INT ratio) and the defending Super Bowl champs come out of their bye week looking to avenge their lone loss from Week 5. Andy Reid had two weeks to prepare for this week’s prime-time trip to Sin City. A win would give K.C. a three-game cushion in the AFC West. Next: Sunday night at Las Vegas
2. Pittsburgh Steelers, 9-0 (2)
The league’s lone unbeaten team played its most complete game of the season Sunday, with Ben Roethlisberger flipping two of his four TD passes to rookie Chase Claypool, and T.J. Watt recording two of the Steelers’ four sacks in a 36-10 rout of Cincinnati. Mike Tomlin’s team looks primed for its second consecutive blowout for a crack at the first 10-0 start in franchise history. Next: Sunday at Jacksonville
3. New Orleans Saints, 7-2 (3)
The Saints went 5-0 in Drew Brees’ injury absence last season with since-departed Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback, and they’ll likely have to play at least a couple of weeks without the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage and touchdowns after it was revealed Monday that Brees has five fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. The Saints’ defense is ranked second against the rush and fourth overall, and running back Alvin Kamara is second in the league with 11 touchdowns. Next: Sunday vs. Atlanta
4. Green Bay Packers, 7-2 (5)
The Pack trailed the one-win Jaguars in the fourth quarter Sunday, but an Aaron Rodgers-to-Davante Adams hookup and a late stand by the Green Bay defense helped them avoid what would have been an inexcusable defeat at Lambeau for coach Matt LaFleur and the NFC North leaders. Next: Sunday at Indianapolis
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7-3 (8)
Tom Brady and the Bucs avoided a second straight stinker with Sunday’s rout of Carolina to remain a half-game within the banged-up Saints in the NFC South. Ronald Jones exploded for 192 rushing yards (including a 98-yard TD) after averaging 22 over the previous three games. Next: Monday vs. LA Rams
6. Buffalo Bills, 7-3 (6)
The Bills were one Hail Murray pass from improving to 8-2, but three of their defenders couldn’t outjump one DeAndre Hopkins in Sunday’s last-second loss in Arizona. Josh Allen, who leads the NFL in passing yards, had Buffalo set up for the win with a 21-yard TD pass to Stefon Diggs with 34 seconds remaining. Next: Bye
7. Miami Dolphins, 6-3 (10)
With Tagovailoa moving to 3-0 since seamlessly replacing veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins have won five straight games overall for their best record after nine games since 2001. Brian Flores’ team also already has exceeded last season’s win total (5-11), and Buffalo’s loss Sunday keeps Miami in play for its first AFC East title since 2008. Next: Sunday at Denver
8. Arizona Cardinals, 6-3 (11)
It’s hard to believe that people thought Murray was a better prospect in baseball than football; the No. 1-overall pick in 2019 already is one of the most exciting players in the NFL. He’s on pace to become the first player in league history with over 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in one season. He also already has 10 touchdowns on the ground through nine games, behind only NFL leader Dalvin Cook. Next: Thursday vs. Seattle
9. Baltimore Ravens, 6-3 (4)
Murray’s projected numbers even would exceed those posted last season by reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who hasn’t been able to duplicate his record-setting 2019 campaign. The Ravens have dropped two of their last three to fall three full games behind unbeaten Pittsburgh in the AFC North. Next: Sunday vs. Tennessee
10. Los Angeles Rams, 6-3 (13)
The Cardinals and Rams have supplanted fading NFC West foe Seattle in our Top 10; both are ahead on tiebreakers despite the three-way knot atop the divisional race. The underrated Rams’ defense has allowed the second-fewest yards per game (296.4) in the league, behind only Indianapolis. Next: Monday at Tampa Bay
11. Seattle Seahawks, 6-3 (7)
12. Indianapolis Colts, 6-3 (12)
13. Tennessee Titans, 6-3 (9)
14. Las Vegas Raiders, 6-3 (14)
15. Cleveland Browns, 6-3 (15)
16. Minnesota Vikings, 4-5 (20)
17. Chicago Bears, 5-5 (16)
18. New England Patriots, 4-5 (19)
19. Detroit Lions, 4-5 (21)
20. San Francisco 49ers, 4-6 (17)
21. Philadelphia Eagles, 3-5-1 (18)
22. Denver Broncos, 3-6 (22)
23. Atlanta Falcons, 3-6 (24)
24. Carolina Panthers, 3-7 (23)
25. Giants, 3-7 (29)
Joe Judge’s squad has won three of five, including Sunday’s 10-point victory over Philadelphia, to place the Giants oddly but firmly in contention in the NFC East. Daniel Jones and the Big Blue offense haven’t committed a turnover in either of their past two games, and they just might pull this off if that trend continues. Next: Bye
26. Cincinnati Bengals, 2-6-1 (25)
27. Houston Texans, 2-7 (26)
28. Los Angeles Chargers, 2-7 (27)
29. Dallas Cowboys, 2-7 (28)
30. Washington Football Team, 2-7 (30)
31. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1-8 (31)
32. Jets, 0-9 (32)
Coming off their first week of the season without a loss, the Jets emerge from their bye to face perhaps the most winnable of their remaining seven games Sunday against a 2-7 team with a rookie starting at quarterback. Gang Green’s final six opponents currently have a combined record of 34-20 as the Trevor Lawrence picture comes further into focus. Next: Sunday at LA Chargers