NFL Power Rankings: Top Offense Does Not Equal Top Five for Most

With a second consecutive convincing victory, the Tennessee Titans again moved minimally in the power rankings. But they did move up in every media outlet surveyed.

The Titans put on an offensive clinic in a 45-26 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Nissan Stadium. Paced by the NFL’s leading rusher Derrick Henry and one of the league’s most efficient quarterbacks in Ryan Tannehill, The Titans have scored 30 points or more in five straight contests and currently lead the league in points scored.

In this week’s power rankings, all but one outlet had the Titans inside the top 10. Two outlets had the Titans at No. 5, while the most common ranking was Nos. 8 and 9.

Sunday, the Titans will face the Green Bay Packers (11-3), a team that coach Mike Vrabel tabbed as “probably the best team we’ve faced all year.” Green Bay has already locked up the NFC North title, while the Titans (10-4) still have work to do to clinch a postseason berth and the AFC South, in which they hold the tiebreaker over the Indianapolis Colts (10-4).

“We want to be playing our best ball in December, and we feel like we can play better,” safety Kevin Byard said on Sunday. “So that's a great feeling knowing that we can always improve, so that's going to be the main thing this week. We're going to have a big matchup on Sunday night against Green Bay, top in the NFC North, so we're going to have a big challenge, so we're going to have to get up on them boys. Kind of enjoy this for right now and maybe in a couple of hours I'm going to start watching film on Aaron Rodgers.”

A look at where the Titans stand in many of this week’s NFL power rankings and what each outlet had to say:

Sports Illustrated - 9th (Last week: 10th)

The defensive issues are real, and it's why I have the Titans down here, but I still feel like I’m underrating them. I also think Derrick Henry deserves real MVP consideration.

ESPN - 5th (Last week: 8th)

Tannehill is quietly having one of the best seasons by a quarterback since the franchise moved to Tennessee. His 31 touchdown passes are the most by a quarterback in Tennessee, and with two games left in the season, he's 89 yards short of Matt Hasselbeck's 2011 total of 3,571. Tannehill's passing brings balance to the Titans' offense and makes teams pay for focusing exclusively on running back Derrick Henry. The offense is averaging more than 30 points per game this season and has scored 436 points through 14 games, the second-highest total in franchise history.

NFL.com - 8th (Last week: 11th)

Derrick Henry rushed for 147 more yards on Sunday, moving him ever closer to the hallowed 2,000-yard rushing club. But the real star against the Lions? Ryan Tannehill, who accounted for five touchdowns in a 46-25 win for the AFC South leaders. Tannehill threw for three scores and rushed for two more, the latest money performance by a guy who went from odd man out in Miami to one of the most productive QBs in football. Reminder: The Titans gave up fourth- and seventh-round picks to acquire Tannehill (and a sixth-rounder) from the Dolphins in March 2019. The change of scenery was a huge help, as is -- of course -- the presence of a transcendent talent like Henry, but Tannehill deserves more acknowledgement for his role in turning the Titans into a Super Bowl contender.

CBS Sports - 11th (Last week: 12th)

They continue to lead the AFC South, winning with their offense again against the Lions. That bad defense will be tested against the Packers.

NBC/Pro Football Talk - 8th (Last week: 9th)

They’ll go as far as Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill will take them.

The Athletic - 9th (Last week: 11th)

Wish: Something, anything, from their defense and special teams. The Titans have the best offense in the league, according to EPA per play. They’ve scored 30-plus in five straight games and blew the Lions out in Week 15. The Titans deserve a mention when discussing which AFC teams can knock off the Chiefs because Tennessee can score on anyone. Its defense and special teams don’t need to be great. They just need to be good enough. But for the most part, they haven’t been this season. The playoffs are all about opponent-specific matchups. Perhaps Mike Vrabel can get the Titans’ defense to rise above its talent level.

USA Today - 5th (Last week: 7th)

If there was an award for MUP (Most Underrated Player), QB Ryan Tannehill would probably have it on lockdown.

Bleacher Report - 8th (Last week: 7th)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill had a historic game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, doing something (per NFL Research) that no signal-caller in franchise history ever has: throw for three touchdowns in a game while running for two more.
However, the 32-year-old said after the game that a big stat line in a win over a bad Lions team isn't close to Tennessee's primary goal in 2020.
"Ten wins means nothing," Tannehill told reporters. "We have bigger goals than that. We're just going to find a way to end each week 1-0. We did that. We're successful. Now we have to try to find a way to do that next week."
The win keeps the Titans in first place in the AFC South with two games remaining. But the Indianapolis Colts are also 10-4, and with the Titans headed on the road Sunday to battle the NFC-leading Green Bay Packers, Tannehill and Tennessee will need to bring their A game in Week 16 as well.
"The Titans have averaged 37.4 points per game the last five weeks, a stretch that includes road wins over likely AFC playoff teams Baltimore and Indianapolis," Gagnon said. "If they can slay Green Bay at Lambeau in Week 16, they might leapfrog the Bills, Ravens, Steelers and Browns in my rankings."

Sporting News - 8th (Last week: 9th)

The Titans rediscovered their explosive, methodical offense to roll over the Lions. They will need to keep that up with Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry when facing Aaron Rodgers and the Packers next Sunday night.

Yahoo - 6th (Last week: 8th)

Titans at Packers on Sunday is a huge game for Tennessee. If the Titans lose, they could let the AFC South title slip away to Indianapolis. A win means that Tennessee clinches the South with either a season-ending win over Houston or one Colts loss. It’s not easy to win at Green Bay and it would be a big step for Tennessee

New York Post - 8th (Last week: 9th)

Derrick Henry needs to average 160.5 rushing yards over the final two games to become the eighth player in NFL history to reach 2,000 in one season. Ryan Tannehill has had a quietly efficient season with 31 touchdown passes and a 110.4 passer rating, fourth-best in the league.