Considering WEEI, SB Nation and FanHouse had all ranked the Patriots No. 1 in the Week 11 NFL Power Rankings, this was hardly surprising: New England is the top team in the RCS Power Ranking Averages, earning a mean score of 2.11.
The Patriots narrowly edged out the Falcons at No. 2 (2.44 average) and the Jets at No. 3 (2.67). The Ravens and Packers round out the top five.
It's the second time in three weeks that the Patriots have earned the top position, after spending last week at No. 6. but the strength of their dominating win over the Steelers (No. 8, down from No. 3 a week ago) was enough to earn three No. 1 rankings -- FanHouse, SB Nation and NFL.com -- and propel them to the top of the RCS Averages. Interestingly enough, the Atlanta Falcons had more No. 1 votes (four), but a No. 8 ranking by Sporting News severely hurt their average. Just another example of no one really understanding the NFL this season.
Further showing that people can't agree on the top teams in the league look at the Packers or Eagles, both of whom are ranked as high as 2nd and as low as 10th. While no one can agree where to rank the teams within the top ten, it is widely agreed upon which ten teams comprise the top ten. The Raiders are the only team not in the RCS top ten that is ranked in the top ten by any site (ranked 9th by PFT).
Per the RCS Averages, the AFC East is top conference in the league, with an average ranking of 12.31. Having two teams in the top-three helps out-weigh the performance of the Miami Dolphins (No. 14) and Buffalo Bills (No. 31).