NFL Power Rankings: New Orleans Saints squeeze into Top 3

The New Orleans Saints inch even closer to the No. 1 spot in the NFL. They moved from No. 5 to No. 3 in this week’s NFL Power Rankings.

The Saints went into Week 11 with a 7-2 record and a six-game winning streak. Last week, they jumped the NFL Power Rankings all the way up to No. 5 from just cracking to Top 10 the week before that in the rankings.

New Orleans welcomed the Atlanta Falcons into the Dome last Sunday. On paper, the Saints were a far superior team to the Falcons; however, the roller coaster of a game proved that they were more closely matched than the paper said.

The first half was not something to be proud of — it was a field-goal fest. The Falcons had three field goals and the Saints had one. The difference-maker of the half was an Alvin Kamara touchdown run from three yards out.

The Saints proved to be the victor in the second half. They not only scored two touchdowns on the back of Taysom Hill but they also held the Falcons to zero points. They didn’t even let them score a field goal in the last two quarters.

The black and gold left Week 11 with another win moving their record to 8-2 and continued their winning streak to seven games. They made another leap in the rankings this week. They moved from No. 5 last week to No. 3 after both a Seahawks and a Packers loss this week.

New Orleans now finds themselves back inside the Top 3 for the first time this season. Even before the season started, the Saints were pre-season ranked No. 4. They are also the top seed in the NFC with the win over the Falcons and loss by the Packers.

The rest of the Saints’ schedule does not get easier, and it includes the No. 2 ranked team in the league — the Kansas City Chiefs. They will look to keep their ranking where it is against the Denver Broncos in Colorado in Week 12.