New NFL Power rankings: Are the Buccaneers a top 10 team?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won five straight games, and the NFL is starting to respect them as a genuine contender. Or at least, the national NFL media is. An 8-5 record and a stifling defense have made quite a few people into believers, as we can see in this week’s power rankings.

If we can believe these power rankings, the Bucs are not a top ten team yet, though. SB Nation’s Adam Stites has them just outside of the top ten at number 11, while Yahoo! Sports has them at number 12. NFL.com puts them at 13, CBS Sports at 11, Pro Football Focus at 13.

Three outlets do see the Bucs as a top ten team, though. Those would be The MMQB (10), USA Today (10), and the Washington Post (7!).

Are the Bucs a top 10 ten team in terms of playing quality, though? That’s much harder to judge, and I would guess they’re just not there yet. They’ve won a whole lot of games on the back of a strong defensive performance, but the offense has stalled significantly over the past month.

If Jameis Winston and company can get that together and go back to regularly throwing touchdowns, though, this is one dangerous team.