The 1972 Dolphins can exhale once again.
One week after the Patriots lost their bid for a perfect season with a Sunday night loss to Baltimore, they regained the top spot in The Post’s weekly NFL Power Rankings when MVP frontrunner Russell Wilson and the Seahawks pulled out a phenomenal and crazy “Monday Night Football” victory in overtime on the road to knock off the previously unbeaten 49ers.
In addition to San Francisco, several Top 10 teams slid in the rankings entering Week 11 with losses on Sunday — including the Saints, Chiefs, Bills and the Rams.
1. New England Patriots, 8-1 (Last week: 2): Bill Belichick’s team had a week off to recuperate from its initial loss of the season, an overpowering eye-opener by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, who presented a matchup nightmare for the defending Super Bowl champions. The Pats now face a stretch of four straight games against teams presently with winning records: the Eagles, Cowboys, Texans and Chiefs.
2. San Francisco 49ers, 8-1 (1): It’s officially on in the NFC West. Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners’ defense overcame a 21-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime on a last-second field goal by replacement kicker Chase McLaughlin. But the rookie badly shanked a potential winner in OT, before Wilson set up ex-Jets kicker Jason Myers’ game-winner. The 49ers face Arizona this week, but they will visit Seattle on the final Sunday of the regular season.
3. Seattle Seahawks, 8-2 (4): What more can you say about Wilson, who rebounded from a red-zone interception in overtime — only his second this season, against 23 touchdowns — to move Seattle down the field, including an 18-yard scramble, on the winning drive? Jadeveon Clowney also was a monster on the defensive end, with a strip-sack and fumble recovery for a touchdown for the Seahawks, who get the Eagles on Nov. 24 after a deserved bye this week.
4. Baltimore Ravens, 7-2 (5): Jackson has dominated through the air and on the ground during Baltimore’s first five-game winning streak since 2013. He also has vaulted himself into the MVP conversation with a 101.7 passer rating and 702 rushing yards for the season, including that twisting, 47-yard scoring run in Sunday’s crushing of hapless Cincinnati. Baltimore also is facing a daunting four-game segment against the Texans, Rams, 49ers and Bills.
5. Green Bay Packers, 8-2 (6): Aaron Rodgers made a strong, albeit symbolic, case in endorsing teammate Aaron Jones for MVP consideration after Sunday’s snowy win over Carolina. Jones’ 14 touchdowns tie him with Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey for most in the league. The Green Bay running back almost certainly won’t win the award with so many quarterbacks having big years, but he has provided tremendous offense balance for the Packers entering their bye ahead of a juicy NFC showdown in San Francisco in Week 12.
6. New Orleans Saints, 7-2 (3): The Saints’ offensive line had permitted just 12 sacks through eight games. Then the unit allowed the Falcons to dominate the line of scrimmage Sunday with six sacks of Drew Brees after totaling an NFL-worst seven sacks through their 1-7 start. That added up to a whopping 26-9 upset loss for the previously rolling Saints coming out of their bye week. They still have a two-game cushion in the NFC South ahead of this week’s visit to Tampa Bay.
7. Minnesota Vikings, 7-3 (8): Kirk Cousins and the Vikings pulled out a signature win Sunday night in Dallas — their first in their past 11 games (1-9-1) against a winning team on the road, to remain within one game of Green Bay in the NFC North. Running back Dalvin Cook leads the league with 1,415 yards from scrimmage ahead of Sunday’s home game against Denver.
8. Houston Texans, 6-3 (11): The Texans maintained the top spot in the AFC South during its bye week when Indianapolis fell at home to the Dolphins, who’d earned their first win the previous week against the Jets. Fans should be drooling over this week’s matchup between Deshaun Watson (107.1 passer rating) and Jackson in Baltimore.
9. Kansas City Chiefs, 6-4 (7): Not even a massive game from a returning Mahomes (446 passing yards and three touchdowns) after two weeks sidelined with a knee injury was enough for Andy Reid’s fading team — four losses in the last six games — on the road Sunday against Tennessee. Another loss Monday night against the Chargers could knock the Chiefs out of first place in the AFC West.
10. Buffalo Bills, 6-3 (9): The Bills still have allowed the third-fewest points in the league and they control the top wild-card spot in the AFC with games against Miami and Denver on tap the next two weeks, but Sunday’s tight road loss to desperate Cleveland (now 3-6) definitely puts a damper on what was Buffalo’s best start since 1993.
11. Dallas Cowboys, 5-4 (12)
12. Philadelphia Eagles, 5-4 (15)
13. Los Angeles Rams, 5-4 (10):
14. Oakland Raiders, 5-4 (16)
15. Indianapolis Colts, 5-4 (13)
16. Carolina Panthers, 5-4 (14)
17. Pittsburgh Steelers, 5-4 (18)
18. Tennessee Titans, 5-5 (21)
19. Chicago Bears, 4-5 (22)
20. Detroit Lions, 3-5-1 (19)
21. Jacksonville Jaguars, 4-5 (20)
22. Los Angeles Chargers, 4-6 (17)
23. Arizona Cardinals, 3-5-1 (23)
24. Cleveland Browns, 3-6 (25)
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3-6 (26)
26. Denver Broncos, 3-6 (24)
27. Atlanta Falcons, 2-7 (28)
28. Miami Dolphins, 2-7 (30)
29. Jets, 2-7 (31): Let’s pump the brakes on dubbing anyone the Kings of New York with two wins on the season, but Adam Gase’s Jets fully deserved to beat the sinking Giants on Sunday, with a big game from Sam Darnold, an actual touchdown by Le’Veon Bell and an All-Pro performance from safety Jamal Adams.
30. Giants, 2-8 (27): Sure, Pat Shurmur’s Giants are only two or three players away from having a competent defense, as long as those players are L.T., Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora in their primes. Especially considering hobbled Saquon Barkley’s disastrous outing, Daniel Jones actually had a productive game with four touchdown passes and no picks. At least he won’t fumble during the team’s bye week.
31. Washington Redskins, 1-8 (29)
32. Cincinnati Bengals, 0-9 (32)