Week 11 gave us one of the best games of the year as the Eagles took down the Bills in overtime. Week 12 may give us an even better game, as the Eagles take on the 49ers in a matchup of the top two teams in this week’s power rankings. Unfortunately, Week 11 also gave us one of the worst games of the season, as the Vikings and Bears set the NFL back about fifty years with their ugly performance on Monday Night Football.
Overall, the rankings remain relatively unchanged this week, particularly at the top and bottom, as the top four and bottom three teams all remain the same from last week. Several teams improved their ranking by moving up four spots (Denver, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Indianapolis and Atlanta) while the Bengals made the biggest move, dropping another six spots. The Bengals sat at #8 just two weeks ago, now sit at #23 and are falling fast.
The Denver Broncos extended the AFC's longest active winning streak to five games and are over .500 for the first time this season. Denver's defense continued to play well, but the offense was able to put up points against the Browns, which had been one of the best defenses in all of football. While Denver is currently tied for the final playoff spot, they currently sit in the #9 seed due to tiebreakers. However, one of the teams they are tied with is the Texans, who happen to be next up on Denver's schedule. A win this week would go a long way towards getting Denver into the playoffs.
The Prime Time Pick’em saw the biggest slate of games this week, thanks to Thanksgiving and our first ever black Friday game. Had I picked with my heart, I would have been 5-1, but instead I went 3-3, moving the season record to 26-15. This week, I’ll take the Cowboys to win on Thursday over the Seahawks, the Chiefs to win a close one over the Packers at Lambeau and the Jags over the Bengals on Monday night.
Here are the rankings as we head to Week 13. Teams’ previous ranking in ( ).
1. Philadelphia Eagles (1): They’ve beaten four of the best teams in football in recent weeks, but their stiffest test of the season comes this week. Has a 10-1 team ever been an underdog when playing at home?
2. San Francisco 49ers (2): The defense has gone to another level since acquiring Chase Young. I could be wrong, but it sure feels like this team has the best offense and best defense in football.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (3): They reminded us once again that they are never out of a game; after trailing 14-0, they outscored the Raiders 31-3 the rest of the game.
4. Dallas Cowboys (4): Beating up on bad teams isn’t a recipe for success when it comes to playing in January.
5. Baltimore Ravens (6): Baltimore currently owns the #1 seed in the AFC and there’s a good chance their matchup on New Year’s Eve against the Dolphins could ultimately determine home field advantage in the AFC.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (9): Don’t count the Jags out when it comes to the #1 seed in the AFC. They host the Ravens in Week 15 in what should be the only tough game left on their schedule.
7. Miami Dolphins (8): Miami, much like Dallas, is going to have to beat a good team before we can consider them a true Super Bowl threat.
8. Cleveland Browns (5): Could we possibly see Joe Flacco playing football again? If so, does that improve Cleveland’s chances at making a run?
9. Detroit Lions (7): Back-to-back poor performances by the Lions has Detroit fans feeling on edge. I’m not worried, I believe in Dan Campbell. With that said, I’m not as confident that they can compete with SF and Philly as I once was.
10. Denver Broncos (14): Nobody, absolutely nobody, could have predicted Denver would crack the top 10 in power rankings this season, after what we watched last year, and the first month of this year. We have to give credit to Sean Payton for how he has turned this team around.
11. Houston Texans (10): The Texans were about 12 inches away from tying the game and giving themselves a chance to lead the AFC South. Instead, they currently sit outside the playoff picture in the AFC.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers (15): The Steelers went nearly 60 games without putting up 400 yards of offense. Then, in their first game after firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada, they accomplished it. If they can truly turn the corner on offense, they can compete with anyone in the NFL and could be a sneaky favorite to make a Super Bowl run.
13. Buffalo Bills (13): We said in the preseason the Bills missing the playoffs was a possibility. Now, after 12 weeks, they are the 10 seed and have games against the Chiefs and Cowboys up next. Yikes.
14. Minnesota Vikings (11): Joshua Dobbs finally played like most expected Joshua Dobbs to play. Minnesota has some soul searching to do during their bye, to figure out who they want starting at quarterback over the final five weeks of the season.
15. Los Angeles Rams (16): The Rams have a shot to get back to .500 this week. If they successfully do so, they’ve got a real shot to finish over .500 for the season, which might be enough to sneak into the playoffs as the #7 seed.
16. Seattle Seahawks (12): Anytime I write off the Seahawks, they make me look like an idiot. But with games against the Cowboys, 49ers and Eagles coming up, it sure seems like they are staring 6-8 right in the face after a 3-1 start.
17. Green Bay Packers (21): The Packers have started to find themselves and put it all together on Thanksgiving against the Lions. If that is the Packers team we are going to see the rest of the season, not only are they going to make the playoffs, they might find themselves playing on the second weekend of the playoffs.
18. Indianapolis Colts (22): The AFC was absolutely loaded coming into the season. The fact that the Colts, who lost their rookie starting quarterback to a season-ending injury are currently a playoff team after 11 weeks, is remarkable. And to top it off, they have a relatively soft schedule the rest of the way. They could absolutely finish 10-7 and be a playoff team.
19. New Orleans Saints (18): The Saints have lost two in a row and once again can’t seem to get the offense going. Fans are getting impatient – is there a chance we see Jameis Winston inserted into the lineup to see if he can spark the team?
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (19): Tampa has lost six of their last seven since the bye week. But they have four games left against their own division, so even at 4-7 they are far from out of it.
21. Los Angeles Chargers (20): The Chargers should finally get back in the win column this week against the Patriots, but after that wins could be scarce. The only question left is whether Brandon Staley will be fired in-season or at the end of the season.
22. Atlanta Falcons (26): Atlanta is back on top of the NFC South at 5-6. I’ve said it several times this year and I’m sticking with it – they’re not a good team and will not win the division. However, with games against the Jets, Bears and divisional opponents left on the schedule, they may prove me wrong.
23. Cincinnati Bengals (17): As expected, once Joe Burrow’s season ended, so did Cincinnati’s.
24. New York Jets (23): Anyone that thought Tim Boyle was going to give the Jets a better chance to win, knows nothing about football. I get it – Zach Wilson has struggled, but he’s easily the best quarterback on the roster (of those that are healthy, anyway).
25. Tennessee Titans (27): The Titans got a win against the worst team in football, but didn’t look great doing it.
26. Las Vegas Raiders (24): The Raiders head into their bye week at 5-7 but still have an outside shot at finishing over .500, which would certainly be a successful season after the way things started.
27. New York Giants (28): The Giants doubled their win total over the past two weeks and head into their bye playing their best football. Assuming no flex scheduling happens, they’ll host the Packers on Monday Night Football to close Week 14.
28. Chicago Bears (29): The Bears won a football game without scoring a touchdown in what was one of the most miserable Monday Night games in recent memory.
29. Washington Commanders (25): Washington has lost three straight as they host the Dolphins this week. With a bye week in Week 14, don’t be surprised if this is Ron Rivera’s final game as head coach of the Commanders.
30. New England Patriots (30): The Patriots sure look like they’re going to finish with a top 2 draft pick. Will that be enough to keep Bill Belichick on the sidelines for a few more years?
31. Arizona Cardinals (31): If the Cardinals end up with a top 5 pick, do they go quarterback or do they stick with Kyler Murray?
32. Carolina Panthers (32): The Carolina Panthers have had 6 head coaches (7 once they hire their next one) in the past 54 months. For context, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had 3 head coaches in the last 54 years.
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