NFL Week 13 Power Rankings

Week 13 has come and gone and we are officially into the final quarter of the 2020 NFL season. 

Now just four games away from the playoffs, we have a pretty good view of the teams we'll be watching through January, it is just a case of finding the last few teams who'll fill out the playoff bracket. Can a team like the New England Patriots or San Francisco 49ers sneak in? Who will finish on top the NFC East? Can the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns stay in the playoffs? With many playoff race matchups left to play, this month promises to be exciting. 

Heading into the most pivotal month of the season, how is the power shared across the NFL? 

1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-1)

The Chiefs are somewhat making a habit of winning games in surprisingly close fashion, much like the Pittsburgh Steelers are. Still, they are winning the games, at least, rather than finding ways to inexplicably lose to teams they shouldn’t be. Is there much more to add about the quality of the Chiefs?

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-1)

Throughout their undefeated start to the season, Mike Tomlin has preached the team is far from perfection as their record suggested, and it has been illustrated with tight games against supposedly weaker teams. On Monday night it finally cost them a win as they fell to a Washington Football Team who were at one point down 14 points. Pittsburgh unquestionably remain a top team in the NFL, but they are clearly not an unbeatable team.

3. New Orleans Saints (10-2)

Over the past two seasons the Saints are 8-0 with their backup quarterback. Talk about creating a culture, Sean Payton. They may not be winning with the offensive explosions we have become accustomed to seeing or expecting, but Taysom Hill is doing a good job, and the defense is really improving as the season is progressing.

4. Green Bay Packers (9-3)

There isn’t a receiver-quarterback combination I would choose over Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers. They are so on the same page, and so talented, that they can do whatever they need whenever they need it. What’s more, in Robert Tonyan and Allen Lazard, Rodgers seems to have two more targets he really trusts, and the defense is stepping up, too.

5. Buffalo Bills (9-3) +1

The 49ers are not the team they were last year, but that shouldn’t take away from the Bills’ performance on Monday night. Josh Allen had one of his best games of the year. He was poised, made great decisions and threw the ball very well. The defense played well, too, which is going to be key from now on.

6. Cleveland Browns (9-3) +4

What have you done for me lately? In the Browns case, they have manhandled the Tennessee Titans, who themselves were coming off back-to-back impressive wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts. The Browns’ losses haven’t been good, but this is a different team. A team playing with confidence and swagger, and a team that is finally well coached. This Browns team is a real contender.

7. Los Angeles Rams (8-4) +1

What a win. Coming off a disappointing loss to the 49ers, the Rams had to bounce back against the Arizona Cardinals to avoid slipping into a tie with them behind the Seahawks in the NFC West. They did just that, emphatically, as they left Kyler Murray and co. without answers and had their way on offense.

8. Tennessee Titans (8-4) -3

What a poor loss for the Titans. For all of their dominant wins and performances, this team has glaring problems and some truly poor defeats. They rallied to make this game against the Browns close late, but the result was decided at half time as the Browns absolutely shredded the Titans’ shoddy pass defense, in doing so affirming the blueprint to beat the Titans: build an aggressive lead early through the air, and force the Titans to chase. They are capable of scoring through the air themselves, but taking away the ability to lean on Derrick Henry is a significant hindrance to this team.

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)

Tampa Bay had a bye this week coming off their loss to the Rams. Going into the bye there were clear issues on both sides of the ball in terms of execution, scheme, and chemistry, so hopefully the time off and time to train will have been beneficial.

10. Seattle Seahawks (8-4) -3

Oy yoy yoy. It seems every year the Seahawks find a game they have no business losing, and they lose it. This game may come to sum up the Seahawks’ season, being one of inconsistency, missed opportunities, and ultimately disappointing. It’s hard to fully count this team out because of Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, and others, but the issues on this team seem too great for them to overcome.

11. Indianapolis Colts (8-4)

Sunday’s win against the Houston Texans was important for the Colts. They currently sit in the playoffs, and will continue to do so, so long as they at a minimum win the games they are meant to win. The absolutely were meant to win on Sunday, and despite leaving it closer than it perhaps should have been, they found a way to win and keep ahold of their playoff spot.

12. Miami Dolphins (8-4) +2

Much like the Colts, the Dolphins have themselves in the position they want to be in. They are in the playoffs and in control of their own destiny. Sunday’s win certainly wasn’t pretty, but it was a check in the right column. They have a tough end to the season, so it was important to get the job done against the Bengals heading into their final quarter of the season. 

13. Las Vegas Raiders (7-5) -1

The Raiders were incredibly fortunate to leave New Jersey with a win, but they won’t be complaining. In shocking fashion, Derek Carr managed to find Henry Ruggs for the game winning score with just seconds remaining, and in doing so cost the New York Jets’ defensive coordinator his job. This was a crucial win because the Raiders are chasing the teams above them, and need at least one of them to lose games in order to make the playoffs.

14. Baltimore Ravens (7-5) -1

A win is a win, and the Ravens need them desperately to stay in a competitive race for the final AFC playoff spots, but there was not a lot from their Tuesday night game to feel very good about their chances down the stretch. The defense played poorly, generating no pressure against a poor offensive line, the secondary gave far too much space to receivers, and offensively it was awkward. The play calling is poor, with an over-reliance on a passing offense that is not showing any improvement, and there are far too many mistakes. Can they also go ONE game without an illegal formation penalty?

15. Arizona Cardinals (6-6)

It seems so long ago that the Cardinals appeared to be the rising power in the NFC. They were never the team to beat, but they on the rise and making noise. They have now gone 2-5 in their last seven games, and are in a battle to avoid finishing last in their division, while also trying to salvage a playoff berth. In truth, this team is not that talented across the board, and the offense is just not multiple enough to consistently threaten talented defenses.

16. New England Patriots (6-6) +1

What a win. It may have come against the lowly Los Angeles Chargers, but a 45-0 win, on the road, is a particularly impressive feat. The Pats convincingly beat the Chargers in every phase of the game, with touchdowns through the air, on the ground, and two on special teams, while the defense suffocated Justin Herbert and co. and forced multiple turnovers. The Patriots are very much in the playoff race, even if it is a pretty steep uphill climb.

17. Minnesota Vikings (6-6) +1

They made it tough for themselves, but the Vikings managed to avoid a significant upset to the one-win Jacksonville Jaguars. They have pulled themselves into a playoff spot, but I don’t see them really being a threat to the top end of the NFC. With that said, they have an absolute stud in Justin Jefferson.

18. New York Giants (5-7) +2

The NFC East is bad. There is no avoiding that, and saying it is absolutely beating a dead horse, but, the Giants took a huge leap on Sunday. With Colt McCoy under center, Big Blue marched into Seattle and came away with a tough win. They completely shut down Wilson and got a huge win in the grand scheme of their season.

19. Washington Football Team (5-7) +4

What a statement by Washington. If anyone had told you the Steelers would lose their undefeated season at home to the Football Team, having held a 14-0 lead until the dying seconds of the first half, you’d likely have laughed in their face. In the end that is exactly what happened, as this defense clamped down on Pittsburgh’s offense, and Alex Smith led a resilient offense on several huge second half drives. Washington have the easiest remaining schedule of any NFC East team, and with how they are playing they could absolutely finish the season at 8-8, maybe even 9-7. 

20. San Francisco 49ers (5-7) -4

The 49ers still have plenty of talent, but they were completely outplayed by the Bills, compounding the issues this team has on offense without a QB. Defensively they were out-schemed and outplayed by the Bills’ offense, and as a result have fallen further back in a tight race for the final playoff spots in the NFC.

21. Houston Texans (4-8) -1

As every week passes I will feel more and more sorry for Deshaun Watson. Seeing him after the game on the bench, visibly emotional and drained from once again turning in a big performance for nothing, is tough. He deserves much more than he is being given by the team around him.

22. Denver Broncos (4-8)

The Broncos did a good job of keeping it close with the Chiefs and making them really work to get the win, but they are ultimately just too far off that level to sustain that type of performance. There are some very good players on this team, but they have a lot of holes to fill and areas to grow before they can really compete.

23. Detroit Lions (5-7) ­+5

The Lions returned the favor against the Chicago Bears, fighting back from a late second half deficit to win. Detroit did allow for one of the Bears most prolific offensive days, which is not a ringing endorsement, but they also ended up having a very big day on offense. It was a good start to the post-Matt Patricia era, and they are still just a game back from a playoff spot.

24. Atlanta Falcons (4-8)

Following last week’s huge win over the Raiders, this week’s rivalry matchup with the Saints presented an excellent opportunity to deliver another potentially costly loss to a playoff team. It didn’t work out that way as Taysom Hill and the Saints marched to their ninth straight win. The Falcons have a tough end to the season, so it could be a bleak December for Atlanta. 

25. Carolina Panthers (4-8)

The Panthers finally had their bye week, but are now experiencing somewhat of a COVID outbreak as eight players were placed on the COVID list. It hasn’t cost them a game, and shouldn’t do, but it is not how the team would have wanted to come out of their bye.

26. Chicago Bears (5-7) -4

All things considered, this wasn’t the worst game. It did, however, still end in a loss, after the team gave up a 10-point lead late in the fourth. The offense and defense cannot put together a full performance together, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t win another game this season. 

27. Philadelphia Eagles (3-8-1) -1

It’s about time the Eagles did something about Carson Wentz. On Tuesday they announced Jalen Hurts would be the starter against the Saints. He may not be enough to turn their season around, but he can’t be worse than Wentz has been. It’s time to see what they have in their second round pick.

28. Los Angeles Chargers (3-9) -1

Oof. The scoreline says it all. The Chargers lost 45-0, at home, to a .500 team. They were just completely beaten in every phase and you have to question Anthony Lynn's future with the team past this season. 

29. Dallas Cowboys (3-9) 

The Cowboys were never expected to get a result out of their trip to Baltimore, and they didn’t look good, but they stayed close for much of the game. They also had three missed field goals, which would have made it a very different game late in the fourth. Ultimately, it was never likely the Cowboys would surge to win the NFC East, and this game confirmed that.

30. Cincinnati Bengals (2-9-1)

Without Joe Burrow in the lineup it seems incredibly unlikely this team wins another game. That is actually a blessing, as it should leave them in prime position to draft whichever offensive lineman they can to protect their franchise QB going forward.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-11)

The Jags came so close to getting a significant upset win over the Vikings. They could have done so without hurting their draft position, too, thanks to the Bengals’ tie, but the loss at least keeps their hopes of getting the number one overall pick alive.

32. New York Jets (0-12)

Has there ever been a more spectacular way to stay winless? If the ending of the Jets’ game against the Raiders isn’t a sign of the direction of this team, I don’t know what is. They seem destined to finish winless.