NFL Week 14 Power Rankings

If nothing else, Week 14 can be remembered for giving us the game of the season. Monday Night Football was an all-time great between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, and was hopefully a precursor for the final months of the NFL season.

It truly felt like a playoff game, and in the final three weeks of the season we have many playoff-like matchups to look forward to. While we have a fairly clear picture of the teams who are legitimately in contention, there are many questions to be answered ahead of the playoffs, and I can’t wait to find the answers.

So, heading into the final three weeks of the season, here are my Week 14 Power Rankings.

1.       Kansas City Chiefs (12-1)

Even on a day Patrick Mahomes throws three interceptions, the Chiefs still put up 30+ points and win a game. Kansas City were genuinely tested by the Dolphins throughout the game, but their quality ultimately won out. With teams around them faltering, the route to the Super Bowl in the AFC runs through KC.

2.       Green Bay Packers (10-3) +2

The Packers took care of business against a Detroit Lions team they clearly should have beaten. Aaron Rodgers got big plays from players other than Davante Adams – along with the customary dominance from Adams – and the defense is continuing to make plays. Rodgers could legitimately throw for 50 touchdowns and just five interceptions – he is playing as well as he ever has, and now he has the NFC’s number one seed, too.

3.       Buffalo Bills (10-3) +2

What a win for the Bills. Buffalo got off to a roaring start to then suffer several setbacks, and since have sort of fallen by the wayside of the best teams. Well, this week’s win punctuated a spell that has absolutely thrust them back into the top echelon of the NFL. This team is rolling.

4.       New Orleans Saints (10-3) -1

Of course, any team can be beaten on any given Sunday, but this weekend was incredibly poor for the Saints. They always seem to fall victim to a team they have no business losing to, and this time around it may really cost them. In losing to the Jalen Hurts-led Eagles, the Saints potentially cost themselves the number one seed in the NFC, and now figure to have to go to Green Bay in January to reach the Super Bowl. If history is anything to go by, that is very bad news for Drew Brees.

5.       Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2) -3

Through the first 11 games of the season the Steelers were undefeated but preached they were far from perfect. That has been confirmed by back-to-back losses on the backs of poor performances. They cannot and will not run the ball, they have a serious issue with drops, and the defense is not completely stifling opponents like they were earlier in the season. The Steelers need to right the ship.

6.       Los Angeles Rams (9-4) +1

In a rematch of Super Bowl LIII the Rams were able to get as much ‘revenge’ as possible over the New England Patriots. It may not have been the most explosive win, but they completely dominated the Patriots. Defensively they were suffocating and they did what they had to offensively. The Rams will be a tough out for whoever they meet in the playoffs.

7.       Cleveland Browns (9-4) -1

What a loss. The Browns’ Monday night loss to the Ravens couldn’t have been much more painful, but it was a seriously impressive game in many ways and highlighted how far this team has come. They lost 38-6 to the Ravens in Week 1, this team in its current form is a real, legitimate contender.

8.       Tennessee Titans (9-4)

Tennessee bounced back from last week’s disappointment emphatically. It may have been against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they got back to their smash mouth ways as Derrick Henry ran all over the Jags on the way to the Titans’ 21-point win.

9.       Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-5)

It would take a pretty significant fall off for the Buccaneers to not make the playoffs, so this stretch is largely about making sure they can avoid the performances that have cost them a higher playoff seeding than they expected. They did that against the Vikings. They may have struggled offensively early in the game, but they found a way to win and did so fairly comfortably.

10.   Seattle Seahawks (9-4)

The Seahawks got back on track against the other team from New York, and they did so leaving no room for concern. As they should have, Seattle dominated the Jets in every phase. MVP may be out of the question for Russell Wilson, and they have big games coming against the Washington Football Team, the Rams, and the San Francisco 49ers.

11.   Indianapolis Colts (9-4)

Indianapolis are finding their rhythm. The offensive line is playing better, Jonathan Taylor is improving and getting involved more, Philip Rivers is playing well, and T.Y. Hilton also seems to be getting going. The defense isn’t in question, it was for the offense to keep up. Now they’re keeping up and the Colts are legit. 

12.   Baltimore Ravens (8-5) +2

What a game. The Ravens managed to eke out a win in the best game of the season so far, and they went about it in the wildest way. Ultimately that doesn’t matter, as the Ravens are in playoff mode and effectively need to win out to make the playoffs. Monday night was a good start, and the team have to count their lucky stars that they have Lamar Jackson. He may be having somewhat of a ‘disappointing’ season, but he played like an MVP and is this entire offense.

13.   Miami Dolphins (8-5) -1

The Dolphins may have lost, but they can take a lot of pride and confidence for how they played against the Chiefs. This is a very good team, and they’re playing excellent football. They have shortcomings, and I question how far they can legitimately go this season, but they’re clearly heading in the right direction and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them win a game come January.

14.   Las Vegas Raiders (7-6) -1

Just a few weeks ago I absolutely felt the Raiders were the ascending wild card team to be most feared. Since then they have seriously faltered, and this weekend’s loss has pushed them to the brink of their season ending. They now face a very tough path to the playoffs, relying on other teams losing, and they don't have the easiest remaining schedule, either. 

15.   Arizona Cardinals (7-6)

Back to winning ways for the Cardinals, and it came against the surging New York Giants in fairly comfortable fashion. Defensively, on the back of Haason Reddick’s five sacks, they harassed Daniel Jones and Colt McCoy and didn’t allow the Giants to get anything going. The win puts them back in a playoff spot and in control of their own destiny.

16.   Washington Football Team (6-7) +3

Make it four wins in a row for Washington as they turned in another strong defensive performance to knock off the 49ers. Chase Young is the Defensive Rookie of the Year, he confirmed that on Sunday, but the rest of Washington’s defensive line is simply incredible. Their ability to rush the passer with just four lineman is immensely valuable and is a big reason why they now sit alone atop the NFC East.

17.   New England Patriots (6-7) -1

Following last week’s drubbing of the Los Angeles Chargers, the Patriots were positioned to make an albeit unlikely run at the playoffs, but their performance on Thursday night as good as ended that push. They are not mathematically eliminated, but they need three teams to lose two of their last three, while they win out. Patriots fans seem destined to finally experience the playoffs without their team in it.

18.   Minnesota Vikings (6-7) -1

Prior to this weekend, the Vikings had done enough to battle back to a playoff spot, but their loss to the Buccaneers now leaves them on the outside looking in with a relatively challenging final three games on the horizon. They face the Chicago Bears, Saints, and the Detroit Lions, and given their inconsistency the Vikings have a tough road to make the playoffs. 

19.   New York Giants (5-8) -1

The NFC East and a home playoff game were in the Giants’ hands, but they let it slip with a poor performance against the Cardinals. Jones fumbled three times, the third time he has done so in his career, and looked nothing like he had in the few games before his hamstring injury. He now has a sprained ankle and is doubtful for this Sunday against the Browns. Even with him in the lineup the Giants face a tough road to the playoffs, but without him they may have already waved goodbye to January football. 

20.   Chicago Bears (6-7) +6

I’m surprised to be saying this, but in the last two weeks the Bears offense has improved. The re-introduction of Mitch Trubisky has offered far more of a spark than I had anticipated as the Bears are now just one game back of a playoff spot. They face one of their biggest competitors for that spot, the Vikings, this week, so are positioned well to make a late push for the playoffs.

21.   San Francisco 49ers (5-8) -1

Any chance of reaching the playoffs felt like it disappeared on Sunday as the 49ers lost to Washington. Not that Jimmy Garoppolo was offering much, but he is a fairly significant improvement on Nick Mullens. They also can’t seem to keep their stars healthy, and that will be the story of the 49ers' 2020 season when all is said and done.

22.   Denver Broncos (5-8)

Sunday was one of the more impressive games we’ve seen from Drew Lock this season as he manage to avoid any killer turnovers and threw for four touchdowns with just six incompletions. He continues to show reasons to be excited for the future in Denver, and he has no shortage of young, promising players on offense, he just has to put it together and the Broncos need to sure up the rest of the team.

23.   Detroit Lions (5-8)

Their loss on Sunday can’t have been too disappointing, as anything more would have been somewhat of a surprise, but what was disappointing on Sunday was Matthew Stafford’s injury. Stafford injured his ribs and had to leave the game, and indications suggest he may not suit up on Sunday. With the Lions seemingly prepared for a rebuild, it is fair to assume this may be a tough end to Matthew Stafford’s tenure in Detroit.

24.   Philadelphia Eagles (4-8-1) +3

Welcome to the NFL, Jalen. In his first career start, Hurts led the Eagles to an improbable win over the former number one seed Saints to just keep the Eagles in the race for the NFC East title. It is an uphill climb, but Hurts clearly gave this offense a spark and he got ample back up from his defense. If the Eagles can keep riding the momentum from this win they could still find a way to sneak into the playoffs.

25.   Houston Texans (4-9) -4

It takes a pretty shoddy performance to make the Bears’ offense look that good. The Bears did play well, but the Texans’ shortcomings were all too evident as the defense couldn’t get stops and Deshaun Watson was left to do it all offensively. The only priority for the Texans at this point is keeping Watson healthy, which they failed to do on Sunday.

26.   Los Angeles Chargers (4-9)  +2

Hell must have frozen over as the Chargers found a way to win a game in the fourth quarter. With less than a minute on the clock, Justin Herbert led the Chargers into field goal range and the field goal was actually good! If nothing else, at least the Chargers know they aren’t the NFL's worst fourth quarter team.

27.   Atlanta Falcons (4-9) -3

The Falcons should have been the ones with the late score to win the game, but in typical Atlanta fashion they found a way to botch it. Matt Ryan threw his third pick of the day to give the Chargers the opportunity to win, and it was simply an awful throw. You would expect much more from Ryan in that situation. As this season has progressed it feels more and more like the Falcons have reached the end of Ryan’s era.

28.   Carolina Panthers (4-9) -3

As I’ve said many times this season, the future seems bright in Carolina. Matt Rhule has clearly built a culture and has several nice pieces to build around as he continues to mold this team into his vision for them, and the positive of this season is they’re positioning themselves high in the draft to do just that.

29.   Dallas Cowboys (4-9)

The Cowboys have now won two of their last three and are still technically in the playoff race. It would take them winning out and Washington losing the rest of their games, which doesn’t seem likely, but there is a chance.

30.   Cincinnati Bengals (2-10-1)

Even with a backup QB under center, putting up just seven points on the Cowboys' defense is a pretty sorry showing. It doesn’t mean much, as the Bengals pretty solidly hold the third overall pick – they would need the Jets to win out and/or the Jaguars to win two of their last three to get any higher, and they’d need to win at least two more games to drop any lower.

31.   Jacksonville Jaguars (1-12)

The Jaguars are switching back to Gardner Minshew for at least one more game, giving Minshew Mania one last chance to take over. It is fair to ask how he would look if the rest of the team were a little more equipped offensively, but they aren’t, and the Jaguars are destined to be picking a QB at the top of next year’s NFL Draft.

32.   New York Jets (0-13)

A week after coming so close to avoiding a winless season, the Jets slipped back down to their usual standards as they were blown out by the Seahawks. After scoring on the first drive of the game they were completely outmatched on offense, and defensively they were picked apart. 0-16 is feeling incredibly likely at this point, with the Rams, Browns and Patriots remaining on the schedule.