NFL Week 12 Power Rankings

Week 12 of the NFL season is over and it dawned on me while writing this how close we actually are to the end of the regular season, and I’m sick about it. How can football come and go so quickly?

Nevertheless, at this point in the season, I don’t remember a year where so many playoff spots seemed so wide open to any takers. So many teams are in play by virtue of the hilarious inconsistencies shown by everyone. Never before has the saying ‘get hot at the right time’ felt more appropriate.

Only two teams in the NFC (Seattle and Detroit) are more than one game out of a playoff spot, while the AFC's outlook completely changes by the game. This season has been gloriously unpredictable on a weekly basis.

With that said, read on to see how I see the NFL landscape heading into Week 13.

1.       Green Bay Packers (9-3) +1

On Sunday the Green Bay Packers asserted their dominance on the NFC. Despite his fractured toe, Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay more than capably and made his usual slew of great plays. A.J. Dillon is such a perfect weapon in this offense and the defense is playing very good opportunistic football. They may be behind the Cardinals by record, but with a tie break over them, I think the road to the Super Bowl will travel through Green Bay.

2.       Arizona Cardinals (9-2) -1

Arizona enjoyed an important bye week as they sat comfortably in the NFC's top seed. Getting Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins back healthy is priority number one, but they cannot afford to slip up with Green Bay right on their heels.

3.       Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-3)

It wasn’t how they’d like to win the game, but a win is a win and the Buccaneers' comeback against the Indianapolis Colts was an important milestone for this team. At the fourth time of asking the Bucs finally put together a multi-possession comeback. Facing a 10-point halftime deficit, Tampa's army of special playmakers came together, creating several immense individual plays to get back in the game and ultimately win. Antonio Brown’s seemingly imminent return will be a big boost, too.

4.       New England Patriots (8-4)

Even on a day the Patriots give up 270 yards rushing they find a way to win the game by 20+ points. The Pats outclassed the Tennessee Titans in the second half, scoring 20 unanswered points. The Patriots continue to show just how well-coached they are and the importance of executing, which I trust more than anything any other AFC team can offer. 

5.       Cincinnati Bengals (7-4) +7

The Bengals are back from their slump. While their two losses in Weeks 8 and 9 were cause for concern, their performances in the weeks since should go a long way to diminishing it. This weekend’s performance marked the tied-second largest victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in franchise history, and the first time Cincy has swept the Steelers since 2009.

Joe Burrow looks like a veteran, able to process the field and slow down or speed up his process when need be, and he has a certified workhorse and one of the best runners in the NFL in Joe Mixon to lean on. This team is playing well from top to bottom, which is more than can be said about almost any team in the NFL.

6.       Baltimore Ravens (8-3)

A win is a win and all, but the Ravens really are finding the hardest way to win games every week. It is a huge positive to see how this team has handled adversity, be it injuries or in-game calamities, finding different ways to win, but they must tie it together soon to avoid a killer mistake when they can least afford it. 

Baltimore is heading into a ferocious stretch of Pittsburgh, the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay, Cincinnati, the Los Angeles Rams, and then Pittsburgh again. They cannot afford to be anything but perfect to hold on to the AFCs number one seed.

7.       Buffalo Bills (7-4) +2

Buffalo used Thanksgiving night to drub the New Orleans Saints at the Ceasers Superdome (is it just me who feels weird saying anything but the Mercedes-Benz Superdome?). Despite the scoreline and improvement Buffalo showed as a team, had they been playing a better quarterback this game may have been tighter. Josh Allen is not playing at the level we expect and the lack of balance offensively is a concern, too. Buffalo plays new England this week, Tampa the week after, and New England again on December 26th. Those three games are crucial measuring sticks for Sean McDermott and his squad.

8.       Kansas City Chiefs (7-4) +2

The Chiefs had a bye week to consolidate their momentum after winning their last four games. They’re in the AFC West’s driving seat and face a game for first place on Sunday Night Football Week 13.

9.       Dallas Cowboys (7-4) -4

There is plenty of reason for concern in Dallas. The Cowboys have lost three of their last four and there is no longer the same buzz or vibe of a team thriving. Protecting Dak Prescott has been an issue, health and performance at receiver is an issue, and they haven’t been able to run the ball in the same way. They do, however, have a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and it isn’t Trevon Diggs. Micah Parsons is already a superstar.

10.   Tennessee Titans (8-4) -3

The Titans had 270 rushing yards and didn’t win? What’s more surprising is the Titans lost by 23 points, falling 36-13 in New England. Injuries are definitely catching up with Tennessee. They just don’t have the skill position players to support Ryan Tannehill and an inconsistent defense. They’ll face the Jacksonville Jaguars, Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and Houston Texans to finish the season, all games we’d regularly expect them to win, but in their current form they may be fortunate to win more than two. Fortunately, a 10-7 final record may be enough to see them win the division anyway.

11.   Los Angeles Rams (7-4) -3

The Rams have effectively played themselves out of contention for the number one seed and are at risk of succumbing to a surging 49ers squad. The Rams face four playoff contenders in their final five games, including the Minnesota Vikings and the aforementioned 49ers. Those teams are the Rams’ primary competition for a playoff spot, so wins in those games are imperative.

12.   Indianapolis Colts (6-6) +1

At halftime it seemed as though the Colts were on their way to putting a stamp on their rise back into lofty playoff relevance. However, the second half of their 38-31 home loss to the Bucs saw the game slowly slip away from them as they missed a golden opportunity to pile the pressure on Tennessee. Carson Wentz is actually playing well, and Jonathan Taylor and Darius Leonard ensure the Colts always stand a chance, but they were undone by too many individual errors. Indy has very little wriggle room the rest of the way. 

13.   Los Angeles Chargers (6-5) -2

C’mon now, LA. What is going on? A week after earning a huge win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game that saw the offense come back alive, the Chargers put out a dud in Denver. The Chargers' offense seems to come apart as soon as they face an above average-at-best defense, failing to execute at the level they should. They had two 10+ play drives end in zero points – one blocked field goal and one pick-six. The Chargers have to find a way to get back to their early-season form. Quickly.

14.   San Francisco 49ers (6-5) +3

Kyle Shanahan has this team heating up at a good time. As the NFC playoff field remains congested and chaotic, the 49ers are riding a three-game win streak with crucial wins over their immediate playoff rivals – the Rams and Vikings. Thankfully Deebo Samuel’s injury should keep him sidelined no more than two weeks, but the emergence of Elijah Mitchell and Brandon Aiyuk should help weather that storm. The 49ers could overtake the Rams into the NFCs number five seed.

15.   Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5-1) -1

It feels as though the issues in Pittsburgh are becoming too great to overcome. Ben Roethlisberger and the offense are reverting back to where they were in Weeks 2-4 when they couldn’t run the ball or do much more in the passing game than quick passes and dump-offs. What’s more, they can’t stop the run, and if T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, and Minkah Fitzpatrick aren’t making the play the Steelers struggle defensively.

16.   Minnesota Vikings (5-6) -1

I’m not even a fan of the Vikings and I find it frustrating watching them. They are talented, they make plays every week, but they too often come up short in self-inflicted ways. Kirk Cousins had two bad missed throws to Justin Jefferson. The first would have made it a three-point deficit with 4:46 left in the third, and the second would have extended the Vikings’ final drive. This is a huge loss for Minnesota, effectively leaving them two games behind the 49ers’ playoff spot and right in the thick of a congested NFC.

17.   Cleveland Browns (6-6) -1

Not many teams can say they intercepted their opponent four times and still lost, scoring just 10 points. The Browns offense is in trouble. Baker Mayfield’s body is broken, Jack Conklin is done for the year, and Kevin Stefanski can't find a way to overcome it. The Browns are on a dangerous downward trajectory.

18.   Las Vegas Raiders (6-5) +3

Last week’s disappointment against the Bengals was forgotten with a big 36-33 Thanksgiving day win over the Cowboys. The Raiders are just one game back in the division and will have the chance to reverse some tiebreakers before the end of the season, but they’ll need to find their groove more regularly to do so.

19.   Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) -1

As should have been expected in Philly, nothing good can last too long. The Eagles crashed back down to earth with a miserable performance at the Meadowlands, falling 13-7 to the New York Giants. Jalen Hurts was awful. He was trying to do too much, mainly with his arm, and just couldn’t deliver. This team needs to be running the ball well and get ahead early to control the game, as leaving it all on Hurts is not a reliable fallback. 

20.   New Orleans Saints (5-6)

Enough is enough in New Orleans as it was reported Monday Taysom Hill was taking the first-team reps at QB in practice for the Saints. If it wasn’t clear already, the Saints’ Thanksgiving loss to the Bills signaled Trevor Siemian is not the guy to lead this team to the playoffs. NOLA is in somewhat of a hole now, sitting out of a playoff spot, so the pressure is on Hill to play very well.  

21.   Denver Broncos (6-5) +1

The Broncos refuse to go down without a fight and can take the division lead with a win on Sunday night against the Chiefs, though I can’t imagine they will. Despite giving up yardage, the Broncos defense stiffened when it needed to and the offense did a decent job of moving down the field and taking time off the clock (when Teddy Bridgewater was on the field). Ultimately, I think we’ll see the Broncos slump down and out of the playoff picture as the season continues.

22.   Miami Dolphins (5-7) +6

Don’t look now, the Dolphins are making a run at it. Brian Flores's side has won four straight games and is putting together performances similar to last year when they made a late push for the playoffs. Tua Tagovailoa is playing well and is showing improvement every week. He is showing the skillset which made him such an appealing prospect – accuracy and efficiency. They have a lot more work to do to actually make it to playoff contention, which I don’t see happening, but this season is finally producing some positives.

23.   Washington Football Team (5-6) +2

Washington and Tyler Heinicke fought to their third straight win, overcoming the Seattle Seahawks 17-15. It wasn’t a pretty game, nor a particularly exciting one, but Washington just took care of their business and gave Seattle very little time to respond. Washington now occupies the final NFC playoff spot, but I would be surprised to see them hold onto it.

24.   Carolina Panthers (5-7) -5

Cam Newton said it best: “Just because Cam Newton is on your roster it doesn't mean you're just going to win. Just because it's a feel-good story, doesn't mean you're going to win.” The spark from Newton’s reintroduction has quickly worn off, and to compound the misery, Christian McCaffrey is done for the season and Donte Jackson has also been added to the injured reserve. The Panthers looked poised to contend again but are now slipping back into obscurity.

25.   Atlanta Falcons (5-6) +2

The Falcons kept pace with the chasing pack in the NFC with an important win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cordarrelle Patterson is a revelation, and his importance to this team should not be understated. It is impressive how much Atlanta is getting from him and they should ride this wave for as long as they can.

26.   Chicago Bears (4-7) -2

The Bears finally found their way back in the win column, overcoming division rival Detroit on Thanksgiving. The win was obviously important with the team still just a game back from a playoff spot, but it didn’t do much to suggest Chicago could seriously challenge for it. Justin Fields should start once he is fit to do so, he offers more for this offense and has shown improvement and far higher upside in recent weeks.

27.   New York Giants (4-7) -1

Firing Jason Garrett was the correct decision, but it will take more than that to fix this offense. The Giants came up with an upset win over the Eagles on the back of a strong defensive performance. The G-Men seriously bothered Jalen Hurts and never let him settle, eventually picking him off three times and holding him below a 50% completion percentage. There is still a lot to fix in New York, but this was at least something joyful to take from this season.

28.   Seattle Seahawks (3-8) -5

It’s tough watching the Seahawks. Wilson just isn’t himself – missing throws and failing to create much magic outside of the pocket, Alex Collins cannot support the ground game, the offensive line isn’t good enough, and the defense can’t consistently make plays. This may be an ugly and disappointing end to the Wilson or Pete Carroll era in Seattle.

29.   New York Jets (3-8)

In Zach Wilson’s return to the lineup the Jets found a way to win, beating the Houston Texans 21-14. Make no mistake, though, Zach Wilson has a lot of work to do. The game is clearly moving way too fast for him. He looks frazzled, rushed, and chaotic, and he isn’t seeing the field. He is lacking help on the roster, but he has the most work to do of the rookie starters at this point.

30.   Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9) -1

In a week that will be remembered for chaos in the college football coaching ranks, now may seem the perfect time for Urban Meyer to slip back into the college world. That won’t be the case, per ESPN, but it is reasonable to speculate given the state of the Jaguars currently. This season is purely about seeing some progression from Lawrence and keeping him, and the team’s other playmakers, healthy.  

While you're here, though, take a minute to think about the absurdity and exploitative nature of college sports - particularly football. 

31.   Houston Texans (2-9)

I thought Tyrod Taylor’s reintroduction to the starting lineup would be enough to lift this team past the New York Jets, but clearly not. This already talent-poor roster has only lost talent as the season has progressed, and there is no improvement on the horizon. The Texans need to get to the offseason start taking action towards the team they want to be.

32.   Detroit Lions (0-10-1)

I never want to watch the Lions again this season. There are multiple teams I could say this for, but it is so tiring watching the Lions just falter as the game goes on. I really think this team is destined to become the first franchise with multiple winless seasons. 

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