NFL power rankings, Week 12: Haves and have-nots continue to separate
Week 11’s NFL games brought us a lot of what was expected — great teams kept up their pace and bad teams fell behind as the playoff picture continued to crystalize. With the New Orleans Saints resting during their bye week, they wound up being spectators to a lot of movement around them.
So how does this impact our NFL power rankings? Here’s where he put every team going into Monday night’s blockbuster matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs:
Carolina Panthers (1-9)
Last week: 32
Just how much worse can things get for Carolina? It’s tough to find another team experiencing more dysfunction around the league.
Arizona Cardinals (2-9)
Last week: 29
The Cardinals made a fight of it, but their roster has too many flaws from top to bottom to compete with playoff teams.
New England Patriots (2-8)
Last week: 30
The Patriots were on bye this week.
Chicago Bears (3-8)
Last week: 28
The Bears had the Lions right where they wanted them — until Detroit overcame a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to win in the game’s final minute.
Tennessee Titans (3-7)
Last week: 27
Tennessee looked totally outmatched by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Washington Commanders (4-7)
Last week: 25
The shine has come off of Washington in recent weeks. Too much pressure got to Sam Howell which led to too many sacks and interceptions against the New York Giants on Sunday.
New York Giants (3-8)
Last week: 31
What a win for the Giants, who looked like a team dead in the water, having lost seven of their last eight games. Their defense was firing on all cylinders.
Los Angeles Chargers (4-6)
Last week: 23
Questionable play calling, poor personnel management, and some classic Chargers blunders led to an avoidable loss to the Green Bay Packers. Imagine where they’d be if they had hired Sean Payton?
Las Vegas Raiders (5-6)
Last week: 22
The Raiders’ post-Josh McDaniels resurgence was fun while it lasted. They had nothing for slowing down the Miami Dolphins offense and their defense was at the mercy of Miami’s playmaking defense all afternoon.
Green Bay Packers (4-6)
Last week: 26
The Packers found a way to win, but it was costly. Star running back Aaron Jones left the game with an injury that could sideline him for a while. Can Jordan Love elevate this team alone each week? That’s unclear.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)
Last week: 19
The Buccaneers were no match for the Super Bowl-contending San Francisco 49ers, but at least Mike Evans got to pad his stats in a decisive loss.
Indianapolis Colts (5-5)
Last week: 21
The Colts were on bye this week.
Atlanta Falcons (4-6)
Last week: 20
The Falcons were on bye this week.
Los Angeles Rams (4-6)
Last week: 24
The Rams surprised a lot of people by sweeping the Seahawks, though it remains to be seen whether Cooper Kupp will miss time with a new injury.
New York Jets (4-6)
Last week: 16
The last few Zach Wilson believers have left the building.
New Orleans Saints (5-5)
Last week: 17
The Saints were on bye this week.
Cincinnati Bengals (5-5)
Last week: 15
The Bengals didn’t just lose to the Ravens last Thursday night: they lost Joe Burrow for the season with an injured throwing hand.
Minnesota Vikings (6-5)
Last week: 13
Joshua Dobbs gave the Vikings everything he had, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a stingy Denver Broncos defense.
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)
Last week: 14
This was a, well, memorable game for Kenny Pickett, though it certainly wasn’t one of his best.
Denver Broncos (5-5)
Last week: 18
It took five field goals from Wil Lutz, but Sean Payton’s Broncos extended their winning streak to four games. He’s got them trending in the right direction.
Cleveland Browns (7-3)
Last week: 12
The Browns have the best defense in the NFL, though we still need to see whether they can do enough offensively to compete with real playoff teams.
Buffalo Bills (6-5)
Last week: 11
The Bills played with their food a bit and dragged this one out, but the Jets didn’t seriously challenge them.
Seattle Seahawks (6-4)
Last week: 7
The Seahawks have to quickly regroup and prepare for a Thanksgiving Day prime-time game with the 49ers, possibly without their starting quarterback and running back. Geno Smith and Kenneth Walker III both exited the loss with injuries.
Houston Texans (6-4)
Last week: 10
The legend of C.J. Stroud continues to grow. He threw three interceptions but cleaned up his mess by ending the day with 336 yards and two touchdown passes.
Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3)
Last week: 9
The Jaguars made it clear that the AFC South runs through Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence turned in a very impressive performance after getting beaten up by the 49ers defense a week ago.
Miami Dolphins (7-3)
Last week: 8
The Dolphins looked like a playoff team while dismantling the Raiders. Superstar cornerback Jalen Ramsey was in rare form with two interceptions, though he injured himself in a hard fall to the turf on his second takeaway.
Dallas Cowboys (7-3)
Last week: 6
Shouts out to Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland, who returned his fourth interception for a defensive touchdown this season on Sunday. He’s filling in very well for the injured Trevon Diggs.
San Francisco 49ers (7-3)
Last week: 5
The 49ers looked every inch a Super Bowl contender on Sunday, though they’ll be missing star safety Talanoa Hufanga with what appears to be a season-ending knee injury.
Baltimore Ravens (8-3)
Last week: 4
Overlook the Ravens at your own peril. Losing tight end Mark Andrews is going to be a challenge, but they’ve consistently drafted and developed players to fill in for him like Charlie Kolar. It’s time those investments paid off.
Detroit Lions (8-2)
Last week: 3
The Lions are here to stay. Dan Campbell is guiding his team through real adversity. It’s unreal how easy they make it look to play offense in the NFL sometimes.
Kansas City Chiefs (7-2, pending MNF)
Last week: 2
We’ll see how the Chiefs perform on Monday night against the Eagles.
Philadelphia Eagles
Last week: 1
We’ll see how the Eagles perform on Monday night against the Chiefs.
