Following their respective victories over Buffalo in overtime and Seattle on Thanksgiving, San Francisco and Philadelphia, the two best teams in the league, will square off in Week 13.
Once again, welcome to the Power Rankings. I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful. I’m positive that I did. I had a great time taking a break from football to watch a family member attempt to win multiple legs of an extremely unlikely parlay wager that held the interest of the entire family for a brief period of time.
There’s a lot to catch up on, so let’s get right to business.
1. Philadelphia Eagles (10–1)
Last week: win vs. Buffalo, 37–34
Next week: vs. San Francisco
There must be some aspect of the Eagles that we are missing, and maybe if it were a different team, we would be less enthralled and forgiving of slow starts. Nonetheless, the group’s incredible resiliency leaves very little space for doubt. I find it impossible to not consider them Super Bowl favorites, barring a rout at the hands of the 49ers this week.
2. San Francisco 49ers (8–3)
Last week: win at Seattle, 31–13
Next week: at Philadelphia
The 49ers’ three-game losing streak is long gone, as expected. As expected, the 49ers appear strengthened by their brief diversion into below-average play. Against their closest division rival, Christian McCaffrey amassed over 100 rushing yards in the first half, and San Francisco led by 21 points at the half. That certainly counts as being “back,” in my opinion.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (8–3)
Last week: win at Las Vegas, 31–17
Next week: at Green Bay
The Chiefs’ best performance from Rashee Rice came at a favorable moment and against a Raiders defense that had been playing admirably for the previous month—as in, among the top 10 in the league. I’m not ready to call the Chiefs’ long-term experiment with the wideouts a success just yet; crucial moments will eventually provide the evidence. However, it’s a long play that makes sense and is reasonably priced. It also seems more promising than it has in the previous few days.
4. Baltimore Ravens (9–3)
Last week: win at Los Angeles Chargers, 20–10
Next week: Bye
The reason defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is getting so much attention is because the Ravens unleashed the ideal fourth down blitz against the Chargers on Sunday night. I was informed prior to the season that the Ravens anticipated losing him shortly. You’re starting to see why once more.
5. Detroit Lions (8–3)
Last week: loss vs. Green Bay, 29–22
Next week: at New Orleans
I won’t punish the Lions excessively for being taken advantage of by a division rival on Thanksgiving. A team will typically be alright when its quarterback posts a QB rating of 100 or higher and rushes for 140 yards without giving up any interceptions. Of course, those performances are not successful when they are counterbalanced by three fumbles, one of which is recovered for a touchdown.
6. Dallas Cowboys (8–3)
Last week: win vs. Washington, 45–10
Next week: vs. Seattle
Rather than talk about this rout, I’d like to know if, fifteen years from now, in the NFL after Jerry Jones, there will be a Thanksgiving game that doesn’t include the Cowboys. In a way, I consider myself a traditionalist, but Dallas came of age in America. I guess something to consider. Still, I’m sure DaRon Bland will continue to post absurd pick-sixes.
7. Miami Dolphins (8–3)
Last week: win at New York Jets, 34–13
Next week: at Washington
My choice for my favorite sideline moment of the year goes to Mike McDaniel. He was teased by a Jets fan (Wim Hoff, maybe?) for using the heater at the end of a cold Black Friday game. How did McDaniel react? I’m winning and I’m cold. Get this man to a Super Bowl, please.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (8–3)
Last week: win at Houston, 24–21
Next week: vs. Cincinnati
I made this point on the podcast, and while I’m willing to change my mind, I believe that the Chiefs are the only team in the AFC now, with the Ravens in second place, the Jaguars and Dolphins in third, and the Houston Texans in the doink-saving victory on Sunday. Even though Jacksonville is young and has a defense that can force a lot of turnovers in the right situation, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them heat up in a tournament. However, at this point, I’m not feeling very confident about them winning the Super Bowl. The fact that the Jaguars are flawless on the road this year goes against that intuition.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (7–4)
Last week: win at Cincinnati, 16–10
Next week: vs. Arizona
10. Cleveland Browns (7–4)
Last week: loss at Denver, 29–12
Next week: at Los Angeles Rams
This week on the pod, Albert Breer stated something that made me laugh out loud right away: Myles Garrett is the quarterback for this football team and has been for the better part of five years. The group moves with him. Since he’s still sidelined, we can still imagine a situation in which they miss out on the playoffs.
11. Seahawks of Seattle (6–5)
Loss against San Francisco last week, 31–13
Next week: in Dallas
The Seahawks, who have now lost two straight and three of their last four games, are once again let down. What’s most troubling about these losses is their magnitude: a blowout loss to the 49ers; a second defeat at the hands of the Rams, a team well-versed in Seattle’s offensive capabilities; and a 37-3 loss to the Ravens. In my opinion, Seattle has changed from a team that might make the top-heavy NFC playoffs exciting to watch to a team that might not even make it that far.
12. Houston Texans (6–5)
Last week: loss vs. Jacksonville, 24–21
Next week: vs. Denver
Even after the drive to tie the game at three points with slightly over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, I wasn’t unduly demoralized by the Texans on Sunday. Surprisingly, CJ Stroud continues to play coolly and split defenders. His one error, taking a huge sack that put the Texans in a position to win or tie the game on a drive, appeared to be the result of a screen that developed too slowly. Would we have preferred it if Stroud had done a Mac Jones and alley-ooped the ball to a defender nearby? He can compensate for the shortfall. He’ll throw and spike that ball into the grass like Peyton Manning did in a year.
13. Buffalo Bills (6–6)
Last week: loss at Philadelphia, 37–34
Next week: Bye
The point is being missed by everyone who exclaims, “Oh my gosh, the Bills offense looks better.” Josh Allen was simply run by the Bills a lot on Sunday against the Eagles—more times than Allen has been run in a game this season. Ken Dorsey was attempting to stay away from this in order to prevent injuries during the playoffs each year. And an idea he was still working on at the time of his firing.
14. Minnesota Vikings (6–6)
Last week: loss vs. Chicago, 12–10
Next week: Bye
A tough loss for the Vikings, though one of the league’s surprise teams couldn’t stay hot forever. Four Josh Dobbs interceptions ended up being the dagger, even though Dobbs still drove the Vikings down the field for a potential game-winning touchdown drive. In true Vikings fashion, every loss is a one-score loss.
15. Indianapolis Colts (6–5)
Last week: win vs. Tampa Bay, 27–20
Next week: at Tennessee
See my complete thoughts on Shane Steichen, the possible coach of the year, here. This is the backstory. Jonathan Taylor has been working harder for the past month, and now that the training wheels are off, the results have been intriguing. During that time, the Colts have gone 3–2, including the extremely close one-point loss to Cleveland that appeared to have been contrived by NFL deep state referee spies.
16. Denver Broncos (6–5)
Last week: win vs. Cleveland, 29–12
Next week: at Houston
Kudos to the Broncos, a team that we were very, very mean to, and has now won five straight games to make us all look a little silly. But here’s where I will push back slightly: Russell Wilson is playing well again because, like Josh Allen, he is running the football more. Wilson maxed out at eight rushing attempts last season, a year where he was either hurt, unwilling to run or both. Over the winning streak, Wilson has games of eight, nine and 11(!!) attempts, which he reached against the Browns on Sunday.
17. Green Bay Packers (5–6)
Last week: win at Detroit, 29–22
Next week: vs. Kansas City
After removing the Pittsburgh loss from the calculation, Jordan Love’s QB ratings during the past month have been 115.5, 108.5, and 125.5. Love is not, in my opinion, a quarterback that we would classify as off-pace. And just because Patrick Mahomes became a superstar after just one year of sitting doesn’t mean that the sitting philosophy ignores difficult times. It’s wonderful to witness him displaying his best qualities and becoming more level-headed.
18. Los Angeles Rams (5–6)
Last week: win at Arizona, 37–14
Next week: vs. Cleveland
After winning their last two games, take a look at the Rams’ upcoming schedule: Cleveland without a quarterback, Commanders, Saints, at the Giants. Is it really expected of this team to lose by nine points before the season finale against the 49ers, who own the top seed and may be resting key players? Not a very unlikely scenario.
19. Atlanta Falcons (5–6)
Last week: win vs. New Orleans, 24–15
Next week: at New York Jets
I believed that Bijan Robinson could not play better after the bye week unless Arthur Smith did, and sure enough, Robinson has given us the kind of open-minded performance we have been waiting for. This is not to argue that Smith was incapable of sending Robinson into space or that he didn’t want to do so in the first place, but sometimes distance makes sense. This is the Falcons’ only realistic option going forward, much like the early iterations of the Brian Daboll-Daniel Jones offense with a healthy Saquon Barkley.
20. New Orleans Saints (5–6)
Last week: loss at Atlanta, 24–15
Next week: vs. Detroit
In my opinion, Derek Carr’s post-game press conference was a little strange because he used a pick six deep in Atlanta territory along with other unrelated errors and penalties to justify the Saints’ defeat. And even though I’m not the type of person who thinks we should put too much pressure on ourselves, I’m curious about how other people who aren’t basement troll football writers interpret that kind of messaging.
21. The Bengals of Cincinnati (5–6)
Loss against Pittsburgh last week, 16–10.
Next week: in Jacksonville