Post-Week 13 Power Rankings

1 – Packers (9-3)

The Packers had their very late bye this week, and they’re taking full advantage of it, as some key contributors are returning to the fray this week. Jaire Alexander, Za’Darius Smith, and David Bakhtiari could all come back this week. The team has been fine without them, and they don’t necessarily need all hands on deck to beat the Bears, but it will only make them more dangerous and continue solidifying their case as the best team in football.

2 – Cardinals (10-2)

Speaking of beating the Bears, the Cardinals looked mighty impressive in doing so this Sunday. The return of Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins lifted the offense in more ways than one, and the defense played a solid game to help put things to bed early. Kyler’s use of his arm and his legs has been his forte all year long, and even in his first game back from a nagging ankle injury, he looked like his old self once again. I expect to see more of the same from him as the season winds down, and he’ll need to be on his A game this week as the Rams come into town.

3 – Patriots (9-4)

I think we can all agree that the Patriots offense wasn’t exactly the most fun to watch on Monday night. Amidst the wind and bone-chilling cold, Mac Jones played handoff simulator for 3 hours to the tune of just 3 passes thrown with 2 completed for a whopping 19 yards. But, all three Pats backs did their jobs, with Damien Harris being the star of the show. The defense also continued its stellar level of play, bending at times but never breaking when the Bills entered the redzone. It was the resilience of that unit that won the game for New England, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. This has been their identity, and I doubt we’ll see a situation where Mac only throws the ball 3 times again.

4 – Buccaneers (9-3)

The Bucs are back in rhythm and really strutting their stuff. There’s not a lot I can say about them that I haven’t said for the last few weeks, but there is one thing I want to mention. The emergence of Leonard Fournette in both the run game and the passing game has added another level to this offense that I never expected to see. It’s allowing them to open up the playbook and spread the field more than they had in the past, and I think it makes them that much more dangerous offensively. Tom Brady continues to stuff the statsheet on his way to another MVP, and the defense is clearly improving by the week as they continue getting healthier. This week’s contest against the Bills will be a tough one, but at their current pace, I like Tampa’s chances.

5 – Chiefs (8-4)

The Chiefs at home are one of the NFL’s weirdest anomalies. Something about playing in Arrowhead sucks all of Patrick Mahomes’ and his offense’s powers away. I can’t explain it, but at this point, it doesn’t matter. KC’s defense is playing like a truly elite unit, which is something I never saw coming 2 months ago. Between getting stops, forcing turnovers, and playing stout in the redzone, the Chiefs have become a team that simply doesn’t let you score. On their now 5-game win streak, they haven’t allowed a single team to score over 17 points. The last time they gave up 20 or more was on October 24th. Once again, the offense doesn’t have to be its usual firework show. The defense will get the job done.

6 – Colts (7-6)

After all the wackiness of the last month or so, I think the Colts truly relished in the proverbial tune-up against the Texans this week. They simply went out there, played their brand of football, and walked away with a clean shutout victory. What more can you ask for? Now, they head into their bye week with some great momentum as they continue pushing for a potential division title. Considering their final stretch of games, they need this week off to get themselves together and continue playing their best ball moving forward.

7 – Rams (8-4) 4

I really don’t know what to make of this team. They’re getting bumped up this high simply because other teams decided to slip up this week. Blowing out the Jaguars isn’t the most impressive thing in the world, but the Rams certainly needed that after a tumultuous last month. It was nice to see them seemingly come to fruition on both sides of the ball, but again, I won’t overreact. This is a team that has made light work of their poor schedule all year long and subsequently folded against any teams with a pulse. This can get them to the playoffs, but I don’t consider this to be an elite team at all.

8 – Cowboys (8-4) 4

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t very impressed with the Cowboys last Thursday. Like the Rams, they’re being bumped up this much because of the actions of teams above them. The offense was clearly rejuvenated by the return of Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, but I still thought they didn’t play their best game on that side of the ball. The defense had themselves a day, but that’s easy to do when Taysom Hill is the opposing “quarterback”. I think this week’s game against a red hot Washington team will be a better indication of where the Cowboys stand on both sides of the ball. We’ll just have to wait and see.

9 – Bills (7-5)

Realistically speaking, the Bills only have themselves to blame for Monday night’s loss. If you know that the other team is going to run the same play for the entire game and you still let it beat you over and over, you deserve to lose. If you get into the redzone time and time again and don’t get any points out of it, you deserve to lose. If you can’t run the football at all in run-centric conditions, you deserve to lose. If you take bad sacks and make bad throws, then guess what? You deserve to lose. This is a good team that just can’t get out of their own way. None of their problems will fly against truly elite competition. It will hurt them in the playoffs, assuming they even get there at this point.

10 – Ravens (8-4) 2

I knew that Sunday’s game would be close. I thought the Ravens could lose, but I didn’t see it actually happening. And while any loss is concerning, this one almost felt natural. This team is still clearly struggling to find itself offensively, and a good Steelers defense ripped them apart. Meanwhile, the defensive woes reared their ugly head once again. Now, the Ravens are no longer the 1 seed in the AFC, and they only have themselves to blame. If they can’t figure out these issues soon, then it’ll be a quick one-and-done for them in January.

11 – Chargers (7-5) 3

This is an extremely bold proclamation, but I truly believe that it’s true. I think I have finally figured the Chargers out. Like I said last week, this team flip-flops every single Sunday. Last week it was a stinker against Denver, this week was a firework show against Cincinnati. I didn’t pick them to win, but I did say that it wouldn’t shock me if they did. This team has a pattern and they follow it to a T. I’m not saying they’ll lose to the Giants next week, but do not be shocked if it happens.

12 – Bengals (7-5) 5

Just when things looked like they were back on track in Cincinnati, they quite literally fumbled everything away. Despite starting the game down 24-0, the Bengals truly could have and arguably should have won on Sunday, but two key plays ruined their day. A poor Jamarr Chase drop on a perfect throw that should’ve resulted in a TD and an inopportune Joe Mixon fumble when the team was driving to take the lead that was returned for a touchdown killed any hopes of an improbable comeback win. It also didn’t help that the defense forgot how to play football for a while. I still like what this team has going on, but that was a truly poor showing from a group that knows it’s better than this. Next up is a very tough game against the team one spot below them, and a loss could truly derail what was once a promising year for this young team.

13 – 49ers (6-6) 3

I just hate good teams losing to bad teams. I hate it even more when the good team should actually have won the game. The 49ers only have themselves to blame for Sunday’s loss. Between a poor safety taken and not being able to punch the ball in with the game on the line, there can be no excuses made for this team. While they still hold a playoff spot, things can go very south very quickly with a difficult schedule ahead of them. I think they’ll be fine once Deebo Samuel comes back, but they better hope that’s ASAP. They need him badly.

14 – Titans (8-4) 1

Even after a bye, I have no idea what to make of the Titans. Without Derrick Henry, their offense is still going to be an eye sore. They better hope their defense can carry them to victory in these next few weeks.

15 – Washington (6-6) 2

I really have no idea how we got here. But we did, and it’s fun. Out of nowhere, the WFT has the longest winning streak in the conference and the 3rd longest in the league, and the team now sits in the 6 seed in the NFC. Simply put, this team finds ways to win. They play hard-nosed football and they go out and earn it every Sunday. The defense is still playing fantastic ball, the run game has found itself once again, and Taylor Heinicke is a rollercoaster, but he’s tougher than a $2 steak when it matters most. Now, the season comes down to 5 straight games against NFC East opponents, starting with the Cowboys this Sunday. As I said last week, everything is directly in front of this team to take. The playoffs essentially start now. I’m hoping and praying that they don’t let me down.

16 – Eagles (6-7) 3

You know what really impresses me in this league? Winning with backup QBs. It says a lot about a team when you can do that. Even against a lowly opponent like the Jets, Gardner Minshew and the Eagles’ performance on Sunday left a good impression. Jalen Hurts should be back after this bye week, and this team is trending in a very good direction. I have no doubt that they’ll be in the playoff mix for the next month.

17 – Broncos (6-6) 1

The Broncos played a weird game on Sunday night. Their defense was excellent from start to finish thanks to some lucky breaks. They were able to get the ball downfield, especially with the run game thanks to a huge night from Javonte Williams, but they simply refused to score. Between missed kicks, turnovers, or just bad breaks, this team couldn’t get out of their own way. It’s unfortunate, but it happens to everyone. This is still a solid team that is right in the thick of the wild card race, and I really think they have what it takes to sneak into the playoffs. But they have to stop beating themselves first.

18 – Vikings (5-7) 3

Let’s be honest. We all should have seen that coming. Even after this team battled back to take a late lead, we should have known what would happen next. A loss on a touchdown at the buzzer to the Lions to give them their lone win is a perfect microcosm of what this team is in 2021. And that’s all I’ll say about the Minnesota Vikings.

19 – Raiders (6-6) 1

The Raiders didn’t play their worst game by any stretch on Sunday. They were simply stifled enough offensively to have their defense lose the game late. It could’ve gone either way. It was the 4th loss in 5 games for this team that continues to fall apart from a record perspective, but I still think this is a solid team. Maybe not a playoff team, but they can give anyone a game on their best day. Sunday was simply not their best day.

20 – Steelers (6-5-1) 1

I knew the Steelers wouldn’t lay down and die again on Sunday, and I will say that I was very impressed with their ability to actually win the game. They showcased an energy on both sides of the ball that I hadn’t seen from them in a while. The return of T.J. Watt was truly a catalyst for that defense, as he had 3.5 sacks himself and the rest of the unit did enough to win the game late. The offense also had a pulse, which is always a shock. It was an emotional game against their biggest rival, so these things make sense. But, I still doubt this team’s ability to replicate this in the future.

21 – Browns (6-6) 1

Thankfully for my eyes, I didn’t have to watch the Browns this week. They return from their bye with a tough game against the Ravens, who they just lost to last week. After seeing how that game played out, I don’t see why this week should go any differently.

22 – Dolphins (6-7) 1

The second longest winning streak in the NFL resides in South Beach. The Dolphins have won five in a row. And guess what? I don’t care. Those wins have come against the Texans, Jets, Ravens, Panthers, and Giants. All teams who are either straight up bad or struggling right now. But, wins are wins, and this team has played their way into the playoff mix. Their defense has looked very good, and their offense is playing efficient football that wins them games. It’s a solid formula, but I just don’t think it will work against truly great teams. Luckily for the Dolphins, they don’t have any of those left on their schedule outside of a Week 18 game against New England. So, believe it or not, this team could somehow make the playoffs.

23 – Saints (5-7) 1

I just have one thing to say to the Saints. Please stop doing this Taysom Hill thing. He’s a solid player and a true gadget guy, but he’s not an NFL QB. Not even close. He can win games when the team around him is elite, but that’s not the case with this Saints team. And thus, it will only fail miserably. I don’t know why Sean Payton is so in love with Taysom Hill, and I never will. But I do know that this is ugly. Just start Trevor Siemian. Unless you’re actively trying to lose games.

24 – Falcons (5-7)

The Falcons essentially played exactly how I predicted they would on Sunday. After a while, it’s pretty easy to get a read on this team. There’s nothing I can say right now that hasn’t been the case for so many weeks at this point. There’s still hope that they can end the year strong, but other than that, there’s not a lot of hope in Atlanta.

25 – Panthers (5-7)

I enjoy weeks where I don’t have to watch Cam Newton play football. Those are some pretty good weeks. Hopefully that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy this week. But I know that I won’t enjoy watching this team play.

26 – Seahawks (4-8) 2

Against all odds, the Seahawks won a football game. And they didn’t look awful doing it. They easily could have lost on Sunday, but they did what they had to do to pull off a pretty nice win. Good for them. I still think this team is awful, but I’ll respect them this week because Tyler Lockett put up some nice numbers for my fantasy team. Thanks, guys.

27 – Bears (4-8) 1

This is a very bad football team. There’s not much more that can be said. Justin Fields returning to the lineup this week provides a bit of an offensive spark, but we’ve seen enough of this offense to know that sparks die very quickly. And against the Packers, they might not even light that spark.

28 – Giants (4-8) 1

I can’t fault this team for losing with a backup QB. I told you guys how bad they’d play with Mike Glennon at QB, and that’s exactly what happened. Can’t expect too much out of an already bad team starting a bad QB. At least this team is on pace for two top 10 picks. But, knowing the Giants, they’ll probably find some way to mess them up.

29 – Jets (3-9)

Getting steamrolled by Gardner Minshew isn’t a very good look. But then again, this is the New York Jets. They haven’t known what a good look is in 50 years.

30 – Jaguars (2-10)

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. The Jaguars have been the exact same team for almost this entire season. But it’s not like there’s anything wrong with that. This is who we expect the Jaguars to be every week. This is how rebuilds work.

31 – Lions (1-10-1) 1

They did it. The Lions finally captured that elusive first win, and it took a touchdown at the buzzer to do it. I’m genuinely happy for them. You could see how much it meant to Jared Goff, Dan Campbell, the rest of the team, and especially the fans. I can imagine it’s quite a feeling. Good for them. I told you guys this team wouldn’t go winless. And when am I ever wrong?

32 – Texans (2-10) 1

Somehow, the Texans have returned to the #32 spot. They just can’t escape this. And if you wan’t answers, go look at the box score of Sunday’s game. That should tell the story just fine.

All stats taken from ESPN.