Post-Week 12 Power Rankings

Cover photo taken from Yahoo News.

1 – Chiefs (9-2)

The Chiefs didn’t play their best game on Sunday, settling for a lot of field goals on long drives that died close to the goal line. Despite that, they still won very convincingly, albeit against one of the worst teams in the league. They still got their numbers in and are vastly improving in the run game due to the emergence of Isiah Pacheco. They have one of their toughest tests of the year this week in a banger matchup against the Bengals, so we’ll see just how effective their new and improved run game and secondary is in that one.

2 – 49ers (7-4)

Like the team above them, the 49ers didn’t put together the flashiest performance in their win on Sunday, but they continued to show just how dominant they can be defensively. Shutting out the team who had gone the longest without being shut out is a pretty impressive feat. San Francisco is now first in every defensive statistical category other than passing defense. The offense didn’t look great, and Elijah Mitchell is out again with injury, but I think that will allow them to use Christian McCaffrey a lot more, which can help them in the end. After a few weeks of beating up on poor opposition, this week’s potential Super Bowl preview against the Dolphins will tell us whether or not the Niners deserve to be this high.

3 – Eagles (10-1)

I wanted to move the Eagles up just a bit this week, but I simply hated what I saw from their defense on Sunday night. Giving up 33 points at home to an offense that has struggled all year long isn’t a great sign. What is a great sign is seeing their own offense finally look like themselves again, rushing for a franchise record 363 yards amidst another tremendous outing from Jalen Hurts. I would like to see them throw the ball more effectively, but at this point, it doesn’t matter. They can run it down your throat all game long, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

4 – Cowboys (8-3)

Dallas looked just about as good as I expected them to on Thanksgiving. Their defense got off to a slow start, but they eventually suffocated the Giants offense while Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb did the rest on the other side of the ball. It’s difficult to assess the meaning of moving the ball on the Giants at this point in the season, but I liked what the Cowboys offense showed on Thursday. They don’t have many tough defenses on the schedule for the next few weeks, so this theme should continue for a bit.

5 – Dolphins (8-3)

The Dolphins did exactly what we all knew they would do on Sunday, if not less than expected. They thrashed the Texans on both sides of the ball, although it wasn’t as flashy or explosive as I may have anticipated. Still, they were up 30-0 at halftime, so taking the rest of the game off doesn’t bother me. Tua Tagovailoa still looks incredible, the offense continues to fire on all cylinders, and the defense is still clicking as well. The last couple of weeks have been gimmes for Miami, so this week’s mammoth matchup with the 49ers will be a great benchmark for where this team stands.

6 – Bengals (7-4) 3

The Bengals just put together one of the most impressive wins of the year. I thought they would lose when we were still under the impression that Ja’Marr Chase would be playing. When he was ruled out, I figured there was no way they could pull it out. And they controlled the Titans from start to finish in another remarkable performance by their star QB Joe Burrow and their great defense. Burrow just keeps on slinging it even without his favorite target, Tee Higgins has been incredibly dominant as a WR1, and Semaje Perine has proven himself as a very capable backup with back to back spectacular performances. Meanwhile, the defense keeps on doing its thing, despite being susceptible to the occasional big play. But they don’t give up many touchdowns, and they are one of the best in the league after halftime. They’ll have their hands full with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs coming into town on Sunday, but I just keep on loving what the Bengals show me, and I have no reason to believe that they won’t be up for the test.

7 – Vikings (9-2) 1

My biggest takeaway from Thanksgiving is that Kirk Cousins put together a great performance in primetime. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Vikings pull it out late, and their offense looked fantastic all game long with Justin Jefferson putting together another spectacular performance. Their defense made the plays they had to in the end despite struggling all game long, and now Minnesota is in a position to become the first division-clincher of the season. I feel like I’m not as low on this team as so many others, but I’m still not as high as I once was. I think they have a ton of potential, but I still need to see more before concluding that they can reach that potential on a weekly basis.

8 – Bills (8-3) 1

I’m not going to sit here and say that struggling with the Lions is a bad thing. That’s a solid team and that’s an environment that’s fine to struggle in. I’m also not going to sit here and say I wasn’t impressed with the Bills on Thanksgiving. I would have liked to see them play better on both sides of the ball, especially offensively. I don’t know why they keep getting off to such slow starts, but it doesn’t matter if Josh Allen keeps putting the team on his back late in games. I do think the injury to Von Miller is going to set this team back a great deal, and their defense could struggle mightily in the coming weeks. Buffalo now has three straight tough divisional games that will show us what they’re made of.

9 – Titans (7-4) 1

I had a great deal of faith in the Titans. Unfortunately that faith was misplaced. I do think that this team has a ton of great things going on, and they just happened to lose to a better team. I think the thing I like the most about what Tennessee is showing me is that Treylon Burks is finally emerging as a viable WR in this offense. They are going to need that down the stretch. They still look plenty good on both sides of the ball, and they will be fine. But Sunday’s loss makes me skeptical that this team can do anything in the playoffs.

10 – Jets (7-4) 5

All the Jets needed to become a great team again was a quarterback change. Who would’ve thought? The legend of Mike White returned and grew tenfold on Sunday as the backup came in and produced another incredible performance. It helps that the best player on the offense finally got the ball consistently as rookie WR Garrett Wilson put together one of the best games of his young career. When #17 gets the ball, good things happen. The RB room continues to get thinner, but backups Zonovan Knight and Ty Johnson did their thing when they were called upon. The defense looked like themselves again, but I’ll wait until they play a QB not named Trevor Siemian to decide whether or not they’re fully back. The good news is that the Jets have their mojo again and finally look like a competent team once more. The remaining schedule is brutal, so we’ll see how long they can keep it up.

11 – Seahawks (6-5)

What happened to the Seahawks defense? I can’t make heads or tails of it, but all of a sudden, they can’t stop anything anymore. I thought the Bucs game was a product of a huge international trip, but getting gashed at home by the Raiders leaves me scratching my head. Moreover, Geno Smith has started committing some errant turnovers that don’t inspire a lot of confidence. He was able to bounce back and string together a nice performance, but it means nothing when the defense doesn’t show up. It also doesn’t help that Kenneth Walker was running into a wall all game long. Seattle is now outside of the playoff picture, and they need to fix their issues at the earliest convenience if they want to get back in.

12 – Ravens (7-4) 2

I don’t want to talk about this team. They annoy me to no end. Every game goes exactly the same: get off to a huge lead and then blow it in hilarious and ridiculous fashion. Each of the Ravens’ losses have come with multi-possession second half leads. For a team as supposedly well-coached as Baltimore is, that is both inexcusable and incomprehensible. Continuing to lose in this fashion again and again is what can cause a team and a locker room to fall apart. It’s going to cause this team to lose their grip on the division.

13 – Commanders (7-5)

Hey. Look at us. Who would’ve thought. Not me! The Commanders have now won six of seven and sit in the playoffs as the 7 seed. The winning formula continues to be executed perfectly week in and week out. Brian Robinson Jr. has emerged as the RB1 we all knew he could be, notching his first 100-yard game and boasting a reasonably-sized hat afterwards. The defense continues to play at an elite level, doing everything necessary to win games on their own. They bent for a while on Sunday, but never broke, and eventually came up with the game-winning turnover. Chase Young should actually return next week, which will help the pass rush (I am tired of saying this every week, please come back Chase!), but we don’t even need that at this point. Montez Sweat is playing out of his mind, as is Jonathan Allen, as always. Taylor Heinicke is still… Taylor Heinicke, but it doesn’t matter at this point. As long as the team arounds him continues to thrive, his mistakes can be avenged. But I still don’t like seeing them. There’s room to improve, but I have a ton of faith in this team to keep on doing their thing. Next up is two straight games against the Giants with a bye sandwiched in the middle. This is a fantastic opportunity to prove ourselves, and I hope we can get the job done.

14 – Patriots (6-5)

The Patriots showed me a lot to like on Thursday night. Mac Jones played another surprisingly great game and several members of the offense contributed in huge ways. The defense could have played better, but they also flashed at times. You can talk about the refs all you want, but the Patriots probably deserved to lose anyways. Still, I feel pretty solid about this team, and think they have what it takes to make a playoff push. Next up is another Thursday nighter, this time in a massive divisional showdown against the Bills. Don’t be surprised if it looks similar to last week’s game.

15 – Chargers (6-5) 2

I’m not going to overreact to the Chargers eking out a win over a bad Cardinals team, but it was nice to see them put together a win like that after last week’s tough loss. Justin Herbert looked great once again and put together a masterclass of a game-winning drive. I still don’t feel great about this team on either side of the ball, but I know that #10 gives them a fighting shot in any of their games. That’s more than I can say about most teams in this league.

16 – Giants (7-4)

The Giants are continuing to get exposed week in and week out and I am continuing to love it. There’s not much I can say about Thursday’s game that I haven’t been saying about this team for months. They cannot beat teams that are better than they are, and they cannot rely on their passing game to carry them offensively. Their defense continues to struggle against any offense with a pulse, although they are getting healthier, which could help them in the upcoming weeks. Their next four games are against current playoff teams, so New York could either prove me completely wrong or continue to fall apart like I knew they would.

17 – Browns (4-7) 4

The Browns did what I expected them to do in beating the Buccaneers this week. It wasn’t necessarily how I expected it to happen, but they got it done. However, none of that really matters now. All eyes are on Cleveland this week as Deshaun Watson returns from his suspension. There’s no doubt that he will elevate this offense tremendously, but it still feels so wrong that he’ll even be playing at all. It’ll be interesting to assess this team after seeing him play, but there’s no doubt that it will be sullied by just how poorly this franchise has handled everything in the last year or so.

18 – Buccaneers (5-6) 6

Why should we have any faith in the Buccaneers to do anything worth a damn? Yes, they are going to win this atrocious division and host a playoff game, but why should I believe that will amount to anything? They aren’t playing as poorly as they once were, but they are now bordering on incompetent when it comes to coaching, and that will hold them back. Todd Bowles just isn’t meant to be a head coach in this league. We’ll see if their newfound running game can carry them.

19 – Lions (4-7) 3

Simply put, the Lions just keep on showing me things to like. Their passing offense continues to play at a prolific level at home, and Jamaal Williams is proving to be way more effective than any of us expected. He’s practically RB1 in this offense at this point. Now, they could be adding first round pick WR Jameson Williams to the fold, which will give them another level of explosiveness as the season winds down. I wish this defense was playing ever so slightly better, but even they looked solid on Thanksgiving, making some nice plays in key spots. But, they folded when it mattered most, and that’s all anyone is going to remember. Still, I thoroughly enjoy watching this team, and I think that’s going to continue for the rest of the year.

20 – Packers (4-8) 1

The Packers are in a very precarious spot that I don’t believe they ever wanted to be in. The season is a completely cooked product, but now, so is Aaron Rodgers. So, the reins are likely being handed to Jordan Love, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The third-year man looked great in his relief appearance on Sunday night, and I think he could really flash if given the opportunity to start the rest of the year. I see no reason for Rodgers to come back this year, and I think it would benefit the Packers tremendously to let Love do his thing for the next few weeks. They have nothing to lose, and plenty of draft position to gain.

21 – Raiders (4-7) 6

Josh Jacobs. That’s it. That’s all that needs to be said about the Raiders. Jacobs is continuing to play like an OPOY frontrunner, putting together the best game of his life on Sunday, putting together over 300 all purpose yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning sprint in overtime. Vegas keeps on feeding him non-stop, and it keeps on working. It’s honestly really nice to see him flourish. Davante Adams also continues to pour in good contributions offensively, which helps complement Jacobs’ running attack. Yeah the defense still sucks, but I don’t even think this team cares as long as #28 keeps on doing what he’s doing.

22 – Falcons (5-7) 2

It has been pretty apparent for a while now that the Marcus Mariota experiment in Atlanta has been a complete failure. Yes, the Falcons are still very much in position to perhaps win this division, but I don’t think Mariota should continue being the signal caller. I don’t think Atlanta loses anything from letting Desmond Ridder get some reps. This team can’t get anything going offensively with Mariota under center, so why not see what the rookie has to offer? The defense is actually playing pretty well, so a change at the QB position could provide this team the lift they need to get back on track.

23 – Jaguars (4-7) 3

Sunday’s win was absolutely awesome to see thanks to the best game of Trevor Lawrence’s career by a longshot. The young star QB went 29/37 for 321 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no picks. He orchestrated a beautiful game-winning drive with barely any time on the clock and looked the part of the generational QB he has been promised to be. It felt really nice to see the kid do his thing on a big stage against a good team. It inspires a lot of confidence in what the Jaguars are building moving forward.

24 – Cardinals (4-8) 6

You can’t force me to talk about this team. I won’t do it! The only thing I’ll say is that they need to fire Kliff Kingsbury yesterday. Just swallow your pride and do it.

25 – Steelers (4-7) 3

The Steelers are starting to figure things out with their young offense. Kenny Pickett looks more comfortable by the week, George Pickens continues to break out as one of the best rookie WRs of his class, and the run game is actually working. Benny Snell was the workhorse after Najee Harris’ injury, but both poured in good contributions all game long. The defense is clearly amplified by the presence of TJ Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, who made the plays to win the game, as they so often do. I think Pittsburg his a team that could have a strong finish to the year now that the pieces are finally starting to fit together.

26 – Colts (4-7-1) 3

Jeff Saturday had his first bad coaching moment on Monday night. I’m surprised it took three weeks for it to happen. Remarkably poor clock management and surprisingly poor defense what lost the Colts the game on Monday night. They were able to orchestrate a nice comeback, but it just wasn’t enough. It’s clear that Indy has some pretty nice offensive pieces, and with an actual QB, they could do some nice things in the future. But the weak links simply continue to weigh them down.

27 – Bears (3-9) 3

The Bears played a good team on the road without their star QB and were forced to start a journeyman backup with painkilling injections in his leg and subsequently got thrashed. And none of us are surprised. Chicago will look like that more often than not when they’re missing their best player. It’s a pretty simple calculus.

28 – Panthers (4-8) 3

The Panthers have quietly been pretty solid over the last month or so. Yeah this team is pretty bad, but they were always competitive, and that competitiveness is now translating into wins over bad teams. That’s about as much as you could ask for with a team in a state like this. The run game got back on track, Sam Darnold wasn’t awful, and the defense didn’t have to do much against the worst offense in football. It was just a solid game from a team that’s probably better than they seem.

29 – Saints (4-8) 4

Stop making me watch Andy Dalton. I’m begging you.

30 – Rams (3-8)

The Rams are a sad sight that is only getting sadder by the week. While I think they played better than we expected on Sunday, they still weren’t good by any means and never stood a chance. They don’t really stand a chance in any of their games at this point. This is just an awful team that’s only getting worse.

31 – Broncos (3-8) 2

No thanks.

32 – Texans (1-9-1)

Making a QB change meant absolutely nothing and predictably didn’t help at all. What a shocker! I never liked the decision to bench Davis Mills. The team’s struggles were never his fault. I hope they give him another shot.

All stats taken from ESPN.