NFL Power Rankings Week 12

By James Watkins

1. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week’s ranking: 1): The worst thing about this team is their pass defense, and that’s right smack in the middle of the league’s rankings in terms of yards allowed per game. Even with that being said, the Eagles rank 3^rd in the league in average allowed passer rating of opposing QBs, with 74.0.
2. New England Patriots (2): The Patriots have managed to win Super Bowls without explosive running backs. Now they have two in Rex Burkhead and Dion Lewis, the latter of which rushed for 112 yards on only 15 carries this past weekend. They’re still the team to beat in the AFC.
3. Minnesota Vikings (4): Why can’t Case Keenum keep this up? The Thanksgiving game against the Lions was Minnesota’s most important of the season so far, and Keenum was calm, cool, and yes, even collected. His decision-making is only improving with time, and he has one of the best defenses in all of football to bail out the few mistakes he does make. The Vikings are now the unquestionable primary challenger to Philly in the NFC.
4. Los Angeles Rams (6): Could not have asked for a more impressive bounce-back victory for the Rams after their demoralizing loss to the Vikings last week. Holding the Saints to 20 points is nothing to sneeze at, and Jared Goff had one of his best games as a pro, with a total QBR of 61.6. Before the Minnesota game we were all wondering what this young team was made of. Now we know there’s something to this squad.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (3): A win in November is never a bad thing. But a nail-biting home victory over the hapless Packers is about as close as you can get. However, this isn’t as worrying as Pittsburgh’s other performances against bad teams this season. Those weak outings were the result of consistently poor offensive production, and that has been a thing of the past over the last two weeks in the Steel City. This was the first bad game of the season for the Pittsburgh defense, so take your finger off the panic button for now.
6. Carolina Panthers (8): There’s no denying the talent on both sides of the ball down in Charlotte, but there are still question marks at the QB position. In his last 5 games, Cam Newton has passed for over 200 yards only twice and broken 250 only once. The Panthers have managed to win all but one of those games thanks to Cam’s legs and sublime defensive performances. However, it’s only a matter of time before Cam will have to beat a playoff team with his arm.
7. New Orleans Saints (5): The Alvin Kamara train just keeps on chugging, but the same can’t be said of the Saints defense. They’ve now given up over 25 points in two straight contests, after allowing that only once in their previous nine. This trend is most likely due to the absence of two starting corners, super-rookie Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crowley. Now the Saints may have to face the Panthers and Falcons without them, in a 2 game stretch that could go a long way towards deciding the division winner.
8. Atlanta Falcons (9): That’s right, we’ve got three NFC South teams in a row. It’s quickly become the most competitive division in football now that Atlanta has righted the ship and given itself a great chance to make the playoffs. Julio Jones has come alive at last, and Tevin Coleman has flourished with Devonta Freeman still out of the starting lineup. They still have 4 division games to play this year, two of which are against the Saints.
9. Jacksonville Jaguars (7): Jacksonville has just taken the ball away from Arizona. The game is tied at 24 in the fourth quarter. There are less than 4 minutes remaining. The Jags are in great position to steal the victory and maintain their lead in a division they have never won. All the planets are aligning, they’re driving, and… Blake Bortles throws a terrible interception to give the ball right back to the Cardinals. The Jags lose on a late field goal. The Titans retake the division lead. Balance is restored to the football world once again.
10. Los Angeles Chargers (14): It’s time to admit that this might just be the best team in the suddenly abysmal AFC West (week 4’s “best division in football”). Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram are as good a tandem off the edge as anyone in the NFL, with 19 sacks between them (that’s 4 more than Tampa Bay has recorded all season).
11. Seattle Seahawks (11): Russell Wilson is still accounting for over 80% of Seattle’s offensive output. The defense can play as well as it wants, but that statistic is eventually going to catch up with the Seahawks, and it might just knock them out of playoff contention.
12. Tennessee Titans (12): The bruises from the Pittsburgh loss haven’t gone away just yet, but the Titans took care of business this week against the Colts, and were rewarded with the division lead thanks to Arizona’s victory over the Jags. Tennessee may not frighten anyone right now, but they’re in pretty good shape for a playoff berth, and that would be serious progress for a young team like this (take notes, Tampa).
13. Baltimore Ravens (15): Give it to Alex Collins! The Ravens are now 3-0 when Collins either rushes for over 100 yards or scores a touchdown. He’s the main reason the offense has maintained some form of respectability.
14. Detroit Lions (10): The Thanksgiving loss was an absolute killer. Any chance of winning the NFC North has now gone up in smoke, and the wild-card is only getting tighter with Atlanta, Seattle, and Washington all winning this week as well. This has never been a particularly physical running game, but the red zone ineptitude of Detroit’s stable of rushers is seriously hindering their postseason aspirations.
15. Captain Kirk and Mr. Snyder (18): *Staying Alive by the Bee Gees plays in the background*
16. Cincinnati Bengals (16): Joe Mixon finally had his breakout performance, with a career-high 114 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown. This squad is still very much in the thick of things when it comes to the AFC wild-card race, but the schedule is tough down the stretch, with games against Pittsburgh, Minnesota and an away game at Baltimore still on the slate.
17. Oakland Raiders (23): Oakland was already on shaky ground in the wild-card race. Now, they’ll have to deal with the dual loss of their top two receivers in Michael Crabtree (suspension) and Amari Cooper (concussion, ankle). The schedule also gets tough after their next game against the Giants: the Chiefs, Eagles, and Chargers are all coming up soon.
18. Buffalo Bills (24): If Tyrod Taylor can somehow keep winning games despite not breaking 200 yards passing, then you might as well keep him in the lineup. Despite the two games against New England that remain on the schedule, this is a conference that could easily allow a 9-7 football team into the playoffs.
19. Kansas City Chiefs (13): Sorry Chiefs fans. We’re not in Kansas anymore. I mean Missouri, I mean… whatever. I thought it was clever in my head.
20. Arizona Cardinals (28): I’m not saying Blaine Gabbert is the future in Arizona (cause he’s not), but he played a better game (241 yards, 2 TDs, no INTs) on Sunday ( than either Ben Roethlisberger (312 yard, no TDs, 5 picks) or Phillip Rivers (235 yards, 2 TDs, 1 pick) could muster against the Jags. That’s got to count for something.
21. Dallas Cowboys (17): Yes they’re seriously missing Ezekiel Elliot, but the turnover on the offensive line is the real issue. All-Pro left tackle Tyrone Smith’s absence was felt heavily in the past two weeks, and after he returned for the Thanksgiving game against the Chargers, All-Pro right guard Zack Martin left the game with a concussion. Dak Prescott has wilted under the added offensive pressure, and so have Dallas’s playoff chances in the process.
22. Green Bay Packers (20): They aren’t going quietly into the night, and that deserves serious props. In a game that no one expected them to compete in, the Packers gave Pittsburgh all they could handle. However, they still couldn’t pull out the victory, and that means their season is pretty much over, even if Aaron Rodgers were to miraculously return for a few games.
23. Chicago Bears (19): A serious step back for Mitch Trubisky, but he can’t be handed too much of the blame. Few quarterbacks have looked anywhere close to competent versus the Eagles defense this season. Even more important is the lack of a running game, which has been the young quarterback’s crutch through his first career games. His running backs combined for -6 yards on Sunday.
24. Houston Texans (21): Tom Savage keeps showing why he wasn’t the starter in the first place, throwing an awful game-sealing interception in the dying seconds against the Ravens. The only substantial thing this battered team has to look forward to is playing spoiler for the Titans and Jaguars.
25. New York Jets (22): Even in a weak conference, this team has most likely blown their playoff chances with this last defeat. Too many 4^th quarter meltdowns put a damper on what could have been a surprisingly successful season.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (25): And with that loss to the Falcons, the book has effectively closed on what became the most disappointing team of the 2017 season, by far. Jameis Winston never took the next step that had to be made in his third year, and an admittedly talented defense just wasn’t quite good enough to overcome the Buc’s offensive inconsistencies.
27. Indianapolis Colts (26): For the third straight year, the Colts will fail to post a winning record and in all likelihood miss the playoffs. While things look bleak right now, Indy still has Andrew Luck in its back pocket for next season, and that should provide more hope than many of this year’s other cellar-dwellers can muster.
28. Miami Dolphins (27): So much unfulfilled receiving talent, so little time…
29. San Francisco 49ers (29): And so the Jimmy Garoppolo era has begun in the Bay Area. In an extremely short debut, the 49ers’ QB of the future completed both of his passes, including a 10-yard touchdown toss to Louis Murphy. It’s a small sample size, I know, but it can only be taken as a good sign.
30. New York Giants (30): It’s pretty clear they haven’t given up on the season, as was speculated a few weeks ago. However, the offense is just too gutted to seriously compete in late-season games when everything is on the line, especially for a desperate opponent like Washington.
31. Denver Broncos (31): Maybe Aqib Talib should focus on stopping opposing receivers instead of ruining their property. Maybe Denver wouldn’t have lost a 7^th straight game.
32. Cleveland Browns (32): DeShone Kizer actually threw for more yards than his counterpart Andy Dalton on Sunday. He also refrained from turning the ball over, and rushed for a touchdown. The Suck for Sam campaign might be in full swing, but Kizer showed some development this week, and that should be commended.