NFL Power Rankings after Week 13: Lions, Bills and Eagles all feast during Thanksgiving week

The long holiday weekend served us up a full plate of football, and there was plenty of room for leftovers as all 32 teams played throughout the four day NFL weekend. The Turkey Day tradition of the Cowboys and Lions playing on the fourth Thursday of each November carried on, but unlike Thanksgivings of the past, we snap out of our tryptophan haze to see the Detroit at the top of the Power Rankings. Green Bay iced out the Dolphins in Lambeau, the Chiefs survived another scare against their black beast on Black Friday, the Steelers offense ignited in a shootout from Cincy and the Eagles won the Battle of the Birds from Baltimore.

Here is our newest edition of Power Rankings after the Thanksgiving Week:

1) Detroit Lions 11-1, last week 1

Not every game the Lions play is going to be perfect. I know it’s easy to expect that from a team that has won ten in a row, but even Dan Campbell who demands a lot from his guys will understand it’s not going to be full throttle each and every week. We saw that during the early game on Thanksgiving. Playing on a short week is tough, and it’s even tougher when you have to play in the afternoon on a Thursday. It could have got ugly had Jahmyr Gibbs held on to the football late in the 1st half, when the Lions were already up 16-0, but the fumble gave CHI a breath of life and they would claw back in the game. Jake Bates even missed his first field goal of the season to gift the Bears another lifeline in the fourth quarter, but Detroit still held on. It’s not always going to be perfect, but that’s the luxury of being as complete as the Lions are. Even when they aren’t perfect in every facet of the game, they are still damn near impossible to beat.

2) Buffalo Bills 10-2, last week 2

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat can waver Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are currently the top team in the AFC for my money. The Bills came out of their BYE week, and looked like they had skipped the entire Thanksgiving festivities just so they could feast on the 49ers on Sunday night in the snow. Josh Allen delivered another MVP worthy performance and had one of those MVP worthy plays in what’s being called the Lake Effect Lateral. He passed for a TD, rushed for a TD and even caught a TD on a pass that he threw in another 30 point night for the Bills offense. That’s seven straight wins, and six straight 30 point games for a Buffalo team that are currently favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

3) Philadelphia Eagles 10-2, last week 3

Sure, the Eagles had beaten seven teams in a row, but only one of those wins came against a team over .500. That was the only knock on Nick Sirriani’s team over the last few months, but blame the schedule makers don’t blame Philly. Once they got a chance to strut their stuff in a big game, they didn’t shy away from the spotlight. It wasn’t pretty, or spectacular in fact it was down right nasty. But that’s the kind of game the Eagles had to play against the Ravens. They couldn’t get into a shootout with the league’s top rated offense. They had to grind out an ugly win, and that’s exactly what they did. Hurts threw for just over 100 yards and Barkley had less than 40 yards rushing going into the 4th quarter. It was the defense that buckled down after giving up two scoring possessions on the first two drives of the game. Once they had worn Baltimore down, Saquon stepped to the stage and stole the show in the Battle of the Birds.

4) Kansas City Chiefs 11-1, last week 4

It’s no surprise that the Raiders put up a fight against the Kansas City Chiefs from Arrowhead. They beat them last Christmas and almost beat them again earlier this year. You had to think that once Mahomes started putting up the numbers we are used to see him put up, the points would come and the Chiefs would start winning by comfortable margins, but that hasn’t been the case. He has passed for 250 yards in the last five Chiefs wins, but KC have won those games by a total of 20 points and one of those games went to OT. Getting Isaiah Pacheco back is going to take some pressure off of Patrick Mahomes, but in order to use their RB1 to the full extent, the Chiefs have to build up big leads that they can protect by grounding and pounding the ball. Their 13 point lead over the Raiders lasted just over three minutes before Vegas took the lead with two quick fire TDs. You might be able to afford to do that against the two-win Raiders, but good teams aren’t going to forgive you like that in January.

5) Green Bay Packers 9-3, last week 6

The Eagles aren’t the only ones looking like they are hitting stride at just the right time of year. That’s back to back games that the Packers have come out and punched their opponent in the mouth from the first snap of the ball. They scored two first quarter TDs, and led the Dolphins 24-3 at halftime as the defense froze Tua and the Miami offense in the first 30 minutes of the game. Jordan Love was outstanding, going 21/28 for 274 yards and two TDs and Jayden Reed had two TD catches as the Packers continue to hang around the top of the NFC standings. We have been holding off on calling this team elite for the last few weeks, but it’s getting harder and harder to deny them of that status. I’m going to take the easy way out, and wait another week before I crown them elite. If they beat the Lions on Thursday night, I will bend the knee and hail them as the Kings of the North.

6) Pittsburgh Steelers 9-3, last week 7

This was the only thing that the Steelers hadn’t checked off the list this season. A massive game from their QB in a high flying, high scoring game. After a couple of underwhelming games from Russell Wilson and the offense, they had a perfect matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals to ignite the offense. Wilson bounced back from an opening drive pick six, and ended the day with a 400 yard game, throwing for three TDs, and Najee Harris had an efficient 75 yards and a TD on 16 carries. Even though the Steelers defense gave up 38 points, they still came up with the game winning play, as Payton Wilson scooped and scored a fumble to put the game out of reach with 11 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

7) Minnesota Vikings 10-2, last week 8

The Vikings are making winning ugly look like an art form. It may not be your cup of tea, but they some how manage to make it work. Obviously it’s a credit to the defense who goes above and beyond to even give their offense a chance at the end of the game, and that was the formula for success against the Cardinals on Sunday. They kept Kyler Murray and the Cards out of the end zone on five of six trips inside the 20 and kept the team within striking distance until the end. Neither Aaron Jones nor Sam Darnold had fantastic games, but they connected to give the Vikes the lead with 1:13 to go and the defense came up with one final play to close out the Cards and advance to 10-2 and well in the hunt for a one seed. The Vikings have been graced by the schedule gods lately, and that will continue for the next three weeks, but their final two games (vs. GB and @ DET) are going to decide where this team stands heading into the postseason.

8) Baltimore Ravens 8-5, last week 5

There was just one question for the two time MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens coming into the season: Can they win the big one? They have answered that question in the handful of big games they have had during the regular season. The answer is no. No they can’t win the big one. Justin Tucker isn’t hitting field goals, and he is the easiest culprit to point the finger at, but the truth is it’s this entire “top ranked” offense that chokes in big games. Whether it’s Lamar Jackson taking 3rd down sacks to make those FGs even harder for a struggling kicker, or Derrick Henry not getting the 20 carries or more (BAL is undefeated when he does so) the fact is in the three “big games” that Baltimore has played, against the Chiefs, Steelers and Eagles, they have failed to score more than 20 points.

9) Los Angeles Chargers 8-4, last week 9

The Chargers got back into the win column after their loss to the Ravens last Monday night, and they did it with what had been working for them for most of the season. They let their defense do the heavy lifting, holding the Falcons to just 13 points and picking off Kirk Cousins four times, taking one of those to the house and picking off another one in the end zone. Offensively, it was a dreadful performance. They had just 10 first downs and less than 200 total yards but some how it was enough to get past the Falcons. Justin Herbert still hasn’t found his stride under Jim Harbaugh, but LA some how are finding ways to win. If the Chargers are going to hold on to that Wild Card spot, they are going to need more production out of their face of the franchise.

10) Denver Broncos 8-5, last week 10

The Broncos flaws rose to the surface on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns in a game they could have, and maybe should have lost. They relied too much on their rookie quarterback to keep up with the Browns and Jameis Winston when they should have been running the ball and trying to slow the pace of play down. Luckily the Denver Broncos defense has no flaws and they picked off Winston three times, taking two of those back for a touchdown. Bo Nix and the Broncos finally get their BYE week with a little breathing room after the win. It’s a lot different going into the final stretch of the season with a two game cushion over the rest of the chasing pack than a one game win, with almost no margin for error.

11) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-6, last week 17

I’ll admit. I expected the Bucs to come out and beat up on the Panthers after seeing the Falcons drop another game in the early window on Sunday. What I didn’t expect is the Panthers to put up such a fight, but they made the Bucs go the distance, and then some, to get the win in Carolina. It looked lost when Bryce Young threw a go-ahead TD with 30 seconds to go in regulation. Baker and the Bucs bounced back, send the game to OT with a game tying FG from Chase McLaughlin. Then it looked lost when McLaughin missed a 55 yard field goal to win it in OT. Tampa forced a fumble and got another crack at it and this time McLaughlin took care of business. One thing we know about this team, and about Baker Mayfield is they are going to put up a fight. That’s what he, Bucky Irving and the Bucs did in a tough divisional road game on a holiday weekend, and now they are even with the Falcons at 6-6 at the top of the NFC South.

12) Houston Texans 8-5, last week 11

Hang on for dear life. I’m not sure if that was DeMeco Ryans pregame talk to his team before their game against the Jags, but it certainly looked like that was what The Texans were doing in their final game before going into their desperately needed BYE week. It’s a division game, and the Jags historically play the Texans tough, but this should not have been a close game with Mac Jones in as the Jags QB. The hit on Trevor Lawrence was dirty it was violent and it was an ugly scene that played out as Azeez Al-Shaair went barking off the field once he got kicked out of the game. Now that that’s out of the way, HOU led 23-6 in the 4th quarter and almost let another game slip through their hands but luckily Joe Mixon came to the rescue capping a 100 yard, 1 TD day with a first down run that shut the door on the Jags. This team needs to tighten a lot of screws during their week off. They have three tough games against MIA, KC and BAL out of their break. That will tell us just how ready this team is for the playoffs.

13) Washington Commanders 8-5, last week 12

There has been a lot of chatter about Jayden Daniels and this Commanders offense imploding during the second half of the season under the orders of Kliff Kingsbury. A game against the Titans was exactly the quick fix Washington needed, and when I say quick fix I mean very quick. How about four TDs in 20 minutes quick? Of course, Washington can’t take all the credit for that early onslaught of points. Tennessee played their part in the drubbing from the nation’s capital, but this was a much needed game for the Commanders and their rookie QB to recover some of those sensations they had in the first half of the season after three straight losses. They have a BYE week coming up this week, and I’m interested to see how that effects Jayden Daniels. We have seen weeks off bust up a rookies momentum from time to time, but I think he will come back ready to seal a playoff spot, and maybe make a surprise run once the post season comes.

14) Seattle Seahawks 7-5, last week 14

Don’t call this team anything if not resilient. We thought this team was done when they lost five of six after their easy start to the season, but Mike Macdonald’s guys have show their character, and resiliency, winning three straight tough, gritty, ugly games. This isn’t the Seahawks team we are used to with Geno Smith, but these guys have figured out how to defend. They are giving up just over 14 ppg in their last three, and have scored two defensive TDs in that span. That gives Geno and his two top targets, Metcalf and JSN a chance to win games late in the 4th, which they have done to stay at the top of the NFC West with five weeks to go.

15) Miami Dolphins 5-7, last week 13

The Dolphins looked like they were gaining a bit of momentum heading into their Thanksgiving match up with the Packers on Thursday night. Maybe it was the short week, maybe it was the frigid conditions in Lambeau or maybe it was the Dolphins patented inability to win games against good teams that knocked them off the tracks and ended their three game winning streak. They are two games out of a Wild Card spot, and are most likely going to have to win out to have any shot at the playoffs. That starts this week against the Jets, and if they beat the Texans in a couple weeks time, they can really start to think about maybe making the postseason, but they can’t afford anymore games like the one they had in Green Bay.

16) Indianapolis Colts 6-7, last week 21

It appears that the Colts have their formula to win games with Anthony Richardson. You have to play bad teams, and let him run wild while limiting the damage he can self inflict while passing the ball. He had another Anthony Richardson-like stat line completing 50% of his 24 passes for just 109 yards, throwing 2 TDs and another 2 picks. That’s enough to beat the Patriots or the Jets but Colts fans will be hoping this isn’t a foresight into the future. They have to cut their losses and admit that Richardson isn’t the QB of the future in Indy.

17) Los Angeles Rams 6-6, last week 18

How many times have we counted the Rams down and out this season? It seemed like they had very little margin for error after starting the season 1-4. Every time they lose you think they are going to fall behind in the division race, but their NFC West rivals keep doing them favors and look where they are now with five weeks to go in the season. They are just a game back of the Seahawks for the lead in the division thanks to Matt Stafford’s fourth quarter TD passes that put the Rams up by a TD, but with the game on the line it was the defense that came up big with a late game 4th down sack of Derek Carr that sealed the deal for LA. That was a perfect response for a defense that got shredded by Saquon Barkley the week before.

18) Arizona Cardinals 6-6, last week 16

There are ways to win divisions and there are ways to lose divisions. The Cardinals have come out of their BYE week looking like they want nothing to do with winning the NFC West. Last week the offense got out scored by the Seahawks defense 7-6. This week they scored a few more points, and had a two possession lead late in the 3rd quarter, but you always felt like the Vikings were on the verge of a comeback. When you go 1-6 in the red zone and don’t close teams out, that’s generally what happens and that’s what happened late in the 4th quarter against the Vikings. Arizona came out of their BYE in a great position to make a run for the NFC West, but they, just like everyone else in that division, look disinterested in a trip to the playoffs.

19) Atlanta Falcons 6-6, last week 15

Coming out of a BYE, hanging on to the division lead by a thread after losing two straight games, you expected the Falcons to come out ready to take control of the NFC South again. Just about everyone came out to play, except Kirk Cousins. Bijan Robinson had 102 yards and a TD on the ground. Their two best WRs went for a combined 181 yards and the defense kept LA out of the end zone all game. Unfortunately the $180 million man gift-wrapped a win to the Chargers, throwing four interceptions, one worse than the other. Three of those came in the last 17 minutes of the game. The first was returned for a TD, the second was one of the worst throws you’ll ever see in an NFL game (see Chargers ranking and highlight), and the third might just cost Cousins his job. In the last three games Captain Kirk has 0 TDs, 6 INTs, has been sacked 7 times and has his team scoring 12 ppg, all the while giving up their one time cozy lead in the NFC South.

20) San Francisco 49ers 5-7, last week 19

The golden age for the 49ers might have come to an end in Orchard Park on Sunday night. A team that has been a reference in the NFC for the last half decade not only got blown out by a Super Bowl contender, but Christian McCaffery suffered what looks to be a season ending injury which will plummet San Fran’s chances of reaching the playoffs. All year we kept on thinking that the Niners would eventually show up and look like the Niners we have come to know over the last few years. Even before the injury to McCaffery, Sunday night showed us, this isn’t a team capable of making a playoff run, or even worthy of getting into the post season. That Super Bowl window is closing quickly and the foundation of this team could be on the verge of falling apart once Brock Purdy gets his new deal.

21) Cincinnati Bengals 4-8, last week 20

Bye bye Bengals. It’s officially over for Cincinnati as the nightmare season continues for a one time contender in the AFC. This has nothing to do with Joe Burrow, or really anyone on the offensive side of the ball. The Bengals shortcomings this season are all on the shoulders of the defense and it’s a shame to have to watch Joe Burrow in the post game interviews talking about “we weren’t good enough.” I wish he could come out and point the finger at the defense like the rest of the fans in Cincy are doing. The fact that there hasn’t been a rupture in the locker room speaks to the class act that Burrow and the rest of his offensive teammates are, because it can’t be easy having to look those responsible for ruining the season in the face on the other side of the locker room.

22) Dallas Cowboys 5-7, last week 27

It was the least the Cowboys could do for their fans after a season full of embarrassment. It took until Thanksgiving, but the Cowboys finally got a win at home, and they did it on a day that they consider theirs against a team that they consider an eternal enemy. Both teams were decimated and their game against the Giants was the least anticipated of all the Turkey Day games, but Cooper Kupp came out and did just enough to lead his team past a Giants side that is in ruins. That’s back-to-back wins for Cooper Rush and the Cowboys, and Rush is now 7-3 as the Cowboys starter dating back to 2021. I know the Cowboys didn’t want to put Trey Lance in under center in fear of a QB competition heating up this offseason, but Rush is making a push to be in that conversation as well.

23) Chicago Bears 4-8, last week 23

The disastrous final play of Matt Eberflus’s tenure in Chicago wasn’t the reason he was axed as the Bears head coach, but it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. After a myriad of errors over the course of the last two seasons, management finally decided to put the head coach on the chopping block. Now the Bears are in an all too familiar place. They have a young team, with a rookie quarterback who is going to have to learn a brand new offense, and essentially start from scratch. For a franchise that came into the season thinking this was finally the year that things turn around, they have turned around alright. Unfortunately they have gone 360 degrees around and now they are back at square one.

24) New Orleans Saints 4-8, last week 22

In a season that has been absolutely disastrous on the injury front, the Saints lost one of the hearts and souls of the team. After reminding everyone just how dangerous he can be in the Saints win over Cleveland before the BYE week with his 200+ total yards, New Orleans lost Taysom Hill for the season to culminate a season full of misfortune that has doomed this team from the start of the season. Who ever has the voodoo doll down in the Bayou, show some mercy to this poor Saints side that somehow is still not out of the division race in the NFC South.

25) Carolina Panthers 3-9, last week 25

This is the most Panthers situation of all. A month or so ago, Bryce Young was written off in Charlotte. They had seen enough of the former number one pick, and benched him for Andy Dalton as those clueless suits in the front offices of Bank of America Stadium were already starting to scout for their next big draft bust. Now, all of the sudden, Bryce Young is starting to look like an actual NFL quarterback who has turned this Panthers team into a competitor over the last month. He led them to wins against the Saints and the Giants before taking the Chiefs to the final bell and the Bucs to OT. Now as if there wasn’t enough confusion surrounding the plans for the future in Carolina, Bryce Young is making his case to stay in Charlotte as the QB of the future (although I’m not sure why anyone would want to continue their career as a Panther).

26) Cleveland Browns 3-8, last week 24

Jameis is going to Jameis, and boy he gave us all he had on Monday night. We aren’t going to talk about Nick Chubb who did more receiving than rushing against Denver. We aren’t going to talk about the defense, which had trouble stopping Bo Nix and the terrible Broncos running game. This was all about Jameis Winston in all his glory and all his flaws. He threw for 497 yards and four TDs, and kept his team in the game for 58 minutes, but he threw two of his four picks in the final two minutes, the first of which was taken back for a touchdown and put the nail in the coffin for the Browns in the Mile High City.

27) New York Jets 3-9, last week 26

Was it me, or did the Jets look like they were walking around with a little swagger in the first quarter against the Seahawks? That lasted about a quarter of an hour, until the Jets reminded us of who they truly are. After scoring two TDs in the first 15 minutes, the scales started to turn in favor of the Seahawks even with a 99 yard kick return from Kene Nwangwu early in the second quarter. With a chance to essentially put the game away before half, Aaron Rodgers threw a pick six from inside the SEA 10 and Jets went from potentially going up 28-7 to clinging to a 21-13 lead and that was the beginning of the end for the Jets. They would be kept off the scoreboard for the rest of the day. Swag gone. Season gone. Aaron Rodgers gone?

28) New England Patriots 3-10, last week 28

Leave it to the Pats to entrust a guy who shanked a 25 yard field goal to try and win the game with what would have been a record setting 68 yard field goal. Joey Slye would miss out on his chance for history, and the Pats would lose the game, but like we have said time and time again. The end of the season is going to be all about monitoring the progress of Drake Maye and Maye has shown nothing but promise as he continues to get better and better as the weeks go on. If only everyone else in a Pats jersey could follow suit, then fans in Foxborough would have something to be optimistic about heading into the offseason.

29) Las Vegas Raiders 2-10, last week 29

It was four minutes of brilliance followed by a monumental crash and burn from a team that is all too familiar with that sensation. For whatever reason the Raiders always play Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs close and they did the same on Black Friday. Two TDs in a matter of minutes gave the Raiders a lead and all of the sudden ghosts of Christmas’ past started to creep into Arrowhead Stadium. KC took the lead, but there were chances for the Raiders to respond. Dan Carlson missed a 58 yard field goal, and then Aiden O’Connell fumbled a snap to prevent his team from getting a chance to win it at the buzzer. There is a special place at the bottom of these rankings for teams that lose so spectacularly.

30) Tennessee Titans 3-9, last week 30

After a surprising win over the Texans last week, the Titans remembered that they want as high of a draft pick as possible and came out looking like they were trying to tank in the first 20 minutes of their game against the Commanders. They were down 28-0 and had only taken 10 snaps on the offensive side of the ball. Tennessee would scored a few consolations points to make the scoreline a little more respectable and not so suspicious of their tanking intentions. While the rest of the league is setting up for a late season playoff push, the Titans are looking at the schedule and seeing two remaining games against the Jags that could cost them precious draft positioning should they win.

31) Jacksonville Jaguars 2-10, last week 31

The last thing Jags fans, or anyone wanted to see was the scene that played out in the second quarter of the game against the Texans. Trevor Lawrence took a big hit and got knocked out of the game, and may be out for the last few weeks of the season. He is just about the only one that should feel some sort of job security in Jacksonville. He hasn’t been great this season either, but he is the one with the record breaking contract. Sit him the rest of the season and put everyone else in an audition from here until the end of the season.

32) New York Giants 2-10, last week 32

I don’t know whether to feel happy for Drew Lock for finally getting the shot to be a starting QB again, or sad because he had to do it with the New York Giants who don’t have a clue how to run a football team. His one mistake on the day did cost the Giants, but New York fans are used to giving up a pick six almost every game, so that’s par for the course. There isn’t a whole lot to get excited about for the rest of the season for Giants fans, but let’s see if Lock can lead this team to a couple wins as Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracey Jr. continue to be the only ray of light in an otherwise horrific season.