NFL Power Rankings after Week 14: Lions down Packers, Bills stumble in LA, Philly avoid trap against Panthers

Week 14 marks the end of the BYEs, and that means we are truly in the final stretch of the season now. It’s going to be an all out sprint to the finish line, and some teams like the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Seattle Seahawks have already started that sprint. Other teams are more concerned where they sit in the standings heading into the playoffs, like the Kansas City Chiefs who took a major step towards the one seed in the AFC with a last second winner after the Buffalo Bills fell short in a shootout from the City of Angels. The Philadelphia Eagles survived a scare while the Minnesota Vikings showed they put their ex in the rear view and are fully focused on taking the one seed from the Detroit Lions who started the week with a massive win in Mo Town on Thursday night.

1) Detroit Lions 12-1, last week 1

The Lions have demonstrated they have a variety of ways to win in their 11 game streak dating back to Week 3, but Thursday against Green Bay everyone knew they were going to have to light up the scoreboard on a night in which their defense was decimated. Jared Goff answered the call to the tune of three TD passes, two of them to Tim Patrick who hadn’t scored a TD in three years. That’s just what the Lions do. They have guys step up in big situations and make a name for themselves. Their stars will be stars, but it’s the other guys that make this team the most complete, most dynamic squad in the league. That can only be chalked up to one person, and that’s head coach Dan Campbell who has each and every one of his guys bought into the system. Going for it on 4th and 1 in field goal range with 43 seconds left instead of kicking the go ahead FG is madness, it’s genius, it’s the mark of a mad genius. That’s what Campbell is. He has complete trust in his guys and his way of coaching. That’s why the Lions have won 11 in a row, and that’s why they are favorites to win it all.

2) Philadelphia Eagles 11-2, last week 3

That was your classic trap game for the Eagles. Playing Carolina, at home, with a huge game coming up next week. You knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as it looks on paper. Not even Saquon Barkley’s 124 yard franchise record setting performance was enough to give the Eagles a comfortable lead at any point of the game. Hurts barely reached 100 yards passing, but when he needed to make a play he made plays. He threw for two TDs, had another tush push TD and had the play of the game scrambling for 35 yards on 3rd and 10 to set up the go ahead score early in the 4th quarter. The defense took over from there, turning over the Panthers on downs for the rest of the game as Philly rattled off their ninth straight win. This will be a much different looking team next week against Pittsburgh but the important part was getting through this game and now can start to focus on the Steelers.

3) Kansas City Chiefs 12-1, last week 4

The narrative is the same, but so is the Chiefs place at the top of the AFC. Another week, another tight win that KC pull off by the skin of their teeth. Chiefs fans, do you even get stressed in these late game situations anymore? You’ve been through the ringer so many times that you have to be numb to these situations. Either that or KC cardiologists should be getting paid Patrick Mahomes type money with the amount of Gates BBQ and stress that Chiefs fans put themselves through on a weekly basis. Either way, the Chiefs are AFC West Champs again. Big shock. They are now two games above the Bills in the chase for the one seed, and it’s looking like the path to Super Sunday is going through Arrowhead. Stop me if this all sounds too familiar.

4) Buffalo Bills 10-3, last week 2

The Bills wouldn’t say this out loud, but they probably needed to lose a game before the playoffs. You don’t want to be the team riding an eight, nine, ten game winning streak heading into the postseason. That becomes a heavy weight to burden. Their loss in LA wasn’t disastrous. It wasn’t crisis inducing. It was simply a bad day by the defense. Josh Allen played out of his mind. They almost made a comeback late in the game, but in the end they lost by two points against a desperate team needing a win in front of their home fans. The loss in LA might have cost them a shot at the one seed in the AFC, but Buffalo has already proven they can win in KC.

5) Minnesota Vikings 11-2, last week 7

We have been waiting for this kind of performance from the Vikings for a long while now. Every week they just barely managed to sneak by a team my faith in them grew weaker and weaker. I’m here to tell you I am back to being a believer now. My worry comes when Minnesota have to play good teams in the playoffs. What they have been doing in the five weeks leading up to their game against the Falcons hasn’t been enough. Five wins, sure, but just one of those wins was by more than seven points and all of those wins came against teams with losing records. Atlanta may not be one of those good teams they will see in the playoffs, but you had to know they were going to try and come out and put on a show against the Vikings with their former QB under center. Darnold closed the book on the Cousins chapter of Vikings history tossing five TDs, and the defense picked of Cousins twice. This is the kind of win a team can rally around, and I really hope that will be the case for the Vikes the rest of the way.

6) Pittsburgh Steelers 10-3, last week 6

Statistically the Steelers got out played by the Browns on Sunday in Pittsburgh. They were out gained, and they gave up more first downs but the Steelers made no mistakes while the Browns mistakes cost them a W. After putting up 40 for the first time in a long time last week against the Bengals, you had to know the offense wasn’t going to come out like that for a second straight week. This week they let their defense do the talking against a mistake prone Jameis Winston, and got a big break when Dustin Hopkins missed a couple field goals. The Steelers do have the privilege of not having to play complete games to win because their defense is so decisive, but that’s not going to fly in their next three games which happen to be @ Philly, @ Baltimore and vs. KC.

7) Green Bay Packers 9-4, last week 5

We asked the Packers to come out and show us they should be in the elite team conversation. They had a perfect opportunity against the Lions on Sunday, but did they do enough to be considered elite? I don’t think so. They are a great team, but elite teams don’t squander chances to score a TD to go up four late in the game and that’s was the Packers did on a goal-to-go situation with under five minutes to go. An offensive pass interference prevented them from getting into the end zone and they settled for a game tying field goal, basically handing the victory to the Lions who put them to the sword with a game winning field goal. Green Bay showed they can compete with the best teams in the league but they have yet to show they can beat the best teams in the league. Looking at their schedule tells you everything you need to know. Just one of their nine wins has come against a team with a winning record.

8) Baltimore Ravens 8-5, last week 8

BYE

9) Denver Broncos 8-5, last week 10

BYE

10) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-6, last week 11

Remember when Tampa’s two best WRs went down in the same game, and it looked like all was lost for Baker and the Bucs? The question was could they hold on until Mike Evans got back to full fitness? They lost their next three games and did anything but hold on, but luckily the Falcons have plummeted in even more spectacular fashion and the Bucs are on the uptrend. They have won three straight, albeit against the worst teams in the league, but those wins have propelled them to the top of the division and even better for the Bucs, is three of their final four games are against teams with losing records.

11) Los Angeles Chargers 8-5, last week 9

It’s Jim Harbaugh’s first year in LA, and he is 8-5 and well in the playoff hunt. While he’d love be in this situation because of the quarterback play of Justin Herbert, that really hasn’t the case. The defense is keeping the Chargers in games, and the offense looks like it can only open up the playbook against bad teams. At some point Harbaugh is going to have to trust his QB to go out and win games or the Chargers are never going to have a chance once the playoffs come rolling around, if they come rolling around. The Chargers’ next two games are against the Bucs and the Broncos. If they lose those two games, the Dolphins or Colts could bump them out of the Wild Card spot they have been holding on to so comfortably for so long.

12) Houston Texans 8-5, last week 12

BYE

13) Seattle Seahawks 8-5, last week 14

The Seahawks finally looked like the team that wants to win the NFC West after weeks of no one wanting to step up and take command of the division. The Cardinals certainly don’t want it and the Seahawks exposed them in the first half of the game. Mike Macdonald has transformed this team from an explosive offensive team that lived and died on the performances of Geno Smith into a balanced rock em sock em team that can beat you with the run game and their defense. Smith is still the leader of the team, and he led them on Sunday going 24/30 for 233 yards and 1 TD but Zach Charbonnet had a career high 134 yards and the defense has held their opponents to 15 ppg over the course of their four game win streak that has leapfrogged them to the top of the division, but will they be able to hang on until the finish line?

14) Los Angeles Rams 7-6, last week 17

The Rams have given us glimmers of just how good of a team they can be when they are playing with a full deck of cards. They did it in Week 1 against the Lions when the took the top seed in the NFC to OT in Detroit. We saw it again in their game against Buffalo on Sunday afternoon. The stakes were much higher than they were in that season opener, but Matthew Stafford showed that he can go toe to toe with any QB in the league, and Puka Nacua proved he might be one of the best, if not the best WR in the NFL. The Rams play division opponents in three of their final four games of the season, and control their own destiny. They might have to win out to get to the playoffs, but if they can do it against Buffalo they can certainly do it against the Niners, Cards and Seahawks. First things first, their Thursday night match up in San Fran which will likely be the end of the season for the loser of that game.

15) Washington Commanders 8-5, last week 13

BYE

16) Miami Dolphins 6-7, last week 15

Miami knew their loss last week in Green Bay left them with absolutely no margin for error. Sunday’s game from Hard Rock was a must win game but it wasn’t a “big game”. Miami still haven’t shown they are capable of winning a big one, and they barely won their must win against the Jets on Sunday. Next week, however is massive. Against the Texans, in Houston, with the season on the line. If they survive another week then they will have a shot a at an improbable run to the playoffs, and it will all be because of the incredible bounce back season that Tua Tagovailoa.

17) Indianapolis Colts 6-7, last week 16

BYE

18) Arizona Cardinals 6-7, last week 18

The only thing we really knew about the Cardinals this season is that they were a lock to be consistently inconsistent every week. Since their BYE four weeks ago, they haven’t even been able to be that. They have just been flat out bad. They went from going into their week off with the lead in the NFC West to losing three straight, and two against the division leading Seahawks which means they are essentially three games back. There are still a few weeks left in the season but it looks like it’s Bye Bye Birdie for Arizona.

19) San Francisco 49ers 6-7, last week 20

After losing Christian McCaffery for what will most likely be the rest of the year, the Niners could have just packed it in for the season. Instead, they gave what was maybe the first respectable performance all season, and proved that they aren’t going down in the NFC West with out a fight. They jumped all over the Bears and took a 24-0 lead heading to the halftime break while limiting Chicago to just four total yards in the first 30 minutes. It’s the kind of game and spirit that we expect to see from a team that has been a contender for the last half decade and it’s the kind of spirit they will need to close out the season if they are going to have any chance of winning the division.

20) Cincinnati Bengals 5-8, last week 21

Same ole same ole for Burrow who needed to do everything for his team as usual. He had over 300 yards for the fourth straight week, but this time the Bengals won, unlike the previous three weeks. So what changed? Well this time he got a little help. The defense came up with a red zone turnover in the first half, but really it was Dallas handing the game to the Bengals with a minute left when they touched a blocked punt that would be recovered by the Bengals. Ja’Marr Chase took a 40 yard TD into the end zone to call game and bring their three game losing streak to an end. It shouldn’t have to be this hard, or unlikely that the Bengals win games when their QB plays like the best passer on planet earth, but unfortunately that’s the state of the Bengals this year.

21) Atlanta Falcons 6-7, last week 19

The collapse is complete. Well there is still time to pile on the misery in Atlanta, but the Falcons have officially blown their one time cozy lead in the NFC South, after losing four straight games. All the talk was about Kirk Cousins returning to the team that didn’t want to pay him after his achilles injury, and all Cousins did is reassure the Vikings that they made the right move. He’s been a steady QB his entire career, but when it matters most, he tends to crumble. That’s what he did late in the game in Minnesota and that’s what he has been doing late in the season in the Peach State. In the last four games, Cousins has 0 TDs, 8 INTs and the Falcons are 0-4, and have lost their lead in the NFC South.

22) New Orleans Saints 5-8, last week 24

Darren Rizzi may not be the head coach of the future for the New Orleans Saints, but he’s making the most of his time on the sidelines as the big boss. The Saints have won three of their last four, and it looks like whoever is available for him on this injury plagued roster comes out and plays for their interim coach. Last week it was Taysom Hill. This week it was Derek Carr. Somehow, some way the Saints pulled off the win, and they did it in Rizzi’s favorite way imaginable. After a nightmare day of his special teams guys and he ripped into them when he had a chance, but in the end it was the special teams that won the game with a blocked field goal in Rizzi’s return to his home state, New Jersey.

23) Dallas Cowboys 5-8, last week 22

There were a few differences from the play Armani Oruwariye made on Monday night and the play Leon Lett made 21 years ago. For one, it wasn’t Thanksgiving. Second, it wasn’t snowing. Third, the Cowboys were deep in the playoff hunt in a year that would bring them their second straight Super Bowl back in 1993. The Cowboys dreadful start to this season left them teetering on the edge of elimination, but somehow, some way there was still a sliver of hope that they could sneak in. Had they won last night they would have pulled within two games of the Commanders who look like a team on the brink of collapse. The muffed blocked punt hurts even more than Lett’s blunder because this all but officially slams the door shut on the minuscule chance the Boys had at an improbable playoff run.

24) Chicago Bears 4-9, last week 23

Teams usually respond after seeing their coach fired, but the Bears haven’t exactly been following league standards this season. We really thought that they would get better as the year went on, and that was after a 4-2 start to the season. Inexplicably this team has imploded over the last few weeks as their coaches have been lined up on the chopping block one after another. They have lost seven straight since their BYE in Week 7, and are coming off the worst of those seven losses this week in San Fran. They looked like a team that had checked out for the season, and things are only going to get uglier. They have to play all three NFC North rivals in three of their final four weeks. Caleb Williams and the Bears may not win a game until next season.

25) Carolina Panthers 3-10, last week 25

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love what’s going on in Carolina. Complete and utter chaos, as this team continues to compete in games with Bryce Young as the QB. Yes, the guy who never really got a fair shot, who was benched earlier this year, whose time in Carolina looked to have run it’s course, has gone toe to toe against the Chiefs, Bucs and Eagles in the last three weeks. It’s really all I want for Christmas. Keep competing, keep playing well and keep the owner of that team’s head spinning as he embarks on another offseason full of bad decisions which will set that franchise back years. Bravo Bryce. Keep doing your thing, and get the hell out of dodge once the season is over.

26) Cleveland Browns 3-10, last week 26

The magic maybe starting to wear out for Jameis Winston in Cleveland. Listen, it’s not his fault that Dustin Hopkins missed two FGs on both sides of the halftime break. It’s not his fault Kadarius Toney fumbled a punt that gave PIT the ball to close out the game late in the 4th. The two picks he threw were his fault, and he had something to do with the 2/13 the Browns were on third down conversions. What happens with Jameis, is he is contagious. In the best and worst sense of the word. He can spread that belief and that spirit when things are going good, but when he plays poorly it seems to seep through the team like an infectious disease. That’s not to say it’s not great drama and great TV, and at this point the Browns fans might be ok with that. They are used to losing, but at least with Jameis it’s spectacular.

27) New York Jets 3-10, last week 27

Remember the days when Aaron Rodgers had a chance to go win the game in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and you were just as well turning off the TV, cause you knew he would lead the Packers in to the end zone. You could see it in his eyes. You could see it in his body language. I didn’t see that at all on the Jets final drive of regulation. He did set his side up with a field goal to take the lead, but the old Rodgers would have closed that game out and ended the Dolphins season. I get it, he’s not the same guy he used to be, physically, but mentally I don’t think he is either and it showed what turned out to be the Jets final drive of the game.

28) New England Patriots 3-10, last week 29

BYE

29) Jacksonville Jaguars 3-10, last week 31

Do we have to talk about this game? Rarely do games live up to the hype and rarely do they live up to the lack of hype. The Jags game against the Titans was a slopfest of tragic proportions and the Jags were able to pull of the least memorable win of the season in a 10-6 decision that will be forgotten in the coming hours.

30) Las Vegas Raiders 2-11, last week

It doesn’t happen all the time, but sometimes there are teams that live up to their preseason expectations to a tee. That’s the Raiders. A league high nine straight losses for the Raiders have put them in the drivers seat for the top pick in the draft. There was a moment that the Raiders looked like they were going to shock the Bucs, but you can’t fumble the ball on the play after your defense picks off the other QB. You can’t throw interceptions inside your opponents 10 yard line after it took you 16 plays to get down there. You can’t do that stuff unless your are looking to get the top spot in the draft, so I guess keep up the good work LV.

31) Tennessee Titans 3-10, last week 30

There was no need to watch the Jags-Titans game. No need to watch the highlights. All you need to see to sum up their loss to the Jags was Calvin Ridley running out of bounds two yards short of the marker on 3rd and 5 play with 1:20 on the 4th quarter clock. He was so open he could have got on his knees and crawled for the first down, but for some reason he ran out of bound bringing up a 4th and 3. Of course Will Levis didn’t complete the 4th down pass in the end zone and the Titans went on to lose the lowest scoring game in the NFL this season. A dreadful ending to a truly pitiful game. London and Germany should just be thankful the NFL didn’t send this game overseas.

32) New York Giants 2-11, last week 32

I’m not going to lie, I like Drew Lock and I root for him. I think he’s an actual quarterback and not just some guy who knows a guy like Tommy DeVito. Having said that there is not a whole lot that has improved over the last few weeks in terms of QB play. He completed just over 40% of his passes and thew one pick, and no TDs, but somehow it was almost enough to force overtime against the Saints. In the end, the Giants chocked by getting their field goal blocked at the end of regulation. The only good news was the $1 tickets that were for sale at Metlife weren’t enough to tempt fans to show up to the stadium, so only about half of the usual fan base was in attendance to see it happen live.