NFL Power Rankings after Week 14: San Fran stays on top, Eagles soar, Ravens walkoff moves them up

There is less to go in the NFL regular season, and as sad as that sounds for a lot of us football fans it sounds a lot worse for those teams that are running out of tie in the playoff race. Both the AFC and NFC have a handful of teams vying for the final three Wild Card Spots while there has been plenty of shifting at the top of the standings in each respective conference. The Ravens and the Niners are the one seeds on both sides of the board as we head into the final four game stretch of the season.

1. San Francisco 49ers 10-3, last week 1

Business as usual for the league’s best team who returned home for a tough divisional game against a team desperate for a win. The late scratch of Geno Smith made things a little more interesting for a San Fran side that already mopped the floor with the Seahawks a couple weeks ago. It was a typical let down game after a big win over the Eagles last week, but Kyle Shanahan’s guys came out and landed a knockout blow with Christian McCaffery’s 70 yard run that he almost took for a TD on the first play of the game. If Run CMC and Deebo are going to play as they have been over the last few weeks there isn’t a team in the world that can beat the Niners.

2. Baltimore Ravens 10-3, last week 3

What other ways can the Ravens show us they know how to win? We’ve seen them blow out teams. We have seen them shut down teams. And now they go to OT with a desperate team needing a win to stay alive in the playoff chase and they win it with a walk-off punt return. They may not be at the top of this list (they aren’t far off) but they are by far the best team in the AFC.

3. Dallas Cowboys 10-3, last week 4

It’s the one we’ve been waiting for, and on Sunday night Dak and the Boys delivered against not just a good team, but a team that was considered the best in the league only a couple weeks ago. Another 30+ point game for a side that is playing their best ball at the perfect time of year. It took 14 weeks, but Dallas finally got the chance to show they are a powerhouse in the NFC.

4. Philadelphia Eagles 10-3, last week 2

You knew the fall was going to come. In Philly they expected it, and probably would have preferred it to come much earlier in the season, but nonetheless it’s here. The Eagles went through a rough patch last year around this time, but that was with Jalen Hurts sidelined with injury. This year, they are healthy, but battered. It’s been a long and difficult stretch for the Eagles who have “survived” their meat grinder portion of their schedule but have lost their grasp on the one seed in the NFC and the lead in their division after the loss to the the Cowboys on Sunday night.

5. Kansas City Chiefs 8-5, last week 5

Times are changing in KC. There used to be a time in which Patrick Mahomes was nearly invincible at Arrowhead. There used to be a time that you could bet the house on KC responding from a loss with the previous week. There’s used to be a time in which giving Patrick Mahomes the chance to win win a game in a Two Minute Drill meant the Chiefs were walking away with a win. Those days are fading and so are the chances that KC will have home field advantage throughout the postseason. The defense held up their end of the bargain on Sunday, but it was the offense that let Chiefs nation down again. Blame the conspicuous flag that brought back the KC recreation of the Music City Miracle, but their problems scoring the ball lie much deeper. That’s why I think Patrick Mahomes went off on the refs like we have never seen him before. This has been a frustrating season for him, and he took the opportunity to release some of that frustration out on the ref instead of on his own teammates.

6. Jacksonville Jaguars 8-5, last week 8

The one time hottest team in the league have now lost their last two, and three of their last five. Trevor Lawrence and the Jags were going to have a tough time against the Browns defense even if the Lawrence was healthy. The nasty looking fall he took on his ankle/knee looked to hinder him in Cleveland. At one point in the season, not too long ago, Jacksonville were on the verge of easing through the AFC South and challenging for the top spot in the conference, but the Jags are proof of how quickly things can change in the NFL.

7. Miami Dolphins 9-3, last week 7

It was a fourth quarter collapse of epic proportions, and one that could weigh on the Dolphins for some time to come. There had been 767 games played without a team coming back to win from 14 down in the final 3:00 of the game. That’s not even the worst part. The worst part is Miami’s unstoppable offense didn’t score a point until a muffed punt gave them the ball inside the 20 with 5:30 to play. There has always been a notion that this team is soft, and they confirmed that on Monday night.

8. Buffalo Bills 7-6, last week 11

This is the Bills team that we had been expecting to see all year. Josh Allen and Buffalo stormed Arrowhead needing a win in a regular season “playoff” game and came out with their best performance of the season. Allen was good, not great, using his arm and his legs to put the Bills up by two TDs in the first half, but it was James Cook who was the difference maker in the first two quarters. He looks like he’s getting more and more comfortable handling the brunt of the snaps in the backfield and that’s why Buffalo are looking more and more like a team that could be trouble, should they make the playoffs.

9. Denver Broncos 7-6, last week 10

It looked a little easier then we are used to seeing for the Broncos in their win against the Chargers. Sean Payton’s men have grown accustomed to bending without breaking as the defense keeps the team in the game until Russell Wilson has one good drive that has been just enough to win games for Denver in the month and a half. Against the Chargers, they jumped to a 17-0 lead in the third quarter, and the defense enjoyed a rare game in which they got to protect a lead as the Broncos bounced back from their loss to the Texans.

10. Cleveland Browns 8-5, last week 12

What Joe Flacco is doing in Cleveland is far from normal. The Super Bowl winning quarterback was brought out of retirement and plugged in to an offense that had gone through three quarterbacks and a devastating injury to their top rusher early in the season. Despite his age, and possible rust (that has yet to show) the former Raven and Jet was the perfect option to fill in at QB for Kevin Stefanski’s team. He is a quarterback that has spent the majority of his career in the shadows of a great defense, and I say that with all due respect. Being a game manager can be interpreted as a diss. But instead think of it as an art form. In his first two games as Browns QB has taken his brush and come up with two masterpieces, all the while throwing for one TD less than Kenny Pickett has all year (5 vs. 6).

11. Detroit Lions 9-4, last week 6

The wheels might be starting to fall off in the Motor City. Detroit has lost three in a row, and they have done so in games that have been downright ugly. They look like a team that has lost their swagger and lost their identity, and I think that starts from the top and trickles it’s way down. For as much as I love Dan Campbell and his cavalier style of coaching, he is starting to make decisions like a kid playing Madden who is getting beaten by 30, even if the Lions are in the first quarter of a tight game. There are times and places to go for 4th down conversions. The Lions went for five of them in Chicago, and converted one. If Detroit isn’t careful, they could miraculously lose the division in the final month of the season after starting the season 9-2. So far, this season has been the exact opposite to last season. They were terrible to start the season last year, but got hot over the final month and a half of the season before missing the playoffs. They started the season red hot, but now a late season collapse might cost them if and when the playoffs come around.

12. Houston Texans 7-6, last week 9

Looking at the betting line heading into the Texans game in The Meadowlands, something didn’t make sense. A team that has been rolling under a rookie head coach and rookie QB went on the road to take on a team that was spiralling down the standings. It turned out, CJ Stroud couldn’t move the ball against the Jets stingy defense as the effects of not having Tank Bell started to show for Houston. DeMeco Ryans defense gave up 30 points to a team that has only scored 30 one other time this season.

13. Cincinnati Bengals 7-6, last week 17

Dare I say it? The Bengals offense has looked better with Jake Browning over the last two games than they did at any point this season when Joe Burrow under center. I wrote them off when Burrow was ruled out of the season, but after watching Cincy over the last few weeks, I think they have a better chance than ever to make the playoffs with the former Washington Husky under center.

14. Green Bay Packers 6-7, last week 16

The Packers looked like they had done enough to down the Giants in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. After a below average game, Jordan Love came out and showed he’s a winner, overcoming an off night to lead his team into the end zone to take the lead over what was a heroic New York Giants side on Monday night. Love did the job, and handed the torch to the defense, but the Pack sat back into one of the softest prevent defenses you’ll ever see and let the Giants waltz into field goal range. That didn’t look like a team fighting for a playoff spot, and after the loss last night they might not be in the next few weeks.

15. Minnesota Vikings 7-6, last week 14

If his four picks against the Bears last week didn’t bring a fizzle to the Dobbs-ler effect in Minnesota, then the Vikes three point win in LV might have. It was just about the most uninspiring win you could imagine for a team that is hanging on to their spot in the playoffs for the time being. Even though the league might be starting to figure Dobbs out, a month and a half ago the Vikings looked like their season was done when Kirk Cousins when down with a season ending injury. If you told Kevin O’Connell that his team would be 3-2 in the first five games with out Cousins, he would have pricked his finger and signed his name in blood.

16. Los Angeles Rams 6-7, last week 18

This one is going to hurt for the Rams who did everything to beat the Ravens in Baltimore, but one play was enough to cost LA the game in what turned out to be the most entertaining contest of Week 14. Fortunately for the Rams, the Wild Card race in the NFC is wide open, and at 6-7 they are tied with a handful of other teams for the final spot in the playoffs if the season ended today. What’s even better for LA is their next three games are against teams with a combined record total of 14 wins.

17. Indianapolis Colts 7-6, last week 15

You got the feeling the storm was coming. How long could the Colts ride Garner Minshew to victory and stay in the playoff race. I’m not anti-Minshew, in fact I’m a big fan of his folklore mystique and Revolutionary War style facial hair. But he’s the kind of guy I’d rather have beers with in a bar and talk about Harley Davidson’s than carry my team to the playoffs. There’s a reason most career back up QBs never make the jump to full time starters, and its because they are a nice surprise foe a few games but opposing defenses start to figure them out after a seeing them over the course of a few games in a row.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-7, last week 23

This is what Baker Mayfield was brought to Tampa Bay to do. And when I say that, I don’t mean lead his team to a sub .500 record and barley be scraping the top of the NFC South. But drives like the one he had against the Falcons to take control of the division is the kind of gutsy performance that Mayfield is capable of. His stats weren’t great, but they were good enough to keep the Bucs in the game after the Falcons scored the go ahead with 3:23 to go in the fourth quarter. It was far from a quick or efficient game winning drive. In fact, it took 12 plays, but in the end Mayfield got it done with an 11 yard pass to Cade Otton with 31 seconds on the clock. That TD might be what ends up earning them a spot in the playoffs, but three of their four games to end the season are against teams that are fighting for postseason positioning.

19. Pittsburgh Steelers 7-6, last week 13

The Steelers fans have moved on from Matt Canada and now have Mitch Trubisky in their crosshairs. Trubisky got the start on Thursday night and it didn’t take long for those in Pittsburgh to turn on him. Chants of Mason Rudolph started to ring around Acrisure Stadium as fans watched Bailey Zappe and the 10-loss Pats jump out to a 21-3 lead while the Steelers offense came to a stand still. Their two game losing streak marks the first time two 10 loss teams have beaten a Mike Tomlin team in his tenure in the Steel City, and what even more troubling is what lies ahead. The final four games are against three teams chasing Wild Card spots and the conference leading Baltimore Ravens.

20. New Orleans Saints 6-7, last week 22

There was no room for error in the Saints must win divisional game against the Panthers. Despite the offense gaining only 207 yards, the were able to edge out the one-win Panthers from the Super Dome thanks to a couple early forced turnovers that put New Orleans in the drivers seat from the start. The defense held the Panthers to six points, but the moment that spurred the Saints to victory was the D’Marco Jackson blocked punt and return for a TD that single handily outscored the Panthers for the day.

21. Chicago Bears 5-8, last week 25

If you erased my memory, and blocked out each teams records in the scoreboard box of the Fox graphic and told me there was only one playoff team on the field on Sunday at Soldier Field, I would have guessed that playoff team was the Bears. This looks like a completely different team that then one was saw destined for implosion about a month ago. Ever since Justin Fields came back from his thumb injury both he and the offense have started to click which has taken some of the burden off of their underrated defense. The bad news…. these wins is that they are unlikely to have to Top 5 picks in this year’s draft. The good news … they probably won’t have to spend one of those picks on a quarterback with the way Fields has been playing.

22. Atlanta Falcons 6-7, last week 21

Atlanta did everything they needed to do to take the battle of the NFC South except run enough time off the clock. You can’t chalk this loss up to Desmond Ridder who had 347 yards passing, and put the Falcons ahead with 3:23 to go in the fourth quarter, but the defense couldn’t make a stop against the Bucs team that had just over 200 yards of offense going into their final drive of the day. These are the games that can make or break your season, and the Falcons let a big opportunity slip through their fingers on Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

23. Las Vegas Raiders 5-8, last week 20

You got to feel for Antonio Pierce. The wretched offense that he inherited from Josh McDaniels still lingers around Sin City. His defense did everything they could and more to keep the Raiders in the game and potentially in the playoff race but when your offense puts up zero points, that’s exactly the amount of chance you have at winning a game. Pierce will no doubt be auditioning for the head coaching job in Vegas next season, and hopefully the incumbent offense that was in place long before he was the main man on the sidelines isn’t going to hinder his chance to carry on

24. Seattle Seahawks 6-7, last week 19

Where is the referee to step in when you need him? The Seahawks have taken a barrage of beatings over the last month and the loss to the Niners may have been the final straw. Geno Smith missed the game in San Fran, as Drew Lock had to step in and did a decent job against one of the top defenses in the league. In the end it wasn’t enough from the back up QB, and while Seattle isn’t mathematically out of the playoffs, there aren’t many teams that can bounce back from a late season four game winning streak and make the playoffs, especially with the Eagles coming up next week.

25. Los Angeles Chargers 5-8, last week 24

Let me make this very clear. I am not a Chargers fan, but I can’t help getting manically frustrated with this LA team that I’m sure have lost more fans than gained fans in the last few years since making the move from San Diego. I can only imagine what being a Chargers fans has to be like. Having to put up with mediocrity, deception and disappointment on a weekly basis. In their last three games, they have scored 23 total points, and this was before Justin Herbert went down with an injury that kept him out of most of the game against the Broncos.

26. New York Giants 5-8, last week 29

Tommy DeVito. Tommy DeVito. Tommy DeVito. I had to say the new King of New York’s name three times in a row to honor the three game win streak he has led the Giants on over the month. He showed meatballs of steal on the final drive, setting up a game winning 37 yard field goal to sink the Packers, and had a near perfect day passing while adding another 71 yards. I’m not sure if DeVito will be the Giants starter next year. I’m not sure if he will ever be a starter in the league. But let’s all enjoy his Jeremy Lin moment, because as we know New York is always ready to embrace an underdog turned hero.

27. Tennessee Titans 5-8, last week 27

If you read these Power Rankings every week, you may or may not know that the Titans are my team. Despite them being my team, I have spent a lot of this season ragging on Tennessee, and I was about to “strike down upon them with great vengeance and furious anger” after watching them almost give the game away. Instead, they came back from 14 points in the final few minutes of the game, and gave fans like me a rare reason to smile this season.

28. Arizona Cardinals 3-10, last week 26

BYE

29. Washington Commanders 4-9, last week 28

BYE

30. New York Jets 4-8, last week 30

Robert Saleh’s team is just toying with the Jets fan base’s emotions right now. Just when they are ready to throw in the towel for this season Zach Wilson of all people shines the thinnest ray of light in the Meadowlands as the return of Aaron Rodgers looms. This was an offense that failed to score more than 13 points in their previous six games, but Wilson exploded for 300 yards just weeks after everyone, including myself, expected never to see the former BYU man in a Jets jersey ever again.

31. New England Patriots 3-10, last week 32

Where in the world was that first half performance hiding all season? I suppose it was sitting with Bailey Zappe on the New England bench for most of the year. Zappe got a second crack at a start after posting a donut, at home, against the Chargers in Week 13. Zappe repaid his coaches late blossoming confidence with a three TD first half performance in which the former Hill Topper was near perfect. With a historically good defense over the last month, the 21 points in the first half hour from Acrisure was enough to hold off the Steelers comeback bid late in the 4th quarter.

32. Carolina Panthers 1-12, last week 31

The Panthers will have one task and one task only for the rest of the season: play spoiler to someone in the NFC South. When a team is going through a rough season, it’s only natural to want to spread some of that misery. Even better if you share that misery with division rivals. They had a chance to do that against New Orleans on Sunday but let an opportunity to sink the Saints slip through their hands as Bryce Young and the offense continue to struggle score getting into the end zone.