Week 12 Power Rankings: Game of the...Ever?

Written by Ben Slavin

Week 12 couldn’t have been much better. There were close games everywhere, even if there were only a couple matchups of good teams. Then Monday night, the Rams and Chiefs blew the roof off the LA Coliseum. Diehard and casual fans alike enjoyed that game. There were over 1,000 yards of offense, 95 points scored, three defensive touchdowns, and many of the best players at their positions. The only people who didn’t enjoy that game are football ‘purists’ who in between sips from their oxygen tanks complain about how much better the league used to be.

Real quick let’s reiterate. Now that we’re into the season, teams will move up or down a lot based on trades, injuries, or big wins or losses. Who the opponent was, how close of a game it was, and in general how good the team looked will be considered more than just getting the victory.

32. Arizona Cardinals (2-8, Down 2)


The positive for Arizona is they’ve figured out how to use David Johnson. The negative (of which there are many more), is that Josh Rosen struggled against Oakland. You can blame his receivers for a lot of it, but he still wasn’t great. Chandler Jones and the defense continued to excel despite an offense holding them back at every turn.


31. Oakland Raiders (2-8, Up 1)


For all the reports coming out of Oakland of how the team has given up on Jon Gruden, they still went out and fought for a win. Even in the game, Gruden and Derek Carr had some disagreements, but found a way to get it done. The best part of the win was seeing defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, who wasn’t supposed to ever play because of health problems, get a sack for the second straight game.


30. San Francisco 49ers (2-8, Up 1)


San Francisco have put on a masterclass in tanking. They have a culture-setting win (34-3 demolishing of the Raiders), a bunch of close losses to build off, and a bad enough record to give them a top pick. In fact, they are the number one team in draft order right now. After this week’s bye, they have another good chance at a win in Tampa Bay.


29. New York Jets (3-7, Same)


The Jets can’t be any worse than in a 41-10 loss to Buffalo, right? If they want to prove that, they better have used their bye week well because the Patriots visit next week.


28. Buffalo Bills (3-7, Down 1)


After a shocking offensive explosion last week, the Bills hit their bye. With time to rest, Josh Allen will return as the starter next week against Jacksonville.


27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-7, Down 1)


And he’s back. For approximately the 47th time this year, the Buccaneers made a quarterback change this year. It’s time Tampa realizes they essentially have the same quarterback twice over. Both QBs make some great throws that endear them to a team and then throw some horrible interceptions that put them back on the bench. In the comments, guess how many weeks before Fitzpatrick is back.


26. New York Giants (3-7, Up 2)


The Giants were the latest team to allow 500 yards to the Bucs and still win relatively easily. Against a horrible defense, Eli Manning only missed one throw and Saquon Barkley dominated. While the offense was great, the defense was awful. Both quarterbacks for the Bucs moved the ball well and Peyton Barber had his first strong game of the year. At least they won to make it two straight.


25. Miami Dolphins (5-5, Same)


Miami has not been playing well recently, so a bye week was likely welcome. To turn it around, they’ll have to knock off a red hot Colts team in Indianapolis.


24. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-7, Down 1)


The Jaguars always seem to play their best against Pittsburgh. Even though Jacksonville has been bad this year, Jalen Ramsey nearly willed his guys to a huge upset. The Jaguars bludgeoned the Steelers with Leonard Fournette and built an early lead. The problem was they could only get field goals. Once Pittsburgh’s offense got going, the deficit wasn’t enough and they pulled out the win.


23. Detroit Lions (4-6, Up 1)


For a team like Detroit, any win is good. There wasn’t much to build off here, though. The Panthers were awful and still had a chance to take the lead with a minute left. Kerryon Johnson was amazing for Detroit, but they still refuse to given him a full workload. Watch the Lions and you’ll see Johnson break tackle after tackle while Legarrette Blount struggles to reach the line of scrimmage.


22. Atlanta Falcons (4-6, Down 1)


A lot of people started to hype up the Falcons as a playoff sleeper when they hit 4-4. I never bought into that, and hopefully it’s all gone now that they’ve lost two straight. Steve Sarkisian is still sabotaging the offense and the defense lost too many players to compete.


21. Cleveland Browns (3-6-1, Down 1)


The firing of Hue Jackson seems to have righted the ship in Cleveland. Before their bye this week, they competed with the Chiefs and beat the Falcons. They return this week to play in Cincinnati.


20. Washington Redskins (6-4, Down 3)


Alex Smith’s injury was disgusting, mysterious (just look up all the crazy connections to Joe Theismann), and scary. While that sucks, you have to love the fight Washington put up after he left the game. The team played their hearts out and nearly came back to win before a missed field goal. While they looked fine Sunday, Smith’s injury should kill Washington’s playoff hopes.


19. Cincinnati Bengals (5-5, Down 1)


Cincinnati, who already had a historically bad defense, were embarrassed by a college-style offense. There was a limited threat of passing and the Bengals still allowed 265 rushing yards. Trying to match their defensive futility, Andy Dalton and the A.J. Green-less offense only put up 265 yards of offense.


18. Philadelphia Eagles (4-6, Down 3)


This has been a rough season for the defending Super Bowl champs. They’ve lost a lot of games so far, none worse than the beatdown put on them by the Saints. Even if the Saints have been doing this to everyone lately, the Eagles deserve to be punished.


17. Denver Broncos (4-6, Up 2)


After scaring the Chiefs twice, the Broncos finally got their division upset over a great team. They didn’t have the defensive success against the LA Chargers they did against Kansas City, but they did enough to win on a field goal as time expired.


16. Tennessee Titans (5-5, Down 4)


That was a tough loss for the Titans. A let down game after two emotional and well-covered wins is no surprise, though. Tennessee still plays hard and smart on defense and Marcus Mariota was coming into his own before an injury took him out of the Colts game. They’re still firmly in the playoff hunt.


15. Indianapolis Colts (5-5, Up 7)


It’s time to take the Colts seriously. I’m at fault for underestimating them too, but no more. Andrew Luck is all the way back from his injuries and no one can deny he’s a top 10, likely top 5, quarterback. With Frank Reich now their head coach, the Colts are utilizing the Eagles’ three tight end approach from last year to great success. Even the defense and backfield have promising young players.


14. Baltimore Ravens (5-5, Up 2)


Lamar Jackson’s first start was interesting. He’s clearly unpolished as a thrower, but it’s rare you see a quarterback rush for over 100 yards. His 27 carries are even rarer. His threat as a runner helps the running backs in Baltimore too. Gus Edwards doesn’t total 115 yards with Joe Flacco at quarterback.


13. Green Bay Packers (4-5-1, Down 3)


Aaron Rodgers picked a rough time to have his one bad drive Thursday night. He made some jaw-dropping throws earlier in the game, but couldn’t hit the open receivers with his team down a field goal in the fourth. As if it wasn’t certain already, we now know for sure that if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t win the game for his team, they don’t win.


12. Dallas Cowboys (5-5, Up 2)


Ezekiel Elliott had over 200 yards from scrimmage and the Cowboys needed every bit of it to beat the Falcons. Zeke’s dominance has helped Dak Prescott as much as the addition of Amari Cooper. Then there’s the defense that hasn’t allowed 30 points all season. Don’t look now, but if the Cowboys beat the Redskins on Thanksgiving, the division lead is theirs.


11. Seattle Seahawks (5-5, Up 2)


It doesn’t matter what day they play, Seattle’s run game dominates. They were able to ride their three-headed backfield to comeback from an early 14-3 deficit. Then late in the game, Russell Wilson took over after a rough first half and got them the win.


10. Carolina Panthers (6-4, Down 1)


It appears last week’s horrific showing was more than a Thursday night failure. Carolina came out flat again and this time fell to Detroit. Against a worse team than Pittsburgh, they had a chance to win late. A questionable two point conversion call sealed their fate, though this was a defensible decision with their kicking miscues and Cam Newton at quarterback.


9. Houston Texans (7-3, Up 2)


With the Dolphins and Redskins coming back to reality, the Texans are the official new Franchise Quarterback Fluke Team. Only one of their seven straight wins was convincing. Who was it against? Houston’s flukey predecessor, Miami. They couldn’t even win comfortably against Washington’s backup offense. Seriously, if Dustin Hopkins hits from 63, Colt McCoy beats the Texans.


8. Minnesota Vikings (5-4-1, Down 1)


Quietly, the Vikings have had offensive woes for weeks. Their recent games are deceptive in showing high Minnesota point totals. They’ve had to rely on the defense or a bad opponent to get themselves going. There’s no bad teams in the playoffs, and the Vikings, with only a half game wild card lead, aren’t even guaranteed to get there.


7. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3, Down 3)


Don’t worry too much about the Chargers loss to the Broncos. This isn’t their return to routinely blowing games like many will claim it is. Denver is decent and was shut down before getting it going late. LA had 150 more yards and had another good defensive showing in Joey Bosa’s return. They’ll be fine.


6. Chicago Bears (7-3, Up 2)


Sunday night, the Bears defense once again made their case for best in the league. A strong Vikings attack was held dormant until late in the 4th quarter. Throw in the turnovers they produce with playmakers like Khalil Mack and they’re scary. Mitchell Trubisky’s propensity to throw the ball to the other team is also scary. The only thing capable stopping the Bears is Trubisky.


5. New England Patriots (7-3, Up 1)


Nobody needed a bye more than the Patriots, who were just embarrassed by former Patriot Mike Vrabel’s Titans. Redemption should be easy as they travel to New York to face the Jets team they’ve owned for nearly two decades.


4. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2-1, Up 1)


The Jaguars really seem to be the Steelers kryptonite. This year, largely because of how much worse Jacksonville is, Pittsburgh was still able to pull out the victory. For three quarters, though, it was ugly. This was a good show of resiliency.


3. Kansas City Chiefs (9-2, Same)


Even though they lost both games, the Chiefs deserve credit for giving us arguably the two best games of the year. In this one, they were the better team on the field. Between turnovers and penalties, they killed their chances at winning. Three of the turnovers directly resulted in LA touchdowns. Still, the Chiefs dominated to the tune of 546 yards and should have scored even more.


2. Los Angeles Rams (10-1, Same)


On a night where Todd Gurley couldn’t get anything going and Jared Goff missed a bunch of throws, the Rams won with coaching and big defensive plays. Seemingly every Rams weapon was schemed open by Sean McVay. Aaron Donald proved he is the best defender in the league with two strip sacks and Samson Ebukam had two defensive touchdowns.


1. New Orleans Saints (9-1, Same)


The Saints have been amazing the last few weeks. In their last six games (all wins), they have three blowouts and three wins over good teams. The past two weeks, they have taken it to another level. Against solid teams in Cincinnati and Philadelphia, their margin of victory is 99-21. Sean Payton has his guys playing Madden right now.

Think your team is ranked too low? Or just in general think I know nothing about football? Go crazy in the comments.