The San Francisco 49ers sent an emphatic message to the rest of the NFL with their 42-19 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. And we were listening! They are rightly placed on top of these – and many other – Power Rankings and are the Super Bowl favourites heading into the final five weeks of the regular season.
Stop Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel will decimate your defense. Stop Deebo and Brandon Aiyuk will step up. Stop him and you’ll have George Kittle to contend with. Tying it all together is the head coach-quarterback partnership of Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy. Oh, and they have the NFL’s best defense!
The Ravens have a physical style of play that will travel if they are required to go on the road in the playoffs. They bring pass rush pressure from all three levels and their linebackers, led by Roquan Smith, can hit and run. Lamar Jackson can also take over games on the offensive side of the ball. This is a dangerous team.
The Eagles got punched in the mouth by San Francisco in last week’s 42-19 defeat in front of their own fans. Now, how do they respond? In reality, this loss was coming. The Eagles have been out-gained by at least 90 yards in five straight games. Another big challenge looms with a visit to Dallas in Week 14.
The Dolphins may not have beaten a team with a winning record yet (they are 0-3 against such teams and 9-0 against everyone else), but they won’t care at all. They are the number one seed in the AFC and scoring for fun. If they can get homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, this could turn into a super season.
The Cowboys are rolling, particularly at home where they have won 14 in a row. Dak Prescott is playing better than at any other stage of his career. And yet it still feels like he needs major playoff wins to get the appropriate level of respect from those who cover the NFL. Dallas will give the Eagles all they can handle.
The Chiefs scored just two offensive touchdowns in Green Bay last week and their offense still gets knocked off track far too often. There’s a body of work there now when it comes to these struggles. They are season-long and not just a passing phase. But this team is still very much in the mix for the AFC one seed.
The Lions bounced back in Week 13 with their win over the New Orleans Saints. But it was not exactly a masterpiece. Detroit made hard work of that victory in the end, but the real positive was the performances from young players such as Jahmyr Gibbs, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta.
The whole of Duval County now has eyes on Trevor Lawrence’s ankle. If he cannot play at full strength, how will that affect the Jaguars’ chances? They should be good enough to top the AFC South, but can they get the number one seed? How strong will their Super Bowl challenge be? Worrying but vital questions.
The Texans are this season’s Cardiac Kids. It feels like every one of their contests is an up and down adventure that goes right down to the wire. Houston’s last eight games have been decided by one score and they are 5-3 in those outings. The loss of Tank Dell hurts but C.J. Stroud remains the driving force.
The Bills are coming off a much-needed late-season bye and now enter a critical and challenging run-in where they have left no room for error with four of their final five at Kansas City, home to Dallas, at Los Angeles Chargers and at Miami. Superstar Josh Allen will need to be on top form to deliver a playoff berth.
The Colts have won four in a row as they continue to put together an impressive fighting effort. Whether it results in a playoff berth remains to be seen. They continue to be involved in imperfect games with Gardner Minshew at QB, but they’ve scored 20 points or more in 11 of 12 contests to date. Impressive.
Ja’Marr Chase had a big showing during Monday night's win over Jacksonville and he insisted afterwards that his team can still “play Bengals football.” I don’t know if Jake Browning can force this team into the playoff conversation, but he was special in Week 13 and he does have playmakers who can help him out.
After more than 30 years of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have to be feeling good about keeping their quarterback streak going given the development of Jordan Love in the past month. It may be a relatively short period of time, but it has been enjoyable to watch and the Pack are in the NFC race..
The Seahawks have stubbed their toe in recent weeks but they still have players who can take over games, primarily D.K. Metcalf, who scored three touchdowns against Dallas last week. He needs the ball early and often because scoring points is the only way to survive given this team’s defensive deficiencies.
The offense has been a real problem for Pittsburgh from the very first drive of the year – a three and out against San Francisco in a one-sided home loss. And now Kenny Pickett is on the sidelines with an ankle injury and it falls to Mitchell Trubisky to wake this unit up. Their playoff lives may depend on it.
The Broncos were slow out of the gate against Houston in Week 13 and when they did let Russ cook, Wilson burned the dinner as he threw three interceptions. Denver are in a building mode and while their recent run was impressive, they’re unlikely to make much noise this year even if the playoffs are reached.
The Browns are lurching towards being irrelevant. It’s incredible to see Joe Flacco starting in the NFL in 2023, but such is the state of this team’s QB problems. To be fair, he didn’t look bad against the Rams, but with defensive injuries also beginning to bite; it’s going to be a hard finish to the line for the Browns.
The Falcons had the good fortune of playing the New York Jets on Sunday, which meant 13 points was more than enough to secure a victory that keeps them on top of the NFC South. But they have to find more from Desmond Ridder at quarterback and passing game targets such as Drake London and Kyle Pitts.
The Vikings are coming off their bye week having endured a couple of disappointing weeks. What this team needs more than anything is for Justin Jefferson to come back from his hamstring injury and to start scaring defenses. The playoffs are still within reach, but there is not much room for error here either.
You have to credit Sean McVay for the job he has done in keeping the Rams competitive this season. It helps when Matthew Stafford connects with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, and Kyren Williams continues to grow at running back. They are far from perfect, but these Rams always have a puncher’s chance.
The Chargers snapped their three-game losing streak last week, but a 6-0 win over the moribund New England Patriots is not exactly a reason to throw a parade. We’ve worried for most of this season about the Chargers’ defense, but they’re in real trouble if the offense now starts to get bogged down.
Mike Evans has turned 30 but he continues to show no signs of slowing and last week saw him go over 1,000 yards receiving yet again. He has started his career with 10 straight 1,000-yard seasons – an NFL record. And his connection with Baker Mayfield is going to be the single most important thing in Tampa.
The Raiders are coming off a late-season bye knowing who needs the football for this team to succeed. Interim head coach Antonio Pierce has not tried to get too clever with the Silver and Black. Get wide receiver Davante Adams and running back Josh Jacbos their touches and good things could happen.
The Saints are in a bad spot as losers of three in a row. Things have turned so sour for this 5-7 team that every time Derek Carr runs back onto the field to replace Taysom Hill – who briefly sees QB duties on certain plays – the home crowd fills the air with hearty boos. That makes for a pretty toxic environment.
The Bears have won two of their last three and the loss sandwiched in between wins against Carolina and Minnesota should have been a victory over Detroit. They get another shot at the Lions at Soldier Field on Sunday. Justin Fields may not secure his long-term future, but he makes the Bears way more watchable.
Will Levis has some fight and his spirited leadership will serve him well over the years. But I hope he learned a couple of things from last week’s loss to Indianapolis. First, don’t be diving head-first into bigger and stronger NFL defenders. Second, don’t be chewing out a veteran like DeAndre Hopkins on the sideline.
Back-to-back wins over Washington and New England are not exactly headline-makers, but they do suggest this Giants team continues to play hard for head coach Brian Daboll. One major positive to come out of 2023 is the breakout season of edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, who leads the Giants with 11 sacks.
Arizona will be feeling a little bit better about themselves as they head into their bye week off the back of a win in Pittsburgh last Sunday. But a 3-10 record for the Cardinals is still going to put some early pressure on head coach Jonathan Gannon. I don’t think he will be gone, though. Stability is needed in Arizona.
The Jets have reverted to Zach Wilson to start against the Houston Texans. I’m not sure how much more the passionate New York fans can take. The Jets mustered just eight points last week on two field goals and a safety. The 2024 season cannot come quickly enough.
Washington have shipped 45 points in each of their back-to-back losses to Dallas and Miami. And their issues on the offensive side of the ball – where they continue to ship sacks at an alarming rate – continue. Ron Rivera is not only running out of time in Washington, I think his fate is already sealed.
I also think the same fate awaits Bill Belichick, who has seen his Patriots fall hard and fast to a 2-10 record. New England are going to attempt to fix their broken offense with a new quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft. And I think they couple that passer with a young and energetic head coach, signaling a new dawn.
It’s going to be a difficult couple of years for the Panthers. First, the Bryce Young vs. C.J. Stroud comparison debate is going to rumble on and on. Second, the skill position and offensive line talent will take time to replenish. And most importantly, owner David Tepper will cast a large shadow over all proceedings.