After one of the wildest NFL weekends in living memory, there has not actually been that much dramatic movement at the top of these power rankings with the Philadelphia Eagles still standing as the class of the league. Further down, the New York Giants are the biggest climbers, while the Carolina Panthers make the biggest fall.
The Eagles had to take a few body shots from the Chicago Bears before notching another victory last weekend. And now they may need to ride out a game against Dallas without star quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is nursing a sore shoulder.
Josh Allen put the entire team on his shoulders during Saturday night’s dramatic win over Miami. Allen threw for more than 300 yards and four touchdowns, rushed for 77 and added a game-tying fourth quarter two-point conversion run. Standard stuff.
The Bengals were reeling in Tampa as they fell behind 17-0, but they found their way back and recorded a 34-23 victory. Now, they were helped massively by a generous Tampa team that turned it over four times; but that’s six wins in a row for Cincinnati.
Patrick Mahomes was impressive in Week 15 as he threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns and, at one point, completed 20 straight passes. The Chiefs also rushed for 189 yards. So why did they get dropped a spot? They let Houston hang around and could have lost this game!
The Niners are champions of the NFC West after recording their seventh straight victory in Week 15. Kyle Shanahan has to be considered Coach of the Year material. His team is on its third quarterback of the year in Brock Purdy but the Niners keep rolling with the punches and proving their class.
The Vikings can be flaky at times – hence falling behind 33-0 to Indianapolis on Saturday – but they found a way to win and are now 10-0 in one-score games.
The Cowboys – and quarterback Dak Prescott in particular – have let some mistakes creep into their game in recent weeks, resulting in a close contest with Houston and a loss to Jacksonville.
The arm talent of Justin Herbert is on display every time he steps onto the football field. He fired a laser down the right sideline late against the Titans to set up the game-winning kick.
The Dolphins actually move up a spot after dropping their third game in a row. They put up more than 400 yards of offense in the Buffalo freezer and still looked like a playoff squad.
The Lions have now won six of their last seven and while Jared Goff delivered the winning points on a fourth down TD pass to Brock Wright, the improving defense powered this victory.
The Ravens generate so little in the passing game that I don’t even think their problems will be solved when Lamar Jackson returns from injury. Can they keep pace in the playoffs?
The Giants produced a typical win, for them, on Sunday Night Football. They got a stout defensive showing and just enough from the offensive side of the ball.
The Jaguars have a shot at winning every time they step on the field now and that comes from the growing presence and form of Trevor Lawrence. He is the real deal.
Zach Wilson made a few good throws during Sunday’s loss to Detroit, but he also didn’t seem to read the field very well. I think Mike White goes back in when healthy.
The Seahawks have fallen to 7-7 after a red-hot start to the year. But I think they like the direction they’re heading with Geno Smith at the helm and they offloaded Russell Wilson at the right time.
How New England respond after the debacle in the desert remains to be seen. That was just one crazy play. The sub-par form of quarterback Mac Jones has gone on a little longer.
The Commanders had some tough calls go against them on Sunday Night Football, otherwise they could have picked up another crucial win. They’re still alive, but only just.
The Packers have won two in a row either side of their bye week, keeping playoff hopes alive by beating Chicago and the LA Rams. Miami will present a tougher challenge on Christmas Day.
The Browns are going to need to get by on their running game and their defense for the remainder of the year. The offseason will be all about Deshaun Watson and his receivers.
Name me two wide receivers on the Tennessee Titans? Not that easy, is it? Their passing game is so bogged down at the moment and no one is about to save that aerial attack.
The Buccaneers fooled me for two quarters on Sunday. I thought they might be back. It was a disappointing false dawn. They are a shadow of their former selves.
The Silver and Black are still alive after that miraculous win over New England. They have star power at key positions but I don’t have a huge amount of trust in Derek Carr right now.
The Steelers are technically still alive in the playoff race but are, more realistically, fighting to avoid a losing season under Mike Tomlin for the first time. Defense powers this team.
The Saints have not exactly set the sporting world on fire this season and yet they are one game out of the division lead in the NFC South with three to play.
The Panthers are still alive in that division race as well at 5-9, but they were easily handled by Pittsburgh last week in a game they needed to have. That was disappointing.
The Falcons continue to play out close and wild games, but I reckon they are already building to next year by playing Desmond Ridder at QB. He is going to have ups and downs.
The Baker Mayfield hysteria lasted roughly three or four minutes of one quarter in LA. Yet he remains the most interesting topic on the Rams roster for the remaining three games.
The Cardinals are lost at sea and playing out the slate. At least you can count on JJ Watt to play hard. He had three sacks in a loss to Denver last week.
Was it a one-off or were the Broncos actually better with Brett Rypien at quarterback last week? Russell Wilson says he is returning on Christmas Day so we’ll find out.
Sign me up for the weekly Justin Fields highlights. The Bears need to surround him with game-breaking talent and they will be a playoff team in 2023.
Jeff Saturday is a nice story, but I think he needs a really strong finish to have a shot at becoming the Colts’ full-time head coach. He is realising this coaching lark is not as easy as it might at first seem.
Houston are actually fighting hard enough to climb off the bottom of these rankings. Stay tuned because they could have beaten Dallas and KC in the past fortnight.