There is no change at the top of the Power Rankings as the 10-1 Detroit Lions lead the 9-2 Buffalo Bills, who are coming off their bye week. But the Kansas City Chiefs – who also moved to 10 wins on the year last weekend - have been leapfrogged by the Philadelphia Eagles, who are riding a dominant seven-game winning streak.
- Detroit Lions --
The Lions dominated through the air in Week 11 and then won on the ground in Week 12. They have elite weapons in both their passing and running attacks and that sees them remain as the class of the league despite a slightly-worrying and growing injury list.
- Buffalo Bills --
The Bills are coming off their bye week knowing a Miami loss at Green Bay on Thursday and a home win against the San Francisco 49ers will wrap up the AFC East Division with five weeks to spare. Buffalo have bigger goals in mind, like securing homefield advantage in the AFC.
- Philadelphia Eagles +1
The Eagles are gaining momentum to such a force that they might just be the team that wrecks Detroit's Super Bowl dreams in January. They are looking that good, led by Saquon Barkley; who could become the first non-quarterback to win NFL MVP since Adrian Peterson in 2012.
- Kansas City Chiefs -1
The Chiefs produced another piece of late drama to beat the Carolina Panthers by three points in Week 12. But they have some nagging issues that are being masked by victories, notably the fact that Patrick Mahomes is averaging just 5.9 air yards per attempt in 2024.
- Baltimore Ravens +1
The big games keep on coming for a team that resembles a Super Bowl outfit when Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are in full flow. The problems have often come on the defensive side of the ball, particularly in Baltimore's four losses. Next up is the red-hot Eagles on Sunday.
- Green Bay Packers +2
The Packers have found the exact physical edge they were looking for when they signed Josh Jacobs in free agency. The hard-nosed runner has rushed for 944 yards in 2024 – good enough for third in the NFL. A tidy, interception-free Week 12 outing by Jordan Love was encouraging.
- Minnesota Vikings --
The Vikings almost blew Sunday's game against the Bears but found a way to move to 9-2 with an overtime field goal that was set up by some late Sam Darnold magic. With Justin Jefferson catching just two passes, Darnold leaned heavily on Jordan Addison, who is heating up.
- Pittsburgh Steelers -3
The Steelers stubbed their toe a week after taking down the Ravens, losing to Cleveland in the snow. The defense will keep playing tough (that unit has held teams to fewer than 20 points in seven games), but the offense needs to find more consistency after two down weeks.
- Los Angeles Chargers --
The injury to running back J.K. Dobbins is worth monitoring because he was missed when he limped out of Monday's loss to Baltimore. This is a positive season in LA, for sure, but I would love to see an elite, playmaking wide receiver teamed with Justin Herbert in time for 2025.
- Denver Broncos +4
Denver's growth has been one of the fun stories of the 2024 campaign and the form of rookie quarterback Bo Nix suggests the search for a long-term replacement for Peyton Manning is over. Nix has thrown eight touchdown passes and no interceptions in his last three outings.
- Washington Commanders -1
The Commanders have lost three in a row and the most worrying aspect of their heartbreaking loss to Dallas – outside of Austin Seibert's inability to kick an extra point – was the length of time in this game where Washington's offense was properly bogged down.
- Houston Texans --
The shine is coming off C.J. Stroud as he bumps his way through a second season in the NFL. The bad news shows the Texans have lost four of their last six games. The good news for Houston is that Stroud can have some high moments and they play in the weak AFC South.
- Miami Dolphins +2
The Dolphins have played well over the past three weeks in beating the Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots. But that only warrants so much of our attention. Beat the Green Bay Packers in frigid conditions at Lambeau Field and then we can talk, Miami!
- Seattle Seahawks +4
The Seahawks have won two in a row to move to 6-5 and, crucially, both wins have come in the division over San Francisco and Arizona. Now comes a Geno Smith revenge game against the New York Jets and an opportunity to heap further pressure on the rest of the NFC West.
- Arizona Cardinals -4
The Cards were optimistic as they came out of their bye week riding a four-game winning streak. But Sunday's loss to Seattle could not have been much more disappointing. Arizona were held to two field goals. Kyler Murray did not throw a TD pass and rushed for nine yards.
- San Francisco 49ers -3
The 49ers were not only missing star players in quarterback Brock Purdy, offensive tackle Trent Williams and defensive end Nick Bosa for last Sunday's one-sided loss at Green Bay. They were missing their trademark spirit and toughness. It feels like this season is slipping away now.
- Atlanta Falcons --
The Falcons are coming off their bye week hoping to re-discover an offense that scored just 23 points across their last two games – losses to New Orleans and Denver. It's all about scoring for Atlanta. They average 30 points per game in six wins and 12.8 per game in five defeats.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers +2
The Buccaneers adopted a simple formula in ending their four-game losing streak and it involved pounding away at the dispirited New York Giants on the ground. With Baker Mayfield continuing to play well at QB and Mike Evans back, don't bet against a late playoff charge.
- Cincinnati Bengals --
Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers represents the last chance for the 4-7 Bengals. Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase have been brilliant, but the playoffs will be a tall order. They definitely need to win five of their last six and likely need to win all of them in order to make it.
- Los Angeles Rams -4
It's easy to get excited about the Rams' 'Big Three' of Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp each weekend. But we sometimes forget about the lack of protection up front. Stafford has been pounded in back-to-back home losses to Miami and Philadelphia.
- Indianapolis Colts --
The Colts undid every good thing they produced against Detroit with a penalty, a dropped pass or an errant throw. There were plenty of examples of each in a game that could have gone very differently had Indianapolis presented a cleaner showing. Too inconsistent.
- Dallas Cowboys +2
Jerry Jones believes "this thing is not over" but it's hard to see how the Cowboys can make the playoffs at 4-7 and with Cooper Rush at quarterback. Mike McCarthy is not out of the woods yet and is 0-5 at home. A win on Thanksgiving Day against the Giants would lift spirits.
- Chicago Bears -1
The Bears have shown signs of life, offensively, in the past two games under new offensive coordinator, Thomas Brown. But the wins have not been forthcoming and Chicago have lost five in a row and not won since that heady day at Tottenham in mid-October.
- New Orleans Saints -1
The Saints are coming off their bye week knowing that a weird season could be about to get even weirder, in a good way. New Orleans opened 2-0, lost seven straight and have now won two in a row. They are two games out of first place in the NFC South with six to play.
- Cleveland Browns +2
Jameis Winston and the Browns have these enjoyable highs every now and then, beating Baltimore and Pittsburgh in the space of a month. But neither quarterback nor team can be relied upon to perform week in and week out. Cleveland have not won successive games in 2024.
- Tennessee Titans +4
The version of Will Levis we have seen over the last three weeks has been worlds away from what we witnessed early in the season. Since returning to the starting lineup, Levis has posted a passer rating of 109.3. How he finishes this campaign could shape the 2025 offseason.
- New England Patriots -2
Sunday's heavy defeat in Miami was a reminder that the Patriots have a long way to go and that they are miles from where they need to be. Drake Maye should be around for a while at quarterback. Will we be able to say the same about head coach Jerod Mayo? That's cloudier.
- Carolina Panthers --
The Panthers won back-to-back games against the Saints and Giants and then fought like junkyard dogs before losing in overtime to Kansas City. The past three have unveiled a team fighting hard for each other and head coach Dave Canales. They just need a lot more talent.
- New York Jets -3
The Jets' bye week saw general manager Joe Douglas fired and various reports emerge saying ownership wanted Aaron Rodgers benched, that Rodgers didn't want to play for the Jets in 2025 and that Rodgers wanted to play for the Jets in 2025. All standard stuff in the Big Apple.
- New York Giants -1
The Giants head into the national Thanksgiving Day spotlight having lost six games in a row and there is uncertainty over whether it will be Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock at quarterback. Either way, it's not going to spare any blushes and major offseason changes could be coming.
- Las Vegas Raiders --
The Raiders extended their losing streak to seven games and Gardner Minshew is gone for the season at quarterback. It doesn't matter what happens between now and the end of the year, so long as Las Vegas are in a position to address the quarterback problem in 2025.
- Jacksonville Jaguars --
The Jaguars are coming off a late-season bye in which Doug Pederson surprisingly held on to his job. The playoffs are gone for this year, but a strong finish is a must for coach and team. They end with winnable games against Houston, Tennessee (twice), Jets, Las Vegas and Indianapolis.
