The last round of NFL games was a bad one for some leading contenders as Philadelphia, Kansas City, Miami and Jacksonville all lost in vital encounters. That, of course, has made for some significant changes in these Power Rankings; although not at the very top where the San Francisco 49ers are sitting pretty.
Look at the offensive muscle-flexing carried out by the 49ers in their 28-16 win over Seattle! Brock Purdy threw for 368 yards and two touchdowns, Christian McCaffrey rushed for 145 yards, both Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk were over 100 yards receiving and George Kittle scored on a big catch and run.
The Ravens showed me a great deal during Sunday’s 37-31 overtime win over Rams. On a day when the defense struggled to slow Matthew Stafford, the passing game took over and Lamar Jackson flashed his MVP credentials again. And special teams came up huge with Tylan Wallace’s match-winning punt return.
The Cowboys have the attention of the entire NFL now. They have won five in a row, scoring 49, 33, 45, 41 and 33 points in those victories. The biggest of them came on Sunday Night Football as Dallas easily handled the Philadelphia Eagles. There is a long way to go, but the Cowboys look like a real contender.
The Eagles will likely roll through the remaining teams on their schedule, but the last two weeks should have them seriously worried about the postseason. The 42-19 loss to San Francisco was followed by that 33-13 capitulation in Dallas. And now there are whispers suggesting that Jalen Hurts has been found out.
The Dolphins did something that 17,561 teams before them had failed to do – they lost a game in which they led by 14 points with less than three minutes on the clock. Super Bowl contenders don’t do that. Miami are a fun story and will be dangerous on their day, but I don’t think they are quite there yet.
The Bills are far from perfect and they have a killer run-in that could still prevent them from making the AFC playoffs, but they have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Josh Allen and that makes them dangerous. They could range anywhere from missing the playoffs to being crowned champions of the NFL.
The Chiefs have lost four of their last six games and have now been beaten three times at Arrowhead Stadium, which used to be a fortress. Basic errors from the receivers are letting the Chiefs down and are frustrating Patrick Mahomes to whole new levels. He is the only reason to believe in this attack right now.
The Lions have lost two of their last three and they very nearly lost to the Chicago Bears the first time around as well. Mistakes are holding back what was a talented and productive offense. But the defense also needs to step up this weekend, having conceded at least 26 points in each of their last five outings.
This time last week I was wondering if the Browns would veer towards being irrelevant. Just goes to show what I know! Their defense was re-awoken against Jacksonville and the Joe Flacco career revival story at quarterback has the chance to be magical. If he can maintain his form, Cleveland should be playoff-bound.
Just as the Jags were flirting with the number one seed in the AFC, they have dropped back-to-back games against the Bengals and the Browns, conceding more than 30 points in each contest. Trevor Lawrence threw three interceptions in Cleveland last week and I wonder how much that was due to his ankle injury?
The Texans have run into some injury trouble that could seriously affect their playoff chances. At the time of this writing, C.J. Stroud is in concussion protocol and he lost receivers Tank Dell in Week 13 and Nico Collins in Week 14. Those three have been a driving force for much of what was a promising 2023 season.
Jake Browning has played so well to help the Cincinnati Bengals off the floor following Joe Burrow’s season-ending injury that some are asking if he could be the next Brock Purdy? Against Jacksonville, he aired it out and Ja’Marr Chase had a big day. Last week, screen passes helped to undo the Colts. Cincy are alive.
The Broncos used a tried and trusted formula to beat the Los Angeles Chargers last week to improve to 7-6 on the season. Smother opposing quarterbacks with a stout defense, run the ball effectively and get a couple of deep completions from Russell Wilson to Courtland Sutton, who has 10 receiving TDs in 2023.
The Colts’ up-and-down season continued with a low against Cincinnati last weekend. Now, can they respond at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers? The schedule is a favourable one for the wild card-chasing Colts as they finish against Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Houston.
The Packers let one slip away at home to the Giants on Monday, losing to a field goal as time expired. Such ups and downs are to be expected from a young team led by a quarterback in his first full season as a starter in Jordan Love. Green Bay can finish strong against Tampa Bay, Carolina, Minnesota and Chicago.
I continue to be impressed by the spirit shown by Baker Mayfield. He remains an up and down proposition on most Sundays, but he never gives up and sometimes that produces last minute magic like his touchdown pass to Cade Otton with 31 seconds left that lifted the Bucs to the top of the NFC South.
The Rams fell to 6-7 with Sunday’s loss in Baltimore, but they showed great promise in that overtime defeat. And with Matthew Stafford at the helm, they still have a chance at making the NFC playoffs. They play Washington, New Orleans and the Giants next and will hope the 49ers rest starters in Week 18.
The Steelers’ faithful have endured about all they can handle when it comes to this team’s miserable offense. They clearly love one half of that football team but not the other. I don’t think it will get fixed quickly and there is a chance to the Steelers undergo a complete overhaul that involves a new QB in 2024.
The Seahawks have lost four in a row and are on the ropes. Geno Smith’s groin injury kept him out of last weekend’s loss to San Francisco and his status moving forward remains to be seen. Kenneth Walker being back at running back helps, but this is looking more and more like a middle-of-the-pack outfit now.
Thank goodness for Brian Flores and his defense, who pitched a shutout in order for the Vikings to win 3-0 in a miserable Las Vegas outing that saw Josh Dobbs benched. Saturday evening will see the Vikings start their fourth quarterback of this hot-and-cold campaign as Nick Mullens starts against Cincinnati.
Desmond Ridder must drive Falcons fans mad. He had some beautiful throws during Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay, connecting with Drake London and Kyle Pitts. But he threw a terrible pick and missed a wide-open Bijan Robinson, turning a simple touchdown into a frustrating field goal. Consistency would be nice.
A routine victory over Carolina last weekend saw the Saints snap a three-game losing streak. They are now one of three 6-7 teams fighting to take the NFC South Division. Derek Carr and the offense need to get going. He was held under 130 passing yards for the fourth time this season – second-most in NFL history.
Keep Justin Fields, keep him healthy and build around a young player who has all the tools to grow into an NFL superstar. That would be my message to the Bears, who have now won three of four to improve to 5-8 on the year. Grabbing multiple picks for the likely first overall selection in 2024 would be a good start.
The Titans are the perfect example of a team with nothing to lose being dangerous at the end of the year. Tennessee trailed by 14 and when they pulled to within eight, they went for two and not a routine extra point. That meant Derrick Henry’s late TD and that extra point won the game instead of forcing overtime.
Tommy DeVito leading the lowly and struggling New York Giants to three straight wins is one of the feel-good stories of this holiday season. The past few days saw him compared to the great Tom Brady, which had coach Brian Daboll shutting down that line of questioning. The Giants are having fun and playing hard.
Justin Herbert is gone for the season with a finger injury and that’s bad news for head coach Brandon Staley as he attempts to cling to his job. At 5-8 and with games against Buffalo, Denver and Kansas City still to come, I would say the future is bleak indeed for Staley. A new coach will take over this team for 2024.
Antonio Pierce has the Raiders playing tough and their defense definitely stood up last week in holding the Vikings to just one field goal in the final minutes. But the offense is a non-factor and won’t become dangerous until the quarterback situation is fixed. And I’m not talking about Jimmy Garoppolo returning.
The Jets did to C.J. Stroud what they have done to so many good or great quarterbacks this season – they made life very difficult for him. The difference in Week 14 – and it resulted in a win at last – was that Zach Wilson topped 300 passing yards and after a difficult first half, the offense finally showed signs of life.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft reportedly made up his mind about moving on from Bill Belichick after the Week 10 loss to Indianapolis in Frankfurt. That move will happen after the regular season and I don’t think more wins – like the one enjoyed in Pittsburgh last week – will make a difference. A new era beckons.
The Cardinals are coming off their bye week with a 3-10 record, which will mean a high draft pick in 2024. But quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Jonathan Gannon are a danger to that positioning because both are very competitive and the former will want to stave off the addition of a new passer next year.
Let’s hope Ron Rivera and his coaches have been working extra hard during their bye week because prior to their time off, Washington conceded 31, 45 and 45 points in the previous three outings. Now they face a Rams offense that has scored at least 30 points in each of their last three games.
It’s not even close anymore – the Panthers are the worst and least competitive team in the NFL. They just cannot put it all together on the same day. Bryce Young is growing increasingly frustrated with each loss and the defense is eventually breaking due to being asked to carry too much of the load. What a mess!
