NFL Power Rankings: Week 12 Edition

Now that Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season is in the books, it’s time for an incredibly meaningful and serious exercise: NFL Power Rankings! What differentiates these rankings from all the others is that they’re THE only truly accurate ones in the entire universe. We use a proprietary system that heavily accounts for all-important vibes. Let’s take a look at how all 32 teams stack up. (Click here for last week’s version.)

1 – Detroit Lions (Last Week: 2) – The Lions are the most dominant team in the NFL this season. They’re scoring 33.6 points per game and allowing just 17.7 points per game. Even in their sole loss, they still outgained their opponent by 247 yards. Juggernaut.

2 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 3) – Josh Allen is now 4-1 against Patrick Mahomes in the regular season. As a result, the Bills have a real chance to win the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture. Of course, Buffalo has yet to prove they can get by Kansas City in the postseason. Allen is 0-3 against Mahomes in the playoffs.

3 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 1) – They won’t go undefeated. But they’ll likely bounce right back with Carolina and Las Vegas up next.

4 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 5) – Six straight wins. The Birds are 1.5 games up in the NFC East and they have a chance to earn a first-round bye. Armed with Saquon Barkley and perhaps the NFL’s best defense, the Eagles are clearly the second-best team in their conference.

5 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 6) – Mike Tomlin is now 20-6-3 against the spread and 18-11 straight up as a home underdog since he was hired in 2007. That’s good for the best cover percentage and the best winning percentage in the NFL during that span. The Steelers are currently kings of the AFC North at 8-2.

6 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 4) – In seven career games against the Steelers, Lamar Jackson is 2-5. And he’s produced just five touchdowns to 11 giveaways. Pittsburgh owns him.

7 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 8) – The Packers were fortunate to block Chicago’s game-winning field goal attempt. As a result, they’re still contending in the NFC North, though a wild card spot looks much more likely.

8 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 9) – The Vikings have followed up back-to-back losses to Detroit and LAR with three straight wins. Good response. Now let’s see how they hold up with the schedule being a little less easy.

9 – Washington Commanders (LW: 7) – Jayden Daniels has looked much more mortal in recent weeks. Losing to the Eagles was a big blow to their chances of winning the NFC East.

10 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 11) – The Cardinals return from their bye to play in Seattle. Can they win their fifth straight game to maintain their lead atop the NFC West?

11 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 13) – Justin Herbert hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 2. That’s his only pick this season.

12 – Denver Broncos (LW: 16) – Bo Nix has nine touchdown passes to just one interception over his last four starts. Is it possible he’s actually the best rookie quarterback from this year’s class?

13 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 10) – The Niners are 5-5 overall and 1-3 in division games after losing to Seattle. Brock Purdy and Nick Bosa are reportedly banged up. San Francisco has the NFL’s fourth-most difficult remaining strength of schedule. More losses could be on the way.

14 – Houston Texans (LW: 14) – I know they beat Dallas by 24 points but I don’t think the Texans looked all that impressive on Monday night. They allowed a Cooper Rush-led offense to generate 388 yards. That’s only three fewer yards than they produced. I’m keeping the Texans on fraud watch.

15 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 17) – Matthew Stafford turned in his best game of the season with four touchdown passes and zero interceptions. After a 1-4 start, the Rams are 4-1 in their last five.

16 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 15) – Only four teams have scored more points than the Bengals this season. Only two teams have surrendered more points. Analysis: offense good, defense bad.

17 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 20) – Geno Smith led a crucial game-winning drive to keep the Seahawks in contention for the NFC West crown. We’ll see just how serious they are about winning their division with a home game against Arizona up next. They play the Cardinals in two out of their next three games.

18 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 18) – The Bucs are getting Mike Evans back and they have the NFL’s second-easiest remaining strength of schedule. Despite losing four straight, winning their division is very feasible.

19 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 19) – Two straight wins has the Dolphins alive in the AFC playoff picture. They’re currently in the ninth spot. With a home game against the Pats up next, there’s a chance Miami can make it three wins in a row.

20 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 13) – Unserious squad. Only 10 teams have a worse point differential. Solid chance the Falcons blow their NFC South lead.

21 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 23) – Anthony Richardson posted the best passer rating of his career in his first game back in the starting lineup since being benched for Joe Flacco. Maybe the motivational tactic worked?

22 – New York Jets (LW: 21) – Honestly, the Jets should fire their interim head coach. He’s definitely worse than Robert Saleh!

23 – Chicago Bears (LW: 22) – The Bears have had some truly brutal losses this season between Jayden Daniels’ Hail Mary and a blocked game-winning field goal. Those two improbable plays go the other way and they’re 6-4 instead of 4-6 right now.

24 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 31) – The Saints are 2-0 since firing Dennis Allen. Perhaps that was something they should’ve done after last season.

25 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 24) – The Browns have lost two in a row. They might finish their season with nine straight losses? Final seven games: vs. PIT, at DEN, at PIT, vs. KC, at CIN, vs. MIA, at BAL.

26 – New England Patriots (LW: 27) – The Pats have gumption. They lack talent.

27 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 25) – Allow me to be the eleventy billionth person to make “The sky is literally falling in Dallas!” joke. Here’s hoping the Cowboys manage to luck their way into a win or two to mess up their draft positioning.

28 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 26) – Will Levis is decidedly not it.

29 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 28) – They own the NFL’s longest losing streak with six losses in a row. Congrats!

30 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 30) – The Panthers return from their bye to host the Chiefs. Three wins in a row seems like a bit much to ask.

31 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 29) – Losing by 46 points isn’t ideal. Doug Pederson’s days are numbered.

32 – New York Giants (LW: 32) – For the first time in a long time, the Giants are doing something smart: they’re tanking. Benching Daniel Jones is obviously about avoiding his injury guarantee for 2025 kicking in. But playing Tommy DeVito over Drew Lock shows that the Giants want to lose. DeVito provided a bit of a spark last year, yeah, but that’s not happening again. He’s bad. And so bad that he got benched mid-game for stinking against Matt Patricia’s Eagles defense last year! The Giants are wisely looking to land a top pick — and thus a new starting quarterback — in the 2025 NFL Draft.