NFL Week 14 power rankings: Chiefs return to No. 1 after Steelers’ stunning loss
1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) | Last week’s rank: 2
There were obvious issues with the red-zone offense in Sunday night’s triumph over the Broncos. The Chiefs’ last four victories have come by a total of 15 points. But they’re a championship team that knows how to win. And their hopes for securing the AFC’s top playoff seed were bolstered by the Steelers’ loss.
2. New Orleans Saints (10-2) | Last week’s rank: 3
The Saints have continued to get it done with Taysom Hill filling in for Drew Brees. But keep in mind that Hill’s three starts have come against the Falcons (twice) and the QB-less Broncos. Make no mistake: The Saints need Brees to be healthy and back in the lineup to beat the league’s better teams.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-1) | Last week’s rank: 1
The Steelers very much deserved to lose Monday, with the mistakes and particularly the dropped passes. They do not resemble the NFL’s best team these days. Not in the win over the Ravens. Not in the stunning loss to the Washington Football Team. The Steelers hold the tiebreaker edge over the Chiefs for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. But it’s much tougher for them now with games left against the Bills, Colts and Browns.
4. Green Bay Packers (9-3) | Last week’s rank: 5
The Packers allowed the Eagles to make things interesting late in the game, more interesting than they should have been. No matter. The Packers got the win and they have a good chance to be a 13-3 team heading into the playoffs.
5. Buffalo Bills (9-3) | Last week’s rank: 7
Josh Allen was superb in the triumph Monday night over the 49ers in Arizona. The Bills don’t get the attention that the Chiefs and Steelers do. But they’re playing at least as well as those two teams at this point.
6. Cleveland Browns (9-3) | Last week’s rank: 8
The first-half performance against the Titans was stunningly great. The Browns have secured their first winning season since 2007 and Baker Mayfield again resembles a franchise QB. Kevin Stefanski deserves plenty of credit for getting this thing turned around and doing it so quickly, even under trying circumstances for a new head coach.
7. Miami Dolphins (8-4) | Last week’s rank: 9
Coach Brian Flores’s fiery on-field support for his players during the on-field fracas with the Bengals undoubtedly scored some points for him inside the locker room. But the bigger issue from Sunday’s win is that the offense was slow to get moving with Tua Tagovailoa back in the lineup at QB.
8. Indianapolis Colts (8-4) | Last week’s rank: 11
Suddenly, it feels like the Colts are the AFC South’s best team again. The inconsistencies of the Colts and Titans as of late have been fairly maddening.
9. Los Angeles Rams (8-4) | Last week’s rank: 12
Jared Goff played well in the triumph at Arizona and the Rams benefited from Seattle’s surprising loss to tie the Seahawks atop the NFC West. The Rams own the tiebreaker edge at this point after beating the Seahawks in L.A. last month.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) | Last week’s rank: 10
The Bucs return from their bye attempting to put things together after back-to-back losses and three defeats in their last four games. It’s now-or-never time if Tom Brady is going to turn this into a Super Bowl-contending team.
11. Tennessee Titans (8-4) | Last week’s rank: 4
Coach Mike Vrabel gave his players credit for not giving up during the loss to the Browns. The bigger issue, though, is what went so wrong to put the Titans in that situation in the first place. This once looked like a powerhouse team. At this point, it’s anything but.
12. Seattle Seahawks (8-4) | Last week’s rank: 6
The loss to the Giants was confounding and troubling. It could cost the Seahawks the NFC West title and, in effect, their season, if they end up as a wild-card team and must hit the road for the postseason.
13. Baltimore Ravens (7-5) | Last week’s rank: 14
The Ravens got Lamar Jackson back and rolled to a routine victory Tuesday night over the Cowboys. They looked much more like the Ravens of last season. Of course, it helps to be facing the Cowboys. There’s a tough game looming at Cleveland but the rest of the Ravens’ schedule down the stretch is favorable.
14. Las Vegas Raiders (7-5) | Last week’s rank: 15
East Coast games simply are not the Raiders’ thing. It’s not easy to find a way to lose to the Jets. And that’s exactly what the Raiders would have done if not for the Jets’ blitz that handed the game to Las Vegas.
15. New England Patriots (6-6) | Last week’s rank: 16
The Patriots have held things together and climbed back to .500. They managed to score 45 points against the Chargers with Cam Newton amassing only 69 passing yards. This is a very good coaching job by Bill Belichick in Year 1 of the post-Brady era.
16. New York Giants (5-7) | Last week’s rank: 17
How in the world did the Giants win a game at Seattle with Colt McCoy at QB and Alfred Morris scoring TDs? They’re the team to beat in the NFC East now, with their four straight victories and the tiebreaker advantage over Washington. The defensive performance against the Seahawks was superb.
17. Washington Football Team (5-7) | Last week’s rank: 21
Washington was the worst NFL team, based on its record, ever to beat a team that had been 11-0 or better. But that wasn’t entirely a fluke Monday in Pittsburgh. Washington played a tough, rugged game and deserved to win. The records are still embarrassing in the NFC East. But the Giants and Washington have become competitive, especially with how their defenses are playing.
18. Minnesota Vikings (6-6) | Last week’s rank: 22
The OT victory over the lowly Jaguars was considerably more interesting than it needed to be. But the Vikings’ march back to .500 and playoff contention following a 1-5 start is commendable. Their remaining schedule includes oh-so-winnable games against the Bears and Lions and more difficult matchups with the Bucs and Saints. Sunday’s game at Tampa is big for both teams.
19. Arizona Cardinals (6-6) | Last week’s rank: 13
A once-so-promising season continues to unravel with losses in three straight and four of five games. QB Kyler Murray managed to throw three TD passes in the defeat to the Rams. But the fact remains that he and the Cardinals have not been the same since he suffered that shoulder injury.
20. Detroit Lions (5-7) | Last week’s rank: 26
The Lions wasted no time getting a win after firing Matt Patricia as their coach and Bob Quinn as their GM. Perhaps they shouldn’t have waited so long to perform that housecleaning.
21. San Francisco 49ers (5-7) | Last week’s rank: 18
The first “home” game in Arizona didn’t go well as the 49ers lost Monday night to the Bills. It’s a testament to the coaching job done by Kyle Shanahan that the 49ers have remained this competitive and have stayed in the playoff race with all the injuries and other issues. But this team is simply very limited.
22. Carolina Panthers (4-8) | Last week’s rank: 24
The Panthers returned from their bye week to face coronavirus-related issues, placing eight players on their covid-19 reserve list Monday. There is little reason for optimism for a team on a 1-6 downward spiral.
23. Houston Texans (4-8) | Last week’s rank: 19
The near miss against the Colts was deflating for Deshaun Watson and the Texans. But, really, there’s not much that can be salvaged from this season gone awry.
24. Atlanta Falcons (4-8) | Last week’s rank: 20
The Falcons had two chances to face the Drew Brees-less Saints and couldn’t win either time. They’ve fared far better since Raheem Morris took over as the interim head coach. But those two losses show that the Falcons remain a long way from being good.
25. Denver Broncos (4-8) | Last week’s rank: 23
This time, the Broncos had a QB. That QB, Drew Lock, threw two interceptions in the loss Sunday night at Kansas City. He has thrown interceptions in his last seven games. It’s not no-QB-level bad. But it’s not good, either.
26. Chicago Bears (5-7) | Last week’s rank: 25
The Bears with Mitchell Trubisky back at QB are faring no better than the Bears were with Nick Foles at QB. The scrutiny has turned to the job security of Coach Matt Nagy. This is beginning to feel like there will be a major offseason overhaul.
27. Los Angeles Chargers (3-9) | Last week’s rank: 27
The 45-point loss to the Patriots further intensified the focus on the job status of Coach Anthony Lynn. His main task now is to ensure that his players don’t surrender and keep the Chargers more competitive in games than they were Sunday.
28. Dallas Cowboys (3-9) | Last week’s rank: 28
The defense surrendered 294 rushing yards during Tuesday night’s loss in Baltimore. The Ravens punctuated a late touchdown with an “Easy money!” declaration and Troy Aikman questioned the Cowboys’ effort level on the Fox broadcast. It has gotten really ugly in Dallas.
29. Philadelphia Eagles (3-8-1) | Last week’s rank: 29
Coach Doug Pederson benched Carson Wentz in favor of rookie Jalen Hurts during Sunday’s loss at Green Bay and announced Tuesday that Hurts is now the starter. It’s a fascinating decision because of Wentz’s contract and all that the Eagles invested in him, both financially and in terms of what it took to be able to draft him in the first place. It’s not often that a team sits down a QB with a $128 million deal.
30. Cincinnati Bengals (2-9-1) | Last week’s rank: 30
The hit by the Bengals on the punt return that precipitated the on-field melee with the Dolphins was clearly too early and clearly illegal. But was it a dirty hit? It’s tough to conclude that it was. It wasn’t a hit to the head or even a hit to the knees.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-11) | Last week’s rank: 31
The Jaguars nearly pulled off the upset at Minnesota before losing in OT. The “race” for the top draft choice would have become more interesting if the Jets had won Sunday. But if Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are both available, the Jaguars should be fine either way.
32. New York Jets (0-12) | Last week’s rank: 32
The Jets came dangerously close to winning a game and jeopardizing their chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft to land Trevor Lawrence. The ill-fated blitz dialed up by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams on the Raiders’ game-winning TD took care of that. Jets fans will have Williams to thank if the team drafts Lawrence. Williams, fired Monday, exits a few games earlier than, presumably, the rest of the team’s coaching staff.
