1. Carolina Panthers (11-0; Last Week- No. 2)
For the first time this season, we have a team other than the New England Patriots holding the top spot in our power rankings. And let’s be honest- the Carolina Panthers have absolutely deserved to be here themselves all season anyway.
Like the Patriots, the Panthers entered Week 12 with a 10-0 record. But unlike the Patriots, the Panthers exited Week 12 still having an undefeated season.
The Panthers went into Dallas and annihilated the Cowboys 33-14 on Thanksgiving. The main storyline coming out of the game was Tony Romo’s collarbone injury, but that also happened with the Panthers leading 30-6, after they picked Romo off three times (twice for touchdowns). Two of those interceptions — and one of the pick-sixes– were made by Luke Kuechly on consecutive Romo passes.
How good is Kuechly? The 24-year-old linebacker is currently earning the highest grade Pro Football Focus has ever given a linebacker. Like teammate Josh Norman, Kuechly has to be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year.
2. New England Patriots (10-1; Last Week- No. 1)
The Patriots can look at least close to themselves on offense with the injuries they’ve had at the running back and wide receiver positions, but losing Rob Gronkowski may be another story.
The good news for New England is Gronk may only miss one-to-two weeks after it appeared he may have suffered a season-ending knee injury.
And even better news for the Pats is they get the clown show that is the Philadelphia Eagles at home in Week 13. So, New England shouldn’t even need Gronk this week to get back in the win column after their first loss of the season.
3. Denver Broncos (9-2; Last Week- No. 5)
A massive win for the Broncos, proving to doubters — and of more importance, to themselves — that they can beat the Patriots.
It’s clear Brock Osweiler gives them a better chance to win than the 2015 Peyton Manning we’ve seen does, and CJ Anderson is starting to look like the CJ Anderson you may have used a first-round fantasy football pick on this year (but after you probably dropped him).
4. Arizona Cardinals (9-2; Last Week- No. 3)
Chris Johnson is out with a fractured fibia, and Andre Ellington’s status is up in the air with a bothersome turf toe injury.
That means rookie running back David Johnson will step in as the starter. They need the running game to be at least decent in order for Carson Palmer to continue to excel in Bruce Arians’ vertical passing attack.
5. Cincinnati Bengals (9-2; Last Week- No. 4)
Cincinnati’s defense No. 1 in the NFL in points per game allowed at just 17.5. They have allowed 10 points or less in four of their last five games.
Looking ahead on the Bengals’ schedule, the Week 16 Monday night game in Denver should be a huge one for playoff seeding. Right now those two teams would be playing for a Bye in the first round.
6. Minnesota Vikings (8-3; Last Week- No. 8)
After a disappointing performance at home to the Packers in Week 11, the Vikings went on the road to Atlanta and dominated the Falcons.
Adrian Peterson is having a ridiculous season and has turned it up a notch after many of us (raises hand) had crowned Todd Gurley as the new top running back in the NFL. We may have been wrong.
Over the last six games, Peterson has run for 732 yards on 136 carries (5.4 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. Peterson’s 1,164 rushing yards on the season are over 200 yards more than anyone else has, and his 57 first downs are nine more than anyone else has.
7. Seattle Seahawks (6-5; Last Week- No. 9)
Five touchdown passes, no interceptions, and a 147.9 QB rating for Russell Wilson in the Seahawks’ 39-30 win over the Steelers.
Seahawks-Vikings will be a fun game this week in Minnesota. If the season ended today, that would be a first-round game in the NFC Wild Card round, as the Vikings are currently the No. 3 seed and the Seahawks are currently the No. 6 seed.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5; Last Week- No. 7)
Even with an electrifying offense, it’s hard to win games when your pass defense plays as terribly as the Steelers’ did in Seattle.
9. Green Bay Packers (7-4; Last Week- No. 6)
Brett Favre night on Thanksgiving, against a rebuilding Bears team at home. That loss can’t sit well with the Packers (and it most certainly doesn’t with their fans).
It’s not just that loss that should be concerning to the Packers either; overall they’ve been playing pretty bad football over their last six games:
- They needed a goal-line stop at home in Week 6 to hold off what is now a 3-8 Chargers team.
- They followed that up with losses to the Broncos (the only game this season Peyton Manning played decently), Panthers, and then of course to the Lions at Lambeau.
- Then they finally looked like the team they were early in the season with a 30-13 win at Minnesota, but all the good feelings from that game quickly vanished with the loss to the Bears.
The Packers are still in solid playoff shape, and truthfully it’s hard for them to perform much worse than they have lately, as long as Aaron Rodgers is around. And if they can get into the playoffs, we know no one wants to face this team.
10. Indianapolis Colts (6-5; Last Week- No. 10)
Your 4-0 40-year-old Colts quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck.
11. Kansas City Chiefs (6-5; Last Week- No. 12)
After losing five straight games, the Chiefs have now won five straight games. They would be the No. 5 seed in the AFC if the season ended tonight. Remarkable turnaround by Andy Reid’s squad.
12. Houston Texans (6-5; Last Week- No. 17)
The Texans’ situation is extremely similar to the Chiefs:
- They lost their star running back for the season to injury (Arian Foster for the Texans, Jamaal Charles for the Chiefs).
- They got off to a very rough start (1-4 after five games and 2-5 after seven games).
- They followed that up with a a four-game winning streak and currently would hold the AFC’s No. 6 seed.
Texans-Colts at Indianapolis in Week 15 could essentially decide the AFC South title.
13. Chicago Bears (5-6; Last Week- No. 19)
A monumental win for the Bears at Lambeau Field puts them in the NFC Wild Card hunt. Chicago is 5-3 over their last eight games, with all of the losses being decided in the final seconds (and by a combined total of eight points).
No coaching staff has made a bigger difference on a team this year than John Fox’s has. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is doing an incredible job to get the most out of a Bears defense that features plenty of rookies and journeymen.
14. New York Jets (6-5; Last Week- No. 18)
Got back in the win column after two straight losses, and still in the thick of the AFC Wild Card race. This is a very mediocre Jets team, but then again so are most of the teams ahead of them on this list.
15. Buffalo Bills (5-6; Last Week- No. 11)
The Bills have a big game for AFC Wild Card purposes against the Texans this week. This is a talented team that looks like they are as good as anyone at times, but have just been too inconsistent.
16. Washington Redskins (5-6; Last Week- No. 23; Biggest Riser)
With their 20-14 win over the Giants, the Redskins are now technically the first-place team in the NFC East (tiebreaker over the Giants).
17. New York Giants (5-6; Last Week- No. 13)
A horrendous performance by Eli Manning in Week 12.
Two straight losses for the Giants and now a difficult schedule to finish the season: vs Jets, at Dolphins, vs Panthers, at Vikings, vs Eagles.
18. Oakland Raiders (5-6; Last Week- No. 20)
The Raiders got back in the win column after going on a three-game slide, and now have a huge Week 13 game against the Chiefs in Oakland. The two teams meet again (in Kansas City) in Week 17, and the Raiders still have games against the Broncos and Packers. So, the Raiders should consider this home game against the Chiefs to be a must-win in order to keep realistic playoff hopes alive.
19. Detroit Lions (4-7; Last Week- No. 24)
Hey, a three-game winning streak for the Lions. It’s been in impressive fashion too, with wins over the Packers, Raiders, and then a total shellacking of the Eagles on Thanksgiving.
Can they make it four straight wins and beat the Packers for the second time in the last month? We’ll find out on Thursday night for what should actually be an appreciative, loud Detroit crowd at Ford Field.
20. Atlanta Falcons (6-5; Last Week- No. 15)
Atlanta has basically played two separate seasons in 2015:
5-0 in their first five games, 1-5 in their last six games.
It’s crazy to think that not much more than a month ago we were debating if the Falcons or the Panthers were the team to beat in the NFC South.
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6: Last Week- No. 16)
The Bucs are still in the playoff race at 5-6 and have a pretty favorable schedule down the stretch: vs Falcons, vs Saints, at Rams, vs Bears, and at Panthers.
Keep in mind that the Panthers game in Week 17 could be with Carolina resting players too.
22. St. Louis Rams (4-7; Last Week- No. 21)
The Rams looked like a dangerous team at 4-3, with Todd Gurley emerging as a star rookie running back, and with an extremely talented defense. Since then, they’ve gone 0-4, and frankly look worse every week.
Nick Foles has thrown no touchdown passes and four interceptions over his last three starts, and has thrown for under 230 yards in his last nine starts. That’s not going to get it done.
23. Miami Dolphins (4-7; Last Week- No. 22)
This organization is an absolute mess.
24. San Diego Chargers (3-8; Last Week- No. 30)
It had to feel great for the Chargers to get their first win since Week 4 after how frustrating this season has been, and with injuries playing a massive part in that.
Through all of that, Philip Rivers is still having another great season: 23 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions, 100.1 QB rating.
25. New Orleans Saints (4-7; Last Week- No. 25)
We know the defense is a dumpster fire, but what happened to the offense? Just six points against the Texans in Week 12, after scoring just 14 vs the Redskins in Week 11.
Don’t look for that situation to be resolved in Week 13, as the Saints have to play the Panthers.
26. Baltimore Ravens (4-7; Last Week- No. 29)
Yeah, it was against the Browns, but that was an outstanding win for a team that has lost their starting quarterback, running back, and No. 1 wide receiver to injuries.
It was also won in hilarious fashion (video evidence at the bottom of this post).
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7; Last Week- No. 26)
Allen Robinson is quietly having an awesome season. The 22-year-old wide receiver has 55 receptions, eight touchdowns, and 927 yards receiving. He leads the NFL in receptions of 20+ yards, with 21.
28. San Francisco 49ers (3-8; Last Week- No. 29)
The 49ers are competing with Blaine Gabbert at quarterback. They hung with the Cardinals until the final minutes of Sunday’s game and have looked like a halfway decent team over the last few weeks.
29. Dallas Cowboys (3-8; Last Week- No. 14; Biggest Faller)
Just when the Cowboys had some hope with Tony Romo back, they lose him again. Now, they’re done.
30. Philadelphia Eagles (4-7; Last Week- No. 27)
Set this team on fire (please don’t actually set anyone on fire, but there will need to be some serious changes made to this team in the offseason).
31. Tennessee Titans (2-9; Last Week- No. 31)
The Titans would currently have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft. With Marcus Mariota and another top-five pick coming, this rebuild may not take too long for Tennessee.
32. Cleveland Browns (2-9; Last Week- No. 32)
Peak Browns pic.twitter.com/duSlX0Ayk0
— Matt Clapp (@Matt2Clapp) December 1, 2015
