Week 12 NFL Power Rankings (2019)

Playoff pictures are starting to shape up, and both conferences promise great races down the stretch. In the AFC, the Ravens and Patriots are pulling away with the first two seeds, but after that, there are numerous teams in the mix for the last four spots. In the NFC, there are five teams with eight wins or more, while the NFC East is up for grabs between the Cowboys and the Eagles. Finally, the Rams’ win over the Bears on Sunday night kept their Wild Card hopes alive for the time being.

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32) Cincinnati Bengals (Prev: 32)
The Bengals gave the Raiders all they had, but it wasn’t enough to get their first win of the season. Ryan Finley was just 13-31 for 115 yards and an interception as he tried to grow as an NFL quarterback.

31) Washington Redskins (Prev: 31)
Don’t let the final stat line fool you: Dwayne Haskins was dreadful against the Jets this week, and the Redskins were never in contention. Before two garbage-time touchdowns, Washington trailed 34-3 at home to the New York Jets. Next, they host the Lions.

30) New York Giants (Prev: 30)
The Giants were on a bye this week and will now travel to Chicago to take on the Bears and their struggling offense as they look to end their six-game losing streak.

29) Miami Dolphins (Prev: 28)
The Dolphins’ hot streak ATS came to a screeching halt this week in their home loss to the Bills. Kalen Ballage was Miami’s leading rusher, and he ran for just nine yards on nine carries. Ryan Fitzpatrick was sacked seven times in the loss.

28) New York Jets (Prev: 29)
Sam Darnold had a career day throwing for 293 yards and four touchdowns as the Jets pummeled the Redskins in Washington. Jamal Adams led the way for the defense, sacking Dwayne Haskins three times. In total, the defense sacked Haskins six times and held him to a total QBR of 12.1.

27) Arizona Cardinals (Prev: 26)
Arizona has lost four straight games, but had it not been for a touchdown that clearly wasn’t a touchdown at the end of Sunday’s game, they would have lost three of those four by four points or less. The record may be terrible, but in their first year under Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury, the Cardinals have been competitive. I’m cautiously optimistic about their future.

26) Detroit Lions (Prev: 25)
The Lions have been competitive without Matthew Stafford, but the result remains the same. They have now lost six of their last seven games, but only one of them by more than one score. Stafford was told this week that his injury would likely keep him out six weeks. With how far out of the playoff race the Lions are, is it worth bringing him back?

25) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Prev: 23)
How much longer are the Bucs going to ride Jameis Winston? He is currently second in the league in passing yards but is first in the league in interceptions with six more than second-place Baker Mayfield. He threw four interceptions against New Orleans and has thrown 13 in his last five games. Those 13 are more than any other QB all season

24) Denver Broncos (Prev: 22)
The Broncos should have won this week. They led the Vikings 20-0 heading into halftime and 23-7 going into the fourth quarter. But as has been the case for Denver all season, they found a way to lose yet again, this time by giving up 20 unanswered points in the final quarter of the game.

23) Atlanta Falcons (Prev: 27)
Imagine if the Falcons looked like this all season. In the last two weeks, their defense has given up 12 total points and zero touchdowns on the road against the two best teams in their division. They look like a completely different bunch since their bye week, and in their next three games, they will host every team in the NFC South. The odds that they make a playoff push are slim to none, but they could save Dan Quinn’s job and force teams to take them seriously heading into next season.

22) Chicago Bears (Prev: 20)
The defense did all they could, but the Bears’ offense under Mitchell Trubisky is simply terrible. After the Rams scored late in the fourth quarter to take a 17-7 lead, Matt Nagy elected to put Chase Daniel in the game. With the season slipping away, it will be interesting to see who is under center next week.

21) Jacksonville Jaguars (Prev: 19)
Nick Foles saw the field for the first time since Week 1, but the defense couldn’t stop the run, and the Jags lost yet another divisional game. Foles threw for 296 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, while the run game recorded just 29 total yards.

20) Los Angeles Chargers (Prev: 21)
Philip Rivers struggled yet again, throwing four interceptions in the Chargers’ loss to the Chiefs. Los Angeles can now win nine games at most, which makes it highly unlikely that they’ll be able to make the playoffs even if they win the rest of their games.

19) Carolina Panthers (Prev: 14)
Kyle Allen threw four interceptions and zero touchdowns as the Panthers got obliterated at home by the Falcons. It was a game they absolutely needed to win to keep pace in the incredibly competitive NFC playoff race. Despite how bad the offense was, Christian McCaffrey still had 191 total yards.

18) Cleveland Browns (Prev: 24)
The Browns’ impressive victory over the Steelers is being overshadowed by the horrific actions of Myles Garrett at the end of the game. The Browns’ schedule is easy the rest of the way, with four of their last six against teams with losing records. But they will have to do it all without Garrett, who was suspended for the rest of the season after Thursday.

17) Tennessee Titans (Prev: 18)
Four of the Titans’ last six games are against divisional opponents. The other two are against the Raiders and the Saints. If they are going to make a playoff push, it won’t be an easy task.

16) Pittsburgh Steelers (Prev: 10)
All the talk this week has been about the brawl at the end of the game and Mason Rudolph getting hit in the head with his own helmet. What no one is talking about is how horrible Rudolph’s performance was before the incident. He was 23-44 for 221 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions. The Steelers need to find an offense if they want to be contenders.

15) Houston Texans (Prev: 9)
Someone should have told the Texans that their game against Baltimore was billed as the game of the week. It was 34-0 midway through the fourth quarter before Carlos Hyde busted off a 41-yard touchdown run. The defense couldn’t stop Lamar Jackson, while Deshaun Watson and the offense looked dreadful all game. Watson was sacked six times and finished with a QBR of 9.0.

14) Buffalo Bills (Prev: 17)
Josh Allen threw three touchdowns, two to John Brown, and rushed for another as the Bills scored a season-high 37 points against the Dolphins. As a team, they rushed for 168 yards, while the defense gave up just 23 yards on the ground.

13) Indianapolis Colts (Prev: 16)
Jacoby Brissett came back from his MCL injury, and the Colts bounced back from their loss to the Dolphins with a huge divisional win over the Jaguars. They’re back atop the crowded AFC South and travel to Houston this week for a Thursday night matchup that will determine the leader of the division.

12) Los Angeles Rams (Prev: 15)
The Rams won a must-win game on Sunday night behind great defensive play and a strong performance from Todd Gurley. The passing attack continued to struggle, as Jared Goff threw for only 173 yards and an interception in the game.

11) Philadelphia Eagles (Prev: 12)
The Eagles hung tough against the Patriots, but they couldn’t get any offensive momentum going in the second half, where they failed to score a single point. Next week they host the Seahawks in a very important contest for the NFC playoff race.

10) Oakland Raiders (Prev: 13)
The Raiders didn’t look particularly good against the Bengals on Sunday, but they won the game and moved to 5-1 at home on the season. They only face one team the rest of the season who currently has a record above .500, and they are in prime position to take a Wild Card spot or possibly even the AFC West.

9) Dallas Cowboys (Prev: 11)
Dak Prescott continued his unbelievable season with 444 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday’s win over Detroit. He currently leads the league with 3,221 yards passing and, more importantly, the Cowboys lead the NFC East by one game over the Eagles.

8) Green Bay Packers (Prev: 8)
Green Bay will take on the 49ers this week in a game that could go a long way to determine home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs. A win would put Green Bay in the driver’s seat. A loss would put them in a heated race with the Vikings for the NFC North.

7) Minnesota Vikings (Prev: 7)
The Vikings pulled off a miracle comeback over the Broncos and kept their NFC North title hopes alive. They were clearly looking ahead to their bye week, but hey managed to overcome their incredibly slow start to pull out the victory. Kirk Cousins went 29-35 for 319 yards and three touchdowns, including two late in the fourth quarter.

6) Kansas City Chiefs (Prev: 6)
Patrick Mahomes threw for just 182 yards, but he added 59 on the ground, including two twenty-plus yard scampers at huge moments in the game. The defense intercepted Philip Rivers four times and gave up 93 yards on the ground.

5) New Orleans Saints (Prev: 5)
The defense intercepted Jameis Winston four times, including a pick-six by Marcus Williams, as the Saints successfully bounced back from their bad performance against Atlanta with an easy win over Tampa Bay. Drew Brees threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

4) San Francisco 49ers (Prev: 4)
The 49ers survived a back-and-forth fourth quarter to escape with a season sweep over the Cardinals. Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 424 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. The offense only rushed for 34 yards, in large part because they fell behind 16-0 early and were constantly playing catch-up.

3) Seattle Seahawks (Prev: 3)
The Seahawks’ final six games are against NFC opponents, with five of them coming against teams with playoff aspirations. It all begins this week with a game at Philadelphia.

2) Baltimore Ravens (Prev: 2)
Lamar Jackson is officially the Vegas favorite to win MVP after his performance against the Texans. The Ravens absolutely decimated Houston in a game that many thought the Texans had a chance to win. Jackson threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns and added 86 on the ground. Gus Edwards led the way rushing with eight carries for 112 yards and a touchdown.

1) New England Patriots (Prev: 1)
The Patriots’ offense struggled for most of the game, but Julian Edelman was able to throw a go-ahead touchdown pass in the third quarter, which proved to be all the Patriots’ defense needed to secure the victory. The defense gave up just 255 yards, 146 of which came on the Eagles’ two first-half scoring drives.

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