Moorhead’s NFL Power Rankings – Week 12

Week 11 like the rest of this past year is starting to feel like a blur with the holiday season upon us. That’s right baby. We got Thanksgiving games this week which means Thursday is going to be packed with action along with the weekend. Let’s not waste any more time cause there is a lot of movement from last week. Let’s get it.

#32

Detroit Lions (0-9-1)

Previous Rank – 32

The Lions dropped another loss this past weekend and it was to the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland really didn’t do anything special here either besides running the ball. Chubb and even Landry had rushing touchdowns against this bad defense. The Lions need a win badly, but I really don’t think they are gonna get it this week. They’ll face the Chicago Bears early on Thanksgiving.

#31

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8)

Previous Rank – 30

The Jaguars are starting to slide back down the power rankings here with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers. All in all, it seemed like a typical day at the office for the Jaguars. A weird offense that doesn’t make any sense added with a defense that can’t seem to stop anything. Jacksonville isn’t looking good here, and they will need to do something and fast because this week they’ll take on the Atlanta Falcons.

#30

New York Jets (2-8)

Previous Rank – 30

The Jets are the Jets and what the Jets do is suck. They dropped a loss against the Miami Dolphins this past week, but now they have another problem as their rookie running back Michael Carter got injured. Now it seems like this team might be in trouble. However, Elijah Moore continues to shine in this offense no matter who the quarterback is. They’ll play the Houston Texans this week.

#29

Houston Texans (2-8)

Previous Rank – 31

Speaking of the Texans, they fall next on our rankings moving up two spots with a huge upset win over the Tennessee Titans. Tyrod didn’t throw a touchdown or an interception, but he managed to rush two in on the ground. With some changes here and there, the Texans have a good shot at the very least trying to make for the last couple of games they have left. This week they have a decent shot at another win when they take on the Jets.

#28

New York Giants (3-7)

Previous Rank – 26

The Giants lost again this past Monday night, and it was to be expected given that they were playing the Buccaneers. However, the offense reeked of failure in this one yet again. So, they fired Jason Garrett. I don’t know if that will help them or not, but the bright side is that Saquon Barkley was on the field again. The Giants are dead last in their division, but it is not completely out of reach yet. They’ll play the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend.

#27

Seattle Seahawks (3-7)

Previous Rank – 25

It is very odd to see Seattle struggling with Russell Wilson returning, but man are they being absolute bums right now. Wilson has been terrible coming off his finger injury, Chris Carson is done for the season, and their defense is bad. I really thought this team would have stepped up by now, but they have more losses on their belt than wins. They have to get things going. They’ll face the Washington Football Team this Monday night.

#26

Chicago Bears (3-7)

Previous Rank – 24

The Bears had a shot man, dammit. In typical Bears fashion, they ended up getting close and losing this game to the Baltimore Ravens. Their defense was starting to show promise, but silly mistakes here and there cost them a win. Justin Fields also took big shots in this one to the point where he was removed from the game with rib injuries. Dalton stepped up and almost won them this won. Now, with Dalton back under center, the Bears will face the Lions early on Thanksgiving.

#25

Miami Dolphins (4-7)

Previous Rank – 28

The Dolphins are slowly getting back on track with wins over the Ravens and more recently the Jets. Now, they will look to add another win when they face off against the Carolina Panthers this weekend. Tua is still showing signs of being here and there as the face of the franchise, but this team has to still keep the pedal on full if they want to save Brian Flores’s job. Hopefully, a win over Carolina can do that.

#24

Atlanta Falcons (4-6)

Previous Rank – 23

Terrible. That is what I would describe the Falcons after their brutal loss last Thursday against the New England Patriots. Their offense was trash, their defense couldn’t stop anything, and Matt Ryan looked old and outdated. The Falcons are approaching the danger zone here with Kyle Pitts being their only weapon of choice. Patterson is looking to make a return soon which should help them, but they have to get something going here. They’ll face the Jacksonville Jaguars this week.

#23

Carolina Panthers (4-7)

Previous Rank – 22

Let me be clear here. Cam Newton was awesome in this game. It honestly feels amazing watching the veteran come back under center to his original team and still know what he is doing. However, the team did lose to the Washington Football Team so Ron Rivera gets the last laugh over Cam. The Panthers do have an opportunity though to cash in on a win this week when they play the Miami Dolphins.

#22

Washington Football Team (4-6)

Previous Rank – 27

The Washington Football Team has looked good these past two weeks with wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers. The offense looked especially better this past weekend with Terry McLaurin finally getting back on the same page with Heinicke. They will look to add another win this week when they take on the Seahawks Monday night. Their defense has to step up against Russell Wilson though in order to do that.

#21

New Orleans Saints (5-5)

Previous Rank – 12

Look, I know this might be harsh, but given that the Saints are my secondary team I am taking these games personally including this past loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. You can’t let a quarterback rush in for three touchdowns against you. This was absolutely embarrassing for their defense. The offense eventually got things going, but it wasn’t essentially until garbage time that that happened. It’s harsh, but without Kamara in the offense, it remains to be seen how they will do against Buffalo this Thursday night.

#20

Las Vegas Raiders (5-5)

Previous Rank – 14

Another team that has been dropping more losses than their fans has been the Raiders. These last couple of games have been hard to watch though with losses coming to the Giants, Chiefs, and now the Bengals. Again, there are a lot of things going on with the organization, but they have been able to overcome those odds in the past. Sadly, it just hasn’t been the case as of late. Hopefully, they can get back on track as they will face the Dallas Cowboys this Thanksgiving.

#19

Denver Broncos (5-5)

Previous Rank – 18

I never like to drop teams on bye weeks, but with the way, the Eagles played last weekend against the Saints and the fact the Eagles beat the Broncos two weeks ago, it almost makes sense ya know? The Broncos though are coming off their bye week and will have a tough matchup this weekend when they face the Los Angeles Chargers. The Charges have been playing well as of late so we will see how this one goes.

#18

Philadelphia Eagles (5-6)

Previous Rank – 21

What a performance by Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. They absolutely smashed the Saints, especially on the run. Hurts had his best rushing performance of the season with three rushing touchdowns in this game. Miles Sanders returned as well and had his best rushing performance as well. The defense has also been shaping up to be better. Hurts is campaigning to make sure everybody knows who he is, and they’ll get another chance to get another win when they face the Giants this week.

#17

Minnesota Vikings (5-6)

Previous Rank – 20

What a game this was, right? It was a pure shootout between the Packers and the Vikings in a huge divisional matchup. We finally saw the Vikings run game come back into effect and they were even more deadly through the air with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen killing it. The Vikings are becoming a very sneaky team, and they should be considered armed and dangerous moving forward. They will face the San Francisco 49ers this weekend.

#16

San Francisco 49ers (5-5)

Previous Rank – 19

The 49ers are coming back into style baby. They don’t have a great running back to work with this week. No problem, let’s use Deebo Samuel to run the ball, and he even ran one in. That gave Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle the opportunity to land some great touchdowns in this game. The 49ers are shaping up to be something special here folks. They will look for another chance at glory when they take on the Minnesota Vikings this week.

#15

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4-1)

Previous Rank – 13

It is very frustrating being a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. You know that they are good. You know that they have the talent. Yet somehow, they manage to only show up during the second half of games. They were down a significant amount of points to the Chargers last Sunday night, but they managed to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. The problem was that they pissed it away on one blown coverage play that let Mike Williams walk in for the score. Ben did look good though so let’s see if the Lers can back on track this week with a matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

#14

Cleveland Browns (6-5)

Previous Rank – 16

This game was close, but the Browns managed to get a win over the winless Lions. Baker was awful yet again as he continues to deal with multiple injuries. This game belonged to the run game and the defense yet again as they put massive pressure against the Lions. The Browns now look forward to a divisional matchup with the Baltimore Ravens this week.

#13

Cincinnati Bengals (6-4)

Previous Rank – 17

The Bengals didn’t look great here, but you don’t need to play great to knock off the Raiders these days apparently. The Bengals run game looked amazing in this one with Joe Mixon getting over 100 yards and two touchdowns on the day. The defense stepped up as well. Now they will be facing the Steelers for the second time this week. There are reports that Watt and the rest of the defense will be up to 100% so let’s see how Burrow and company deal with that.

#12

Buffalo Bills (6-4)

Previous Rank – 7

This was bad. The Bills got their asses completely handed to them this past week allowing Colts running back Jonathan Taylor to get five total touchdowns on the day, something that has never been done before in the entire NFL. The Bills offense looked atrocious with Josh Allen trying to play at his best. Has the NFL figured out Josh Allen and company? That is the question that everyone wants to be answered. They’ll play the New Orleans Saints this Thursday.

#11

Indianapolis Colts (6-5)

Previous Rank – 15

This was a huge win for the Colts. Jonathan Taylor looked like a freak of nature in this game with five total touchdowns against the Bills. The rest of the offense did okay, but the defense stood its ground once again against one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL; Josh Allen. The Colts look to be on track to doing something amazing things this season. Let’s see how they do when they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week.

#10

Los Angeles Chargers (6-4)

Previous Rank – 11

The Chargers move back into the top ten this week with a much-needed win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday night. It was a huge game as the Chargers’ offense played with no limits as Austin Ekeler and Mike Williams thrived in the endzone and Keenan Allen doing damage throughout the middle. The defense let up more yardage through the air than on the ground so that was interesting, but overall it was a great win for them. They’ll take on the Denver Broncos this week.

#9

Kansas City Chiefs (7-4)

Previous Rank – 9

A win is a win, but damn this was a very underselling performance by both parties in this one. Mahomes looked bad, and the offense just couldn’t get anything going. The defense did do its job though stopping Prescott and the Cowboys in their tracks. Again, nothing really special in this one so the Chiefs will now go on their bye week to address some much-needed issues that they have.

#8

New England Patriots (7-4)

Previous Rank – 10

The Pats showed their dominance yet again this past Thursday with a one-sided win over the Atlanta Falcons. Their defense had four total interceptions on the day, and they continue to be one of the most elite units in the AFC. Mac Jones also looked good despite the interception, and it seems like a pecking order now needs to be established between running backs Damien Harris and Rhamandre Stevenson. They’ll face the Tennessee Titans this week.

#7

Baltimore Ravens (7-3)

Previous Rank – 8

Winning a game without Lamar was a tough challenge to accept, but Tyler Huntley and the Ravens were able to pull off a very close victory over the Chicago Bears. Their defense showed some big holes here as they allowed Andy Dalton to almost win this game. Now the Ravens will look to have Lamar under center for this week’s contest. They will need him too because this week they will face the Cleveland Browns.

#6

Dallas Cowboys (7-3)

Previous Rank – 4

Okay, what is going on with the Cowboys all of a sudden. Granted, they didn’t have Amari Cooper as he was on the COVID list, and CeeDee Lamb has been dealing with some injury issues, but man this was underwhelming, to say the least against the Chiefs. Even without some weapons, they will look to get a much-needed win this week as they will play the Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving Day.

#5

Los Angeles Rams (7-3)

Previous Rank – 5

The Rams are coming off their bye week, and they desperately need a win here after two very bad performances against the Titans and 49ers. This week they will get the Green Bay Packers. The Rams will look to try to expose that Green Bay secondary with their weapons and hopefully come out a victor. Stafford just needs to stop making stupid mistakes in order to make that happen.

#4

Tennessee Titans (8-3)

Previous Rank – 1

Wow…Just wow. I don’t understand people. As soon as I put Tennessee at the number one spot, they drop one of the ugliest losses of the season with a loss against the Houston Texans. Tannehill threw four interceptions in this one. Four interceptions against the Texans. I just wanted to repeat that because I thought someone was kidding when they said that. This offense did not get anything going and their defense suffered greatly for it. The Titans will take on the Patriots this week.

#3

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3)

Previous Rank – 6

The Bucs are back in the drive and power mentality with a win over the New York Giants on Monday night. Brady did get picked once, but overall this offense looked back in sync, and their defense stopped Danny Dimes and company in their tracks. The Buccaneers will now have a more challenging opponent this week when they take on Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts.

#2

Green Bay Packers (8-3)

Previous Rank – 2

Despite the loss against the Vikings, the Packers will stay at the number two slot for now. Their offense was on track for great numbers though as Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdowns in this contest. Davante Adams got back on track with over 100 yards and two of those scores. Their defense didn’t show up this one though I guess. They will need to do better for this week as they’ll take on the Los Angeles Rams.

#1

Arizona Cardinals (9-2)

Previous Rank – 3

Back to number one they go. The Cardinals put up a big victory against the Seahawks without some big names yet again. No Kyler Murray, No DeAndre Hopkins, No problem. Zach Ertz felt right in this offense with two touchdowns on the day, and James Conner was found in the endzone yet again. Hopefully, with the bye week this week, they will be able to give Murray and Hopkins the rest they need to get back on the field.

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