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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/NFLPowerRankers on 2024-12-03 21:03:19+00:00.
Welcome to week 13 of the r/NFL Power Rankings! Happy Thanksgiving to the /r/NFL subreddit, the Lions have gone from a laughingstock to benefitting off the mistakes of worse-run teams. The Cowboys won their traditional game as well, with an even matchup against the Giants en route to their seventh straight loss. On the other hand, the Bills and Eagles look more in control than ever, with a 7 and 8 game win streak respectively. The Falcons have lost three straight after a strong start, whose current implosion can only be overshadowed by a depleted 49ers squad. The rest of the NFC West played one possession games, with Minnesota just eking by Arizona. The Panthers didn’t have to win a close one for Byrce to get his mojo back, will they continue to play competitively? Are the Colts and Chargers for realsies? Will Jameis’ prayers for fewer pick sixes be answered? Discuss! 31/32 Reporting
| # | Team | Δ | Record | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lions | – | 11-1 | The Lions got Matt Eberflus fired, which is terribly bittersweet. Despite (or I guess because of) whatever the hell that last play was, Detroit was able to get their first Thanksgiving day win this decade, and pick up a clutch divisional win along with it. The Lions defensive line look arguably the best it has all season in spite of injuries, consistently pressuring and sacking Caleb Williams, including one to (I guess???) seal the game with over 30 seconds left. Embodying the next man up mentality, Detroit will likely be starting at least four guys in the front seven that were not on the roster in October when Green Bay comes to town on Thursday (Za’Darius Smith, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Ezekiel Turner, and David Long Jr). They also signed Jamal Adams to the PS with intent to pull him up, which rumor has it will be for more of a LBer role. Look for more Aaron Glenn and Kerby Joseph magic to keep Detroit pacing the NFC this week, and shoutout Jack Fox and Khalil Dorsey for the craziest downed punt I’ve ever seen. | |
| 2. | Bills | – | 10-2 | Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Christmas came early for the Bills on Sunday night as they dismantled, destroyed and embarrassed the 49ers to the tune of a 35-10 victory. Josh Allen once again showed that he isn’t human with a 3 td day including a receiving (more on that later) rushing and passing touchdown. The highlight reel plays were in full effect as James Cook broke free for a 65 yard rushing touchdown the longest of his career. While that play was impressive it falters in comparison to Josh Allen’s best play of the season when he caught an unplanned lateral from Amari Cooper and dove across the pylon for 6! The dive in the snow instantly created an iconic image that surely will be looked back upon if it is truly the Bills year. With a division title in hand and a 7 game winning streak all the Bills need is for the Chiefs fluky wins to finally catch up to them. | |
| 3. | Eagles | +1 | 10-2 | Exactly 1 year ago today, the Eagles’ played a week 13 game at 4:25pm ET on CBS and ended that game with a record of 10-2. We all know how that season ended. Fast forward to today, and the Eagles sit at 10-2 after playing a week 13 game at 4:25pm ET on CBS, and the vibes could not possibly be more different. Coaches and players will often parrot the age-old line, “it’s not how you win that matters,” and while it’s a nice idea, it’s how the Eagles are winning that makes this 10-2 team feel so much better than that 10-2 team. 2023’s squad felt like it was winning games on pure talent alone, and when enough film was out on both coordinators, it wasn’t enough to eke out wins. In stark contrast, this year, the Eagles’ running scheme and defense is maximizing talent. The pass game is still leaving something to be desired, but hasn’t had many games where its top three pass catchers are out there. If there’s one nit to pick with this team, it’s the slow starts. The Eagles are the 32nd-ranked offense on the first two drives of the game, and the number 1 ranked offense on all drives after. And the defense has been getting out to slower starts, too. Usually, the first two drives are where the game plan is the most scripted, so this appears to be mostly on the coaches. But to those same coaches’ credit, the in-game adjustments have been incredible, and they have climbed out of early game holes all year. Against good teams, they can’t rely on washed-up kickers to keep them in the game for long enough to mount a comeback. Still, this team is as complete as any in the NFL, and despite the same record through 12 games as last year’s squad, the 2024 Eagles are built to compete in January. | |
| 4. | Chiefs | -1 | 11-1 | Just win Baby! Another week another stressful Chiefs victory. With this win the Chiefs continue their consecutive playoff season streak to 10, 2nd best in NFL history. If they can beat the Chargers this coming week the team will win their 9th straight division title, and guarantee a home playoff game. Unfortunately, it is becoming undeniable that the offensive line is a massive liability, but with any luck DJ Humphries will be the answer at LT and the team can get that ship righted. He should have a good test on Sunday Night Football this week, against a Chargers pass rush that has been above league average. It will also be interesting to see if our defense can continue to hold up. For several weeks the offense has had to carry the team but the roles were reversed to their early season form against the Raiders. | |
| 5. | Vikings | +1 | 10-2 | The Cardinals came out with a great game plan defensively with blitz packages and simulated pressures that had Darnold double clutching and the Vikings’ offense stalling for most of the game. Meanwhile Kyler Murray did a tremendous job finding answers for Brian Flores’ blitz packages and managed to move the ball as well as anyone has against this defense in a long time, even if Minnesota largely kept Arizona out of the end zone. But towards the end of the fourth quarter, Sam Darnold ascended into heaven, leading three straight scoring drives with lights-out pocket movement, vision and arm talent to mount a huge comeback. That’s now ten wins for a team that was predicted to only win 6 games this preseason (only the Panthers, Broncos and Patriots were predicted to win fewer games per preseason betting markets). | |
| 6. | Steelers | +2 | 9-3 | A huge shootout against a Bengals team that can score shouldn’t have defensive notes, but this game does have some. Wilson had a nice game. No, the other one. Payton Wilson, on defense. He’s really come on as of late and looks to be quite the steal of the draft for the Steelers. Boswell wasn’t perfect with a blocked kick, but Russell Wilson was doing his best to try to be. He was absolutely dealing and had plenty of help from Freiermuth and Austin, as well as Patterson who looks to be back to full speed. While there are some obvious concerns on defense, giving up that many yards and points, there’s still a tip of the cap to a Bengals team who has a dangerous offense. No one should be surprised that this contest turned into a shootout that was one of Wilson’s most prolific performances ever. If there was any doubt about Wilson’s ability to take this team to the promised land, it should be settled at this point. The Steelers have as good of a shot as anyone in the AFC to make it to the Super Bowl this year. Having a veteran QB who can manage a game as he’s done in recent weeks to win a slugfest is the versatility the Steelers have lacked for awhile now. Onward and upward! | |
| 7. | Packers | – | 9-3 | What do you guys think would have happened with LeRoy Butler if the Dolphins won on Thanksgiving? Were they gonna let LeRoy present the turkey to a non-Packer team or do you think there was a Dolphins HOFer on standby? You think Dwight Stephenson can cook a mean turkey or Jason Taylor is GOATed with the literal sauce? Maybe they’d just hype up LeRoy’s Florida connections instead? Were they that confident that Toyotathon Jordan Love would beat Cold Weather Tua? Anyways we’re 9-3 and still 3rd place in the division lmao | |
| 8. | Ravens | -3 | 8-5 | Welp, that one stung. Many will, somewhat rightfully, point the finger at Tucker but at the end of the first quarter the Ravens were leading 9-0, forced back to back 3 and outs and the Ravens offense answered with two drives totaling 1 yard and <3 minutes ToP. While early in the game that stretch really feels like a huge missed opportunity that likely cost them the game and may well cost them the AFCN. Credit to the Eagles for holding strong despite a slow start and the very apparent absence of Devonta Smith. On the bright side the Ravens defense has continued to show a shocking amount of promise for nearly a month straight now against a slate of likely playoff teams. The Ravens reach their bye week in dire need of soul searching for an offensive identity, self-scouting some abhorrent offensive guard play, and an incredibly difficult decision to make at kicker. | |
| 9. | Chargers | – | 8-4 | Have you ever been on [Expedition Everest](cdn1.parksm… |
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