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Week 13 of the 2017 NFL regular season schedule is in the books. Now it's time to see where all 32 teams rank. For reference purposes, here is a link to last week's NFL Power Rankings.
BLG's WEEK 14 NFL POWER RANKINGS
1 - New England Patriots (Last Week: 2) - There’s a new No. 1 this week. The Patriots didn’t get off to the fastest start this season but they’ve since rounded into form. Eight wins in a row. One thing I will say: I don’t think their record is merely inflated by weak opponents, but I do think it’s been quite some time since they’ve faced a really tough challenge. Just look at their schedule.
2 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 3) - The Vikings keep on winning. Going down to Atlanta to beat a hot Falcons team is impressive.
3 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 1) - After blowing out a bunch of bad teams, the Eagles went to Seattle and made too many mistakes against a good team. It was an uncharacteristic performance from the Eagles. Doug Pederson lacked aggression and Carson Wentz wasn’t as sharp as he needed to be. Wentz’s fumble at the goal line for a touchback ended up being a 14-point swing. That’s how much the Eagles ended up losing by.
With their loss to the Seahawks yesterday, the Eagles are now the first team to ever lose a football game in NFL history.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) December 4, 2017
4 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 4) - The Steelers have won seven in a row since getting blown out at home by Jacksonville. Some of their games against lesser competition have been close, which is something to consider. On a separate note, here’s hoping Ryan Shazier is OK. Football is scary, man.
5 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 5) - The Rams have bounced back nicely after losing in Minnesota. They’re still first in the NFC West and they’ll need to keep winning in order to keep Seattle behind them.
6 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 6) - New Orleans is clearly the best team in the NFC South. Also one of the biggest threats in the NFC.
7 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 9) - Russell Wilson is really freaking good. He played a big part in the Seahawks being able to take down the best team in the NFL. Seattle is back in the NFC playoff picture with their big win.
8 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 10) - Must feel nice for the Jags to dominate Indianapolis after all those years of losing to Peyton Manning. Jacksonville beat Indy by a combined score of 57 to 10 in their two matchups this year.
9 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 11) - The Bolts are probably the best team in the AFC West. They can win this thing if they don’t choke down the stretch.
10 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 7) - Not a big believer in this Panthers team. They’re above average, but they don’t belong among the league’s elite.
11 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 8) - Dan Quinn’s decision to kick a field goal late in the game against Minnesota was soft as can be. It was frustrating how FOX kept showing Matt Bryant on the screen, as if it was his fault the Falcons lost. They should have been blasting Quinn instead.
12 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 13) - The advanced metrics really like the Ravens. Baltimore ranks sixth overall in DVOA, mostly thanks to their strong defense and special teams unit.
13 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 14) - The Titans are first in the AFC South, but they’re not very inspiring. Tennessee ranks 17th in point differential. They’re the only team with a winning record and a negative point differential, which probably indicates they’re worse than their record suggests.
14 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 17) - Dallas is still alive in the playoff picture after beating Washington on Thursday night. The Cowboys should really send Washington a “Thank You” card for gifting them that game.
15 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 19) - The Packers are 6-6 heading into a Week 14 game against a winless Cleveland team. They could very well be 7-6 with Aaron Rodgers returning before the season’s end. He returned to practice over the weekend.
16 - Detroit Lions (LW: 12) - Detroit’s playoff chances have taken a hit after two straight losses. Matthew Stafford is banged up with some nagging injuries, which doesn’t help matters.
17 - Oakland Raiders (LW: 20) - The Raiders are still in the mix for the AFC West. Oakland is 3-1 in their last four.
18 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 16) - No match for big brother (New England). Buffalo is 1-4 in their last five. The playoff drought is bound to continue.
19 - Washington Redskins (LW: 15) - Washington looked like they were the better team early on against Dallas, but then they choked the game away early on with a ton of dumb turnovers. With injuries taking a toll, they could never recover from there.
20 - New York Jets (LW: 23) - Who thought the Jets would make it to five wins this season? And there’s still four games left.
21 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 18) - The “definition of insanity” quote comes to mind when thinking about Marvin Lewis.
22 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 21) - The Cards don’t lack effort but they’re not going anywhere with Blaine Gabbert as their starting quarterback.
23 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 22) - Man. What’s going on with Big Red? Four losses in a row now. Probably time to go to Patrick Mahomes, though that won’t fix KC’s defensive issues.
24 - Houston Texans (LW: 24) - Too many key injuries has created a wasted year for the Texans.
25 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 25) - Jameis? More like JameISN’T. Or Jameis LOSEton. Or Jameis Loses-a-ton. But yeah, Jameis Winston’s not looking good.
26 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 30) - The 49ers won another game! Jimmy Garoppolo had a promising 49ers debut.
27 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 31) - Miami finally found a team worse than they are! And they kicked the crap out of them.
28 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 27) - Wasted season.
29 - Chicago Bears (LW: 26) - The good news is that Mitchell Trubisky had his best game of the season, per John Fox. The bad news is that Mitchell Trubisky’s best game of the season looked like this: 12/15, 108 yards, 1 TD.
30 - New York Giants (LW: 28) - Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese are gone. The Giants are cleaning house and starting over.
31 - Denver Broncos (LW: 29) - John Elway probably hasn’t received enough criticism for how bad this team has become. Eight losses in a row for Denver.
32 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 32) - You know what time it is.
The Cleveland Browns are 1-27 since passing on Carson Wentz.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) December 4, 2017