Week 14 NFL Power Rankings: Lions Still Reign Despite Chicago Scare
Week 14 of the NFL season fully puts teams into playoff race mode and also lays out which teams, in particular, are the best in the league. With a nail-biter Thanksgiving win over the Chicago Bears that was also partially helped by the worst clock management in football history, the Detroit Lions remain the kings of the NFL, even with a tougher schedule stretch on the horizon. So, who else joins the silver and blue cats?
Bills (10-2, def SF 35-10)
Buffalo all but wrapped up the AFC East divisional title, giving themselves an early Christmas present after their dominant 35-10 win over the Niners on a very snowy Sunday Night Football. San Francisco lost star RB Christian McCaffery to injury yet again, and on top of that, they’re down to rookie RB Isaac Guerendo, who is usually their third-string back since McCaffery’s backup, the reputable Jordan Mason landed on IR as well, with other knee problems. McCaffery’s PCL injury sees him miss the next six weeks, which is honestly the remainder of the season. Unlike the Lions, the Niners will see their playoff chances go away after this week.
Eagles (10-2, def BAL 24-19)
A gritty victory in a game between the AFC’s and NFC’s top teams, barring the Lions, of course, Philadelphia continued their now eight-game win streak with a close one against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Despite less than 150 yards total from both QB Jalen Hurts and RB Saquon Barkley, who for once didn’t run over an opposing defense, the Eagles took clear advantage of Baltimore’s kicking mishaps from a very uncharacteristic game by the once-automatic Justin Tucker.
The Eagles should improve to 11-2 on the season as they face Carolina back at home this week before their interstate duel with a surprising Pittsburgh Steelers team in two weeks’ time.
Chiefs (11-1, def LV 19-17)
For the third week in a row, Kansas City picks up a rather ugly win against their biggest historical rivals in the Raiders. Sure, it got them a well-important playoff spot, but that’s just it about the Chiefs. They really haven’t played like a team with their record has, compared to, say, Philadelphia or the Lions. And they especially don’t play like a two-time defending Super Bowl champion would. Yes, there is a saying that defense wins championships, but that’s got a kicker of its own- it also has the offense not slog through most of the regular season like what has essentially become the norm the last few weeks.
As a Chiefs fan myself, that gets increasingly frustrating to watch. Something needs to change, or the Chiefs will most likely get bounced in the wild-card round or maybe the Divisional if they’re fortunate enough. And no, getting there because of favorable calls doesn’t count!
Vikings (10-2, def ARI 23-22)
The Lions didn’t win this week’s only nailbiter, with Minnesota also prevailing in a game you wouldn’t have expected one of the NFL’s early contenders to escape within such fashion. That’s because the game was also boring as all get out, with neither team reaching the end zone until late in the third quarter. Before all that, the Vikings and Cardinals put on a kicking clinic, which the average NFL fan wouldn’t really enjoy. Minnesota had two touchdowns at the very least, while Arizona had one, a 15-yard sling to WR Marvin Harrison with less than five minutes left in Q3.
The Vikings used to be one of the NFL’s top teams back in the early weeks. Apparently, the Lions loss really damaged them.
Rounding out the remaining top 10 for this week’s power rankings are the Green Bay Packers, with a convincing 30-17 win over the Miami Dolphins in the final Thanksgiving game, a week after they similarly decimated a decrepit Niners team behind RB Josh Jacobs. The earlier mentioned Steelers also make an appearance in the top 10, their most recent contest a close-fought and high-scoring affair with the Cincinnati Bengals, winning 44-38. The Chargers and Broncos round out the top 10 with their wins, while the Ravens drop three spots, no thanks in part to their unprecedented kicking struggles. It’s not all Tucker’s fault, however, unlike the many online fans who certainly think so.
The Detroit Lions remain at the top of the league, however, despite a tough upcoming schedule against other NFC North foes and a slew of interesting matchups for the team that was once the laughingstock of the NFL.
Related: Is Justin Tucker Solely Responsible for Ravens’ Struggles?
