Analysis
12/6/22
13 min read
NFL Week 14 Power Rankings: Eagles Reclaim Top Spot
The Eagles are 11-1 for the fourth time in franchise history and for the first time since 2004. While that doesn't guarantee them anything going forward, it has elevated them to the top spot in The 33rd Team's weekly power rankings for the second time this season.
Their impressive dismantling of Derrick Henry and the Titans (7-5), coupled with the Chiefs' three-point loss to the Bengals, moved the Eagles back to No. 1. They were in the top spot briefly last month until a loss to Washington got them evicted.
The Chiefs (9-3) slid to fourth after losing to the Bengals (8-4) for the third straight time in less than a year. The Bengals, who have lost to the Steelers, Browns, Ravens and Cowboys this season, moved up from seventh to sixth.
The Bills (9-3), who skated past the Patriots (6-6) on Thursday night, moved up from third to second. The Cowboys (9-3), who scored 33 points in the fourth quarter of a runaway win over the spiraling Colts (4-8-1), jumped from fourth to third, their highest ranking of the season.
The Eagles and Cowboys play each other for the second time on Christmas Eve. The Eagles won the first meeting, 26-17.
The 49ers (8-4) held on to the No. 5 spot in the rankings with an impressive 33-17 win over the Dolphins (8-4). The win, their fifth straight, came with a stiff price, however. They lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the season.
Rounding out the top 10 are the Bengals, the Vikings (10-2) — who dropped from sixth to seventh after a harder-than-expected five-point win over the Jets (7-5) — the Ravens (8-4) — who moved up from 10th to eighth with an uninspiring 10-9 win over the Broncos (3-9) — the Titans and the Dolphins.
1. Philadelphia Eagles (11-1)
Previous: 2 | Last week: W 35-10 v. Titans| This week: at 7-4-1 Giants
Good news: Jalen Hurts threw for three touchdowns and ran for another against a Titans defense that hadn't given up more than 20 points since Week 3.
Bad news: The Eagles committed a season-high 12 penalties against Tennessee, including seven – that's right seven – false starts at home by an offensive line considered one of the two or three best in the NFL.
2. Buffalo Bills (9-3)
Previous: 3 | Last week: W 24-10 at Patriots| This week: v. Jets
Good news: The Bills are finally starting to utilize running backs Devin Singletary and James Cook. They've combined for 100-plus rushing yards in two of the Bills' last three games.
Bad news: Josh Allen had just his fifth game without an interception against the Patriots, but still committed his 15th turnover (fumble).
3. Dallas Cowboys (9-3)
Previous: 4 | Last week: W 54-19 v. Colts| This week: v. 1-10-1 Texans
Good news: Their 21 takeaways, including five against the Colts on Sunday, are the second most in the league.
Bad news: Despite outscoring their last three opponents 122-42, catching the Eagles in the NFC East may be a bridge too far with five games left.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (9-3)
Previous: 1 | Last week: L 24-27 at Bengals| This week: at 3-9 Broncos
Good news: Just one of the Chiefs' five remaining games is against a team with a winning record. So, AFC home-field advantage in the playoffs remains a good possibility.
Bad news: The Chiefs are 1-3 when they've been held to 24 points or less.
5. San Francisco 49ers (8-4)
Previous: 5 | Last week: W 33-17 v. Dolphins| This week: v. 6-6 Bucs
Good news: Losing Jimmy Garoppolo is a significant blow, but the 49ers have a running game and defense that may overcome it. San Francisco has given up just 57 points during their five-game win streak.
Bad news: The 49ers are 16th in red zone offense (53.7%). They've converted just 12 of 24 trips inside the 20-yard line into touchdowns in their last six games.
6. Cincinnati Bengals (8-4)
Previous: 7 | Last week: W 27-24 v. Chiefs| This week: v. 5-7 Browns
Good news: Joe Burrow has been on fire. He's thrown 16 TD passes and just three interceptions in his seven games. The Bengals have won six of those seven. And remember when he was getting sacked all the time? That's not happening nearly as much lately. He's been sacked just four times in the last three games.
Bad news: They've lost three of four games against division (NFC North) opponents.
7. Minnesota Vikings (10-2)
Previous: 6 | Last week: W 27-22 v. Jets| This week: at 5-7 Lions
Good news: The Vikings are just one game behind the Eagles in the battle for the NFC home-field advantage and play only one more game against a team with a winning record (7-4-1 Giants).
Bad news: They've given up 118 points in their last four games. The Jets racked up 486 yards against them Sunday.
8. Baltimore Ravens (8-4)
Previous: 10 | Last week: W 10-9 v. Broncos| This week: at 5-7 Steelers
Good news: Lamar Jackson's knee injury isn't expected to be season-ending, but he likely will miss multiple games.
Bad news: Jackson's replacement, Tyler Huntley, has lost three of his four career NFL starts.
9. Tennessee Titans (7-5)
Previous: 8 | Last week: L 10-35 at Eagles| This week: v. 4-8 Jaguars
Good news: Even with the loss to the Eagles, the Titans still have a comfortable three-game lead in the AFC South.
Bad news: Henry was held to 30 yards on 11 carries by the Eagles. In the Titans' last four games, he's averaging just 2.8 yards per carry.
10. Miami Dolphins (8-4)
Previous: 9 | Last week: L 17-33 at 49ers| This week: at 6-6 Chargers
Good news: The Dolphins don't lose to slop. The combined record of the four teams that have beaten them is 33-15.
Bad news: Tua Tagovailoa, who hadn't thrown an interception in the previous five games, threw two in the second half Sunday and is nursing an ankle injury.
11. New York Jets (7-5)
Previous: 12 | Last week: L 22-27 at Vikings| This week: at 9-3 Bills
Good news: The defense held Kirk Cousins to 173 passing yards and a puny 4.9 yards per attempt.
Bad news: The Jets were just 1-for-6 in the red zone, including three swings and misses inside the 20-yard line in the fourth quarter. They've converted just six of 20 red zone opportunities into TDs in their last seven games.
12. Seattle Seahawks (7-5)
Previous: 16 | Last week: W 27-23 at Rams| This week: v. 4-8 Panthers
Good news: Geno Smith has thrown multiple touchdown passes in 10 of the Seahawks' 12 games, including three against the Rams.
Bad news: The Seahawks gave up 171 yards rushing to a Rams offense averaging 87.3 per game. They've given up 615 yards rushing in the last three games.
13. Washington Commanders (7-5-1)
Previous: 13 | Last week: T 20-20 at Giants| This week: bye
Good news: Their defense will get a massive boost after the bye with the return of defensive end Chase Young.
Bad news: Even though Washington has lost just once in Taylor Heinicke's seven starts, it's still been a struggle for the offense to score points. They've scored more than 23 points just once since Week 2.
14. NY Giants (7-4-1)
Previous: 15 | Last week: T 20-20 v. Commanders| This week: v. 11-1 Eagles
Good news: The Giants would be the second NFC wildcard team if the season ended today.
Bad news: Saquon Barkley has gone quiet at the worst possible time. He has averaged just 56.3 rushing and receiving yards and 3.1 yards per touch in the last three games.
15. Tampa Bay Bucs (6-6)
Previous: 17 | Last week: W 17-16 v. Saints| This week: at 8-4 49ers
Good news: The Buccaneers have a two-game lead in the NFC South after Tom Brady engineered the 44th fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
Bad news: Brady and the Bucs are 27th in the league in scoring (18.1). They’ve scored more than 22 points in a game once all season.
16. New England Patriots (6-6)
Previous: 11 | Last week: L 10-24 v. Titans| This week: at 4-8 Cardinals
Good news: The Patriots' defense is second in the league in sacks with 39.
Bad news: Their offense is harder to watch than I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
17. Los Angeles Chargers (6-6)
Previous: 14 | Last week: L 20-27 at Raiders| This week: v. 8-4 Dolphins
Good news: Even with the loss to the Raiders, the Chargers still are in the playoff hunt but have challenging back-to-back games against the 8-4 Dolphins and 7-5 Titans up next.
Bad news: The Chargers have lost four of their last six games. They've averaged just 21.8 points per game in those six games. That's six points less than they averaged a year ago.
18. Green Bay Packers (5-8)
Previous: 19 | Last week: W 28-19 at Bears| This week: bye
Good news: Rookie WR Christian Watson has seven touchdown catches in the last four games.
Bad news: Aaron Rodgers' nine interceptions are his most since 2010.
19. Detroit Lions (5-7)
Previous: 24 | Last week: W 40-14 v. Jaguars| This week: v. 10-2 Vikings
Good news: The Lions have won four of their previous five games. Their only loss in those five games was by three points to the 9-3 Bills.
Bad news: The defense has struggled on third down and in the red zone. They're 31st on third down (48.6%) and 28th in the red zone (66.7%).
20. Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
Previous: 25 | Last week: W 27-20 v. Chargers| This week: at 3-9 Rams
Good news: Josh Jacobs rushed for 144 yards against the Chargers and leads the NFL in rushing with 1,303 yards. He has a chance to become the first Raider to win the league rushing title since Marcus Allen in 1985.
Bad news: The Raiders' nine takeaways are the second-fewest in the league.
21. Cleveland Browns (5-7)
Previous: 22 | Last week: W 27-14 at Texans| This week: at 8-4 Bengals
Good news: Deshaun Watson made his first start in almost two years.
Bad news: He played like a guy making his first start in almost two years.
22. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-7)
Previous: 26 | Last week: W 19-16 at Falcons| This week: v. 8-4 Ravens
Good news: The Steelers have quietly won three of their previous four games. Yeah, those wins were against the Saints, Colts and Falcons. But Mike Tomlin has no plans to throw them back.
Bad news: Kenny Pickett, who threw 42 touchdown passes at Pitt last year, has thrown just four in nine games with the Steelers.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8)
Previous: 20 | Last week: L 14-40 at Lions| This week: at 7-5 Titans
Good news: Trevor Lawrence hasn't thrown an interception in six of the previous seven games.
Bad news: The defense has given up 94 points and 1,338 yards in the last three games.
24. Arizona Cardinals (4-8)
Previous: 23 | Last week: bye| This week: v. Patriots
Good news: They're still very much in the running for a top-5 draft pick.
Bad news: Their defense is a hot mess. They've given up 28.2 points per game in the last six games and have allowed a league-high 24 touchdown passes, 16 of them over the previous six games.
25. Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1)
Previous: 18 | Last week: L 19-54 at Cowboys| This week: bye
Good news: The bye will give Jeff Saturday some extra time to figure out how many of his players quit on him in the fourth quarter Sunday.
Bad news: They've got the Vikings, Chargers and Giants after the bye.
26. Atlanta Falcons (5-8)
Previous: 21 | Last week: L 16-19 v. Steelers| This week: bye
Good news: Rookie WR Drake London had his best game as a pro, catching six passes for 95 yards.
Bad news: Marcus Mariota has averaged just 157.4 yards passing per game and 6.4 yards per attempt in the Falcons' last five games. They've won one of those five games.
27. New Orleans Saints (4-9)
Previous: 27 | Last week: L 16-17 at Bucs| This week: bye
Good news: Andy Dalton has a 71.9 completion percentage and has averaged 8.4 yards per attempt in the Saints’ last three games.
Bad news: The Saints scored a total of 43 points in those three games and lost two of them.
28. Los Angeles Rams (3-9)
Previous: 28 | Last week: L 23-27 v. Seahawks| This week: v. 5-7 Raiders
Good news: Sean McVay can now go to dinner in LA without being bothered by people who want to take a selfie with him.
Bad news: Rams QBs have been sacked 42 times already. That's tied for the second most in the league.
29. Carolina Panthers (4-8)
Previous: 29 | Last week: bye| This week: at 7-5 Seahawks
Good news: The Panthers have won two of their last three games and have given up just 38 points in those three games. Yeah, it was the Falcons, Ravens and Broncos, but beggars can't be choosers.
Bad news: Their improved play and a winnable homestretch schedule will make it more difficult for them to get a top quarterback in the draft next spring.
30. Denver Broncos (3-9)
Previous: 30 | Last week: L 9-10 at Ravens| This week: v. 9-3 Chiefs
Good news: They have one of the best defenses of any 3-9 team in recent history. And yes, that and $15 will get you a grande latte at Starbucks.
Bad news: The only two quarterbacks in the league with a lower touchdown percentage than the Broncos' Russell Wilson are the Jets' Zach Wilson and Pickett. $245 million doesn't get you what it used to.
31. Chicago Bears (3-9)
Previous: 31 | Last week: L 19-28 v. Packers| This week: bye
Good news: Cancun, here they come.
Bad news: The 11-1 Eagles and 9-3 Bills will be waiting for them after they return.
32. Houston Texans (1-10-1)
Previous: 32 | Last week: L 14-27 v. Browns| This week: at 9-3 Cowboys
Good news: With 788 yards, rookie Dameon Pierce is on pace to become the Texans' first 1,000-yard rusher since Carlos Hyde in 2019.
Bad news: They haven't scored more than 17 points in a game since mid-October.
