1. New England Patriots (10-1)
Every week the Patriots seem to come up with huge plays on defense and special teams to put just enough points on the board. With the most disciplined defense in the NFL, it’s been close to a lock that New England holds on to those leads.
2. New Orleans Saints (9-2)
The Saints defense has struggled a bit over the last three weeks with top CB Marshon Lattimore either hobbled or inactive. When he’s a full go, this is still the most complete team in the NFC.
3. Baltimore Ravens (9-2)
The Ravens handled their business at the Rams before flying home to prepare for the 49ers on a short week.
4. San Francisco 49ers (10-1)
Does the 49ers defense dominating against Aaron Rodgers say more about Robert Saleh’s unit or Green Bay’s offensive struggles? We’ll find out next week when the Niners try to contain MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
5. Seattle Seahawks (9-2)
It was a less than convincing offensive performance by the Seahawks in Philadelphia, but any time a West Coast team wins a 1 p.m. road game on the east coast it’s a big victory. Tyler Lockett (leg) needs to get back to full speed for Seattle to make noise in the playoffs.
6. Kansas City Chiefs (7-4)
Perhaps Kansas City will work out some of its defensive issues during its bye week. They’ll have a warm-up divisional game against backsliding Oakland before the big showdown at New England in Week 14.
7. Minnesota Vikings (8-3)
The door is now open for the Vikings to wrestle the NFC North crown away from the Packers, but first they’ll have to try and survive a Monday night tilt in Seattle.
8. Green Bay Packers (8-3)
Aaron Rodgers was under constant duress and the Packers run defense sprung leaks once again in a blowout loss at San Francisco. They should be able to rebound with cupcake matchups against the Giants and Redskins on tap.
9. Dallas Cowboys (6-5)
It’s hard to read anything into the result at Gillette Stadium this past Sunday in an absolute deluge. Amari Cooper’s health remains a mystery and the coaching is suspect as always, but Dallas has as much talent as any team in football.
10. Houston Texans (7-4)
Trading for help in the secondary (Gareon Conley) after trading for help on the offensive line (Laremy Tunsil) shows that the Texans believe they have a chance to compete for an AFC title. Getting Will Fuller back to complement DeAndre Hopkins gives them a chance.
11. Philadelphia Eagles (5-6)
The Eagles defense continued to make strides, however the offense was impotetent once again with Alshon Jeffery (ankle) and Nelson Agholor (knee) unable to suit up in a loss to Seattle.
12. Buffalo Bills (8-3)
Josh Allen is playing relatively turnover-free football and the Bills defense turned it up in a home matchup against the Broncos on Sunday. That unit will be put through the ringer in the coming weeks beginning with a Thanksgiving game at Dallas.
13. Indianapolis Colts (6-5)
Jonathan Williams stepped right in for Marlon Mack (hand) last Thursday and carried the mail in a narrow loss. The Colts are one of the most conservative teams in the NFL and that gives them a chance against any opponent, while also leaving them vulnerable against any opponent.
14. Los Angeles Chargers (4-7)
Even at 4-7, the Chargers aren’t out of the playoff race and the return of elite safety Derwin James could help spark a four-game winning streak as they come out of their bye against some beatable opponents.
15. Los Angeles Rams (6-5)
The Rams defense had looked quite solid against the run … until they were exposed on Monday night against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
16. Tennessee Titans (6-5)
The Titans laid an absolute beatdown on the Jaguars and are now 5-1 with Ryan Tannehill starting at quarterback. Their defense now ranks fourth in DVOA rush defense and has held the last three QBs they’ve faced not named Patrick Mahomes to under 300 yards passing.
17. Cleveland Browns (5-6)
Moving on without Myles Garrett this season, the Browns turned in a solid defensive effort against the lowly Dolphins. More importantly, Baker Mayfield finally seemed to be on the same page with his elite duo of LSU alums, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr.
18. Atlanta Falcons (3-8)
Injury-prone Julio Jones took another stinger and the Falcons offensive line was pretty much a no show in a bad home loss to Tampa. Revenge may be around the corner with the Saints coming to town on Thanksgiving night.
19. Carolina Panthers (5-6)
Certainly an admirable effort from the Panthers to lose on a last-second field goal in New Orleans. Christian McCaffrey has been a problem for opposing defenses, and now the Panthers have a reliable downfield threat in D.J. Moore.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
Pittsburgh’s offense understandably struggled with JuJu Smith-Schuster (ribs) and James Conner (shoulder) out against the Bengals and Mason Rudolph played so poorly he was benched. Still, the Steelers defense is one of the best units out there.
21. New York Jets (4-7)
Blowing out the Redskins is one thing, but the Jets absolutely shredded the Raiders in Week 12 to secure their third win in four weeks. Sam Darnold has regained his confidence and Gang Green is picking up momentum towards the end of a rough season.
22. Oakland Raiders (6-5)
The Raiders are just the type of west coast team to lay an egg on the east coast in the 1 p.m. time slot. Oakland still has a good body of work and will look to put that loss in the rearview quickly with Kansas City visiting next Sunday.
23. Tampa Bay Bucs (4-7)
While Jameis Winston is still struggling with ball security, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are such an explosive tandem that Tampa’s offense keeps rolling. Meanwhile, their pass defense may finally be catching up to an elite run-stopping front.
24. Chicago Bears (5-6)
Mitchell Trubisky did enough to edge the Giants, 19-13, but that’s far from a confidence-inspiring victory against one of the worst teams in football. Chicago is still in the playoff hunt, but has an absolutely brutal schedule the rest of the way.
25. Arizona Cardinals (3-7-1)
The young Cardinals come out of their bye week against the Rams and it wouldn’t be entirely shocking if they upset the backsliding NFC champs.
26. Detroit Lions (3-6-1)
Regardless of weather and wind, losing to the Redskins is an absolute low point for a Lions team that’s suffered plenty of hard luck this season. Matt Stafford (back) may be wise to sit out the rest of the year to get healthy for 2020.
27. Denver Broncos (3-8)
The magic may be wearing out for Brandon Allen, who doesn’t have much to work with at receiver now that Emmanuel Sanders is in San Francisco.
28. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7)
A disastrous third quarter ended the Jaguars chances in a divisional tilt at Tennessee. Jacksonville has now given up 483 rushing yards over its last two losses.
29. New York Giants (2-9)
The Giants just can’t seem to get their skill players on the field at the same time. As a result, they rank 27th in offensive efficiency.
30. Miami Dolphins (2-9)
Down to their fourth-string running back, Patrick Laird, the Dolphins basically have to take to the air early and often. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Devante Parker are an explosive tandem that can keep Miami in some games down the stretch.
31. Washington Redskins (2-9)
A big kick return touchdown sparked a surprising win for Washington. Perhaps benching Josh Norman for younger cornerbacks helped spark that unit to pick off Jeff Driskel three times.
32. Cincinnati Bengals (0-11)
The Ryan Finley era is off to a very rocky start, as the rookie is completing less than 50 percent of his passes while converting just 5 of 25 third downs through three starts.
