Eagles, Lions, Bills in the mix as the best team

NFL power rankings entering Week 14 of the 2024 season (previous ranking in parentheses):

1.Detroit Lions (1): Now they’re 11-1 for the first time in club history, having trailed by seven games on Thanksgiving, and are looking to snap their first-ever 11-game winning streak this Thursday night. With two massive games ahead of us, the Packers and Bills come to Ford Field and threaten Detroit’s very precarious spot at the top of the NFC standings… although hopefully they don’t discourage further pass attempts from 335-pound RT Penei Sewell, who sacked his only opportunity became Turkey Day.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (2): Should they be considered the best team in the league? They are very well represented and will overtake the Lions at the top of the conference standings this week if they beat the Panthers and Detroit loses. An unheralded aspect of Philly’s success has been the arrival – literally and figuratively – of Zack Baun, who seems to be making impressive plays every week and is ranked by NFL analytics site PFF as the league’s No. 1 off-ball linebacker is classified.

3. Buffalo Bills (3): Should they be considered the best team in the league? They have a very strong case after securing their fifth straight AFC East title and riding a seven-game winning streak – during which the Bills averaged 30.4 points. Like Philadelphia, the Bills only need one slip-up from the team ahead of them (Kansas City) to get into the No. 1 spot in the playoffs.

4. Green Bay Packers (5): A team that has won six of its last eight regular-season games in 2023 before a strong playoff showing is 7-1 since Week 4 and will be looking to win in Motown for the second straight year while potentially keeping the NFC North in to cause turmoil. A team that famously doesn’t have a No. 1 receiver has three guys between 450 and 500 receiving yards and no one who has reached 700 yet. Doesn’t seem to be a problem.

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5. Kansas City Chiefs (4): Beat the Bolts on Sunday night and KC will be AFC West champions for the ninth straight year – maybe it would even be nice if they didn’t have to win a record-breaking 15th straight game by a point. Given the state of QB Patrick Mahomes’ protection and a defense that has seemed vulnerable lately…

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (6): In the four games since he was acquired from the Jets, WR Mike Williams has been targeted one Time – his game-winning 32-yard TD catch in Washington. If volatile WR1 George Pickens goes off track at some point, this offense is in serious trouble.

7. Baltimore Ravens (7): Their five losses are by an average of 4.4 points, and they are rolling the dice with the league’s most inaccurate kicker – in 2024, anyway. Justin Tucker’s 10 missed kicks this season are the most in the league after he missed in the five-point setback against Philly missed a career-worst three shots on Sunday (1 PAT, 2 FGAs).

8. Washington Commanders (9): The last time Washington had no fewer than three 40-point games in a season – 1991 – the Lombardi Trophy reached the nation’s capital.

9. Minnesota Vikings (8): A 10-2 squad probably deserves a little more respect and airtime. But the Vikes are also running a five-game heater – warmer? – with their average margin of victory being 5.4 points against opponents who are all currently .500 or (much) worse. Next? A visit from the 6-6 Falcons and their old friend Kirk Cousins.

10. Seattle Seahawks (10): Since their bye in Week 10, they have a neutral turnover differential and are averaging 81 rushing yards per game. Somehow that makes the score 3-0.

11. Arizona Cardinals (11): Trey McBride is the first tight end in league history with at least a dozen receptions in consecutive games. Of course, his only TD this season was on a running play.

12. Los Angeles Chargers (13): QB Justin Herbert is reaching a new level of efficiency for an offense that may still be too conservative. But he joins Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay’s version) as the only players to pass for at least 2,500 yards and fewer than two picks in his first 12 games of a season. Herbert, whose interception rate is the lowest in the league at 0.3%, averaged 10.5 in his first four seasons.

13. Denver Broncos (14): Add another sack and a 71-yard pick-six to OLB Nik Bonitto’s understated (but growing) reputation as Defensive Player of the Year.

14. Houston Texans (12): If LB Azeez Al-Shair receives a significant suspension for his brutal hit on Jags QB Trevor Lawrence, a defense that was already suspect at the second level could be in serious trouble against emerging opponents (Dolphins, Chiefs, Ravens) who take advantage of the center line of the field.

15. Atlanta Falcons (15): Maybe some (former) home cooking will do some good for Cousins. He averaged 266.1 yards and two touchdowns in his 44 appearances at US Bank Stadium in Minnesota, where he starts Sunday. Over the past three weeks, Cousins has averaged 241.3 yards and two picks in all losses without a touchdown pass.

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20): Did you have RB Bucky Irving as the first rookie to break 1,000 yards rushing in 2024?

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17. Miami Dolphins (16): Those ugly “narratives” are alive and well, Tua, although your 5-0 record against the Jets this week should make for a more positive one.

18. Los Angeles Rams (18): The only rookies with more than four sacks in the entire league in 2024 are LA’s Braden Fiske (6) and Jared Verse (4½), whose pressure helped seal Sunday’s victory in New Orleans.

19. Cincinnati Bengals (17): They allowed an average of 33.9 points in their eight losses. QB Joe Burrow and Co. should overcome this?

20. Indianapolis Colts (21): They have the second-easiest remaining schedule in the league… which probably would have been far more helpful if the Browns had done Indy a huge favor and beat Denver on Monday night.

21. San Francisco 49ers (19): It has rightly been a tragic season, LT Trent Williams and CB Charvarius Ward both lost children in the last few weeks. Between the lines, the most reliable play on a losing team Sunday night was a kickoff return by Deebo Samuel Sr. — which averaged 34.7 yards. The fact that he had six of them tells you everything you need to know about how the Buffalo snow work went otherwise.

22. New England Patriots (22): Among NFL players with at least 25 rushing attempts this season, no one has averaged more yards per rush than rookie QB Drake Maye’s 9.1.

23. Chicago Bears (23): Interim coach Thomas Brown preaches “coachability, responsibility and reliability.” QB Caleb Williams has largely contributed lately, setting a rookie record with 232 passes (and counting) without an INT.

24. Carolina Panthers (24): Eddy Piñeiro entered Week 13 as the leading field goal scorer in league history (89.7%), but two misses in an overtime loss to the Bucs left him behind Harrison Butker and Tucker.

25. New Orleans Saints (25): TE/FB/RB/KR/QB Taysom Hill’s devastating knee injury will remove a significant amount of the unpredictability of this offense.

26. Dallas Cowboys (27): That’s two Ws in a row with the next three games against teams no better than .500. Is Mike McCarthy really about to prepare for an extension?

27. Cleveland Browns (26): Whether it’s Joe Flacco or Jameis Winston, it’s amazing how extremely productive – and entertaining – this offense is when it’s run by experienced quarterbacks not named Deshaun Watson. Winston threw six touchdowns Monday night — four for his teammates and two for the Broncos.

28. New York Jets (28): Rodgers has preached all season that this offense needs to score at least 30 points a week. Still hasn’t happened.

29. Las Vegas Raiders (30): Need proof that DE Maxx Crosby is unique? According to Next Gen Stats, he never missed a snap-in six games. Talk about a unicorn.

30. Tennessee Titans (29): WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has 20 receptions this season…and eight went for touchdowns. Based on that, it might make sense to target him more than three times per game.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (31): A team that hadn’t shown much fight this season suddenly showed admirable fire on Sunday – all it took was watching its franchise quarterback nearly beheaded.

32. New York Giants (32): Do you think things have gotten ugly here? A team that has allowed at least 120 rushing yards in seven straight games simply placed Pro Bowl DL Dexter Lawrence (dislocated elbow) on injured reserve. Imagine what that means for the owners of Baltimore RB Derrick Henry when the fantasy playoffs begin in two weeks.

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Eagles, Lions, Bills in the mix as the best team

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