The NFL wrapped up another week, with a fun Monday Night Football contest. The Atlanta Falcons won a heck of a shootout with the Seattle Seahawks, by a final score of 34-31. The Falcons jumped out early against a banged up Seahawks defense, and held off Russell Wilson and company late. Blair Walsh had a chance to tie the game near the end of regulation, but his kick was short.
The San Francisco 49ers return from their bye week, and get to face these Seahawks on Sunday. This is a tough game to figure out. The Seahawks defense is a mess right now. Russell Wilson remains a tough player to stop, but his offensive line is still a problem. On the 49ers side of things, they’ll be getting healthy on the defensive side of the ball, but we don’t know who they will send out at quarterback. So many questions in a game that is a lot more winnable than I think most would have guessed even just a few weeks ago.
In the meantime, we’re back with Week 12 NFL power rankings. We’ll have a look at media power rankings later today, but in the meantime, here is what I see of the league after 11 weeks.
The big question at this point is what to make of all the 4-6, 5-5, and 6-4 teams. In the AFC, the 4-6 and 5-5 teams are right in the thick of the playoff race. In the NFC, the Carolina Panthers hold one wild card berth at 7-3, while the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks are tied for the other at 6-4. In the AFC, the 6-4 Tennessee Titans and 5-5 Baltimore Ravens hold the two wild card berths.
The NFL is officially into that perpetual mediocre level with so many teams just sitting around at .500. What to do?
Week 12 NFL power rankings
Rank | Team | LW |
---|---|---|
Rank | Team | LW |
1 | Philadelphia Eagles (9-1) | 1 |
2 | New England Patriots (8-2) | 2 |
3 | Minnesota Vikings (8-2) | 4 |
4 | Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) | 5 |
5 | New Orleans Saints (8-2) | 8 |
6 | Los Angeles Rams (7-3) | 3 |
7 | Carolina Panthers (7-3) | 7 |
8 | Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3) | 11 |
9 | Atlanta Falcons (6-4) | 10 |
10 | Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) | 6 |
11 | Seattle Seahawks (6-4) | 9 |
12 | Detroit Lions (6-4) | 15 |
13 | Tennessee Titans (6-4) | 12 |
14 | Dallas Cowboys (5-5) | 13 |
15 | Baltimore Ravens (5-5) | 19 |
16 | Buffalo Bills (5-5) | 14 |
17 | New York Jets (4-6) | 20 |
18 | Washington (4-6) | 18 |
19 | Cincinnati Bengals (4-6) | 22 |
20 | Houston Texans (4-6) | 23 |
21 | Green Bay Packers (5-5) | 16 |
22 | Los Angeles Chargers (4-6) | 28 |
23 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6) | 25 |
24 | Oakland Raiders (4-6) | 17 |
25 | Miami Dolphins (4-6) | 21 |
26 | Arizona Cardinals (4-6) | 26 |
27 | Denver Broncos (3-7) | 24 |
28 | Chicago Bears (3-7) | 27 |
29 | Indianapolis Colts (3-7) | 29 |
30 | San Francisco 49ers (1-9) | 30 |
31 | New York Giants (2-8) | 31 |
32 | Cleveland Browns (0-10) | 32 |