I stopped writing NFL Power Rankings a couple of seasons ago ’cause nobody was reading ’em. You know – every sports media website in the world has some form of these power rankings up, so there’s a lot of competition, and the little guys like us lose out in those scenarios. It makes it somewhat pointless to do stuff like this, but whatever happened with Google’s core web vitals update back in May seems to have kicked our traffic into another gear. I guess they like us? Anyway, it made me think that maybe it was worth giving these bad boys another try. So, like I said before I stopped writing these, my NFL Power Rankings are based solely on what has happened on the field so far. I’m not taking preseason expectations or projections into consideration. These rankings are based strictly on what I’ve seen so far this season. Let’s get to it.
NFL POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 13, 2021
1. Arizona Cardinals (10-2) – The Cardinals are the first team to 10 wins, and I still don’t feel like they’re getting the respect they deserve. Kyler Murray is back, and this offense is looking as deadly as ever. This is the most complete team in the NFL right now. They host the Rams in a primetime NFC West showdown on Monday Night Football.
2. Green Bay Packers (9-3) – The Packers limped into their bye week at 9-3, and return to action on Sunday, hosting a reeling Chicago Bears team on Sunday Night Football (for some reason).
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-3) – The Bucs manufactured a gritty win against a hot Colts team on Sunday, reminding us that this team is still capable of winning in a number of different ways, and shouldn’t be forgotten in the larger Super Bowl conversation. They host Buffalo on Sunday.
4. New England Patriots (9-4) – It wasn’t pretty, and I know the conditions weren’t all that conducive to offensive football, but the Pats did not look particularly impressive against the Bills on Monday Night Football. That said, we can’t argue with the fact that this team is red hot right now and just won its ninth game. Only four teams in the league have done that and they’re one of ’em. So, I’ll give them some respect here. They make it to their Week 14 bye at 9-4, one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season.
5. Dallas Cowboys (8-4) – The Cowboys got a much-needed win on Thursday Night Football after going 1-3 in their previous four games. The back end of their schedule is loaded with NFC East games, but that doesn’t quite look as easy as it did a month ago the way that Washington and Philadelphia are playing right now. That stretch starts this Sunday when they head to Washington to play the Football Team.
6. Los Angeles Rams (8-4) – The Rams finally stop the bleeding and get a dominant win over the lowly Jags after losing every game they played in November. This team has all the talent in the world, but this is the time of year during which you want to start putting it all together for a postseason run. Can the Rams do that? They travel to Arizona for a massive game against the Cardinals on Monday Night Football.
7. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4) – The Chiefs are starting to get things right, and that disappointing start is long behind them. They’re back on top in the AFC West, but their final five games are tough, beginning this week when they host the Raiders, and then go on to close out the season against the Chargers, Steelers, Bengals, and Broncos.
8. Tennessee Titans (8-4) – I still love the Titans – the way they’re coached, the way they execute. When they’re on their game, they’re as good as anyone in the league, and they’re only going to get healthier as the season wears on. After a much-needed bye week, the Titans host the Jags on Sunday.
9. Baltimore Ravens (8-4) – Man, it feels like this staff doesn’t quite know what to do with Lamar Jackson at times, and their inability to make plays in the passing game could cost them come January. Mark Andrews absolutely should’ve caught that pass, and we’d be talking about an entirely different ranking. The Ravens will try to get back in the win column this week when they travel to Cleveland to play the Browns.
10. Los Angeles Chargers (7-5) – That’s more like it. That’s more like what we thought this Chargers team was going to look like this year when they got off to such a hot start. They absolutely gutted the Bengals en route to taking hold of the current 5th seed in the AFC. They host the Giants on Sunday.
IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY…
AFC
- (1) New England Patriots (BYE)
- (7) Buffalo Bills @ (2) Tennessee Titans
- (6) Cincinnati Bengals @ (3) Baltimore Ravens
- (5) Los Angeles Chargers @ (4) Kansas City Chiefs
NFC
- (1) Arizona Cardinals (BYE)
- (7) San Francisco 49ers @ (2) Green Bay Packers
- (6) Washington Football Team @ (3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- (5) Los Angeles Rams @ (4) Dallas Cowboys
PREDICTIONS
- Top 5 NFL Draft order: 1. Lions, 2. Jaguars, 3. Texans, 4. Jets, 5. Bears
- AFC Championship: Chiefs @ Patriots
- NFC Championship: Buccaneers @ Cardinals
- Super Bowl: Chiefs vs. Cardinals
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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