NFL POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 13

This might have been the most eventful week in the history of the 2021-22 NFL Power Rankings. After the top two, teams shuffled all over the place and while our Top 10 retains the same franchises, many have precipitously dropped.

It’s the mid-range teams, the potential Wild Card teams in the 11-20 range that have turned the rankings upside down. This is setting itself up to be the wildest NFL season in a good long while, with every team making the postseason rightly thinking they have a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl before Tom Brady and Bill Belichick show them differently.

1. ARIZONA CARDINALS (9-2)

What better way to remain in the top spot than by taking a week off from playing football? The bad news for the rest of the NFL as the Cards come out of the bye is they might actually be healthy for the first time since Halloween. Last week: No. 1

2. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (8-3)

Once again I am writing this to put it out into the universe. You will not shock us with your Tampa Bay vs New England Patriots Super Bowl. We will be prepared, our loins girded, our hearts hardened and our livers pickled appropriately. Last week: No. 2

3. BALTIMORE RAVENS (8-3)

All that keeps the narrative forming around “What’s wrong with Baltimore?” is that they keep winning. Whether it’s good luck for them or bad luck for the other team or record setting last second finishes, this team has been a play away per game from disaster. You might think they can ride that good fortune all the way to a Super Bowl title. But they won’t, Because the Pats and Bucs will team up on Feb. 13 to sing the song that destroys the world. Last week: No. 4

4. GREEN BAY PACKERS (9-3)

Aaron Rodgers (and his nine functioning toes and, I’m guessing, 80-90 percent lung capacity) was able to down a Los Angeles Rams team that decided to take November off. While Invermectin does absolutely nothing with a COVID-19 infection, it apparently can help you throw a football with just one fully functioning foot. The Pack are now set up for a real chance at NFC home field advantage, something they’ve enjoyed before in the Rodgers’ era and the surest sign, if history is any indication, they won’t go to the Super Bowl.  Last week: No. 6

5. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (7-4)

While the Rams and Dallas Cowboy spent the month of November in a tailspin, the Chiefs righted their ship and are literally a Sunday away from claiming home field advantage in the AFC playoff bracket. Last week: No. 8

6. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (8-4)

Only two quarterbacks in the NFL have a higher completion percentage than Mac Jones and neither of them (Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa) have played every game on the schedule. Jones is looking at not only a playoff berth, a Pro Bowl berth, offensive rookie of the year but a Super Bowl appearance, because the world runs on chaos and uses bad karma as its fuel. Last week: No. 9

7. BUFFALO BILLS (7-4)

If there is a chance to slow down this Patriots juggernaut, it comes down to the Bills. Buffalo gets their shot this Sunday. After a late winter and spring trying to build a team to beat Kansas City they accidentally got caught by a team in their own division. Last week: No. 10

8. TENNESSEE TITANS (8-4)

Tennessee has lost two straight since beating the reeling New Orleans Saints, so apparently you can catch more than COVID and a Lovecraftian STD when you meet up with someone from New Orleans. Last week: No. 5

9. LOS ANGELES RAMS (7-4)

After losing three consecutive games against winning teams, the Rams now face a Jacksonville Jaguars squad Sunday that enters every week an underdog. A win means absolutely nothing. A loss would be ridiculous, but a year ago you could have said the same thing when the team played the New York Jets. Fun fact: Matthew Stafford has never defeated a team five games over .500 in his career and is 9-70 against winning teams. Last week: No. 3

10. DALLAS COWBOYS (7-4)

Mike McCarthy is missing Thursday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints and I’ve never felt more confident in a Cowboys’ victory. Last week: No. 7

11. CINCINNATI BENGALS (7-4)

The Bengals have won two in a row to get back in the playoff hunt after the bye, which is what you want after the break. No one else coming out their week off seems to have gotten that memo. Last week: No. 15

12. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (6-5)

As soon as the 49ers start getting healthy, they get good again. The issue now is, they’re starting to lose receivers to nagging injuries and they way they incorporate Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk (and their current depleted running back corps), could spell disaster here down the stretch. Last week: No. 16

13. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (6-5)

For a team everyone (including me) thought would contend at the end of the year, the Chargers have a tough time contending week to week. Last week: No. 11

14. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (6-6)

If only Colts had an elite running back to hand the ball off to with a double digit lead in the second half to run their team to victory. Maybe a guy like Jonathan Taylor that averaged nearly six yards per carry in a big game like they played against the 49ers? But, hey, what do I know? Last week: No. 12

15. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (5-5-1)

At this point there might not be enough available AFC playoff spots for a Steelers team that has no idea which Ben Roethlisberger will show up each week. It’d be a bummer for his career to end that way, but he’s probably played a year too long as it is. Last week: No. 13

16. CLEVELAND BROWNS (6-6)

You could pretty much say every team going into its bye needs it at this point, but when you’re playing with a one armed QB, it probably rings a little more true. Last week: No. 14

17. WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM (5-6)

Don’t look now but the WFT is back in the playoff hunt, taking the same circuitous route that landed them as the fourth seed a year ago. With a month left, they currently hold the seventh seed and are just two games out of the fourth. Last Week: No. 21

18. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (5-6)

Just like any team coming off a heartbreaking loss, the Vikings can take solace in visiting Detroit to take on the hapless Lions. The last time Kirk Cousins and Jared Goff faced off in 2018, it turned out to be one of the best games of the year. I don’t feel as if the sequel will quite live up to that hype. Last week: No. 17

19. DENVER BRONCOS (6-5)

If you’re writing off Denver’s chances to knock off the Chiefs this weekend, just remember that you probably did the same thing last week when they hosted the Chargers. Last week: No. 22

20. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (6-5)

I legitimately wondered if the Raiders could win another game with all the issues surrounding there team. Whether Thanksgiving Day’s victory over the Cowboys had more to do with their resiliency or the fact that Mike McCarthy was on the other sideline, who can say? Following it up with a win over the WFT Sunday will prove it wasn’t just the last gasp of a team looking to sim out the rest of the season. Last week: No. 23

21. CAROLINA PANTHERS (5-7)

That makes two straight losses for Cam Newton as a starter in Carolina, but there is a bright side. They have a bye to get him more ingrained into the offense and then face the Atlanta Falcons coming out of it. Last week: No. 18

22. MIAMI DOLPHINS (5-7)

Since shutting down trade talks with the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson, the Dolphins have won four straight, put themselves back into the playoff hunt and Tua Tagovailoa has completed more than 81 percent of his passes over the last two weeks. Last week: No. 24

23. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (5-6)

Taysom Hill gets the nod this week against the Cowboys and you can hardly blame Sean Payton for it this time. There’s just no other options left on the table for New Orleans at this point. Last week: No. 19

24. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (5-7)

Jalen Hurts is banged up, dealing with an injured ankle. That’s the bad news. The good news? His team plays at the New York Jets Sunday. Last week: No. 20

25. ATLANTA FALCONS (5-6)

Atlanta eschewed its usual loss last Sunday, instead switching it up with a 21-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. All that does is get their record closer to .500 and make getting absolutely obliterated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week hurt that much more. They are truly at the forefront of cutting edge losing strategies. Last week: No. 25

26. CHICAGO BEARS (4-7)

Matt Nagy wasn’t fired on Thanksgiving after all, giving Bears fans a lot less to be thankful about. Of all the accusations out there concerning who “leaked” that he’d get canned, did anyone think to point the finger at Nagy? It would have been a real Jeff Fisher type move. Last week: No. 26

27. NEW YORK GIANTS (4-7)

The Giants have won two of their last three against two decent teams which sets up a potential nightmare scenario where ownership decides to give Joe Judge one more year to get it together. Last week: No. 28

28. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (3-8)

We’re all down on the Seahawks, Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll as Seattle looks as if it will have its first losing season since 2011. With a surging 49ers team heading into town, this game could be the nail in the coffin. Until you realize that the Seahawks are 16-4 against San Fran since 2012. Last week: No. 27

29. NEW YORK JETS (3-8)

Just like that, you knock yourselves out of the No. 2 overall pick into No. 4. Luckily, since you conned the Seahawks into taking Jamal Adams off your hands, you currently hold the fifth pick too, but Seattle could screw that up with a win over the Niners. Last week: No. 31

30. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (2-9)

Just like last season, the Jags benefited from the Jets uncharacteristic desire to win and now own the second overall pick in April 2022’s NFL Draft. They face a floundering Rams team this week and, if you remember last season, that’s exactly the moment the Jets knocked themselves out of selecting Trevor Lawrence. Try not to make the same mistake, Jacksonville. Last week: No. 30

31. HOUSTON TEXANS (2-9)

In all seriousness, the Texans are in the unique position of all but being guaranteed a Top Four pick, if not the No. 1 overall selection if Detroit decides to hate America and win a couple of games. They also have a bank of potential first rounders in Deshaun Watson, who really needs to spend the next couple of months settling all his legal issues and avoiding Instagram DMs so Houston can rack up the draft picks to eventually blow on busts. Last week: No. 29

32. DETROIT LIONS (0-10-1)

Here’s who the Lions have left on the schedule — Vikings, at Broncos, Cardinals, at Falcons, at Seahawks, and Packers. That last game could be interesting in our quest for Detroit to go winless this season. There’s a good chance Green Bay could have home field locked up at that point, which means that Jordan Love would likely make the start in Detroit. As someone really pulling for 0-16-1, the thought makes me nervous. Last week: No. 32

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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