NFL Power Rankings, Week 14: Patriots keep rising, Eagles near rock-bottom

Last week, things had gotten out of hand for the Denver Broncos. All their quarterbacks were on the COVID-19 list and since the league didn’t like them as much as they do the Baltimore Ravens or New England Patriots, their game was not rescheduled. Instead, they had to go into a real NFL game with no quarterback. That meant Kendall Hinton, a practice squad wide receiver, was lined up under center.

In a surprise to no one, Hinton struggled and was 1-for-9 with 13 yards, and the Broncos were blown out 31-3 against the New Orleans Saints. Thankfully for them in Week 13, Drew Lock was back for them at quarterback and they were much better (as expected). Even so, it wasn’t enough as they were on the short end against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.

To their credit, Denver kept it close. They held the Chiefs to nothing but field goals for the first two quarters and nearly made it through three. Travis Kelce scored the first touchdown for Kansas City at the 1:06 mark in the third quarter to give the Chiefs the lead 19-16. From there, the Chiefs just held them off and secured the 22-16 win in a close game. While they did fall to 4-8, the Broncos deserve a lot of credit for making this one a close contest, but they’re just not there yet.