Another week has gone by in the 2022 NFL season, and more movers and shakers in the Week 12 NFL Power Rankings. The Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings played what was expected to be the best game of Week 11, but it turned out to be the bloodbath of the week and an incredibly lopsided win for Dallas.
The Green Bay Packers faltered in Week 11 once again after beating Dallas just a week ago, and the New York Jets have taken a significant tumble down this week’s power rankings after one of the uglier games of the year playing against the New England Patriots.
Who are the biggest movers and shakers in this week’s NFL Power Rankings? Let’s take a look.
2022 NFL Power Rankings Week 12
32. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans certainly have the 2023 NFL Draft to look forward to. And a number of NFL Drafts after that. Houston dropped to 1-8-1 on the season and frankly, this week’s loss was one of their worst of the season with very little “good” to show from it.
The good news for the Texans at this point is that they do have some serious building blocks on both sides of the ball. There are pieces in place and this team has plenty to work with in terms of NFL Draft capital. The questions looming for the franchise now include whether or not Lovie Smith will still be at the helm in 2023 and who this team will target as its next QB.
31. Carolina Panthers
Speaking of teams that need a new QB, the Carolina Panthers have to be wishing they were in a better position to draft the top guy on their board from this class, but we’ll see what kind of maneuvering they do. The Panthers are looking at a total reset after this season and the Baker Mayfield experiment has gone completely wrong.
Carolina’s offense reached a seemingly new level of incompetence on Sunday as they went on the road and scored just three points against the Baltimore Ravens who were coming off of their bye week. The Panthers are another bad team with some pieces in place, but this team is going to have to go back to the drawing board in the 2023 offseason.
30. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars were off this week, but unfortunately for them, some teams behind them in the previous week’s NFL Power Rankings are getting bumped up. They’ll have a chance to rise again this coming week. The Jaguars showed some clear signs of progression early in the season, but the fun has worn off and this is now a 3-7 team that looks like it’s still another year away.
But that might be it. The Jaguars have gotten some necessary and positive progression this year from Trevor Lawrence but the true revelation in Jacksonville has been fellow former Clemson first-round pick Travis Etienne. Etienne has been one of the best all-around backs in the league this year and is running exceptionally well.
The Jaguars have something to build on.
29. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are one of the biggest jokes in the NFL right now. They have one of the top defenses in the NFL and they have a quarterback getting paid a hefty contract, yet they are 3-7, nobody knows who this team’s coach will be in a few months, and the final nail in Nathaniel Hackett’s proverbial coffin may have been hammered with a home loss in overtime to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Hackett gave up play-calling duties to Klint Kubiak before this game, and the Broncos were rolling a bit offensively in the first half before a sequence where Melvin Gordon fumbled inside the five-yard line and Brandon McManus had a field goal blocked. The Raiders captured the momentum and stole a win from the Broncos after a weird decision by Denver to throw with two minutes left when they could have bled at least 45 seconds of clock by running.
The Broncos are 3-7 and have way more questions than answers at this point in time.
28. Los Angeles Rams
The Super Bowl hangover year continues for the Los Angeles Rams, who have simply been one of the worst teams in the entire league this season. Injuries and departed players have played a role in that, especially recently as the Rams lost Cooper Kupp to a bad ankle injury last week and then Matthew Stafford in Week 11 to a concussion.
Bryce Perkins saw some action in Week 11, and the Rams dropped another game, this one to the New Orleans Saints. As of right now, the 3-7 Rams are projected to send the 5th overall pick to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford. The Rams got a Super Bowl out of it, so there’s not likely to be buyer’s remorse anytime soon.
27. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have gutted out a couple of wins in recent weeks, but they were destroyed on their home field on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals and Ravens look like the class of the AFC North once again this season while the Steelers are in rebuilding mode. What’s next for this team?
With a 3-7 record, the Steelers are now looking at a potential top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a situation where they will have to seriously consider whether or not Kenny Pickett is their QB of the future. If an opportunity is presented for another perhaps more dynamic option at the position, will the Steelers do what the Cardinals once did to Josh Rosen? Has Pickett been bad enough to deserve that?
26. Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns didn’t jump up the power rankings for anything they did right, exactly, but more for what teams around them did. If anything, the needle on the Browns is staying pretty much right up the middle even with Deshaun Watson’s suspension ending after this coming week.
The Browns are not playoff-relevant right now, so Watson’s suspension ending after Week 12 is really only going to give fans of the team a glimpse of what they might see in 2023. As of right now, the 2022 season is a wash for the Browns with some player development mixed in. This team missed some opportunities early on this season to close out some close games and have a fighting chance once Watson got back, but the AFC North is going to either the Ravens or Bengals at this point.
25. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears continue to blow leads and lose games, but quite honestly it’s hard to hate too much on this team right now. Justin Fields has shown signs of clear progression, not only as a passer but even as a runner. He’s been a great source of offense for this team as that unit continues to improve and even show some consistency, but the defense has had plenty of problems.
Chicago is going to need to use its plethora of assets here in the 2023 offseason to substantially upgrade the roster around Justin Fields, but Ryan Poles has some nice pieces to work with and clarity at the QB position.
24. Arizona Cardinals
Cardinals play Monday night vs. 49ers
The Arizona Cardinals probably didn’t deserve this kind of drop before even playing their game against , but differentiating teams in this range right now is really hard when it comes to NFL power rankings. You’ve got to trust your eyes. And right now, the eyes are saying the Cardinals are not anything but an average to below-average team.
Whether they are ranked 19th in NFL Power Rankings or 24th is bordering on irrelevant. The one thing this team has going for it right now is that they are not far out of contention in their own division. The Seahawks are 6-4 and Arizona can send San Francisco to a 5-5 record after Monday’s matchup.
With that said, we’re obviously projecting a 49ers win and the Cardinals to lose Monday night, but if the Cardinals can put a win together and get to 5-6, they should be considered at least up at 19th where they were last week.
23. Green Bay Packers
Oof. A seriously big oof for the Green Bay Packers in Week 11.
The Packers had an opportunity after a fantastic come-from-behind win the previous week against the Dallas Cowboys to really re-establish themselves as a potential Wild Card contender in the NFC, and they failed to do so.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense struggled with more of the same against the Tennessee Titans, and as a result, we’re seeing the Packers as one of the biggest fallers in this week’s NFL Power Rankings. With all due respect to the Tennessee Titans — one of the most well-coached teams in the NFL — that was a matchup that the Packers (with Aaron Rodgers) should have been able to win, even on the road.
Unfortunately, the Packers just aren’t the Packers we’ve come to know. This is a shell of the team with Davante Adams on the roster.
22. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders had allowed 20 or more points in every game so far this season…until they just beat the Denver Broncos in overtime, on the road.
Davante Adams came up clutch as ever in the Raiders’ overtime win against the Broncos, their sixth-straight win against Denver overall. Derek Carr also came up clutch and the Raiders had yet another get-right game against Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson, their second win of that variety this season.
What’s even sweeter about this win for the Raiders? It might send the Denver Broncos into making wholesale changes on the coaching staff. The Raiders have looked like one of the worst teams in the league at times this season, but when Josh Jacobs, Derek Carr, and Davante Adams play like they did on Sunday, this team is a tough out for almost anybody.
21. New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints’ 4-7 record is nothing to write home about at this point, but heading into Week 11 action, this team was averaging a pretty respectable 22.2 points per game (middle-of-the-pack in the NFL) and they had another strong offensive output against the Los Angeles Rams with 27 points.
Andy Dalton is not the guy who used to have the Bengals in playoff contention annually, but every so often, he has some games that make you wonder if he shouldn’t have been starting for the Saints all along. Dalton had three touchdowns and a stellar 149.6 QB rating against the Rams in Week 11, and the Saints snapped a two-game losing skid. Up next is a very difficult road matchup in San Francisco against the rejuvenated 49ers.
20. Indianapolis Colts
At this point, you’ve kind of got to tip your cap to Jeff Saturday and the Colts, right? There are no moral victories in the NFL, but the Colts won their first game with Saturday as the head coach and then came out on Sunday at home against arguably the best team in the NFL (Philadelphia) and made them sweat through all four quarters.
The Colts, defensively, have been impressive of late. Offensively? Not so much. The Colts are showing some grit these last couple of weeks, but they are teetering on the edge of being a top 20 team in NFL Power Rankings. Given the volatility of the NFL this season, the Colts could easily find themselves at the bottom of the rankings in just a couple of weeks. But for now, they deserve some kudos.
19. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are finally fun this season. They have been fun, but they haven’t been winning as much, at least until lately. The Lions are now proud winners of three straight games, they have improved to 4-6 on the season, and coming out of the bye week, their defense has actually been making quite a few plays. In fact, Aidan Hutchinson made himself a number of huge plays in the Lions’ victory on Sunday over the New York Giants, a very quality win against a team that had been one of the NFL’s best stories through the first half of the 2022 season.
Early on this season, the Lions were losing some tough games in which the offense was putting forth some pretty outstanding production. Now, they’re winning some games and catching that feeling with three straight.
18. New York Jets
The New York Jets might want to make a quarterback change if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive here in the 2022 season. It seems a bit harsh, but right now, this team simply can’t count on competent offense from Zach Wilson, who has had absolutely horrendous games against the New England Patriots now twice this season.
Looking ahead, the Jets play great defensively but they have such a tough time with consistency offensively that it’s hard to take this team seriously with Zach Wilson under center.
17. Atlanta Falcons
The impressive streak of offense from the Atlanta Falcons continued on Sunday as Atlanta beat the Chicago Bears with a final score of 27-24. Atlanta’s offensive onslaught this season has been fascinating to watch. Over the last six games, they have scored 25 or more points five times. There is something good going here with Arthur Smith and a quarterback he once had a hand in benching, Marcus Mariota.
Has Mariota been perfect this season? No, but the Falcons have been very fun and his overall QB rating is a respectable 90.7. He’s engineered some impressive drives and is doing work with both his arm and his legs as the Falcons have improved to 5-6 on the season. They’re in the thick of things in the NFC South.
16. Los Angeles Chargers
There is really no shame in losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, even at home. The Los Angeles Chargers dropped to 5-5 on the season after a hard-fought battle between Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes, a duel that is constantly some of the best TV twice a year for the NFL. Unfortunately for Herbert and the Chargers, they’re kind of like the Chiefs’ little brother at this point. They just can’t get over that proverbial hump.
The Chargers do have some good things going for them, though. With Mike Williams and Keenan Allen missing so much time this season, Joshua Palmer has really been able to step up and have a bit of a breakthrough role. The Chargers can’t take many moral victories as the AFC playoff picture gets muddier and muddier. This loss to the Chiefs on Sunday night was yet another example of this Chargers team just not being where people want them to be, or where they think they should be. The Chargers are just not at contender status at this point.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A big win overseas last week for the Buccaneers against a quality opponent has them staying pretty steady for now as it relates to NFL Power Rankings. We’ve been fooled by some teams here this season after big wins, so we’re holding off judgment on the Bucs for another week.
Coming out of their bye week, the Bucs will have a matchup against the Deshaun Watson-less Browns and they need a win in the worst way because the Atlanta Falcons are once again right on their tails after a win in Week 11. The Bucs have now won two straight games. They are in good position right now in the rather weak NFC South, and a win against the Browns in Week 12 will have this team in a really good spot as the second half of the season progresses.
14. Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders are rolling with Taylor Heinicke, and how could they not? The guy is going to have to find a pair of red and blue Jordan 1s after beating the Houston Texans this past week and getting himself another hefty “win” bonus. The Commanders are now 6-5 this season and frankly, they are rolling with Heinicke under center. Head coach Ron Rivera has informed Carson Wentz that they’re sticking with Taylor until the winning stops.
They play a very interesting matchup this coming week against the Atlanta Falcons. There are reasons to believe that could be the game of the week in the NFL, with the offensive output we’ve seen from the Falcons so far this season and the fact that Chase Young is coming back to the lineup in Week 12.
13. New York Giants
After a stellar start to the season, the New York Giants have come crashing back to reality a little bit here in recent weeks. They just suffered a rather humbling loss at home to the now-4-6 Detroit Lions, and they are losing some ground in the super-competitive NFC East.
As we head into Week 12 action, the Giants are going to have to put that loss against the Lions behind them quickly because they have to go on the road and play the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, and the Cowboys are coming off of one of the most dominant wins of the year for any team against any opponent.
And Dallas beat a really good one in Minnesota. The Giants have their work cut out for them this coming week and they did not look like a top-five team against the Lions.
12. New England Patriots
Bill Belichick’s defense dominated Zach Wilson for four quarters, and this absolute dud of a 3-3 game ended up having one of the best and most exciting finishes of the week as Marcus Jones took a punt back for a touchdown basically to end regulation. The Patriots have now dominated Zach Wilson twice this season and they’ve now won three straight games to improve to 6-4.
Like some other teams in the NFL, the Patriots aren’t exactly winning pretty these days but their defense is great and Matthew Judon is putting forth an underrated DPOY type of season for Belichick’s unit. If the Patriots can find any sort of groove offensively, this team could be dangerous down the stretch in the AFC.
11. Cincinnati Bengals
A blowout win on the road this past weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers has the Bengals going toe-to-toe with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. They are one game behind the Ravens entering Week 12 action and both of those teams are seemingly pulling away in the AFC North.
Baltimore has won four straight while the Bengals have won four of their last five, scoring 30 or more points in each of those games. This Cincinnati offense looks as good or better than last year and they are scoring points in bunches right now. This team should be climbing up NFL power rankings in the near future but they have a tough matchup coming up this week against the Tennessee Titans. After handling their business against some of the league’s worst teams in recent weeks, the Bengals get a very tough test.
10. San Francisco 49ers
49ers play Monday vs. Cardinals
The 49ers haven’t yet played this week, but we’re obviously projecting a win from them and a couple of spots risen on this week’s NFL Power Rankings. The 49ers have played some good football since Christian McCaffrey arrived, and his inclusion in Kyle Shanahan’s offense has been fun to watch.
Not only that, but Demeco Ryans’ defense has really turned things up in recent weeks. The 49ers just have so many ways to beat you. Even with a 5-4 record heading into Monday night’s matchup with the Cardinals in Mexico, the 49ers feel like one of the biggest threats in the NFC.
9. Tennessee Titans
Wow, the Tennessee Titans just keep going and going, don’t they? They are kind of like Duracell batteries in that way. Mike Vrabel’s squad doesn’t always win in ways that make highlight reels and they don’t always make fantasy football players very happy, but this Titans team is so well-coached and they are showing grit once again this season to the tune of 7-3.
I guess winning pretty doesn’t really matter as long as you keep winning. Mike Vrabel continues to show why he’s one of the best head coaches in the NFL and the Titans got an impressive win over Aaron Rodgers on Thursday night, a quick turnaround after beating the Denver Broncos in comeback fashion on Sunday afternoon. On deck is an exciting home matchup against the Bengals this coming week.
8. Baltimore Ravens
Coming out of the bye week, the Baltimore Ravens only put up 13 points against the Carolina Panthers but they continue winning. That’s four straight victories for John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson, and who knows what kind of damage this Ravens team could do over the course of the remainder of the season?
What’s going to be really interesting to see is whether or not Baltimore can find a way to win a shootout with the Cincinnati Bengals, whose offense has been much better in recent weeks. Their first matchup of the season was a somewhat ugly 19-17 Ravens win, but what happens if Cincinnati starts scoring points in bunches? Can the Ravens keep up?
The Ravens and Titans have been somewhat similar this season, winning a lot of games without a ton of flash. They have a relatively easy stretch of games coming up, so the four-game winning streak came at the perfect time and the Ravens have built-in room for error.
7. Seattle Seahawks
A six-spot rise in this week’s NFL power rankings for the Seattle Seahawks seems pretty high for a team that didn’t play this week and lost in Germany last week, but the volatility of the NFL right now is simply just that way.
The Seahawks have — on the whole — been one of the more formidable all-around teams in the league this season. It’s getting easier and easier to identify the cream of the crop in the NFL this season, so the 7th-ranked team might not be overly close to the 5th-ranked team in terms of how truly “good” they are but the Seahawks look like they could win a shootout with just about anyone.
And right now, that might be all they need to make it far in the NFC playoff race.
6. Minnesota Vikings
After a huge, emotional win last week against the Buffalo Bills in one of the best games you’ll see played all year, the Vikings came home and absolutely fell flat on their faces against a really good Dallas Cowboys team. While losing to the Cowboys is not overly condemnable, the Vikings were destroyed on their home field, confirming what a lot of people have thought about this team’s wildly good first half of the 2022 season.
Which is, that the Vikings’ winning ways weren’t overly sustainable, though they were showing great resilience and fortitude, grinding out some tough victories and beating some good teams along the way. The Cowboys, when they’re on offensively, are one of the league’s top teams, and they took it to the Vikings. Can Minnesota bounce back this Thanksgiving with a short turnaround against Bill Belichick’s stellar defense?
5. Dallas Cowboys
When the Cowboys are on, they’re really on. Dallas went into Minneapolis smelling blood in the water and they absolutely trucked one of the league’s best teams. It was impressive to watch, but perhaps no one on the Cowboys was more impressive in this individual game than running back Tony Pollard, who can truly do it all. No matter what the Cowboys have asked of him, Pollard has been a stud who is seemingly only getting better.
What a powerhouse duo for the Cowboys to have a healthy Zeke Elliott (who is playing well) and a healthy Tony Pollard at the same time, both guys adding so much to the offense. It certainly makes Dak Prescott’s life a lot easier and when the offense is on, Dallas is a top-5 team in the league.
4. Buffalo Bills
Although there have been more stumbling blocks along the way than I think many expected, there are very few teams in the NFL better than the Buffalo Bills right now. Any team can beat anyone on any given Sunday, we all know this. But on most Sundays, I’m taking Buffalo. This is simply one of the best rosters and most complete teams in the entire league. Josh Allen didn’t even throw for 200 yards against the Cleveland Browns, and Buffalo managed to score 31 points.
This game against Cleveland was relocated to Detroit because Buffalo is essentially a real-life snow globe at this point, but the Bills played like it was a true home game anyway. Even at 7-3 though, the Bills aren’t quite the hottest team in their own division…
3. Miami Dolphins
Somewhat quietly, the Miami Dolphins have had arguably the best offense in the entire NFL this season, especially when Tua Tagovailoa is in the lineup and healthy. As a matter of fact, Tagovailoa is playing at an MVP level through the first 10 games of the season and he’s really been more than just efficient. He’s back to his playmaker ways, and the Dolphins seem validated for the bold and very unpopular moves they made in the offseason to fire Brian Flores and bring in a new coaching staff, led by Mike McDaniel.
McDaniel is obviously a tremendous offensive mind coming from the Shanahan coaching tree, but he’s got some wrinkles of his own in Miami with playmakers like Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill dominating on a weekly basis. With the trade deadline addition of Bradley Chubb, the Dolphins are shaping up to be arguably the best team in the AFC down the stretch this season.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are 9-1 and have the best record in the entire NFL. There’s so much “good” going on with this team but we’ve seen them hit their first real couple of roadblocks in the last two weeks against Washington in Week 10 and Indianapolis in Week 11.
The Colts actually gave the Eagles a legitimate scare before Philadelphia found a way to score 14 points in the 4th quarter and sneak away with a 17-16 win vs. Jeff Saturday’s crew. Jalen Hurts stepped up in a big way when the Eagles needed him most, adding to his potential MVP candidacy this season.
The Eagles saw some productivity in the debut of their two new defensive linemen — Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph — and are clearly loaded up for an NFC Championship run, but there are teams in the NFC East really just nipping at their heels right now.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are inevitable. There isn’t a better team in the NFL right now, even if the Chiefs have some losses on their overall record. The duo of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce is one of the best in NFL history. Andy Reid is on another level as a play-caller and his players are exceptional at executing week after week.
It requires a lot of weird things to happen in your favor in order to beat the Chiefs. Most teams can’t. Most teams won’t. Expect this team to be the toughest out in the playoffs, all the way to the bitter end.