NFL Power Rankings Week 13: Broncos nosedive, Commanders streaking

The Washington Commanders won their third in a row while the Denver Broncos made it three-straight losses. See how that shakes up our NFL Power Rankings at Week 13.

12 weeks through the season and we’re getting a clear picture of where teams stand. The pretenders are starting to fall behind, which we’re seeing with the Denver Broncos, whereas the contenders are making their moves.

There are also teams like the Washington Commanders that have been on a hot streak but we still don’t know how serious they should be taken.

With another slate of games in the books, we now look at how each team stacks up in our latest 2022 NFL Power Rankings.

NFL Power Rankings Week 13

32. Houston Texans

New quarterback, same results. The Houston Texans had Kyle Allen under center in place of Davis Mills and they were still awful. Allen had 215 yards passing with a touchdown and two picks — although his touchdown came when the game was already decided.

On the ground, they were even worse with just 36 yards on 14 carries. Next week, they play the Browns which will be the debut of Deshaun Watson. Perhaps the history there will motivate them to get a win, but probably not. This team is really bad — but thankfully, they have four picks in Round 1 over the next two seasons to try and get things on the right track.

31. Denver Broncos

Russell Wilson was supposed to turn the Denver Broncos into contenders but they’ve gone in a completely different direction. They’re now 3-8 following a two-score loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Wilson finished with just 142 yards passing and eight yards on the ground. Once again, the offense did next to nothing as they managed 10 points and it seemed as though the defense has started to turn on Wilson.

At this point, they’re not going to do anything in 2022 but they can spend the final six games trying to figure out what works — and how to fix what doesn’t.

There could even be a coaching change after just one season as Nathaniel Hackett hasn’t done well at all. Whatever happens, this isn’t the ride Russ asked everyone to join him on.

30. Los Angeles Rams

Before their game in Week 12, the Los Angeles Rams got the news that Matthew Stafford might not return at all this season. A strained neck and multiple concussions had him sidelined as he missed his second game of the season. That’s with them already being without Cooper Kupp who is on IR.

That ended up being another loss as Bryce Perkins and the depleted offense managed just 10 points against the Chiefs. They’re now 3-8 and it’s clear that they won’t be defending their title once the postseason starts.

The real question will be what they look like in 2023. Aaron Donald already considered retirement and whispers have surfaced that Stafford could consider this as well. With no draft picks for the next 20 years or so due to trades, a rebuild would be impossible if that did happen.

29. Carolina Panthers

Another week, another starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers.

They’ve now gone from Sam Darnold last season to Baker Mayfield to kick off 2022. Then when Mayfield struggled, it was P.J. Walker. Then it was Mayfield again. Now, they’re back to Darnold and he gets credit for the Week 12 win despite completing just 11 passes.

Carolina improved to 4-8 and somehow, that puts them just two games out of first place in the NFC South. Don’t expect them to make a run at that title, however, but they deserve a lot of credit for racking up 185 yards and holding Denver to just 10 points. It was a good win and something to build on.

28. Jacksonville Jaguars

The upset of the week happened in Jacksonville as the Jaguars were able to shock the Baltimore Ravens and secure a 28-27 win. It was a back-and-forth game throughout and had a lot of fireworks in the fourth quarter.

Baltimore scored 15 points but the Jags had 18. Their game-winner came with just 14 seconds left as Trevor Lawrence hit Marvin Jones, Jr. for his third touchdown of the day. They weren’t satisfied with going for the tie, so Doug Pederson went for two and Lawrence hit Zay Jones.

Justin Tucker couldn’t hit the 67-yarder with no time left, although it did come close, and the Jags walked away celebrating a win.

27. Pittsburgh Steelers

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. Indianapolis Colts

At 3-7, there’s next to no chance that Mike Tomlin doesn’t suffer his first losing season as a head coach. Since joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007, his team hasn’t been able to get things figured out.

At this point, they’re going to be working toward 2023. They need to figure out if Kenny Pickett is the guy while also deciding which positions need to be the focal point this offseason.

In Week 12, they’ll be in Indianapolis to take on the Colts, who suddenly have a little fire under them with Jeff Saturday as the interim. There’s not a lot on the line for these teams but it should still be a fun watch.

26. Chicago Bears

An injured shoulder sidelined Justin Fields as Trevor Siemian stepped in to play against one of his former teams in this weekend’s backup bowl. The Chicago Bears had Siemian going up against Mike White, who was filling in for Zach Wilson.

Siemian was unable to do much of anything as he had 179 yards passing on 14-of-25. The end result was a 31-10 beating as the Bears’ defense had even more issues than the offense.

They surrendered 315 yards and three touchdowns to White and 158 yards on the ground. Now at 3-9, the Bears are once again looking ahead to the offseason. That’s becoming far too normal for them.

25. Arizona Cardinals

It’s impossible to know what to expect out of the Arizona Cardinals. That is unless you just expect to have no clue how they will look from one Sunday to the next.

They lost in embarrassing fashion a week ago to the 49ers but then came in this week and looked as though they were going to steal a win against the L.A. Chargers. That ended up not happening as Justin Herbert hit a game-winning two-point conversion to win 25-24.

At 4-8, they’re now heading into their bye week but then have to play the Patriots. While they’re not as deadly as they were in the past, this isn’t the defense a team struggling for an identity wants to face.

24. New Orleans Saints

Once again, the New Orleans Saints are being reminded of how much coaching matters. They had to go without Sean Payton back in 2012 when he was suspended. New Orleans had three-straight double-digit winning seasons but then went 7-9 while his assistants ran the show. When Payton returned, they went 11-5.

When he retired this offseason, New Orleans had just wrapped up their fifth-straight winning season and thought they could replace him with his assistants. Now after 12 weeks, they’re 4-8 and just got shut out by the San Francisco 49ers.

Chances are high that they’ll make some wholesale changes because this strategy didn’t work — and likely won’t.

23. Cleveland Browns

Deshaun Watson is set to return to the field next Sunday as his 11-game suspension is now over. But before he made his debut with the Cleveland Browns, Jacoby Brissett led them to one more win. This time, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady.

Brissett didn’t do it alone as he had a lot of help. The defense forced nine punts, including two in overtime, and Amari Cooper hauled in a short pass that he turned into a 45-yard gain to set up the winning touchdown from Nick Chubb.

Of course, none of that happens if not for the insane one-handed touchdown from David Njoku on fourth-and-10 that tied the game with 32 seconds remaining. It was a full team effort and it could be the start of a decent run since their schedule gets much easier than what they had the past three weeks.

22. Green Bay Packers

They fell behind 13-0 against the Eagles on Sunday Night Football but fought back to score the next 14. Before long, however, the Green Bay Packers were down 34-20 and continued to struggle with the Philly offense.

The one good thing that can be said about the Packers os they keep hanging with teams — and even stole one against Dallas. But that’s not enough and they’re now sitting at 4-8 with no hope of catching up in the North.

Aaron Rodgers has also been dealing with some injuries and Jordan Elliott ended up taking over. He played well and they might need to think about resting Rodgers for a whole to allow him to fully heal and see what Love can do.

21. Las Vegas Raiders

Josh Jacobs put the Las Vegas Raiders on his back and had the game of his life. The fourth-year running back had 33 carries for 229 yards with two touchdowns and another 74 yards on six receptions. His final touchdown came in overtime and it was his best play of the day.

A little more than halfway through the overtime period, Jacobs took a handoff 86 yards to the house, giving the Raiders the win.

It was a franchise record as well for rushing yards which is impressive considering some of the names that have played for the Raiders.

At 4-7, they’re not mathematically out of it but it’s going to be incredibly hard to do much more than prepare for 2023.

20. Indianapolis Colts

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Their questionable hiring of Jeff Saturday as the interim coach — despite having no coaching experience outside of high school — is off to a 1-1 start as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Raiders in Week 10 and nearly took out the Eagles in Week 11. Philly needed a late score to pull off a 17-16 win and remain atop the league with the best record.

We don’t know whether or not Saturday’s term lasts beyond this season, but we can see the players are giving it their all. That should be on display once again as they take on the Steelers on Monday Night Football. Outside of that, there might not be much to pay attention to since both of these teams are heading in the wrong direction this season.

19. Detroit Lions

Following a 1-7 start, the Detroit Lions reeled off three wins in a row as they took out the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and New York Giants. They then hung with the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving Day before ultimately losing 28-25.

The most frustrating thing for Detroit fans had to be the play-calling down the stretch. Buffalo took a 25-22 lead and the Lions were clearly playing for the tie and not the win. They got that tie but then allowed the Bills to move into field goal range despite there being fewer than 25 seconds to play.

Facing a superior team, the Lions should have gone for the jugular. If so, this season would suddenly look much different for them.

18. Atlanta Falcons

A loss to the Washington Commanders dropped the Atlanta Falcons to 5-7, but it’s not as bad as it seems. Not only are they much better than expected, but they’re still just a half-game out of first place in the NFC South with Tampa Bay losing and falling to 5-6.

Even so, this feels like a missed opportunity. Atlanta was trailing by six and moved the ball to the Washington two-yard line but had one play go backward as Marcus Mariota ran for a two-yard loss. On the very next play, he went for Crodarrelle Patterson in the end zone but it was tipped into the air by Daron Payne and Kyle Fuller picked it off.

There are no moral victories but if they can shake this one off and win at home against Pittsburgh (they are 4-2 in Atlanta), they could go into their bye on a high note.

17. Tampa Bay Bucs

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not a good team this season. They did reel off two wins in a row to improve to 5-5 on the year but then managed to score just 17 points this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, who have been struggling mightily on defense. The result was a loss in overtime, which happened despite Tom Brady getting two cracks at the win.

There is good news for the Bucs, however, since they’re still in first place despite a 5-6 mark. The Atlanta Falcons are a half-game behind them at 5-7 but even the last-place Panthers have a chance at 4-8. Making it due to a terrible division isn’t an ideal way to enter the playoffs but once in there, anything can happen.

16. Los Angeles Chargers

Fortune often favors the bold and Brandon Staley was bold on Sunday. The Los Angeles Chargers were trailing 24-17 in the fourth quarter but then Justin Herbert found Austin Ekeler for a one-yard touchdown pass. Without hesitating, Staley decided to go for two — and the win.

That proved to be the right call as Gerald Everett found a soft spot in the zone and Herbert hit him for the win.

The AFC is stacked right now, so every win will be huge for the Chargers who are trying to position themselves for a run at a Wild Card spot.

Right now, they’re on the outside looking in but a win like this could give them some much-needed momentum.

15. New York Giants

Early on this season, the New York Giants were one of the major surprises in the NFL. They started out 6-1 with their only loss coming in Week 3 to Dallas. They reeled off four wins in a row after that but have since gone 1-3, including a loss on Thursday to the Cowboys.

New York has had a rather soft schedule but wins over the Titans and Ravens made them seem like contenders. That feels like forever ago as the losses to Detroit and Dallas exposed a lot of their flaws. Throw in some key injuries and the final stretch could be tough for the G-Men.

14. New York Jets

The legend of Mike White returns.

Making the start in Week 12, White was going against another reserve as former Jets backup Trevor Siemian got the start for the Chicago Bears. There was no debate as to who was better as White had 315 yards and three touchdowns compared to 179 yards and a score from Siemian.

Of course, a 31-10 win means there were several players getting it done and that was the case for the Jets. Garrett Wilson had two touchdowns, Zonovan Knight went for 69 yards on the ground and Ty Johnson added 62.

Defensively, C.J. Moseley had 10 tackles and one pick as he and the rest of the Gang Green defenders suffocated Chicago’s offense all day.

13. New England Patriots

Even with the inconsistent play under center, the New England Patriots have been competitive this season. They did end up losing to the Minnesota Vikings on Thanksgiving but it was also the best game of the year for Mac Jones.

The second-year quarterback had 382 yards with two picks and no turnovers. They’ve got another tough test next week with the Buffalo Bills but are right where they need to be in order to make a run at another postseason berth.
They can get there with their defense alone but if Jones continues to improve, New England would be a team no one wants to meet in the playoffs.

12. Seattle Seahawks

Two weeks ago, the Seattle Seahawks were in first place in the NFC West and riding a four-game winning streak. Now, things look bleak as they’ve dropped two in a row by a combined 11-points and are looking up at the 7-4 San Francisco 49ers.

Seattle is 6-5, so they’re not too far back but they did suffer one loss to the Niners already making it a tougher road for them to win the West. Even with this loss, they shouldn’t be too down on themselves. Geno Smith continues to play well but they just had a rough day on the ground — on both sides of the ball.

Las Vegas ran for 283 yards with Josh Jacobs gaining 229 — including an 86-yarder in overtime to secure the win. The Seahawks, on the other hand, had just 65 yards on 23 carries. They do have a couple of winnable games with the Rams and Panthers up next before the huge rematch with the Niners.

11. Washington Commanders

Taylor Heinicke has proven he deserves the Washington Commanders quarterback job. He led them to their third win in a row and sixth in their past seven games. As the starter, he’s now 5-1 making it even more confusing that they saw him every week in practice but still thought they needed Carson Wentz.

As cool and calm as he is, it was the defense that sealed things for Washington in Week 12. Up by a score of 19-13, Marcus Mariota had moved the Atlanta offense to the Commanders’ two-yard line. He then lost two yards before getting his pass batted in the air by Daron Payne.

The ball was taken away by Kyle Fuller and all Washington had to do was run out the final 58 seconds, which they did. Now at 7-4, they’re alive in the NFC East but the division is the best in football right now, so they’re still tied for last with the Giants.

10. Baltimore Ravens

Missed opportunities ended up dooming the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday as they had four field goals from Justin Tucker, with three of those coming from inside 30 yards. Getting into the red zone but settling for kicks allowed the Jaguars to hang around and Trevor Lawrence was able to his Marvin Jones, Jr. for a late touchdown and Zay Jones for a two-point conversion to take a 28-27 lead.

With 14 seconds left, the Ravens were able to try a desperation kick as Tucker tried from 67 yards. That would have been an NFL record but it came up just a couple of yards short. Still, at 7-4, they’re tied with the Bengals for first in the AFC North. If anything, the Week 18 matchup between those teams should be very interesting.

9. Tennessee Titans

In Week 12, there were two teams that started out 0-2 facing off and they’re now both 7-4. And in first place in their respective divisions.

The Tennessee Titans were on the wrong end of this 20-16 contest but they’re still all alone atop the AFC South whereas the Bengals, who scored the win, are tied with the Ravens. Tennessee struggled to get the ball moving on the ground, which is their bread and butter.

Derrick Henry had just 38 yards rushing but managed 79 as a receiver. It wasn’t enough as they had to settle for four field goal tries and after cutting the lead to four with six minutes to go, their defense couldn’t get the ball back.

8. Cincinnati Bengals

The 0-2 start feels like a lifetime ago as the Cincinnati Bengals are now 7-2 since that time. Now, they’ve reeled off three wins in a row but this one was their most impressive of the year since it was against one of the better teams in the AFC.

It was a rematch of the Divisional Round of the 2021 playoffs as the Bengals went into Nashville and won against the Tennessee Titans. A late touchdown from Joe Burrow to Tee Higgins gave them a 20-13 lead. Tennessee hit a field goal with just over six minutes to play but Cincy was able to run the clock out and improve to 7-4.

They’re now tied with the Ravens for first place in the AFC North and could be playing for the crown when they meet again in Week 18.

7. San Francisco 49ers

It’s not usually pretty but the San Francisco 49ers just keep finding ways to win. This weekend, they shut out the New Orleans Saints in a 13-0 win and improved to 7-4. With the Seattle Seahawks losing to the Raiders, that means they’re now in first place in the NFC West and will be the favorites to be atop the mountain when the regular season ends.

They will have a tough — but incredibly interesting — game next weekend against the Miami Dolphins who are led by former offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. Miami has been sensational but perhaps Kyle Shanahan will know how to slow his former assistant down.

Of course, the main concern will be when they play Seattle on Dec. 15. That could be what ends up deciding the division since the Niners could sweep them with a win.

6. Minnesota Vikings

In Week 11, the Minnesota Vikings took one on the chin as they lost 40-3 to the Dallas Cowboys. It was their first loss since Week 2, which came at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles and was also a blowout at 24-7.

Naturally, this led to plenty of criticism but the Vikings didn’t let that slow them down. They entered Week 12 as the late game on Thanksgiving and found a way to secure a comeback win over the New England Patriots.

Their run game was shut down but Kirk Cousins had 299 yards and three touchdowns and Justin Jefferson went for 139 yards on nine receptions. Most importantly, their defense made some key stops late to seal things. That’s been their one question this season.

5. Dallas Cowboys

Thursday brought us a triumphant return as the Dallas Cowboys were again in their throwback blues with the white helmet. One of the best looks in the game, this is how they’re supposed to dress on Turkey day.

While they looked sharp, the first 30 minutes of the game against the New York Giants were rather sloppy for the ‘Boys. They left points on the board due to penalties and turnovers. For Dak Prescott, it was the second time in three weeks that he had two picks in the first half as they were down 13-7.

In the final 30 minutes, things were vastly different. Dallas dominated in every facet of the game and before long, it was a 28-13 lead.

A missed field goal from Brett Maher and a garbage-time touchdown made it look closer than it was but the Cowboys were by far the superior team.

Now at 8-3, they’re well ahead of the 7-4 Giants thanks to the fact they swept them this season. They have three very winnable games in a row but then take on the Eagles in Week 16 which will be huge in determining the final NFC East standings.

4. Buffalo Bills

It was a much closer game than expected but the Buffalo Bills did what they had to in order to secure a win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. Josh Allen racked up 253 yards passing with 78 on the ground. He also had three total touchdowns, but most impressively led them down for a game-winning field goal despite having just 23 seconds to do so.

For Buffalo, it was their second win in a row in Detroit, since they played the Browns at Ford Field in Week 11 due to inclement weather in Western New York. They now have as many wins in Detroit as the Lions do this season. Talk about a little insult to injury.

Having said all that, the Bills are one of the top two teams in the AFC and even though they’re not on top of their game right now, they’re still 8-3 and can be even better.

3. Miami Dolphins

They did so well in the first 30 minutes that they were able to go on cruise control in the second. The Miami Dolphins went into the break with a 30-0 lead and by the end of the game, Tua Tagovailoa was relaxing on the sideline as Skylar Thompson got some work in.

Houston scored 15 in the second half but it was never close and Miami improved to 8-3 on the year. They still haven’t lost when Tua plays a whole game (although technically he didn’t finish this one since it was so one-sided) and they’re real threats in the AFC to watch out for.

2. Philadelphia Eagles

They still own the best record in the NFL at 10-1 after handing the Green Bay Packers their eighth loss of the season, but the Philadelphia Eagles have also shown they have some areas to clean up. They made it hard on themselves in Week 11 against the Colts — and lost to the Commanders the week prior.

Against Green Bay, they started out with a two-touchdown lead but then let them right back in it in the first half.

This isn’t to say they’re headed in the wrong direction because they’re not. This is the most complete team in the NFC and when they get hot, they can beat anyone.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

Entering Week 13, the Kansas City Chiefs continue to stand atop our 2022 NFL Power Rankings. They hosted the Los Angeles Rams this weekend, as they were without Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, and made it look easy with a 26-10 win.

Patrick Mahomes had 320 yards passing and they got the ground game moving with Isiah Pacheco gaining 69 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, they continued to pressure the opposing quarterback as they had three sacks and two picks.

Entering the season, they were the favorites in the AFC West but there were supposed to be serious contenders with the Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders all making big moves to acquire superstars in the offseason. The Chiefs, on the other hand, traded one of theirs away but still look better now than they did at this point a year ago.