NFL Power Rankings, Week 12: Biggest risers and fallers after Week 11

12. Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos should probably be 7-4 at this point if we’re being honest. At the very least. The Broncos had their game-winning kick blocked last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the heartbreaking result of that game didn’t kill their spirit as they played host to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11.

The Broncos just wrecked the Falcons from the first drive of the game and Bo Nix has made himself a very strong case to be the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year as Denver’s offense has been one of the better units in the league and Nix has been absolutely humming.

It’s wild to say that given the way people talked about him in the pre-draft process, but this Denver team looks to be a real threat for a playoff spot in the loaded AFC. Their pass rush is legit, the offense is figuring things out, and when the Broncos play a clean game, they are tough to deal with.

11. Houston Texans

Texans play the Cowboys on Monday Night Football

The Houston Texans were off on Sunday and it wasn’t a great day for them even without playing a game.

The Indianapolis Colts won their 5th game of the season and climbed within just one win of the Texans despite having two more losses. The Colts getting a 5th win should be a wake-up call for a Texans team that has been seemingly sleep-walking through a large portion of this season.

I still don’t think we’ve really seen the best of the Texans even though they have gutted out some wins. And how about the next three games these Texans have been gifted? It starts on Monday night against a beaten-up Dallas Cowboys team and then the Texans play the Titans and Jaguars. They have a chance to get to nine wins rather quickly.