12. Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins might still be way outside of the playoff race in the AFC at this point, but there's no question that this team has responded in a very positive way after parting ways with general manager Chris Grier, then trading away former first-round pass rusher Jaelan Phillips to the Eagles.
The Dolphins have blown out the Bills, they beat the Commanders in Madrid, and overall, they're playing for each other. That's a great sign for head coach Mike McDaniel, who looked like he was on the hot seat earlier this year. Now, he may have bought himself another season in Miami, at least if his guys can keep it up for another month or so.
11. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals still have one of the worst defenses in the NFL, and we've seen on multiple occasions this season that nothing they do offensively -- regardless of who is playing quarterback -- is going to help all that much. The Bengals desperately need to figure things out on the defensive side of the ball, but that's not going to happen in-season or overnight.
The biggest news for this Bengals team right now is the return of quarterback Joe Burrow, who as of the time this post is being written, was a full participant at practice. Once again, the return of Burrow will mean absolutely nothing if the Bengals can't keep teams from scoring 40-plus points. We saw Joe Flacco light up the scoreboard multiple times this season in losses.