Week 12 of the 2024 NFL Season is now about over, so let's get into the latest NFL power rankings as we turn to Week 13. There were more flat-out insane games in Week 12, and this NFL season is just not disappointing.
The early slate of NFL games featured some sloppy team performances and high-stakes endings. The Chicago Bears mounted a comeback against the Minnesota Vikings, but were not able to close out the deal in overtime.
The Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys traded dysfunctional days until there was no time left, and the Denver Broncos overcame a slow start to hammer the Las Vegas Raiders. The NFL power rankings for Week 13 look a bit different than they did last week.
Let's get into our latest NFL power rankings for Week 13.
2024 NFL Power Rankings, Week 13: Broncos soar, Dolphins rise, and Giants crater
32. New York Giants (2-9)
The New York Giants kind of signaled that they were quitting the rest of the 2024 NFL Season when they benched Daniel Jones and decided to start Tommy DeVito instead. As you could probably imagine, they got their rear ends kicked in Week 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were coming off of their bye week.
The Giants clearly need to acquire a franchise QB somehow, and they could find one in the 2025 NFL Draft. There really isn’t much else to say about this team. They somehow did find a way to botch the Daniel Jones benching and ended up releasing him before Week 12.
Head coach Brian Daboll may be on the hot seat, and General Manager Joe Schoen may also be on his way out.
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)
Have we forgotten about the Jacksonville Jaguars? A team that does have a franchise QB but not much else, they have really fallen apart since about the halfway point of the 2023 NFL Season, and this franchise has totally cratered since their breakout season in 2022. I guess other teams figured them out, and it’s clear that the Jags coaching staff has not been able to adjust accordingly.
30. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)
Oh boy, I mean, there are almost no words for how pathetically bad the Las Vegas Raiders are. This team has now lost seven games in a row since starting out 2-2 and showing some life early on in the 2024 NFL Season. The Raiders were able to take advantage of the sloppy play early on from the Denver Broncos in the first half of this game.
The Raiders pulled off a successful fake punt and also got a long kick return as well. However, the second half turn out to be a totally different story, and the Broncos ended up pulling away in the end. Starting QB Gardner Minshew II left late in the game with what looked like a very painful shoulder injury, and I am no doctor, but a broken collarbone is kind of what it seemed like.
The Raiders are among the worst teams in football and do not do anything well besides lose if we are being honest, and it becomes harder for me to envision that Antonio Pierce is this team’s head coach heading into the 2025 NFL Season.
29. New England Patriots (3-9)
The New England Patriots are a bad football team, but they may have a franchise quarterback in Drake Maye. The main thing we have to keep in mind here with the Patriots is that this team is in year one of a true and full rebuild, so this roster is missing a ton of talent on both sides of the ball.
You really can’t expect Drake Maye to do more than he is currently doing, so I would not put too much into their results this season. Maye has shown a lot that makes you think this kid could develop into a high-end franchise QB. Coming into the NFL, Maye drew some comparisons to Justin Herbert.
The Patriots are bad, but they are supposed to be bad, if that makes sense.
28. New York Jets (3-8)
If you looked up the word dysfunctional in the dictionary, you would probably see a picture of the New York Jets logo… and Aaron Rodgers, and Woody Johnson.
You get the point. Nothing has worked for the Jets in the 2024 NFL Season, and this team seems to be on the cusp of blowing everything up. That’s truly what they need to do if they want to fix their franchise for the long-term. The team put their faith in Aaron Rodgers, and his tore his Achilles just four plays in the 2023 NFL Season.
Well, it’s clear that Rodgers was physically declined coming into the 2024 NFL Season, and that has definitely been a huge part in the Jets lack of success. However, them firing Robert Saleh was not the smartest move. The team also recently fired now former GM Joe Douglas.
The Jets should probably cut ties with Rodgers in the offseason and start fresh, but man, this franchise has been horrific this season.
27. Tennessee Titans (3-8)
The Tennessee Titans upset the Houston Texans in Week 12, but the Texans just might not be that good of a team. On a side note, I had the Texans winning the Super Bowl this season, and this team feels like they are guaranteed to lose in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Anyway, the Titans got a decent overall team performance and earned their third win of the 2024 NFL Season against a division rival. Will Levis threw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns in the win, and he’s played some decent football in recent weeks.
The Titans should probably take a QB in the 2025 NFL Draft, but if they wanted to give Levis another shot, that would not surprise me at this point in time. The Titans come in at 27 in our latest NFL power rankings.
26. Chicago Bears (4-7)
The Chicago Bears just cannot figure out how to win football games and have now lost five games in a row. Rookie QB Caleb Williams threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, but the team did mount a late-game comeback to get the game into overtime.
A game-winning field goal by the Minnesota Vikings handed the Bears their fifth loss in a row. If you ask me, this team needs to reset with their coaching staff and invest more into their offensive line.
The roster is pretty talented, but at this point, them not winning games boils down to it being a coaching issue. Caleb Williams is getting comfortable being in the NFL, but the ceiling of this team will not be realized until the right staff is brought into the mix. This loss also probably truly kicks them out of any shot to make the postseason in 2024.
25. New Orleans Saints (4-7)
The New Orleans Saints were on their bye in Week 12 but have lost two games in a row since firing Dennis Allen. I guess if they can rip off another two wins in a row, this team could spring themselves back into some sort of Wild Card hunt. That doesn’t feel likely, but I guess it could happen.
The Saints do have some issues for the long-term that they need to fix. The coaching staff needs blown up, and so does the roster. I would also consider cutting ties with Derek Carr and seeing what kind of young QB option is out there.
Their older roster is something that needs to change, so we’ll see if GM Mickey Loomis will finally take on the much-needed rebuild. The New Orleans Saints find themselves at no. 25 in our Week 13 NFL power rankings.
24. Carolina Panthers (3-8)
The Carolina Panthers came out of their bye week and gave the Kansas City Chiefs some fits. If there was ever such thing as a good loss, this was it. There is no shame in playing the Chiefs close enough that they need to kick a walk-off field goal to win the game, and if there was such thing as a bad loss, it’s what the Chiefs did today.
The Panthers may have something here with their new coaching staff headlined by Dave Canales, and Bryce Young isn’t playing terribly, but the Panthers may find themselves in a weird spot. Will Young keep playing well enough for the Panthers to at least think about the possibility of passing up on a QB in the 2025 NFL Draft?
That’ll be interesting to watch unfold. Carolina does drop to 3-8 on the season and are obviously not making the postseason, but there was a lot to like about this team in Week 12 of the 2024 NFL Season.
23. Cleveland Browns (3-8)
Playing on Thursday Night Football, the Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers at home and handed them a pretty tough divisional loss. That was the type of game that most definitely was going to be a nasty divisional battle.
Jameis Winston largely played well in the win, and the Browns can perhaps play some spoiler down the stretch this season. They travel to Denver to face the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football this coming week, so that’ll be quite the game.
After that, the Browns are in Pittsburgh for their second game in three weeks against the Steelers. Cleveland’s season went off the rails when it became apparent that Deshaun Watson was totally washed, but if Watson had been able to figure out this QB thing, the Browns record may have been flipped at this point in the season.
22. Indianapolis Colts (5-7)
The Indianapolis Colts dealt with a handful today in the Detroit Lions and could not get it done. Anthony Richardson was also unable to build off of his nice performance in Week 11 versus the New York Jets. The Colts now sit at 5-7 on the season and have actually now fallen behind the Miami Dolphins in the NFL playoff picture.
The Colts were hanging around for a while, but now they are very much on the outside looking in. Indy needs to truly figure out whether or not Richardson is the guy, so no matter what happens, they need to give him every single start for the rest of the 2024 NFL Season.
The team also needs to shore up some of their defensive issues, as they do give up a lot of yards as well. Indianapolis feels like they are again not headed to the postseason.
21. San Francisco 49ers (5-6)
Folks, the San Francisco 49ers as we know them are probably no more. Their main foundation of players in guys like Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle have all been hurt to an extent this season. Aiyuk is out for the year and McCaffrey is just now starting to get back on the field after missing a large chunk of the season.
Brock Purdy is even hurt and was not on the field in Week 12. The Niners got blown out by the Green Bay Packers in Week 12 and are now 5-6 on the season. Somehow, though, this team is not at all out of the race in the NFC West, but you have to think that they just do not have the toughness or edge that they had to be able to make some sort of run.
The Niners not being much of a viable playoff team anymore can open the door for some other NFC teams to make some noise. San Francisco falls to 21 in our latest NFL power rankings.
20. Dallas Cowboys (4-7)
The Dallas Cowboys won quite the game in Week 12 against the Washington Commanders and I guess got a moral victory. The Commanders came into this game having lost two in a row, and are now losers of three in a row. I am not sure Dallas getting embarrassed by the Houston Texans last week sat well with them, so this game was probably one where they wanted to tee off a bit on Jayden Daniels.
Dallas’ season as just not gone the way most of us thought, and it would not have been a shock if the Cowboys were 7-4 on the season instead of 4-7, but here we are. Dak Prescott is out for the rest of the year with a hamstring injury, so that’s been the huge blow for them, but Cooper Rush is more than capable of filling in for a few games, and he was able to outplay Jayden Daniels in Week 12 to earn the victory.
19. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
On their bye in Week 12, the Cincinnati Bengals are not a playoff team, and they’d probably have to win out at this rate to make the postseason. The seventh seed currently belongs to the Denver Broncos, who have three more wins and two fewer losses than the Bengals. Being that Denver has just five games left, it would probably take them losing all five of their remaining games for the Bengals to sneak in.
Cincy and Denver to face each other in a few weeks, but the Bengals need to be thinking about extending Ja’Marr Chase and also what they could do to rebuild their defense next offseason. I understand that some people want the Bengals to make some sort of late-season push, but it’s just not happening this year, and we’re going to have to deal with that.
They are no. 19 in our latest NFL power rankings.
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came out of their bye week and did what they needed to do against the lowly New York Giants, who are now 2-9 on the season. The Buccaneers snap a skid and get to 5-6 on the year. They are still effectively two games behind the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South given that the Falcons swept them, but they are staying alive, and you just never know what could happen down the stretch.
The Bucs went 9-8 in 2023 and won the division. Last offseason, they extended QB Baker Mayfield and were clearly trying to run it back. The Bucs aren’t going to win the Super Bowl or anything, but they are a fun team with some bite to them. Mayfield is having the best year of his career, so perhaps he can catch some fire down the stretch.
Tampa Bay comes in at no. 18 in our latest NFL power rankings.
17. Los Angeles Rams (5-5)
The Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles are currently playing on Sunday Night Football, and the Rams are most definitely more in need of a win than Philly is. The Eagles have won six games in a row coming into this one, and the Rams have turned their season around after starting out 1-4, primarily due to injuries.
LA made a late-season push in 2023 and managed to win 10 games and find themselves in the postseason, and that kind of feels like their ceiling this year. If they did not have to deal with all of those injuries, this team may have come into this game at 7-3 or even better. Rams QB Matthew Stafford is again having an excellent season and is still near the top of the QB hierarchy in the NFL.
The Rams need to stack another couple of wins before they can rise any higher in our NFL power rankings.
16. Miami Dolphins (5-6)
Now having won three games in a row, the Miami Dolphins find themselves at 5-6 on the season and all of a sudden back in the mix in the AFC Wild Card race. The Denver Broncos are the seventh seed at 7-5, so Miami is doing to have to make some a ton of ground and hope the Broncos lose some games, but Denver did beat the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12.
Miami also leaped the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals in the standings during this winning streak, and this week, they took apart the New England Patriots, who are among the worst teams in football this season.
We’ll see if Miami can win some more games down the stretch, but they 3-6 hole they dug themselves into may be too much for them to dig out of. QB Tua Tagovailoa is playing well since returning from the concussion, so you just never know, I guess.
The Dolphins are no. 15 in our latest NFL power rankings.
15. Arizona Cardinals (6-5)
The Arizona Cardinals lost a tough divisional game in Seattle in Week 12, so they have lost the NFC West lead after holding it for a short time. The Cardinals have broken out a bit this season and now sit at 6-5. They won just four games in the entire 2023 NFL Season, and if you had kept track, I had told you that the Cards would be better than expected this season.
They indeed are, and we’ll see if they can win enough games to somehow get into the postseason in 2024. Kyler Murray is still playing at a high level, and this team could end up becoming a huge problem in 2025 when they get some more talent on the roster.
The Cardinals are right in the middle at 15 in our latest NFL power rankings ahead of Week 13.
14. Atlanta Falcons (6-5)
Losing two in a row heading into the bye week, the Atlanta Falcons soft defense is being exposed, and their injuries are piling up. The Falcons need to figure something out, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did win in Week 12, so they are staying alive in the NFC South. I do believe that Atlanta comes away with the division, but like the next team in these latest power rankings, it does not feel like they are going to make much of a run in the postseason.
They did improve their QB situation this past offseason with Kirk Cousins, and they also took Michael Penix Jr in the 2024 NFL Draft, so for the long-term they may be in a good spot, but in the short-term, they will have to answer some questions coming out of the bye week and into Week 13 of the 2024 NFL Season.
13. Houston Texans (7-5)
The Houston Texans are just not a great team thus far, and they have never felt like a great team at any point this season. If there was such thing as a bad 7-5 team, this is it. Houston lost to the Tennessee Titans in Week 12 and now drop to 7-5 on the season. Them having swept the Indianapolis Colts does just about guarantee that they will come away with the AFC South title for the second time in both years of the CJ Stroud era.
Houston is 3-3 away from home and could end up getting a very good team in the Wild Card round. It does feel pretty likely that Houston is headed toward a fourth seed in the AFC, which could match them up with the Los Angeles Chargers or the Baltimore Ravens in the first round, which could be some bad news.
The Texans need to figure something out, and fast.
12. Washington Commanders (7-5)
The Washington Commanders are kind of falling apart. They have now lost three games in a row, and you can just seen Jayden Daniels Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign slip away and head toward QB Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos The Commanders are an interesting team, as it is no surprise that they are hitting a bit of a wall here, but you have to wonder if Jayden Daniels is fully healthy.
You also have to wonder how much of this is Kliff Kingsbury and the reputation his teams have had in the NFL and collegiate levels in totally collapsing at the end of the season. The Commanders should probably still be able to hold on for nine or 10 wins and slide their way into the playoffs as a Wild Card team, but they likely won’t win a playoff game.
Them even making the playoffs is pretty insane, so they are still ahead of schedule in spite of this slide that they are on.
11. Seattle Seahawks (6-5)
Beating the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals in back-to-back weeks, the Seattle Seahawks now sit atop the NFC West, as the LA Rams are currently playing on Sunday Night Football as I type this out. I may have been slightly wrong about the Seahawks, but this team isn’t capable of making any sort of deep playoff run.
Given how average the NFC West has been this year, the Seahawks could find a way to win the division, which would guarantee them a top-4 seed in the conference. That would be an interesting scenario, but there is still a lot of football left.
Seattle needs to find a franchise QB, and they could look to the 2025 NFL Draft to do that. Geno Smith may end up back starting for the team next year, though.
10. Denver Broncos (7-5)
Folks, it is time to talk about the Denver Broncos. This team is good. They aren’t just a fun team with an emerging rookie QB. They have the best rookie QB in the NFL at the moment, and Bo Nix has played like a top-10 QB for about two months now. The Broncos have gone 7-3 since their 0-2 start and just beat the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12.
This game was a true test of how tough and gritty this team can be - it was a pretty rough start in the first half, as all Denver could muster was three field goals, but they ended up with 29 points total. They scored two touchdowns. Nix threw both of them to Courtland Sutton, and kicker Wil Lutz added five field goals himself.
The Broncos have now won two games in a row since losing in heartbreaking fashion to the Kansas City Chiefs a couple of weeks ago. Denver is now firmly in control of that seventh and final seed in the AFC playoff picture.
The Indianapolis Colts lost in Week 12, so they are now two games behind Denver, and the Miami Dolphins are lurking at 5-6, but the Broncos are the breakout team of the year, and Nix is trending to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost on a short week to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football, but even if the Baltimore Ravens win in Week 12 on Monday Night Football, Pittsburgh is still in first place in the AFC North. It was an ugly game all around for the Steelers, and on these short weeks, it’s about gaining a schematic advantage.
That really isn’t the type of team that the Steelers are, so this loss just does not feel surprising. They are still inside the top-10 in our latest NFL power rankings.
8. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
The Los Angeles Chargers are playing on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens, and the biggest story from this one is the “Harbaugh Bowl” Jim and John Harbaugh matchup in the NFL once again, and they once met in the Super Bowl back in 2012 when Jim Harbaugh was with the San Francisco 49ers.
After about 10 years away from the NFL, Jim Harbaugh made his return to the league and has since helped lead the LA Chargers out to one of their best starts in quite some time. It would be a massive shock if the Chargers did not make the postseason this year. They have won seven of their first 10 games and perhaps have an outside shot at winning the AFC West this year if the Chiefs end up collapsing down the stretch.
The Chargers have a lot going right for them but will need another offseason to add talent to this roster. Them breaking out in a huge way in 2025 is firmly on the table with this team. They are seventh in our latest NFL power rankings.
7. Baltimore Ravens (7-4)
The Baltimore Ravens are among the best teams in the NFL, but they are flawed. Lamar Jackson is having yet another MVP season, and it would be a shock if he did not win the award this year if you ask me. The Ravens passing defense has truly been their undoing this season, and I am not sure if Lamar Jackson and the offense can consistently show up when it matters most.
The Ravens are still going to make the playoffs, but this team most definitely misses their old defensive coordinator, Mike Macdonald. The Ravens probably view this game as a must-win, as they could danger themselves in the Wild Card hunt with a loss. The Denver Broncos are breathing down their necks at 7-5.
6. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)
The Philadelphia Eagles are currently playing on Sunday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams, and these two teams may be more evenly-matched than you think. I do believe the Eagles win this game, which would give them a 9-2 record and tie them with the Minnesota Vikings for the second-best record in the NFL, only behind the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions.
The Eagles started this season off 2-2, and it was pretty rocky. A lot of questions arose about this team and if Nick Sirianni was the right man to continue leading them. If you remember back to last season, the Eagles limped to the finish line, finished 11-6 on the season, and lost in the first round of the NFL playoffs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
What Philly is doing this season does feel much more sustainable, so we’ll see if they could compete for the Detroit Lions when the playoffs roll around.
5. Green Bay Packers (8-3)
The Green Bay Packers blew out the San Francisco 49ers this week, and that was probably the nail in the coffin for this 49ers team as we know it. The Niners drop to 5-6 on the season, but the Packers improve to 8-3 and are still alive in the NFC North. It’s the best division in football, and while the Packers are plenty good enough to win the division, them sharing the division with the Vikings and Lions does make things difficult.
Green Bay may be firmly in line for that fifth or sixth seed in the NFC playoff race, so they would have to travel in the first round of the postseason. This was also the first game of the 2024 NFL Season for Jordan Love where he did not throw an interception, so perhaps that is a sign of things to come the rest of the way for this team.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)
The Kansas City Chiefs got outplayed by the Denver Broncos a few weeks ago in Arrowhead, lost to the Buffalo Bills last week, and needed a walk-off field goal to beat the Carolina Panthers. This team is a lot closer to being a 7-win team in terms of how “good” they are, if that makes sense. Their record is absolutely not who they are, and it’s just odd how this team keeps finding ways to win these games.
The Carolina Panthers tied it up late in the game, but Patrick Mahomes was able to lead a game-winning scoring drive. KC moves to 10-1 on the season and is still in first place in the AFC. If that holds, they would earn the lone bye week and also get home-field advantage during the postseason, and they most definitely need it this season.
If they had to travel to face the Buffalo Bills this season, I am not sure they would be able to win. They are fourth in our latest NFL power rankings.
3. Minnesota Vikings (9-2)
How about the Minnesota Vikings? Sam Darnold is still playing well and this team is now 9-2 on the season after a huge win in overtime against the Chicago Bears, who have lost five games in a row. The Vikings are still hanging around in the NFC North race, which is quite something.
And this is the best division in football by a mile. The Vikings ceiling in the postseason is interesting with Darnold at QB. And it’s even more interesting to think what this team would do if they actually won a playoff game or two.
Would they bring Darnold back for another year or two and continue to redshirt rookie QB JJ McCarthy? This could be the main story to follow as we closeout the 2024 NFL Season.
2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)
The Buffalo Bills took down the Kansas City Chiefs last week and were on their bye this week. The Bills now sit at 9-2 on the season and were most definitely rooting for the Carolina Panthers today. Buffalo will need the Chiefs to lose at least one more game if they hope to overtake them in the AFC playoff picture.
Buffalo had to shed some veteran contracts this past offseason in an effort to get in a better spot with their cap space, but that has not mattered. Josh Allen might be playing the best football of his career, and the defense is also their normal, dominant selves.
The Bills are the best team in the AFC, but they have not been able to get past the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason. The way things are trending, Buffalo may be able to do just that in the 2024 NFL Season. They are no. 2 in our latest NFL power rankings.
1. Detroit Lions (10-1)
Taking care of business in Week 12 versus the Indianapolis Colts, the Detroit Lions are very clearly the best team in the NFL, and I am not sure it is much of a discussion at this point. Many people had told us that the Lions were going to fall to the trap game this week, but it just did not happen.
The Lions offense took care of business, and their defense kept Anthony Richardson in check. Richardson was pretty awful on the day, and the Lions continue to stay atop the NFC and are probably going to earn the first seed and that bye.
They’d also get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, so this team could put it all together this year and make the Super Bowl.
There you have it, our NFL power rankings as we close out Week 12 and head into Week 13.