12. Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles was on the bye in Week 12
The Los Angeles Chargers limped into the bye Week at 7-4 thanks to a blowout loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars. LA has been dealing with some injuries this year, as both tackles in Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater are out for the year, and the interior offensive line was an issue to begin with.
The Chargers also just did not come into the season with a great roster and did have below-average depth, so that’s showing itself in an ugly way this year. The Chargers being on the bye should help things, and they still should be good enough to sneak into the postseason as a Wild Card team.
11. Dallas Cowboys
How about the Dallas Cowboys? This team has now won two games in a row, and they have done so in impressive fashion. Dallas beat the snot out of the Las Vegas Raiders a couple of weeks ago and mounted a 21-point comeback at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sure, the Cowboys might not be able to win enough to win the NFC East this year, but you get the sense that Dallas is going to make things very interesting in the playoff picture as the season goes on.
The defensive additions have worked thus far, and the offense is going to always be efficient. Dak Prescott had another great game, and the defense really shut things down for the Eagles in the second half.
The Cowboys rise a lot in our NFL Power Rankings and have a short week, as they host the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving and will have a chance to get to 6-5-1, which would really give them a huge confidence boost for the stretch run.
The Cowboys are now no. 11 in our power rankings, a huge rise.