NFL Power Rankings: Week 12

Posted byjachoman9Posted inNFL, NFL Rankings

My power rankings and which teams can win the super bowl:

  1. Los Angeles Rams 8-2
  2. New England Patriots 9-2
  3. Seattle Seahawks 7-3
  4. Buffalo Bills 7-3
  5. Denver Broncos 9-2
  6. Philadelphia Eagles 8-2
  7. Green Bay Packers 6-3-1
  8. Detroit Lions 6-4
  9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-4
  10. Indianapolis Colts 8-2
  11. Kansas City Chiefs 5-5
  12. San Francisco 49ers 7-4
  13. Baltimore Ravens 5-5
  14. Jacksonville Jaguars 6-5
  15. Pittsburgh Steelers 6-4
  16. Chicago Bears 7-3
  17. Los Angeles Chargers 7-4
  18. Carolina Panthers 6-5
  19. Houston Texans 5-5
  20. Dallas Cowboys 4-5-1
  21. Minnesota Vikings 4-6
  22. Miami Dolphins 4-7
  23. Atlanta Falcons 3-7
  24. Washington Commanders 3-8
  25. New York Giants 2-9
  26. Arizona Cardinals 3-7
  27. Cincinnati Bengals 3-7
  28. Cleveland Browns 2-8
  29. Las Vegas Raiders 2-8
  30. New Orleans Saints 2-8
  31. New York Jets 2-8
  32. Tennessee Titans 1-9

Who Can Win the Super Bowl?

This year is tougher than most to really tell who the real contenders are. The three teams that have been the main contenders in the AFC for last several years are all fighting for wildcard spots right now (Buffalo, Kansas City, and Baltimore). These teams having down years have led to New England, Denver, and Indianapolis running the show. The NFC is a bit more normal. Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, Detroit, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, and San Francisco seem like they are definitely the 7 best teams, and they will probably be the 7 to make the playoffs.

So who are the contenders, and who are the pretenders?

AFC

Here are the top 10 teams in the standings right now:

  1. Denver Broncos 9-2
  2. New England Patriots 9-2
  3. Indianapolis Colts 8-2
  4. Pittsburgh Steelers 6-4
  5. Buffalo Bills 7-3
  6. Los Angeles Chargers 7-4
  7. Jacksonville Jaguars 6-4
  8. Houston Texans 5-5
  9. Kansas City Chiefs 5-5
  10. Baltimore Ravens 5-5

This is not how I think the standings will be at the end of the year though. I think the standings will look more something like this:

  1. New England Patriots 14-3
  2. Denver Broncos 13-4
  3. Indianapolis Colts 12-5
  4. Baltimore Ravens 10-7
  5. Buffalo Bills 14-3
  6. Jacksonville Jaguars 11-6
  7. Kansas City Chiefs 11-6
  8. Los Angeles Chargers 10-7
  9. Pittsburgh Steelers 9-8
  10. Houston Texans 8-9

The Chargers are living on borrowed money right now. They are injury plagued, and the schedule will get tougher as they must play the Eagles, Chiefs, and Broncos.

The Steelers are the same way, and the Ravens will pass them eventually as they are playing much better with Lamar back.

The Jaguars are good, but I don’t see them having a super bowl ceiling. They do have to play the Colts twice still, but they also get the Titans twice. They should make the playoffs.

The Chiefs are still a good team I think. They got really luck last year, and karma is finally catching up to them. The Colts and Broncos are the only really good teams they have left on the schedule, and the I expect them get their revenge on a hurt Chargers team.

The Bills seem like they are really good, but they always seem to have a really bad game every now and then.

The Patriots, Colts, and Broncos all have big leads in their divisions, and all of them should end on top, and it would require a huge collapse for any of them to miss the playoffs.

So, the field is New England, Denver, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Buffalo, Jacksonville, and Kansas City. I will automarically eliminate Jacksonville from Super Bowl contention. They lack the consistency to make a run, they have not proven that they can advance far, and they don’t seem like they have as high of a ceiling as the others.

I will also eliminate Baltimore. Derrick Henry has taken a step back, and the defense just isn’t very good.

I also have my reservations about Indianapolis. They haven’t really had a very tough schedule. We’ll find out about them down the stretch as they must play the Chiefs, Seahawks, and the Jaguars twice. I still don’t trust Daniel Jones, and rarely does a team like the Colts come out of nowhere to fo to the Super Bowl, especially in a conference with elite QBs like Mahomes, Allen, and Jackson.

I think the Chiefs and the Bills are contenders. It seems like the Chiefs are really close to breaking through to be just as good as they always are. They can turn it on in the playoffs every single year, and they will always have the QB advantage. The Bills are still really good, they are just less consistent. They still don’t have great weapons, but the defense along with Josh Allen and James Cook are good enough to get them to the Super Bowl.

The Patriots and the Broncos are also contenders. They are the most well rounded teams in the conference and they are playing better than the Bills and the Chiefs right now. I feel a little bit better about the Patriots because Drake Maye is much better than Bo Nix.

While the Chiefs and Broncos have a shot, the Patriots and Bills are the main contenders in the AFC, and it will probably come down to how good Drake Maye plays in the playoffs.

NFC

As I said before, the top 7 teams in the NFC seem set in stone. The Panthers and Bears could sneak into the playoffs if injuries happen, but neither of them seem as good as the others.

The Bears are currently no. 1 in the North, but they have 0 wins over teams that are .500 or better. In fact, they have only played against one team with a winning record (Lions) and they lost by double digits. They only have one game left against a team with a losing record and the rest are against the Packers (twice), Lions, 49ers, Eagles, and Steelers. There is a chance they finish 1-6 after starting 7-3.

Here is my projected seeding:

  1. Los Angeles Rams
  2. Philadelphia Eagles
  3. Green Bay Packers
  4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  5. Seattle Seahawks
  6. Detroit Lions
  7. San Francisco 49ers

The Niners aren’t a super bowl contender. They can never stay healthy, and leave a little something to be desired on both sides of the ball. I’m not sure how much Brock Purdy coming back helps, and I think their super bowl window is closed.

I’m eliminating the Lions too. Their o-line was the core of their team for the last few years, and now they are a shell of their formal selves. Their great skill players can’t perform at a championship level consistency if they are getting beat in the trenches.

The rest of the 5 teams are all super bowl contenders.

The Packers like to play down to their competion, but I expect them to put it together in the coming weeks. If they play to their potential, they could be the best team in the NFL.

The Seahawks have a fantastic defense and a booming offense. Sam Darnold is playing extremely well for a second straight season, and Seattle is one of the big surprises of the season.

The Buccaneers are really good. Baker Mayfield is a dog, and he would be my pick for MVP right now over Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford. They have lost a lot of close games against top tier opponents, so hoepfully they can get better in those spots later down the line.

The Eagles could repeat this year. They honestly just seem like a slightly worse version of last year’s team, but that still might be good enough to get it done in the end.

My favorite though, is Los Angeles. They are playing like a champion right now. Matthew Stafford is playing like an MVP. Puka Nacua and Davante Adams might be the best WR duo in the country and the defense is one of if not the best in the nation. The only thing that could stop them from winning a super bowl at this point is injury.

Conclusion

There are 4 super bowl contenders from the AFC:

  • Buffalo Bills
  • New England Patriots
  • Denver Broncos
  • Kansas City Chiefs

There are 5 contenders from the NFC:

  • Los Angeles Rams
  • Philadelphia Eagles
  • Seattle Seahawks
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Green Bay Packers

My pick for right now would be the Rams over the Bills, but I could definitely see the Patriots or the Eagles making it too.

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