The Thanksgiving week of the NFL season is always an exciting time. With more eyes glued to the screen this week, more so than any other, many teams got to strut their worth in the limelight.
Week 13 saw most of the top teams continue to cement their place amongst the best in the league. However, as the postseason inches closer and begins to take shape, some teams are letting destiny fall right between their fingers.
1. Detroit Lions (11-1) ↔
It may have been tighter than expected, but the Lions squeaked by the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving day to win their 10th straight game. Even in a quiet second half of play after halftime up 16-0, the Lions did what they do best. Not make nonsensical mistakes, fold under pressure, and feed off another ruckus crowd at Ford Field. It was a David Montgomery-heavy day of usage, carrying 21 times for 88 yards. He also tacked on 36 receiving yards. Against a struggling Bears offensive line, the Lions sacked Caleb Williams five times. For their efforts, the Lions rank in the top 10 in yards allowed. Detroit has another nationally televised game on Thursday against the Green Bay Packers in the game of the week for week 14.
2. Buffalo Bills (10-2) ↔
There’s probably no better home-field advantage than the Bills playing in a snow game. The players and fans are used to it. Sunday night was no different. Against a depleted San Francisco 49ers club, the Bills throttled them 35-10. Predictably, it was a run-heavy offense with the weather, as Josh Allen only attempted 17 passes. Allen’s night though far exceeded any statistical attribute as a passer. Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history to have a passing, rushing, and receiving touchdown in the same game. The latter came off a perfectly designed lateral from Amari Cooper. It was another terrific performance for the MVP candidate to say the least. James Cook also executed his role perfectly, accounting for 107 yards and a touchdown on 14 rushing attempts. The win also clinched a playoff spot for the Bills, winning the AFC East to no one’s surprise. Buffalo will now travel out west to Los Angeles to take on the Rams.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) ↔
The Eagles picked up arguably their most impressive win of the season, going on the road to Baltimore to beat the Ravens, 24-19. Philadelphia pretty much kept the Ravens in arms reach throughout, at one point up 24-12 late in the fourth quarter. Once again, the highlight was Saquon Barkley. The first-year Eagle had another 100-plus yard game, carrying the ball 23 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles relied on Barkley more than usual, as it was a rather quiet day for Jalen Hurts through the air. Philadelphia has now won eight straight games and this win is finally starting to unwrap just how good the Eagles are. With Barkley playing career-best football and Hurts playing well, almost a complete 180 from last year, the Eagles are primed to be a popular pick to once again make the Super Bowl.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) ↔
Stop me if you heard this before…but the Chiefs somehow managed to pull off another miracle-like win. The Chiefs recovered a botched snap on the Raider’s last drive of the game, deep in Chiefs territory, to avoid a stunning home loss on Black Friday. Even though the Chiefs have looked mediocre against sub-par teams, they are still finding new ways to just barely pull out the win, with this victory clinching their eighth straight postseason berth. They are the true definition of a team that can never be counted out. But there are still the usual concerns this season, like how the offense is not in sync. The lowly Raiders led in time of possession, total yards, and first downs. The Chiefs need to start making some adjustments to spark Patrick Mahomes’ unit. Kansas City faces a huge divisional test on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.
5. Minnesota Vikings (10-2) ↔
The Vikings stayed within striking distance of first place in the NFC North, once again coming back to pull off the win. The 23-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals, became Sam Darnold’s second straight game-winning drive. The Vikings have now won four of their past five games by just one possession, and even though some of those have come against irrelevant teams, similarly to the Chiefs, they are still managing to walk away with the victory. The Vikings were outgained on the field by almost 150 yards and had the ball for 11 minutes less than the Cardinals. The talented defense came through in the fourth quarter and capitalized on the two turnovers forced. Minnesota stays home this week for their game against the Atlanta Falcons.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) ↔
Not enough words can be said about the renaissance that is happening in the career of Russell Wilson. The former Seahawk and Bronco led the Steelers to a high-scoring 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on the road. Wilson threw for a season-high 414 yards, had only nine incompletions on 38 attempts, and overall paced the Steelers for 520 total yards on the field. This felt like an old-school Wilson game and for the Steelers, this is the type of game that makes you believe in this team. They’ve long been criticized for just relying on their defense to win games. And despite the Bengal’s defense being atrocious, putting 44 points up on the road against a division foe is no small feat, and it’s worth paying attention to. The Steelers continue their slew of division games back at home against the Browns on Sunday.
7. Green Bay Packers (9-3) ↔
On a freezing Thanksgiving night, the Packers comfortably defeated the newly reinvigorated Miami Dolphins, 30-17. Jordan Love had another efficient night, easily throwing his 19th and 20th touchdown passes of the season on a night where the pocket was clean with the offensive line holding up strong. The Packers now have two sets of three-game winning streaks, with a loss to the Lions sandwiched between them. They’ll finally have the chance to redeem themselves and cut the gap for the division crown on Thursday against Detroit.
8. Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) ↑2
There was some concern that the Chargers may start to fold after a tough loss in week 12. But the Chargers bounced back and bested the Falcons 17-13, in a game that saw the Chargers’ secondary force four Kirk Cousins interceptions. Rookie Tarheeb Still picked off Cousins twice and even returned one to the house. Standout Derwin James and newly acquired Marcus Maye recorded the other two interceptions. Despite the impressive performance, the offense struggled mightily, not even eclipsing 200 yards of total offense. It was Herbert’s sixth game of the season where he didn’t reach 200 yards passing. In comparison, he did that only twice last season. Still, he’s not turning the ball over and is not outwardly costing the Chargers any games, hence why their matchup with the Chiefs this week is important to try and solidify the Chargers as a postseason threat.
9. Denver Broncos (8-5) ↔
In the second-highest-scoring game of the week, the Broncos outlasted the Browns 41-32 on Monday night. The win marked Denver’s third straight and now sits firmly in the final wild-card spot in the AFC. The Broncos’ defense forced three interceptions and two of them were returned for a touchdown. Bo Nix was also protected all night long, although it did not result in the most efficient game for Nix. Nix went 18/35 on 294 yards passing, one touchdown, and two interceptions. It was a rare letdown for the rookie quarterback, with this game being his first since week two where he recorded multiple interceptions. The Broncos will take an 8-5 record into their long-awaited bye week.
10. Baltimore Ravens (8-5) ↓2
The Ravens being a Super Bowl contender are starting to look more and more shaky after every loss. Now look, there’s no shame in losing to the Eagles. But not only was it at home but they were soundly beaten even if the score looked close. The Ravens falter under pressure and when they do, it is typically when they remove the rushing attack from their offensive scheme. This is not to say Lamar Jackson isn’t great, because he is and is arguably the leading MVP candidate. But there is proof that when Derrick Henry gets going, the Ravens are a real threat to hoist the Lombardi trophy. That did not happen for Baltimore here and now they will be heading into their bye week with much more questions than answers.
11. Seattle Seahawks (7-5) ↔
The Seahawks used a 10-0 fourth quarter to knock off the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, 26-21. This is now Seattle’s third straight win, and with some key losses in their respective division, the Seahawks now hold a full-game lead over the pack. In Geno Smith’s revenge game, he put up 206 yards and a touchdown on 20/31 passing. The key was once again Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had four receptions for 74 yards in the win. He already has career highs in catches, targets, and yards thus far. Also, a shoutout to Leonard Williams for bulldozing his way for a 92-yard interception return. Impressive stuff. Next up is a huge divisional matchup with the Cardinals.
12. Washington Commanders (8-5) ↔
The Commanders rebounded nicely from their third straight loss, easily beating the Tennessee Titans, 42-19. Jayden Daniels had a great day, going 25/30 for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He also added a touchdown on the ground. Currently, Daniels sits in the top five of the highest QBR percentage in the league, a testament to how good Daniels has been. The Commanders also dominated on the ground, with both Brian Robinson and Chris Rodriguez Jr combining for 197 yards. Overall, the team had an impressive 267 yards rushing. Washington is now penciled into the final wild-card spot in the NFC with still room to go, as the Commanders head into their bye week before going back on the road.
13. Houston Texans (8-5) ↔
Similarly to the Commanders, the Texans rebounded as well, beating the last-place Jacksonville Jaguars 23-20. It wasn’t pretty though. Houston had a 23-6 lead with under 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, before giving up two Jacksonville touchdowns. In their eight wins, only two of them have been won by double digits and both of those wins came against teams like the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys. Houston is not bodying teams like they did last season, and even on a day where their top stars, C.J. Stroud, Joe Mixon, and Nico Collins played well, there are still problems surrounding the surface within this team.
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6) ↑1
When you’re healthy, you can win games, and that’s exactly what the Buccaneers are starting to do once again. Now granted, this mini two-game winning streak includes beating the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers, but for a team that is currently not in the playoffs but tied for the division lead in the NFC South, these wins are mightily important to remain in striking distance. The story of the day in their overtime win over the Panthers was Bucky Irving. He exploded for 152 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries and has positioned himself as the lead back over Rachaad White. The rookie running back now has 732 rushing yards on the season and has scored a touchdown in three straight games, totaling six on the year. Tampa Bay gets another lowly opponent to feast on as the Raiders come into town on Sunday.
15. Arizona Cardinals (6-6) ↓1
The Cardinals should’ve beaten the Vikings but instead, dropped their second straight game, and the continued worries of a second-half-season slump is maybe starting to percolate once more. Whether it is late-game turnovers or the defense starting to crumble with just minutes remaining, Arizona has a lot of things they need to look at before diving into a crucial matchup with the Seahawks. The winner of that game will be in possession of first place in the NFC West, with just four games left to go after.
16. Los Angeles Rams (6-6) ↑3
The Rams grabbed a solid win on the road against the New Orleans Saints, thanks to a grind-out performance by Matthew Stafford and Kyren Williams. Williams had 104 yards on the day with one touchdown, while Stafford threw both of his two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Both teams struggled offensively except for those final 15 minutes, but the Rams came out the victor in what was a must-win game. They now return to .500 and have the chance to play spoiler in the NFC West once again.
17. Indianapolis Colts (6-7) ↑3
Shane Steichen has guts. The Colts went for a two-point conversion instead of kicking the tying extra point, to take home a 25-24 win over the Patriots. It was a season-saving play that kept Indianapolis as the top team outside the projected seven-team AFC field. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but if Anthony Richardson can play a more consistent brand of football like he did in those final few minutes, then the Colts have a realistic shot at grabbing that final wild-card spot. Plus, they have a very enjoyable schedule ahead of them. After this bye, they’ll battle with the Broncos in another must-win situation.
18. Miami Dolphins (5-7) ↓1
After racking off wins against struggling teams, the Dolphins ran into a buzzsaw on the road against the Packers. Statistically, Tua Tagovailoa played very well, throwing for almost 400 yards and committing no turnovers. But most of that was done in chunks during crunch time. For the first 30 minutes, the Dolphins were left hopeless as they were down 21 points at halftime. The Dolphins have the roster to contend in the playoffs…but they have to get there, and with some sneaky tough matchups still on their schedule, the Dolphins probably have to win out if they want to make the postseason. They first have the Jets to contend with on Sunday.
19. Atlanta Falcons (6-6) ↓3
It has been a disastrous stretch for the Falcons, who have now dropped their third straight game after having won five of six. Kirk Cousins is playing terrible football, tossing four more interceptions in the loss to the Chargers. He now leads the NFL in picks with 13 of them and is just barely in the top 20 for total QBR. If Cousins keeps up this downward trajectory, then Falcons fans may start to clamor for rookie Michael Penix Jr to step into the lineup sooner rather than later. Atlanta still has a lot to play for though, as they just narrowly sit in first place of the NFC South. The emotions though are about to kick in high gear, as Cousins goes to Minneapolis to play his former team, the Vikings.
20. San Francisco 49ers (5-7) ↓2
The bad news just continues to grow for the 49ers. On top of being blown out by the Bills en route to losing their third straight game. On top of being in last place in the division. Christian McCaffery is once again injured and expected to miss the rest of the season. It sounds like a broken record, but every single season we talk about how San Francisco just continuously gets hit with the injury bug. Not only is McCaffery out, but their number two running back Jordan Mason also came down with an injury. This team is running on fumes and it may be time to already look ahead to the future and start building and reshaping the construction of this 49ers team for next season.
21. Dallas Cowboys (5-7) ↑1
The Cowboys had a great Thanksgiving day, thanks in large part to their 27-20 win over the Giants. The win also marked the Cowboys’ first home victory of the season. Rico Dowdle had a career day, gaining 122 yards and a touchdown off 22 carries, and averaging a tad over five yards per carry. Dowdle has rightfully positioned himself at the top of the chain in the backfield, and he’ll look to ride the Cowboy’s newfound momentum into Monday night’s game against the Bengals.
22. Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) ↓1
Joe Burrow is having a magnificent season. If the Bengals record was flipped, we would be talking about Burrow being the MVP. However, that is not the case because the Bengals’ defense is once again failing this high-powered offense. The Bengals are right near the bottom in almost every defensive statistic, whereas the offense is seated in the top 10. It’s such an absurd contrast that has damaged any hope Cincinnati has of making the playoffs. Burrow has 15 touchdowns and two interceptions in the past four games. It’s not his fault, clearly.
23. New Orleans Saints (4-8) ↑1
The Saints may be 4-8, but they are continuously going to be a tough team to beat. Their record can be a bit of an outlier and that showed on Sunday where the Saints played pretty well against a more desperate Rams squad. Alvin Kamara had a great day on the ground and the team as a whole played a more balanced approach than what we’ve seen in typical New Orleans offenses. Despite the loss, there are still some positives to take away and the Saints will try to enact those on the field more this Sunday at the Giants.
24. Cleveland Browns (3-9) ↑1
Jameis Winston is one of the more fascinating players to step into the league since the moment he was drafted. He has the “honor” of throwing the most pick sixs in league history and he added two more to the tally on Monday. And in typical Winston fashion, he threw four touchdown passes. He’s an anomaly and is the definition of unpredictable on the field. In addition to his performance, Jerry Jeudy had an all-timer of a game, going nuts with 235 yards and a touchdown. Jeudy now sits in the top five of receiving yards across the NFL. Another saving grace is that the Browns were competitive on the road against Denver and they have the chance to ruin a lot of postseason plans with their remaining five games all being against teams that are either in the playoffs currently or “in the hunt.”
25. Chicago Bears (4-8) ↓2
The Matt Eberflus era in Chicago is over, as the Bears inexplicably cost themselves the chance at tying the game after a comeback on Thanksgiving against the Lions. The Bears remain winless since their Hail Mary loss to the Commanders. It was clear that Eberflus lost trust in the locker room. He finishes his Bears tenure with a 14-32 record. It’ll be interesting to see how Caleb Williams plays for the rest of the year as the Bears hope for a brighter future.
26. Tennessee Titans (3-9) ↔
A week after upsetting the Texans, Tennessee was blown out at Washington. The Titans showed some fight mid-way through, but were swiftly laid to rest late in the second half. One interesting player to note is Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. Ikhine hauled in two more touchdowns and now has four touchdowns in the past three games. On the season, he has only 20 receptions and eight of them have accounted for touchdowns. In a season full of struggle, Ikhine has been a rather fascinating piece to the Titans’ offense.
27. New England Patriots (3-10) ↑1
The Patriots suffered a devastating loss to the Colts off the hands of a game-winning two-point conversion. Regardless of the wins or losses, for the rest of the season, the focus is going to be on the development of Drake Maye. Maye looked good here. He completed 24 of his 30 passes for 238 yards with one touchdown and interception. Now compared to the other rookie quarterbacks, Daniels and Nix, Maye is getting overlooked, and rightfully so, but the North Carolina native has the fundamentals down and he may carry the most upside out of the entire rookie class when it’s all said and done.
28. Carolina Panthers (3-9) ↑1
The Panthers are battling. Carolina surrounded a late lead as the Bucs defeated the Panthers in overtime, 26-23. Even with a loss, the story for the Panthers should be about the play of Bryce Young. Since being reinserted into the starting lineup, he’s been a much different player. He’s picked up a pair of wins and has remained competitive in games against good teams like the Bucs and Chiefs. Young has also played mostly turnover-free basketball and on Sunday, tallied 298 passing yards, his most of the season and his most since December 24, 2023.
29. New York Jets (3-9) ↓2
The Jets are falling farther than other teams down the list that lost this week because their ineptitude to win games when everything is going right for them is astonishing. The Jets are the most disappointing team in the league and there is plenty of blame to go around to everyone. From the players on the field to the coaching staff and to the front office, the Jets have never played well for all 60 minutes of a football game. The ups and downs (mostly downs) of this team are alarming and it’s not going to be an easy fix. On the bright side, Aaron Rodgers’s tenure with the Jets is increasingly looking to be over once this season finally concludes.
30. New York Giants (2-10) ↔
New York (New Jersey) is home to two of the worst teams in the league…again. This seems like a recurrent theme with the Giants and Jets but it’s true. The Giants are a disaster and the mistake of choosing Daniel Jones over Saquon Barkley may haunt them for years to come. Thanksgiving’s loss was a surprise to no one and the remaining schedule doesn’t bold well for them to rally up their record before the season closes. It could be another long and cold month for the G-Men.
31. Las Vegas Raiders (2-10) ↔
The Raiders gave it their best shot against the Chiefs. With Gardner Minshew out for the season, it was time once again for Aidan O’Connell to step back onto the field. O’Connell was effective, going for 340 yards and two touchdowns with one fumble to his name. The play of O’Connell did not cost the Raiders the upset win. What cost them was some good old-fashioned bad luck…and a shaky center on the offensive line.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10) ↔
The Jaguars seem destined to land in the bottom spot of the power rankings until the end of the season. A terrible year turned even worse when Trevor Lawrence was brutally hit in the head by Azeez Al-Shaair. That, coupled with his nagging shoulder injury has resulted in Lawrence being placed on IR and out for the season. Even though Mac Jones came in and did reasonably well, cutting their loss to only one three points, his recent performances give the Jaguars virtually no hope that they can even win one more game to close out the disappointing season.
