NFL Power Rankings entering Week 13: Bears can legitimize their run on Black Friday vs. Eagles, who take a tumble
NFC East: Dallas Cowboys | New York Giants | Philadelphia Eagles | Washington Commanders
NFC North: Chicago Bears | Detroit Lions | Green Bay Packers | Minnesota Vikings
NFC South: Atlanta Falcons | Carolina Panthers | New Orleans Saints | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West: Arizona Cardinals | Los Angeles Rams | San Francisco 49ers | Seattle Seahawks
AFC East:Buffalo Bills | Miami Dolphins | New England Patriots | New York Jets
AFC North:Baltimore Ravens | Cincinnati Bengals | Cleveland Browns | Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Houston Texans | Indianapolis Colts | Jacksonville Jaguars | Tennessee Titans
AFC West: Denver Broncos | Kansas City Chiefs | Las Vegas Raiders | Los Angeles Chargers
The Chicago Bears finally got a win over a team over .500 on Sunday. Barely, of course.
The Bears have built an 8-3 record, which is fantastic, but they have done particularly well in two areas: Beating bad teams and winning close games. Of the Bears' eight wins, seven are against teams at .500 or below. The best win came Sunday, a three-point victory over the 6-5 Pittsburgh Steelers at home. The Steelers had Mason Rudolph replacing an injured Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
The Bears are used to close wins. They have victories by 1, 1, 5, 4, 2 and 3 points, and some of those tight wins are against some of the worst teams in the NFL (Raiders, Commanders, Bengals, Giants among them). They have a point differential of -3 this season. There's a reason they rank 22nd in DVOA, which is up from 25th last week.
There are reasons to doubt the Bears and their staying power. But a Black Friday game over the Eagles provides a chance to legitimize everything Chicago has done so far. The Eagles are 8-3 and also angry after blowing a 21-0 lead to the Cowboys and losing on Sunday. Chicago doesn't have a win anywhere close to as good as beating the Eagles on the road. The Bears don't need to win at Philadelphia for their playoff lives, or maybe even to win the NFC North. But if they care about proving themselves as more than a team boosting its record with a great record in close games against a cotton soft schedule, this is a high-profile chance to shut up critics.
Here are the power rankings after Week 12 of the NFL season:
32 (previous ranking 32): Tennessee Titans (1-10)
There are signs of progress. The Titans didn’t lose by fewer than eight points in their first eight games. They’ve lost by seven or fewer points in three straight games, to the Chargers, Texans and Seahawks. You can make an argument they’re better than the Raiders right now.
31 (31): Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)
The Raiders fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and senior offensive assistant Bob Bicknell. The biggest problem the Raiders have, by far, is their offensive line. Their offensive line coach is Brennan Carroll. He’s head coach Pete Carroll’s son. Brennan Carroll still has his job.
30 (30): New Orleans Saints (2-9)
Sunday’s loss was disappointing. The Saints had an extra week of rest due to a bye, and were hosting a Falcons team that has been fading. And they were never in the game. It’s a reminder that even though the Saints have moments of competency, they’re still a bad team.
29 (29): New York Jets (2-9)
The Jets changed quarterbacks and scored 10 points in a loss. One interesting development in a lost season is that receiver John Metchie III led all receivers with 65 yards and scored a touchdown for the second straight week. Metchie is a former second-round draft pick of the Texans and is just 25 years old.
28 (24): Arizona Cardinals (3-8)
Jacksonville was the first team to win a regular-season game with a turnover margin of -4 since 2020, according to ESPN’s Michael DiRocco. That means Arizona was the first team to lose at +4 in five years. The Cardinals have lost eight of nine. Jonathan Gannon is in real trouble.
27 (27): New York Giants (2-10)
It’s awesome that the Giants put on a thrilling show with Jameis Winston at quarterback. It was also fitting they found a way to lose to the Lions in overtime. Had they won, the discussion this week would be if interim head coach Mike Kafka has a shot at getting the job permanently.
26 (28): Cleveland Browns (3-8)
Shedeur Sanders deserves credit for making major strides from his first game to his second. Not to move the goal posts, but it happened against the putrid Raiders. It was still a promising first start and the Browns are making the right call giving him another start in Week 13 vs. the 49ers.
25 (26): Washington Commanders (3-8)
Jayden Daniels hasn’t been cleared for contact and he’s unlikely to face the Broncos this weekend. So our Sunday and Monday night games this week are Broncos at Commanders with no Daniels, and Giants at Patriots. The NFL loves its NFC East teams in prime time, no matter what.
24 (23): Cincinnati Bengals (3-8)
Joe Burrow is expected to return this week and it’s mostly for entertainment purposes. The Bengals have a 1.3% chance to make the playoffs, via DVOA. Playing Burrow will be discussed in the media, but Burrow wants it and head coach Zac Taylor might not feel great about his job security.
23 (20): Minnesota Vikings (4-7)
It is hard to bury a player after six games, but J.J. McCarthy’s miserable 57.9 passer rating is as bad as you’ll see. He’s in concussion protocol, so undrafted rookie Max Brosmer is likely to get a start. And it’ll get really awkward for the Vikings if Brosmer plays well.
22 (25): Atlanta Falcons (4-7)
The Falcons have Kirk Cousins under contract for 2026, though it’s at a ridiculous $57.5 million salary cap number. Could Cousins create a QB conversation going into the offseason if he plays well to finish the season? Michael Penix Jr.’s injury history isn’t going away, after all.
21 (22): Miami Dolphins (4-7)
The Dolphins should get tight end Darren Waller back from injury this week, which is another boost as they try to make a push to get back in the playoff hunt. It’s still incredibly unlikely they make it back in the race, but winning games lately has been a surprising turn of events.
20 (19): Carolina Panthers (6-6)
Monday night's loss was why it's hard to take the Panthers seriously, even though they came into the game with a winning record. The Panthers' offense was miserable against a 49ers defense that has given up a ton of yards this season. They're a long way from being playoff contenders.
19 (17): Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
The AFC North is tied, and it happened before Thanksgiving. Even if that was easy to see coming, it has to be demoralizing for the Steelers, who let the 1-5 Ravens back in the race without much of a fight. There are two games left vs. Baltimore, so they can still save their season.
18 (21): Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1)
When Dallas trailed Philadelphia 21-0 on Sunday, it looked like the Cowboys were simply decent at beating bad teams and nobody else. The comeback win renews their hope. It’s still unlikely the Cowboys make the playoffs. But it has been an OK debut season for head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
17 (18): Houston Texans (6-5)
Teams with a defense as good as Houston rarely miss the playoffs. The Texans have the best defense in the NFL, as we saw in their dismantling of the Bills, and are still an underdog to make the postseason. But that defense gives them a chance to sneak in.
16 (14): Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5)
The Buccaneers haven’t lost to a bad team yet this season. And here’s the remaining schedule: vs. Cardinals, vs. Saints, vs. Falcons, at Panthers, at Dolphins, vs. Panthers. They’re still in very good shape to win the NFC South, though Baker Mayfield’s health is a big issue.
15 (16): Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)
The Chargers ease back in after the bye with an easy matchup against the incompetent Raiders. A big story for the rest of the season is the return of rookie Omarion Hampton, who could play as soon as this week. He’s a top talent who would change how the Chargers’ offense operates.
14 (15): Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4)
The Trevor Lawrence experience is exhausting. He threw three touchdowns and three (bad) interceptions in Week 12, which sums it up. Liam Coen has to be beside himself at all the mistakes that a fifth-year QB shouldn’t make. Jacksonville is 7-4 in spite of it.
13 (13): San Francisco 49ers (8-4)
Kyle Shanahan might not have a section of his play sheet other than "Get the ball to Christian McCaffrey." It was another 31 touches for McCaffrey, and he responded with 142 yards and a touchdown. Can McCaffrey last the whole season with this heavy of a workload?
12 (12): Chicago Bears (8-3)
Montez Sweat is having a very good season without much fanfare. He had two sacks Sunday, bringing his season total to 7.5. He can make a big difference for a Bears defense that has dealt with numerous injuries.
11 (8): Buffalo Bills (7-4)
The Bills are 3-4 since September. They probably don’t deserve to be ranked this high, but Josh Allen gives them a bit of a benefit of the doubt. Buffalo is a very flawed team. General manager Brandon Beane lectures about trading for talent, but the truth is, his roster is too shorthanded to be a Super Bowl contender.
10 (11): Baltimore Ravens (6-5)
The Ravens are winning games but still haven’t had the huge blowout that would let the NFL know they’re contenders again. Maybe that won’t happen. Lamar Jackson hasn’t been great lately (1 TD, 2 INT his last three games, 71 rushing yards his last four games) and that has to change.
9 (10): Kansas City Chiefs (6-5)
The Chiefs didn’t exactly blow away the Colts, but the Colts are a good team and a win was crucial for Kansas City. A Thanksgiving game at Dallas looks a little tougher now. It’s a tricky spot on a short week, and with perhaps the biggest audience of the NFL regular season watching.
8 (7): Detroit Lions (7-4)
Seeing the defense get torched by Jameis Winston at home wasn’t encouraging. Jahmyr Gibbs saved the Lions from what would have been a terrible loss. It’s getting harder to buy the inconsistent Lions as a title contender. Thursday’s game against the Packers will be telling.
7 (9): Green Bay Packers (7-3-1)
The Packers' defense looked great against the Vikings, though any defense might look good against J.J. McCarthy. Micah Parsons picked up two more sacks to get him to 10 this season, which would be getting more attention if Myles Garrett wasn’t having an all-time great season in Cleveland.
6 (3): Indianapolis Colts (8-3)
There’s nothing wrong with losing at Kansas City in overtime. Still, if the Colts want to be taken seriously as contenders, they need to close out a 20-9 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining. The Jaguars are now just a game behind Indianapolis in the AFC South.
5 (1): Philadelphia Eagles (8-3)
This is a significant drop for the Eagles, but their offensive issues are tough to ignore after that debacle at Dallas. Saquon Barkley continues to be very quiet. Everyone knew his 482 touches last season might be an issue, and those predictions seem prescient.
4 (6): New England Patriots (10-2)
Week 12 was great for the Patriots. The Bills lost as favorites and looked awful. The Patriots weren’t exceptional but they did win at the Bengals. They are 2.5 games clear of the Bills in the loss column, meaning the head-to-head rematch takes on less importance in the AFC East.
3 (5): Denver Broncos (9-2)
It’s worth repeating: The Broncos’ only losses are with no time left on the clock at the Colts, and no time left on the clock at the Chargers. They’ve had fortunate wins, but Denver’s season as a whole is way too far under the radar.
2 (4): Seattle Seahawks (8-3)
The Seahawks probably could have crushed the Titans, but they seemed to let up after taking a 23-3 lead. Hard to hold that against them too much. The big story is Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is now on pace for 2,029 receiving yards. He could steal NFL Offensive Player of the Year from Jonathan Taylor.
1 (2): Los Angeles Rams (9-2)
The Rams left little doubt about their claim to the top spot by destroying the Buccaneers on Sunday night. There are still big challenges left for the Rams, but it’s also very hard to find a weakness on a team that now has the best record in the NFC.