Top 10 NFL Teams: Week 13
Boston Mountain Publishing, Tuesday. November 29, 2022 3:44 PM
We have ranked the Top 10 NFL teams heading into Week 13 of the NFL regular season.
NFL TEAM POWER RANKINGS
Heading into Week 13 of the 2022 NFL season, we already have several teams in a position to start talking about playoff appearances. The Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Minnesota Vikings have at least 9 wins and have a decent chance at securing a playoff spot over the next couple weeks.
Teams trending towards playoffs:
Leading their division by at least 2 games:
Tennesse Titans AFC SOUTH
Kansas City Chiefs AFC WEST
Philadelphia Eagles NFC EAST
Minnesota Vikings NFC NORTH
The NFC South, NFC West, AFC East, and the AFC North have the tightest divisions to date, and it may be a few weeks before a leader emerges. Teams in these divisions are separated by a game or less and the division title may come down to the final week of the regular season. With divisional games on the horizon, the December schedule will create some separation between many teams.
NFC South is terrible, but one team will get a playoff spot when the regular season wraps up in January. Tampa travels to New Orleans this weekend and a win will give the Bucs some space in the division, but if the Saints get the win, they stay in contention for the lone post season spot. The Falcons and Panthers are sandwiched between them, so each team has everything to gain with a win here on out with divisional games taking up much of December.
NFC West is led by the San Francisco 49ers (7-4) followed closely by the Seattle Seahawks (6-5) in the division. Both teams are right outside the Top 10 and they meet up in 3 weeks for a Thursday night game in Seattle. The 49ers do have a win over the Seahawks 27-7 back in mid-September.
AFC East is led by Miami and Buffalo, both sitting at 8-3 on the season. Currently the Dolphins hold the lead with a 21-19 win on September 25th at home. The Jets are a game back and the Patriots are 2 back with 6 games to go.
AFC North is led by the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals who are both tied atop the division at 7-4 this season. The Ravens have the advantage winning 19-17 on October 9th in Baltimore. The division will come down to one of these teams and they meet up again during the last game of the regular season on January 8th in Cincinnati.
#10 - TENNESSEE TITANS 7-4 DOWN 1
AFC SOUTH
The Titans are coming off a tough loss on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 at home, but they remain the division leader by 2.5 games over the Colts.
Tennessee's four losses have come against the Giants, Bills, Chiefs, and now the Bengals, all ranked in this week's Power Rankings.
The schedule doesn't get any easier as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the NFL leading Eagles this weekend.
RB Derrick Henry ranks 2nd in the NFL with 1,048 yards rushing and has 10 TDs on the ground.
Still stand by this statement from a few weeks ago: If the Titans can score 24 points in a game, they have a decent chance to win.
Their Defense has given up just 3 rushing TDs which ranks 1st in the NFL, and they have only given up 930 yards on the ground, the 3rd fewest in the league. Their secondary has given up 19 TDs and ranks near the bottom in yards allowed through the air.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday December 4
Tennessee Titans
@ Philadelphia Eagles (10-1)
Sunday December 11
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7)
@ Tennessee Titans
#9 - CINCINNATI BENGALS 7-4 UP 1
AFC NORTH
QB Joe Burrow leads the Bengals offense and is currently ranked 3rd in the league with 3,160 passing yards adding 23 TDs with 8 interceptions with a 68.2% completion rate for Cincinnati. His top target was WR Ja'Marr Chase who led the Bengals with 605 yards with 47 receptions and 6 TDs until he went down with a hip injury a few weeks ago. WR Tee Higgins has emerged as the leading receiver since Chase went down.
- Ja'Marr Chase is working to come back this weekend from his injury, but it hasn't been ruled official. It's trending towards playing.
RB Joe Mixon gets the majority of snaps out of the backfield and is averaging 3.83 yards per carry for 605 yards on the ground to go along with 6 TDs. He didn't play last week because of a concussion he suffered in the 2nd half of their game against the Steelers in Week 11. The plan is for him to play this week but not official yet.
The Offense has completed 283 passes and they have run the ball 274 times.
LB Logan Wilson leads the team with 45 tackles and S Vonn Bell has 4 INTs on the year.
We said last week, "Cincinnati faces two division leaders over their next 2 games. Winning 1 of the 2 will be critical if they want to keep up with the Ravens in the AFC North". The Bengals won at Tennessee 20-16 on Sunday afternoon in Nashville and gained a game on the Ravens. The second test comes this weekend in a tough game at home against the AFC leading Chiefs.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday December 4
Kansas City Chiefs (9-2)
@ Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday December 11
Cleveland Browns (4-7)
@ Cincinnati Bengals
#8 - NEW YORK GIANTS 7-4
NFC EAST
The loss in Dallas was evident to many, but it was still a tough divisional loss for the Giants. With another divisional game coming up on Sunday against Wahington, they will need to win this one to stay in the playoff conversation. Three consecutive divisional games and then they travel to Minnesota the day before Christmas. Tough road ahead for the G-Men.
RB Saquon Barkley is leading their rushing attack, ranking 4th in the league with 992 rushing yards while adding 7 rushing TDs. He also has 35 receptions for 223 yards receiving.
The New York defense has recovered 10 fumbles which is tied with Seattle for the most in the league.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday December 4
Washington Commanders (7-5)
@ New York Giants
Sunday December 11
Philadelphia Eagles (10-1)
@ New York Giants
#7 - BALTIMORE RAVENS 7-4 DOWN 1
AFC NORTH
The Ravens had won 4 in a row and were leading the division heading into Sunday, but that streak came to a halt after losing against the Jaguars 28-27 in their toughest loss of the year.
QB Lamar Jackson is the 12th best rusher in the league with 755 yards on the ground while adding 3 TDs for the Ravens. He is also ranked 9th in the league in passing TDs with 16 on the year. The offense revolves around his decisions.
The Raven's running game is ranked 3rd in the league with 1,790 yards on the ground and they are averaging 5.3 yards per carry, 2nd in the NFL.
TE Mark Andrews has been the top target of Jackson, catching 52 passes adding 601 yards and 5 TDs for the Ravens.
The Ravens D has 11 INTs on the year (S Marcus Williams has 3) ranking 6th in the league. They rank 2nd in the league giving up only 902 yards on the ground so far this season. They have also recovered 8 fumbles on the year.
The next 5 games for the Ravens offer the opportunity to jump ahead in the division as all of the teams on their schedule are at or near the bottom of their division. Baltimore has the easiest schedule on paper of all the teams in playoff contention.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday December 4
Denver Broncos (3-8)
@ Baltimore Ravens
Sunday December 11
Baltimore Ravens
@ Pittsburgh Steelers (4-7)
#6 - MIAMI DOPLHINS 8-3 UP 1
AFC EAST
The Dolphins have won 5 in a row and are tied atop the AFC East division with the Bills. Early in the season, QB Tua Tagovailoa and back-up QB Teddy Bridgewater both went down with concussions which called attention to the NFL protocols related to head injuries. Fortunately, both QBs have returned and have helped the team recover from their mid-season losses.
Miami traded for RB Jeff Wilson Jr. and they will lean on him down the stretch. He had a great game 2 weeks ago gaining 119 yards on 17 carries and 1 TD. He followed up that game with 39 yards rushing and 1 TD this past Sunday against the Texans.
WR Tyreek Hill leads the league with 87 receptions and 1,233 yards receiving.
A win this weekend will be beneficial as the schedule gets tougher throughout December. They close the year with 3 out of 4 divisional games in the strong AFC East where all 4 teams are battling for a playoff berth.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday December 4
Miami Dolphins
@ San Francisco 49ers (7-4)
Sunday December 11
Miami Dolphins
@ LA Chargers (6-5)
#5 - MINNESOTA VIKINGS 9-2
NFC NORTH
After a Week 2 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Vikings won 7 games in a row until meeting up with the Dallas Cowboys 2 weeks ago. The Cowboys embarrassed the Vikings Defense winning 40-3 in their worst game of the year, but they rebounded from the loss taking down the Patriots on Thanksgiving night 33-26 in the game of the day. Minnesota is leading the NFC North and are now up 5 games on the 2nd place Detroit Lions in the division.
QB Kirk Cousins has completed 63.4% of his passes for 2,760 yards, 7th best in the league. He has thrown 17 TDs and 9 INTs.
Dalvin Cook is leading the Vikings out of the backfield, ranking 5th in the league with 841 rushing yards and 6 TDs on the ground.
Justin Jefferson has caught 81 passes (3rd in the NFL) for 1,232 receiving yards (2nd in the NFL) while also scoring 5 TDs for the Vikings receiving corp.
The defense has 29 sacks on the year, 10 INTs, and 8 fumble recoveries. They are led by LB Jordan Hicks who has 93 tackles and S Harrison Smith who has 4 INTs out of the secondary.
The Vikings are 5 games up on the Lions in the NFC North with 6 games to go in the regular season. They hold the largest lead of any team within their own division.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday December 4
New York Jets (7-4)
@ Minnesota Vikings
Sunday December 11
Minnesota Vikings
@ Detroit Lions (4-7)
#4 - BUFFALO BILLS 8-3
AFC EAST
Back-to- Back Win's in Detroit
After traveling to Detroit for a home game to play the Cleveland Browns, the Buffalo Bills stayed in Detroit to take on the Lions winning 28-25 in an entertaining matchup to lead off the Thanksgiving Day football slate. Two wins in Detroit this year for Buffalo.
QB Josh Allen has led the Bills offense, throwing for 3,183 yards ranking 2nd in the league. He has a 63.9% completion rate, passing for 23 TDs along with 11 INTs to date.
WR Stefon Diggs is the top target in Buffalo, ranking 2nd in the league with 84 receptions, and 3rd with 1,110 yards to go with 9 TDs.
The Bills rank 2nd in the league with 13 INTs, and FS Jordan Poyer is leading the team with 4 INTs on the year.
K Tyler Bass has made 23 FGs this season, 3rd in the league. and he came through again for the Bills with the win on Thanksgiving.
December presents a tough stretch for the Bills starting this weekend they face back-to-back-to-back division rivals.
Upcoming Games:
Thursday December 1
Buffalo Bills
@ New England Patriots (6-5)
Sunday December 11
New York Jets (7-4)
@ Buffalo Bills
#3 - DALLAS COWBOYS 8-3
NFC EAST
The Cowboys were coming off a dominate performance 2 weeks ago against Minnesota winning 40-3 on the road and they were in control throughout, in all 3 phases of the game: offensively, defensively, and special teams. They followed up that big win for another big matchup at home on Thanksgiving Day against their division rival the New York Giants who were tied with them for 2nd in the East at 7-3 on the year. They won convincingly 28-20 and move to 8-3 on the year, still 2 games behind the Eagles.
WR CeeDee Lamb is the top target in Dallas and is ranked 7th in the league with 857 yards to go with 5 TDs this year.
The Cowboys' passing Defense is ranked 3rd in the league, only allowing 5.6 yards per catch to go with 7 INTs. They have only given up 6 rushing TDs and 12 passing TDs and they are leading the league with 45 sacks on the year.
Remember when Dak was out earlier in the year and his replacement at QB was Cooper Rush who came in and led this team to 4 wins over 5 games. Just wanted to keep that memory alive.
The schedule ahead is looking good for the Cowboys over the next couple weeks. They should stay in contention with the Eagles which will make their Christmas Eve meetup in Dallas all that more entertaining.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday December 4
Indianapolis Colts (4-7-1)
@ Dallas Cowboys
Sunday December 11
Houston Texans (1-9-1)
@ Dallas Cowboys
#2 - KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 9-2
AFC WEST
The Chiefs have won 5 in a row and are coming off a dominate win over the defending champion LA Rams 26-10 last Sunday at home. Kansas City has put up the most points in the league so far this year averaging 29.6 points per game and their defense has improved over the last 3 games.
QB Patrick Mahomes is ranked 1st in the NFL with 3,585 passing yards with a 66.1% completion rate. He has thrown 29 TDs and 8 INTs to date.
His top target is TE Travis Kelcey who leads the team and ranks 6th in the league with 912 receiving yards with 73 receptions and 12 TDs.
The Chiefs picked up 2-Time Pro bowler RB Melvin Gordon on Monday who was put on waivers by the Broncos earlier in the day. This will pick up will free up the passing game even more.
The Chiefs and the Eagles are tied at the top of the league with 39 total TDs on the year. The Chiefs have 9 rushing TDs and 29 receiving TDs.
Their defense has given up the 3rd most TDs and they have given up the 6th most first downs to opposing offenses through the air in the league.
Although the secondary is questionable, they do much better against teams that run the ball, holding opposing running backs to only 6 TDs and they have only given up 1,122 yards on the ground to rank 5th in the league.
Teams are throwing the ball more against KC, so the defense will need to lock up or the offense will need to just score points.
The Chiefs have a formidable opponent in the Bengals ahead and this should be an entertaining road game against a stingy Cincinnati D. Following the Bengals, the schedule does get a little easier over the next couple weeks and with the momentum they have going, Kansas City should continue their winning ways.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday December 4
Kansas City Chiefs
@ Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)
Sunday December 11
Kansas City Chiefs
@ Denver Broncos (3-8)
#1 - PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 10-1
NFC EAST
The Philadelphia Eagles are leading the league through Week 12 and with 6 games in the regular season remaining, the Eagles have the opportunity to secure a playoff spot this Sunday on the road against the Titans.
The Eagles started the year 8-0 and were the only team that remained undefeated in the NFL through Week 9, but a loss 3 weeks ago to division rival Washington ended their chance at a perfect season which hasn't been accomplished since the Miami Dolphins in 1972.
They followed up the loss with a close win over the Colts two weeks ago down 10 heading into the 4th quarter and they fought back for the win 17-16 which showed the character of this Philly team. The Eagles needed to win this weekend against the Packers, and they did in a 40-33 battle on Sunday night. They needed to win that game because as we said last week, "their schedule doesn't get any easier over the next couple weeks", starting with the Titans at home this Sunday.
QB Jalen Hurts has a completion rate of 67.3% and has thrown for 2,560 yards with 17 TDs and only 3 INTs on the year. He has also added 597 yards on the ground to go with another 8 TDs.
Miles Sanders is leading the Eagles rushing attack, ranking 5th in the NFL with 900 rushing yards and adding 8 TDs on the ground. As a team, the Eagles are leading the NFL with 21 rushing TDs.
WR DeVonta Smith is the top target with 56 receptions for 609 yards and 3 TDs. WR AJ Brown is leading the Eagles WR's with 831 yards and 7 TDs.
CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson is leading the league with 6 INTs and LB T.J. Edwards leads the D and ranks 8th in the league with 102 tackles.
The Chiefs and the Eagles are tied at the top of the league with 39 total TDs on the year. The Eagles have 21 rushing TDs and 17 receiving TDs. Much more balanced in their scoring attack compared to the Chiefs.
Upcoming Games:
Sunday December 4
Tennessee Titans (7-4)
@ Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday December 11
Philadelphia Eagles
@ New York Giants (7-4)
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