Coming off its bye week, the Seattle Seahawks stand alone as the only team with one loss on the year, a 34-28 defeat at the hands of the Colts back on October 6th. Led by its solid defense and power run game, Seattle owns the top spot in KP’s NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 13.
Peyton Manning and the Broncos, despite recently blowing a 24-point lead, hold onto second position, with the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs rounding out the top five.
There are a handful of slots that will likely be challenged by critics. The 8th place Patriots took a hit from its weak run defense and poor road record. The Lions (11th place) have struggled to defend the pass, while losing two straight to weaker opponents. Green Bay (13th position), despite losing Aaron Rodgers, remains in the top five in both pass and run offense. Finally, the Cowboys (18th place) only received a solid grade with its passing offense, as further described later.
Overall, here’s where each squad sits in the NFL Power Rankings after Week 12, featuring a few key stats, notes, thoughts and figures for every team:
NFL Power Rankings: Marshawn Lynch has been a beast this season for the Seahawks
KP’s NFL Power Rankings: November 26, 2013
*Stats, records and information through Week 12 of the 2013 NFL season
1. Seattle Seahawks (243 points)
Coming off its bye week, the 10-1 Seahawks – led by its powerful run game that is fronted by Marshawn Lynch – stand tall in first place, with a huge Monday night game against New Orleans on deck.
2. Denver Broncos (222 points)
The Broncos, despite a brutal Sunday night loss in New England, have statistically maintained a solid grasp on the second spot in this week’s Power Rankings.
3. New Orleans Saints (211 points)
Rob Ryan’s pass defense has allowed 198 yards per game (3rd in the league), with 10 interceptions and just 11 touchdowns allowed.
4. Carolina Panthers (184 points)
Cam Newton has improved leaps and bounds this season, and coupling that with a stellar defense, the Panthers have won seven straight games.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (168 points)
After starting the season 9-0, the Chiefs have lost two straight, with its top-notch defense allowing 68 total points during that stretch. Next up: Peyton Manning and the Broncos… again.
6. San Francisco 49ers (156 points)
As proven on Monday night, the Redskins’ defense can cure all ills, with the latest being Colin Kaepernick and San Francisco’s 32nd ranked pass offense (173.5 ypg).
7. Cincinnati Bengals (145 points)
With one of the more consistent teams in the league, the Bengals crack the NFL’s top ten in pass offense, pass defense and run defense.
8. New England Patriots (144 points)
Tom Brady and the Patriots overcame a 24-point halftime deficit to Peyton Manning and the Broncos. That’s the first time a Manning-led team had lost a lead that big.
9. Arizona Cardinals (109 points)
Time to brag: At the beginning of the season, KP had the Cardinals as the best bet to exceed its over/under win total of 5 ½ this season. At 7-4, Arizona has done just that, and then some.
10. Philadelphia Eagles (98 points)
Wisely, Chip Kelly announced that Nick Foles (16 TD, 0 INT) is the team’s starting quarterback for the remainder of the regular season.
11. Detroit Lions (97 points)
The division’s door was open after Aaron Rodgers went down, but two losses to the Steelers and Bucs have left Detroit in a tie with the Bears. The door opens again on Thanksgiving, with the Pack in town.
12. Indianapolis Colts (90 points)
Indy still holds a two-game edge in the division, but two lopsided losses by a combined 59 points over the last three weeks are a bit of a concern.
13. Green Bay Packers (89 points)
In his return to Green Bay, Matt Flynn threw for 218 yards, with one touchdown, and is likely to get the start for the Packers against the Lions on Thanksgiving.
14. Tennessee Titans (72 points)
Relieving the injured Jack Locker again, Ryan Fitzpatrick has anchored the Tennessee offense by throwing five touchdowns, with no interceptions over the last three games.
15. San Diego Chargers (61 points)
Philip Rivers’ bounce back season continued with a stellar performance against a solid Kansas City defense, throwing for 392 yards passing, with 3 TD passes.
16. Chicago Bears (60 points)
It may come as a surprise to some, but the Bears are ranked last in the NFL in run defense, allowing 145.2 yards per game (along with 14 rushing touchdowns).
17. St. Louis Rams (54 points)
Behold the power of Jeff Fisher! Despite losing Sam Bradford for the year, the Rams have rebounded to score 80 points over its last two games, with wins over solid teams (the Colts and Bears).
18. Dallas Cowboys (50 points)
Likely to catch heat for being ranked this low, it should be noted that even though the Cowboys are currently a division leader with a winning record, Dallas is ranked in the bottom five in run offense, pass defense and run defense.
19. Baltimore Ravens (49 points)
Ray Rice is averaging fewer than three yards per carry on the season, and worse, less than two yards per carry over three of the team’s last four games.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (40 points)
Dodging rumors involving his departure from Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger has rebounded from a slow season, to post six touchdowns over the last two weeks – both victories.
21. Miami Dolphins (28 points)
For the Dolphins in 2013, it’s been close losses and blown leads. In fact, five of Miami’s six losses have been by four points or less.
22. Cleveland Browns (15 points)
The Trent Richardson deal appears to be a gem of a move by the Browns, but overall, the team still is in desperate need of a running back, with Willis McGahee being the rushing leader (2.6 ypc, 287 yards).
23. Buffalo Bills (13 points)
The Bills are averaging less than 200 yards per game through the air, with no receiver currently eclipsing the 500-yard mark (Steve Johnson leads the team with 471 yards).
24. Oakland Raiders (7 points)
Despite injuries to Darren McFadden and Terrelle Pryor, the Raiders have still managed to maintain a solid rushing offense (140.6 ypg), ranked among the NFL’s top five.
25. New York Giants (2 points)
Eli Manning’s 72.5 QB rating is his lowest mark since 2007 and nearly fifteen points lower than the 87.2 rating that he posted last season.
26. New York Jets (-3 points)
Geno Smith’s struggles have been the main story, but New York’s run defense – allowing an NFL-best 2.9 yards per carry and 72.6 yards per game – should not be ignored.
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-14 points)
Mentioned in the same breath as the 2008 Lions just weeks ago, the Bucs have now rattled off three straight wins, including an impressive road victory in where else, but Detroit.
28. Washington Redskins (-17 points)
The negative RGIII headlines keep pouring in, and at this point, it wouldn’t hurt the Redskins to see if backup Kirk Cousins could inject some life into the team’s anemic offense.
29. Houston Texans (-21 points)
Houston’s pass defense is first in the league, allowing just 171.8 yards per game through the air, but that same unit has only four interceptions, tied for the fewest in the NFL.
30. Minnesota Vikings (-58 points)
Hobbled by various injuries and mentioned to be having an average year, Adrian Peterson (997 rushing yards) is just 12 yards behind LeSean McCoy for the league lead.
31. Atlanta Falcons (-65 points)
Undrafted rookie linebacker Paul Worrilow has been one of the team’s few bright spots, amassing 63 tackles over the last four games.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (-116 points)
Even after posting its second win of the season, the Jags are still way behind in the rankings, and headlined by its lackluster run offense that is dead last in the NFL.
* All stats per NFL.com
The Wife Hates Sports NFL Power Rankings system has a method to its madness, attempting to be different and not just rank by popularity and record. It mixes a secret formula of eight completely different categories, meshed into a points system. The categories don’t just include team results regarding record, but how each team has performed on the road, as well as incorporating some statistics on both a team’s offense and defense, too.
