FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Week 11 slate featured compelling matchups between several top teams. Some of those matchups lived up to their billing and turned into heavyweight fights, while others ended in surprisingly lopsided fashion.
I'm stepping in as caretaker of Tori McElhaney's power rankings this week — don't worry, she'll be back at it for the next one — so it's up to me to sift through the fallout and determine how much stock we should put in this latest round of NFL action. Keep in mind that while this is how I view the landscape in Week 12, I honored Tori's rankings as best I could and didn't shake things up too much.
Now, who's ready to rank?
The Rams did not play to their standard in a great battle between contenders and managed to win anyway. That is a great sign for their Super Bowl aspirations.
The Colts have been one of the best and most surprising teams in the league this year. Coming off their bye, though, they've got a fairly challenging final seven-game stretch. Can they keep it rolling?
Make all of the strength-of-schedule jokes you want; the Patriots have a top-10 unit on offense and defense. They are rolling.
It hasn't necessarily looked the way many expected, especially on offense, but the Broncos are a balanced team and winners of their last eight games. Now they get their bye week to rest up.
I still think the Seahawks are one of the best bets to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Let's hope Sam Darnold doesn't have another four-interception game in him come playoff time.
The Eagles have turned the ball over just four times all season, and it's led to a lot of wins. They haven't been pretty, but they have been numerous.
Since the Bills' Week 7 bye, Josh Allen has completed 7 of 14 passes of 20-plus air yards for 209 yards (5th-most) and 4 touchdowns, tied for the most in the NFL. Few players can put a team on their back the way Allen did in the second half against Tampa.
Brock Purdy looked sharp in his return, and the 49ers' offense looked dangerous. If they continue to get healthier, they could be a team nobody wants to see in January.
It's likely a lot of fans still look at the Packers as an offense-first team, but I believe Micah Parsons ending the game with a strip-sack says more about the identity of this group.
Justin Herbert was pressured on 52.2% of his dropbacks, his third-highest rate of the season. He has now faced pressure on over half of his dropbacks in three games this season. That's not great.
Detroit still has the talent to make a deep playoff run, but Sunday night's performance provided more questions than answers. That starts with Jared Goff, who needed to play better in that moment.
The quotes coming out of Tampa Bay's locker room after this loss were more positive than one might expect. They know the Bills are a good team and believe they are too, but they've lost three of their last four.
You had my curiosity, Jacksonville. Now, you have my attention.
The Bears have won seven of their last eight games, losing only to the Ravens. However, I'm unsure what to make of them when those losses have come by slim margins against teams outside the playoff picture.
The short passing game was working for Pittsburgh in this win. A pair of defensive touchdowns doesn't hurt, either. That's the Steelers football we've come to expect under Mike Tomlin.
The Ravens are fascinating from a macro view. Their five losses have come against teams with a combined 31-19 record, while their five wins — including four in a row through Sunday — are against teams with a combined 19-32 record.
Houston's defense has been the best in the league this season, ranking first in total yards and points allowed. They've given themselves a chance after a slow start, but games against Buffalo, Indianapolis and Kansas City loom.
Bryce Young's 448 yards against the Falcons in Week 11 were not only the most of his career, they were also the 10th most by a quarterback in his first three seasons over the last 30 years.
Even with five losses already on their record, I still get the sense Kansas City is the team nobody wants to see sneak into the postseason.
The addition of George Pickens to this offense has been incredibly fun. Dallas feels like a team capable of making a second-half run, but their next three-game stretch against the Eagles, Chiefs and Lions is pretty brutal.
It's admirable how the Dolphins have rallied after losing Tyreek Hill and seemingly hitting rock bottom with their 31-6 loss to the Browns in Week 7. De'Von Achane is quietly putting together another standout season.
It feels like this is a reset year for the Vikings, whether they want to admit that or not.
In the last three weeks, the Falcons have two overtime losses and a one-point loss on their resume. That hurts, and the loss of Michael Penix Jr. and, potentially Drake London, only adds to that feeling.
Trey McBride leads all tight ends in yards and touchdowns this season. Not much has gone right for Arizona, but he deserves a shoutout.
There were offseason discussions about a possible backslide by the Commanders after last year's thrilling run, but I doubt many saw this level of regression coming.
Seeing the final score of the Steelers-Bengals game made me do a spit take.
The Giants might be one of the most compelling 2-9 teams I've ever seen. There's always something to talk about with this group, and they stick around in games.
Unleashing Justin Fields as a runner seems to have given New York's offense a little spark, but it will need more than that.
Despite having some fairly fun players on offense, the Raiders have scored just 15.5 points per game this season, which are second-fewest in the NFL.
Tyler Shough's performance before the bye week was promising. If he can play well down the stretch, the Saints should finally feel like they can build something new on offense.
Myles Garrett has converted 35.7% of his pressures into sacks this season, the second-highest pressure-to-sack ratio among defenders with at least 25 pressures.
The less said about Tennessee at this point, the better.
