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NFL Power Rankings Week 12: Cardinals back on top, Chiefs keep rising and Falcons tumble after loss

Patriots, Colts and Vikings look like contenders after big wins

Nov 22, 2021 at 11:24 PM
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Scott Bair

Falcons Digital Managing Editor

Power Rankings.11.22

Power rankings are hard to do this season. There are so many upsets that teams are rising and falling over a huge range from week to week. That happens when the Titans lose to the Texans for goodness sakes. The Colts whacked the Bills and the Vikings beat the rival Packers in more minor upsets, but the top 10 went through some upheaval (again) following Sunday's results.

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The Falcons took a tumble, as one would expect, following that 25-0 loss to New England on Thursday Night Football.

Let's take a look at how the entire league stacks up in our Week 12 NFL power rankings:

(9-2)
1
3
Cardinals_Table
Arizona Cardinals
Cardinals won two of three, including Sunday’s game against Seattle, with Colt McCoy at quarterback. Kliff Kingsbury deserves a medal.
(7-3)
2
4
Bucs_table
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bucs handle business on Monday night and take a game on the NFC South in a week where every other team lost. Division’s theirs.
(8-3)
3
Packers_table
Green Bay Packers
Did anyone see Aaron Rodgers’ numbers in that loss? Dude had a 148.4 passer rating and didn’t win. Once more, for the people in the back: Bizarro World. (Again, read from the bottom.)
(8-3)
4
1
Titans_table
Tennessee Titans
Tennessee lost to the Texans. The Texans. Wrap your brain around that.
(7-3)
5
3
Cowboys_table
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas might have the NFL’s best receiver corps. And the most valuable. They looked lost without Amari Cooper, especially after CeeDee Lamb got hurt.
(7-3)
6
1
Rams_table
Los Angeles Rams
Sean McVay had a bye week to turn a bunch of bright stars into a constellation.
(7-4)
7
3
Patriots_table
New England Patriots
Weren’t the Patriots supposed to be rebuilding or retooling or at least not kicking everyone’s hinny?
(7-4)
8
1
Chiefs_table
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are winning with (checks notes)…rushing and defense?!? Still waiting for Pat Mahomes to turn into the Hulk.
(7-3)
9
1
Ravens_table
Baltimore Ravens
Ravens winning a game without Lamar is like is about as likely as the Texans beating the Titans. Again, Bizzaro World. (If you don't get that joke, read from the bottom. It'll be funnier that way.)
(6-4)
10
2
Chargers_table
Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert is so, so good. Chargers need to let him fly.
(6-4)
11
6
Bills_table
Buffalo Bills
The Bills are a mess right now, which is why Bills Mafia is belly-flopping through tables. Not like they need a reason.
(6-4)
12
2
Bengals_table
Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Mixon helps Joe Burrow cruise to victory. There’s a joke about not being an average Joe in there somewhere. Let’s workshop it.
(6-5)
13
5
Colts_table
Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor for MVP. Or mayor of Indianapolis.
(5-5)
14
5
Vikings_table
Minnesota Vikings
Four receivers were taken before Justin Jefferson in the 2020 NFL Draft. You read that right. Four.
(5-5)
15
5
49ers_table
San Francisco 49ers
Deebo Samuel’s the best player a casual fan’s never heard of, which is too bad. He’s so fun to watch.
(5-4-1)
16
1
Steelers_table
Pittsburgh Steelers
Almost completed an epic comeback, which counts for exactly nothing.
(5-5)
17
6
Saints_table
New Orleans Saints
Entire city of New Orleans sending Alvin Kamara “Get Well Soon” cards.


(6-5)
18
1
Browns_table
Cleveland Browns
Never has above .500 felt so dire. Browns are coming apart at the seams.
(5-5)
19
6
Raiders_table
Las Vegas Raiders
Silver and Black are in a free fall. A second-half-of-the-season tradition unlike any other.
(5-6)
20
3
Panthers_table
Carolina Panthers
We can see Cam Newton’s still got is as a quarterback. But can he defend the run. Asking for a friend (named Matt Rhule).
(5-6)
21
3
Eagles.png
Philadelphia Eagles
Boyz II Men might be signing a Jalen Hurts song before long. Mo-town Jalen’s back again.
(5-5)
22
1
Broncos_table
Denver Broncos
I have nothing witty to say about the Broncos. That’s how boring they are.
(4-6)
23
3
Washington_table
Washington Football Team
Riverboat Ron wins big in return to Carolina. Naturally.
(4-6)
24
2
FALCONS
Gotta expect a big drop after getting shut out at home. Them’s the rules.
(4-7)
25
2
Dolphins_table
Miami Dolphins
Congrats, Dolphins, on beating the Jets. Y’all won the toilet bowl.
(3-7)
26
2
Giants_table
New York Giants
Saquon Barkley’s back, baby! Not that it mattered much.
(3-7)
27
4
Seahawks_table
Seattle Seahawks
Haven’t seen the Seahawks this bad since Pete Carroll was at USC.
(3-7)
28
3
Bears_table
Chicago Bears
Matt Nagy’s headset didn’t work for a while. Maybe it’ll be his key card to the facility next.
(2-8)
29
2
Texans_table
Houston Texans
The Texans beat the Titans. We’ve officially entered Bizarro World.
(2-8)
30
1
Jets_table
New York Jets
Lost a battle of the cellar dwellers to Miami. Awful season goes from bad to worse.
(2-8)
31
1
Jaguars_table
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Falcons’ next opponent falls further down the rabbit hole. Expectations were low entering this season, but fans still have to be stunned by how bad the Jags are playing.
(0-9-1)
32
Lions_table
Detroit Lions
Lions can’t complete a comeback in Cleveland. That first win continues to prove elusive.
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