NFL power rankings post week 13

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens, as deserved, slide into this week’s No. 1 spot. They have been a freight train, dominating their way through the NFL’s top teams — the Seahawks, Patriots, Texans, Rams and most recently the 49ers. Their brawl against the 49ers concluded with a last-second field goal from kicker Justin Tucker. With the Patriots’ loss to Houston, Baltimore firmly holds the first seed in the AFC.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers gave the Ravens their toughest matchup since their last loss against Cleveland in week two. Running back Raheem Mostert had a career night, piling up 146 yards and a touchdown on 19 rushes against the Ravens, but it was not enough to lift San Francisco over quarterback Lamar Jackson and company. San Francisco’s only losses this season are to the Seahawks and Ravens by a combined six points.

New England Patriots

The stat sheet would show that it was a competitive game when you look at quarterback Tom Brady’s 326 passing yards and three touchdowns, but that was not the tale of the tape. The Patriots offense fizzled out on multiple drives throughout the first half, allowing Houston to capitalize and explode to a 28-9 lead. Brady was able to complete passes and put up yardage, but that was against Houston’s coverage designed to bend but not break against Brady’s passing attack. If New England can’t move past their lingering offensive struggles, it would be hard to imagine them making it past Baltimore to get back to the Super Bowl.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints took care of business against the Atlanta Falcons, who shockingly upset New Orleans at home a couple of weeks prior. The Saints defense and their ability to rush the quarterback racked up nine sacks and forced turnovers against the Falcons offense, which looked completely lost with the absence of wide receiver Julio Jones. The Saints nearly let Atlanta back into the game by allowing two successful onside kicks by the Falcons, but the New Orleans defense stood their ground. The Saints are the first team in the 2019 season to clinch their division.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks offense came to life in the second half against the Minnesota Vikings despite the absence of Russell Wilson’s top target, Tyler Lockett, who was held to zero catches on three targets. Seattle has now won five straight games, which is their longest streak since 2014, and has leapfrogged San Francisco for the lead in the NFC West. Both teams stand at 10-2, but the Seahawks currently own the tie-breaker due to head-to-head matchup results.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs welcomed the Oakland Raiders into Arrowhead Stadium and essentially destroyed any hope the Raiders had in competing for the division. The Chiefs have a commanding two-game lead in the division, with only four regular-season games remaining, and Kansas City would also have the tiebreaker, as they beat the Raiders in both matchups this season. The Chiefs will now look ahead to Sunday’s matchup against New England. If they can steal a win in Foxborough, they will have an opportunity to steal one of the top two seeds in the AFC and receive a bye week going into the playoffs.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers were in their element, battling in the snow, despite being on the road against the New York Giants. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers tossed four touchdown passes to three different receivers, and the defense picked off Giants quarterback Daniel Jones three times, delivering New York their eighth consecutive loss. With the Vikings’ loss on Monday Night, the Packers have more breathing room in their lead for the NFC North.

Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota seemed to have a good grip against Seattle on the road until running back Dalvin Cook sustained a hip injury in the third quarter. With Cook no longer demanding respect on the ground, linebacker Jadaveon Clowney and the rest of Seattle’s pass rush honed in on quarterback Kirk Cousins for the remainder of the game. Cousins had a chance to lead a game-winning drive with less than three minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings failed to cross midfield and turned the ball over to Seattle. Wilson quickly dissected the Vikings through the air, setting up another field goal for kicker Jason Myers, giving Seattle a seven-point lead. Minnesota, with hopes of a possible hail mary or hook-and-ladder attempt, received the ball with just over 20 seconds remaining. That hope was squashed when the Vikings coughed up the ball on the kickoff return. Cousins is now 0-8 on Monday night under the lights for his career.

Buffalo Bills

On Thanksgiving Day, the Bills allowed the Cowboys’ offense to march down the field and score on the opening drive. In the first quarter, the Bills had a couple of questionable calls go against them, but by the time the second quarter started, it was all Buffalo. Quarterback Josh Allen and the offense were able to move quite fluidly against a struggling Dallas front seven, who sorely missed linebacker Leighton Vander Esch in the contest. It was enough to make the Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones leave the owner’s box and quickly go to the locker room, resulting in reports of emotional scenes dominating social media. Buffalo is now one game behind New England for the AFC East title.

Houston Texans

Houston delivered a statement win on Sunday prime time against New England. The defense, that traded away linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and lost defensive end J.J. Watt to injury, did not skip a beat, making it impossible for Brady and the Patriots’ offense to get anything going in the first half. This allowed the Texans offense to jump to a big lead in the first half that they would not give up, despite a late surge by the Patriots offense in the end.

11.Tennessee Titans