NFL Power Rankings Week 14: Buccaneers and Patriots Soar, Bills and Ravens Plunge

NFL Power Rankings Week 14: Buccaneers and Patriots Soar, Bills and Ravens Plunge

Ranking all 32 teams on the heels of a fascinating Week 13 in the NFL that was illuminating on several occasions. So, whose stock is on the up and whose stock is down going into Week 14 of the NFL season? Find out as we rank the teams accordingly.

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NFL Power Rankings - The Contenders

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-3

2. Green Bay Packers 9-3

3. Arizona Cardinals 10-2

4. Kansas City Chiefs 8-4

5. New England Patriots 9-4

6. Tennessee Titans 8-4

7. Los Angeles Chargers 7-5

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are once again favorites to win Super Bowl 56, and they underscored their favorable odds with a routine 30-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13. Tom Brady, 44, is leading the league with 34 touchdown passes and playing superb football, while the return of Rob Gronkowski (from injury) has helped round the offense into form down the stretch.

Kyler Murray returned in Week 13 and led the Cardinals to a 33-22 win over the Bears while the Kansas City Chiefs dismissed the Denver Broncos 22-9 on Sunday Night Football. Elsewhere, Herbert sparked to life and led the Los Angeles Chargers in a 41-22 victory of the Bengals on the road, winning the top-tier quarterback battle of the 2020 NFL draft class.

The Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans are coming off bye weeks, and both are ranked second in their respective conferences going into Week 14.

Finally, the New England Patriots brought the curtain down on Week 13 with a stunning 14-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Mac Jones aired the ball only three times as Bill Belichick opted to run the ball every single time. The Patriots are currently sitting pretty at the top of the AFC pile with four games left on the season. The Patriots are also tipped as the third-best bet with multiple sportsbooks to win Super Bowl 56. Don’t look now, but it could very well be a Belichick vs Brady Super Bowl extravaganza in a few months!

NFL Power Rankings - The Playoff Teams

8. Los Angeles Rams 8-4

9. Dallas Cowboys 8-4

10. Buffalo Bills 7-5

11. Baltimore Ravens 8-4

12. Cincinnati Bengals 7-5

13. Pittsburgh Steelers 6-5-1

14. San Francisco 49ers 6-6

The Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams returned to the win column, but both faced inferior opponents in Week 13. The Cowboys defeated a beat-up Saints team while the Rams decimated a clueless Jaguars team. On the strength of those wins, the Rams and Cowboys climbed up the power rankings table this week.

The one thing that the Cowboys and Rams have in common is that it’s impossible to tell if they’re for real. Or if they’re just a couple of teams loaded with enviable, star-studded talent, but that isn't, in reality, as good as the implied value of the sum total of their parts. 

The Bills appear to have lost their way down the stretch, and after their latest defeat to the New England Patriots, the shine has come off of their highly-fancied odds to win Super Bowl 56. It might be surprising to see the Bills down to No.10 in the power rankings, but it’s hard to place them any higher when they’ve lost to the Patriots, Titans, Colts, and,...wait for it.., the Jaguars this season. 

The Ravens seem destined for a long season full of close games, but it's catching up to them in recent weeks. They’ve gone 3-3 in their last six games, with losses coming against the Bengals, Dolphins, and Steelers.

The Bengals, Steelers, and Niners are amongst the playoff hopefuls this season, but they’ve enjoyed mixed results in Week 13. The Bengals lost 41-22 at home to the Chargers, and the Niners lost 30-23 to the Seahawks on the road. The Steelers are coming off a narrow 20-19 win over the Ravens, but the result could have gone either way. 

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NFL Power Rankings - The Pretenders

15. Washington Football Team 6-6

16. Indianapolis Colts 7-6

17. Cleveland Browns 6-6 

18. Las Vegas Raiders 6-6

19. Miami Dolphins 6-7

The Washington Football Team is enjoying a mini-surge down the stretch. After earning their fifth straight win at the expense of the Las Vegas Raiders, they’re in a position to not only challenge for a playoff berth but give the Dallas Cowboys a run for their money in the NFC East title, too. 

The Colts decimated the Houston Texans 31-0 and earned their first shutout win over their AFC South rival. But how much stock should bettors put in a win over the Texans? Probably none. The Colts are good against inferior opponents, but wins over a legitimate contender are lacking. Yes, they beat the Bills a couple of weeks ago. In hindsight, though, that win seems less and less impressive as Buffalo’s woes pile up with each passing week.

The Browns are coming off a bye week, but the jury is out on their performance thus far. Similarly, it’s out on the Raiders, who’ve endured an up-and-down season. It’s tough to get a handle on this pair, and it remains to be determined whether making the playoffs is on the cards. All too often, they flatter to deceive. 

Tua Tagovailoa has revitalized the Dolphins down the stretch as they go into Week 14 on the back of a five-game winning streak. Four of those five wins have come against teams that rank at the bottom of every single power ranking simulation in the market. Draw your conclusions! 

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NFL Power Rankings - The Moderates

20. Seattle Seahawks 4-8

21. Philadelphia Eagles 6-7

22. Minnesota Vikings 5-7

23. Denver Broncos 6-6

24. New Orleans Saints 5-7

The Seattle Seahawks climbed up the power rankings after beating the San Francisco 49ers 30-23. Whether they genuinely deserve to be up at No.20 is debatable. Consider that two of their four wins this season have come against the Niners, and three of their last five wins going back to the 2020 regular season came at the expense of San Francisco. Well, you could say that when it comes to playing the Niners, the Seahawks are elite. If only they could play the Niners all the time, right. 

The Eagles capitalized on a woeful Jets team and clinched a pivotal 33-18 win. Gardiner Minshew started in place of an injured Jalen Hurts, and he made his debut for the Eagles count in a big way. 

The Vikings and Broncos fell in the power rankings after taking losses in Week 13. Mike Zimmer’s side handed the Lions their first win of the season, while the Broncos showed they were nowhere near closing the gap on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. 

Taysom Hill got his first start of the season for the Saints, but it didn’t go to plan entirely. Hill did spark the offense a little bit, but his errant throws and four interceptions buried it too. 

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NFL Power Rankings - The Bad

25. Atlanta Falcons 5-7

26. Carolina Panthers 5-7

27. Chicago Bears 4-8

28. New York Jets 3-9

29. New York Giants 4-8

In the second game without Jason Garrett as the offensive coordinator, the Giants reverted to their losing ways. The G-men managed nine paltry points in a 20-9 loss to the Dolphins. Mike Glennon stepped in for an injured Daniel Jones (neck), but the veteran couldn’t get the offense going. Then again, how does one resuscitate a comatose offense?

The Jets might be faring worse than the Giants in the win-loss column, but Zach Wilson and the Jets' offense had more of a pulse than their city rivals last weekend. They gave as good as they got until they lost steam in a 33-18 loss to the Eagles.  

Andy Dalton’s days as a starter in the league are past their sell-by date. His value as a backup is also fast expiring after throwing four interceptions and gifting Arizona 23 points in the 33-22 loss to the Cardinals. The Chicago Bears are five games away from hitting a complete reset button. And if they have any sense, it should start with Matt Nagy and his coaching staff, who cannot possibly return in 2022 after another losing season. 

The Atlanta Falcons were swept by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 30-17 loss, while the Carolina Panthers rested their laurels on a bye week. Both teams are technically in the so-called hunt, but with lots of problems and no clear solutions in sight, they’re better off going back to the drawing board than the playoffs.

NFL Power Rankings - The Worst

30. Detroit Lions 1-10-1

31. Jacksonville Jaguars 2-10

32. Houston Texans 2-10

The Detroit Lions finally cracked the win column, earning a well-deserved move up the power rankings from 32 to 30. Dan Campbell has backed his team the entire season, praising their fight and spirit in the face of adversity and ridicule. So, eliminating the prospect of going winless in 2021 was a timely moral victory for the team and city that fell in one of the blackest weeks in Detroit’s history.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were steamrolled by the Los Angeles Rams 37-7, while the Houston Texans were rendered pointless by the Indianapolis Colts. The pair drop to the bottom of the rankings, falling into 31st and 32nd spots, respectively, although very little separates this pair of NFL dunces right now.