Rams reclaim No. 1 spot from Saints, Texans close in on top five
Here are the latest NFL power rankings, post-Week 13 edition: 1. Rams: Only team with 11 wins. Only team to clinch playoff berth so far. Only team with two bona fide MVP candidates (Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald).
2. Saints: Absence of LT Terron Armstead an underrated story. New Orleans could be vulnerable without him against good defensive teams like Dallas.
3. Patriots: Tom Brady exposed as me-first guy. See his forward-leaning kneeldown in order to protect 1,000 career rushing yards? (We kid, we kid.)
4. Chiefs: Without Kareem Hunt, they ran for most yards (174) on road this season. But is committee sustainable with Pat Mahomes as leading rusher?
5. Chargers: Team so often vexed by special teams got 73-yard punt return for TD in fourth quarter, game-winning FG at gun in comeback at Pittsburgh.
6. Texans: Now hottest club in NFL, Houston not scheduled to face team with winning record rest of way... which could mean 13-3 mark and No. 1 seed.
7. Cowboys: Now hottest club in NFC after handling Saints, Dallas not currently scheduled to face team with winning record for rest of regular season.
8. Steelers: Only Sam Darnold has more INTs than 13 for Ben Roethlisberger, who also missed a lot of open guys Sunday. Rip yourself this time, Big Ben.
9. Bears: Helps when everyone else in NFC North is also losing. But they won’t cruise to division crown, especially with Rams up next on Sunday night.
10. Broncos: Phillip Lindsay now leads AFC with 937 rushing yards. But Case Keenum’s Broncos are winning because he hasn’t turned the ball over in last four games.
11. Seahawks: With three of final four at home (and road game at San Francisco), they’re looking like solid playoff bet. Next up, Case Keenum’s Broncos.
12. Vikings: They can’t get going on ground. Defense isn’t nearly as effective as 2017. And they’re only half-game better than Case Keenum’s Broncos.
13. Ravens: Lamar Jackson’s 73.5 QB rating is ugly... but it’s also better than all of his fellow 2018 first rounders with exception of Baker Mayfield.
14. Eagles: They face brutal finish, starting in Dallas. But it appears offense finally coming together as Josh Adams, Golden Tate integrate.
15. Colts: If they wind up barely missing playoffs, they’ll surely look back on woeful performance against undermanned Jags as one that torpedoed them.
16. Panthers: Ron Rivera kicked two defensive assistants off riverboat and will assume play-calling for unit with one takeaway during four-game skid.
17. Dolphins: As low as their profile is, they’re just waiting for Ravens to stumble. Ranked seventh in AFC, Fins have reasonable shot to finish 9-7.
18. Titans: As low as their profile is, they’re also lurking. They have four winnable games on the docket. Offense woke up to hang season-best 461 yards on Jets.
19. Redskins: Unwise to entrust too much hope with Mark Sanchez under best of circumstances. Best thing he can provide now is needed continuity under center.
20. Browns: Buyer’s remorse? Of 16 guys with at least 100 targets, Jarvis Landry has fewest receptions (66) and TDs (2), lowest catch rate (55 percent).
21. Falcons: Offense has evaporated during four-game losing streak, failing to break 20 points and 400 yards in each defeat. Turnovers also piling up.
22. Giants: With $65M in guarantees headed his way, Odell Beckham must understand why no Giants fan wants him making any more on-field business decisions.
23. Buccaneers: Efficiency-wise, Jameis Winston having best year of his career – aided by being turnover-free in past two starts. Bucs’ dilemma grows.
24. Lions: Honolulu Blue and silver linings. Taylor Decker found dude who caught ball which left tackle chucked into stands after scoring first TD of his life.
25. Packers: Aaron Rodgers won’t forget 35th birthday, when he lost to lowly Cards and saw Mike McCarthy fired. At least he’s eligible for presidency.
26. Bengals: How bad has it gotten? Team that started 4-1 now has fourthworst point differential in league after only Raiders, Cardinals and Bills.
27. Bills: Maybe Seattle should have drafted Josh Allen, whose 389 rushing yards are 20 more than fellow first rounder (and tailback) Rashaad Penny.
28. Jaguars: They’ve now shut Colts out in consecutive seasons. Jags not going anywhere but could be primed to play serious spoiler role down stretch.
29. Jets: Bridge burning time? Todd Bowles called team’s performance “disgusting” after it surrendered 16-0 lead in Nashville. Welcome back, Sam.
30. Raiders: Gave fans good show Sunday, including season-best 171 rush yards. But as A’s reveal plans, how many games do Raiders actually have left in Oakland?
31. Cardinals: Say what you want about Packers, but don’t call Cards quitters any longer after they won first game in Green Bay in nearly seven decades.
32. 49ers: Hopefully you had fantasy triplets of QB Nick Mullens, RB Jeff Wilson Jr. and WR Dante Pettis in Week 13. If so, you cruised into playoffs.
(USA Today/TNS)