Niners, Ravens steamroll to showdown
(Last week’s rank in parentheses)
1. San Francisco 49ers (1): Back-toback division champions for the first time in 11 years, they’ve now won 12 straight against NFC West competition. But their quest to lock up the conference’s No. 1 seed could hit a serious speed bump on Christmas night against the AFC’s top-ranked Ravens.
2. Baltimore Ravens (3): Winners in eight of the last nine outings, their quest to lock up the conference’s No. 1 seed could hit a serious speed bump on Christmas night against the NFC’s topranked Niners. Didn’t help to lose speed back Keaton Mitchell to a season-ending knee injury.
Philadelphia Eagles (4): Yes, they’ve lost three in a row, including one to the Niners and another Monday night with a less-than-healthy quarterback. Still, they should be fine with two games against the Giants and one versus Arizona left.
4. Buffalo Bills (8): Yes, it’s awfully tall cotton for a team technically in ninth place in the AFC. Yet only four teams in the conference have a better record than the Mafia’s club, which is playing as well as anybody – and against some of the league’s top squads. And if QB Josh Allen is going to take care of the ball, and RB James Cook is going to run it like he has been? No limit on what the Bills are capable of.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (5): Sunday was QB Patrick Mahomes’ first game with at least 300 passing yards since Oct. 22, all the more impressive given TE Travis Kelce’s modest output (28 yards).
6. Miami Dolphins (6): Good news for the AFC team known for beating up tomato cans but not quality opponents – Sunday will bring a test against the Cowboys ... and hopefully WR Tyreek Hill will be able to suit up for it.
7. Dallas Cowboys (2): Good news for the NFC team known for beating up tomato cans but not quality opponents – Sunday will bring a test against the Dolphins ... and hopefully the Cowboys offense will actually show up to play in South Florida.
8. Detroit Lions (7): One more win or Vikings loss – the Lions can make both those things happen in Minnesota in Week 16 – means the NFC North flag will fly in Motown for the first time ever. Too bad the game’s not in prime time, where
3.
Detroit has won five in a row.
9. Los Angeles Rams (10): Since he was forced to miss Week 9’s game at Green Bay, Matthew Stafford is playing as well as anyone (4-1 record, 1,250 passing yards, 13 TD passes, 2 interceptions, 105.2 QB rating) – which correlates to LA’s belated rise into wild-card contention.
10. Cleveland Browns (11): Maybe it’s QB Joe Flacco. Maybe it’s an investment paying off. But TE David Njoku is finally justifying the 2017 first-round pick and third contract this franchise has invested in him.
11. Houston Texans (13): Part of a three-way tie atop the AFC South. Just wait until they get QB C.J. Stroud, DE Will Anderson Jr. and WR Nico Collins back.
12. Cincinnati Bengals (14): They’re averaging 31.7 points and 418 yards over the past three weeks. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan should be getting more attention as a 2024 head coaching candidate.
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (12): Losing three in a row, all to AFC North teams, has completely eroded what had been a comfortable lead in the AFC South. Fortunately for the Jags – mathematically anyway – their final three games equate to the league’s easiest remaining schedule (based on opponents’ collective winning percentage).
14. Indianapolis Colts (16): Who needs RB Jonathan Taylor, or Zack Moss for that matter? Indy rushed for 170 yards Saturday with Taylor (thumb) still out and Moss missing most of the game.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (18): Are we starting to think Baker Mayfield might be a long-term fit for the first-place Bucs? In Sunday’s upset of the Pack, he became the third quarterback in league history with at least 375 passing yards, four TDs and a perfect passer rating on the road.
16. Denver Broncos (9): Wasn’t pretty at all last Saturday at Ford Field. But they close with the Pats, Bolts and Raiders – a pretty good opportunity to snatch a wild card. Failing that? Scream at Russell Wilson.
17. Minnesota Vikings (19): Nick Mullens was oh so close to becoming the fourth Vikes quarterback credited with a win this season.
18. New Orleans Saints (21): You can count on death, taxes and RB Alvin Kamara getting 1,000 yards.
19. Seattle Seahawks (23): Pretty cool watching QB2 Drew Lock engineer his first win in three years, keeping this team relevant heading into a very favorable stretch drive.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers (17): As head coach Mike Tomlin tries to avoid his first sub-.500 season, he turns to a quarterback (Mason Rudolph) with a
5-4-1 career record.
21. Las Vegas Raiders (25): They became the first team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to have eight different players score a touchdown in one game. (The Jets have 16 TDs this season. Total.)
22. Green Bay Packers (15): In retrospect, we all probably got a little too excited about a team with so little experience ... and so many key injuries.
23. Tennessee Titans (22): You’re a Bum, Vrabel. But seriously, maybe there was a lesson learned about rubbing Oilers history in Houston’s faces on Sunday.
24. Chicago Bears (24): They have 14 takeaways over the past four games. If QB Justin Fields can play that well down the stretch, general manager Ryan Poles will be just awash in envious options once the offseason starts.
25. Atlanta Falcons (20): QB Desmond Ridder throwing away the football is a microcosm for the way this team has thrown away its season.
26. Arizona Cardinals (28): They haven’t been able to hang with the Niners in recent years. But to run for 234 yards against that defense? Something’s simmering in the desert.
27. New York Jets (26): They have fewer touchdowns, yards and first downs than any other offense. But it could be tough to maintain that pace this weekend against Washington.
28. New York Giants (27): They have the most touchdowns, yards and first downs ... in New York, er, New Jersey. But it could be tough to maintain that pace with a Christmas spent in Philadelphia.
29. Washington Commanders (30):
So it was a good idea to trade DEs Chase Young and Montez Sweat but keep QB2 Jacoby Brissett in a league hemorrhaging passers? Got it.
30. New England Patriots So what if Taylor Swift was at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. Jon Bon Jovi came to watch the Pats.
31. Los Angeles Chargers (29): And ex-head coach Brandon Staley wondered why he kept getting asked if he would relinquish defensive play-calling duties. At least he managed to surrender a teamrecord 63 points to the Raiders on his way out the door.
32. Carolina Panthers (32): Even after a rare win, interim head coach Chris Tabor couldn’t find a better talking point than the confidence he had in his kicker to convert a 23-yard field goal. But, hey, take your victories however you can get them.