PFT’s Week 13 2022 NFL power rankings

Los Angeles Rams v Kansas City Chiefs
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1. Chiefs (9-2; last week No. 1): They sometimes make it look so much easier than it is.

2. Eagles (10-1; No. 2): They sometimes made it look harder than it needs to be.

3. Cowboys (8-3; No. 3): Although they got a win, the 40-3 version of the Cowboys won’t be showing up every week.

4. Dolphins (8-3; No. 4): TuAnon has become Tua-Second-to-None.

5. Bills (8-3; No. 5): Their games are far closer than they should be.

6. 49ers (7-4; No. 7): The defense is so good, it doesn’t matter what they do on offense.

7. Vikings (9-2; No. 8): They’re not giving up yet on the possibility of being the No. 1 seed.

8. Bengals (7-4; No. 14): They’ve managed to stay under radar despite going to the Super Bowl. That likely won’t last much longer.

9. Ravens (7-4; No. 6): Good teams that blow two-score leads to bad teams have a hard time remaining good teams.

10. Giants (7-4; No. 9): It feels like it’s starting to come apart at the seams, a little bit.

11. Patriots (6-5; No. 10): Thursday night’s game against the Bills becomes the biggest of the year for this team, so far.

12. Seahawks (6-5; No. 11): Introducing the Legion of Room (to Run).

13. Titans (7-4; No. 12): They need someone to step up on the rare days when Derrick Henry gets bottled up.

14. Jets (7-4; No. 16): Mike White is playing the way Zach Wilson should have been.

15. Commanders (7-5; No. 15): The schedule takes a very sharp turn, starting now.

16. Chargers (6-5; No. 18): They make not make it to the postseason. Without Sunday’s walkoff win, they likely would have had no chance.

17. Buccaneers (5-6; No. 13): The division remains in their control, but they’ll have a hell of a time against the No. 5 seed, when the time comes.

18. Falcons (5-7; No. 17): They just keep hanging around.

19. Lions (4-7; No. 19): These truly aren’t the same old Lions. And the next two games will be critical to proving it.

20. Browns (4-7; No. 23): Things suddenly have gotten very interesting in Cleveland.

21. Steelers (4-7; No. 27): Never, ever write off Mike Tomlin and company.

22. Panthers (4-8; No. 28): Steve Wilks has done enough to earn the full-time job. Will he get a fair shot at it?

23. Raiders (4-7; No. 29): Yes, they should have picked up the Josh Jacobs fifth-year option. But would he be doing this if he wasn’t in a contract year?

24. Jaguars (4-7; No. 30): They’re the kid who brings home straight A’s once per year, while otherwise struggling to pass all his classes.

25. Packers (4-8; No. 20): It’s time to see what Jordan Love can do.

26. Cardinals (4-8; No. 21): I’d pay a lot of money to see the outtakes and deleted scenes from Hard Knocks.

27. Colts (4-7-1; No. 22): It’s almost as if the person responsible for managing the clock late in the game has hardly any experience doing so.

28. Saints (4-8; No. 24): Is it crazy to think they should offer Sean Payton $30 million a year to come back?

29. Rams (3-8; No. 25): They have four more nationally-televised standalone games this year.

30. Bears (3-9; No. 26): If they can’t win with their best player in the lineup, they’ve got little chance without him.

31. Broncos (3-8; No. 31): They were No. 19 back in Week One, and plenty of Broncos fans were pissed about that.

32. Texans (1-9-1; No. 32): Absent new ownership, does anyone see this changing any time soon?

82 responses to “PFT’s Week 13 2022 NFL power rankings

  1. We only moved up 6 spaces but I guess it is better than nothing. Last night the Steelers put the entire NFL on notice that we are a team to be reckoned with that no one wants to face, especially in the playoffs. Newbie head coach Jeff Saturday was playing checkers while Hall of Fame head coach Mike Tomlin was playing pool. And by playing pool I mean running the table! Keep stacking wins, stay focused, humble, and petulant. GO STEELERS!

  2. As an Eagles fan I thoroughly agree with Florio’s comment “They sometimes made it look harder than it needs to be”. To me, that’s what separates #1 and #2 in the power rankings.
    Hopefully the Eagles start to get some injured guys back and make it look easy again!

  3. After beating the Giants this coming week, I wonder if you will move the Commanders up into the top 10? Probably not.

  4. Media: Bills only blow people out, can’t win close games
    Also media: Bills should’ve won by a blow out, way too close

  5. When the Bengals beat the Chiefs the narrative will be “Maybe this team is for real” Ill help ya.. They are a top 5 team last year, this year and the next 5 at least. Ask the Chiefs and they will tell you too.

  6. The way this season is going, I’m sure the Packers will do something stupid like win out.

  7. Next three games for the Dolphins…

    On the road @ 49ers
    On the road @ Chargers
    On the road @ Bills

    Buffalo didn’t receive three games straight road games this season, let alone so far to travel for each game against worthy opponents.

    The next three weeks are going to be very tough on the Phins.

  8. Last week showed how amazing Justin Fields has been carrying this terrible roster to 30 points a game. He should make the Pro Bowl.

  9. I’m not a Titans fan, but they should be in the top 10. They’re definitely better than the 4 teams immediately ahead of them on this list.

  10. After Thursday’s game against the Patriots, the Bills will have played 3 road games in 12 days: plus 6 feet of snow. Close W still a W.

  11. Actual Rankings:
    1. Chiefs – Mahomes is the best QB in the league hands down
    2. 49ers – Best defense in the league, weapons galore on offense
    3. Eagles – Best record but past few weeks have knocked them down a nudge
    4. Dolphins – Speed kills but defense is not championship level yet
    5. Cowboys – A top D and tons of talents but will Dak choke it away
    6. Bengals – Team is jelling and getting Chase back, scary
    7. Bills – Preseason favorite but Allen leads league in turnovers
    8. Vikings – Bills would win 7 of 10 against them and not as good as their record shows
    9. Titans – Beast RB, well coached but Tannehill will blow it in a big spot
    10. Ravens – Meh.

  12. legionofzoom says:
    November 29, 2022 at 10:17 am
    I’m not a Titans fan, but they should be in the top 10. They’re definitely better than the 4 teams immediately ahead of them on this list.

    Titans have beaten one team with a winning record, Washington with Wentz starting. In this ranking, every single team ahead of them that they have played beat them.
    The argument can be made that they’re too high, never mind too low…

  13. If Miami can come out of next 3 games at 2-1 they will be making a hard run to the AFC title game for sure. If not, a wild card on the road and hope for better health next year for OL and DBs

  14. Once again, a more reasonable ranking.
    Some interchangeable spots in the top ten that are largely fuelled by arguable differences and hypotheticals rather than befuddling preconceived biases.
    At week 13, preseason assumptions should be all dead, and the actual results determinative.

  15. There’s no way in the world the Bucs and bungles should still be ahead of the Steelers, it seems like people forgot that we have beaten both of those teams. The Steelers have to be the most dangerous team in the league right now. People better start praying that we don’t make the playoffs. Defense is finally healthy and our offense is getting in rhythm. Those sounds you hear are heads exploding of the people who said this team was done.

  16. Looking forward to watch Rodgers lose to the Bears, the Bears then have a one game lead of all time wins, then Packers IR Aaron, and let Love have 2 weeks with the bye to prep for the remainder of the year.

    In 2023, Rodgers gets sent to Seattle for the slew of drafts picks sent by Denver.

    Sounds plausible.

  17. This has definitely been an agonizing year in Green Bay as the Power Rankings assert.

    This team is staring straight in the face of its 4th losing season in the last 30 years.

    Sometimes, it’s tough to be a Packer fan, but I’m quite sure we’ll recover.

    We always do. 😉

  18. Do the chiefs make it look easy? They played two teams (TEN & LAR) with no semblance of QB play. They escaped TEN with a win and probably lose if tannenhill plays and should have beaten LAR by more than they did.

  19. Fun fact: The Texans have $4 million in salary to their 2 QBs COMBINED. Russell Wilson got $165 million guaranteed from the Broncos. And if you didn’t know the uniforms you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart from their play.

  20. legionofzoom says:
    November 29, 2022 at 10:17 am
    I’m not a Titans fan, but they should be in the top 10. They’re definitely better than the 4 teams immediately ahead of them on this list.

    ——–

    As an Eagles fan, I can tell you that if my team plays the Titans the way they’ve played the Commanders, Colts, and Packers, they will not beat the Titans.

    Jonathan Taylor, AJ Dillon / Aaron Jones, Derrick Henry, and Saquon on the schedule (twice) and Jordan Davis out, it’s pretty obvious why Howie went out and got Suh and Joseph to beef up the D-line. But they still look pretty vulnerable against the run. I expect heavy doses of Henry this week, while Jalen watches from the sidelines as the D has a tough time getting off the field.

    I really hope I’m wrong. And I also really hope that the Eagles don’t abandon the run when they *do* get on the field.

  21. icantstandwhitecastleanymore says:
    November 29, 2022 at 10:43 am
    Looking forward to watch Rodgers lose to the Bears, the Bears then have a one game lead of all time wins, then Packers IR Aaron, and let Love have 2 weeks with the bye to prep for the remainder of the year.

    In 2023, Rodgers gets sent to Seattle for the slew of drafts picks sent by Denver.

    Sounds plausible.

    Does it?
    Because as insane as this may have sounded in previous years, Geno Smith has outplayed Aaron Rodgers this season.

  22. Seriously, what is wrong with Pittsburgh fans this year?
    Have they always been this delusional or has the fact that this will be the first time in almost two decades that they’ll end up with a losing record broke their minds?

  23. As an Eagles fan I fully agree we are not 1st. We need to fix run defense and special teams, and knock off the turnovers. We have Tennessee, then 3 road games in a row…Giants, Chicago and Dallas. It could go off the rails quick.

  24. Danielle K says:
    November 29, 2022 at 10:06 am

    The media always has so much faith in the Ravens 😂

    They’re no good.
    _____________________________________________

    Since when is first place in your division and having a 10 point lead in every game not good? Oh, my fault. I forgot about Brady and the Bucs…ahahaha.

  25. dingodango says:
    November 29, 2022 at 11:11 am

    Incredible how many people remain obsessed with the Packers.
    __________

    That’s what happens when you’re the most successful franchise in league history. Oh well…..

  26. As a longtime Patriots follower I can objectively say I would have both Tennessee and the Jets above NE and possibly Washington. That is until NE proves otherwise.

  27. footballer23 says:
    November 29, 2022 at 10:42 am
    There’s no way in the world the Bucs and bungles should still be ahead of the Steelers, it seems like people forgot that we have beaten both of those teams. The Steelers have to be the most dangerous team in the league right now. People better start praying that we don’t make the playoffs. Defense is finally healthy and our offense is getting in rhythm. Those sounds you hear are heads exploding of the people who said this team was done.

    First of all, beating the Bucs is no great accomplishment this year. I would agree that the Bucs are too high at #17 but I’d be more worried about playing the Lions and even the Browns than I would be playing the Steelers. Yes, Steelers beat the Bengals very early in the season in OT, when the Bengals clearly stumbled out of the gate. The Steelers then lost to the Bengals in week 11.
    To be fair, 6 of the 7 Steeler losses this year have been to teams with winning records. However, only 1 of their 4 wins has been to a winning team, that being game 1 against the Bengals. Steelers with Tomlin coaching will always be competitive but the reality is the running game is struggling and Kenny Pickett is learning on the job. This is a team that struggled to beat the mighty Colts last night so I’d hold off on the “heads exploding” talk. Thanks for the laugh though.

  28. Ravens too high. Something wrong in B’more. There is simply way too much talent on the defensive side of the ball for this unit not to be able to deliver in the clutch. The way you rattle a young QB is with the blitz and I didn’t see a single blitz on that final drive. And Qweh looks completely lost. Could we have a D Coordinator problem?

  29. Steelers have “stacked” four wins together. Call me scared. They used to be a knowledgeable fan base.

  30. Ravens and especially Giants are both way too high.

    The Ravens should be behind the Seahawks and the Giants should be behind the Commanders.

  31. dingodango says:
    November 29, 2022 at 11:11 am

    Incredible how many people remain obsessed with the Packers.
    _______

    The Packers are, by far, the most successful franchise in league history, what do you expect?
    Haters gonna hate, let them pound salt. 😉

  32. 1. Chiefs
    2. Eagles
    3. 49ers
    4. Bills
    5. Cowboys
    6. Dolphins
    7. Bengals
    8. Ravens
    9. Vikings
    10. Titans

  33. Yea, it’s crazy to think the Saints should offer Payton $30 million to come back. He’s not worth a tenth of that. Overrated without Drew Brees. Do you get a cut as his friend for pushing him so hard?

  34. Super Bowl champions at 29. It says alot about how bad their opposition was in last year’s playoffs.

  35. Weren’t the Bills doubters saying they cant win close games? Now the beat the Lions by 3 (who also lost to the Vikings, Dolphins and Eagles b close margins) after playing 3 games in 16 days and that’s not good enough….hmmm

  36. 15. Commanders (7-5; No. 15): The schedule takes a very sharp turn, starting now.

    During their recent win streak, they beat Philadelphia and took Minnesota to the limit. I’m not saying they haven’t had some easier matches or that they are world beaters, but the characterization that they’ll folk in the face of stiff competition is not shown in recent matches.

  37. Jags hate is real. Bring home straight As once a year? Bruh we man handled the colts and bolts and beat a legit playoff team with a former mvp at QB. We’re finally for real I think. Gonna finish strong and be a force next year.

  38. Finally someone else besides me asking that question about Josh Jacobs. I feel like he would be slacking if they had picked up the 5th year.

  39. billshistorian says:
    November 29, 2022 at 10:47 am
    Do the chiefs make it look easy? They played two teams (TEN & LAR) with no semblance of QB play. They escaped TEN with a win and probably lose if tannenhill plays and should have beaten LAR by more than they did.

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    They barely beat the Raiders in the beginning of the year as well.

  40. As a Lions fan, I’m very happy to see the Rams at 29. With a little more effort, they can make it to 31!

  41. Were the game on Thanksgiving properly officiated, the “lowly” Patriots win that game and are in the Top 10. Go figure. I think they are 11 on this list because everyone saw that in this game. They should have won. Otherwise they’d have been dropped to 15-16. Each game for them becomes bigger and bigger because they lost their margin for error. If they hold serve at home and pick up a win on the road against AZ or LV, they will be 10-7 which should be good enough for a playoff spot. A big “if.” They could afford a loss at home if they at least get the game in LV (AFC) vs AZ (NFC)….for tie breaker purposes. It’s amazing to be in 4th place in the division and still have a good shot at a playoff spot. The AFC East teams may be tough outs in the playoffs.

  42. inozwetrust says:
    November 29, 2022 at 11:58 am

    Ravens too high. Something wrong in B’more. There is simply way too much talent on the defensive side of the ball for this unit not to be able to deliver in the clutch. The way you rattle a young QB is with the blitz and I didn’t see a single blitz on that final drive. And Qweh looks completely lost. Could we have a D Coordinator problem?
    ____________________________________________

    Never blame the Ravens’ D. Whenever they lose, it’s always Lamar’s fault. Haven’t you been on PFT long enough to learn this?

  43. Seachickens coming back down to reality. Right there at number 12 with the 12s and soon to be heading lower.

  44. Buffalo is rated too high. They have not been impressive the last few weeks to be rated where they are. Media love?

  45. nirrad4417 says:
    November 29, 2022 at 9:44 am

    Miami should be #3. They are better than the Cowboys.

    ______________________________________________________________________________________

    As a Cowboys fan I agree.

  46. Any fan with any common sense knows the Vikings beat the Pats straight up, as there were as many lousy calls or non-calls that hurt the Vikings. Nothing worse than an entitled Pats fan whining about calls without acknowledging the other team was simply better or the calls/non-calls that benefitted their team.

  47. Give it a rest. The Texans will be just fine.
    They have had some bad luck (eg their 2nd round pick never played do to cancer).
    Their other draft picks have played well, and their 4th round running back is a star.
    If they do not make the mistake of drafting a QB in the first round they can trade their picks for many good players. They just need to get Jimmy Garoppolo or Derek Carr at QB to round out the team

  48. 1. Chiefs (9-2; last week No. 1): They sometimes make it look so much easier than it is.

    2. Eagles (10-1; No. 2): They sometimes made it look harder than it needs to be.
    __________

    Those descriptions fit both teams equally. Why do we degrade teams like the Eagles and Vikings for close wins but forget all about the Chiefs losing to the Colts and winning close games against the Raiders, Chargers, Jaguars, and Malik Willis?

  49. 1dayatatime says:
    November 29, 2022 at 11:56 am
    As a longtime Patriots follower I can objectively say I would have both Tennessee and the Jets above NE and possibly Washington. That is until NE proves otherwise.
    __________________________
    I agree with you on the Titans and maybe even Commanders but they beat the Jets twice. It’s kind of hard to rank them higher than NE. 11 seems high with how their offense looks but there’s a lot of mediocrity in the league.

  50. thaswussup says:
    November 29, 2022 at 2:25 pm
    Were the game on Thanksgiving properly officiated, the “lowly” Patriots win that game and are in the Top 10. Go figure. I think they are 11 on this list because everyone saw that in this game. They should have won. Otherwise they’d have been dropped to 15-16. Each game for them becomes bigger and bigger because they lost their margin for error. If they hold serve at home and pick up a win on the road against AZ or LV, they will be 10-7 which should be good enough for a playoff spot. A big “if.” They could afford a loss at home if they at least get the game in LV (AFC) vs AZ (NFC)….for tie breaker purposes. It’s amazing to be in 4th place in the division and still have a good shot at a playoff spot. The AFC East teams may be tough outs in the playoffs.

    —————————-

    Im fine with where the Patriots are rated, even if they had won. They are showing some good things but not fully there yet. So putting them in the front half of the league but not by much is about right. That they might make the playoffs while finishing last in their division is kind of lol and not really their fault. Blame the teams with worse records that make that possible.

  51. Calvin Hobbes says:
    November 29, 2022 at 5:36 pm
    The Packers should be number 1. Change my mind.

    ————————

    Lol, we all know that ain’t gonna happen.

  52. When the Pats beat the Bills twice and Fins once, they bump the Bills from the playoffs. Ouch!

  53. Any fan with any common sense knows the Vikings beat the Pats straight up, as there were as many lousy calls or non-calls that hurt the Vikings. Nothing worse than an entitled Pats fan whining about calls without acknowledging the other team was simply better or the calls/non-calls that benefitted their team.
    ————-

    Take away the running into the punter (a legit call) and the Vikings were probably losing.

  54. Reading the comments of some of these Bills fans it’s crazy how much they try to disparage Kansas City . It pro football , any given Sunday .
    The bills have had there fair share of let downs and missed opportunities against lesser teams like the Chiefs have . You can root for your team without passing judgment on others.

  55. Packers and Patriots undeservedly too high.Neither is close to level they are at.

    When the Bills wipe the field with the Patriots they will likely get a more realistic ranking in next weeks list.

  56. Local fan: Credit to NE showing improvement. When Jones develops peripheral vision, his pocket presence should improve. Also, too, here’s hoping he remembers to turf the ball instead of taking the sack.

    Oh, and Henry’s TD takeaway was shameful.

  57. buffalobluecollarlunchbucket56 says:
    November 29, 2022 at 10:25 am

    After Thursday’s game against the Patriots, the Bills will have played 3 road games in 12 days: plus 6 feet of snow. Close W still a W.

    ======================

    Nope, after playing the Pats on Thursday, the Bills last three games will look like this…

    At home vs Cleveland (moved to Detroit due to weather) VERY close to Buffalo against a subpar team.
    On the Road @ Detriot (subpar team, so close to home that this is where they moved the Brwon’s game to due to weather.
    On the Road @ NE.

    That’s a HUGE difference from:

    Next three games for the Dolphins…
    On the road @ 49ers
    On the road @ Chargers
    On the road @ Bills

    Add the flight miles up and try again.

    I don’t see the NFL moving Miami home games in September to cooler weather.

    I believe The Bills have replaced the Pats as the NFL’s darling team. LOL

  58. carpenterphx says:
    November 29, 2022 at 12:09 pm
    Steelers have “stacked” four wins together. Call me scared. They used to be a knowledgeable fan base.
    —————-
    At least Steelers fans are knowledgeable enough to know that the Steelers have NOT stacked four wins together…

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