Nine Straight Threes' NFL Power Rankings: Week 14

This would normally be a stressful time for the NST Power Rankings. Ideally, they are supposed to be released into the world around 8:15 every Wednesday morning. Most weeks, this requires a reasonable amount of writing on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. The idea that I would begin writing these at 9:22 p.m. on Tuesday is borderline inconceivable.

And yet, I feel no worry. Why? Because we’re 14 weeks in. And if we’re all keeping it real, we’ve exhausted just about everything interesting we can say about some of these teams. You’ll know in a hurry whether or not I feel a team is worth spending a few sentences on, or whether they are the scourge of football fans everywhere, and should be left to rot. Here’s a hint: Most of the interesting teams in the league are the ones poised to keep playing into mid-January.

Week 13 had some surprising results, with Los Angeles’ all-offense thriller over Buffalo topping the list. Are the Rams suddenly the NFC’s third-most dangerous team? They might be! Are the Chiefs a house of cards, about to collapse under the assault of even a slight breeze? Maybe!

This week starts a wild three-game gauntlet for the Steelers, features a Denver-Indianapolis matchup that could all but sew up the AFC playoff field, and gives us a potential Super Bowl preview when Buffalo visits Detroit. There are also some true stinkers on the calendar, but we’ll try to downplay those as best we can.

As always, NST’s power rankings take two factors into account: Performance and watchability. Away we go.

Starting to Give Off an Unpleasant Odor

32. New York Giants (2-11)

LW: 32

I will admit something. I have no recollection of their game against New Orleans happening. Don’t remember reading anything about it, don’t remember seeing any highlights, nothing. It’s probably for the best.

Week 15: vs. Baltimore

31. Las Vegas Raiders (2-11)

LW: 31

Another week, another incredibly stupid challenge by Antonio Pierce. The man appears to be the classic “good interim head coach, bad actual head coach.” Many such cases.

Week 15: vs. Atlanta

30. New York Jets (3-10)

LW: 29

Aaron Rodgers finally had a 300-yard passing game, they did a lot of things right, and the Dolphins looked bad for most of the game. Miami still won. I need the Jets to start over and Rodgers to go away forever. Is that too much to ask?

Week 15: at Jacksonville

29. Tennessee Titans (3-10)

LW: 28

You blow a fourth-quarter lead to the Mac Jones Jaguars, any fourth-quarter lead, and you deserve many, many boos. Feel pretty good saying that Will Levis isn’t the guy unless he undergoes a Josh Allenesque accuracy transplant.

Week 15: vs. Cincinnati

28. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-10)

LW: 30

I realized that last week I forgot to format their ranking properly. I just listed them as “Jacksonville,” no nickname. That feels fitting, somehow. If the Jets didn’t exist, they’d probably be the biggest disappointment in the NFL. Speaking of which, let’s see who they play this week!

Week 15: vs. New York Jets

27. Cleveland Browns (3-10)

LW: 26

They really appeared to have a chance to take down the Steelers last week, and get their first three-game winning streak over their turnpike rival since their 1999 return to the NFL, but alas, they remembered they were the Browns. There are some individually very good pieces, but these guys still stink.

Week 15: vs. Kansas City

26. New Orleans Saints (5-8)

LW: 24

Congrats to the Saints, who, for the second straight week, played in the “Chris Mueller Did Not Pay Attention” game of the week. This time, they won. Hooray for them!

Week 15: vs. Washington