JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser's pre-Week 12 2021 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are …
Rank.Team (record) | Prev. | Comment
- Arizona Cardinals (9-2) | 3 | Back on top – again
- Tennessee Titans (8-3) | 1 | Stunned at home by Texans
- Green Bay Packers (8-3) | 2 | Sunday feels more like a hiccup than a concern
- Dallas Cowboys (7-3) | 4 | Still waaaaay out in front in NFC East
- New England Patriots (7-4) | 7 | They're back …
- Los Angeles Rams (7-3) | 6 | Bye
- Kansas City Chiefs (7-4) | 8 | … and they're back, too
- Baltimore Ravens (7-3) | 9 | In good shape in really good division
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3) | 10 | Don't count them out yet
- Los Angeles Chargers (6-4) | 14 | Inconsistent, but oh-so dangerous
- Indianapolis Colts (6-5) | 18 | No hotter team in NFL right now
- Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4-1) |11 | Feels like they're not going away
- Buffalo Bills (6-4) | 5 | Suddenly real concerns for the Mafia
- Cleveland Browns (6-4) | 15 | Starting to look really good defensively
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-4) | 17 | Huge game at home versus Steelers Sunday
- Minnesota Vikings (5-5) | 20 | Five losses by combined 18 points, two in OT
- Philadelphia Eagles (5-6) | 21 | Next five games against sub-.500 teams
- Denver Broncos (5-5) | 16 | Bye
- San Francisco 49ers (5-5) | 22 | Flexed their way back to .500 versus Duuval
- New Orleans Saints (5-5) | 12 | Three-game skid – and Buffalo/Dallas next
- Las Vegas Raiders (5-5) | 13 | Three-game skid – including last two at home
- Washington Football Team (4-6) | 27 | Back-to-back victories over contenders
- Carolina Panthers (5-6) | 19 | Cam's still back – but it wasn't enough
- Miami Dolphins (4-7) | 29 | Three consecutive victories after brutal start
- Atlanta Falcons (4-6) | 23 | Up next: Duuval
- Seattle Seahawks (3-7) | 24 | Close to first losing season since 2011
- Chicago Bears (3-7) | 25 | Five consecutive losses after 3-2 start
- New York Giants (3-7) | 26 | Year has gotten long for Big Blue
- Houston Texans (2-8) | 31 | Pulled one of biggest upsets of season Sunday
- Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) | 28 | Forty-three points in last four games
- New York Jets (2-8) | 30 | Two victories by three points each
- Detroit Lions (0-9-1) | 32 | New QB, same struggles in Motor City
