A season of nail-biters continues
It was a history-making week that changed very little in the NFL hierarchy.
An NFL record-tying 12 games were decided by seven points or less on the wraparound Thanksgiving weekend. Just call it a continuation of a season of nail-biters, with a league-record 106 games decided by seven points or less through Week 13.
So, there must be a lot of moving parts to digest, right?
Think again.
The Post’s power rankings from last week look spot on after the top 13-ranked teams went 12-1, with the only loss coming from the Ravens against the higher-ranked Eagles.
Here are The Post’s power rankings for Week 14:
1. Lions 11-1 (1)
Make it 10 wins in a row. Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Sam LaPorta and Jake Bates kicked three field goals in a 23-20 victory against the Bears. A little help — the Bears’ horrendous end-of-game clock management that prevented a game-tying field-goal attempt and later got head coach Matt Eberflus fired — added to the win probability.
2. Bills 10-2 (2)
Josh Allen threw a touchdown pass on a play where he had the receiving touchdown — with an Amari Cooper catch and lateral in between. Playing on a snow-covered field, the Bills pulled out all the stops in a 35-10 victory, and the defeated 49ers looked like they wanted to be anywhere else. The Bills clinched a fifth straight AFC East title.
3. Chiefs 11-1 (3)
The Chiefs clinched a playoff berth when practice squad call-up Matthew Wright drilled four field goals in a 19-17 victory against the Raiders. The kicking game was the decisive factor because Daniel Carlson missed three field goals and never got a chance to try for the win when Nick Bolton recovered Aidan O’Connell’s fumble with 15 seconds left.
4. Eagles 10-2 (4)
Bottled up for the first half, Saquon Barkley ran for a 25-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to break open a 24-19 victory against the Ravens. He finished with 107 rushing yards, possibly becoming the leader in the NFL MVP race. The defensive-minded Eagles became just the second NFC team to beat quarterback Lamar Jackson (joining the 2022 Giants) in 25 career starts.
5. Packers 9-3 (5)
Jordan Love and Jayden Reed connected twice for touchdowns as the Packers beat the Dolphins, 30-17, for their seventh win in the past eight games. After jumping out to a 27-3 lead, the Packers defense made a fourth-quarter goal-line stand — capped by Quay Walker’s fourth-down sack — when their lead could’ve been cut to one score.
6. Vikings 10-2 (6)
Aaron Jones fumbled on each of the Vikings’ first two possessions and got benched — only to return and make the game-winning touchdown catch with 73 seconds remaining in a 23-22 win against the Cardinals. The Vikings scored on their final three possessions, totaling 187 yards on 23 plays to erase a 13-point deficit behind Sam Darnold’s two touchdown passes.
7. Steelers 9-3 (7)
It’s been a long time since Russell Wilson looked as good as he did in throwing for 414 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-38 shoot-out win against the Bengals. Most of the damage came after throwing a first-quarter pick-six. The Steelers led 27-21 at halftime in the highest-scoring first half in the 110 meetings between the rivals.
8. Ravens 8-5 (8)
All-Pro kicker Justin Tucker’s nightmare season continued as he missed two field goals and a PAT in the loss to the Eagles. Mark Andrews scored his 47th career touchdown — tying a franchise record — but the Ravens strayed too far from what works best with 36 passes by Jackson and only 27 runs by the Jackson-Derrick Henry combination.
9. Chargers 8-4 (9)
Defense can be beautiful. Rookie cornerback Tarheeb Still had two of the Chargers’ four interceptions against Kirk Cousins, including one returned for a 61-yard touchdown, in an ugly 17-13 win. The offense managed just three field goals while overcoming five sacks, a lost fumble and just two first downs in the first half. The special teams failed on a fake punt.
10. Broncos 8-5 (10)
Michael Burton and Javonte Williams both finished with the strange stat line of one rushing yard and one rushing touchdown in a 41-32 victory against the Browns. The Broncos blew a 28-17 lead and trailed with three minutes remaining, but Will Lutz’s 27-yard go-ahead field goal and Ja’Quan McMillan’s 44-yard pick-six sealed the comeback and picked up Bo Nix after he threw two interceptions.
11. Texans 8-5 (11)
12. Commanders 8-5 (12)
13. Seahawks 7-5 (13)
14. Cardinals 6-6 (14)
15. Rams 6-6 (19)
16. Buccaneers 6-6 (16)
17. Falcons 6-6 (15)
18. Dolphins 5-7 (17)
19. 49ers 5-7 (18)
20. Colts 6-7 (21)
21. Bengals 4-8 (20)
22. Saints 4-8 (22)
23. Cowboys 5-7 (23)
24. Bears 4-8 (24)
25. Browns 3-9 (25)
26. Panthers 3-9 (28)
27. Jets 3-9 (27)
After losing to Sam Darnold’s Vikings earlier this season, the Jets fell to another one of their former quarterbacks when Geno Smith led the Seahawks to a 26-21 comeback victory. Aaron Rodgers threw two first-quarter touchdown passes but missed too many game-breaking opportunities and threw a costly pick-six. Kene Nwangwu added a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown.
28. Titans 3-9 (26)
29. Patriots 3-10 (29)
30. Raiders 2-10 (30)
31. Giants 2-10 (31)
Making his first start of the season as the Giants’ third different quarterback in three games, Drew Lock threw a pick-six but ran for a touchdown in a 27-20 loss to the Cowboys. Trailing by as many as 17 points, the Giants fell one third-down stop away from regaining possession with a chance to tie. Instead, it’s seven straight losses.
32. Jaguars 2-10 (32)
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