Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Chiefs rise; Cards plummet
Dec 11, 2018, 7:56 AM
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) evades Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) during the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Dec. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Fourteen down, three to go.
Week 14 in the NFL was a doozy complete with miracle finishes, slipping kickers, ill-timed challenges and a heck of a lot of fun.
Kansas City rode the right arm of Patrick Mahomes to a thrilling overtime win over Baltimore to reclaim the top spot in this week’s Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings. Their ascension was made possible by last week’s top team — the Los Angeles Rams — laying a rare egg in an ugly loss to the Chicago Bears.
At the bottom of the list, once again, it’s the Arizona Cardinals who were nearly shut out on their home turf by the Detroit Lions. Meanwhile the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers both scored home wins over decent-to-good AFC opponents to leapfrog the Cards.
Here’s a look at this week’s order:
Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings – Week 15
| Rank | Team | Record | Result | Movement | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  |
Kansas City Chiefs | 11-2 | beat Baltimore 27-24 (OT) | (▲1) | Patrick Mahomes is a lot of fun to watch. |
| 2. |  |
New Orleans Saints | 11-2 | beat Tampa Bay 28-14 | (▲1) | Took the Saints awhile to get going against the Bucs. |
| 3. |  |
Los Angeles Rams | 11-2 | lost to Chicago 15-6 | (▼2) | Lowest points, yardage totals in two years under McVay. |
| 4. |  |
Los Angeles Chargers | 10-3 | beat Cincinnati 26-21 | (▲2) | Things get tougher this week at Kansas City. |
| 5. |  |
New England Patriots | 9-4 | lost to Miami 34-33 | (▼1) | Brady’s right: Many plays went wrong before ‘The Miracle’. |
| 6. |  |
Chicago Bears | 9-4 | beat LA Rams 15-6 | (▲2) | Vic Fangio’s defense is the real deal. |
| 7. |  |
Dallas Cowboys | 8-5 | beat Philadelphia 29-23 (OT) | (–) | Amari Cooper has 26 catches for 473 yards and five touchdowns in his last three games. |
| 8. |  |
Houston Texans | 9-4 | lost to Indianapolis 24-21 | (▼3) | Had a lot of trouble stopping Luck and Hilton. |
| 9. |  |
Seattle Seahawks | 8-5 | beat Minnesota 21-7 | (▲1) | Seahawks’ D shuts down Vikes for fourth straight win. |
| 10. |  |
Indianapolis Colts | 7-6 | beat Houston 24-21 | (▲1) | Nice bounce-back win after getting shut out by Jacksonville. |
| 11. |  |
Baltimore Ravens | 7-6 | lost to Kansas City 27-24 (OT) | (▲1) | Hung with the Chiefs at Arrowhead. |
| 12. |  |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-5-1 | lost to Oakland 24-21 | (▼3) | Turf snafu aside, the Steelers are terrible on the West coast. |
| 13. |  |
Miami Dolphins | 7-6 | beat New England 34-33 | (▲5) | Engineered an unreal finish against the Patriots. |
| 14. |  |
Tennessee Titans | 7-6 | beat Jacksonville 30-9 | (▲2) | Have a day, Derrick Henry. |
| 15. |  |
Philadelphia Eagles | 6-7 | lost to Dallas 29-23 (OT) | (–) | Defending champs in real danger of not making the playoffs. |
| 16. |  |
Minnesota Vikings | 6-6-1 | lost to Seattle 21-7 | (▼3) | Minnesota has managed only 17 total points in back-to-back road losses. |
| 17. |  |
Denver Broncos | 6-7 | lost to San Francisco 20-14 | (▼3) | What was that? |
| 18. |  |
Green Bay Packers | 5-7-1 | beat Atlanta 34-20 | (▲2) | Outside Philbin’s two dumb early challenges, a pretty good debut. |
| 19. |  |
Carolina Panthers | 6-7 | lost to Cleveland 26-20 | (▼2) | Is Ron Rivera’s seat suddenly heating up? |
| 20. |  |
New York Giants | 5-8 | beat Washington 40-16 | (▲2) | The light bulb may have switched on for Pat Shurmur’s team. |
| 21. |  |
Cleveland Browns | 5-7-1 | beat Carolina 26-20 | (▲3) | Browns still have a (slight) chance to make the playoffs. |
| 22. |  |
Washington Redskins | 6-7 | lost to NY Giants 40-16 | (▼3) | Mark Sanchez turned in a laughably bad performance. |
| 23. |  |
Detroit Lions | 5-8 | beat Arizona 17-3 | (▲4) | The Lions aren’t good, but neither is the bottom quarter of the league. |
| 24. |  |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-8 | lost to New Orleans 28-14 | (▼3) | It was looking good for a bit. |
| 25. |  |
New York Jets | 4-9 | beat Buffalo 27-23 | (▲5) | Winning one game in this horrible group can push you up 5 spots. |
| 26. |  |
Cincinnati Bengals | 5-8 | lost to LA Chargers 26-21 | (–) | Longest losing streak since 2010. |
| 27. |  |
Jacksonville Jaguars | 4-9 | lost to Tennessee 30-9 | (▼4) | Yuck. |
| 28. |  |
Atlanta Falcons | 4-9 | lost to Green Bay 34-20 | (–) | Fifth straight game with 20 points or less. Fifth straight loss. |
| 29. |  |
Buffalo Bills | 4-9 | lost to NY Jets 27-23 | (▼4) | Josh Allen is leading all NFL QBs in rushing yardage. |
| 30. |  |
San Francisco 49ers | 3-10 | beat Denver 20-14 | (▲2) | Didn’t see the Niners winning again — good on them. |
| 31. |  |
Oakland Raiders | 3-10 | beat Pittsburgh 24-21 | (▲1) | Derek Carr with two TD passes in the last 5:20. |
| 32. |  |
Arizona Cardinals | 3-10 | lost to Detroit 17-3 | (▼3) | Just when you thought they were out, they pull themselves back in (to the basement). |
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