Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings Week 12: Cardinals hit bottom
Nov 20, 2018, 7:20 AM
Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) watches during the second half of an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, in Glendale, Ariz. The Raiders won 23-21. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
It seems like I say something similar every year, but man, this has been a weird NFL season.
Through 11 weeks, only 11 teams have winning records, while 12 squads have either four or five wins.
The top five of the league is ridiculously strong, while the bottom eighth is about as weak as possible.
That doesn’t mean good things for the Arizona Cardinals, who are at the bottom of the bottom again this week after a terrible loss to the woeful Oakland Raiders. We might be looking at an early launch date for this year’s NFL Mock Draft Tracker on ArizonaSports.com. Just sayin’.
Here’s a look at this week’s order:
Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings – Week 12
| Rank | Team | Record | Result | Movement | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  |
New Orleans Saints | 9-1 | beat Philadelphia 48-7 | (–) | Saints have scored 144 points in the last three weeks. That’s one less than the Cardinals and seven more than the Bills have scored all year. |
| 2. |  |
Los Angeles Rams | 10-1 | beat Kansas City 54-51 | (▲1) | Scored an NFL season-high 54 points without a TD from Todd Gurley, who leads the league in touchdowns. |
| 3. |  |
Kansas City Chiefs | 9-2 | lost to LA Rams 54-51 | (▼1) | Patrick Mahomes with six TD passes in loss. He’s on pace to throw 53. |
| 4. |  |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-2-1 | beat Jacksonville 20-16 | (–) | Ugly wins still count as wins. |
| 5. |  |
New England Patriots | 7-3 | Bye week | (▲1) | Pats get some soft candy after the bye with a trip to visit the Jets. |
| 6. |  |
Chicago Bears | 7-3 | beat Minnesota 25-20 | (▲1) | Khalil Mack, man. |
| 7. |  |
Houston Texans | 7-3 | beat Washington 23-21 | (▲1) | Texans lost the turnover battle, but they won the game. |
| 8. |  |
Los Angeles Chargers | 7-3 | lost to Denver 23-22 | (▼3) | Never good to blow a 12-point second-half lead. |
| 9. |  |
Washington Redskins | 6-4 | lost to Houston 23-21 | (–) | The injury to Alex Smith makes things very interesting in the NFC East. |
| 10. |  |
Carolina Panthers | 6-4 | lost to Detroit 20-19 | (–) | Bad loss to Detroit, but mediocrity around the league keeps them in top 10. |
| 11. |  |
Indianapolis Colts | 5-5 | beat Tennessee 38-10 | (▲3) | If this keeps up, Andrew Luck and Frank Reich might take home postseason awards. |
| 12. |  |
Dallas Cowboys | 5-5 | beat Atlanta 22-19 | (▲4) | Pretty good back-to-back road wins have the Cowboys in the thick of the division race. |
| 13. |  |
Seattle Seahawks | 5-5 | beat Green Bay 27-24 | (▲6) | Very workmanlike performance to beat the Packers. |
| 14. |  |
Minnesota Vikings | 5-4-1 | lost to Chicago 25-20 | (▼3) | Kirk Cousins: is he overrated, overpaid or both? |
| 15. |  |
Green Bay Packers | 4-5-1 | lost to Seattle 27-24 | (▼3) | Will never understand why McCarthy didn’t go for it on 4th-and-2 with four minutes left. |
| 16. |  |
Tennessee Titans | 5-5 | lost to Indianapolis 38-10 | (▼3) | Still have no idea what to make of this team. |
| 17. |  |
Miami Dolphins | 5-5 | Bye week | (–) | Tough trip to Indianapolis after their bye week. |
| 18. |  |
Baltimore Ravens | 5-5 | beat Cincinnati 24-21 | (▲2) | Lamar Jackson becomes first QB to run for 100 or more yards since Kaepernick in 2016. |
| 19. |  |
Philadelphia Eagles | 4-6 | lost to New Orleans 48-7 | (▼1) | The Eagles suffer the worst loss ever by a defending Super Bowl champion. |
| 20. |  |
Cincinnati Bengals | 5-5 | lost to Baltimore 24-21 | (▼5) | Bengals, once relevant, have lost four their last five. |
| 21. |  |
Detroit Lions | 4-6 | beat Carolina 20-19 | (▲3) | Those outdoor practices for an indoor game really paid off. |
| 22. |  |
Denver Broncos | 4-6 | beat LA Chargers 23-22 | (▲3) | Broncos get third win by three points or less this season. |
| 23. |  |
Atlanta Falcons | 4-6 | lost to Dallas 22-19 | (▼2) | Hope you at least have Matt Bryant on your fantasy team. |
| 24. |  |
Cleveland Browns | 3-6-1 | Bye week | (▼2) | They employed Hue Jackson for 2.5 years, why is interviewing Condoleezza Rice so absurd? |
| 25. |  |
New York Giants | 3-7 | beat Tampa Bay 38-35 | (▲4) | You just can’t keep Eli Manning down. |
| 26. |  |
Buffalo Bills | 3-7 | Bye week | (▲1) | Still have no earthly idea how they’ve won three games. |
| 27. |  |
Jacksonville Jaguars | 3-7 | lost to Pittsburgh 20-16 | (▼4) | Kept reminding Big Ben of how many picks he threw. Yeah, it’s the same number that’s in their win column. |
| 28. |  |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-7 | lost to NY Giants 38-35 | (▼2) | The QB carousel continues…but if both of them stink, does it matter? |
| 29. |  |
New York Jets | 3-7 | Bye week | (▲1) | I’d love to see a four-game playoff between the bottom four teams. Yes, I have problems. |
| 30. |  |
San Francisco 49ers | 2-8 | Bye week | (▲1) | A chance for a win coming at Tampa Bay? |
| 31. |  |
Oakland Raiders | 2-8 | beat Arizona 23-21 | (▲1) | Cardinals foil Raiders’ tanking plans for a week. |
| 32. |  |
Arizona Cardinals | 2-8 | lost to Oakland 23-21 | (▼4) | The worst Cardinals team since they’ve been in the desert. |
