NFL Week 12 Power Rankings 2024: How all 32 teams stack up

ByNFL Nation ESPN logo
Tuesday, November 19, 2024 12:25PM
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Welcome to Week 12 of the 2024 NFL season. Down went the No. 1 Kansas City Chiefsto the Buffalo Bills. After K.C.'s loss on Sunday, how do our Power Rankings shake out this week?

Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions obliterated the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers beat their division foes to climb to 8-2 in the standings.

Are the Chiefs still No. 1? Or has another team earned that spot?

In addition to the rankings, we asked our NFL Nation reporters to take a look back at whom they nominated for the hot seat in our preseason rankings. How do they rate that hot seat now? Burnt (if they are no longer with the team), boiling, hot, cold or freezing. Some of those coaches, general managers and players have made significant improvements, while others' seats are hotter than ever.

Our power panel of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities evaluates how NFL teams stack up against one another, ranking them from 1 to 32.

Previous rankings: Preseason|Week 2|Week 3| Week 4| Week 5| Week 6| Week 7| Week 8| Week 9| Week 10| Week 11

Jump to a team:br/>ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CINbr/>CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | INDbr/>JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MINbr/>NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SFbr/>SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

1. Detroit Lions (9-1)

Williams has been a huge part of the Lions' high-powered offense and might even have exceeded most on-field expectations with his stellar play as a deep threat. After a slow start to his NFL career, the No. 12 pick of the 2022 draft is the team's second-leading receiver through Week 11 (behind All-Pro WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) despite being suspended two games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy. Williams exploded for a career-best 124 receiving yards and a 64-yard touchdown against Jacksonville. -- Eric Woodyard

2. Kansas City Chiefs (9-1)

Rice was off to a great start to the season, leading the NFL with 24 receptions and the second-most receiving yards (288) before Week 4. Then he injured his right knee in an accidental collision with Patrick Mahomes and had posterolateral corner surgery in early October. The concern before the season was Rice's legal troubles, which still haven't been resolved. But he was crucial as the Chiefs' leading receiver prior to his injury. -- Adam Teicher

3. Buffalo Bills (9-2)

This was never about job security but instead about the challenge facing McDermott due to the many changes to the Bills' roster. He has aced the task and put himself in conversation for NFL Coach of the Year. Buffalo is off to its best start since 1992 and goes into the bye week having taken down the defending Super Bowl champions and keeping the No. 1 seed in play. Despite injuries and new faces, McDermott has impressively coached the Bills to a 9-2 start. -- Alaina Getzenberg

4. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)

A 2-2 start and some questionable in-game decision-making did nothing to cool Sirianni's seat on the heels of a 1-6 collapse down the stretch last season. But the Eagles have since rattled off six straight wins to establish themselves as NFC contenders. The fuse is always short in Philadelphia, and particularly so with this head coach. There's little to complain about right now, however, with the Eagles boasting a top-10 scoring offense (25.7 points per game) and a top-10 defense (allowing 17.9 PPG) and with the team vibing under Sirianni. -- Tim McManus

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2)

Pickens' effectiveness has increased even more since quarterbackRussell Wilson took over the starting job. The third-year wideout is averaging 91 receiving yards per game with Wilson, up from 60.5 with Justin Fields at quarterback. But for all of his improbable circus catches and field-stretching capabilities, Pickens is still battling some immaturity. Early in the season, he wore eye black with an explicit message, and he was fined $16,000 after suplexing a Washington defensive back and staying on top of him after a play. For Pickens, the good far outweighs the bad, but his mercurial tendencies keep his seat from being freezing. -- Brooke Pryor

6. Minnesota Vikings (8-2)

Adofo-Mensah is the general manager of a team that has surprised the NFL by starting 8-2 despite the season-long loss of rookie quarterbackJ.J. McCarthy(knee). His 2024 draft hasn't helped much, similar to the 2022 and 2023 drafts, but Adofo-Mensah's free agent class -- including linebackers Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman, along with cornerback Stephon Gilmore -- has been fantastic. There was never a high likelihood that Adofo-Mensah would be fired this winter, but the team's performance raises the chances that he will receive a contract extension. -- Kevin Seifert

7. Baltimore Ravens (7-4)

This has been an impressive bounce-back year for Stanley. He is ninth among starting tackles in pass block win rate (92.7%), allowing one sack this season. When the Ravens run to Stanley's side, they are averaging an NFL-best 6.8 yards per carry. The other key is Stanley staying healthy. He is playing over 90% of Baltimore's snaps for the first time since 2019, which was his only Pro Bowl campaign. This is all very timely for Stanley, as his improved play could set him up for a sizable payday in free agency. -- Jamison Hensley

8. Green Bay Packers (7-3)

He never even made it to Week 1. The Packers released him at the end of the preseason, keeping Greg Joseph for one day before getting Brayden Narveson off waivers. They eventually moved on from Narveson in favor of Brandon McManus. Carlson has, however, made appearances with the 49ers and Jets this season, hitting a 58-yard field goal on Sunday for New York. -- Rob Demovsky

9. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)

After struggling with drops as a rookie, there were questions coming into this season about whether Johnston was an NFL-caliber wideout. He has silenced any doubt this season, with a team-high six receiving touchdowns. In L.A.'s win over Cincinnati, he became the first Charger since 2021 to have a receiving touchdown in three straight games. "Honestly, if nobody else believed in me, I still had full confidence in myself," Johnston said. "It was just a matter of going out and proving it." -- Kris Rhim

10. Washington Commanders (7-4)

Forbes opened the season as the starter, but he missed two games with a thumb injury, and he hasn't started since. The 2023 first-round pick has played just eight snaps in the past four games combined. Washington needed him to improve from a tough rookie season, but he has not, which in part precipitated a trade for corner Marshon Lattimore. Washington will need to address the position even more after the season. If it cuts Forbes before June 1, it will cost them $9.1 million in dead cap money and provide no cap relief -- and actually would cost them $4.9 million. That could mean he sticks around another year. -- John Keim

11. Arizona Cardinals (6-4)

Week 11 result: Bye

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