NFL Power Rankings Week 13: AFC, NFC Standings and Pre-MNF Predictions

The NFL landscape is an ever-evolving creature. Just when we think we know which teams are good or bad, they go out and do the unexpected.

This is precisely why it’s still difficult to figure out the looming playoff picture, even with the 12th week of the season almost at a close. The Seattle Seahawks, who appeared to be making another late-season run, were embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Houston Texans, who at one point seemed destined to win the AFC South, were battered by the San Diego Chargers.

Through three months of football, it’s simply been too difficult to truly identify which teams are great and which are merely good enough to look like potential contenders. (There sure seem to be a lot of teams with an “8-8, 9-7 if all goes well” identity.)

We’re going to try sifting through the NFL landscape here with some good old-fashioned power rankings. We’ll be ranking teams on factors like record, past matchups, team health and overall potential. We’ll be factoring our predictions for Monday night’s matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles (Philadelphia over Green Bay) into the equation as well.

We will also examine some of the more noteworthy rankings in detail. First, though, let’s take a look at the conference standings.

NFL Standings

Week 13 Power Rankings

Notable Rankings

3. Oakland Raiders

The Dallas Cowboys have garnered a ton of attention for their 10-game winning streak, and rightfully so. However, it wouldn’t be fair to overlook the Oakland Raiders, who have managed to rip off five consecutive wins and only lost twice on the year.

For those asking, Patriots have the edge on the Raiders for #1 thanks to 7-1 conference record. Raiders are 6-1 in AFC.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 28, 2016

It would be unwise to overlook the Raiders too, as the team has reached its current 9-2 record while navigating a brutal schedule.

The Raiders have been forced to travel to the Eastern time zone four different times and had to “host” a game in Mexico City. The team has also had to deal with quality teams like the …

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