NFL Power Rankings: Initial Post-Sunday Breakdown Ahead of Week 14

Week 13 of the 2016 NFL season was strange, to say the least.

The streaking Miami Dolphins were stopped in their tracks by the Baltimore Ravens, who beat down the Fins 38-6. The Seattle Seahawks, who were coming off a horrid 14-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, looked like Super Bowl champions against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night, dismantling Carolina 40-7.

However, the victory did come at a cost:

Seahawks S Earl Thomas reportedly suffered a broken bone in his leg & is out indefinitely, per @RapSheet pic.twitter.com/uNboZEKA21

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 5, 2016

The loss of Earl Thomas will be tough to overcome for the Seahawks. Sure, their defense is great, and as long as Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, K.J Wright and Michael Bennett are on the field, it might not matter that much.

But Thomas’ impact goes beyond statistics. His leadership in the secondary is huge for Seattle, and to see him tweeting during the game in the locker room that he might hang up his cleats because of the injury…?

That’s just downright disheartening.

This game has been so good to me no regrets.. A lot is running through my mind including retirement thanks for all the prayers.

— Earl Thomas (@Earl_Thomas) December 5, 2016

But even with the loss of Thomas, the Seahawks are still one of the best teams in the NFL and don’t slip in my power rankings this week. And with that, let’s take a look …

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