Raul Vazquez | November 19th, 2019
The 2019 season has flown by as we now very clearly know which teams are contenders and which are looking forward to April’s draft. The Ravens are the new number one in the rankings with their stomping of the Texans while the winless Bengals remain last.
1. Baltimore Ravens (+3)
The Ravens are currently the hottest team in the NFL and it’s not even close. They have won their last three games by a combined score of 127-40. This past week they handed the Texans a 44-7 beating which might be more impressive than their win over the previously undefeated Patriots three weeks ago.
2. New England Patriots (+0)
The Patriots bounced back from their first loss with a win in the Superbowl rematch against the Eagles. After giving up ten points in the first quarter, the New England defense held Philadelphia scoreless but the bigger story from the game is the continued struggles of the offense.
3. San Francisco 49ers (-2)
That was scary. Arizona gave San Francisco all they could handle but they were able to pull away taking advantage of a busted coverage to put them up with 31 seconds left. San Francisco can’t take any break with a matchup coming up against the Packers.
4. Seattle Seahawks (-1)
Seattle enjoyed their bye week after the statement victory over the then-undefeated 49ers They now head to Philadelphia to face a stout Eagles defense.
5. Green Bay Packers (+0)
Green Bay was off this past weekend before beginning prep for a highly anticipated battle against San Francisco.
6 New Orleans Saints (+0)
New Orleans bounced back nicely from the upset a week ago with a comfortable win over the Buccaneers. They can’t afford any more slip-ups in a tight race for a first-round bye as the season winds down.
7. Minnesota Vikings (+1)
Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense came alive in the second half after being held to three points in the first half against the Broncos. It wasn’t pretty but Minnesota avoided disaster as they look to keep up with the Packers for the division.
8. Kansas City Chiefs (+1)
The story of the week wasn’t the spectacular play of Patrick Mahomes, but instead, it was about the job the defense did forcing Philip Rivers into terrible decisions on his way to a four interception day. The Chiefs have a chance to take complete control of the division this week with the Oakland Raiders up next.
9. Buffalo Bills (+4)
The Bills continue to beat up on bad teams but a win over the Dolphins counts the same as any other win. Buffalo improved to 7-3 and now have the third-best record in the AFC.
10. Oakland Raiders (+4)
Oakland had to hold off the Bengals on two occasions while only up seven points with nine minutes left. The win might not have been very impressive, but nonetheless, the Raiders are now 6-4 and one of the leaders in the race for a wild card.
11. Houston Texans (-4)
The anticipated battle between Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson was not a back and forth shootout like most thought it would become but instead turned into 44-7 demolishing for Houston. Their biggest game of the year is coming up against the Colts with at 6-4 atop the division.
12. Dallas Cowboys (-1)
Dallas improved to 6-4 in a not so easy win over Jeff Driskel and the Lions. With the win and corresponding Eagles loss, the Cowboys are now outright leaders of the NFC East. The Cowboys now head to Foxborough for a matchup with the Patriots who may be due for an upset with a struggling offense.
13. Philadelphia Eagles (-3)
Well, that was disappointing. After opening up a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, Philadelphia wouldn’t score again. The loss puts them behind the Cowboys now with the red hot Seahawks coming to town this week.
14. Indianapolis Colts (+4)
Welcome back, Jacoby Brissett. After dropping the last two games with Brian Hoyer under center, the Colts bounced back with a thumping of the Jaguars. In the win, the Colts lost starting running back Marlon Mack but should be alright with the depth they have at the position.
15. Los Angeles Rams (+0)
The Rams picked up a win following a loss to the Steelers. The win was over one of the struggling teams in the league in Chicago but the Rams now host the juggernaut Ravens who have been playing great lately.
16. Carolina Panthers (-4)
Kyle Allen had the worst game of his career this past weekend when he threw four interceptions and no touchdowns on 50 attempts. This next game against the Saints is a must win for the Panthers’ playoff chances.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (-1)
In what was one of the ugliest endings to a game, the Steelers lost to fall to 5-5. Pittsburgh has a generous schedule for their playoff push as they only play two more teams with a winning record.
18. Tennessee Titans (+3)
Tennessee was off this past weekend and get back into things when they host Jacksonville this week. Five of their last six games are against teams in the hunt for a wild card spot which allows the Titans to control their own destiny.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (+1)
The return of Nick Foles was an underwhelming one. The offense only managed to put up thirteen points while the Jaguars’ defense was gashed for 296 yards on the ground. To save any hope for the playoffs they can knock down another team in the hunt with the Titans up next.
20. Detroit Lions (-3)
Driskel can only take you so far. The offense couldn’t tie things up while down eight with three minutes left and a Cowboys first down brought it home for Dallas. Detroit has now lost five of their last six but can get a win with the Redskins up next on the schedule.
21. Los Angeles Chargers (-2)
Rivers has been terrible this year. The Chargers once again had AFC title aspirations coming into the season but they’ve been derailed with seven losses through eleven games. All seven losses have come within seven points and this time around Rivers destroyed a late comeback with an awful interception. He now has seven picks in the last two games, and fourteen overall this season. This week’s loss almost certainly ends any hope of a postseason berth.
22. Arizona Cardinals (+1)
The Cardinals will be really good in the near future. Kyler Murray continues to show what kind of player he can be and will only get better as he continues to gain experience. They lost both matchups to the stout 49ers by a combined 13 points and were very much in this past week’s game late. They now head into a bye week before a matchup with the Rams.
23. Chicago Bears (-1)
After starting 3-1, the Bears have now lost five of their last six games. This offense has yet to get much going this year and it wasn’t pretty this past weekend with the offense only putting up seven points. They now host the Giants this week to try to get things back on track.
24. Atlanta Falcons (+3)
This is the kind of production that Atlanta was hoping for coming into the year. A week after limiting the Saints offense to just nine points, they forced Allen to throw four interceptions on the way to a 29-3 stomping of Carolina. They have a chance to make it three in a row with a battle against Tampa Bay coming up.
25. Cleveland Browns (-1)
At the end of all the mayhem of Thursday night football, the Browns came away with a win but are now without star edge rusher Myles Garrett for the rest of the year and will be without Larry Ogunjobi for one game. The Browns improved to 4-6 and certainly still have an outside shot at the playoffs but those chances just got much smaller.
26. Denver Broncos (-1)
Brandon Allen almost came away with a really impressive win, but couldn’t punch it in from the four-yard line on three separate occasions. Minnesota was favored to win by ten points making the dominant start by the Broncos that much more impressive.
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-1)
The Buccaneers still had a chance late in the game but a Jameis Winston pick-six sealed the loss. Tampa Bay heads to Atlanta for a battle of two three-win squads. The Bucs are the second-worst team against the pass which doesn’t bode well against a top-three passing attack in Atlanta.
28. New York Jets (+1)
Have a day, Sam Darnold. A week after the Darnold-led offense put up the most points they had all season with 34, they matched it this week against the Redskins. The scoring outputs have come against bad teams in the Giants and the Redskins, but you love to see the good play of Darnold if you are a Jets fan.
29. Miami Dolphins (-1)
The Dolphins snapped their winning streak with the loss to the Bills. They are no longer undefeated in November, but it was fun while it lasted. Now they head to Cleveland to face a depleted Browns squad. There are still winnable games left on the schedule against the Giants, Bengals, and Jets left.
30. New York Giants (+0)
The Giants enjoyed their bye week before beginning preparation for the Chicago Bears. The last half of the season will be all about the development of Daniel Jones and the continued success of Darius Slayton.
31. Washington Redskins (+0)
Dwayne Haskins has looked awful to start his career but he has also had little to no help. Terry McLaurin is one of the few bright spots on a team that could very easily be 0-10 if the Dolphins had converted a two-point attempt back in week six.
32. Cincinnati Bengals (+0)
The Bengals are fighting. They’re about as feisty as it gets but there are no such things as moral wins. They lost a close one to the Raiders this week to go to 0-10 and continue on their road to the first overall pick.
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