I think the NFL’s doing everything possible to keep up with college football. The amount of chaos the CFB has dished out, the NFL is somehow able to cook too. The Bengals upset the Ravens; Houston took down Indy in their own house; Denver survived a major scare against Washington; Philly got a taste of their own medicine against Chicago; The Panthers outplayed the Rams; Dallas hammered the empire that is the Chiefs in Arlington; the Packers swept the Lions for the first time in about 5 seasons; the Buccaneers avoided an upset against Jacoby Brissett’s Cardinals; and the 49ers end their 40-plus season drought at Cleveland with a win there.

We’re just 5 weeks away from the postseason and there’s still a few divisions that are settling with a division leader. I can’t tell who’ll likely stand out now. When I thought we had a standout, they do the opposite and make us think differently. Who knows who will win the division and be Super Bowl contenders? There are a few NFL teams that still have a 2-game division series to play, and that likely determines the division result. Dare I say, are the Raiders the worst NFL team? Maybe hearing it will make them somehow play up to their competition and upset a team…like the Broncos???

TEAMS CONSIDERED

T-15) DALLAS COWBOYS (6-5-1)

T-15) CAROLINA PANTHERS (7-6)

14) SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (9-4)

13) JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (8-4)

12) TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (7-5)

11) DETROIT LIONS (7-5)

10) PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-4)

The Eagles looked off on Black Friday. They got outrushed, outplayed in the trenches, and struggled on third downs and gained only 14 first downs all night. Jalen Hurts struggled under pressure for most of the night. A.J. Brown did the best he could to back Jalen up, but it still wasn’t enough. Philly travels to the Chargers, so they have some making up to do if they want to hold the NFC East division.

9) BUFFALO BILLS (8-4)

Buffalo overcame a slow start at Pittsburgh and eventually freezed them out. Josh Allen also sets record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Big deal along with a bounce back that Buffalo needed to stay alive for the postseason. Now, they face Joe Burrow and Cincinnati.

8) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-4)

Is this the beginning of Indianapolis’s all-time collapse? They lose 2 straight after coming up short against Houston. The Colts had plenty of opportunities, but Houston’s defense also knows how to take those away. The missed extra point early in the game may have been the difference later on as well. Now, they travel to Jacksonville where they haven’t won since 2014.

7) HOUSTON TEXANS (7-5)

The Texans are cooking with 4 straight wins with back-to-back victories against Buffalo and Indy. CJ Stroud returned at the right time and showed how much of a threat he still is to his division foe. They travel to Kansas City for a Sunday Night game where the world will see if Houston’s a threat to the AFC.

6) CHICAGO BEARS (9-3)

Chicago did what Philly used to do a couple of seasons back: run the football and dominate the trenches. They netted nearly 300 rushing yards with 28 first downs and better 3rd down efficiency. Chicago is up to 9 wins, but what they must do is make up the 1-3 divisional record. Equalizing it with wins against Green Bay and Detroit guarantees them a playoff spot. For now, they control the overall NFC seed.

5) GREEN BAY PACKERS (8-3-1)

Green Bay played probably their best game so far this season. Jordan Love had a great game with 4 touchdowns and probably could’ve had more if it weren’t the drops (majority coming from Christian Watson). Despite the drops, Watson made some big play catches. Defense impacted the game and of course Micah Parsons led the charge to stop Jared Goff in clutch moments, and now the Packers swept Detroit for the 1st time since 2020. Now, they start their 2-game series in 3 weeks against the seemingly improved Bears.

4) DENVER BRONCOS (10-2)

Denver survived a major scare against the Commanders that’s getting their players back. Defense did everything they could to keep them down before it turned into 4th quarter and overtime drama. Denver goes to Vegas. It seems like an easy win since they won their last year. Prior to that, they were 0-8 at Vegas/Oakland.

T-2) SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (9-3)

Seattle trampled Minnesota the whole game to a shutout win. Sam Darnold and the offense didn’t do much, but they didn’t have to. The offense could’ve sat the whole game and Seattle would’ve still won. Defense dominated the game and hope to repeat at Atlanta.

T-2) LOS ANGELES RAMS (9-3)

The Rams should’ve watched the Panthers tape a bit more closely after the defense’s performance against the 49ers. Matt Stafford threw 2 interceptions and lost a fumble that cost the Rams the game. The Panthers defense played well, so LAs got to respect that. They not only lost the game, but they lost their overall seeding. They should bounce back against Arizona next week.

1) NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (11-2)

It’s safe to say the New England demolished the Giants from start to finish. This was a no mercy, no holds bar type of game. The only good thing the Giants did was get into a near brawl after Jaxson Dart got walloped going out of bounds. New England hangs tough as the AFC’s #1. They go into a bye before Buffalo comes to town, and the Pats will have a chance to sweep them.