Week 13 AP NFL Power Rankings: Cardinals, Packers, Bucs, Chiefs in top 4

And... I’m back!

First of all, I want to thank Pete for filling in for me while I enjoyed the first week of paternity leave. In the end, I didn’t manage to convince my better half to call our son Patrick. It was something about not wanting my son to be my second-favorite Patrick.

There were some shocking results in Week 12. Let’s take a look at how they affected the rankings.

This week’s voters were Mark Gunnels, Talon Graff, Ron Kopp Rocky Magaña, Jared Sapp, Bryan Stewart, Stephen Serda, Ethan Willinger and myself.

1. Arizona Cardinals (1st)

Speculation about Kliff Kingsbury’s future would have been an unwanted bye week story. It will be interesting to see if that has any knock-on effects against the Bears.

2. Green Bay Packers (3rd)

This quote from Devante Adams on Odell Beckham is one of my favorites of the season so far: “We did talk two days ago, he said he needed a jersey after the game. I told him to go get a Cooper Kupp jersey since that’s obviously his guy and that’s who he wanted to be with.”

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2nd)

Tom Brady upsetting Colts fans in Indianapolis. Some things never change.

4. Kansas City Chiefs (4th)

No more excuses from the AFC West teams. All four clubs have now played the same number of games — and guess what? The Chiefs are alone in first place.

5. New England Patriots (6th)

They have a genuine shot at being the AFC’s first seed. Chiefs fans will be hoping they drop a game or two more.

6. Dallas Cowboys (5th)

Did the Cowboys peak too soon?

7. Baltimore Ravens (7th)

This team could quite easily be 5-6. Extremely fortunate to be 8-3.

8. Buffalo Bills (10th)

All of a sudden they are the forgotten team of the AFC playoff picture. I would call them a sleeping giant.

9. Los Angeles Rams (8th)

Considering they've gone all-in 2021, things aren't looking great for them.

10. Tennessee Titans (9th)

I don’t think anyone expected much from the Titans against the Patriots — especially with an injury list as long as theirs.

11. Cincinnati Bengals (13th)

Sweeping the Steelers must have felt so good.

12. San Francisco 49ers (17th)

I’m now a lot more confident about my preseason 49ers vs. Chiefs Super Bowl pick than I was a month ago.

13. Indianapolis Colts (12th)

Blew an opportunity to close the gap on the Titans. I still think they have a shot at winning the division.

14. Los Angeles Chargers (11th)

Justin Herbert is a great quarterback, no doubt — but Sunday’s disaster class would have been humbling for him.

15. Minnesota Vikings (14th)

Once again, they found themselves in another high-scoring affair.

16. Las Vegas Raiders (21st)

The ultimate yo-yo team won a Thanksgiving classic in Dallas. Bravo.

17. Denver Broncos (23rd) | This week’s high riser

The last time the Broncos beat the Chiefs I had no kids. Now I have three.

18. Cleveland Browns (16th)

Just. Sit. Baker.

19. Pittsburgh Steelers (15th) | This week’s big faller

I’d love to hear Steelers fans’ opinions on Big Ben.

20. New Orleans Saints (18th)

Stick a fork in them.

21. Philadelphia Eagles (19th)

Just as they were looking like they were entering the race for the NFC East, they go ahead and whiff against the Giants.

22. Washington Football Team (22nd)

All our guy, Kendall Fuller does is make big plays.

23. Carolina Panthers (20th)

All of that early-season optimism was wasted. Matt Rhule’s seat might be getting warm.

24. Miami Dolphins (26th)

Have they left themselves enough time to enter the playoff race?

25. Seattle Seahawks (24th)

Where will Russ be ‘cooking’ in 2022?

26. Atlanta Falcons (25th)

Did anyone actually watch their game against the Jaguars?

27. Chicago Bears (27th)

Look at Andy Dalton saving Matt Nagy’s job for at least one more week.

28. New York Giants (28th)

A papering-over-the-cracks win against a divisional foe.

29. Houston Texans (29th)

Look on the bright side: the Texans moved up a spot in the draft order.

30. New York Jets (31st)

They’ll be rooting hard for the Seahawks’ opponents from here on out.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (30th)

Sometimes you accept growing pains with a new coach and quarterback because you see a direction and a plan. With Urban Meyer, I don’t see either.

32. Detroit Lions (32nd)

Add Cairo Santos to the list of kickers who have broken Lions fans’ hearts this season.