Week 14 AP NFL Power Rankings: Dolphins finally make their big jump

Can you believe that we are already in December? I swear that you blink and the football season is gone.

According to Bill Belichick, ‘real football’ doesn’t start until after Thanksgiving. If ‘real football’ is watching quarterbacks throw three passes in 60 minutes of football, then I’ll take the ‘fake’ version of September and October, please.

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

1. Arizona Cardinals (1st)

Kyler Murray and D-Hop returned to the lineup and immediately reminded everyone why the Cardinals are the cream of the crop right now.

2. Green Bay Packers (2nd)

A bye week was nice for the Packers and the NFL community because we didn’t have to hear anything from (or about) Aaron Rodgers for a few days.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3rd)

I am genuinely running out of superlatives to describe Tom Brady.

4. New England Patriots (5th)

I was not impressed by the Patriots’ offensive performance against the Bills. Their defense, on the other hand...

5. Kansas City Chiefs (4th)

I was not impressed by the Chiefs’ offensive performance against the Broncos. Their defense, on the other hand...

6. Dallas Cowboys (6th)

Michael Gallup will be a free agent soon. Just saying.

7. Los Angeles Rams (9th)

The bullies of the under-.500 teams returned.

8. Buffalo Bills (8th)

They should be looking over their shoulders from here on out.

9. Baltimore Ravens (7th)

Their luck finally ran out!

10. Indianapolis Colts (13th)

Jonathan Taylor absolutely should be in the MVP conversation. Imagine anti-running back Twitter if he goes on to win.

11. Los Angeles Chargers (14th)

Just because they beat Joe Burrows, it doesn’t mean that the Bengals made the wrong decision in 2020.

12. Tennessee Titans (10th)

Mike Vrabel is big mad about the Chiefs receiving a favorable call from the refs on Sunday. #armchairref

13. Cincinnati Bengals (11th)

Still very much in the running for the division — thanks to Pittsburgh.

14. San Francisco 49ers (12th)

The NFL shouldn’t have flexed their game out of Sunday Night Football.

15. Pittsburgh Steelers (19th)

T.J. Watt might just break the sack record this year.

16. Miami Dolphins (24th) | This week’s high riser

They took their time — but the AP team finally gave the Dolphins the credit they deserve.

17. Washington Football Team (22nd)

Washington has won FOUR straight!

18. Cleveland Browns (18th)

If there was any team that needed the bye, it was the Browns.

19. Las Vegas Raiders (16th)

Where do you stand on the Yannick Ngakoue hit on Logan Thomas?

20. Philadelphia Eagles (21st)

I imagine they will be receiving some offers for Minshew’s services this offseason.

21. Minnesota Vikings (15th) | This week’s big faller

What was that defense on the game-winning play?

22. Denver Broncos (17th)

A 20-play drive ending in zero points is, frankly, embarrasing.

23. New Orleans Saints (20th)

The good, the bad and the ugly — Week 13 Taysom HIll Edition.

24. Seattle Seahawks (25th)

Too little — way too late.

25. Carolina Panthers (23rd)

Where will the recently fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady end up?

26. Atlanta Falcons (26th)

They must be sick of the sight of Tom Brady.

27. Chicago Bears (27th)

They’ve been ranked 27th for 3 weeks in a row.

28. New York Giants (28th)

Jake Fromm will apparently start for the Giants this upcoming week against the Chargers. Don’t expect any favors from them this week, Chiefs fans.

29. New York Jets (30th)

If they’re lucky, they might get one more win this season.

30. Jacksonville Jaguars (31st)

They have the look of a team that is already thinking about the beach.

31. Detroit Lions (32nd)

Hell has frozen over. Welcome to the top 31, Lions fans.

32. Houston Texans (29th)

The first team to be eliminated from playoff contention.