NFL draft power rankings: Which teams are in best position after Week 12?

Which teams are in good positions for top picks?

Week 12 is nearly over, but the games we care about for these rankings are done.

As we’ve done in recent weeks, we’re putting together the NFL Tanking Rankings (Stop chasing for Chase? Be bad for Burrow?), a look at the worst teams in the league and the chances we think they have at the top few picks.

We thought we knew that the top two spots in the 2020 draft were pretty locked up, but we were very wrong. There’s still plenty of time for all of this to change, so we’ll revisit these again in a week.

(All actual current draft positions courtesy of Tankathon):

7. Atlanta Falcons (3-8)

Remaining schedule: @ NO, vs. CAR, @ SF, vs. JAX, @ TB

Actual position: 6th overall

The only reason they’re not higher is I see two winnable games — one against the Jaguars and a rematch against the Bucs. I know Tampa just beat them on Sunday, but maybe the Falcons force Jameis Winston into throwing more interceptions.

6. Detroit Lions (3-7-1)

Remaining schedule: vs. CHI, @ MIN, vs. TB, @ DEN, vs. GB

Actual position: 7th overall

Oof. But at least the loss took them from the 10th overall pick to 7th, and it could get even better down the road. And that tie against the Cardinals could turn out to be costly.

5. Denver Broncos (3-8)

Remaining schedule: vs. LAC, @ HOU, @ KC, vs. DET, vs. OAK

Actual position: 5th overall

Week 16 against the Lions will be HUGE for their draft position.

4. Washington Redskins (2-9)

Remaining schedule: @ CAR, @ GB, vs. PHI, vs. NYG, @ DAL

Actual position: 4th overall

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WINNING GAMES?! Actually, maybe the question is: are the Lions worse than this team? Anyway, the Skins drop to fourth after owning the No. 2 overall spot for a while.

3. New York Giants (2-9)

Remaining schedule: vs. GB, @ PHI, vs. MIA, @ WSH, vs. PHI

Actual position: 2nd overall

They had a legitimate shot to win in Chicago, but the loss is a win for their draft position. They could beat the Dolphins and Redskins … but for now they’re here.

2. Miami Dolphins (2-9)

Remaining schedule: vs. PHI, @ NYJ, @ NYG, vs. CIN, @ NE

Actual position: 3rd overall

The strength of schedule tie-breaker currently has them third overall, and the No. 2 team — the Giants — will face them in Week 15. That could decide who gets the second overall pick.

1. Cincinnati Bengals (0-11)

Remaining schedule: vs. NYJ, @ CLE, vs. NE, @ MIA, vs. CLE

Actual position: 1st overall

Business as usual for the Bengals, who look like the clear favorites for the top pick with two games up on the rest of the competition.

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Best plays from Titans’ 42-20 win over Jaguars

Here’s a look at some of the best moments from the victory.

The Tennessee Titans (6-5) are now above .500 and in condition to make a playoff push after Sunday’s 42-20 win over the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars in Nissan Stadium.

The game was filled with big plays for the Titans on both sides of the ball as they controlled the momentum from the first snap.

Here’s a look at some of the best moments from the victory.

4. OLB Harold Landry records his eighth sack of the year.

Harold Landry has been a steady factor on defense this season, collecting eight total sacks in 2019. He put this hit on Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles on third-and-long to bring Jacksonville’s drive to a halt.

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Combate Americas’ first live AXS TV card set for Dec. 13 in Stockton

The Combate Americas-AXS TV partnership’s first live card is set.

Combate Americas’ partnership with AXS-TV kicks into full gear in 2020, but you don’t have to wait until the calendar turns to get live action.

The Latino-themed MMA promotion will hold its first live broadcast with its new television partner Dec. 13, from one of the most notorious towns on the MMA map: Stockton, Calif.

“Combate Americas: North America vs. South America” will air in its entirety on AXS TV, and will be headlined by a featherweight showdown between [autotag]Horacio Gutierrez [/autotag] and [autotag]Marlon Gonzales[/autotag].

Gutierrez (6-3 MMA), a Chicago resident by way of Guadalajara, Mexico, is coming off a first-round knockout of Chase Gibson in his last fight on Sept. 27. Peru’s Gonzalez (15-4 MMA) earned a split decision victory over Pablo Villaseca on May 31.

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The co-feature bout is also at featherweight, where Colombia’s Javier Reyes (8-3 MMA) takes on Joe Neal (6-4 MMA) of Hayward, Calif.

Max Bretos handles the play-by-play on the broadcast, while the color commentary will be done by former “The Ultimate Fighter” champion Julianna Pena.

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Vikings open as slight underdogs vs. Seahawks in Week 13

The Vikings are 5-11 against the Seahawks and have lost their five last games to Seattle, most recently in a 21-7 loss last season.

The 8-3 Vikings face off against the 9-2 Seahawks in Seattle for Monday Night Football in Week 13.

Per BetMGM, the Vikings open as 2.5-point underdogs. A bet on the Seahawks to cover pays at -121, while a bet on the Vikings to cover pays at +100.

A money line bet on the Vikings pays at +125, while a money line bet on the Seahawks pays at -150.

The over/under in the game is 48.5. A bet on either side of that pays at -110.

The Vikings are 5-11 against the Seahawks and have lost their five last games to Seattle, most recently in a 21-7 loss last season.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Seattle Seahawks offensive player of the game: RB Rashaad Penny

Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny rushed for a career-high 129 yards on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

For the second season in a row, Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny exploded for a huge game at an entirely unexpected time. This time, however, his performance helped lead his team to a victory.

Last year, Penny hardly contributed through Seattle’s first eight games before taking off for 108 rushing yards (on 12 carries) against the Rams in Week 10, a game the Seahawks narrowly lost, 36-31.

This year, Penny was even quieter through his first seven games, but he had a huge game on Sunday against the Eagles, carrying the ball 14 times for a career-high 129 yards.

Most of his damage came on a 58-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, which gave Seattle a 17-3 lead and put the game on ice.

Penny exploded through the tackles on a first-and-20, and used his blazing speed to outrun the rest of the Philadelphia defense.

The second-year running back out of San Diego State has been frustrated with his lack of playing time this season, but instead of sulking he has worked hard to improve his conditioning, and his work impressed coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer enough to give him an extended look this week.

“We expect our guys to be frustrated,” Carroll said after the game. “They all want to play. They all deserve to play, sometimes it just doesn’t happen. It’s how you deal with it. What he did is he got better, he’s trimmer, he’s faster, I mean look how fast he looked today, he looked like he was shot out of a cannon. That’s because of the hard work.”

Penny’s performance merited our offensive player of the week award, and it will be interesting to see if it gives him more opportunities going forward, especially after starter Chris Carson fumbled twice in a row and only finished with 26 yards on eight carries.

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Badgers in the NFL: Russell Wilson sets NFL record in Week 12 win

Former Wisconsin Badger Russell Wilson is the only quarterback in history to post a winning record in each of his first eight NFL seasons.

Former Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Russell Wilson continued his elite season with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-9, to move to 9-2 on the season.

The nine wins are crucial for Wilson, as it officially means he will have a winning season in 2019 – even if they lose the rest of their games.

Wilson has now officially led the Seahawks to a winning season in each of his first eight NFL seasons – and he became the first quarterback in NFL history to do so.

Most elite quarterbacks are early round picks, often on bad teams, which makes it difficult to accomplish such a feat. The Seahawks snagged Wilson late in the third round however, perhaps the greatest draft pick in franchise history.

Wilson has solidified himself as a legitimate MVP candidate this season, and while his performance against the Eagles was forgettable he is still boasting a 24-to-3 touchdown to interception ratio.

Wilson starred with the Badgers for one season in 2011, completing nearly 73 percent of his passes along with a ridiculous 33-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

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Panthers fans are rightly mad online about Brian Burns’ lack of playing time

What’s most frustrating about this is Burns is actually producing.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera has made a number of critical mistakes this year.

His greatest sin was allowing Cam Newton to play hurt Weeks 1-2 when he clearly wasn’t healthy. That might’ve cost Newton his season and the team any realistic chance of making the playoffs. Rivera has also made some head-scratching decisions when it comes to playing time. The ongoing lack of snaps for first-round pick Brian Burns is the worst of it.

In Sunday’s loss to the Saints, Burns played just 22 defensive snaps. That’s 30 fewer than Mario Addison and Bruce Irvin and the same number as veteran DT Kyle Love. Fans aren’t the most rational people on the planet, but in this case they are right to be upset about Burns’ dwindling snap count.

We can’t share most of the tweets due to all the swearing, but here’s a few PG-rated ones that sum up how they’re feeling about it.

What’s most frustrating about this is Burns is actually producing.

In the limited action he sees on the field defensively, Burns continues to make an impact. He stripped Matt Ryan on a two-point conversion last week and his consistent pressure on Drew Brees late in the game helped give Carolina a chance at an upset.

Now that Burns’ wrist appears to be healthy, there’s no excuse for him not to be on the field at least as much as any other EDGE defender. Whatever Rivera’s reasoning may be, it falls well short of the importance of developing young talents like Burns – especially when they’re performing well.

Team owner David Tepper seems to be getting restless based on his recent comments. He already has more than enough reason to move on from Rivera at the end of this year. Keeping Burns on the sidelines this much checks yet another box.

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Raiders playoff odds dropped to just 24 percent after Week 12 loss

Raiders playoff odds dropped to just 24 percent after Week 12 loss

Week 12 wasn’t kind to the Oakland Raiders. Not only did they lose in humiliating fashion, but it was a game that the Raiders were favored in and needed to win to stay in the No. 6 seed in the AFC wild-card hit.

Several other wild-card contenders had big games in Week 12 as the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Tennessee Titans all secured wins on Sunday. According to the New York Times playoff simulator, the Raiders playoff odds have dropped from 60 percent on Sunday morning, all the way down to 24 percent.

What is so discouraging about the Week 12 loss is that now Oakland will travel to Kansas City to face the Chiefs in what is essentially a must-win game. If Oakland were to lose that contest, they would drop to 6-6, and their playoff odds would decrease to 12 percent.

Oakland certainly isn’t out of the playoff hunt by any means, but their loss to the Jets set them back in a big way. Now, the team will need to steal a few wins the rest of the way as they will likely need to finish 10-6 to earn a wild-card berth. We shall see if Jon Gruden can get his team to win four of the next five games to make the playoffs.

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Chandler enters top 10; four new teams enter Super 25 Football Ranks

Check out the Super 25 Football Rankings for Week 14! Did your team make the list this week?

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With Chandler (Arizona) star running back Dae Dae Hunter injured last game, other players had to step up to fill the void he left.

One of those players was Jaheim Brown-Taylor. As reported by The Arizona Republic, when the Wolves got a costly penalty, Brown-Taylor had a 41-yard run to help them recover. Hunter ran the ball just one time, but Brown-Taylor put together strong runs to help Chandler stay undefeated and move past Salpointe Catholic (Tucson Arizona).

FULL RANKINGS: Super 25 Football Rankings, Week 14

Head coach Rick Garretson liked what he saw.

“Jaheim had his moment of greatness,” Garretson told The Arizona Republic. “We always talk about, when you get their opportunities, make something happen. I feel so elated for him, because we don’t win this game without those plays, his runs.”

The Wolves’ big victory helped them enter the top 10 of the rankings this week. The team was previously in 12th place last poll, but now they’re No. 10.

Chandler will move onto Open Final. It will play against Saguaro (Scottsdale, Arizona) on Dec. 7.

“It’s the final eight,” Brown-Taylor told The Arizona Republic, referring to the eight-team Open Division, the first of its kind in Arizona. “This is the best in the state. We still got the dub, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

IMG Academy (Bradenton Florida) also cracked the top 10 of the rankings this week, a familiar sight for this team. IMG Academy is No. 9 after being at No. 11 last week. Its season is already over, but other teams slipping up have led IMG Academy back into the top 10 of the ranks.

There are four new teams in the rankings this week: Armwood (Seffner, Florida),  East St. Louis  (Illinois),  Saguaro and Muskego (Wisconsin).