The Minnesota Vikings stayed at the top of our power rankings for all of one week. Week 12 will be the third week in a row where we have a new team at the top. It seems whoever we think is the best -- trouble follows. Best of luck to the Miami Dolphins as `they return to No. 1 after a hiatus for several weeks following the Tua Tagovailoa concussion protocols.
Top Ten NFL Power Rankings Week 12
- Miami Dolphins 7-3 (+1)
- Kansas City Chiefs 8-2 (+2)
- Philadelphia Eagles 9-1 (no change)
- Buffalo Bills 7-3 (+1)
- Dallas Cowboys 7-3 (+4)
- Minnesota Vikings 8-2 (-5)
- Baltimore Ravens 7-3 (+1)
- Tennessee Titans 7-3 (+1)
- San Francisco 49ers 6-4 (new entrant)
- New York Giants 7-3 (-4)
Questions that come with making NFL Power Rankings
At this stage in the season, power rankings start to get more complicated. There are, in fact, pros and cons with each team. Several questions arise when trying to assess who should be ranked on top of who.
Should Kansas City be above Philadelphia when Philadelphia's record is better? Should KC be ahead of 7-3 Buffalo when Buffalo beat KC directly? To what extent should the Miami Dolphins' three losses be counted when they were missing their starting QB, if not for the whole game then for part of it for all three losses? To what extent should early-season results matter, given that we are now getting to the business end of the NFL season?
The point that should be taken away is that power rankings are subjective. In ours, we emphasize wins and losses, the difficulty of schedule, and spreads. But when you come to close calls, sometimes you just need to go with intuition. The Miami Dolphins are 7-0 in games that Tua Tagovailoa starts and finishes. No other team can claim to be undefeated when they have their QB1 at full throttle.
Looking ahead at Week 12, Thursday features a game between two top teams. No. 10 NYG and No. 5 Dallas will meet in the middle game in a triple header. However, that is the only game between two top teams for the week.
