NFL Power Rankings for Week 13: Chiefs keep rolling

There is a footballing saying that the season starts in December.

Well, the NFL will definitely have a playoff feel to start the month.

There are five games this week between teams with winning records.

This means that 10 of the 16 teams above .500 are playing each other.

Let’s make sense of the loaded NFC East with a Giants-Commanders battle. Enjoy an AFC Championship rematch between the Chiefs and Bengals. The storybook of old faces in new places features Titans-Eagles (wide receiver AJ Brown) and Dolphins-49ers (too many to list). And the thrilling game no one expected between the Vikings and the Jets.

Here are The Post’s NFL Power Rankings for Week 13:

1. Kansas City Chiefs 9-2 (1)

Make it five straight wins for the Chiefs, who needed just one touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to beat the Rams, 26-10. Harrison Butker (four field goals) did the heavy lifting after the offense uncharacteristically stalled in the red zone. What looked like a great preseason game lost its luster with Bryce Perkins replacing Matthew Stafford at quarterback.

2. Philadelphia Eagles 10-1 (2)

In this era of so many dual-threat quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts became the first ever with at least 125 rushing yards and at least 125 passing yards in a half in a 40-33 win over the Packers. Led by Hurts (157) and Miles Sanders (143), the Eagles rushed for 363 yards – the seventh most in a single game since 1975.

3. Miami Dolphins 8-3 (4)

The Dolphins came back from the bye week as hot as they entered it, building a 30-point lead before hanging on for a 30-15 victory over the Texans who extended their winning streak to five. Tua Tagovailoa has four consecutive games without an interception. The defense limited the Texans to 32 total yards in their first 25 plays.

4. Buffalo Bills 8-3 (3)

Crazy stats alert! Returning to Detroit just five days after picking up a win at a snowstorm-forced neutral site, the Bills edged the Lions, 28-25, on a field goal with two seconds left. That means the Bills (not the Lions) are the first team to win back-to-back games at Ford Field since 2016. Stefon Diggs made several game-changing catches in the final three minutes.

5. Dallas Cowboys 8-3 (5)

Dak Prescott’s 10th straight victory over the Giants was a second-half comeback on Thanksgiving. He threw two touchdowns to Dalton Schultz and six completions to one-handed magician CeeDee Lamb in a 28-20 win. Micah Parsons’ two sacks that changed the drive made it look like so many recent games in this rivalry, where the Giants offensive line is overwhelmed.

6. Minnesota Vikings 9-2 (6)

In a show of resilience, Kirk Cousins ​​led the scoring on five straight true possessions early in the game and threw a fourth-quarter touchdown to Adam Thielen to beat the Patriots, 33-26, on Thanksgiving. What a crazy few weeks, after the Vikings’ overtime win over the Bills was followed by a disastrous loss to the Cowboys.

7. San Francisco 49ers 7-4 (10)

What is the quality of this defense? After shutting out opponents in the second half of the previous three games, the 49ers doubled that effort, forced two fumbles from Alvin Kamara and shut out the Saints, 13-0. It was the first time New Orleans hadn’t scored in 333 games, in 2001. Jimmy Garoppolo took a break on a touchdown pass with an overturned ball.

8. Cincinnati Bengals 7-4 (12)

Even without two of their best point guards — Joe Mixon and Ja’Marr Chase — the Bengals repeated their first Super Bowl playoff upset of last season by beating the Titans, 20-16, in Nashville. Samaje Perine and Tee Higgins filled out the injured duo perfectly. Joe Burrow has been fired just once after the Titans had him nine times in the playoffs.

9. Baltimore Ravens 7-4 (7)

Justin Tucker attempted to break his own NFL record and save the Ravens after blowing a nine-point lead, but his 67-yard field goal failed just as time expired in a 28-27 loss to the Jaguars. The defense allowed a third-and-21 completion leading to a fourth conversion on a touchdown drive (plus a two-point conversion) in the 2:02 final.

10. Tennessee Titans 7-4 (8)

The Titans still haven’t allowed more than 20 points in eight straight games. But 20 may still be too much to overcome with the methodical way they play on offense, as the loss to the Bengals shows. Derrick Henry was held to 17 carries for 38 yards. Three trips to the red zone resulted in no touchdowns.

11. Washington Commanders 7-5 (15)

12. Seattle Seahawks 6-5 (11)

13. New York Giants 7-4 (9)

Head coach Brian Daboll faces his first adversity. Two straight losses and a mountain of injuries, especially on the offensive line and in the secondary, threaten to ruin a fairy tale story between underdogs and the playoffs. Saquon Barkley carried 11 times for 39 yards, and Daniel Jones reverted to a mediocre one-dimensional quarterback with no running lanes in the loss to the Cowboys.

14. Los Angeles Chargers 6-5 (16)

15. New England Patriots 6-5 (13)

16. New York Jets 7-4 (17)

Mike White replaced Zach Wilson as the starting quarterback and led the Jets to their first opening touchdown of the season. He added 315 passing yards and three touchdowns (two to Garrett Wilson) in a 31-10 win over the Trevor Siemian-led Bears. For the fifth time, the defense was gifted a game against a backup quarterback.

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5-6 (14)

18. Atlanta Falcons 5-7 (19)

19. Jacksonville Jaguars 4-7 (25)

20. Indianapolis Colts 4-7-1 (18)

21. Arizona Cardinals 4-8 (20)

22. Pittsburgh Steelers 4-7 (29

23. Detroit Lions 4-7 (21)

24. New Orleans Saints 4-8 (23)

25. Las Vegas Raiders 4-7 (26)

26. Green Bay Packers 4-8 (22)

27. Carolina Panthers 4-8 (28)

28. Cleveland Browns 4-7 (30)

29. Los Angeles Rams 3-8 (24)

30. Chicago Bears 3-9 (27)

31. Denver Broncos 3-8 (31)

32. Houston Texans 1-9-1 (32)