Week 14 2PC 10 Top 10 Rankings
A couple of big upsets shake up the top of the order a little bit as we head down the stretch
Last week, a new team joined the ranks of the teams that have been unanimous #1-ranked teams in the 2PC 10: the Los Angeles Rams. Of course, they promptly dropped a game to the Carolina Panthers, coming off a short week after a Monday Night embarrassment. This muddies the water of the league’s top echelon once again, and while it’s still clear that there’s a top tier of teams and then everybody else, it’s still really hard to pick among that tier even with just four weeks left of regular season football. Here’s a look at how it shook out for our staff this week:
1. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 1)
Last result: Lost to Carolina Panthers, 31-28
Suffering one of the biggest upsets of the season hasn’t moved the Rams from our top spot yet, as our staff is trusting the body of work so far over the result of this one game. Coming off an absolute dismantling of the Buccaneers the week prior, the Rams looked like an absolute wagon heading towards the end of the season, especially on offense. Three turnovers, including 2 interceptions thrown by Matt Stafford, cooled them off in Charlotte, and the question is going to be if that was an aberration or a late regression that’s going to hurt them this winter.
2. Seattle Seahawks (LW: 2)
Last result: Beat Minnesota Vikings, 26-0
The Seahawks’ offense and Sam Darnold specifically have cooled off a little in the last couple of weeks, but they’ve still been motoring along thanks to the strength of their defense. All three levels were in alignment and playing at a high level to give undrafted rookie quarterback Max Brosmer a rude welcome to the NFL, forcing four picks and pitching a shutout for the first time in a decade. They’re now tied for the NFC West lead, and if Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba can shake off some of the timing issues they’ve been suffering from late, look out — this might be the most complete team in the country.
3. New England Patriots (LW: 3)
Last result: Beat New York Giants, 33-15
With Stafford’s three-turnover day and loss to Carolina sullying his stats and image, Drake Maye is now the odds-on favorite for NFL MVP after another clinical performance, this one against the Giants. He leads NFL starters in passing yards and completion percentage and the game just looks easy for him. It’s easy to forget that this team lost in Week 1 to the Raiders and looked like they still needed time to fix the talent issues that plagued them last year, but Maye has been so good that those haven’t really mattered since. I’ve seen people complain that the Pats are the beneficiaries of an easy schedule, but it’s not like they’re struggling to take advantage of it — they’re blowing out teams worse than them. This team is legit.
4. Denver Broncos (LW: 5)
Last result: Beat Washington Commanders, 27-26 (OT)
The Broncos just keep getting away with it. The football on the screen is never pretty, but Denver now sits at 10-2, in prime position to take the AFC West. Their latest escapade involved going to overtime against the 3-9 Commanders and needing a pass breakup on a two-point conversion to come out with the win. You have to imagine that close-game regression is coming for a team that plays this dangerously and is 8-2 in one-score games, but we can’t really rank on imagination. You’ve gotta respect the wins.
5. Green Bay Packers (LW: 9)
Last result: Beat Detroit Lions, 31-24
Micah Parsons has at times this season been less than his first game as a Packer portended, but in a repeat of that matchup on Thanksgiving, he came back with a vengeance, with 2.5 sacks that gave him 12.5 on the season so far. What stood out last Thursday, though, was the run defense, which held Jahmyr Gibbs to less than 3.5 yards a carry and made the Lions one-dimensional. Add that to Jordan Love starting to really trust his weapons and it’s not a stretch to see the Packers we expected after the early weeks of the season.
6. Chicago Bears (LW: 10)
Last result: Beat Philadelphia Eagles, 24-15
There may be no hotter team in the country right now than the Bears, who currently hold first place in the NFC thanks to a five-game winning streak. They’re doing it on the strength of their run game, which absolutely steamrolled the Eagles to the tune of Chicago’s first game with two 100-yard rushers since 1985. This team has clear weaknesses — Caleb Williams is improving every game but is still too inconsistent, and the run defense has been really bad — but things are looking up in the short and long terms in the Windy City.
7. Indianapolis Colts (LW: 6)
Last result: Lost to Houston Texans, 20-16
After being the success story of the league through the first half of the season, things have turned sour for the Colts. Daniel Jones is clearly uncomfortable playing on what’s being reported as a fractured fibula, and that’s had downstream effects on the rest of the team. Jonathan Taylor was taking advantage of the successful aerial attack and was a darkhorse MVP candidate, but he’s been bottled up in those three losses, and the Colts’ defense has looked out of steam as well when given less favorable game scripts. They’ve lost three of their last four and now only share the AFC South lead with Jacksonville, when they once appeared to have it completely locked down. It’s unclear if Jones will be this compromised for the rest of the season, but if he is, the Cinderella story isn’t shaping up to end very happily.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 4)
Last result: Lost to Chicago Bears, 24-15
When you watch these Eagles, the team we saw as a real threat to repeat as champs is still in there somewhere. The defense is still absurdly athletic at all three levels, the offensive playmakers are obviously ridiculously talented, and sometimes, it all comes together and they look like the wagon that last year’s team was. But on a game-to-game basis of late, things just aren’t clicking like they feel like they should be. Jalen Hurts looks less comfortable in the pocket, and that pocket is less stable than we expect from one of the league’s most consistent units the last several years. And uncharacteristically, the Eagles are among the most penalized teams in the league. Philly is still a game and a half ahead in the NFC East, but they really need to tighten up to contend in a stacked conference.
9. Buffalo Bills (LW: 8)
Last result: Beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-7
The Bills have had a weird last four weeks. They’ve gone 2-2, with their losses against Miami and Houston and their wins against Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh — that is to say, they’ve lost to two teams outside of the playoff race and soundly beaten two teams atop their divisions. They’ve had to change their offensive identity more than a little in the season following Josh Allen’s MVP year, with the passing offense giving up too many turnovers and getting predictable. James Cook might be good enough to make it work, but the transition hasn’t been smooth. Can they figure it out in time to make a push for playoffs and beyond?
10. Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 11/First Out)
Last result: Beat Las Vegas Raiders, 31-14
Despite the embarrassment against Jacksonville a couple of weeks ago, the Chargers have won three of their last four and usually look like a good, complete team. Kimani Vidal continues to be a revelation on the ground, but this team still could get a boost from the hopefully imminent return of Omarion Hampton. The injuries on the offensive line still probably cap this team’s ceiling, but when they’re not absolutely brain-farting, they’re still quite fun to watch.
First Team Out: San Francisco 49ers (LW: NR)
Last result: Beat Cleveland Browns, 26-8
Brock Purdy still doesn’t look all the way comfortable in his return from injury, but the Niners have won three straight with him back. They’ve been helped tremendously by Skyy Moore in the return game giving the offense shorter fields and by a feisty defense that is managing to work around several key injuries, but the road ahead will be tough as they compete in a stacked NFC West.