NFL Power Rankings Week 14: The dream of a Bengals-49ers Super Bowl 59 is dead

A return to 1988 -- or 1981 -- made sense. Those NFL seasons were capped by the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers battling it out in the Super Bowl. With Joe Burrow back to full health in Ohio and Brock Purdy leading a reloaded Niners team, a third showdown between these franchises on the grandest stage of them all was a viable finish to the 2024 campaign.

Each week shovels dirt on that dream. Both Cincinnati and San Francisco sit under .500 and outside the playoff picture. Their postseason odds, per The Athletic, stand at a combined 12 percent. Barring a two massive turnarounds, we won't see the third fight in this Super Bowl trilogy. John Candy anecdotes will have to wait.

Where does that leave these ersatz contenders? Let's look at how the 2024 NFL season has shaped up after 13 weeks.

32. Jacksonville Jaguars

Last week's rank: 32

Putting an NFL franchise in Jacksonville was a social experiment to see whether the Cleveland Browns' nihilism could translate in the American south. Buddy, it sure can.

31. New York Giants

Last week's rank: 30

Drew Lock played like a quarterback who couldn't beat out Tommy DeVito for a starting job. Fortunately, none of this mattered because the Giants are eager to hit reset on the whole (gestures to the last two seasons).

30. Tennessee Titans

Last week's rank: 28

Will Levis is getting sacked on 13.4 percent of his dropbacks. Only Deshaun Watson has been sacked more on a per-game basis this season. Tennessee has so, so much to fix when it comes to its offense.

29. New York Jets

Last week's rank: 27

Maybe Aaron Rodgers wants to return to the Jets. Why would New York want him? If they're looking for the league's 26th-best quarterback they can just sign Jameis Winston next offseason.

28. Las Vegas Raiders

Last week's rank: 31

Aidan O'Connell did what he does best; baffle the Kansas City Chiefs and show way more life than anyone expected. Last year it manifested in a win. In Week 13 that created a two-point loss defined by a botched snap in field goal range late in the fourth quarter. The football gods do not care for what the Raiders are doing this season, but there's a little bit more life here than we may have expected.

27. New England Patriots

Last week's rank: 29

Drake Maye led what looked like a game-winning drive and his defense did what's best for business -- allowing a loss that moves the talent-poor Patriots a step closer to a top three draft pick. New England has its most talented young quarterback since Tom Brady left his 20s, even if it isn't reflected in the standings.

26. Cleveland Browns

Last week's rank: 25

Sometimes defending Jameis Winston is like taking a test you have the answers for. And sometimes you get those answers wrong anyway because you decided to test him deep without safety coverage or he rifles a laser beam in between two defenders. He'll never be a great quarterback, but he's almost always a fun one.

25. Dallas Cowboys

Last week's rank: 24

A win streak is a win streak, but you don't get much credit for beating Drew Lock's Giants (though the Week 12 win over the Washington Commanders seems a bit more impressive in retrospect). If the defense can continue to create chaos (eight turnovers in its last four games) there's a very minor chance the Cowboys can make a late surge into the playoff picture.

24. Carolina Panthers

Last week's rank: 26

Bryce Young isn't fixed, but the last month has proved he may be fixable. He's playing with more confidence in the pocket, stepping into big throws downfield and finding open targets. If Carolina can find him reliable targets and buttress him with a swarming defense, there's some juice here.

23. Chicago Bears

Last week's rank: 23

Firing Shane Waldron and promoting Thomas Brown to interim offensive coordinator did wonders for Caleb Williams' game. Now Brown gets the chance to outshine Matt Eberflus, a six-watt light bulb whose ability to lose close games would be unmatched if not for the previous four decades of Bears football. Expect a Week 14 bounce from Chicago; we'll see if it lasts.

22. New Orleans Saints

Last week's rank: 21

The Saints are losing games and losing contributors -- on Sunday it was gadget-play maestro Taysom Hill, who is done for the season after a torn ACL. That'll tear some pages from Derek Carr's playbook -- but hey, it could mean big things for, uh… Kevin Austin?

21. Cincinnati Bengals

Last week's rank: 18

1-7. That's the Bengals' record in one score games. That means Cincinnati isn't as bad as its 4-8 record suggests. It also means Cincinnati probably isn't making it back to the postseason, either. The Athletic pegs Cincy's playoff odds at three percent.

20. Indianapolis Colts

Last week's rank: 22

Anthony Richardson put on his cape and led a heroic drive to escape an upset in Foxborough. His fourth-and-goal completion to Alec Pierce, then do-it-yourself two-point conversion proved to be the difference in Week 13 and kept the Colts postseason hopes alive. He still needed 24 dropbacks to throw for just 109 yards, however, which keeps his passing game firmly in question.

19. San Francisco 49ers

Last week's rank: 19

t's been more than two months since the 49ers defense held an opponent to fewer than 20 points -- and that was the Jacoby Brissett Patriots, so it barely counts. Last year, San Francisco only gave up 17.5 points per game. This no longer looks like an uncrowned king marching toward a long-desired throne. The Niners are mere commoners in 2024.

18. Miami Dolphins

Last week's rank: 20

Tua Tagovailoa continues to play well, but Miami failed to rewrite its narrative about playing in the cold with a double-digit loss in Green Bay. Fortunately, room exists for a rally; only one of the Dolphins final five opponents has a winning record and that's a Houston Texans team the borders on "untrustable" at the moment.

17. Atlanta Falcons

Last week's rank: 11

Kirk Cousins' last three games: zero touchdowns, six interceptions, zero wins. Unlike his slow start to the season, this can't be blamed on rehabbing an injury. His 90.8 passer rating is the lowest of his career as a full-time starter.

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Last week's rank: 17

Baker Mayfield started and ended Week 13 hot, which prevented a comeback Panthers win and moved Tampa Bay into a tie for first in the NFC South. Atlanta holds the tiebreaker there thanks to two wins over Mayfield, but a soft schedule -- the Bucs play the Panthers, Raiders, Saints and Cowboys over their final five games -- creates a very real chance to defend their divisional crown.

15. Los Angeles Rams

Last week's rank: 16

The Saints limited Matthew Stafford early, but he found his range in the second half. The veteran led three touchdown drives after halftime to squash New Orleans' hopes of a home upset. More importantly, the defense that gave up nearly 500 yards a week earlier found its rhythm and shut down Derek Carr's comeback attempt late to keep Los Angeles in striking distance of a division title.

14. Arizona Cardinals

Last week's rank: 12

Arizona pushed seven drives inside the Minnesota 30-yard line and came away with a single touchdown and 22 total points. Some of that was classic Brian Flores bend-don't-break magic. But much of it came down to a team that has playmakers at the top of its depth chart and little reliable support underneath. As a result, the Seahawks have taken over at the top of the NFC West.

13. Houston Texans

Last week's rank: 13

C.J. Stroud's 2024 has downgraded him from "future superstar" to "firmly a guy" and taken Bobby Slowik's reputation as a playcaller with it. He has twice as many games (six) without a touchdown as he does with multiple scores. This wouldn't be so much of a problem had his defense not just allowed Mac Jones to play his best football since October 2023. At least Joe Mixon still looks good.

12. Seattle Seahawks

Last week's rank: 15

Leonard Williams had a 91-yard interception return for a touchdown and it wasn't a pick-six. Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald read the Jets offense, knew a slant was coming and dropped a 300-pound defensive tackle into coverage on third-and-goal. It worked. Hooooo, brother, did it work. No one should want to face the Seahawks in January.

11. Washington Commanders

Last week's rank: 14

Concern about a Kliff Kingsbury-related offensive slump has abated thanks to a visit from the Titans. Jayden Daniels re-upped his rookie of the year bonafides with four total touchdowns in a game that was effectively over after three Washington possessions. A bye and a fairly easy finish awaits, tempting the Commanders with their first double-digit win season since Robert Griffin III's rookie year if Daniels can simply meet expectations over this final month.

10. Denver Broncos

Last week's rank: 10

Sean Payton envisions Bo Nix as a deep ball savant; that's why he's thrown more than 20 passes that have traveled at least 15 yards downfield the past two weeks. The results have been mixed, but when they work they're marvelous. If Nix can turn that into a reliable asset rather than a sometimes snack, the Broncos have their franchise quarterback.

9. Los Angeles Chargers

Last week's rank: 7

Justin Herbert has been playing better than his numbers suggest, but he slumped Sunday in a passing offense that funneled nearly 80 percent of its yards through one man. Ladd McConkey is great, but asking him to carry that load in the playoffs feels excessive. Fortunately for the Chargers, none of this mattered in Week 13 thanks to Kirk Cousins' four interceptions.

8. Baltimore Ravens

Last week's rank: 6

A late bye and an easy final month of the season clears a path for a 12-win campaign, but the Ravens have plenty to worry about. The two things upon which they'd been able to rely -- a suffocating defense and an automatic kicker -- have both found new glitches in 2024. It also threatens to ruin Lamar Jackson's shot at a second-straight (and third overall) MVP award, even as he leads the league in passer rating and touchdown rate.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers

Last week's rank: 8

18 seasons. Zero losing records. Mike Tomlin is a wizard.

6. Green Bay Packers

Last week's rank: 9

How much credit do the Packers deserve for beating diminished versions of former contenders? A 7-1 stretch includes wins over the Dolphins, Texans, 49ers and Rams. None feel like the kind of foundation on which a playoff streak can thrive.

On the other hand, Jeff Hafley's defense hasn't allowed more than 20 points in any game since the team's bye and Green Bay's running attack is thriving. The Packers might be a paper tiger. Or they might be fine.

5. Minnesota Vikings

Last week's rank: 5

Sam Darnold slumped slightly to start November and slumped in Week 13 against the Cardinals. In both cases, he course corrected to keep the Vikings thriving. That meant two second half touchdowns to lead a comeback victory over Arizona. That will help offset a defense opponents are beginning to figure out. Minnesota ranked first in expected points added (EPA) allowed over the first third of the season, but between Weeks 7 and 12 slipped to fifth in the rankings.

4. Kansas City Chiefs

Last week's rank: 3

Kansas City is 9-0 in one-score games. That is some 2022 Minnesota Vikings style luck. That doesn't mean a playoff loss to Daniel Jones is looming, just that the Chiefs aren't the juggernaut their 11-1 record suggests. On the other hand, they still have Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, so maybe this is sustainable after all.

3. Philadelphia Eagles

Last week's rank: 4

Philly's defense has risen to the challenge, ranking second only to the Detroit Lions in EPA allowed since its Week 5 bye. This all leads to the intriguing idea a playoff showdown between the two could be a rock fight rather than a shootout. On the other hand, Saquon Barkley is thriving and Jalen Hurts is playing like a top-five quarterback again, so the Eagles are well equipped to win in January no matter what's asked of them.

2. Buffalo Bills

Last week's rank: 2

Sean McDermott knew exactly what to do in the snow -- and a roster with Josh Allen, James Cook and Ray Davis was the perfect complement to a bulldozing, north-south run game that dropped the 49ers into the NFC West basement. The Bills defense thrived in the cold, but it'll thrive even more once Matt Milano knocks off the rust of missing most of the 2024 season due to injury.

1. Detroit Lions

Last week's rank: 1

The Bears only made it easy for about 30 minutes and 15 seconds. The space between the second half kickoff and the end of the fourth quarter? That should be enough to keep the Lions motivated, as Caleb Williams cracked their high-flying defense and took a little shine off Detroit's 10th straight win.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: NFL Power Rankings Week 14: The dream of a Bengals-49ers Super Bowl 59 is dead