NFL Power Rankings Week 14: Initial Standings Post-Thursday Night Football

The NFL hierarchy seemed set to get a potential shakeup early in Week 14 thanks to a Thursday Night Football encounter between NFC South rivals. 

There, the Atlanta Falcons hosted the New Orleans Saints and provided just that. Despite three interceptions from Matt Ryan, the Falcons squeaked out a 20-17 win at home via a 10-point fourth quarter the Saints weren't able to counter after losing star rookie running back Alvin Kamara to injury. 

It's a small appetizer to what is sure to be a dramatic week in the NFL thanks to encounters such as Philadelphia-Los Angeles Rams, Seattle-Jacksonville and Baltimore-Pittsburgh. 

With seeding and playoff spots on the line, this time of year has a way of creating the biggest waves in power rankings. Here's a look at an updated list before the weekend swings in like a wrecking ball. 

2017 NFL Power Rankings and Super Bowl Odds

Rank	Team
1	Minnesota Vikings (12-1)
2	New England Patriots (13-5)
3	Los Angeles Rams (16-1)
4	Seattle Seahawks (25-1)
5	Philadelphia Eagles (7-2)
6	Pittsburgh Steelers (6-1)
7	Atlanta Falcons (12-1)
8	New Orleans Saints (12-1)
9	Tennessee Titans (33-1)
10	Carolina Panthers (18-1)
11	Los Angeles Chargers (33-1)
12	Jacksonville Jaguars (33-1)
13	Baltimore Ravens (66-1)
14	Detroit Lions (66-1)
15	Cincinnati Bengals (75-1)
16	Buffalo Bills (75-1)
17	Dallas Cowboys (75-1)
18	Washington Redskins (300-1)
19	Arizona Cardinals (250-1)
20	Oakland Raiders (66-1)
21	New York Jets (1000-1)
22	Kansas City Chiefs (33-1)
23	Green Bay Packers (75-1)
24	Miami Dolphins (1000-1)
25	Houston Texans (500-1)
26	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1000-1)
27	Indianapolis Colts (1000-1)
28	Denver Broncos (1000-1)
29	New York Giants (1000-1)
30	San Francisco 49ers (5000-1)
31	Chicago Bears (1000-1)
32	Cleveland Browns (5000-1)

Los Angeles Rams

Those Rams got a nod in the intro for good reason—they're on fire. 

The rebounding Rams have nine wins by mid-December and are looking for more. They've won six of their last seven, only losing to an elite team like Minnesota over that stretch while taking down other playoff-bound squads like the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints. 

Head coach Sean McVay has breathed new life into the roster, and key additions such as elite left tackle Andrew Whitworth have made life easy on quarterback Jared Goff. Defensively, the Rams look stout as well thanks to a player who doesn't get as much credit as he deserves, as Bleacher Report's Ian Wharton pointed out: 

The Rams only allowing 18.5 points per game and holding an offense like New Orleans to 20 points has Goff looking strong. He's sitting on 20 touchdowns against six interceptions during a breakout most wouldn't have dared predict after a rough rookie year. 

We'll see if the Rams can keep this strong play up throughout the course of a full season. Next up is a date with the Philadelphia Eagles, then a road dance with the Seattle Seahawks. They seem playoff-bound either way, but rest assured each of their remaining four opponents want nothing more than to ruin the Cinderella story. 

Los Angeles Chargers

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Business is booming in Los Angeles. 

The Los Angeles Chargers have won three games in a row and sit at 6-6, placing them with the same record as two other teams in the AFC West, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, and looking like a playoff hopeful. 

But the difference between the Chargers and the rest? Philip Rivers, mostly: 

It's natural to take a look at the recent wins, which came by margins of 54-24, 28-6 and 19-10. But look at the prior two losses: a road defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots, 21-13, and an overtime 20-17 road disappointment at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

The Chargers are playing well against the best teams in the league, logic that holds up well when looking at a two-point loss to Philadelphia earlier this season, too. 

These Chargers are the total package. Not only is Rivers playing elite football, his defense has 35 sacks and ranks fourth by allowing all of 17.7 points per game. Five of Rivers' targets on offense have at least three touchdown catches as well, meaning the spread-it-around attack excels against most defenses. 

Like the other team in the city, we'll find out more about the Chargers as the season winds down. They'll have to deal with both divisional teams boasting the same record right now, but it's hard to avoid wondering what sort of noise Rivers could make in the playoffs. 

Tennessee Titans

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

The Tennessee Titans might be the most slept-on team in football. 

These Titans are 8-4 and lead the AFC South. A revival by the Jacksonville Jaguars has been a fun story, but try to keep in mind the Titans went to Jacksonville in Week 2 and smacked them around 37-16. 

So why don't the Titans get more recognition? They're a little boring—Marcus Mariota was hurt for a little while and has had a rough season (10 touchdowns, 12 interceptions) and the run-first approach, while effective, isn't grabbing major highlights.  

Inconsistency has made the Titans look worse than they are, too. After beating Jacksonville, the team moved past Seattle 33-27 only to take a 57-14 whipping at the hands of the Houston Texans. Since Week 6 the Titans have won six of seven, but the loss was a 40-17 humbling at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Mariota is the first to admit the team isn't playing its best at all times, yet he finds encouragement in it. 

"Confidence is high," Mariota said, according to ESPN.com's Cameron Wolfe. "We can still improve, though. When we can win football games when we're not playing to the best of our abilities, it's huge."

The idea these eight-win Titans could improve should scare the rest of a shaky AFC. If Mariota can round out his versatile play to better complement a ground game averaging 4.5 yards per carry despite defenses knowing it's coming, the AFC might have a serious dark-horse contender on its hands. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.