Sports
Kansas City Chiefs Fall Out of Super Bowl Tier
Week 12 of the 2025 
NFL season starts tonight with the 
Buffalo Bills visiting the 
Houston Texans in a highly anticipated AFC clash. There were more than a few consequential results this past Sunday, which have shaken up the league hierarchy.
The 
Denver Broncos virtually knocked 
Kansas City Chiefs out of the AFC West hunt, while the 
Los Angeles Rams distanced themselves from an ascending 
Seattle Seahawks squad.
In the City of Brotherly Love, the 
Philadelphia Eagles‘ defense again held an opponent to single digits, while the 
New England Patriots extended their league-best winning streak to eight games.
Taking into account all of these results, GIVEMESPORT has once again ranked all 32 teams, separating them into six categories: tankers, no man’s land, teams that can sneak into the playoffs, teams that can win one postseason game, and lastly, dark horse contenders and Super Bowl contenders.
Here is our updated list heading into Week 12.
The tankers
32. Tennessee Titans
31. Las Vegas Raiders
30 New York Giants
29. Washington Commanders
28. New Orleans Saints
27. New York Jets
26. Cleveland Browns
These teams’ seasons are largely irrelevant, sans a few individual player accomplishments. The 
Tennessee Titans have a slightly encouraging performance against the Houston Texans, which saw Cam Ward play decently against an elite defense.
The 
Las Vegas Raiders were anything but impressive in their 33-16 loss to the 
Dallas Cowboys. Pete Carroll‘s team looks helpless at the moment with the league’s worst offensive line.
In the Meadowlands, the 
New York Giants lost by just one possession at home to the 
Green Bay Packers with Jameis Winston under center.
Staying East, the 
Washington Commanders find themselves behind a few two-win teams after another disappointing defeat, this time to the lowly 
Miami Dolphins.
As for the 
New Orleans Saints, 
New York Jets, and 
Cleveland Browns, Myles Garrett has a legit chance to break the NFL sack record this season and, if the rest of his team was competent, would be an MVP contender.
No man’s land
25. Arizona Cardinals
24. Cincinnati Bengals
23. Atlanta Falcons
22. Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are the only group from this bunch to escape this past weekend with a win, thanks to a game-winning 29-yard field goal by Riley Patterson in overtime.
Mike McDaniel’s team has now won two straight games over the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders as they look to keep their far-fetched postseason hopes alive after their bye week.
Meanwhile, the other three teams listed above, the 
Arizona Cardinals, 
Cincinnati Bengals, and 
Atlanta Falcons, all have quarterback injuries and issues after losses to their divisional rivals.
Can sneak into the playoffs
21. Minnesota Vikings
20. Dallas Cowboys
19. Carolina Panthers
Perhaps the Dallas Cowboys’ defense has turned over a new leaf with Quinnen Williams now in the middle. The former New York Jets’ star was added through this trade deadline and dominated throughout the Monday night win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Unfortunately, one team that is still stuck with a familiar weakness is the 
Minnesota Vikings after another dismal performance from J.J. McCarthy.
Meanwhile, the 
Carolina Panthers have been one of the NFL’s weirdest teams this season, but Bryce Young and company are 6-5 and just a half a game behind the 
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South.
These franchises’ seasons aren’t over, but they’ll likely need a little bit of luck to sneak into the postseason.
Can win one playoff game
18. Houston Texans
17. Jacksonville Jaguars
16. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Los Angeles Chargers
15. Chicago Bears
13. Baltimore Ravens
12. San Francisco 49ers
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Houston Texans barely escaped falling into the tier below after surviving at home against the Tennessee Titans.
DeMeco Ryan’s team will now try to survive at home against a Buffalo Bills team coming off a massive win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaking of Todd Bowles‘ group, they have now lost two straight, despite the stable running game without star tailback Bucky Irving.
Like the Carolina Panthers, you never know what you’re going to get with the 
Jacksonville Jaguars, but Liam Cohen’s squad obliterated the 
Los Angeles Chargers 35-6 to move to 6-4 overall.
Meanwhile, in the AFC North, the 
Baltimore Ravens have won four straight and sit just a game behind the 
Pittsburgh Steelers. Lamar Jackson and company have yet to play their divisional rival this season.
Moving on to the NFC North, the 
Chicago Bears are now the leaders of this loaded division with another one-possession victory, this time against the Minnesota Vikings.
Lastly, the 
San Francisco 49ers finally have Brock Purdy back, and the star quarterback looked sharp in a blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals.
The dark horse contenders
10. Detroit Lions
9. Kansas City Chiefs
8. Green Bay Packers
7. Buffalo Bills
6. Seattle Seahawks
The 
Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs would both miss the postseason if they were to start today after their respective losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos.
The reigning No. 1 seeds in the AFC and NFC have had uneven seasons, thanks to both inconsistent play and lingering injuries.
Staying up north, the Green Bay Packers didn’t gain many new believers last Sunday, but they moved to 6-3-1 and are right behind the 7-3 Chicago Bears in the NFC North.
Onto the AFC East, Josh Allen‘s record-breaking performance gave the Buffalo Bills a much-needed result to keep pace with the red-hot New England Patriots.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks have moved up our ranking despite their loss to the Los Angeles Rams. While Sam Darnold had four picks during this contest, his team only lost by two points, cementing themselves as a borderline Super Bowl contender.
The Super Bowl contenders
5. Denver Broncos
4. New England Patriots
3. Indianapolis Colts
2. Los Angeles Rams
1. Philadelphia Eagles
We have our concerns about Bo Nix‘s consistency and turnover woes, but the Denver Broncos’ defense is certainly Super Bowl-caliber even with Pat Surtain II missing all of November.
Out east, the New England Patriots are 9-2 with top-10 offenses and defenses after a comfortable home win over the New York Jets.
Staying in the AFC, the 
Indianapolis Colts had a bye week as MVP frontrunnerJonathan Taylor prepares to face a desperate Kansas City Chiefs squad.
Nevertheless, with all the compliments we’ve made along this way to the top, two teams stand above the rest for now. The Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles both have championship DNA and the versatility against the NFL’s elite in a multitude of ways.
These two are once again on a collision course, except this time it could happen in the NFC Championship. Matthew Stafford and Jalen Hurts are MVP contenders and, based on their track record, will continue to improve as this year goes on.
It’ll take a Herculean effort to knock either of these NFC giants off, even in a single-elimination format.
