NFL Midseason Power Rankings of the 2023-2024 Season

LR - Stands for Last Ranking

Bottom Nine Teams #32 – #24

The NFL 2023-2024 season is just over halfway done and it continues to get clearer which teams are the top dogs and which teams are fighting to just pick up a few wins.

#32 Arizona Cardinals (LR:28) – Falling into last place this time around is the Arizona Cardinals. They started the season at the bottom, were a team that fought hard and got a huge upset over the Cowboys. Since, however, they’ve somewhat devolved into the team that was more or less expected of them. They just got shutout 27-0 to the Browns and have a bottom-five defense and offense. The only saving grace is that Kyler Murray should return this week, his performance will be intriguing for both parties’ future.

#31 Carolina Panthers (LR:31) – After finally securing their first win of the season they lost once again to the Colts. It has been a hard season and not having their first-round pick for the upcoming draft hurts the morale for sure. Bryce Young has not had an ideal season for sure but a lot of that is due to the situation he’s in. Clearly, he is talented and needs more time and development along with the rest of the team.

#30 New York Giants (LR:29) – The Giants have one of the worst offenses of the modern era. They’re averaging just 11.5 points a game, now it’s been announced that Daniel Jones has torn his ACL and backup Tyrod Taylor is still out on IR. It’s been very tough especially after the Giants made the Wild Card last season. Their defense has been better but still not good, ranking 24th in the league. They are a 2-win season and could finish with a 2-win season when the season ends.

#29 New England Patriots (LR:27) – After the big upset of the Bills, it’s been more or less the same for the Patriots who have the second-worst offense and sixth-worst defense. The Patriots just need an identity change. It’s either that or a massive personnel change. Either way for fans, hopefully, the Pats look a bit different going into next season.

#28 Chicago Bears (LR:32) – The Chicago Bears were last in the previous rankings, since then, they’ve won a pair of games and been competitive in some other ones. With Justin Fields out, the Tyson Bagent experience has been mixed but has been turnover-prone in recent games. Justin Fields' return should boost their offense which has been solid as of late. They traded for a huge pass-rusher in Montez Sweat to help their future, overall the defense still needs quite a bit of work.

#27 Los Angeles Rams (LR:20) – The injury to Stafford really showcased their issues and lack of talent depth without their stars. They managed to just put up three points against the Packers who aren’t exactly world-beaters. A below-average offense and below-average defense has resulted in a below-average season. At least the Rams finally have their own first-round pick again.

#26 Green Bay Packers (LR:15) – Packers fans are not used to having rough seasons, but it’s what they’re experiencing currently even if they are coming off a win against the Rams. Still not seeing enough out of Joran Love to be confident. There’s plenty of more season for him to improve and impress his staff but he’s got to take those steps. His decision-making, and accuracy have been the biggest problems so far but those are things that are adjustable.

#25 Tennessee Titans (LR:21) – The Titans could have something in Will Levis. After having an amazing debut, it didn’t go great against the Steelers in the follow-up. They are starting Levis moving forward for good which will allow for a good judgment of how their future could look offensively. Defensively they’ve been a solid team and are actually 10th in points allowed.

#24 Denver Broncos (LR:30) – The Broncos were one of the biggest messes for the first chunk of the season and obviously while at 3-5, not in a great spot, they’ve shown a lot of fight and are coming off back to back wins. The win against the Packers was hard fought and earned, the win over the Chiefs was the surprising one especially how well their defense performed. It’ll be interesting to see how they continue their play and if they can extend their winning streak or start to revert back to what we saw earlier in the season.

Middle of the Road #23 – #18

This section is for teams that have enough talent to be a hard win for just about any team and while they might not compete for a division title this year they may not be far off.

#23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LR:12) – Their win formula was never sustainable. Relying on their defense and their pass game to be great to win games. Their run game scares no one and teams have reacted that way and putting focus on their receiving threats. Their defense has started to give up some bigger performances, especially against CJ Stroud who absolutely tore them apart. Now they’ve lost four games in a row and while the season is technically not over they’re going to have to make some big improvements to remain threats.

#22 Washington Commanders (LR:25) – Still an odd team, from losing big, losing close, and winning and being competitive in games that they probably shouldn’t be. They played the Eagles close twice and are coming off a win against the Patriots. Sam Howell in his first year as an NFL starter has been solid. He’s had some good performances but also some bad ones and some really questionable decision making especially when in the RedZone. The rest of the season is very important for him to see how he’s evaluated in the eyes of the Commanders organization.

#21 Las Vegas Raiders (LR:26) – The Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels and played some inspired football against the Giants and dominated them. Now it was against the Giants, but it’s good for them regardless. They finally got the run game going against them which is much needed, their lack of run game has been shocking considering they have Josh Jacobs. So a good energy win and are 3-2 on their last five but still need a lot of work, it is nice to see them playing hard though.

#20 Atlanta Falcons (LR:24) – Since week 3, they have gone 2-5 which is not ideal but is somewhat expected considering they still are a very young team, especially offensively. There is a lot of talent there and they can move the ball a decent bit but struggle with finishing drives and scoring as they’re 25th in the league in that department. Now, they’re only a game behind the Saints for first place in the division but it’s becoming more likely that those teams are going in opposite directions in terms of momentum.

#19 Indianapolis Colts (LR:22) – Defensively they’ve been pretty bad this season, but finally they had a good performance against the struggling Panthers. Offensively they’ve been good pretty much all season even while missing the dynamic rookie Anthony Richardson. Gardner Minshew has been serviceable but clearly, he’s more fit as a backup in this league at this time.

#18 New York Jets (LR:23) – The Jets 3-game winning streak came to an end against a talented opponent in the Chargers. The offensive performance we’ve seen out of the Jets is more or less what most expected with Zach Wilson at the helm even if it clearly is not all on him, which needs to be clarified, this isn’t all on Zach. Even if it was expected, the team needs more from the offense if they’re going to stay in the Wild Card race which they’ve managed to stay in with some hard-fought wins.

Wildcards (Right Out of Top Ten) #17 – #11

These teams have a good shot of making the playoffs for the upcoming season, whether that be as a Wild Card team or a winner of a weaker division.

#17 Pittsburgh Steelers (LR:19) – Some might see this as a little low considering they’re 5-3 currently but, I just don’t see any threat as an actual contender in any way. The defense is slightly above average, their offense is well below average and plain. They do manage to win games regardless but they’re the worst team in their division realistically and no one fears them going further into the season, just very well coached.

#16 Houston Texans (LR:17) – Wow, what about that performance from CJ Stroud. Not only did he break the rookie passing record for yards in a single game. Not only is he above a 100 quarterback rating. He has only thrown one interception this entire season. 279 attempts and just one pick is outrageous and the confidence the Texans have in him is clear and it’s easy to see why. The Texans have performed better than most could’ve imagined when the season started. Their offense is above-average and even their defense is in that range as well. Considering how young they are on top of that, there’s lots to be excited about in Houston.

#15 Minnesota Vikings (LR:18) – Joshua Dobbs had the performance of his career and led the Vikings to the come-from-behind victory. With that win, they have won four games in a row and are right back into the Wild Card race, the question, however, is it sustainable? Without Kirk Cousins, can Dobbs continue to put them into a scenario to win? They have some winnable games in the next four games and if Jefferson can come back, maybe this team can sneak into the playoffs.

#14 New Orleans Saints (LR:16) – The Saints are a streaky team. They’ve won back-to-back games twice now and lost back-to-back games twice as well. Currently, they’re on a two-game win streak and it could be huge if they can put together a longer streak in a positive direction. Offensively they’ve been pretty average but it’s trending in a positive direction with Alvin Kamara’s return. Defensively they’ve been a good team and continue to be one and cause opposing teams’ fits, being 7th in scoring and forcing plenty of turnovers.

#13 Los Angeles Chargers (LR:9) – For the Chargers, they’ve dropped just a little bit in the rankings but that’s not to say they aren’t a good team or superbly talented because they are. They still have a top-ten offense and their defense has been disappointing even if they haven’t been horrible. They’re up to two wins in a row in convincing fashion but now they go matchup with the Lions in a huge game. If they can manage to get a win, they’ll find themselves back in the top ten shortly.

#12 Cleveland Browns (LR:13) – This defense can be just so dominant at times it’s frightening for non-Browns fans. They just shut out the Cardinals, it doesn’t matter what team it is, it’s still very impressive. Still could make some real improvements on the offensive side. They rely a lot on their run game in spite of losing Nick Chubb a few weeks ago. The passing game is still poor and they need Deshaun Watson to take some steps in the right direction if they want to continue to compete within their division.

#11 Seattle Seahawks (LR:10) – The Seahawks have been good this season, they’re 5-3 and tied for the top of their division. The problem is, however; that they are coming off a bad loss against the Ravens where they got dismantled. They have not utilized Kenneth Walker enough, it’s somewhat shocking when they’re halfway through the game and he only has a few carries considering how explosive he is. Another issue is Geno Smith’s recent performances, he has not played nearly as well in the last few weeks and the offense in general has seemed out of whack. They need to tighten up if they’re going to make a push into the playoffs.

Contenders #10 – #6

These teams on paper should be close to locks to make the playoffs, even if it’s in a wild card spot. There is a chance that they won’t but there is so much talent it would be a disappointment if they failed to make the postseason.

#10 Miami Dolphins (LR:5) – So the Miami Dolphins are 6-3, they have the number one offense in the league, number one in passing, number two in rushing, and yet they sit at #10. That is solely due to the fact that there is now this stigma and rightfully so, that the Dolphins can’t beat good teams. They’re 0-3 against winning teams and it’s concerning. Here is the good news, they don’t play a team with a winning record for the next five weeks and then finish the last three weeks against winning teams. They need to put together some wins and momentum get ready to win against a good team and beat the stigma.

#9 Buffalo Bills (LR:3) – There are some real concerns about the consistency for the Bills. They are trading wins and losses and that’s not sustainable to make even the playoffs let alone being a true title contender which is why they’ve been moved out of the favorites category. Josh Allen has still played relatively great and their defense is top-five in scoring as well. It’s truly shocking to see them just sit at 5-4 but here they are. It would not be surprising to see them finish 13-5 or 9-8 or anywhere in between.

#8 Dallas Cowboys (LR:6) – The Cowboys are clearly a talented team and a complete team as well, there are plenty of stars all over this roster. You could argue that this team could have a similar stigma to the Dolphins with not winning the big games against the top teams but they played the Eagles extremely hard and close and nearly beat them on the road. The 3rd ranked offense and 6th ranked defense has this team in great shape to make the Wild Card unless the Eagles collapse and they can steal the division.

#7 San Francisco 49ers (LR:1) – Surprising to see the 49ers down at #7 considering they were pretty comfortable at #1 in the last rankings. The 49ers hit a real wall losing three games in a row which no one expected. Overall they’re still ranked 4th in offense and defense but recently their offense in particular has had some issues. They haven’t topped 17 points during this losing streak and some of that can be equated to the performance of Brock Purdy. He’s thrown three touchdowns and five interceptions during these last three games. He was playing at a high level for the first chunk of the season but there has always been questions about his physical limitations and we’re seeing some of them now. If the 49ers want to get back to their dominant ways, they’ll need to play within the system and play around any limitations.

#6 Cincinnati Bengals (LR:14) – Season statistics don’t look great due to their slow start through the first chunk of the season so right now they sit 23rd in offense and 12th in defense while being dead last in rush yards per game. Sounds bad but the eye test is clear and the Bengals are balling. They beat a potential playoff team against the Seahawks, beat the 49ers on the road, and then beat the Bills. Quite the resume of recent weeks and on top of that Joe Burrow is back to looking like himself and has been on fire lighting up some good defenses. The last rankings the Bengals were 1-3 at the time and still put at #14 and that was due to this expectation, this was a matter of time.

The Favorites #5 – #1

These are the teams that should be considered the favorites to not only have a successful season but make a deep playoff run if not make it to a Super Bowl.

#5 Detroit Lions (LR:8) – Balance is the Lions success. They are balanced while being protected by that elite offensive line. They’re 6th in passing and 6th in rushing and move the ball very consistently and score at a good rate as well. They do have a tendency to get a little too cute in the RedZone and it’s cost them some points which is why they’re 9th in points when they should be higher. Thankfully, they put that Ravens game behind them which was a mess, but they responded well and got a win against the Raiders. For the rest of the schedule, they should be favored in just about every game except one or two so it’ll be interesting to see where they finish.

#4 Jacksonville Jaguars (LR:11) – Another team with high expectations going into the season, they started 1-2, and some of the hype quickly started to disperse. Since then they’ve become what was expected of them, having now won 5 games in a row. They're top ten in offense and defense, and they’ve been good overall. Trevor Lawrence’s stats might not shock anyone but that’s because of a lot of the play calling in the RedZone opting for plenty of runs. It’s clear Lawrence is a top QB at this point, controlling the pace of games and throwing beautiful passes every week. Huge game this week against the 49ers to really gauge what kind of threat this team is for the postseason.

#3 Baltimore Ravens (LR:7) – 7-2, three dominant wins against playoff caliber teams, the number 6th team on offense, 1st on defense, and 1st in rushing yards per game. There is a lot to love about this team. Their elite run game was certainly expected and them being first is no surprise, that’s what their offense runs through. Defensively, they were expected to be good but they are at a level that is more elite than I would’ve expected them to be. At all levels, they’ve been productive and now they have some tough games on the schedule to see if they can keep this pace up.

#2 Kansas City Chiefs (LR:4) – After starting 0-1, the Chiefs rattled off six in a row, had a blunder against the Broncos, and then won a huge game in Germany over the Dolphins. Overall it’s been a great season even if the formula for the Chiefs’ victories has changed this season. 12th in offense is still good but it’s the defense that has really stepped up and been elite. 2nd in points, they gave Patrick Mahomes a defense that is as good as any other defense, that’s a recipe for another Super Bowl for Kansas City, especially if their offense gets a bit more explosive and like its former self.

#1 Philadelphia Eagles (LR:2) – The only team that only has one loss and currently sitting at 8-1, the Eagles sit at the top of the league right now. It hasn’t been the easiest road to this point, with the random loss to the Jets and some close calls they’ve managed to stay at the top. Offensively they’re 2nd in scoring and 7th in both passing and rushing. Defensively it hasn’t been great for the Eagles like some might expect but they’re more of a bend don’t break defense and typically they don’t break and as a result, they’ve been good enough. The schedule is not easy, five games in a row against potential playoff teams but if any team can weather the storm it’s the Eagles.