Welcome to Week 15 of the 2024 NFL season. The Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs kept rolling last week to move to 12-1, but a few wild games shook up our standings.
The Buffalo Bills were upset by the Los Angeles Rams, the Philadelphia Eagles narrowly escaped the Carolina Panthers, and the Arizona Cardinals lost their third straight game.
In addition to the updated rankings, we asked our NFL Nation reporters to pick the most shocking statistical ranking -- good or bad -- for the team they cover. Where does quarterbackBryce Young rank among the best in the league right now? Is the Minnesota Vikings' defense sliding?
Let's start with the Lions.
Our power panel of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities evaluates how NFL teams stack up against one another, ranking them from 1 to 32.
Previous rankings: Preseason|Week 2|Week 3| Week 4| Week 5| Week 6| Week 7| Week 8| Week 9| Week 10| Week 11| Week 12| Week 13| Week 14
**Jump to a team:**br/>ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CINbr/>CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | INDbr/>JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MINbr/>NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SFbr/>SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
Most shocking ranking: 1st in total points per game
Detroit's offense has posted 20-plus points for 11 straight games while averaging a league-high 31 points. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson uses a creative approach to getting the most out of his playmakers, including quarterback Jared Goff, running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, receivers Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown, among others. Detroit also has a point differential of plus-183, which is its highest through the first 13 games of any season in franchise history. This offense has appeared unstoppable at times. -- Eric Woodyard
Most shocking ranking: 28th in sack percentage
The Chiefs sack opposing quarterbacks on just 5.5% of dropbacks and put pressure on them just 32% of the time, which is 22nd in the league. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's defense is still blitzing 36.5% of the time, which is the third-highest mark, but it is far from the dominant pass-rushing team it was last season when the Chiefs led the NFL in sack percentage (8.8%). -- Adam Teicher
Most shocking ranking: 1st in total defense
The Eagles had one of the worst defenses in the league in 2023 and have done a complete 180 under new coordinator Vic Fangio.Philadelphia allows the fewest yards per game (284.2) and is tied for second in points per game (18) compared with 30th last season (25.2). The pass defense has shown the most growth, jumping from 31st (252.7 yards per game) to second (178.5).-- Tim McManus
Most shocking ranking: 19th in time of possession
The Bills are second in the NFL in points margin per game (9.9) and have the ninth-most rushes per game (27.8). Despite all of that, winning time of possession (29:40) has not been a strength. Part of that is due to the Bills' ability to score quickly, as they're averaging 30.5 points per game. It's also due to the defense struggling to get off the field -- it's eighth worst in third-down defense, which was an extreme issue against the Rams. -- Alaina Getzenberg
Most shocking ranking: 17th in yards allowed per game
The Vikings' defense ranks No. 1 in efficiency and No. 2 in expected points added, but it allows 337.8 yards per game. In fact, over the past three weeks, Vikings opponents have averaged 433.3 yards. Largely, that tells us there are holes in the Vikings' zone coverages that can be exploited. But Minnesota has limited scoring to 18.5 points per game, sixth in the NFL, in part because it has the second-most takeaways (27). -- Kevin Seifert
**Most shocking ranking:**T-15th in total sacks
With 32 sacks, the Steelers' pass rush ranks near the middle of the pack -- a surprise given the Steelers and T.J. Watt usually rank near the top. But don't mistake this number for a lack of effectiveness. After all, the Steelers lead the league with 28 takeaways. Prior to facing the Bengals, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin noted opponents are trying to neutralize Pittsburgh's pass rush by running a lot of max protection and three-man routes. Austin didn't sound too concerned about the lack of sacks. "Sometimes the pressure is just as good as a sack if we can force an errant throw or force some things like that," he said. -- Brooke Pryor
Most shocking ranking: 32nd in dropped passes
The Packers had an issue with dropped passes last season, but nothing like this. They lead the league in both drops (26) and drop percentage (7.3%) and already have one more drop than they had in all of 2023 (when their 25 drops were tied for 10th most), according to ESPN Research. Green Bay has three players in the top 10 in drops. Dontayvion Wicks is No. 1 with nine drops,Jayden Reed is tied for second with seven, and Romeo Doubs is tied for ninth with five. -- Rob Demovsky
Week 14 result: Bye
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