JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser's pre-Week 14 2021 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are …

Rank.Team (record) | Prev. | Comment

1. Arizona Cardinals (10-2) | 1 | Seven-and-oh on the road; all by double digits
2. Green Bay Packers (9-3) | 2 | Bye
3. New England Patriots (9-4) | 3 | Time to take them really seriously again
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-3) | 5 | Because they're Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski
5. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4) | 7 | Winning with D – and looking like AFC West favorites again
6. Tennessee Titans (8-4) | 6 | Bye
7. Dallas Cowboys (8-4) | 9 | All about postseason prep now in Big D
8. Baltimore Ravens (8-4) | 4 | Still best in AFC North – for now
9. Los Angeles Rams (8-4) | 11 | Got right against Duuuval
10. Buffalo Bills (7-5) | 8 | So many chances
11. Los Angeles Chargers (7-5) | 16 | Still so good – and still so inconsistent
12. Indianapolis Colts (7-6) | 13 | Bye Sunday … then home against Pats, at Cards
13. Cincinnati Bengals (7-5) | 10 | Up again, down again – but very much in playoff race
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5-1) | 18 | Huuuuuuuuge victory over Ravens Sunday
15. Miami Dolphins (6-7) | 20 | Amazingly, the 'Fins are in the playoff chase …
16. Washington Football Team (6-6) | 24 | … and just as amazingly, the "WFT" is, too
17. Cleveland Browns (6-6) | 17 | Bye
18. Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) | 21 | Mania-cal again
19. Las Vegas Raiders (6-6) | 12 | Lone victory in last five games OT over Dallas
20. Denver Broncos (6-6) | 14 | Playoff defense but offense must produce
21. San Francisco 49ers (6-6) | 15 | If 49ers miss postseason, being swept by Seattle may be why
22. Minnesota Vikings (5-7) | 19 | Losses such as Sunday's usually haunt at season's end
23. Atlanta Falcons (5-7) | 22 | Lone victory in last four over Duuval
24. New Orleans Saints (5-7) | 23 | Five consecutive losses – and still not out of playoff chase
25. Carolina Panthers (5-7) | 25 | Bye
26. Seattle Seahawks (4-8) | 28 | May be out of it, but not playing like it
27. New York Giants (4-8) | 26 | Another long December for Big Blue
28. Chicago Bears (4-8) | 27 | Lone victory in last seven games by two over Detroit
29. New York Jets (3-9) | 29 | A lot of familiar teams at the top of the '22 draft
30. Houston Texans (2-10) | 30 | Lost 10 of 11 since Week 1 win over Duuval
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10) | 31 | Averaging 10 points/game last six games
32. Detroit Lions (1-10-1) | 32 | Playing better than their record these days