Welcome to Week 14 of the 2023 NFL season. After this past weekend, we have a shuffle in the top 10 of this week’s Power Rankings. The San Francisco 49ers outdueled the Philadelphia Eagles in a matchup that left no questions of who should be No. 1 in this week’s ranks. The Kansas City Chiefs struggled against the Green Bay Packers, and the Cleveland Browns were overpowered by the Los Angeles Rams. Also, one team no one could have expected at season’s beginning has debuted in the top 10.
In addition to the updated rankings, our NFL Nation reporters name one player or coach who has been a pleasant surprise for each team. These players/coaches have exceeded preseason expectations or have stepped up into their roles in a big way.
Let’s get started with our new No. 1 – the 49ers.
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
Jump to a team:ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CINCLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | INDJAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MINNE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SFSEA | TB | TEN | WSH
1. San Francisco 49ers (9-3)
Week 13 ranking: 2
Pleasant surprise: QB Brock Purdy
For anyone who watched Purdy last year, it’s not surprising that he has had a productive year. This is more about the extent of that production and that it has come so soon after he suffered a torn UCL in his right elbow in late January. Through 12 games, Purdy leads the NFL in QBR (75.6), completion percentage (70.2%) and yards per attempt (9.6), among other key categories. Purdy hasn’t just picked up where he left off, he has been better and helped elevate the Niners’ offense to heights it hasn’t previously reached since coach Kyle Shanahan arrived in 2017. – Nick Wagoner
2. Philadelphia Eagles (10-2)
Week 13 ranking: 1
Pleasant surprise: ST coach Michael Clay
The Eagles’ special teams group turned from a weakness in 2022 to a strength this season. Philadelphia entered Week 13 with the No. 1 special teams ranking in the NFL, per ESPN’s Football Power Index. Britain Covey is third in punt return average (14 yards per return), Jake Elliott is 6-of-7 on field goal attempts of 50-plus yards, and the coverage units have been sound. – Tim McManus
3. Miami Dolphins (9-3)
Week 13 ranking: 6
Pleasant surprise: OL Austin Jackson
Jackson flashed potential in 2022, but he wasn’t on the field long enough to see it come to fruition. After playing two games last season, Jackson has not missed a snap for the Dolphins in 2023 and has anchored quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s blind side. Miami declined Jackson’s fifth-year option as a 2020 first-round pick, instead asking him to prove himself after an inconsistent start to his NFL career. He has done that so far in 2023, and he very well could be back with the team next year on a multiyear contract. – Marcel Louis-Jacques
4. Baltimore Ravens (9-3)
Week 13 ranking: 3
Pleasant surprise: DT Justin Madubuike
Madubuike has gone from being a very good player to an All-Pro. He has dominated the interior of the line, becoming the first Ravens player since Terrell Suggs in 2017 to record double-digit sacks in a season with 10 so far. A third-round pick in 2020, Madubuike had 8.5 sacks in his first three seasons combined (42 games). This year, a contract year, he has recorded at least a half-sack in nine straight games, which is the longest active streak in the NFL. “He’s walked in this year with just mission-minded [focus] from the beginning,” Ravens defensive line coach Anthony Weaver said. “I’m talking about in March, and to see it all come to fruition has been awesome.” – Jamison Hensley
5. Dallas Cowboys (9-3)
Week 13 ranking: 5
Pleasant surprise: CB DaRon Bland
Who else could it be? Bland leads the NFL with eight interceptions, and his five pick-sixes are a single-season NFL record. All this while filling in for Pro Bowl CB Trevon Diggs, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee in a Week 3 practice. The Cowboys thought they would be OK with Bland, who had five picks last year to lead the team, but they couldn’t have expected he would do this. In his past two games, he has given up a lot of catches and yards, so maybe he is hitting a wall or just learning what life is like for a regular cornerback. – Todd Archer
6. Detroit Lions (9-3)
Week 13 ranking: 7
Pleasant surprise: TE Sam LaPorta
There were obviously expectations for the Lions rookie after being selected in the second round (34th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft out of Iowa, but LaPorta has been better than advertised. Last season, Lions GM Brad Holmes made an unpopular decision to trade Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings and decided to go with a committee approach at the position. But this season, LaPorta has been the guy. His NFL career is off to a great start with the third-most catches (64) and fourth-most receiving yards (679) through the first 12 games of a tight end’s career in NFL history. Not many people expected this type of production from day one. – Eric Woodyard
Editor’s Picks
Best, worst of NFL Week 13: Bengals’ offense surprises, 49ers roll over Eagles, Texans’ defense shines
Let’s overreact to NFL Week 13: Steelers’ playoff hopes, Niners’ win-out chances, Tyreek Hill’s MVP bid
Unconventional NFL MVP candidates: Barnwell makes cases for nine players to win
7. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4)
Week 13 ranking: 4
Pleasant surprise: WR Rashee Rice
Rice, the Chiefs’ 2023 second-round draft pick, has been the team’s best wide receiver so far this season. He leads the Chiefs’ wideouts by significant margins in catches (52), yards (591) and touchdowns (five). The Chiefs entered the season thinking Rice would be more of a developmental player, but with many of their other wide receivers being unproductive, they had to speed up his developmental schedule, and he has delivered. – Adam Teicher
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4)
Week 13 ranking: 8
Pleasant surprise: LB Josh Allen
Allen is having a career year (13.5 sacks) and has a chance to break the franchise’s single-season sack record (14.5 set in 2017 by Calais Campbell). Allen had 10.5 sacks as a rookie in 2019 but hasn’t had more than 7.5 in a season since. He is in a contract year, but nobody expected him to be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. – Michael DiRocco
9. Buffalo Bills (6-6)
Week 13 ranking: 10
Pleasant surprise: LB Terrel Bernard
The Bills entered the season with an unknown at middle linebacker following the departure of five-year starter Tremaine Edmunds in free agency, but Bernard has more than stepped up to the plate. The 2022 third-round pick is now the Bills’ middle linebacker for the foreseeable future. Bernard, 24, has risen to the occasion without Matt Milano alongside him, and he leads the team in tackles (104), interceptions (three) and fumbles recovered (three). – Alaina Getzenberg
10. Houston Texans (7-5)
Week 13 ranking: 12
Pleasant surprise: WR Nico Collins
The emergence of Collins has been as much of a pleasant surprise as the play of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. Collins has been Stroud’s No. 1 receiver with 85 targets and 59 receptions, and he ranks ninth in the NFL in receiving yards (991). Before the season, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said their receiving core would surprise some people, and Collins has answered that call. In Week 13, Collins had 191 yards against the Denver Broncos, the fifth most in a single game this season. – DJ Bien-Aime
11. Cleveland Browns (7-5)
Week 13 ranking: 11
Pleasant surprise: OT Dawand Jones
The Browns drafted Jones in the fourth round this year. Initially, the team viewed the 6-foot-8, 374-pound product out of Ohio State as a work in progress. But Jones impressed during training camp. After Jack Conklin suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener, Jones was pushed into the starting lineup at right tackle and has thrived ever since. Jones has a pass block win rate of 86.8% and a run block win rate of 74.5%, despite battling various injuries over the past month. He appears to be a long-term bookend in Cleveland. – Jake Trotter
12. Green Bay Packers (6-6)
Week 13 ranking: 17
Pleasant surprise: DC Joe Barry
Those who wanted – and perhaps still want – Matt LaFleur to make a change at defensive coordinator might want to look away. The Packers have climbed to No. 9 in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing just 20.3 points per game. While they’re still below the middle of the league in yards allowed (340 YPG, 18th) and near the bottom in rushing yards allowed (136.3, 29th), nothing matters more than points. Other than the 34-20 loss to the Lions in Week 4 and perhaps the fourth-quarter collapse in Week 2 vs. Atlanta, Barry’s defense has done enough to give the Packers a chance to win at almost every turn this season – Rob Demovsky
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)
Week 13 ranking: 9
Pleasant surprise: RB Jaylen Warren
To be fair, Warren’s breakout isn’t a surprise to anyone inside the building – or anyone who has been following the 2022 undrafted free agent since he started turning heads last season at Steelers training camp. Warren is an explosive, slippery back who leads the league with 5.9 yards per carry in his second season, and maybe even more impressive: he’s third in the league with 177 rushing yards over expected, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Traditionally, the Steelers want to be a one-back team, but it’s impossible to ignore Warren. As a result, the Steelers have one of the best running back duos in the league. – Brooke Pryor
14. Los Angeles Rams (6-6)
Week 13 ranking: 16
Pleasant surprise: WR Puka Nacua
Not many could have predicted that the Rams’ fifth-round pick would lead the team in receiving in Week 13, even with Cooper Kupp missing time because of a hamstring injury. Nacua has impressed the Rams’ coaching staff and his teammates with his physical play and maturity. The rookie has 77 catches for 1,029 yards this season, which is the franchise record for receiving yards in a rookie season. His yardage total is also the fourth most through a player’s first 12 games since the 1970 merger. The Rams didn’t come into the season with much depth at receiver, so Nacua’s emergence has been a welcome surprise. Nacua suffered an AC sprain Sunday, but the injury is not expected to affect his availability this week, according to coach Sean McVay. – Sarah Barshop
15. Seattle Seahawks (6-6)
Week 13 ranking: 14
Pleasant surprise: WR Jake Bobo
The Seahawks have had more disappointments than pleasant surprises, but Bobo falls squarely into the latter category. Undrafted rookies are usually long shots to make NFL rosters, and when they’re receivers who run a 4.99-second 40-yard dash, as Bobo did at his UCLA pro day, it’s pretty much a non-starter. But Bobo showed the Seahawks over the offseason that he’s a bit faster than that time suggests, and his other skills can compensate for his lack of speed. After standing out in the preseason and training camp, he has caught 15 passes for 171 yards and scored three touchdowns (one rushing) as Seattle’s No. 4 receiver. – Brady Henderson