2023 NFL power rankings, Week 13: Eagles hang onto the top spot for one more week

Matt LaFleur’s team wasn’t given much of a chance at Detroit on Thanksgiving. However, you could make a strong case that the Packers played their best game of the season in surprising the Lions. The defense gave up 464 yards but sacked Jared Goff three times. Safety Jonathan Owens returned one of Goff’s three fumbles for a touchdown.

That’s three wins in the last four games for the suddenly-rejuvenated Packers. The unexpected victory, along with a few other results within the conference in Week 12, catapulted Green Bay into the murky NFC playoff picture.

With Joe Burrow out for the rest of the season, Jake Browning made his first NFL start as the Bengals hosted the Steelers. The Cincinnati defense bent a lot but didn’t break often. However, the defending AFC North champions gave up 421 total yards (153 rushing) on 68 offensive plays and let Pittsburgh control the football for 37:17.

Browning was sacked four times and picked off once, but did throw for 227 yards and a touchdown. The very bad news? The Bengals dropped to 0-4 within the division and are 1-6 in the conference. That’s tiebreaker hell.

The Colts were off last week and now had a chance to get above .500 with the win over the visiting Buccaneers. The Indianapolis’ ground game came up big against a Tampa team that came into the game with the NFL’s sixth-ranked run defense. Jonathan Taylor ran for two touchdowns and totaled 91 of the team’s 155 rushing yards.

Gus Bradley’s defense made life miserable for Buccaneers’ quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Colts totaled six sacks and forced him into a pair of turnovers. Make it three consecutive wins for Shane Steichen’s surging team.