25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7, Last Week: 27)
Week 12 Result: Defeated Atlanta, 35-22
This is a crazy stat involving Jameis Winston, from CBS Sports. Winston is the first quarterback since 1980 to have 20 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in the first 11 games of a season. That’s just insane. He now has six more interceptions than the next quarterback on the list, Philip Rivers. On the flip side, we love fat guy touchdowns, and Tampa gave us a record, as Vita Vea, at 347 pounds, became the heaviest player in NFL history with a receiving touchdown.
26. New York Jets (4-7, Last Week: 29)
Week 12 Result: Defeated Oakland, 34-3
Where did this Jets team come from? Who saw a 34-3 blasting of the Raiders coming? In any event, Sam Darnold has played better, and the Jets are salvaging what they can after a 1-7 start with three straight wins. They’re only two games back in the wild card, but the schedule isn’t favorable with their last three games against the Ravens, Steelers, and Bills. They do get the Bengals and Dolphins over the next two weeks and could get to 6-7 and ride a five-game winning streak into that Ravens game.
27. Detroit Lions (3-7-1, Last Week: 24)
Week 12 Result: Lost to Washington, 19-16
The Lions have just about hit rock bottom. It wasn’t bad enough that they’ve been without Matthew Stafford and have been tossing Jeff Driskel out, but now they go and lose to the 1-9 Redskins. The offense is not good, and the defense continues to let them down, and that’s now seven losses in the last eight games since their 2-0-1 start, which now feels like an eternity ago. Matt Patricia should be squarely on the hot seat.
28. Denver Broncos (3-8, Last Week: 26)
Week 12 Result: Lost to Buffalo, 20-3
Not having Joe Flacco certainly doesn’t help, but this offense has been awful under Brandon Allen. At this point, there’s absolutely no reason for the Broncos not to start Drew Lock and begin evaluating him.
29. Miami Dolphins (2-9, Last Week: 28)
Week 12 Result: Lost to Cleveland, 41-24
There’s the Miami team we’ve been expecting again. The two wins were nice and showed the future is very good under Brian Flores, but this team is still eyeing that high pick in the NFL Draft. The top pick is likely out of play with how bad the Bengals have been, but they’re right back in the mix for the second pick with Washington winning.
30. New York Giants (2-9, Last Week: 30)
Week 12 Result: Lost to Chicago, 19-14
It’s just been a bad year for Big Blue. The Giants have now lost seven straight games, and nothing is going right for them. Injuries have been a factor, but overall, this team is just a mess, and it doesn’t get any better with the Packers coming up in Week 13. At least they’re in line for another top-three pick in the draft.
31. Washington Redskins (2-9, Last Week: 31)
Week 12 Result: Defeated Detroit, 19-16
In a battle of struggling offenses, the Redskins found a way to score their second victory of the season on a game-winning drive from Dwayne Haskins for his first. FL victory. They scored three interceptions, and Terry McLaurin continued his fine rookie season, which has been one of the lone bright spots of the entire season in Washington. But in this type of season, when you get a chance to win and take a selfie with a fan in the middle of a game, you take it.
32. Cincinnati Bengals (0-11, Last Week: 32)
Week 12 Result: Lost to Pittsburgh, 16-10
For a short time, it actually looked like this was going to be the week the Bengals finally put a “1” in the win column, taking a 7-3 lead into halftime. They could not hold on, even after Mason Rudolph was benched, and Zac Taylor now owns the worst start as head coach in Bengals’ franchise history at 0-11. The good news is that Washington’s win means Cincinnati now has a two-game lead for the number one pick in the draft with five weeks left. And three of their final five games are against the Browns and Patriots. It’s almost time to mark the Bengals at the top spot of the draft in ink. The question is, will Zac Taylor be around to see a second draft in Cincinnati?
Bill Riccette is an NFL writer for Pro Football Network. You can find him on twitter @Bill_Riccette