Which NFL teams make up the top 10? Plus, which preseason hot seats are boiling or have cooled off completely?
Welcome to Week 12 of the 2023 NFL season. The Denver Broncos are on a four-game win streak after a Sunday night comeback win against the Minnesota Vikings. They are one of the teams rising in the ranks this week, while the Los Angeles Chargers are among teams whose ranks took a hit after another loss. And the “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles determined who got the No. 1 spot this week.
In addition to the updated rankings, our NFL Nation reporters have taken a look back at who they nominated for the hot seat in our preseason rankings. How do they rate that hot seat now? Boiling, hot, cold or freezing. The picks ranged from players to coaches, and some have made significant improvements while others’ seats are hotter than ever.
Let’s start with the team who won last night’s showdown, the Eagles.
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
Jump to a team:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
Week 11 ranking: 1
Preseason hot seat: Special teams coach Michael Clay
Current temperature of hot seat: Cold
The special teams had a number of missteps during the 2022 season, including a costly one in Super Bowl LVII against the Chiefs. But Clay’s unit has been much more buttoned up this year despite some personnel turnover and having young players in key positions. Second-year punt returner Britain Covey has been a standout — his 14 yards per return entering Week 11 ranked third in the NFL. — Tim McManus
Week 11 ranking: 3
Preseason hot seat: DT Javon Kinlaw
Current temperature of hot seat: Hot
Finally healthy and able to practice consistently, Kinlaw has been solid but unspectacular in a backup role this year. The Niners occasionally plug him in as their fifth down lineman when they play heavy fronts and rotate him in behind Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead. He has 10 tackles, four pressures and a pair of deflected passes while often taking on multiple blockers to free up others on running plays. Kinlaw has been at his best defending the run, posting a 34.4% run stop win rate that is double what he had last year. He’s set to be an unrestricted free agent after the season because the Niners declined his fifth-year option, and though it’s possible he could be brought back, the Niners are unlikely to make a sizable investment to keep him. — Nick Wagoner
Week 11 ranking: 2
Preseason hot seat: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Current temperature of hot seat: Hot
Edwards-Helaire’s fourth, and most likely last, season with the Chiefs has been his least productive. The 2020 first-round draft pick doesn’t play much, and he has rushed for only 129 yards, which puts him on a pace for a career low. Worse, Edwards-Helaire is averaging 3.6 yards per carry, by far the worst of his career. He will likely finish the season in Kansas City, but don’t expect the Chiefs to re-sign him when it’s over. — Adam Teicher
Week 11 ranking: 4
Preseason hot seat: QB Jared Goff
Current temperature of hot seat: Cold
The Lions are off to their best start since 1962, and sitting comfortably atop the NFC North standings in position to win their first division title since 1993. Goff has been a major factor this season, as he has continued to revitalize his career under coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Goff has 2,743 passing yards through 10 games this season as well as 16 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. The next thing he has to prove is whether he can lead the team in the playoffs. — Eric Woodyard
Week 11 ranking: 5
Preseason hot seat: WR Rashod Bateman
Current temperature of hot seat: Hot
Bateman continues to flash at times, but he still hasn’t made a convincing argument so far for Baltimore to pick up his fifth-year option. He ranks third among Ravens wide receivers with 20 catches and fourth with 215 receiving yards. Bateman is still having problems getting into the end zone — he has four touchdown catches in three seasons, and there are seven wide receivers in Bateman’s 2021 draft class who have more. It hasn’t helped that quarterback Lamar Jackson has overthrown him a couple of times this season when he got behind the secondary. However, Bateman’s opportunities could increase because of tight end Mark Andrews’ likely season-ending ankle injury. — Jamison Hensley
Week 11 ranking: 7
Preseason hot seat: Coach Mike McCarthy
Current temperature of hot seat: Cold
McCarthy has the Cowboys poised to make the playoffs for a third straight year, something that has not happened since the mid-1990s. But his spot on the hot seat had nothing to do with the regular season, short of a disastrous record no one would have seen coming. His seat becomes the centerpiece in the offseason. The Cowboys have gone to the wild-card and divisional rounds each of the past two seasons, but does he need to make at least a conference title game? Only Jerry Jones knows the answer to that one. After Thanksgiving, five of the Cowboys’ final six opponents have winning records. McCarthy’s seat could change temperature by January. — Todd Archer
Stephen A. Smith explains why he is not impressed by the Cowboys’ play over the past three weeks of the NFL season.
Week 11 ranking: 6
Preseason hot seat: OT Austin Jackson
Current temperature of hot seat: Cold
Entering the season, who would’ve thought Jackson would be the Dolphins’ most reliable lineman? After playing in just two games last season, he has played all 621 offensive snaps for the Dolphins in 2023, allowing only two sacks. Miami’s coaching staff has been bullish on Jackson, despite his injuries in 2022 and inconsistency in 2021, moving him to right tackle last season. He has excelled since switching positions, and at this rate, he is a safe bet to return to Miami after this final year of his rookie contract. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Week 11 ranking: 8
Preseason hot seat: Coach Kevin Stefanski
Current temperature of hot seat: Freezing
Stefanski is a lot closer to being the NFL Coach of the Year again than he is to being fired. Despite season-ending injuries to All-Pro running back Nick Chubb (left knee) and $230 million quarterback Deshaun Watson (right shoulder), the Browns are in the thick of the AFC playoff picture. They also have four wins that were decided in the final two minutes of regulation, which, according to ESPN Stats & Information, is a franchise record. The Browns have been stellar on defense and on special teams, and with Stefanski calling plays, they’ve been good enough offensively. Stefanski could be on the verge of a contract extension. — Jake Trotter
Week 11 ranking: 9
Preseason hot seat: OLB Josh Allen
Current temperature of hot seat: Freezing
This season, Allen has 9.5 sacks and is just one shy of his career high — which he set in 2019 when he was a complementary rusher alongside Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue. Allen is third in the league with 54 QB pressures, and his QB pressure percentage (19%) ranks second only to the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons. It’s hard to see the Jaguars not signing him to an extension or using the franchise tag on him. — Michael DiRocco
Week 11 ranking: 14
Preseason hot seat: OT Spencer Brown
Current temperature of hot seat: Cold
The temperature has turned down 11 games into Brown’s third season, in part, because of inconsistency on offense overall. In only three games fewer than he played last year, Brown has been attributed two sacks compared to seven in 2022. His 89.9% pass block win rate is just under last year’s (91.4%) and the lowest among the team’s starting linemen, but he has a career-high 78.
