Patriots Fall to No. 3 in Week 13 MMQB Power Rankings
A win in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys wasn't enough to keep the New England Patriots atop the power rankings.
The MMQB's Week 13 power rankings have the Baltimore Ravens as the lone No. 1 team after sharing the spot with New England last week. The San Francisco 49ers, who were ranked No. 3 last week, move up one spot to No. 2 overall and push the Patriots down to No. 3 overall in the rankings.
Here is what the MMQB staff had to say about New England this week:
"When was the last time Brady and Belichick lost a bad-weather game in Foxboro? It wasn’t going to happen–especially against Dallas, of all teams–and it was apparent after the first quarter the Cowboys couldn’t handle the conditions. Special teams (blocked punt that led to a TD) and defense (INT led to FG) again were the edge, and that seems to be the Patriot Way in 2019."
While the Patriots are one of two teams in the league to be the first to hit 10 wins this season, it's not enough to proclaim them as even one of the top two teams in the league. The Ravens blew out the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football, which marks the third straight week they have handily beaten a playoff-worthy team. The 49ers also blew out the Green Bay Packers in Sunday Night Football this week and have shown an ability to be explosive on both sides of the ball.
New England continues to struggle on offense, which has caused a few wins this season to come by a very short margin of victory, which included very few points scored over the past couple weeks. Tom Brady and the Patriots offense have managed to only score 30 points over their last two games. That is troubling when considering that they face the Houston Texans in Week 13 and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14, both of which have very potent offenses.
If Phillip Dorsett and Mohamed Sanu are able to return from injury this week it would be a huge boost to a Patriots offense that has already welcomed back first round pick N'Keal Harry and starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn. Week 13's roster could be the healthiest roster New England has had on the offensive side of the ball since the regular season started. Hopefully that will lead to more more rhythm, more points, and ultimately a less grumpy Tom Brady going forward.
