Sports
Fox News Digital Sports NFL power rankings after Week 11 of 2024 NFL season
The Detroit Lions have finally broken through and surged to the top of the Fox News Digital Sports NFL power rankings after Week 11.
The Lions demolished the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, putting up at least 50 points on their opponent for the second time this season. With the Kansas City Chiefs’ undefeated season coming to an end, the Lions have performed well enough to move up to the top spot.
There’s a lot more that had to shake out. The Buffalo Bills defeated the Chiefs, which could catapult them up the rankings. And just how far will the Chiefs fall?
Read below to find out the rest of the rankings.
1. Detroit Lions (9-1)
For the first time in the history of Fox News Digital’s NFL power rankings, and likely many others across the web, the Detroit Lions are the kings. With a loss by Kansas City and a day of dominance in Jacksonville, the Lions have as much momentum as they’ve ever had in the Super Bowl era.
Last week: 2
2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)
It wasn’t the AFC Championship, but it sure felt like it for Bills fans after Buffalo overpowered the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon to hand the back-to-back champions their first loss of the season. With most of the division in shambles, the Bills are primed to win the AFC East for the fifth straight season, but more importantly, they seem primed to make a serious run for the Super Bowl.
Last week: 3
3. Kansas City Chiefs (9-1)
It finally happened, for the first time since last Christmas, the Kansas City Chiefs lost a game. Any time the Buffalo Bills have matched up with the Chiefs over the past few seasons, the games have typically been thrillers. However, the Bills being able to knock off the Chiefs proved to be a noticeable difference from recent matchups. Even during the Chiefs first nine wins, much of the conversation has revolved around whether Kansas City was playing its best football. Patrick Mahomes has not looked like the best quarterback in the world this season. While he threw three touchdowns during the Nov. 17 game, he also finished the day with two interceptions, including a pick late in the fourth quarter to end any hopes of a Chiefs comeback. The 30-21 loss also meant the Chiefs will have to wait a bit longer for an opportunity to wrap up the top playoff seed in the AFC. But recent history suggests Kansas City is not reliant on the No. 1 seed as two of the three Super Bowl championships under head coach Andy Reid have been earned without the team holding the top seed.
Last week: 1
4. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)
The Eagles had a “Thursday Night Football” matchup that everyone wanted to see, with Jayden Daniels and the Commanders heading into “The Linc” to play for first place in the division. Though Jalen Hurts didn’t really get going in the pass game, it was Saquon Barkley yet again stepping up when his team needed it, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to cement the team’s sixth straight win. It seems like ages ago when questions about whether this highly talented team could really get going, as they are one of the hottest teams in the NFL.
Last week: 5
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2)
They beat the Ravens without scoring a touchdown, which is hard to do in the NFL, but not in that matchup because the Steelers dominate the Ravens, having won eight out of the last nine games.
Last week: 6
6. Baltimore Ravens (7-4)
We’re good. We’re middling. We’re good. We’re not so good. We’re good again. They need to make up their minds.
Last week: 4
7. Minnesota Vikings (8-2)
The Vikings finished up their cupcake slate and looked just good enough to stay within striking distance of first place in the NFC North. Still, how the team looked in non-blowout wins against the lowly Titans and Jaguars shows that they are still a class below Detroit, especially after the Lions’ real blowout against Jacksonville this week.
Last week: 8
8. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
The Chargers put together arguably their best first half of the season when they hosted the Cincinnati Bengals this past Sunday night. But the second half was a different story. Nevertheless, Los Angeles held off a furious rally from the Bengals and secured their seventh win of the season. Cincinnati made it a 27-27 game after Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert fumbled the ball in the fourth quarter. But Herbert later completed a pair of clutch passes to Ladd McConkey that helped set up J.K. Dobbins’ 29-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds remaining. The Chargers welcome another high-powered offense this week when they host Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
Last week: 11
9. Green Bay Packers (7-3)
It’s hard to judge how good this Packers team is after a win against the Bears. It is so expected that coming as close as they did to losing to Chicago is almost cause for an indictment on Green Bay. The Packers will be easier to judge after games against the 49ers and Lions in the next three weeks.
Last week: 9
10. Houston Texans (7-4)
Joe Mixon is putting up the best season of his career, and now that Nico Collins is healthy, this team will only be getting better. C.J. Stroud has had a bit of a sophomore slump, but a light schedule coming up could get him back on track.
Last week: 12
11. Washington Commanders (7-4)
A true test came on Thursday night for Jayden Daniels & Co., and though it was close early, Saquon Barkley showed up late with two touchdowns to virtually ice it for the Eagles. Washington has now dropped two straight, falling to second place in the division. They have another divisional matchup this week with the Cowboys, a game that head coach Dan Quinn surely wants to win considering his ties to the organization last season as their defensive coordinator.
Last week: 7
12. Arizona Cardinals (6-4)
NFC West first place by itself coming out of the bye week is not a bad place to be for Arizona. Back-to-back road games in Seattle and Minnesota will tell us if Kyler Murray & Co. are for real.
Last week: 13
13. Denver Broncos (6-5)
The Broncos completed their 4-0 sweep of the NFC South with a dominant 38-6 win over the Falcons. Bo Nix threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns as he continues to look better and better every week, firmly putting himself in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation. Sitting at 6-5 with their next three games coming against the Raiders, Browns and Colts, the Broncos have their eyes set on making a playoff push.
Last week: 16
14. San Francisco 49ers (5-5)
You know what this banged up team doesn’t need? Back-to-back road trips to playoff-contending teams, uh-oh, at Green Bay and at Buffalo are coming right up.
Last week: 10
15. Seattle Seahawks (5-5)
The roller-coaster ride that is Seattle this season continued last week. Stopping a six-game skid to San Francisco was a high point for sure. Can the Seahawks finally find consistency?
Last week: 19
16. Atlanta Falcons (6-5)
Atlanta was destroyed in Week 11 by the Denver Broncos, and the team’s weak defense was badly exposed. They’re still in position to win the division due to their perfect record against NFC South opponents, but this is not a team that should be feared come playoff time.
Last week: 14
17. Los Angeles Rams (5-5)
Remember last year? The Rams started 3-6 before clawing back to .500 and rolling into the playoffs on a hot streak. This year’s version has a similar vibe, especially if they can get past the Eagles at home on Sunday night.
Last week: 18
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)
The bye week came at a perfect time, and with Atlanta continuing to struggle, Tampa Bay must believe it is the best team in the NFC South despite being 1.5 games back. They have upcoming games against three of the worst teams in the league (Giants, Panthers, Raiders), and if they can win all three, the division race gets extremely interesting.
Last week: 17
19. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)
They are wasting an MVP season by Joe Burrow.
Last week: 15
20. Miami Dolphins (4-6)
The Dolphins’ biggest offensive stars haven’t been putting up numbers as expected, but Miami is still winning down the stretch, picking up their second-straight win with a dominant 34-19 win over the Raiders.
Last week: 20
21. Indianapolis Colts (5-6)
Maybe Anthony Richardson needed a break and take a good look in the mirror. And perhaps it was smart of the Colts to get him back against the lowly Jets, since nothing is going right for Gang Green. The fourth overall pick of the 2023 draft showed what he could be, but it’s too early to say he’s here to stay.
Last week: 22
22. Chicago Bears (4-6)
It’s been a humbling stretch for a Bears team that started off with so much hope. A heartbreaking loss to the Packers could either be rock bottom or the straw that breaks their back into a losing streak that buries them, especially with games against the other playoff contenders in their division coming up.
Last week: 21
23. New Orleans Saints (4-7)
The Saints followed their upset win over the Falcons with a 21-point victory over lowly Cleveland. Their hopes of getting the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft are probably dead, but the team is playing hard under interim coach Darren Rizzi, and the Saints could be a spoiler team come December.
Last week: 24
24. Dallas Cowboys (3-7)
There’s not much else to say about Dallas as they’ve now lost five straight games after a beatdown by the Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium. The metal sheet falling from the dome hours before the game could be a metaphor for how this Cowboys season is crumbling around Jerry Jones & Co.
Last week: 25
25. New York Jets (3-8)
Another loss for the Jets has triggered yet another shakeup within the organization as owner Woody Johnson decided to call it quits with general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday. At 3-8 and with their playoff aspirations all but gone, who’s on the chopping block next?
Last week: 23
26. New England Patriots (3-8)
Drake Maye put on a show, completing 30-of-40 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough for New England to overcome the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Poor execution and a nonexistent defense have the Patriots looking toward the draft for solutions.
Last week: 26
27. Cleveland Browns (2-8)
Blown out by the Saints on Sunday, and then they get to play the division-leading Steelers on Thursday — not a wonderful week.
Last week: 27
28. Carolina Panthers (3-7)
The Panthers had a bye in Week 11 after back-to-back victories, but things get a lot tougher the rest of the way. Carolina has to play the Chiefs, Bucs and Eagles over the next three weeks. They are still in play for the top pick in the NFL Draft, which has to be the goal at this point, especially given their schedule down the stretch.
Last week: 28
29. Tennessee Titans (2-8)
Against a Sam Darnold who has been looking a bit like the old Sam Darnold in recent weeks, the Titans mustered up just 13 points. There are a lot of bad teams in the league this year, and Tennessee is right in the pack of them.
Last week: 30
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)
Allowing 52 points is unacceptable no matter what. A bad team with Trevor Lawrence only gets worse when he’s injured. Mac Jones has scored just one touchdown – a rushing score of his own – since he took over.
Last week: 29
31. New York Giants (2-8)
This bye week for New York was a true team evaluation, and what was already written on the walls was confirmed by head coach Brian Daboll. Daniel Jones’ time in New York is all but done as he was demoted to third string and Tommy DeVito, the fan favorite who won three games for New York last season, will be the starter moving into Week 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While that may get fans in seats for John Mara, the organization is already thinking to the future with their franchise quarterback being a bust.
Last week: 32
32. Las Vegas Raiders (2-8)
Despite making a litany of changes to the offensive coaching staff over the bye week, the Raiders still lost 34-19 to the Dolphins. One of the few bright spots on the 2-8 Raiders is rookie tight end Brock Bowers. Bowers is already one of the best tight ends in the NFL, catching 13 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
Last week: 31
The Fox News Digital Sports college football winners and losers were compiled by the Fox News Digital Sports staff and the OutKick.com staff.
Sports
‘Nearly flawless’ Michael Penix Jr. helps re-energize Falcons’ playoff push
ATLANTA — Michael Penix Jr. looked like an NFL veteran in his first professional start but not as much as he sounded like one when he took the podium after the game.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback was at a local Costco shopping Tuesday night when head coach Raheem Morris informed him he would be making his first NFL start. After leading the Falcons to a 34-7 win over the New York Giants in that start, Penix was asked if he’d be celebrating the win at Costco on Sunday night.
“No, hopefully, something fancier,” Penix said. “Costco is great, though. Costco, hit me up.”
If the Falcons (8-7) keep playing like they did Sunday, Penix may get a sponsorship offer from the company, which would mean he replaced Kirk Cousins to become Atlanta’s Kirkland quarterback and pitch Costco’s signature line of products.
“Could not be more pleased with how the team responded, really rallied behind a young man,” Morris said. “He went out and played nearly flawless football and helped us get a win.”
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Tampa Bay’s loss to Dallas on Sunday night put the Falcons back in the driver’s seat in the NFC South. If they win their final two games, at Washington and home against Carolina, they will host a playoff game.
The Falcons’ 27-point margin of victory was their second largest since the 2016 Super Bowl season, and they have now topped seven wins in a season for the first time since the 10-win 2017 season. The Giants (2-13) lost their 10th straight, the longest losing streak in franchise history.
“You do feel (nerves), but once I hit the field it goes away,” Penix said. “It’s the game I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old. It’s at a higher level, but it’s the same game.”
The Falcons drafted Penix eighth in April intending to let him understudy behind Cousins for a year or longer, but Cousins’ most recent five games convinced them to accelerate that timeline.
“The plan came a little bit sooner, but the kid was ready,” Morris said. “We had a lot of time to develop him, and the kid did a great job himself of getting ready where the moment wasn’t too big.”
Cousins swallowed the sting of being benched less than a year after signing a four-year, $180 million contract to mentor Penix throughout the week, Penix said. In the tunnel before the pair jogged out for warmups, Cousins said his weekly prayer and patted Penix on the back, gently pushing him to jog out in front of him.
“Kirk has been great all week, just being there for me and anything I need help with. He’s a great leader, great teammate,” Penix said. “Coming off the sidelines, he was asking me what I saw, and he continued to encourage me throughout the whole game.”
And, with a pat on the back from Kirk Cousins, here comes Michael Penix Jr. for the Atlanta Falcons. pic.twitter.com/xisQiO0SyR
— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) December 22, 2024
Penix finished 18-for-27 for 202 yards and one interception on a ball that bounced out of the hands of tight end Kyle Pitts near the goal line. The quarterback was victimized by three drops, including on his first throw of the game. Drops of his passes weren’t rare during his early practices because of his strong arm, but Penix has made big strides in throwing a more catchable ball, said wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who led the Falcons with five catches for 82 yards and then told reporters they might not want to stand too close to him in the locker room because he was feeling under the weather.
“When he first got here, he was (too excited) to throw the ball and everybody was dropping the ball everywhere,” Mooney said. “Now he’s just chilling, and he’s got some touch to him.”
Sunday’s drops didn’t rattle Penix, running back Bijan Robinson said.
“After the Kyle play, he was like, ‘We’re good,’” Robinson said. “A lot of guys would have put their heads down, but he was like, ‘We’re good, we’ll get it right back the next drive,’ and that’s what he did.”
Robinson carried the ball 22 times for 94 yards and is fourth in the league in rushing (1,196 yards). He ran for two touchdowns but was upset he didn’t get a receiving score because he was tripped up short of the goal line on a swing pass. Robinson returned to the huddle and apologized to Penix for not getting him his first NFL passing touchdown.
“I told him, ‘It’s all good, man. We won the football game,’” Penix said. “That just shows the person he is, not just him but everybody on this team, the character. He talked about getting me my first touchdown, but it’ll come. The biggest thing we want to do each and every week is win. We did that.”
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What Michael Penix Jr.’s college film reveals about his chances as Atlanta’s QB
Atlanta’s defense had nothing to apologize for after returning two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game for the first time since 1983. Jessie Bates III jumped in front of a Drew Lock pass and returned it 55 yards in the second quarter, and then celebrated with Deion Sanders’ “Prime Time” dance. He said his inspiration was the throwback red helmets Atlanta wore Sunday.
“Something about these red helmets,” Bates said.
In the third quarter, defensive lineman Matthew Judon recorded the first interception and first touchdown of his nine-year career when he found himself holding a pass batted by Zach Harrison and rumbled 27 yards into the end zone.
“I just looked up and it fell right there. All glory to God,” said Judon, who became the first Falcon since Kroy Biermann in 2011 to have a pick six and a sack in the same game. “I am really grateful. I kept thanking Zach the whole time in (the locker room) until he left.”
The Falcons also recorded three sacks, one of which resulted in a fumble recovered by Arnold Ebiketie.
Penix, though, was the story of the day. Simply by providing a stabilizing element at the position, he gave the Falcons hope for their playoff push. His coaches and teammates said they never really doubted that the 24-year-old would.
The Falcons reorganized the “Mamba” periods they have used in practice this year where the starters from each side face off in competitive situations to give Penix some looks he hadn’t seen enough of, but other than that didn’t change their routine at all, Morris said.
“I think the guy is just a grown adult that came in with a high level of football experience,” the coach said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the young man. It was fun to watch.”
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
Sports
Trump vows keep trans athletes out of women's sports, end 'transgender lunacy'
President-elect Donald Trump vowed Sunday to end the “transgender lunacy” in the country and keep transgender athletes out of women’s sports for good.
Trump spoke at AmericaFest in Arizona at the Phoenix Convention Center with inauguration day for his second term in office only a few weeks away.
“With a stroke of my pen on Day 1, we’re going to stop the transgender lunacy,” Trump proclaimed to cheers. “And I will sign executive orders to end child mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high schools.
“And we will keep men out of women’s sports. And that will, likewise, be done on Day 1. Should I do Day 1, Day 2 or Day 3? How about Day 1? Under the Trump administration, it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders — male and female. It doesn’t sound too complicated. Does it?”
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL STAR HAS MESSAGE FOR NCAA AFTER TEXAS AG SUES ORG OVER TRANS INCLUSION IN WOMEN’S SPORTS
Transgender inclusion in women’s sports became an underlying campaign issue for Trump as he was the only one of the two candidates to draw a hard line against it.
As he accepted the Republican nomination for president in July, he made his stance clear.
“We will not have men playing in women’s sports, that will end immediately,” he said at the time.
He also appeared on on Barstool Sports’ “Bussin’ with the Boys” with former NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton and called the notion of trans inclusion in women’s sports “ridiculous.”
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Sports
Why Walker Buehler was always likely to leave Dodgers, even after his October heroics
The moment was already destined for Dodgers lore.
Walker Buehler, arms extended, strutting off the Yankee Stadium mound, a World Series title having just been secured by his trademark knuckle-curveball.
Now, the scene will be a parting image for Buehler’s distinguished tenure with the club, too.
On Monday, Buehler agreed to a one-year, $21.05-million contract with the Boston Red Sox, as Yahoo Sports first reported, officially ending a seven-year run with the Dodgers that included tantalizing highs (two All-Star selections, two World Series titles and, from 2018-2021, the fourth-best ERA in the majors), injury-plagued lows (including two Tommy John surgeries that derailed his ascent as the Dodgers’ next great ace) and a fitting final act, with Buehler’s iconic save in Game 5 of the World Series proving to be his last game in a Dodgers uniform.
It’s a departure that, for most of this year, had been expected, as Buehler struggled mightily in the regular season returning from his second Tommy John procedure.
However, despite his 1-6 record and career-worst 5.38 ERA, Buehler sneaked into the Dodgers’ postseason rotation amid a rash of other pitching injuries and delivered in ways even he wasn’t fully expecting. Four shutout innings in a Game 3 win in the National League Championship Series. Five spotless frames in Game 3 of the Fall Classic. And then, on just one day of rest, a 16-pitch relief appearance to close out a championship.
For the first time in three years, flashes of Buehler’s once-dominant form returned.
And for a moment, a pathway for the impending free agent to re-sign in Los Angeles appeared to emerge.
“What Walker did, what he has done for us, what he did for us this year, his teammates, that does not go lost on us,” general manager Brandon Gomes said last month.
Alas, the chances of such a reunion were effectively dashed in the first week of the offseason, when the Dodgers decided not to extend a one-year, $21.05-million qualifying offer to the 30-year-old right-hander.
That move allowed Buehler to hit the open market without the burden of a draft-pick penalty. And, as the Dodgers looked elsewhere to shore up their rotation — they signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to a $182-million contract and remain engaged in the sweepstakes for star 23-year-old Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki — it became clear Buehler was unlikely to fit in their 2025 plans.
“I think there’s no better way to go out if I do,” Buehler said on the eve of the Fall Classic, when asked about 2024 potentially being his final season with the Dodgers, “than after hopefully a successful World Series.”
The Dodgers’ decision to not offer Buehler a QO — which was for virtually the same amount he will reportedly receive from the Red Sox — was met with some surprise around the industry.
In a vacuum, Buehler’s regular-season performance might not have warranted such a payday. The bleak history of two-time Tommy John pitchers added risk as well.
Nonetheless, Buehler was perhaps the best homegrown success story of this era of Dodgers baseball, going from a first-round draft pick out of Vanderbilt in 2017 to an integral member of the club’s 2020 and 2024 championship teams.
This year’s October heroics had rekindled the fan base’s love of the ever-confident veteran pitcher, evidenced by the raucous reception he got at the team’s championship parade last month while donning the vintage jersey that Orel Hersisher — a longtime mentor of his within the organization — had worn in the 1988 World Series.
At various points leading up to this offseason, Buehler had expressed a desire to remain in Los Angeles, saying before the World Series that “I’m very happy to be a Los Angeles Dodger, and I would love to stay here for as long as they’ll have me.”
Even then, though, Buehler hinted that the team’s QO decision would likely dictate his chances of a return.
“The first step in all that stuff is on the team,” he said of his upcoming free agency. “And that will happen really quickly one way or the other.”
While the Dodgers remained open to bringing back Buehler even after declining to offer him a QO, market dynamics always appeared likely to instead result in a split. Because Beuhler didn’t receive a QO, other teams weren’t forced to surrender a draft pick to sign him. And as a talented arm with a sterling postseason track record, he became an intriguing option for fellow contenders looking to round out their rotations.
Where he might have been a superfluous signing for a Dodgers team that is already well past the highest luxury tax threshold, and will be getting Shohei Ohtani, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin back from injuries next season, Buehler might now be a missing piece for the playoff-hungry Red Sox, who finished last season five games out of the American League wild-card picture.
“The past couple months,” Buehler said amid his postseason resurgence, “I’ve kind of built my confidence up a little bit to the point that there’ll be some teams that would want me on their team. I feel like a major league starting pitcher, whether it’s here or elsewhere.”
On Monday, the latter officially became reality.
Walker Buehler is no longer a Dodger. His championship-clinching curveball will be the lasting memory of his tenure with the team.
“I played my whole career here, I love playing here,” Buehler said during the World Series. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
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