2025 NFL Power Rankings: Week 16

 =Previous Ranking

1.(3) Los Angeles Rams (11-3) Week 16 opponent: Seattle Seahawks

2.(1) Seattle Seahawks (11-3) Week 16 opponent: Los Angeles Rams

3.(5) Denver Broncos (12-2) Week 16 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars

4.(2) New England Patriots (11-3) Week 16 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

5.(6) Buffalo Bills (10-4) Week 16 opponent: Cleveland Browns

6.(7) San Francisco 49ers (10-4) Week 16 opponent: Indianapolis Colts

7.(8) Chicago Bears (10-4) Week 16 opponent: Green Bay Packers

8.(4) Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) Week 16 opponent: Chicago Bears

9.(10) Houston Texans (9-5) Week 16 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders

10.(11) Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) Week 16 opponent: Denver Broncos

11.(12) Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) Week 16 opponent: Dallas Cowboys

12.(13) Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) Week 16 opponent: Washington Commanders

13.(9) Detroit Lions (8-6) Week 16 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

14.(17) Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6) Week 16 opponent: Detroit Lions

15.(21) Baltimore Ravens (7-7) Week 16 opponent: New England Patriots

16.(15) Carolina Panthers (7-7) Week 16 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

17.(14) Indianapolis Colts (8-6) Week 16 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

18.(16) Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1) Week 16 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers

19.(22) Minnesota Vikings (6-8) Week 16 opponent: New York Giants

20.(18) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7) Week 16 opponent: Carolina Panthers 

21.(19) Miami Dolphins (6-8) Week 16 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

22.(20) Kansas City Chiefs (6-8) Week 16 opponent: Tennessee Titans

23.(24) New Orleans Saints (4-10) Week 16 opponent: New York Jets

24.(25) Atlanta Falcons (5-9) Week 16 opponent: Arizona Cardinals

25.(28) Washington Commanders (4-10) Week 16 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

26.(23) Cincinnati Bengals (4-10) Week 16 opponent: Miami Dolphins

27.(26) Cleveland Browns (3-11) Week 16 opponent: Buffalo Bills

28.(27) Arizona Cardinals (3-11) Week 16 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

29.(29) New York Jets (3-11) Week 16 opponent: New Orleans Saints

30.(30) New York Giants (2-12) Week 16 opponent: Minnesota Vikings

31.(31) Tennessee Titans (2-12) Week 16 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs

32.(32) Las Vegas Raiders (2-12) Week 16 opponent: Houston Texans

Week 15 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2025 Edition

Quarterback

Biggest Winner: Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars)

If you happened to be one of the lucky few that streamed Trevor Lawrence in your first-round playoff matchup, congrats on your victory. Lawrence-who has famously frustrated fantasy owners for the majority of his career with his largely middling numbers-had his best game as a pro against the checked out, injury-depleted Jets-throwing for a ridiculous 330 YDS and 5 TD's and adding another 51 YDS and a TD on the ground (on only 5 carries no less!!!). An encore seems highly unlikely as he's set to take on the Broncos vaunted defense in Week 16.   

Honorable Mentions: Bo Nix (Broncos), Brock Purdy (49ers), Jared Goff (Lions)

Biggest Loser: Joe Burrow (Bengals)

Unfortunately for Burrow owners, his 4th quarter struggles in Buffalo carried over to this contest with the Ravens. Burrow throw for 225 TD's, 0 TD's and 2 INT's as the tiny glimmer of hope the Bengals could rally to win the AFC North crown officially died with this ugly shoutout loss to a team they had dominated in their building just 2 weeks prior. Given his recent play, the high probability that Tee Higgins will remain in concussion protocol and real chance this team is going to start sleepwalking now that they have nothing to play for, Burrow will be tough to trust as a QB1 play for this week's road contest with the Dolphins.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Justin Herbert (Chargers), Lamar Jackson (Ravens)

Running Back

Biggest Winner: James Cook (Bills)

Cook played a huge role in the Bills wild comeback win over the Patriots on Sunday afternoon, rushing for 107 YDS and 2 TD's on 22 carries and catching 2 passes for 4 YDS and a TD. This consistent RB1 option will have another chance to feast in Week 16 against a Browns defense that is currently banged up and solidifying their vacation plans for mid-January. 

Honorable Mentions: Bijan Robinson (Falcons), Travis Etienne Jr. (Jaguars), TreVeyon Henderson (Patriots)

Biggest Loser: Quinshon Judkins (Browns)

You wouldn't know that the Bears currently have a bottom 10 rushing defense by watching what Quinshon Judkins did against them on Sunday. The rookie back was completely bottled up by the Bears front, gaining just 21 YDS on 12 carries. Remarkably, he managed to fare even worse as a pass-catcher (-4 YDS on 3 receptions) as the Browns got throttled in the cold at Soldier Field. Judkins has only averaged more than 3.5 YDS per carry in one game since Week 6, making him hard to start with confidence even in a soft matchup like the one he has this week against the Bills abysmal rush D.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Kenneth Walker III (Seahawks), Breece Hall (Jets), Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions)

Wide Receiver 

Biggest Winner: Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions)

The Rams sold out to stop Jahmyr Gibbs, and it worked as they came out on the right side of one of the most thrilling shoutouts in recent NFL history. Dedicating those resources to slowing down Gibbs meant the other Lions weapons were going to be in a prime position to make plays and unsurprisingly, St. Brown ended up being the top contributor. The star wideout absolutely cooked every overmatched Rams CB that was tasked with facing him in single coverage as he amassed a staggering 164 YDS and 2 TD's on 13 receptions. St. Brown could be in line for another huge day against a Steelers secondary that has had its share of struggles with slowing down elite WR's this season.   

Honorable Mentions: Puka Nacua (Rams), Jameson Williams (Lions), Nico Collins (Texans)

Biggest Loser: Justin Jefferson (Vikings)

Good news: Jefferson had his best game in 3 weeks against the Cowboys porous secondary. Bad news: He still only reeled in 2 receptions for 22 YDS despite being targeted 8 times. J.J. McCarthy throwing for a career-high 250 YDS in this game makes Jefferson's dismal line even tougher to swallow. Jefferson's next chance to break this sustained slump will come on Sunday afternoon against a putrid Giants team that is playing out the string under interim HC Mike Kafka. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins), Ladd McConkey (Chargers), Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers)

Tight End

Biggest Winner: Kyle Pitts (Falcons)

Coming into last Thursday night's game versus Buccaneers, Pitts had set new season-highs in receiving YDS in 2 straight games. Not only did he extend that streak to 3 by hanging a career-high 11 receptions and 166 YDS on the Bucs, he also ended a lengthy TD drought (Week 4 against the Commanders) by finding the endzone 3 times in this absurd comeback win that could end up breaking a fragile Bucs team that has been playing like shit for the past 2 months for good. While Pitts probably won't top his career-best showing, the odds of him remaining hot against the lowly Cardinals in Week 16 are pretty good.     

Honorable Mentions: Trey McBride (Cardinals), Dallas Goedert (Eagles), George Kittle (49ers)

Biggest Loser: Tyler Warren (Colts)

Warren's athletic chops paired with the Seahawks struggles with covering TE's made him the ideal candidate to be the primary target for Phillip Rivers on Sunday. That didn't materialize as Rivers mostly looked elsewhere when he let one of his wounded duck checkdown loose, which left Warren with a measly 3/19 statline in a game that the Colts came dangerously close to winning against all odds. Perhaps Warren will be more involved in the offense in this week's similarly difficult matchup with the 49ers.    

Dishonorable Mentions: Jake Ferguson (Cowboys), Mark Andrews (Ravens), Hunter Henry (Patriots)

Defense/Special Teams

Biggest Winner: Ravens

What an incredible bounceback game from the Ravens D/ST. Zach Orr's group had the Bengals offense in a vice grip for 60 minutes, logging 3 sacks and 2 INT's including a pick 6 from Alohi Gilman in a 24-0 victory. They'll face the Patriots at home in Week 16. 

Honorable Mentions: Bears, Eagles, Jaguars

Biggest Loser: 49ers

Bookending this week's piece with the two extremes of streaming plays is quite the coincidence! The 49ers defense got fuck all cooking against the Titans horrid offense, logging 0 sacks or takeaways against Cam Ward and co. in a 37-24 victory. Robert Saleh's group will be searching for better results when they inevitably end up as streaming fodder once again in Week 16 when they square off with the Phillip Rivers-led Colts in Indy.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Patriots, Rams, Lions

RIP Rob Reiner

As many of you have probably heard by now, Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home yesterday. Rob was 78 and Michele was 68. I first got wind of the news mere moments after I woke up this morning and was absolutely stunned and gutted upon hearing it. The subsequent arrest of their son Nick this morning in connection with their murders has added another layer of tragedy to this horrific event. 

What made Reiner such a special artist was his versatility. His run from 1984 through 1992 where he directed This is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, Misery and A Few Good Men is the stuff of legend and the gold standard of a filmmaker showing off the depth of their range by succeeding in several different genres. That signature Reiner trait carried over to his other showbiz career as an actor which started back with his breakout role as Michael "Meathead" Stivic on All in the Family and more recently, included a memorable supporting part in The Wolf of Wall Street as Jordan Belfort's (Leonardo DiCaprio) father, a recurring role on Season 4 of The Bear as a consultant Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) hires to help him expand his sandwich window operations and a return to his iconic role of documentarian Marty Di Bergi in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues-which he also directed. There will never be another Rob Reiner and his presence in front of and behind the camera will be greatly missed.        

Ayo Edebiri Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Ayo Edebiri-whose latest project "Ella McCay" is in theaters today. 

Ayo Edebiri's Filmography Ranked:

9.How It Ends (D+)

8.The Sweet East (C-)

7.After the Hunt (C)

6.Opus (B-)

5.Inside Out 2 (B)

4.Theater Camp (B)

3.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (B+)

2.Bottoms (A-)

1.Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (A-)

Top Dog: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

The main reason that people are so frustrated by the long wait for the third Spider-Verse movie is that Across Spider-Verse is a great movie that ends on a crazy cliffhanger. Lord and Miller and their various collaborators managed to up the ante from Into the Spider-Verse by adding more characters/stakes to Miles Morales' story without sacrificing any of the emotional core that made the film so special. Despite all of the delays and rumors about it being significantly reworked over the past couple of years, my confidence in Beyond the Spider-Verse serving as a triumphant conclusion to the trilogy remains high (the current planned release date is June 18, 2027).   

Bottom Feeder: How It Ends (2021)

How It Ends' existence can be chalked up to a talented actor/writer/director (Zoe Lister-Jones) getting bored during COVID and securing funding for a half-baked idea they thought of during lockdown that could easily be shot while adhering to pandemic protocols. There's nothing particularly funny, touching or compelling about watching Lister-Jones walk around nearly empty LA streets alternating between having conversations with a younger version of herself (Cailee Spaney) and various people from her life that she'd like to talk to one last time on the day before the world is set to end via a giant meteor hitting Earth. None of Lister Jones' famous friends (Lamorne Morris, Olivia Wilde, Whitney Cummings, Nick Kroll, Fred Armisen, Glenn Howerton, Logan Marshall-Green, Tawny Newsome) who were enlisted for extended cameos appearing to be overly invested in their roles is the final nail in the coffin for this poorly conceived film. 

Most Underrated: Theater Camp (2023)

Burdened by its indie status, the SAG strike blowing up its promotional efforts and releasing in the wake of Barbenheimer, Theater Camp never really had a chance to find its audience in theaters. Sadly, it also hasn't found much of a life on streaming despite the Searchlight-backed project being available on Hulu for 2+ years before exiting the service earlier this year (it is however currently available to rent on all of the major VOD platforms). Anyways, this love letter to musical theater and the colorful personalities that help bring it to life features a treasure trove of modern alt-comedy stalwarts (Jimmy Tatro, Patti Harrison, Edebiri, Owen Thiele, Molly Gordon-who also served as co-director and co-writer) and musical mainstays (Ben Platt, Noah Galvin-both of whom aided Gordon with the script) fully committing to the string of great interconnected bits that make up this movie.    

Most Overrated: None

Edebiri is such an in-demand performer right now that it's easy to forget that she's only been acting full-time for a handful of years after getting her start in entertainment as a television writer and stand-up comedian. Her relatively short acting resume has also protected her from having a film that appears in this dreaded section. I truly love every acclaimed project she's been in (Bottoms, Across the Spider-Verse, Mutant Mayhem) and the few projects of hers that I didn't really connect either got pretty widely panned (After the Hunt, How It Ends) or were too small to be seriously considered (The Sweet East). 

2025 NFL Power Rankings: Week 15

 ()=Previous Ranking

1,(1) Seattle Seahawks (10-3) Week 15 opponent: Indianapolis Colts

2.(2) New England Patriots (11-2) Week 15 opponent: Buffalo Bills

3.(3) Los Angeles Rams (10-3) Week 15 opponent: Detroit Lions

4.(4) Green Bay Packers (9-3-1) Week 15 opponent: Denver Broncos

5.(5) Denver Broncos (11-2) Week 15 opponent: Green Bay Packers

6.(6) Buffalo Bills (9-4) Week 15 opponent: New England Patriots

7.(8) San Francisco 49ers (9-4) Week 15 opponent: Tennessee Titans

8.(7) Chicago Bears (9-4) Week 15 opponent: Cleveland Browns

9.(11) Detroit Lions (8-5) Week 15 opponent: Los Angeles Rams

10.(13) Houston Texans (8-5) Week 15 opponent: Arizona Cardinals

11.(14) Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4) Week 15 opponent: New York Jets

12.(12) Los Angeles Chargers (9-4) Week 15 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs

13.(9) Philadelphia Eagles (8-5) Week 15 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders

14.(10) Indianapolis Colts (8-5) Week 15 opponent: Seattle Seahawks

15.(16) Carolina Panthers (7-6) Week 15 opponent: New Orleans Saints

16.(15) Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1) Week 15 opponent: Minnesota Vikings

17.(20) Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) Week 15 opponent: Miami Dolphins

18.(17) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) Week 15 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

19.(21) Miami Dolphins (6-7) Week 15 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

20.(18) Kansas City Chiefs (6-7) Week 15 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers

21.(19) Baltimore Ravens (6-7) Week 15 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

22.(24) Minnesota Vikings (5-8) Week 15 opponent: Dallas Cowboys

23.(22) Cincinnati Bengals (4-9) Week 15 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

24.(29) New Orleans Saints (3-10) Week 15 opponent: Carolina Panthers

25.(23) Atlanta Falcons (4-9) Week 15 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

26.(28) Cleveland Browns (3-10) Week 15 opponent: Chicago Bears

27.(27) Arizona Cardinals (3-10) Week 15 opponent: Houston Texans

28.(25) Washington Commanders (3-10) Week 15 opponent: New York Giants

29.(26) New York Jets (3-10) Week 15 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars

30.(30) New York Giants (2-11) Week 15 opponent: Washington Commanders

31.(32) Tennessee Titans (2-11) Week 15 opponent: San Francisco 49ers 

32.(31) Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) Week 15 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

Week 14 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2025 Edition

Quarterback

Biggest Winner: Josh Allen (Bills)

The Bills were looking for a heroic effort from Allen to beat a Bengals team that has been rejuvenated by the return of Joe Burrow and they got it. Allen looked like the reigning MVP in snowy conditions in Orchard Park, throwing for 251 YDS and 3 TD's and rushing for 78 YDS on 9 YDS including a career-long 40 YD TD. Allen will need to be brilliant once again in Week 15 as the Bills travel to Foxboro to take on the AFC East-leading Patriots who beat them at their place back in Week 5.

Honorable Mentions: Matthew Stafford (Rams), Joe Burrow (Bengals), Lamar Jackson (Ravens)

Biggest Loser: Jalen Hurts (Eagles)

Patrick Mahomes seemed like a shoo-in for this dubious honor after struggling mightily against the Texans on Sunday night until Hurts came out and played what very well could be the new leading contender for the worst game of his entire career. He turned the ball over a whopping 5 times (4 INT's, lost fumble) and put up 248 scoreless YDS (240 passing, 8 rushing) in a soul-crushing OT loss to the Chargers that almost certainly wouldn't have happened if he made even just two fewer costly mistakes. The good news for Hurts and the reeling Eagles is 3 of the final 4 games on their schedule are against bottom 5 teams in the league right now including a Week 14 home tilt against the Raiders-who have lost 7 games in a row.  

Dishonorable Mentions:: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Justin Herbert (Chargers), Baker Mayfield (Buccaneers) 

Running Back

Biggest Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions)

Gibbs stepped up in a big way in a crucial Week 14 win over the Cowboys that kept the Lions in the thick of the ultracompetitive NFC North/wild card races, gaining 120 scrimmage YDS and rushing for 3 TD's on 19 touches (12 carries, 7 receptions). The Lions will be hoping for another big day for Gibbs when they take on the Rams this Sunday. 

Honorable Mentions: Tony Pollard (Titans), Travis Etienne Jr. (Jaguars), R.J. Harvey (Broncos)

Biggest Loser: Ashton Jeanty (Raiders)

It was another muted showing for Jeanty in Week 14 as he was held to 38 scrimmage YDS on 12 touches (30 rushing, 8 receiving) in yet another loss for the Raiders to the Broncos. Week 15 presents the rare opportunity for Jeanty to have a good day during his lost rookie season as the Raiders are set to take on an Eagles defense that has had some serious difficulty stopping the run of late.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Breece Hall (Jets), Kenneth Walker III (Seahawks), Aaron Jones Jr. (Vikings)

Wide Receiver

Biggest Winner: Puka Nacua (Rams)

The Cardinals quietly respectable secondary was no match for Nacua. The star wideout was an even bigger focal point of the Rams passing attack than usual, registering 167 YDS and 2 TD's on 7 receptions on a day where Matthew Stafford didn't need to do much (21/33, 281 YDS, 3 TD's) to help secure an easy blowout win. Nacua will face the Lions in Week 15.  

Honorable Mentions: Michael Wilson (Cardinals), Jaxson Smith-Njigba (Seahawks), Tee Higgins (Bengals)

Biggest Loser: Ladd McConkey (Chargers)

A very quiet night for a hobbled Justin Herbert-who is lucky to have not sustained any new injuries after getting sacked a career-high 7 times by the Eagles vicious front-through the air outside of a 60-YD gain on a screen pass to Kimani Vidal on the Chargers opening drive rendered McConkey effectively useless last night, catching just 1 of the 5 targets that came his way for 12 YDS. McConkey will look to bounce back in Week 15 against a Chiefs team that he had a solid outing (6/74) against back in Week 1.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Justin Jefferson (Vikings), Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers), Chris Olave (Saints)

Tight End

Biggest Winner: Harold Fannin Jr. (Browns)

The biggest beneficiary of Shedeur Sanders' first 300+ YD passing day was none other than Fannin Jr. The rookie tight end was making plays all over the field in this thrilling shootout with the Titans that the Browns ended up losing, ending the game with a whopping 8 receptions for 114 YDS and a score. If Fannin Jr is still available in your league, you should definitely consider adding him ahead of his Week 15 showdown with the Bears.  

Honorable Mentions: Brock Bowers (Raiders), Dalton Kincaid (Bills), Kyle Pitts (Falcons)

Biggest Loser: Travis Kelce (Chiefs)

Kelce was so frustrated with his performance against the Texans that he left Arrowhead without fielding questions from the media. If you watched the game, you know why. Not only did Kelce struggle to get open against the Texans top-ranked defense (1 reception for 8 YDS), a pass that clanked off his hands in the 4th quarter was directly responsible for the Texans getting the game-clinching INT that handed the Chiefs their 7th loss of their season and puts them in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Kelce has really started to show his age in 2025, and it wouldn't be at all surprising if he decided to retire at season's end. He'll be a shaky starting option against the Chargers in Week 15.

Dishonorable Mentions: Mark Andrews (Ravens), Tyler Warren (Colts), Oronde Gadsden (Chargers)

Defense/Special Teams:

Biggest Winner: Seahawks

The Seahawks D/ST helped turn the tide of a pretty ugly game versus that was tied 6-6 at halftime and quickly made it an absolute laugher with a lopsided final score of 37-9. Rasheed Shaheed returning the opening kickoff of the second half for a TD started the party then they went onto get 3 takeaways (2 INT's and a fumble recovery) and a sack as Kirk Cousins continued to struggle in his return to action following the season-ending knee injury to Michael Penix Jr. A blocked field goal in the 2nd quarter served as the cherry on top of their huge day. They're currently the betting favorite to end up in this spot again next week as they're set to take on the suddenly stinky Colts that are going to be led by either Riley Leonard, Brett Rypien or 44-year-old Phillip Rivers-who officially joined their practice squad today after being out of football since the end of the 2020 season-on Sunday.       

Honorable Mentions: Eagles, Texans, Broncos

Biggest Loser: Browns

As I mentioned above, Browns/Titans was a shootout-which of course means the Browns defense didn't have a great day. They ended up getting just 1 sack and 1 pick on the typically very generous Cam Ward in a 31-29 loss. They won't be a preferred starting option this week against a Bears team that has done a very good job of limiting sacks and turnovers this season. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Ravens, Packers, Steelers

Movie Review: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

What's so appealing about Knives Out is that Rian Johnson has created a franchise that solely revolves around the brilliant, quirky private investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) solving a murder. Each whodunit experiments with tone and setting while always having a joke and something to say about a dark corner of our world at the ready. Johnson keeps the franchise's batting average at 1.000 with his third mystery entitled Wake Up Dead Man, which is playing in select theaters now and debuts on Netflix this Friday.

As the trailers have indicated, Wake Up Dead Man sees Blanc get summoned to upstate New York by a small-town police chief (Mila Kunis) to solve the murder of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), who was stabbed to death in a storage closet right next to the pulpit after delivering his Good Friday mass. Wicks presided over a church called Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, a post that he inherited from his late grandfather Prentice (James Faulkner) who served in the role for decades before his demise. Wicks utilized an incendiary, confrontational preaching style that alienated most people that walked into his church, but he did have a small band of fiercely loyal regulars (Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Daryl McCormack, Jeremy Renner, Cailee Spaeny, Thomas Haden Church) that viewed him as a messiah. Given his proximity to the murder scene and checkered past as a former boxer who joined the priesthood with the hopes of atoning for his sin of accidently killing a man in the ring, Rev. Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor) has emerged as the primary suspect. Rev. Jud had clashed with Wicks for months over the way that he conducted himself as the leader of a church and was transferred to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude after giving into his violent impulses and punching another priest in the face at his last church. Blanc isn't so sure that Jud is behind it despite having the clearest motive of any present at that fateful Good Friday service and what he ends up finding challenges not just the way he does his job but the entire belief system that he lives by.

Releasing a movie about how faith is weaponized to serve a personal/political agenda and prey on the vulnerability of the people that are looking to the church to help them through whatever problem they're facing in life right now is perfect. Christian nationalism is one of the driving forces behind the rise of fascism globally and Johnson takes aim at every angle of their ideology as this complex, sometimes extremely bleak mystery unfolds. Johnson doesn't mention any politicians or faith-driven figures by name but it's pretty clear what kind of rhetoric he's talking about and the way that the character dynamics play out mirrors real life to an eerie degree.

Despite its critiques of the role religion plays in the world and the people that are shaping the conversations surrounding it, Wake Up Dead Man isn't an anti-religious text in the slightest. A big part of Johnson's message here is about the importance of having the right messengers delivering the teachings of the Bible. While this sounds like a preachy message on paper, it never feels like Johnson is arguing for or against believing in God and is instead just engaging with what the storytelling of the Bible means and how the distortion of the sacred text to serve a hate-fueled agenda is an afront to its true teachings. Certain people are inevitably going to get pissed off by what transpires in certain parts of this movie, but I feel like it could inspire a lot of important discussions among people who are willing to earnestly engage with the film and maybe even get people to reconsider how they engage with the intersection of faith and politics that is at the forefront of our culture. Some of the best art around makes the viewer really think about the world they live in and it's awesome that Johnson has used super entertaining, funny whodunits as a jumping off point for these vital reflections. 

On a pure mystery level, Wake Up Dead Man is a little bit clunkier than its predecessors. None of the twists are overly shocking including the killer reveal and by focusing so much time on Rev. Jud's arc-which isn't a bad thing at all given the depth and gravitas O'Connor gives to the role, much of the supporting cast is sidelined for long stretches of the film-which minimizes the impact of the ensemble cast that has previously been one of the biggest assets of the Knives Out franchise. It's still a great time on the whole, I just feel like the flaws are pronounced enough here to put it behind it the first two installments after one viewing.

With Johnson's contract with Netflix officially up and him currently shopping an original script around Hollywood that he's hoping to shoot sometime next year, the future of Knives Out is currently wide open. It probably won't be the last time we see Blanc on screen, but it could end up being a bit before he returns, so I'll be sure to take some more time to savor Wake Up Dead Man before Johnson and Craig make their return at a TBD time on a TBD screen.           

               

Grade: B+