2025 NFL Power Rankings: Week 12

()=Previous Ranking

1.(2) Los Angeles Rams (8-2) Week 12 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

2.(3) Philadelphia Eagles (8-2) Week 12 opponent: Dallas Cowboys

3.(1) Seattle Seahawks (7-3) Week 12 opponent: Tennessee Titans

4.(5) New England Patriots (9-2) Week 12 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

5.(7) Buffalo Bills (7-3) Week 12 opponent: Houston Texans

6.(6) Indianapolis Colts (8-2) Week 12 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs

7.(10) Denver Broncos (9-2) Week 12 opponent: Bye

8.(9) Green Bay Packers (6-3-1) Week 12 opponent: Minnesota Vikings 

9.(4) Detroit Lions (6-4) Week 12 opponent: New York Giants

10.(8) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) Weel 12 opponent: Los Angeles Rams

11.(12) San Francisco 49ers (7-4) Week 12 opponent: Carolina Panthers

12.(13) Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) Week 12 opponent: Chicago Bears

13.(15) Chicago Bears (7-3) Week 12 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

14.(11) Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) Week 12 opponent: Bye

15.(16) Baltimore Ravens (5-5) Week 12 opponent: New York Jets

16.(14) Kansas City Chiefs (5-5) Week 12 opponent: Indianapolis Colts

17.(19) Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4) Week 12 opponent: Arizona Cardinals

18.(18) Houston Texans (5-5) Week 12 opponent: Buffalo Bills

19.(20) Carolina Panthers (6-5) Week 12 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

20.(17) Minnesota Vikings (4-6) Week 12 opponent: Green Bay Packers

21.(21) Miami Dolphins (4-7) Week 12 opponent: Bye

22.(22) Dallas Cowboys (4-5-1) Week 12 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

23.(23) Atlanta Falcons (3-7) Week 12 opponent: New Orleans Saints

24.(24) Cincinnati Bengals (3-7) Week 12 opponent: New England Patriots

25.(25) Arizona Cardinals (3-7) Week 12 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars 

26.(26) Washington Commanders (3-8) Week 12 opponent: Bye

27.(27) New Orleans Saints (2-8) Week 12 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

28.(28) New York Jets (2-8) Week 12 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

29.(29) New York Giants (2-9) Week 12 opponent: Detroit Lions

30.(30) Cleveland Browns (2-8) Week 12 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders

31.(31) Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) Week 12 opponent: Cleveland Browns

32.(32) Tennessee Titans (1-9) Week 12 opponent: Seattle Seahawks 

Week 11 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2025 Edition

 Quarterback

Biggest Winner: Josh Allen (Bills)

Allen was able to shake off 2 ugly picks in the first half and put together one of the most dominant QB showings we've seen in the league this year (317 passing YDS, 3 TD's, 40 Rushing YDS, 3 TD's) in a shootout win over the Bucs on Sunday. The reigning MVP will get right back to work roughly 48 hours from now when the Bills take on the Texans in Houston on TNF.   

Honorable Mentions: Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Brock Purdy (49ers), Jordan Love (Packers)

Biggest Loser: Justin Herbert (Chargers)

Things couldn't have gone much worse for Herbert in Week 11 as relentless pressure from the Jaguars front and a complete lack of help from his rushing game led to him throwing for 81 YDS, which is a new career-low and an INT while adding just 21 YDS on the ground. He'll get a much-needed reprieve from the weekly beatings he's taking behind his garbage offensive line this week as the Chargers are on bye.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Lamar Jackson (Ravens), Caleb Williams (Bears), Joe Flacco (Bengals)

Running Back

Biggest Winner: Christian McCaffery (49ers)

It was an easy victory for the 49ers over the Cardinals and CMC's play was a big reason why the game was sealed up well before halftime. The star running back only needed 18 touches (13 carries, 5 receptions) to rack up 121 YDS and 3 TD's and largely ceded his backfield work to Brian Robinson Jr. in the second half of this laugher. Next up for McCaffery is a meeting with the Panthers and their middling defense.   

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

Biggest Loser: David Montgomery (Lions)

Montgomery was effective when he got the ball against the Eagles, averaging over 5 YDS per touch. There just wasn't action for him as Dan Campbell leaned heavily on Jahmyr Gibbs as his speed was one of the only things that gave the Eagles D trouble during this rough showing for the Lions typically high-flying offense and that caused him to finish the game with just 37 scrimmage YDS. While Montgomery's usage rate has been all over the place this season, he should see more action against an undermanned Giants team that has really struggled to contain the run through 11 games.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Quinshon Judkins (Browns), Ashton Jeanty (Raiders), R.J. Harvey (Broncos)

Wide Receiver

Biggest Winner: Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers)

The Panthers rookie broke his 4-week TD drought in spectacular fashion by not only finding the endzone twice but setting new career-highs in receptions (8) and receiving YDS (130) over the Falcons. It was really encouraging to see McMillan finally take advantage of his huge target share and he'll have a real shot to put together another monster performance in Week 12 against an injury-depleted 49ers secondary that has gotten lit up over the past few weeks.    

Honorable Mentions: Michael Wilson (Cardinals), George Pickens (Cowboys), Nico Collins (Texans)

Biggest Loser: DeVonta Smith (Eagles)

It was finally Smith's turn to get punished by the Eagles passing games woes as he caught just 1-of-5 targets for 8 YDS in a win over the Lions. Smith will face the Cowboys and their stinky secondary in Week 12.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Ladd McConkey (Chargers), Ricky Pearsall (49ers), Quentin Johnston (Chargers)

Tight End

Biggest Winner: Trey McBride (Cardinals)

McBride painted another garbage time masterpiece against the 49ers, hauling in 10 catches for 115 YDS and a TD. Jacoby Brissett's favorite target will look to make it 3 100+ YD/1 TD outings in a row against the Jaguars this Sunday. 

Honorable Mentions: George Kittle (49ers), Travis Kelce (Chiefs), Mark Andrews (Ravens)

Biggest Loser: Kyle Pitts (Falcons)

Pitts was an afterthought in the Falcons passing attack against the Panthers, catching just 2-of-3 targets for 14 YDS as the Dirty Birds suffered yet another heartbreaking single digit loss in a game they should've won. With Drake London out indefinitely with a PCL sprain, Pitts should be in line for a huge usage bump and can confidently be fired up as a TE1 in all formats.

Dishonorable Mentions: Dallas Goedert (Eagles), Cade Otton (Buccaneers), David Njoku (Browns)

Defense/Special Teams

Biggest Winner: Steelers

Teryl Austin's group showed up big once again, embarrassing the Bengals offense in a 34-12 victory by logging 1 sack and 2 defensive scores in the second half (a pick-6 from Kyle Dugger and a fumble return by James Pierre). The Steelers will face the Bears-who've done a good job of minimizing giveaways and sacks this season-in Week 12. 

Honorable Mentions: Browns, Texans, Rams

Biggest Loser: Chargers

The Chargers didn't look like the top 10 defense they've been for the bulk of this season as Travis Etienne, Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen ran wild in a shocking 35-6 win for a Jags team that's looked like shit for much of the last month. An early pick of Trevor Lawrence-who wasn't overly sharp once again despite the large margin of victory-was the only highlight for Jesse Minter's unit. The Chargers will face a turnover-happy, largely inept Raiders offense when they return to action in Week 13.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Seahawks, Chiefs, Lions 

Quick Movie Reviews: Frankenstein, The Running Man, Now You See Me: Now You Don't, Keeper

Frankenstein: An adaptation of Frankenstein is the project Guillermo del Toro has been wanting to make for the entirety of his 30+ year career. Now that Netflix has given him the opportunity to make his dream a reality, it's kind of sad to say that del Toro's vision feels a little bit miscalculated. His take on Mary Shelley's classic novel is effectively a tale of two halves as the opening stretch detailing the origins of the tormented, egotistical surgeon Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and his efforts to prove that he can bring the dead back to life is too stoic to be overly compelling while the second half where the focus shifts to Frankenstein's monster (Jacob Elordi) is a harrowing, emotional tale of a being trying to find beauty in a cruel world that he's cursed to stay in for eternity. Elordi-who only landed the role after Andrew Garfield dropped out-is remarkable in the role as he embodies the complex range of emotions the creature feels as he learns about his unnatural origins and s world that has labeled him as a bloodthirsty beast without even trying to understand his true nature. If the other aspects of Frankenstein outside of the top-notch cinematography and production design del Toro delivers on all of his films were in line with Elordi's thoughtful, astonishing craftsmanship, Frankenstein would've unquestionably landed at or near the top of the legendary director's filmography instead of the merely respectable middle where it ended up residing.  

Grade: B

The Running Man: A reboot of The Running Man couldn't have been timed better. Not only does Stephen King's novel take place in 2025, a dystopian world where authoritarian oligarchs control the government, media, etc. and the economy is so bad that the bottom 99% of society are willing to risk their lives for the entertainment of others in exchange for the slim chance of being able to enjoy a life where they don't have to worry about their ability to have access to medical care, food or housing isn't too far off from the reality we're currently living through. As fun as the cheesy 1987 version with Arnold Schwarzenegger is, Edgar Wright's version is an improvement across the board. The grizzled old school action-meets-blunt modern satire approach Wright uses is a great ode to the story 80's origins while taking aim at the increasingly dangerous actions of today's ruling class that are doing every they can to suppress the truth and sow division among the population so they can continue to live in blissful excess while pushing more people into poverty by the day. I'm not going to pretend that The Running Man' 25 has some masterful script, but there's still something to be said about a mainstream Hollywood movie actively confronting one of the biggest threats currently facing our world and preaching the importance of class solidarity as a means to fight it. That might not sound like much to most people but consider this: Paramount was taken over in early August by David Ellison's Skydance Media. Ellison's father Larry is the second richest person in the world and is actively seeking to help his son's company purchase Warner Brothers to further add to their family's growing media empire (they're also involved in the upcoming purchase of the American version of TikTok from Chinese company ByteDance). Would they even consider funding a movie like The Running Man? The answer is obvious and, that's why it's so awesome that Wright was able to release something serves as a giant middle finger to people like Hollywood's newest power players under the banner that now bares their company's name.

On top of its topicality, The Running Man represents a further elevation in Glen Powell's acting stock. Disgruntled everyman Ben Richards-who enters the titular game show where three contestants have the chance to win a billion dollars if they can survive 30 days while a group of elite mercenaries known as "The Hunters" (Lee Pace, Karl Glusman, James Frencheville, Joey Ansah, Alex Hoeffler, Greg Townley) attempt to kill them on live television in an attempt to pay for medical care for his sick infant daughter-provides the budding star with the ideal vessel to build out his range. Richards is a classic everyman action hero with rage issues that is also willing to do anything he can to have the backs of the people around him. Powell expertly balances the conflicting faces of Richards by knowing when he needs to be a hardened, resilient badass with a short fuse and when he has to lean into something more vulnerable or funny. The mix of his established snarky yet affable personality with something darker and meaner makes this his best performance in a blockbuster to date. 

In terms of the action, it's easily the most straightforward group of setpieces Wright has ever crafted. What drove the decision to dial back on his signature stylization is a mystery (the turnaround time on this one was super tight as shooting wrapped in March), but it was kind of a bummer to see these huge chases and fights assembled in a manner that don't reflect his established sensibilities. Wright and his second unit director Darrin Prescott are such pros that these sequences still manage to be solid and propulsive (particularly the bit with Michael Cera's oddball Maine-based revolutionary character), they just all happen to be begging to be staged in a more fluid, flamboyant manner. Nitpicks over the action aside, The Running Man is another winner for Wright and one of the best blockbusters of the year.                                           

Grade: B+

Now You See Me: Now You Don't: There's something beautiful about the Now You See Me franchise returning from a 9-year hiatus and sliding right back into its unapologetically silly groove without missing a beat. You wouldn't know that Ruben Fleischer is the third different director to take the reins of the magician heist series by how smoothly he assimilates to the series house style (heavily stylized illusions/tricks, snarky banter, absurd plot twists galore) and all of the newcomers (Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, Rosamund Pike) have a blast teaming up/squaring off against the recently reunited Horseman (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher-who returns to the fold after sitting out Now You See Me 2)-whose dynamic is just as strong now as it was in the first installment 12 years ago. By the time it's exhilaratingly dumb Abu Dhabi-set finale concluded, I was ready to break into a Cannes-worthy round of extend applause. Please let the powers that be at Lionsgate grant this franchise the opportunity to continue for as long as the creatives involved have an interest in making them.                  

Grade: B+

Keeper: I was on board with Keeper for the bulk of its runtime. Osgood Perkins establishes a really ominous atmosphere through eerie visuals, well-deployed jump scares and good fashioned isolation while Tatiana Maslany is solid as a woman having a really bad/weird time during a romantic getaway to her boyfriend's (Rossif Sutherland) family cabin. Then Keeper has to start providing answers to what the hell is going on in and around this cabin, and it goes from scary to silly in no time at all as it shatters the hypnotic ambiguity of its first two acts with a lengthy exposition dump that paves the way for a groan-inducing ending that stops Perkins' hot streak at Neon dead in its tracks. Perkins won't have to wait long to redeem himself for this misstep as he's currently in production on his next project The Young People-which will mark the fourth film he's made this decade.                

Grade: C

Ruben Fleischer 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 Ruben Fleischer-whose latest project "Now You See Me: Now You Don't" releases in theaters today. 

Ruben Fleischer's Filmography Ranked:

6.Uncharted (B-)

5.30 Minutes or Less (B-)

4.Venom (B)

3.Gangster Squad (B+)

2.Zombieland: Double Tap (A)

1.Zombieland (A)

Top Dog: Zombieland (2009)

Thanks to its irreverent humor and winning makeshift family dynamic that its magnetic leads (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin) provided it with, Zombieland has enjoyed an enduring power that has exceeded many of the more conventional comedies released around the same time. Bill Murray's cameo remains one of the funniest scenes I've seen on screen and Flesicher provided a nice proof-of-concept for his eventual pivot to blockbuster filmmaking with his confident handling of the film's action sequences-particularly the final showdown where hordes of zombies descend on an abandoned amusement park.       

Bottom Feeder: Uncharted (2022)

Uncharted is a perfectly fine adventure movie that's just never quite able to overcome the feeling that it's a cheap-ish modern-day knockoff of Indiana Jones despite arguably being a better crafted film than either of the 21st century entries in that legendary franchise. If the sequel Sony put into development back in the spring of 2022 ever materializes, hopefully they can find a way to once again make Papa John's part of a key plot point       

Most Underrated: Gangster Squad (2013)

Going to bat for Gangster Squad is something that I'm always happy to do. It's just so refreshing to watch a mob movie that excels at being cartoony and fun. Not everything can or needs to be Goodfellas or The Godfather people! Sometimes getting something cut from the same cloth as The Untouchables is great too!   

Most Overrated: None

Fleischer has made precisely one acclaimed movie in his career: the original Zombieland and that's been a movie I've loved since I saw it in theaters 16 years ago. Other than that, he's been a magnet for stuff that has gotten mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. As you can see from above, I've never disliked anything he's made as I feel like he always brings enough energy to his direction to keep things relatively entertaining regardless of the quality of the script he's working with. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does with the long-brewing third installment of the preeminent magician heist franchise.      

2025 NFL Power Rankings: Week 11

 =Previous Ranking

1.(2) Seattle Seahawks (7-2) Week 11 opponent: Los Angeles Rams

2.(3) Los Angeles Rams (7-2) Week 11 opponent: Seattle Seahawks

3.(4) Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) Week 11 opponent: Detroit Lions

4.(5) Detroit Lions (6-3) Week 11 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

5.(9) New England Patriots (8-2) Week 11 opponent: New York Jets

6.(7) Indianapolis Colts (8-2) Week 11 opponent: Bye

7.(1) Buffalo Bills (6-3) Week 11 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

8.(6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) Week 11 opponent: Buffalo Bills

9.(8) Green Bay Packers (5-3-1) Week 11 opponent: New York Giants

10.(10) Denver Broncos (8-2) Week 11 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs 

11.(13) Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) Week 11 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars

12.(11) San Francisco 49ers (6-4) Week 11 opponent: Arizona Cardinals

13.(12) Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4) Week 11 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

14.(14) Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) Week 11 opponent: Denver Broncos

15.(15) Chicago Bears (6-3) Week 11 opponent: Minnesota Vikings

16.(18) Baltimore Ravens (4-5) Week 11 opponent: Cleveland Browns

17.(17) Minnesota Vikings (4-5) Week 11 opponent: Chicago Bears

18.(20) Houston Texans (4-5) Week 11 opponent: Tennessee Titans

19.(16) Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4) Week 11 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers

20.(19) Carolina Panthers (5-5) Week 11 opponent: Atlanta Falcons

21.(26) Miami Dolphins (3-7) Week 11 opponent: Washington Commanders

22.(22) Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1) Week 11 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders  

23.(23) Atlanta Falcons (3-6) Week 11 opponent: Carolina Panthers

24.(24) Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) Week 11 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

25.(21) Arizona Cardinals (3-6) Week 11 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

26.(25) Washington Commanders (3-7) Week 11 opponent: Miami Dolphins

27.(30) New Orleans Saints (2-8) Week 11 opponent: Bye

28.(31) New York Jets (2-7) Week 11 opponent: New England Patriots

29.(27) New York Giants (2-8) Week 11 opponent: Green Bay Packers

30.(28) Cleveland Browns (2-7) Week 11 opponent: Baltimore Ravens

31.(29) Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) Week 11 opponent: Dallas Cowboys

32.(32) Tennessee Titans (1-8) Week 11 opponent: Houston Texans

Week 10 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2025 Edition

Quarterback

Biggest Winner: Matthew Stafford (Rams)

Stafford made history on Sunday by becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 4 TD's and 0 INT's in 3 straight games with the gem that he spun (280 YDS, 4 TD's) in a dominant divisional win over the 49ers. This remarkable streak will likely come to an end this week against a frisky Seahawks defense that is on a heater right now, but their secondary is vulnerable enough to keep Stafford in high-end QB1 territory.

Honorable Mentions: Jaxson Dart (Giants), Caleb Williams (Bears), Jared Goff (Lions)

Biggest Loser: Bo Nix (Broncos)

There was no 4th quarter magic to atone for an otherwise poor performance from Nix this week as the Broncos QB put together one of the worst performances (150 YDS/TD/2 INT, -2 Rushing YDS) of his largely ugly sophomore season in a terrific matchup with the lowly Raiders. Nix will be a really risky starting option for this week's huge showdown with the Chiefs.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Jalen Hurts (Eagles), Jordan Love (Packers), Justin Herbert (Chargers)

Running Back

Biggest Winner: Jonathan Taylor (Colts)

Just when you think Taylor couldn't possibly keep one-upping himself during his magical 2025 campaign, he goes ahead and does it again. The Colts star back was completely unstoppable (32 CAR/244 YDS/3 TD's, 3 REC/42 YDS) as he carried the Colts to a thrilling OT win over the Falcons in Berlin. Taylor's fantasy owners will be scrambling for a replacement as the current runaway frontrunner for fantasy MVP gets a well-deserved rest as the Colts head into their Week 11 bye.  

Honorable Mentions: De'Von Achane (Dolphins), Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions), TreVeyon Henderson (Patriots)

Biggest Loser: Jacory Croskey-Merritt (Commanders)

The Lions tough run D and the Marcus Mariota-led Commanders getting bulldozed from start to finish made Croskey-Merritt pretty much useless for fantasy purposes as he turned his 11 carries into just 30 YDS. Croskey-Merritt will be an RB3 for this week's sure-to-be thrilling matchup with the Dolphins in Madrid. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Jordan Mason (Vikings), R.J. Harvey (Broncos), Chuba Hubbard (Panthers)

Wide Receiver

Biggest Winner: Drake London (Falcons)

While it wasn't quite as dominant as his Week 9 performance against the Patriots, London once again shined bright in a heartbreaking Falcons loss-hauling in 6 receptions for 104 YDS and a TD while further boosting his statline with a 2 PT-CNV grab against the Colts. London will have revenge on the brain this week when he goes up against a Panthers secondary that held him to 55 scoreless YDS during their previous meeting in Week 3. 

Honorable Mentions: Jameson Williams (Lions), Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers), Nico Collins (Texans)

Biggest Loser: A.J. Brown (Eagles)

Brown's shockingly quiet 2025 continued in Green Bay last night as he caught 2-of-3 targets for 13 YDS in a defensive slugfest that saw DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert serve as the primary beneficiaries of Jalen Hurts' limited passing production. The next stop on Brown's current boom-or-bust tour is a home date with a banged-up Lions secondary that has held up surprisingly well over the last few games. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Courtland Sutton (Broncos), Michael Pittman Jr. (Colts), D.J. Moore (Bears)

Tight End

Biggest Winner: Trey McBride (Cardinals)

Early garbage time for the Cardinals in a wire-to-wire shellacking carried out by the menacing hands of the Seahawks meant plenty of opportunities for McBride to run his numbers up. In fact, Jacoby Brissett's favorite target ended up having his most productive game of the season-ripping off 127 YDS and a TD on his 9 receptions. McBride will look to extend his career-best 4-game TD streak against the 49ers on Sunday.     

Honorable Mentions: George Kittle (49ers), Tyler Warren (Colts), Juwan Johnson (Saints)

Biggest Loser: Brock Bowers (Raiders)

Facing a short week and dealing away Jakobi Meyers to the Jaguars on Tuesday meant the Raiders were going to be leaning even heavier on Bowers than usual. The Broncos knew this too and effectively removed him from the game, holding the star TE to just 2 total touches (a 31-YD reception, a -4-YD carry) in one of the least compelling games of the year so far. Bowers' stint in the fantasy doghouse should be short-lived as he'll have an excellent opportunity to feast in Week 11 when he goes up against the Cowboys porous defense.    

Dishonorable Mentions: T.J. Hockenson (Vikings), Hunter Henry (Patriots), Kyle Pitts (Falcons)

Defense/Special Teams

Biggest Winner: Seahawks

A big part of why garbage time came early for the Cardinals on Sunday was the play of the Seahawks defense. The 'Hawks brought hellfire down on the Cards offense, picking up 5 sacks and a pair of fumble recovery TD's from DeMarcus Lawrence in a 44-22 victory. This upstart group will have a much tougher task in front of them this week when they're asked to try and slow down a scorching hot Rams offense in their building.  

Honorable Mentions: Chargers, Texans, Broncos

Biggest Loser: Lions

This wasn't a horrible performance by the Lions defense, it was just an unremarkable one given that an already vulnerable Commanders offense was forced to trot out their backup QB. Kelvin Sheppard's troops got 2 sacks and forced zero turnovers in an easy 44-22 victory over an injury-depleted squad that looks nothing like the team that bounced them from the playoffs in January. They'll draw a total wild card assignment in Week 11 when they head east to Philly to take on a comically erratic Eagles offense.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Bills, Browns, Patriots  

Movie Review: Predator: Badlands

Whether it's greenlighting another Tron movie, throwing Rachel Zegler and Nia DaCosta under the bus after the tremendous commercial failure of movies that barely anybody liked or caving into the demands of a fascist president, The Walt Disney Corporation has made plenty of awful decisions in recent years. One thing the cowardly mouse house has done correctly is entrust Dan Trachtenberg to be the creative czar of the Predator franchise. Trachtenberg has bucked the modern Disney playbook entirely by daring to do more than just worship at the altar of the classic original like Fede Alvarez did with Alien: Romulus last year. Instead, Trachtenberg has dared to experiment with different subgenres, settings (both location and time period) and even mediums to tell Predator stories in and it's resulted in an image rehabilitation for the brand that felt like a complete pipe dream after Shane Black's The Predator ate shit back in September 2018. Trachtenberg's third Predator film (and first theatrical release) Badlands pushes the boundaries even further by doing something that the series has never done before: Have the protagonist be a Predator (aka Yautja).

The uniqueness of Badlands isn't limited to having the main character be a member of the lethal alien race that's served as the franchise's antagonist in every prior film. Trachtenberg uses the character of Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Kolomatangi)-a Yautja whose been labeled as an outcast and liability to his clan by his own father (Reuben De Jong)- as the driver for a story of someone deifying the odds to prove their worth in a world that has labeled them as a disgraceful failure that's unworthy of existing. The prideful underdog setup then quickly blossoms into unexpected found family story when Dek reluctantly teams up with a wounded Weyland-Yutani synthetic (Elle Fanning, who is disarmingly charming and chipper in a role that's crucial to selling this narrative) and a fellow lonely alien creature named Bud to complete his mission of slaying the most lethal predator on the "death planet" of Genna known as the Kalisk-a massive dragon-esque creature that even Dek's alpha father fears. Having such a simple, universal story provides the kind of relatable emotional stakes that we've never seen in a Predator movie before. There have been enough riffs on the badass "humans try to outwit an elite alien hunter that they can't always see" over the years that it's cool to a version of the story where the Yautja has the kind of proper character arc and range of emotions that are typically reserved for the Homo sapiens. The fact that this massive reimagining of an iconic villain didn't come at the expense of softening the action makes it even better as the producers weren't lying when they said that Badlands wouldn't sanitized be due to the PG-13 rating. Giving the Predator a heart all and is great but it wouldn't be a Predator movie if there weren't spines getting ripped out and limbs flying off, so shoutout to Trachtenberg for understanding that a Yautja finding their heart doesn't mean that they're going to stop using their collection of sick ass alien weapons to murder their enemies in a bunch of creative ways.     

I will say that despite its uniqueness, I'll stop short of saying that Badlands is the best Predator sequel. It slips into the dreaded "big shit repeatedly slamming into each other" phenomenon at times-which brings an unwelcome choppiness to some of the bigger action sequences and the wall-to-wall VFX prevents the natural beauty of its on-location shooting in New Zealand from hitting the same way it did in the less VFX-heavy Prey. Perhaps I'll warm up to these elements upon rewatch, but for now they were enough to allow Badlands to fall just short of greatness.                               

Grade: B