Poll: Who is the 2nd-best team in the NFL?

Week 14 was a wacky one in the NFL. It saw eight underdogs pull the upset - most in the league for any week this season - while some of the top teams in the league came crashing back to the pack.

Entering Week 15, an incredible 30 of the league's 32 teams are still in playoff contention, with 24 teams either currently in a playoff spot or within one game. Only our Patriots and the lowly Carolina Panthers have been eliminated to date.

The field is so muddled that the Chicago Bears currently own the No. 5 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft (their own pick, not the Panthers' one) and are just one game out of the NFC's final wild card spot. The same can be said for the Giants, who after another Tommy DeVito-led win last night are just one game back despite being 5-8 and having the 8th pick in the current draft order.

At the top of the league, the picture is not much clearer. For my money, and Vegas's as well, the San Francisco 49ers are the team at the summit. San Fran has played 10 games this season with their full complement of weapons and are 10-0 in those contests.

Since getting Deebo, McCaffrey and Trent Williams back in the fold, they've stomped Jacksonville 34-3 in Duvall and blitzed the Eagles 42-19 in Philadelphia. Yes, they seem to play down to their competition every now and then, but against the other contenders, they pound their teeth in - just see the 42-10 thumping they put on the Cowboys earlier this year.

What's more impressive is Dallas and Philly both have a case at being the next-best team out there, yet they lost by a combined 55 points to the Niners. Baltimore deserves to be in the conversation as well, atop the AFC with a 10-3 record, but I'm not sure how much farther the list extends.

Detroit and Miami are both 9-win clubs, but they're showing signs of fraudulence as the season wears on. And Patrick Mahomes can complain all he wants, but his Chiefs' lead in the AFC West has dwindled to just one game.

As we sit here on December 12, who do you think is the 2nd-best team in the NFL?