SQL Row_Number() function in Where Clause

Question

I found one question answered with the Row_Number() function in the where clause. When I tried one query, I was getting the following error:

Answer 1

I feel like all the answers showing use of a CTE or Sub Query are sufficient fixes for this, but I don't see anyone getting to the heart of why OP has a problem. The reason why what OP suggested doesn't work is due to logical query processing order here:

1. FROM
2. ON
3. JOIN
4. WHERE
5. GROUP BY
6. WITH CUBE/ROLLUP
7. HAVING
8. SELECT
9. DISTINCT
10. ORDER BY
11. TOP
12. OFFSET/FETCH

I believe this contributes to the answer greatly, because it explains why issues like this one occur. WHERE is always processed before SELECT making a CTE or Sub Query necessary for many functions. You will see this a lot in SQL Server.