You may notice that I am not your normal writer for Power Rankings. Well you're welcome. Just kidding, Tim Lynch was MIA early in the week, and these are a little late, but Tim will be back next week. For now you have someone else to complain about (me).
Here are last week's rankings.
RNK |
TEAM |
INSTANT ANALYSIS |
1 |
Green Bay Packers |
Record 9-3. Anyone remember those two weeks when the Steelers seemed unstoppable too? Things change quickly in the NFL. Who in the NFC can beat the Packers in the NFC? Hmm... |
2 |
New England Patriots |
Record 9-3. I can't see the Patriots winning this weekend vs. the Chargers, and then the Chargers will jump the Broncos on Power Rankings, until the Broncos beat them... Either way, hopefully Denver can hold on to that number one seed. |
3 |
Denver Broncos |
Record 9-3. I know you think it's funny that all that the Broncos needed was a running back, because Denver sure came running back. Prior to the game Emmanuel Sanders told his teammates that they must hold each other accountable and call each other out. I wonder who gets to call Peyton out? |
4 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
Record 9-3. Mark Sanchez gets to go head-to-head against his college coach Pete Carroll this week, and they seem to be full of compliments. I think that these things usually end better for former coaches than former players. If the Eagles are able to win, I think that they have a legit shot at taking the first seed in the NFC. |
5 |
Seattle Seahawks |
Record 8-4. They're getting scary at just the right moment. The rest of the NFC playoff teams just hope that they pull the Seahawks away from Seattle. |
6 |
Indianapolis Colts |
Record 8-4. They really don't deserve to be this high and with Chuck Pagano reassuring that Trent Richardson will see carries, I can't imagine that the Colts will be any more deserving in January. Dan Herron seems to be the man though. |
7 |
San Diego Chargers |
Record 8-4. Like I said above, I can't imagine them losing to New England at home. If they do, the Chargers will automatically become the best team in the AFC. They'll still lose to Denver in a few weeks. |
8 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
Record 8-3-1. The Bengals have two games against the Steelers, one against the Browns and one against the Broncos. They'll go 2-2 in December; that probably wins the AFC North. |
9 |
Arizona Cardinals |
Record 9-3. Man, they're only getting worse, but they do employ the best coach in the NFL. I think of the games remaining on their schedule they can win one, maybe two, which gives the Seahawks the division. |
10 |
Miami Dolphins |
Record 7-5. Either the Jets were playing like it was their Super Bowl or Miami is not built for January. They have one home game left on their plate (against the Patriots), ouch. |
11 |
Baltimore Ravens |
Record 7-5. These guys, man. They should be a whole lot better than they are and given their upcoming schedule, I can see them winning three of four. That makes the Ravens hot going into the playoffs and they could possibly take first away from the Bengals. |
12 |
Dallas Cowboys |
Record 9-4. Had these rankings published prior to the Thursday night game against Chicago, you would have read me say that, 'Chicago is about to make Dallas look a lot better than they actually are.' Dallas is not that good and will only win one more game for the rest of the season. |
13 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
Record 7-5. They can take out the Bengals and they face them twice in four weeks. They can also beat the Falcons and the Chiefs. That makes the Steelers 11-5 going into the playoffs. |
14 |
Detroit Lions |
Record 8-4. Another team that I see that could go undefeated on the rest of the season, they do play Green Bay, but in Week 17 when the Packers could be resting starters. The Lions going 12-4 would be absurd though. |
15 |
San Francisco 49ers |
Record 7-5. I don't think that think that Jim Harbaugh is going to coach Michigan, if he was he should be recruiting right now. He may be coaching Oakland next season and coincidentally that may be the only game that the 49ers win for the rest of the season. |
16 |
Houston Texans |
Record 6-6. The Texans should try J.J. Watt at quarterback, but Ryan Fitzpatick looked so good against the Titans. Blah face. The Colts aren't good, but neither are the Texans yet. |
17 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
Record 7-5. Seems like last season all over again, doesn't it? Half of their four remaining games are winnable for them though and that may be all that they need to make the playoffs. |
18 |
Buffalo Bills |
Record 7-5. Ouch this week they get Peyton, then Tom Brady, then Aaron Rodgers. I think that may be unprecedented facing three Hall of Fame quarterbacks in three consecutive weeks. It's just not in the cards for the Bills this season. |
19 |
Cleveland Browns |
Record 7-5. I'd stick with Brian Hoyer too, he's the one that got you here. If he can rekindle that Josh Gordon magic, I'd love to see Cleveland in their first postseason in 12 years. |
20 |
St. Louis Rams |
Record 5-7. Roger Goodell should put the Rams in the NFC South. It's only fair, these guys are giant killers and deserve a shot to do it in January. Best worst team in the NFL? Best worst team in the NFL. |
21 |
New Orleans Saints |
Record 5-7. How did the Saints get so bad? These guys whooped the Packers this season. |
22 |
Chicago Bears |
Record 5-8. I'd fire whoever gave Jay Cutler that ridiculous extension and keep Marc Trestman. Imagine a quarterback like say Cam Newton with Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey and Martellus Bennett. |
23 |
Atlanta Falcons |
Record 5-7. What sucks for whoever wins the NFC South, is that they won't get a top ten draft pick, but they totally deserve one. |
24 |
Minnesota Vikings |
Record 5-7. Remember when Teddy Bridgewater was a surprise faller leading up to the draft and everyone on every team wanted him? That must be why no one wants to hire any of us to be the general manager of an NFL team. |
25 |
New York Giants |
Record 3-9. Watching what is happening to Tom Coughlin is like watching your grandfather get his butt handed to him in the park playing chess. It's just time to step in. They've got a lot of the pieces, they just don't fit. |
26 |
Carolina Panthers |
Record 3-8. I wanted Ron Rivera to coach the Broncos, but I never wanted Denver to draft Cam Newton. If Rivera pulls a John Fox and takes his next team to the playoffs, it might be time to talk to ownership about finding a new them. |
27 |
Washington Redskins |
Record 3-9. Mike Shanahan was on to something. You can justify selling your entire draft for a player, then you look at the Atlanta Falcons, sure they have Julio Jones, but they're 5-7 three years later. |
28 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
Record 2-10. If they, when they get their offensive line together, they have three really good running backs and two really good receivers. They also almost beat the Bengals last week. They are also only three games out of first in the NFC South. |
29 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
Record 2-10. With the young talent that they have on their offense, they should be doing some innovative stuff next season on offense. Four players with incredible futures. Keep Gus Bradley around for another season or two. |
30 |
Tennessee Titans |
Record 2-10. It is really hard to say anything positive about this team, their receivers are occasionally fantasy gold? |
31 |
New York Jets |
Record 2-10. Rex Ryan is going to be awesome if he goes on TV. He's probably going to be awesomer as a defensive coordinator, but sorry Broncos fans, despite whatever you think Denver currently has the third ranked defense. |
32 |
Oakland Raiders |
Record 1-11. Maybe San Francisco will ask for a first round pick for Jim Harbaugh? That would be awesome. |