Here we are. The final week of the regular season. It’s been a wild ride. Two divisions are still up for grabs and three total playoff spots are available in Week 17. However, there are still a lot of seeding matters to be decided, meaning that Week 17 should still be a lot of fun. Let’s take a look at our latest NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 17.
1. Baltimore Ravens (13-2, Last Week: 1)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Cleveland, 31-15
It was a slow start against the Browns, but maybe Baltimore was just teasing us. They controlled the second half and secured home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs for the first time. Now we get the pleasure of seeing Robert Griffin III get the start in Week 17 as the Ravens prepare for the playoffs.
2. San Francisco 49ers (12-3, Last Week: 3)
Week 16 Result: Defeated L.A. Rams, 34-31
Another exciting game involving the 49ers as Robbie Gould kicked the game-winning field goal, putting the 49ers back on top in the NFC playoff picture and eliminating the Rams from playoff contention. If San Francisco beats Seattle in Week 17, the road to the Super Bowl runs through Levi’s Stadium.
3. New Orleans Saints (12-3, Last Week: 4)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Tennessee, 38-28
Alvin Kamara finally remembered what it’s like to score a touchdown. In fact, he enjoyed it so much, he scored twice. With Seattle losing, the Saints are in a better position to earn a first-round bye. They need a win plus a loss by either the 49ers or the Packers or a Green Bay win plus a San Francisco loss. New Orleans clinches the top seed for the second year in a row if they win and both the Packers and 49ers lose.
4. Green Bay Packers (12-3, Last Week: 5)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Minnesota, 23-10
The Packers went into enemy territory and came away with a division title. Aaron Jones put up another fantastic game, Za’Darius Smith continued to be a beast and the Packers reclaimed the NFC North crown. Now, just beat the lowly Lions and Green Bay is resting on wild card weekend. If they also get a 49ers loss, the road to the Super Bowl runs through Lambeau.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (11-4, Last Week: 6)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Chicago, 26-3
The Chiefs dominated Chicago on Sunday Night Football and all but assured themselves of at least the third seed in the AFC. They can still get a bye, but that would require New England losing to Miami. Yeah, that’s not happening.
6. New England Patriots (12-3, Last Week: 7)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Buffalo, 24-17
Stop me if you heard this one before: The New England Patriots are AFC East champions. That’s 11 straight division titles and it is looking like yet another first-round bye for the Patriots. All they need to do is beat the 4-11 Dolphins at home to do so.
7. Seattle Seahawks (11-4, Last Week: 2)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Arizona, 27-13
The Seahawks just lost at home, in December to the five-win Arizona Cardinals, who were without Kyler Murray for the last quarter and a half. Not only that, but Chris Carson is now done for the season with a fractured hip. Amazingly enough, it may be their old friend, Marshawn Lynch, who comes to the rescue. Seattle also really hurt their chances at grabbing the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but it is still possible they claim it. They need a win and losses by the Packers and Saints.
8. Minnesota Vikings (10-5, Last Week: 8)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Green Bay, 23-10
All week, media and fantasy experts were hyping up Mike Boone and for good reason. Green Bay has struggled against the run all season. Unfortunately, Boone fell well short of the hype as the rest of the Vikings struggled, putting Kirk Cousins at 0-9 on Monday Night Football. Minnesota is now locked into the No. 6 seed in the NFC and will travel to either Seattle, New Orleans or Green Bay to open the playoffs.
9. Houston Texans (10-5, Last Week: 9)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Tampa Bay, 23-20
The Texans went into Tampa Bay, picked off Jameis Winston four times and just about managed to leave with another AFC South championship. You can almost pencil them in for the Saturday afternoon Wild Card playoff game against the Bills.
10. Buffalo Bills (10-5, Last Week: 10)
Week 16 Result: Lost to New England, 24-17
The Bills gave New England everything they had for the second time this season. Unfortunately for them, they came up empty for the second time this season. That locks Buffalo into the fifth seed in the playoffs and a likely trip to Houston to start the playoffs.
11. Tennessee Titans (8-7, Last Week: 11)
Week 16 Result: Lost to New Orleans, 38-28
The Titans decided to rest Derrick Henry against the Saints but still hung around with New Orleans. They ultimately lost, 38-28, but received an early Christmas gift from the Steelers when they lost to the Jets. Tennessee just needs to beat Houston in Week 17 and they are in the playoffs.
12. Philadelphia Eagles (8-7, Last Week: 17)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Dallas, 17-9
Carson Wentz came up big again when he needed it and now the Eagles are just one win away from claiming the NFC East and hosting a playoff game, something that seemed far away when the team was sitting at 5-7 after losing to the Dolphins. Only the Giants now stand in their way.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7, Last Week: 12)
Week 16 Result: Lost to New York Jets, 16-10
It’s not often you see multiple quarterback switches in a game. Pittsburgh did just that against the Jets, going from Devlin Hodges to Mason Rudolph before having to go back to Hodges. Neither got the offense going and the Steelers lost control in the AFC playoff picture. They now need a win and a Titans loss to get in.
14. Los Angeles Rams (8-7, Last Week: 14)
Week 16 Result: Lost to San Francisco, 34-31
The Super Bowl hangover is complete. The Rams couldn’t hold the lead in San Francisco and Robbie Gould kicked them right out of contention. It’s going to be a long offseason wondering if Sean McVay and Les Snead can lead the Rams back to the promised land.
15. Dallas Cowboys (7-8, Last Week: 13)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Philadelphia, 17-9
Sunday may have been the final nail in the coffin for Jason Garrett as head coach of the Cowboys. In the biggest game of the season, with a chance to win the division, Dallas puts up nine points and leaves Amari Cooper off the field for the biggest play of the game. They now have to hope Philadelphia loses in New York if they want to win the division. At this point, however, do Cowboys fans want that?
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8, Last Week: 15)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Houston, 23-20
More Jameis Winston interceptions. We can’t get enough of them. If he throws two interceptions in Week 17, he’ll be the first quarterback since Vinny Testaverde in 1988 to throw 30 picks in a season. Ironically enough, that was also with the Buccaneers. Give Tampa credit, though, they hung around despite not having their two top receivers.
17. Oakland Raiders (7-8, Last Week: 20)
Week 16 Result: Defeated L.A. Chargers, 24-17
Maybe the most amazing storyline of Week 17 is the fact the Oakland Raiders actually have a path to the playoffs. Between their low expectations from the media to their 6-4 start and subsequent four-game losing streak, they somehow have stayed alive going into the final week. They need a lot to happen, however. Their scenario is that they need a win against the Broncos, a Titans loss, a Steelers loss, a Colts win and a win from one of New England, Detroit, Chicago or the Chargers. That’s all that stands between the Raiders and a trip to the playoffs. Easy, right?
18. Indianapolis Colts (7-8, Last Week: 18)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Carolina, 38-6
Jacoby Brissett had an easy day, as it was the rushing attack that decimated Carolina in a 38-6 bashing. It was certainly a rocky road this season, but the Colts can salvage an 8-8 season with a win over the Jaguars next week.
19. Chicago Bears (7-8, Last Week: 16)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Kansas City, 26-3
Not only was Chicago’s offense nonexistent in Week 16, but they were trolled by Patrick Mahomes and the number 10. There’s even a photo of a Bears fan wearing a customized Mahomes Bears jersey. Things are not going swimmingly for Matt Nagy and Mitchell Trubisky.
20. Cleveland Browns (6-9, Last Week: 21)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Baltimore, 31-15
As bad as things seem in Chicago, however, they are worse in Cleveland. Odell Beckham is clashing with Freddie Kitchens, and Baker Mayfield is really endearing himself to Browns fans. This team is a mess and they need to think long and hard about the coaching and the team.
21. Atlanta Falcons (6-9, Last Week: 19)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Jacksonville, 24-12
The Falcons have now won five of their last seven games since their bye and could finish in second place in the NFC South. Has it been enough to save Dan Quinn’s job?
22. Denver Broncos (6-9, Last Week: 23)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Detroit, 27-17
Drew Lock had another solid game and Phillip Lindsay rushed for over 100 yards as the Broncos added to the misery of the Detroit Lions. This may not mean much right now, but Lock is 3-1 to begin his NFL career.
23. Arizona Cardinals (5-9-1, Last Week: 26)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Seattle, 27-13
Despite not having Kyler Murray for over a third of the game, the Cardinals found a way to go into Seattle and stun the Seahawks, ruining the Seahawks’ chances at home-field advantage in the playoffs. Also, was any player happier to have been traded than Kenyan Drake? In his last two games, he has 303 yards rushing and six touchdowns. David Johnson who?
24. Los Angeles Chargers (5-10, Last Week: 22)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Oakland, 24-17
Deep down, do the Chargers miss playing in San Diego? Their home games never feel like home games anymore. The stadium seemed to be filled with Raiders fans, which maybe was a good thing because the Chargers threw up another dud. It was a fitting way to end their stay at a soccer facility.
25. New York Jets (6-9, Last Week: 27)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Pittsburgh, 16-10
The Jets, of all teams, dealt a near-fatal blow to the Steelers’ playoff hopes after they made both Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph look silly. Adam Gase has to feel really good about himself. At least somebody does.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-10, Last Week: 25)
Week 14 Result: Lost to Atlanta, 24-12
The oddest news story of the week was the report that Jacksonville are likely retaining head coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell. Sure, let’s go with that.
27. Carolina Panthers (5-10, Last Week: 24)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Indianapolis, 38-6
We thought the Panthers had already hit rock bottom. We were wrong. Sunday was rock bottom. The Panthers look absolutely terrible. The offense can’t move, except for Christian McCaffrey, who is likely getting a 1,000-1,000 season. The defense is a shell of its former self and they allowed two scores via punt returns. There aren’t too many teams that are a bigger mess than the Carolina Panthers at this point.
28. New York Giants (4-11, Last Week: 28)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Washington, 41-35 (OT)
Daniel Jones threw five touchdown passes and Saquon Barkley had himself another fantastic day. The only downside is the Giants opened the door for the Redskins to draft Chase Young.
29. Miami Dolphins (4-11, Last Week: 30)
Week 16 Result: Defeated Cincinnati, 38-35 (OT)
Who would have thought one of the most exciting games of the week would be between Miami and Cincinnati? The Dolphins survived a furious rally from the Bengals and notched their fourth win of the season, which is at least double what many thought their ceiling would be at the start of the season.
30. Washington Redskins (3-12, Last Week: 29)
Week 16 Result: Lost to New York Giants, 41-35 (OT)
The Redskins lost what became a thriller against the Giants. But they might come away winners as a result, as they now have the inside track on the second pick in the draft and the opportunity to draft Chase Young.
31. Detroit Lions (3-11-1, Last Week: 31)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Denver, 27-17
If there is any consolation to the Lions run of futility this season, it’s that they have now put themselves in position to hold the third pick in the draft, and perhaps the second pick if Washington beats Dallas. That could be a position of power as we get closer to the draft. If they land at number two, they can swipe up Chase Young. If they stay at number three, they can leverage that pick in a trade-down. It’s not all bad in the Motor City.
32. Cincinnati Bengals (1-14, Last Week: 32)
Week 16 Result: Lost to Miami, 38-35 (OT)
The Bengals were getting wasted in the fourth quarter and we were ready to officially place them on the clock. Then Andy Dalton decided to sling the football and the Bengals rallied from 22 points down to force overtime, nearly coming away with a tie. But they lost on a field goal and officially secured the first pick in the 2020 draft. For the record, a tie also would have given them the top pick.