NFL Power Rankings Week 17: Playoff Picture Comes Into Focus
There aren't many playoff spots left as we head into the final week of the NFL season
NFL Power Rankings Week 17: Playoff Picture Comes Into Focus
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over 1 year ago Update 0 comments
NFL Power Rankings Week 17: Playoff Picture Comes Into Focus
There really weren't many shocks in week 16 of the NFL season. The Cowboys getting beaten soundly at home by Philly was a mild surprise, but otherwise the main contenders performed as expected. The NFC East and AFC West are still mediocre and will produce a mediocre winner and the Texans continue to look like the easiest out in the first round.
There is some real intrigue happening at the bottom of the rankings this week however. After an entire season with everyone assuming the Colts would get the #1 seed and take Andrew Luck, they suddenly started winning and now find themselves tied at 2 wins with the Rams. Should St. Louis get the #1 seed, that would make for a fascinating draft day.
With that, onto the week 17 power rankings.
1) Green Bay Packers - Locked up the #1 overall seed in the NFC. The only question now is whether they decide to rest starters next week against Detroit. LW (1)
2) New England Patriots - Can lock up the #1 seed in the AFC with a win next week. LW (2)
3) New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees broke Dan Marino's single season yards record last night and kept his team in the hunt for a first round bye. (LW 3)
4) San Francisco 49ers - Need only a win against the lowly Rams to secure a first round bye. (LW 4)
5) Baltimore Ravens - Ravens are still in the hunt for the #1 seed in the AFC, but seem more likely to get that #2 seed and a bye. (LW 5)
6) Pittsburgh Steelers - Yes it was just the Rams, but any time you shut an opponent out in the NFL is a big deal. (LW 7)
7) Detroit Lions - Detroit is humming right now and you would have to think they'd be favored to beat whatever team comes out of the NFC East in the first round. (LW 9)
8) Cincinnati Bengals - Earlier this year I half jokingly said that I wouldn't buy the Bengals as a real playoff contender until they beat the Steelers or Ravens. Now, that's actually become true. They need to beat Baltimore next week to secure the final seed in the AFC. (LW 13)
9) Atlanta Falcons - Falcons were embarrassed in New Orleans last night, which is bad news considering that a trip back there for the first round of the playoffs seems pretty likely. (LW 8)
10) Houston Texans - The Texans hit a low point with their loss to the awful Colts this past week. They look like the easiest out of any playoff team this season. (LW 6)
11) New York Giants - Giants took care of business against the Jets and now only need a win at home against Dallas for a playoff spot. That said, it's hard to trust a team that's lost 5 of it's last 7 to be consistent. (LW 15)
12) Denver Broncos - They will clinch the final AFC playoff spot with a win or Raiders loss, but whether Tim Tebow continues his sharp decline will be what Broncos fans are watching. Four picks for him against the Bills last week. (LW 11)
13) Oakland Raiders - An OT victory over the Chiefs means that the Raiders need a win and a Broncos loss to win the AFC West.. (LW 16)
14) Dallas Cowboys - While Tony Romo's swollen hand will get the coverage, Dallas should be more worried about how the Eagles controlled every other aspect of their game. (LW 10)
15) Philadelphia Eagles - The Eagles are finally playing like everyone expected them to, but it has turned out to be too little too late after a Giants win eliminated them from the playoffs. (LW 19)
16) Tennessee Titans - Here's the Titans crazy playoff scenario. They would clinch the No. 6 seed with a win and a Bengals loss and either a Jets win or both a Broncos win and Raiders win (but not all three). (LW 20)
17) New York Jets - Whipped by the Eagles and Giants in back to back weeks and now need a win plus four other teams to lose for a playoff spot. In other words, they're done. (LW 12)
18) Seattle Seahawks - Eliminated from the playoffs, but can finish the season winning 6 of their last 8 with a win against the Cardinals Sunday.. (LW 17)
19) Arizona Cardinals - John Skelton looked like he was about to lead yet another 4th quarter comeback until early Doucet fell down on what is likely the most embarrassing play of the NFL season. (LW 18)
20) San Diego Chargers - The Chargers resurgence came to a screeching halt thanks to a drubbing from Detroit. Word is that San Diego will clean house after this season. (LW 14)
21) Carolina Panthers - Put a beating on the hapless Bucs and now get a real test in the final weekend against New Orleans. (LW 26)
22) Chicago Bears - The Bears fifth straight loss finally eliminated them from postseason competition. Seems like backup QB will be a priority for Chicago in the offseason. (LW 21)
23) Miami Dolphins - It's really all about evaluation for Miami at this point, who will have a new coach and likely a new QB next season. (LW 22)
24) Buffalo Bills - The Bills ended their seven game losing streak with a blowout win over the Denver Tebows. It was their first win since giving Ryan Fitzpatrick that $59 million deal 8 weeks ago. (LW 25)
25) Kansas City Chiefs - The good feelings after their upset of the Packers are gone after an OT loss to the rival Raiders. (LW 23)
26) Washington Redskins - It's hard to understand these Redskins. They play incredibly hard and beat the Giants on the road one week and then lose at home to the lowly Vikings the next week. (LW 24)
27) Cleveland Browns - Cleveland has failed to score more than 20 points in all but one game this season. (LW 27)
28) Jacksonville Jaguars - The lone bright spot for the Jags this season is that Maurice Jones-Drew is all but a lock to win the NFL rushing title. (LW 28)
29) Minnesota Vikings - They're trying to stay positive about Adrian Peterson being ready for the start of next season, but all of our experience with knee injuries that bad makes that sound like a pipe dream. He probably won't be 100% until 2013. (LW 30)
30) Indianapolis Colts - Two straight wins mean they're dangerously close to losing the #1 pick and Andrew Luck. The Rams could get that pick and either take Luck or ransom it for a huge return. (LW 31)
31) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - They've now lost 9 straight, which is the longest streak in the NFL. They don't have the worst record, but it's hard to find any team playing worse right now. (LW 29)
32) St. Louis Rams - If the Rams do get the #1 pick, would they take Luck and deal Bradford? After this awful season, you have to think that's a possibility. (LW 32)
over 1 year ago Update 0 comments
NFL Power Rankings Week 16: Ugly Week For AFC Elite
It was a bloodbath in week 15 for the AFC 's elite. The Ravens and Steelers were both blown out, the Texans came crashing back to earth, the Jets were humiliated in Philly and "Tebow Time" finally ran out. The only AFC contender to walk out of the weekend victorious was the New England Patriots.
In the NFC, it was almost the opposite. The top team, Green Bay, was beaten but contenders like San Fran, Atlanta, Detoit, New Orleans and Dallas all got big wins. It's been interesting to see the balance of power swing back and forth so liberally this year between the two conferences.
With that, onto the week 16 power rankings.
1) Green Bay Packers - There's a reason only two teams have ever made it through the regular season undefeated. It's really hard to do and most of the time, a team will lose a fluke game. That's what happened to the Pack. However, the injuries to the offensive line are a real concern. LW (1)
2) New England Patriots - They walked into Denver and just stomped all over the Tebowmentum. LW (2)
3) New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees is only one below average game away from breaking Dan Marino's single season yards record. (LW 3)
4) San Francisco 49ers - Got back on track with a defensive dismantling of the Steelers. (LW 7)
5) Baltimore Ravens - They can take solace in the fact that they aren't the only AFC North leader to get blown out this week. (LW 4)
6) Houston Texans - You mean continuing to win with your 3rd QB isn't sustainable? Shocker. (LW 5)
7) Pittsburgh Steelers - The lights went on Pittsburgh Monday night... but at least the Ravens lost as well. (LW 6)
8) Atlanta Falcons - Blowout win over the Jags has all but guaranteed them a wildcard spot. Now they travel to New Orleans next week to show whether they can do anything in the postseason when they get there. (LW 11)
9) Detroit Lions - Another great comeback win for Detroit, but the leagues' most undisciplined team still tried to shoot themselves in the foot with 9 penalties for 72 yards. (LW 10)
10) Dallas Cowboys - They got almost a freebie win against a Bucs team that has given up. Things get tougher next week with a rejuvenated Eagles squad coming to town. (LW 13)
11) Denver Broncos - "Tebow Time" apparently now includes running 26 yards in the wrong direction and taking a sack. (LW 8)
12) New York Jets - It was an ugly trip to Philly for the Jets, who now must regroup and face another team coming off an ugly loss that they happen to share a stadium with. (LW 9)
13) Cincinnati Bengals - The Jets blowout loss in Philly was big for the Bengals, who are now tied at 8-6 for the final playoff spot in the AFC. They do lose the tiebreaker however. (LW 16)
14) San Diego Chargers - Three straight wins have San Diego a game out in the AFC West, however they finish the year with two straight road games. (LW 19)
15) New York Giants - Giants in full collapse mode now having lost 5 of their last 6. It was a truly embarrassing effort against the Redskins. (LW 12)
16) Oakland Raiders - Denver's loss means that Oakland is only a game out of the AFC West lead and they've got two home games left. (LW 17)
17) Seattle Seahawks - A long shot for the playoffs, but they would scare anyone if they did happen to sneak in. (LW 18)
18) Arizona Cardinals - John Skelton leads yet another win for Arizona. At this point, it would be hard to justify benching him for Kevin Kolb when the Cardinals big money offseason acquisition heals. (LW 22)
19) Philadelphia Eagles - The Eagles have crushed teams two weeks in a row. Still can't quite tell if they're just playing spoiler or whether they might actually steal the NFC East. (LW 20)
20) Tennessee Titans - Tennessee gets the distinction of being the only team to lose the hapless Colts. (LW 14)
21) Chicago Bears - Four straight losses for the Bears, who without Jay Cutler have all but played themselves out of what looked like a sure wildcard spot only a month ago. (LW 15)
22) Miami Dolphins - Reggie Bush's renaissance season hit a high note as he rushed for 203 yards. (LW 23)
23) Kansas City Chiefs - Anyone else think the celebration after beating the Packers was a little excessive? (LW 24)
24) Washington Redskins - Watching the game Sunday, you would have thought that it was the Redskins who were fighting for their playoff lives. They aren't, but they did play really hard. (LW 25)
25) Buffalo Bills - The Bills have now lost seven straight since giving Ryan Fitzpatrick that big, new contract. Since putting pen to ink on the $59 million deal, he's thrown 12 picks and just 8 TDs in 7 games (LW 21)
26) Carolina Panthers - The fumblerooskie had to be the highlight of the weekend. (LW 28)
27) Cleveland Browns - Even with an extra quarter to play, they couldn't break 20 points on offense. (LW 29)
28) Jacksonville Jaguars - They'll have a shot at one of the top QBs in this draft. Do they pull the trigger and give up on Blaine Gabbert already? (LW 26)
29) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Tampa didn't even show up in Dallas. They've now lost 8 straight, which is the longest streak in the NFL. (LW 27)
30) Minnesota Vikings - Completely dominated by the Saints and Jared Allen lost his NFL sack lead in the process. (LW 30)
31) Indianapolis Colts - Peter King said on Sunday Night Football that Jim Caldwell may have saved his job with their first win on Sunday. Was he joking? (LW 32)
32) St. Louis Rams - Losers of five straight and at 11.9 points per game have the worst offense in the NFL. (LW 31)
over 1 year ago Update 0 comments
NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Tebow, Broncos Have Reached The Top Ten
Most of our top ten from last week held serve this around with the exception of the San Francisco 49ers who suffered a shock loss to the Arizona Cardinals. It may seem like just a a bump in the road for that team, but really it could have significant impact on their playoff picture. They're in either way, but that loss put them even with New Orleans and could mean the difference between a bye or a first round game against a team like Detroit. Plus, no bye likely means that San Fran will have to head to New Orleans if they win in the first round.
So as the national media focuses on the race to get in the postseason over these next couple weeks, don't sleep on the playoff positioning for those teams that are already in.
With that, onto the week 15 power ranks.
1) Green Bay Packers - Lost Greg Jennings for the rest of the regular season, but it's hard to think that will affect their offense all that much. LW (1)
2) New England Patriots - You really have to wonder how the Pats will fare in the playoffs with a defense this bad? LW (2)
3) New Orleans Saints - It was encouraging to see the Saints defense step up and make a stop to win a game. (LW 3)
4) Baltimore Ravens - If they can win in San Diego this week, they've got a legit shot at running the table. (LW 4)
5) Houston Texans - The Texans have clinched a playoff spot for the first time ever... and they did it with a 3rd string QB at the helm. (LW 7)
6) Pittsburgh Steelers - They'll be in San Fran next Monday night for a tough, must win game to keep pace with Baltimore... but they'll be doing it without James Harrison. (LW 6)
7) San Francisco 49ers - The Niners lost a surprise game to Arizona this week, which coupled with a New Orleans win has dented their hopes of a first round bye. (LW 5)
8) Denver Broncos - "Marion Barber time" is evidently the opposite of "Tebow Time." (LW 8)
9) New York Jets - The Jets have been on quite a roll over the past three weeks, however they haven't faced a team with a winning record. (LW 10)
10) Detroit Lions - 10 penalties for 76 yards on Sunday. Still the most undisciplined team in the NFL. (LW 14)
11) Atlanta Falcons - Atlanta was helped by Chicago and Dallas losing. I still find this team very hard to trust. (LW 12)
12) New York Giants - Got a big road win in Dallas to claim a share of the NFC East lead. Reality is though that this is a team that's a game above .500 and 1-4 over their last five. (LW 16)
13) Dallas Cowboys - Dallas has now lost two straight and their lead in the NFC East is gone. (LW 9)
14) Tennessee Titans - Lost a tough game against New Orleans, but still just a game out in the wildcard. (LW 11)
15) Chicago Bears - I don't care how complex Mike Martz's offense apparently is, there's no way Donovan McNabb would not be better than Caleb Hanie right now. (LW 13)
16) Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals are still in with a shot at the playoffs, but another loss to an AFC contender means hurts their conference record which could be important with tiebreakers. (LW 17)
17) Oakland Raiders - Only a game out of a playoff spot, but it really doesn't feel like a playoff team. (LW 15)
18) Seattle Seahawks - Seattle is 4-1 over their last five. If they'd only avoided one or two of those earlier losses they might actually be legitimately in the playoff hunt. (LW 18)
19) San Diego Chargers - Chargers are playing better, but it may be too little, too late as Denver just can't seem to lose. (LW 22)
20) Philadelphia Eagles - Super dim playoff hopes got a shot in the arm with a win and a Dallas loss. Still need to win out and get Dallas & NYG to lose two of their last three. (LW 24)
21) Buffalo Bills - The Bills have now lost six straight since giving Ryan Fitzpatrick that big, new contract. (LW 19)
22) Arizona Cardinals - After Kevin Kolb was injured early, John Skleton led a win over division rival San Fran. QB controversy in Arizona? (LW 20)
23) Miami Dolphins - Miami's strong run play ended with a trouncing at the hand of the Eagles that cost Tony Sparano his job. (LW 21)
24) Kansas City Chiefs - Todd Haley joins Tony Sparano & Jack Del Rio in their attempt to raise the national unemployment rate. (LW 23)
25) Washington Redskins - After being mathematically eliminated from the postseason, it has to be all about positioning for that QB now. (LW 25)
26) Jacksonville Jaguars - Scored 41 points this week and still have the 5th lowest scoring offense in the NFL. Encouraging game for them though. (LW 30)
27) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Tampa has now lost seven straight, the second longest streak in the NFL. (LW 26)
28) Carolina Panthers - Blew a 16 point first half lead to the Falcons. It's hard to call this an up and coming team when there doesn't appear to be an actual good core. (LW 27)
29) Cleveland Browns - Just a shockingly bad offense, which doesn't reflect well on Pat Shurmur, who is an offensive coach. They currently pick at #6 in the draft, would they take a QB? (LW 28)
30) Minnesota Vikings - Joe Webb replaced the poor Christian Ponder and nearly led his team to a win against Detroit. Are Vikes fans thinking he could be the QB of the future? (LW 29)
31) St. Louis Rams - Last week, the Rams had the worst offense in the NFL scoring only 11.7 points per game. This week they're up to 11.8! Improvement! (LW 31)
32) Indianapolis Colts - They don't need to go 0-3 to get the #1 pick, but they probably will. Week 17 against the Jags is the biggest threat to their perfect losing season. (LW 32)
over 1 year ago Update 0 comments
Week 14 NFL Power Rankings: NFC Takes A Tumble
It was only a few short weeks ago that I was touting what imbalance there seemed to be in the NFL because it seemed as though most of the good team in the league were concentrated in the NFC. After this weekend, that no longer appears to be the case. NFC playoff contenders Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, New York & Chicago all suffered losses this weekend throwing the entire playoff picture into disarray and leaving us wondering if any of these teams are really any good?
And if there's any imbalance in the NFL, it's between the top 6 or so and everyone else. Once you get past #7 in this week's ranking, the next 10 teams are almost completely a toss up. I put the Broncos at the top of that heap, but if you said it was the Cowboys or Bears or Jets... you'd have a perfectly good argument. After that group, it's much the same for the rest of the league. It seems like everyone has either 7 wins or 7 losses.
With that, onto the week 14 power ranks.
1) Green Bay Packers - Did anyone not think Rodgers was going to lead them down the field for the win when they got the ball with about a minute left? LW (1)
2) New England Patriots - The score against the Colts was closer than you might have guessed, but any December win is a good one. LW (2)
3) New Orleans Saints - Scored 80 points in their last two games. (LW 3)
4) Baltimore Ravens - Ray Rice gave his fantasy owners an early gift with a 200+ yard rushing game. (LW 7)
5) San Francisco 49ers - Clinched the NFC West title for the first time since 2002. (LW 5)
6) Pittsburgh Steelers - Easily dispatched the one playoff bound looking Bengals. (LW 4)
7) Houston Texans - Apparently it doesn't matter who plays QB, they just keep winning. (LW 6)
8) Denver Broncos - Does it still count as "Tebow Time" when the defense leads the game winning drive? Does it matter? (LW 14)
9) Dallas Cowboys - What a let down from Dallas this week losing to Arizona. They could have really opened up a lead in the NFC East with the Giants losing. (LW 8)
10) New York Jets - Have won two straight and are actually in a pretty good position for a wildcard. (LW 13)
11) Tennessee Titans - They're very much alive in the AFC wildcard race. (LW 17)
12) Atlanta Falcons - Just when you think Atlanta has it figured out and is ready to go on a roll, they throw in a stinker like this weekend. (LW 9)
13) Chicago Bears - This team is in a real free for all with Caleb Hanie at QB and now they face the prospect of missing Matt Forte for a few games. (LW 10)
14) Detroit Lions - This is easily the most undisciplined team in the NFL and that reflect directly on their coach, Jim Schwartz. (LW 11)
15) Oakland Raiders - Much like the Falcons, just when you think the Raiders are ready to go on a run... they lose. (LW 12)
16) New York Giants - They were competitive against the best team in the NFL, but when you're in a free fall like the Giants, just being competitive isn't good enough. They've now lost four straight. (LW 15)
17) Cincinnati Bengals - They've failed every test against the big dogs in their division. The humps they'll need to get over next year are colored black, silver & purple. (LW 16)
18) Seattle Seahawks - Absolutely trounced the Eagles on Thursday night and now get a virtual bye week as they don't play until Monday night. (LW 21)
19) Buffalo Bills - The Bills have now lost five straight since giving Ryan Fitzpatrick that big, new contract. (LW 18)
20) Arizona Cardinals - Continued their odd domination of the Cowboys with a win on Sunday. (LW 25)
21) Miami Dolphins - I said Miami would win three more games this year. They only need to win two of their next four to make that a reality. They're really playing well. (LW 22)
22) San Diego Chargers - Chargers finally got a win, breaking their six game losing streak and looking really good doing it. (LW 26)
23) Kansas City Chiefs - Maybe the unlikeliest end to a game this season when McCluster caught that hail mary. (LW 27)
24) Philadelphia Eagles - Sitting at 4-8, they actually still have a shot at the NFC East, which should tell you something about the NFC East this year. (LW 19)
25) Washington Redskins - Looks like they've lost Fred Davis and Trent Williams for the year thanks to multiple positive drug tests. (LW 24)
26) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Tampa has now lost six straight, the second longest streak in the NFL. (LW 20)
27) Carolina Panthers - Cam Newton may have pulled back ahead of Andy Dalton in the rookie of the year race. (LW 29)
28) Cleveland Browns - Really can't throw or run the ball effectively. Just a terrible offense. (LW 23)
29) Minnesota Vikings - Christian Ponder follows in Brett Favre's footsteps with a game losing INT of his own. (LW 30)
30) Jacksonville Jaguars - The worst offense in the NFL gaining only 254.7 yards per game. (LW 28)
31) St. Louis Rams - Remember how I said the Jags were the worst offense in the NFL? The Rams may have a better argument, they are scoring a league low 11.7 points per game. (LW 31)
32) Indianapolis Colts - Credit to them for actually getting up to play their old rivals, the Pats. They lost, but they did fight. (LW 32)
over 1 year ago Article 1 comment
Week 13 NFL Power Rankings: Packers And Patriots At The Top
It was a weekend of statement games in the NFL both from a positive and negative perspective.
over 1 year ago Article 0 comments
Week 12 NFL Power Rankings: Balance Power Shifts To The NFC
The AFC has been home to most of the best teams over the past decade or so. That no longer appears to be the case
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NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Texans Peak, Patriots Come Roaring Back
The football gods can indeed be very cruel. It really seemed, for a while there, that the balance of power was shifting in the NFL. The Patriots had lost two straight, the Bears were floundering, the once mighty Colts were done… In the meantime it seemed like there were new emerging powers like the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans.
This week though? The NFL looks more like we’re used to. The Patriots reversed their fortunes with a blowout win over the Jets, watched the Bills get crushed in Dallas and now once again sit atop the AFC East. The Bears, who started off 2-3, have now won four straight, their latest a 37-13 whipping of the Detroit Lions. And those Lions… they were everyone’s darling when they started the season 5-0, but they’ve started playing other NFC contenders and have quickly wilted against the competition with losses to the 49ers, Bears, & Falcons. They’ll be jockeying with two of those teams for a wildcard.
And the Texans, the cruelest choice of the NFL gods… Finally, Peyton Manning is out of their way. Finally, they have a defense. And finally they are just wrecking teams from week to week… and what happens? They lose their QB for the year and now need to rely on Matt Leinart to lead them. That just plain stinks.
With that, onto the week 11 power ranks.
1) Green Bay Packers – It’s getting silly at this point. The Pack are dominating people. LW (1)
2) San Francisco 49ers – At this point, it would be a surprise if the Niners don’t get a bye in the playoffs. (LW 3)
3) Houston Texans – This is really a shame. The Texans have been playing as good as anyone in this league over the last month and now it appears that they’ve lost Matt Schaub for the year. Who knows maybe Matt Leinart can keep…bwahahaha! (LW 6)
4) New Orleans Saints – Mike Smith deserves at least some of the credit for this Saints win. Great call there Mike. (LW 5)
5) Chicago Bears – The Bears have a very favorable schedule from here on. They have to be considered as favorites for the first wildcard. (LW 13)
6) New England Patriots – Just when we were about to write off the Pats, they go ahead and dominate the Jets in their own building. LW (14)
7) New York Giants – The Giants might have beaten the Niners if that game was in New York. It wasn’t though. (LW 4)
8) Pittsburgh Steelers – In a bad week for the AFC North, the Steelers come out on top. (LW 8)
9) Baltimore Ravens – If you look up “let down game” in the football encyclopaedia, you’ll find the Ravens vs the Seahawks. (LW 2)
10) New York Jets – That was a good old fashioned humbling defeat at the hands of the Patriots. (LW 7)
11) Dallas Cowboys – Getting embarrassed by the Eagles on national TV seems to have woken these Cowboys up. (LW 17)
12) Cincinnati Bengals – They might not be ready to hang with the big dogs yet, but they’re not far off. (LW 9)
13) Detroit Lions – Another chance to prove themselves against an NFC contender, another failure. (LW 10)
14) Buffalo Bills – Since signing that big new contract, Ryan Fitzpatrick is 0-2 and has thrown five picks. (LW 11)
15) Tennessee Titans – The Titans are suddenly in pretty good shape in the AFC South. They’re only a game back of the Texans, who have now lost Matt Schaub for the year. (LW 20)
16) Atlanta Falcons – Going for it on 4th down on your own 30 is dubious at any point in a game, doubly so in overtime. (LW 12)
17) Oakland Raiders – Carson Palmer looks more like his old self and suddenly the AFC West is theirs for the taking. (LW 21)
18) Kansas City Chiefs – This year KC has gone from the worst team in the league, to division leaders, back to one of the worst teams again. (LW 15)
19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Tampa has lost three straight and is fading fast in the NFC playoff picture. (LW 16)
20) Arizona Cardinals – They’ve got a full blown QB controversy in Arizona as John Skelton has outplayed Kevin Kolb in the two games he’s started. (LW 31)
21) San Diego Chargers – Gave up 489 total yards to the Raiders on Thursday night. (LW 19)
22) Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins are really playing well lately. Problem is, one more win puts them in a pack with a bunch of three wins teams, which means no sure shot at a franchise QB. (LW 28)
23) Philadelphia Eagles – How many wins does Andy Reid need to survive for next year? 7 or 8? That looks like a long shot at this point. (LW 18)
24) Denver Broncos – Tim Tebow completed two of eight passes and Denver still won. You can’t say the guy isn’t interesting. (LW 22)
25) Jacksonville Jaguars – The weekly winner of the “have the Colts on your schedule” sweepstakes. (LW 26)
26) Cleveland Browns – If Cleveland is in a position to draft Landry Jones or Matt Barkley, do they do it? (LW 23)
27) St. Louis Rams – Hopefully you didn’t have to watch their win over the Browns. (LW 29)
28) Seattle Seahawks – Seattle is just a tough place to play. Just ask the Saints or the Ravens. Records don’t matter up there. (LW 30)
29) Washington Redskins – Rex Grossman “earns” his starting job back with a 0 TD, 2 INT performance in which the Skins don’t manage a TD. (LW 24)
30) Minnesota Vikings – Their blowout at the hands of the Packers would be worse if it wasn’t entirely predictable. (LW 25)
31) Carolina Panthers – As good as Cam Newton has been, this team really isn’t anywhere near ready to contend. (LW 27)
32) Indianapolis Colts – Bill Polian says he’ll consider taking a QB if they get the #1 pick. My question is “If?” (LW 32)
over 1 year ago Update 0 comments
Week 11 NFL Power Rankings: Injuries Could Shift Balance Of Power
Week 10 was an absolute bloodbath in the NFL and will probably have pretty major ramifications on the power rankings for the remainder of the season. The amount of major injuries sustained this week has to be greater than we've seen all year, if not in a couple years. However, no one had it worse than the Texans, who appear to have lost Matt Schaub for the season with Lisfranc injury. That's a killer blow to a team that was legitimately playing some of the best football of the season.
Other notables to go down were Chiefs QB Matt Cassell who could go on IR with a hand injury and the Eagles' Michael Vick who may miss next week with cracked ribs. Broncos RB Knowshon Moreno is done for the year with an ACL tear and Bears LG Chris Williams was put on IR after dislocating his wrist and undergoing surgery on Sunday.
But it wasn't all bad news as we have some quick risers this week. The Chicago Bears have everyone believing after back to back road wins in Philly and Detroit. The Patriots are back from the dead with a blowout win over the Jets and the blowout at the hands of the Eagles may turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to the Dallas Cowboys.
With that, onto the week 11 power ranks.
1) Green Bay Packers - It's getting silly at this point. The Pack are dominating people. LW (1)
2) San Francisco 49ers - At this point, it would be a surprise if the Niners don't get a bye in the playoffs. (LW 3)
3) Houston Texans - This is really a shame. The Texans have been playing as good as anyone in this league over the last month and now it appears that they've lost Matt Schaub for the year. Who knows maybe Matt Leinart can keep...bwahahaha! (LW 6)
4) New Orleans Saints - Mike Smith deserves at least some of the credit for this Saints win. Great call there Mike. (LW 5)
5) Chicago Bears - The Bears have a very favorable schedule from here on. They have to be considered as favorites for the first wildcard. (LW 13)
6) New England Patriots - Just when we were about to write off the Pats, they go ahead and dominate the Jets in their own building. LW (14)
7) New York Giants - The Giants might have beaten the Niners if that game was in New York. It wasn't though. (LW 4)
8) Pittsburgh Steelers - In a bad week for the AFC North, the Steelers come out on top. (LW 8)
9) Baltimore Ravens - If you look up "let down game" in the football encyclopaedia, you'll find the Ravens vs the Seahawks. (LW 2)
10) New York Jets - That was a good old fashioned humbling defeat at the hands of the Patriots. (LW 7)
11) Dallas Cowboys - Getting embarrassed by the Eagles on national TV seems to have woken these Cowboys up. (LW 17)
12) Cincinnati Bengals - They might not be ready to hang with the big dogs yet, but they're not far off. (LW 9)
13) Detroit Lions - Another chance to prove themselves against an NFC contender, another failure. (LW 10)
14) Buffalo Bills - Since signing that big new contract, Ryan Fitzpatrick is 0-2 and has thrown five picks. (LW 11)
15) Tennessee Titans - The Titans are suddenly in pretty good shape in the AFC South. They're only a game back of the Texans, who have now lost Matt Schaub for the year. (LW 20)
16) Atlanta Falcons - Going for it on 4th down on your own 30 is dubious at any point in a game, doubly so in overtime. (LW 12)
17) Oakland Raiders - Carson Palmer looks more like his old self and suddenly the AFC West is theirs for the taking. (LW 21)
18) Kansas City Chiefs - This year KC has gone from the worst team in the league, to division leaders, back to one of the worst teams again. (LW 15)
19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Tampa has lost three straight and is fading fast in the NFC playoff picture. (LW 16)
20) Arizona Cardinals - They've got a full blown QB controversy in Arizona as John Skelton has outplayed Kevin Kolb in the two games he's started. (LW 31)
21) San Diego Chargers - Gave up 489 total yards to the Raiders on Thursday night. (LW 19)
22) Miami Dolphins - The Dolphins are really playing well lately. Problem is, one more win puts them in a pack with a bunch of three wins teams, which means no sure shot at a franchise QB. (LW 28)
23) Philadelphia Eagles - How many wins does Andy Reid need to survive for next year? 7 or 8? That looks like a long shot at this point. (LW 18)
24) Denver Broncos - Tim Tebow completed two of eight passes and Denver still won. You can't say the guy isn't interesting. (LW 22)
25) Jacksonville Jaguars - The weekly winner of the "have the Colts on your schedule" sweepstakes. (LW 26)
26) Cleveland Browns - If Cleveland is in a position to draft Landry Jones or Matt Barkley, do they do it? (LW 23)
27) St. Louis Rams - Hopefully you didn't have to watch their win over the Browns. (LW 29)
28) Seattle Seahawks - Seattle is just a tough place to play. Just ask the Saints or the Ravens. Records don't matter up there. (LW 30)
29) Washington Redskins - Rex Grossman "earns" his starting job back with a 0 TD, 2 INT performance in which the Skins don't manage a TD. (LW 24)
30) Minnesota Vikings - Their blowout at the hands of the Packers would be worse if it wasn't entirely predictable. (LW 25)
31) Carolina Panthers - As good as Cam Newton has been, this team really isn't anywhere near ready to contend. (LW 27)
32) Indianapolis Colts - Bill Polian says he'll consider taking a QB if they get the #1 pick. My question is "If?" (LW 32)
