NFL Power Rankings Week 17 | Green Bay, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay

Just one more week remains in the regular season and the playoff picture is finally starting to take shape. Here is our Power Rankings heading into the final week before the playoffs.

1) Green Bay Packers 13-3 (1 last week)

It comes as no surprise Green Bay wrapped up the top spot in the NFC on Sunday night confirming what we have known for a long time. The Packers are the best team not only in their conference but in the league, and the road to the Super Bowl goes through a frigid Lambeu in January.

2) Los Angeles Rams 12-4 (3 last week)

It wasn’t easy for the Rams, but they got the job done late in a tough, physical gameagainst the Baltimore Ravens. This was exactly the kind of game they would have lost during their rough patch when everyone questioned them for being soft.

3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12-4 (4 last week)

Tampa Bay’s off the field issues will be more discussed than the comeback win over the Jets, but Brady and the showed the resiliency of a championship team on Sunday. They may not get home field throughout the playoffs, but they proved last year that they don’t need it.

4) Tennessee Titans 11-5 (10 last week)

How can a top seed in the conference be a sleeper? Well when you lose you’re top running back and MVP candidate doubt certainly tends to creep in, but the Titans continued to win (ugly as it may have been) and they are in pole position to have home field throughout the playoffs.

5) Kansas City Chiefs 11-5 (2 last week)

The Chiefs had their eight game win streak snapped, and simultaneously lost their grasp on the top spot in the league. This may sound strange, but going into the playoffs with a long win streak can be dangerous. I think a loss might serve KC well.

6) Cincinnati 10-6 (8 last week)

Cincy clinched the division and snapped the Chiefs eight game win streak. I must admit, I have been awfully skeptical of the Bengals, but as the season goes on they have continued to shut me up week after week. I’m all in with Burrow and the Bengals, and I don’t think there is a team in the playoffs that will want to square up against them.

7) Dallas Cowboys 11-5 (5 last week)

It was too little too late for Dallas, who came out flat first half against the Arizona Cardinals. Their four game win streak was snapped, which will most likely set up a juicy rematch with the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs.

8) Buffalo Bills 10-6 (11 last week)

The Bills win over the Falcons didn’t come easy, they hang on to the top spot in the division. They still don’t look like the team they were at the beginning of the season, but ending they have won three straight, and a forth straight next week would give them plenty of momentum heading into the playoffs.

9) Arizona Cardinals 11-5 (14 last week)

The Cardinals stopped their three game skid against a streaking Dallas side. A solid win over a tough team is exactly what they needed heading into the playoffs.

10) Indianapolis Colts 9-7 (6 last week)

Indianapolis lost to the Raiders in a tight one at home. The Raiders were a desperate team playing for their playoff lives, and now the will be in the same position in the final week of the season after the loss.

11) San Francisco 49ers 9-7 (12 last week)

The Niners were dealt a blow early in the week when Jimmy G was ruled out for a vital game against the Texans. Trey Lance came in and made light work of the Texans to keep a one game lead for the final spot in the Wild Card race.

12) Los Angeles Chargers 9-7 (18 last week)

The Chargers responded after an inexplicable demolition at the hands of the Texans in Week 16. A division opponent with a chance to play spoiler is always a tricky task, but Herbert and LA got back on track to stay in the hunt for the a Wild Card spot in a snug AFC.

13) New England Patriots 10-6 (7 last week)

The Pats stopped the bleeding with a win over Jacksonville. They had lost two straight before that and the one time leaders of the AFC were suddenly thrown into question. They have clinched a playoff spot, and could still win the division with a win and a Bills loss next week.

14) Philadelphia Eagles 9-7 (15 last week)

The Eagles are flying high, riding a four game win streak into the final week of the season. Who would have thought that Jalen Hurts and Philly would be in this position after a 2-5 start to the season?

15) Las Vegas Raiders 9-7 (21 last week)

It all comes down to the last week. After all the Raiders have been through this season they still have a chance. They will play in the final game of the regular season on Monday night against division rival, and playoff hopeful the LA Chargers in what will most likely be a play in game.

16) Pittsburgh Steelers 8-7-1 (15 last week)

Big Ben's swansong in Pittsburgh was enough to see the Steelers live to fight another day. They still need a lot of help, but first things first they need to beat the team right below them on this list.

17) Baltimore Ravens 8-8 (13 last week)

How important is Lamar Jackson to the Baltimore Ravens? Just have a look at the last month since he went down with an ankle injury. They have lost four straight and are currently out of playoff positioning.

18) Miami Dolphins 8-8 (9 last week)

The Dolphins had their seven game win streak snapped, and looked awfully pedestrian against the Titans. Everyone kept asking what would happen when they actually played a team with a winning record (the only team they beat that had a winning record in their streak was the Ravens to start the streak). The Titans gave them a taste of reality, and that taste has them on the outside of the playoff hunt looking in.

19) Cleveland Browns 7-9 (17 last week)

The Browns playoff dreams were crushed on Sunday without even playing a snap. They came into the game against the Steelers looking like a team that had nothing to play for. Many people's preseason dark horse will not be around after next weeks regular season finale.

20) New Orleans 8-8 (23 last week)

Give credit to Sean Payton’s men who have rebounded after a five game slide to win three of their last four, and are still in contention for a playoff spot despite their ups and downs this season.

21) Minnesota Vikings 7-9 (19 last week)

The Vikings were severely undermanned for their division rivalry against the Packers and it showed. The game was over in the second quarter and so are their chances at making the post season.

22) Denver Broncos 7-9 (22 last week)

Denver held on for as long as they could in the one of the toughest divisions in football, but a three game losing streak has unraveled their playoff chances.

23) Washington Football Team 6-10 (20 last week)

The honeymoon is over for Washington and Tyler Heinicke. The Football Team won’t be making the playoffs after a mid season surge, but COVID caught up to the boys from the capital. The good news is Heinicke looks like he’ll be under center in Washington for a while.

24) Atlanta Falcons 7-9 (24 last week)

Atlanta’s outside playoff chances coming into Week 17 have diminished following the loss against the Bills. I don’t think the Falcons were ever considered a playoff contender, no matter how close they got to the Wild Card.

25) New York Jets 4-12 (26 last week)

The Jets may not have beat the Bucs over the weekend, but there is suddenly a ray of sunshine on what was a troublesome season in the Meadowlands. Zach Wilson looks like he’s figuring out this whole quarterbacking thing in the NFL, and the rest of the team is following suit.

26) Chicago Bears 6-10 (28 last week)

Two wins in a row for the Bears who have had little joy this season. Both wins came with different quarterbacks, and neither of them was their rookie they took in the draft in 2021. While the wins are nice, it doesn’t tell you much about what direction the Bears wanted to go looking ahead to next season.

27) Seattle Seahawks 5-11 (25 last week)

Seattle manhandled the Lions for their fifth win of the season. Who knows what the Seahawks season would have looked like without Russell Wilson injuring his finger, but this will be a year to forget for Russ and Coach Carroll

28) Houston Texans 4-12 (27 last week)

The Texans looked like they were going to give the Niners trouble, but it the end the offense died in the second half and the Houston snapped back to reality after the win over the Chargers last week.

29) Carolina Panthers 5-11 (29 last week)

It seems like ages ago the Panthers were 3-0 to start the season. Since then they are 2-11 and don’t look even a shade of the same team that opened the season up with a win streak.

30) New York Giants 4-12 (30 last week)

While the season isn’t over the Giants season was over long ago. NYG has lost five straight, and failed to score more than 10 points in four of those games.

31) Detroit Lions 2-13-1 (31 last week)

The Lions look like they won’t finish at the bottom of the Power Rankings at the end of the season. Give credit to Detroit, who came out, competed, and kept the majority of their games close despite having a team that was not built to win coming into the season.

32) Jacksonville Jaguars 2-14 (32 last week)

A couple bits of good news coming out of Jacksonville: one is the season is almost over. They haven’t used the last few weeks since Urban Meyer’s departure to get any better, instead they continue to sink. Two is they look like they will have the first pick in the draft again this offseason.