NFL Power Rankings after Week 17: Ravens route Dolphins, Niners stay second

There is just a week remaining in the NFL regular season, but there is a lot to be finalized in the last weekend before the playoffs begin. The two top seeds in the AFC and NFC are set, but division races are still open and there are three Wild Card spots still up for grabs heading into Week 18.

Here are our Power Rankings after the penultimate week of the season:

1. Baltimore Ravens 13-3, last week 1

If you would have asked any Ravens fan how they thought their games against the Niners and the Dolphins were going to turn out two weeks ago, not even the most delusional fan would have concocted what Lamar Jackson and Baltimore have done over the last few weeks. Do we just hand them the trophy now? I don’t see this team losing again this season.

2. San Francisco 49ers 12-4, last week 2

The Niners bounced back from their Baltimore butt whooping with a relatively easy win over the Commanders. Purdy went 22-28 for 230 and 2 TDs after throwing four picks last week against the Ravens. They have the top seed in the NFC and the way the rest of the conference looks right now they might roll through the conference which could set up another match up with Baltimore in the Super Bowl.

3. Buffalo Bills 10-6, last week 4

That’s four straight for the Bills who are right back in the AFC East hunt, and control their own destiny in the division with the game in Miami coming up to end the season. The Bills are winning games at the right time but three of their last four games have been one possession games, with the last two coming to the Chargers and Pats, so I’m not sure how much we can trust this team come playoff time, but they are playing good football at the right time which is more than a lot of other teams can say.

4. Cleveland Browns 11-5, last week 6

The Browns are ringing in the New Year with the top Wild Card spot in the AFC, and they have a 38 year old QB to thank. The question is, will they rest their starters next week having wrapped up their spot in the postseason?

5. Dallas Cowboys 11-5, last week 9

The Cowboys were one play, one flag and one two point conversion away from dropping their third straight game and losing their hold on the NFC East. Luckily for them the Eagles are tanking just as bad as they are. This is not a good look for Dak and Dallas who look wounded at the most important time of the season.

6. Kansas City Chiefs 10-6, last week 7

The good news: the Chiefs are AFC West Champs for the seventh straight year. The bad news: they had to rely on six field goals from Harrison Butker to down the Cincinnati Bengals. This is not the dominant Chiefs team of yesteryear and we shall see how they like having to go on the road in the playoffs, if they make it out of the first round.

7. Los Angeles Rams 9-7, last week 10

With all of the playoff teams wavering before they reach the finish line to the regular season, the Rams might be the scariest team to match up with in the post season. Their last three wins were against the Commanders, Saints and Giants, all by a possession, but they are winning games when it counts and they are doing it with a balance run and pass game, which Matthew Stafford won’t mind at all.

8. Detroit Lions 11-5, last week 8

The Lions went into Dallas with the division title in their pocket, and had a chance to take sole possession of the second seed in the NFC. They went into Dallas and actually had the game won for a split second, but a flag took their two point conversion off the board. Is there a huge difference in a 2 and 3 seed? Maybe, but the 2 and 3 seed are still going to have to go through San Fran and I think that’s what Dan Campbell was thinking when he went for the two point conversion three different times against the Cowboys.

9. Miami Dolphins 11-5, last week 3

Once again the Dolphins and everything they have achieved this year has been thrown into trash after another garbage performance against a good team. With first place on the line they have once again proven they can’t win the big one, and I have to chalk that lack of intensity when they need it most to their coach. Mike McDaniels is an offensive genius, a funny guy and the players like him, but that attitude doesn’t translate into Super Bowl titles, and it’s shown in the few spotlight games they have had this season.

10. Philadelphia Eagles 11-5, last week 5

The Eagles have gone from being the top team in our Power Rankings to dropping four of their last five. While they may not care too much about dropping down the PR list, they will care about losing their top spot in the NFC East. Losing to the Cardinals when you have a chance to take a lead in the division race is inexcusable. Losing to the Cardinals when you are up 21-6 at half is a sin that may not be forgiven.

11. Houston Texans 9-7, last week 13

The Texans handled their business against the Titans in C.J. Stroud’s return to play. They made light work of Tennessee so they could start turning all of their attention to the do or die matchup next week against the Colts.

12. Green Bay Packers 8-8, last week 17

The Packers kept their season alive and now control their own destiny with a blow out win over the Vikings in Minnesota on Sunday night. They have scored 33 points a game over the last two weeks, but will risk it all against the Bears in the final week of the season. Let me assure you, there isn’t a team or a fanbase that would love to see the Packers miss the playoffs at their own accord.

13. Indianapolis Colts 9-7, last week 16

The marathon continues in Indy. Garner Minshew and the Colts made sure they didn’t slip up in the second to last week of the season as Jonathan Taylor looked like he did when he was considered one of the best backs in the league. Now he and the Colts will have to win one more game to ensure their playoff future in Indy against the Texans.

14. Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7, last week 19

Mason Mania is real in the Steel City. Who knows what the Steelers what have looked like if they had their No. 3 QB under center all year, or even when Kenny Pickett went down with an ankle injury a month ago. The Steelers are still in the hunt, but they need to beat the Ravens who may rest some of their players for some of their Week 18 game. If they win they will still need some help considering the Colts and Texans hold tie breakers over them.

15. Jacksonville Jaguars 9-7, last week 15

The Jags decision to sit Trevor Lawrence in Week 17 with their playoff future still in the balance was a risky one, but it was a calculated one. Luckily enough for them they had the Panthers come to town and CJ Bethard did enough while Travis Etienne rushed for over 100 for the first time since Week 5 as the Jags blanked Carolina. Now they will need to beat the Titans to lock up the AFC South title.

16. Denver Broncos 8-8, last week 11

The chaos in Denver has been constant since the new ownership took over in the Mile High City. They brought in Russ Wilson and Nathaniel Hackett last year. That didn’t work. They canned the coach and brought in Sean Payton. That didn’t work. Now they bench Russell Wilson, and while they claim it’s a financial decision the body language between coach and player has not looked pretty. Might we have seen the last of Russ in Denver?

17. New Orleans Saints 8-8, last week 20

I must admit, I did not see this one coming. I thought the Saints were done, but if the first half of their game against the Bucs showed us anything, it’s that this team is ready for a rumble. They jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead and didn’t look back as they took a giant step towards the NFC South title. They have another can’t lose game coming up this week against the Falcons who they lost to in ATL just a month and a half ago.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8-8, last week 14

It was just so very Baker Mayfield of Baker Mayfield. Everyone jumps on board and are ready to buy stock in the Bucs and their reinvented QB and as soon as they have a big game in which they could clinch a playoff spot they go out and lay a dud. At home. Against a division rival. Three three-and-outs and an interception in the first half let the Saints take a 17-0 first half lead that they protected in the second half. Someone is going to have to win the NFC South, but we won’t find out who until the last week of the season.

20. Seattle Seahawks 8-8, last week 18

Seattle controlled their own destiny to get into the playoffs playing against a wounded team, at Lumen Field and they blew it. Pittsburgh came into the Pacific Northwest and bullied them as Najee Harris ran for over 100 yards for the first time this season. Seattle is down, but not out. They need to beat the Cardinals and hope for some help from outside.

19. Atlanta Falcons 7-9, last week 22

The Falcons didn’t just have a chance, they had a great chance to make the playoffs. Losing three of their last four including two division games, one of them against the Panthers has shut the door on the playoffs and maybe Arthur Smith’s time in ATL.

21. Cincinnati Bengals 8-8, last week 12

There was a time when Jake Browning looked like the savior that gave hope to a city that lost their Superman. I think I might have even claimed the Bengals looked better without Joe Burrow. Those days are gone. The Bengals were eliminated with their loss to the Chiefs and Browning only delayed the inevitable when Joe Cool went down with a season ending injury.

22. Chicago Bears 7-9, last week 23

What more could you ask for if you are a Bears fan? They have won four of their last five, seem to have sorted their QB issues out, and they just locked up the top pick in the draft with the Panthers loss to the Jags.

23. Las Vegas Raiders 7-9, last week 21

The Raiders went to Indy and did what the Raiders do since Antonio Pierce took over on the sidelines. They fought. They put up a fight against a team playing at home, with their playoff lives on the line and took them to the 12th round. We are in the final stages of the trial run for Pierce in Las Vegas, and if the Raiders players want him back next year, expect them to leave everything on the line in their season finale against the Broncos next week.

24. Minnesota Vikings 7-9, last week 24

The Vikings are somehow not eliminated from playoff contention after their three game losing streak, but they might as well be. After their loss to the Packers, they are going to have to beat the Lions and then hope for a miracle. They held on as long as they could but the frustration of an injury filled season boiled over yesterday as Minnesota tried to come to blows with the Packers as the clock hit 0:00.

25. New York Giants 5-11, last week 25

The Tommy DeVito era in New York is gone. It’s Tyrod Taylor’s ship to steer for the last couple weeks of the season, and he will be setting his sights on impressing in his final showing before what is sure to be a QB competition in New York during the upcoming summer. The Giants have played some of their best ball with Taylor under center, and they almost soured the Rams chance to clinch a playoff spot at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

26. Arizona Cardinals 4-12, last week 28

Let’s tip our hats to the Cardinals who could have thrown in the towel long ago but they didn’t. They could have thrown in the towel down 21-6 to the Eagles but they didn’t. I’m excited to see what this team is going to look like next year.

27. Los Angeles Chargers 5-11, last week 26

The loss to the Broncos makes it four straight for the Chargers, and for the few fans that care about the former San Diego franchise the end of the season can’t come quickly enough. If their was en eject button on the season, they would have pushed it months ago,

28. Tennessee Titans 5-11, last week 27

The Titans hit the road and gave an uninspired performance in Houston. It’s a shame to see Derrick Henry’s reign as King of Nashville and the NFL come to an end like this. Tennessee needs a revamping from top to bottom and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a very different Titans team next year, on the field and off.

29. New England Patriots 4-12, last week 29

It was perhaps one final match up between the Pats and the Bills for Bill Belichick and he gave Buffalo all they could handle. In the end what has plagued him and the franchise since Tom Brady’s departure struck them down again. Bailey Zappe threw three interceptions, one of which was taken back for a TD, and now we look ahead to the Pats game against the Jets which could mark the end of an era.

30. New York Jets 6-10, last week 30

The countdown to the Aaron Rodgers era is underway. Right now Jets fans will be more interested in watching their QB of tomorrow throw pregame passes than they will be the game against the Pats from the Meadowlands.

31. Washington Commanders 4-12, last week 31

You have got to feel for Sam Howell. He did so well to earn the right to be considered the QB of the future in the first three and a half months of the season, but in the last few weeks the wheels have completely fallen off. He threw two picks and had a 21.7 QBR which doesn’t bode well for him, but at least he stayed on the field for the entire game which is more than he can say about the previous two games.

32. Carolina Panthers 2-14, last week 32

A new low point in the disastrous stint of Tepper’s reign in Carolina. The clueless, classless owner was seen throwing his drink on Jags fans from up in his box seats after the Panthers got waxed by a back up QB. A hefty fine and perhaps a suspension for attending NFL games will be in store, but for Panthers fans that won’t be enough.