NFL Power Rankings Week 17: Eagles lose but don’t drop, as Bills and rest of top ten stay the same

The top half of the league remains largely in the same spot as last week after the best teams in the league took care of business this weekend, while many teams who needed wins failed to do so. That will make the final couple weeks of the season awfully interesting as playoff battles come down to the wire.

Here are out latest Power Rankings heading into the final two weeks of the season.

1) Philadelphia Eagles 13-2, last week 1

As I sat and watched the Eagles play the Cowboys without Jalen Hurts, I must be honest, I didn’t see a whole lot of difference from the Philly’s offense with Garner Minshew under center. They looked like the same team, until it counted in the fourth quarter, when Minshew threw a pick, then they fumbled on the next possession and then turned it over on downs after getting inside the Dallas 20. Philly didn’t have their QB and still played the Cowboys until the end, so they aren’t moving down the rankings.

2) Buffalo Bills 12-3, last week 2

The Bills hit the road, but the cold weather followed them to Chicago as Buffalo struggled in the opening half of the game from Soldier Field. It was far from a mistake free game, and if they had been playing a better team than the Bears then their three turnovers may have been their downfall. Fortunately for Bills Mafia, their 254 yards on the ground were enough to win comfortably. If the Bills are going to get to the Super Bowl, their offense needs a good balance of the run and the passing game, and this game will proved they can do a bit of both.

3) Kansas City Chiefs 12-3, last week 3

After two weeks of scraping past two of the worst teams in the league, the Chiefs went back to winning comfortably against a Seahawks team desperate to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Chiefs defense held Seattle out of the endzone until late in the fourth quarter when the game was already well in hand. They are keeping the Bills honest, and will be waiting on any sort of slip up from Buffalo in the final two weeks of the season to pounce on that one seed in the AFC.

4) San Francisco 49ers 11-4, last week 4

That’s eight straight for the hottest team in the league. The Niners didn’t get off to the hottest start, but the defense did what they alway do which is keep San Fran in the game until the offense turned on. Brock Purdy is undefeated in his first three starts, while the Niners haven’t lost a game since Chrisitan McCaffery came to the Bay Area.

5) Cincinnati Bengals 11-4, last week 5

Cincinnati jumped out to a quick lead early in their game against the Patriots, and held on the rest of the way. In the last couple of weeks the Bengals have failed to put together a complete game. In Week 15 they needed a big second half to take down the Bucs, and this week they were shut out in the second half, but their first half advantage was enough to carry them to the win that keeps them on top of the AFC North.

6) Dallas Cowboys 11-4, last week 6

The Cowboys bounced back after a devastating overtime loss to the Jaguars last week. They have won five of their last six, but the defense has not looked like a unit that is ready for the playoffs. They have a few more weeks to figure things out, but at the moment it looks like they are headed for a first round match up against the Bucs, or whoever comes out of the NFC South, and may not need their defense to be that in tune at least for their first postseason matchup.

7) Minnesota Vikings 12-3, last week 7

Minnesota have a knack for winning games late, and lately New York have been losing those close games. Greg Joseph hit one of the longest field goals in NFL history to secure the win as time ran out in Minnesota and the Vikings look like the favorite to get the two seed in the NFC.

8) Los Angeles Chargers 8-6, last week 8

The Chargers are in the playoffs for the first time in the Justin Herbert era, and they locked up their Wild Card spot with their defense in Indy on Monday night. Asante Samuel and the defense picked off Nick Foles three times and held the Colts to just three points as Austin Ekeler punched in two short TDs. You’d like to see this team rolling a bit more on the offensive end heading into the playoffs, but if the defense is starting to come around that is a fantastic sign for the powder blue side of LA.

9) Baltimore Ravens 10-5, last week 9

The Ravens are hanging on to their chances at a division title even without their franchise quarterback. Their are already guaranteed a playoff spot after their win over the Falcons on Saturday, but they are still setting their sights on knocking off the Bengals for the AFC North title in the final game of the regular season. Priority number one right now is getting Lamar Jackson back to full health before the playoffs start.

10) New York Giants 8-6, last week 10

Daniel Jones had one of his best passing games of the season against the Vikings in Minnesota, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Giants to victory. It doesn’t matter how well Jones plays, this is a team that needs to run through Saquon Barkley. If the running game showed up on Saturday, the Vikings never would have been able to score 17 fourth quarter points. It will be hard for the Giants to lose their Wild Card spot over the next two weeks, but they aren’t playing like a team that is ready for January football.

11) Washington Commanders 7-7-1, last week 12

In the end the tie against the Giants could be what gets the Commanders in the playoffs. But the big question is who is going to be the one to lead them to the finish line? It’s been Taylor Heinicke who has led this resurgence in Washington, but Carson Wentz finished off the game against the Niners in the fourth quarter of what was a blowout loss for the Commanders. With the playoffs on the line, questions surrounding the quarterback position is the last thing you need if you are Ron Rivera.

12) Miami Dolphins 8-7, last week 11

It all started a few weeks ago in San Francisco. The Dolphins lost their first game with Tua under center from start to finish. There were signs of the ship starting to shake a bit, and now the Dolphins are just trying not to capsize. Tua threw three second half picks against the Packers on Sunday and Miami has lost four straight. The QBI has been one of the major culprits for the late season downfall, and now the final two games of the season against Wild Card aspirants, and division rivals New England and New York will decide who is getting the final playoff spots in the AFC.

13) Jacksonville Jaguars 7-8, last week 17

Jacksonville was on the verge of getting eliminated from playoff contention a month and a half ago, but four wins in their last five games have them leading the the AFC South. The defense won the game in dramatic fashion against the Cowboys in Week 15, and on Thursday Night against the Jets, they held New York to just three points all night. Trevor Lawrence has been playing nearly perfectly in the last seven games with 14 TDs and 1 INT. No matter what happens in the upcoming week, it looks like the Titans-Jags game in Week 18 is going to decide who is moving on in this division.

14) Green Bay Packers 7-8, last week 18

Never count Aaron Rodgers and the Packers out. Especially if it’s December. Rodgers, Matt LaFleur and Green Bay are 15-0 in their last 15 December games and their narrow playoff chances from a few weeks ago have broadened after three straight wins this month. They finish off the season with divisional games against the Vikings and the Lions, and if they are going to make the playoffs they will have to do it against two teams who want nothing more than to see the Packers knocked out of the playoff race.

15) Detroit Lions 7-8, last week 14

All good things come to an end. On Saturday the Lions had one of their easier games over the last month, but failed to show up as their playoffs chances hung in the balance. Detroit was down 24-7 at halftime, which was too much to overcome for even one of the best second half teams in the league. Luckily for the Lions everyone who needed to lose this weekend lost and their postseason dreams are still within reach. If they can beat the Bears next week, it could set up an all or nothing showdown with the Packers on the final week of the season.

16) New York Jets 7-8, last week 13

It’s been a tumultuous season for former second overall pick Zach Wilson who seems like he has completely lost the trust of his offense, and the entire team for that matter. They looked like a team that had no interest in playing for their quarterback for the first half of the game against the Jags. Once Chris Streveler came on the offense looked like a different unit, although by the time the bearded wonder came on, it was much too late to get back into the game. It’s not over from the Jets, but they need a QB who players want to play for under center. Jets fans will be crossing their fingers for a speedy Mike White return before the door to the postseason shuts.

17) New England Patriots 7-8, last week 15

The Pats late season collapse has been spectacular (because of the last second lateral returned for a TD, not becuase I’m happy to see the Pats lose), losing four of their last five has bumped them out of the Wild Card spots in the AFC and now they need two wins over the Dolphins and the Bills to even think about a post season appearance for a second straight year. I said it last week, and I’ll say it until the end of the season, that loss to the Raiders on the last play of the game is going to be the reason the Patriots don’t make the playoffs .

18) Seattle Seahawks 7-8, last week 16

Needless to say, when the going got tough, the tough didn’t get going in Seattle. After a shocking start to the season, they have plummeted out of the playoff picture, with five losses in their last six games. If you look at the scores of those six losses, all of them except Saturday’s loss to the Chiefs was decided by a one score. Somehow despite the late season collapse, the Seahawks still have an outside chance at a postseason appearance, but they have no margin for error.

19) Pittsburgh Steelers 7-8, last week 21

Pittsburgh stay alive in the AFC Wild Card race with a late Kenny Pickett TD to George Pickens to take down the Raiders in a do or die game from Acrisure Stadium. There was a little Franco Harris magic in the air on the anniversary of the Immaculate Reception as the Steelers won their fourth game in their last five. If Pittsburgh are going to make it to the post season they will have to beat AFC North rivals Baltimore and Cleveland and gets some outside help.

20) Tennessee Titans 7-8, last week 20

It’s been a disastrous end to the season for the Titans, who let the one win Texans top them in Houston on Saturday. The loss was the Tennessee’s fifth straight, and the Titans are crawling towards the finish line with their chances at a playoff appearance getting thinner and thinner. It will most likely come down to the final game of the season in Jacksonville, but the Titans have to worry about the Cowboys before that.

21) Las Vegas Raiders 6-9, last week 19

The Raiders went into Pittsburgh needing a win after winning in miraculous fashion against the Patriots in Week 15. You would have thought that win would have propelled them to a playoff push, but the Steelers put the nail in the coffin on a Raiders run to the post season by shutting down the LV offense to just 10 points and Derek Carr threw three interceptions in the second half as Las Vegas said Hasta La Vitsta to the playoffs.

22) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-8, last week 22

Another week, and another game in which the Bucs looked like they did not want anything to do with the NFC South title. The offense stunk again. The defense kept them in the game, again. And Tom Brady led another game winning drive to keep Tampa on top of the division, again. Tampa Bay will risk it all in the final two weeks of the season against two teams eyeing the division title, the Panthers and the Falcons.

23) Carolina Panthers 6-9, last week 24

There was once a time when I was considering putting the Panthers on the bottom of my Power Rankings. Let’s be real with ourselves, they still aren’t a good team but they have gone from the bottom of the barrel entering the final two weeks of the season with a great chance to make the playoffs after posting 320 yards rushing against the Lions on Saturday. It’s a toss up in the NFC South and Carolina’s games against the Bucs and the Saints are going to have huge playoff implications.

24) New Orleans Saints 6-9, last week 25

In one of the coldest games ever recorded in NFL history, and the Saints, a dome team went into Cleveland and kept their playoff hopes alive with an ugly win at FirstEnergy Stadium. Andy Dalton only threw for 92 yards, but the run game went for 152 yards and two TDs as the Saints D kept Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in check. The NFC South may be the worst division in football, but it will be the most interesting one over the final two weeks. The Saints have to win in Philly next week to stay alive for their Week 18 game against the Panthers.

25) Atlanta Falcons 5-10, last week 23

The Falcons offense was blanked in a must win game in Baltimore. Desmond Ridder had a decent day in his second career game as the Falcons quarterback. He went 22/33 for 218 yards, but Atlanta went 0/4 in the red zone and that was enough to see them eliminated from playoff contention.

26) Los Angeles Rams 5-10, last week 30

Bravo to Baker Mayfield and the Rams. Even before their potential quarterback of the future came to town, the rest of the Rams team was showing a sense of pride that we hadn’t seen in the first months of the season. LA blew out the lifeless Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon to give their fans a Christmas present that was long over due.

27) Cleveland Browns 6-9, last week 27

Are the Browns really better with Deshaun Watson under center? In the four games Watson has been back, the offense has scored just three TDs. They have won two of those games, but a late Watson interception cost the Browns the game against the Saints and their chances to reach the playoffs.

28) Indianapolis Colts 4-9-1, last week 26

Right now this franchise looks like a chicken running around with it’s head cut off. They took a gamble on the coaching decision once Matt Rhule was fired and it doesn’t look like the decision to go with Jeff Saturday is going to pay off. The Colts have lost five straight after their Monday Night loss to the Chargers and with two weeks left in the season, no one knows who is going to be the coach or the quarterback next year.

29) Arizona Cardinals 4-11, last week 28

There are a lot of things that have gone wrong in Arizona, but maybe the worst part of the Cardinals season is that there are still two more weeks remaining. You could say that the next two weeks could be used as building blocks for the future, but with the uncertainty surrounding Kliff Kingsbury and the front offices in Arizona they can’t even look towards the future in the final few games of the season.

30) Chicago Bears 3-12, last week 29

Chicago’s most dynamic part of their offense, and really the only reason to show up to Bears game (especially in the frigid cold on Saturday), Justin Field’s was shut down by the Bills defense On Saturday. Fields rushed 7 times for 11 yards as the Bears offense barley gained 200 yards as cold put the Bears on ice against Buffalo.

31) Houston Texans 2-12-1, last week 32

If the Texans knew they were only going to win two games this year, I’m sure they would have signed on the dotted line to make sure they win their Week 16, Chirstmas day match up against the Titans. They played spoilers to their division rivals to sink them to a fifth straight loss and knock them out of the lead in the AFC South. They still have two wins, but tall season long they have looked like a better team than the Broncos and finally it’s corresponding in our Power Rankings.

32) Denver Broncos 4-11, last week 31

It’s been a long time coming for the Broncos, but their blowout loss to the Rams was the final straw. There have been a lot of pathetic games for Nathaniel Hackett’s men, but the 51-14 loss to the Rams was finally enough drop them to the bottom of the Power Rankings. It wasn’t just the final straw in terms of the Rankings, it was the final straw for Nathaniel Hackett’s term as head coach in the Mile High City.