Week 15 power rankings

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1. Chiefs (11-2; last week No. 2): More no-look passes, please.

2. Saints (11-2; No. 3): They snapped out of a six-quarter funk, and now they have the No. 1 seed in their grasp, again.

3. Rams (11-2; No. 1): They should be very happy that this year’s Super Bowl isn’t being played outdoors in a cold-weather city.

4. Chargers (10-3; No. 5): If you haven’t been paying attention to the Chargers, you may be in for a surprise on Thursday night.

5. Patriots (9-4; No. 4): Bill Belichick brushed off the loss to Miami by saying, “No one died.” Their shot at the top seed did, however.

6. Bears (9-4; No. 8): When the season ends, the Bears will be kicking themselves for losing to the Packers in Green Bay and the Dolphins in Miami (and as a commenter noted the Giants in New Jersey), because the difference may end up being a bye.

7. Cowboys (8-5; No. 7): If Amari Cooper played in Oakland like he’s played in Dallas, it would have taken a lot more than a first-round pick to get him.

8. Texans (9-4; No. 6): Apparently, they took the cheese.

9. Seahawks (8-5; No. 9): No one in the NFC is going to want to play them in January.

10. Ravens (7-6; No. 10): No one in the AFC is going to want to play them in January.

11. Titans (7-6; No. 15): Great game, Derrick Henry. Now, play like that more often.

12. Colts (7-6; No. 16): How did they get shut out by the Jaguars?

13. Steelers (7-5-1; No. 11): A failure to make the playoffs could result in a potential fan revolt, which could test the commitment to rarely changing coaches.

14. Dolphins (7-6; No. 17): The play called “Boise” helped keep the team’s playoff hopes from being sent to Belize.

15. Vikings (6-6-1; No. 12): The playoffs start on Sunday.

16. Eagles (6-7; No. 14): The playoffs continue on Sunday.

17. Broncos (6-7; No. 13): The playoffs were never going to start anyway.

18. Browns (5-7-1; No. 21): The fact that the playoffs are still a possibility with three games left is one of the biggest surprises of the year.

19. Packers (5-7-1; No. 22): If they somehow draw an inside straight to the playoffs, will they have to keep Joe Philbin?

20. Panthers (6-7; No. 18): With an explosion of great young quarterbacks, how much longer will Cam Newton be the quarterback in Carolina?

21. Giants (5-8; No. 23): The Giants are playing just well enough to give Eli Manning another year.

22. Lions (5-8; No. 24): Who would have guessed that practicing in the snow would help them play in the desert?

23. Washington (6-7; No. 19): This team has collapsed faster than a Jenga tower in a wind tunnel.

24. Buccaneers (5-8; No. 20): All those empty seats nearly witnessed a big upset.

25. Jets (4-9; No. 30): Way too little. Way too late.

26. Bills (4-9; No. 25): Glass half empty.

27. Bengals (5-8; No. 26): Glass empty.

28. 49ers (3-10; No. 31): Don’t blow your shot at Nick Bosa, Kyle.

29. Raiders (3-10; No. 32): Don’t blow your shot at a guy you’ll eventually refuse to pay, Jon.

30. Jaguars (4-9; No. 27): Celebrating the fact that they kept Derrick Henry from scoring a fifth touchdown is a microcosm (Chris Simms’ favorite word) of the team’s current culture.

31. Falcons (4-9; No. 28): It’s still better than blowing a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl.

32. Cardinals (3-10; No. 29): The NFC West basement could be this team’s place of residence for a while.

75 responses to “Week 15 power rankings

  1. “Seahawks (8-5; No. 9): No one in the NFC is going to want to play them in January”

    Wrong. No one in the NFL is going to want to play them in January or February.

  2. Vikings need to go 2-1 most likely to make the playoffs. What, you think the Panthers, Redskins, or Eaglels will go 3-0 and knock them out? But, they need to fire Flip to go 2-1 to make the playoffs.

  3. Man, the Cardinals are so bad *and* boring. It’s okay to be bad and interesting, like the Raiders and Redskins where there’s at least entertaining dysfunction and drama in the absence of playoff hopes. But the Cardinals are totally hopeless *and* straight up vanilla. What a bad boring team.

  4. Colts – How did they get shut out by the Jaguars?

    Because the Jags still have an elite defense. It’s just really hard to get inspired week in and week out when you know the offense can’t do enough to help you win the game.

  5. PFT should add the projected draft position in parentheses after the power ranking. Some of these teams have been working hard at it and deserve recognition…including My Bills!

  6. Hopefully this is the last week they keep telling us that the Chiefs should watch out for the Chargers, the #4 team in their power rankings, as if their #4 team with a 10-3 record is somehow going to surprise us…

  7. Patriots top seed hopes not totally dead yet. KC can lose to the Chargers and Seattle and the Chargers can lose one to Balt or @ Denver.

    Bordering on very unlikely, but not dead.

    Chargers could easily get top seed too.

    Houston would be the biggest benefactor of a Steeler win this weekend. They would highly likely be getting the second seed.

  8. The Patriots still have a shot at the top seed. If the Chiefs face either the Chargers or Baltimore as their first playoffs opponent, they will struggle and likely lose. In case of the Chargers, it will be the third time they play in a season, and assuming the Chiefs win this week, the Chiefs will be asked to beat the same three times in a single season, very difficult.

    In case of the Ravens, it will be difficult to sweep them too. Just ask the 2012 Denver team which had to face the Ravens in the regular season and then as the wildcard playoffs team. So the Chiefs going one and done in the playoffs is a real possibility which would leave the Patriots as the top seed.

  9. Wrong. No one in the NFL is going to want to play them in January or February.
    ____________________________________________________________________________

    Wrong. They’ll need a lot more than blocked kicks and missed penalties against the Saints, Rams, or Bears. They won’t make it past week 1 in January.

  10. 19. Packers (5-7-1; No. 22): If they somehow draw an inside straight to the playoffs, will they have to keep Joe Philbin?
    ———
    This has been Aaron’s plan.
    He is executing his plan flawlessly.

  11. Great to see some new teams doing well this year and not the same retreads. Makes the NFL more interesting.

  12. To be fair to Washington (not a homer) the characterization seems to forget they are down to Sanchez, who was sitting on a couch a couple of weeks ago. This is a better team than they are playing.

    Vikings? SKOL!

    Surprises me to see the Falcons so low – but they’re bad. Yes Browns over the Packers.

  13. Rankings are a waste of time once they pass the first 12 teams, the ones likely to be in the playoff. Why do I need to care about who’s at #31 or #32? Ranking the top 12 is all that you need!

  14. Even if they don’t make the playoffs it would be kind of cool to see the Browns finish with a winning record at 8-7-1 for the first time since most of us can remember.

  15. Well the Seahawks should thank the refs for that win last night on that huge CHASNGEED call.
    It was not missed, it was changed when one official or two told the official who threw the flag that he didn’t see what he thought he saw. Sad thing is he had made the right call. I honestly think the Vikings would have scored and taken the lead and probably won. Officials are costing teams more games than ever this season.

  16. As a Saints fan, I hope the Panthers keep deluding themselves into believing that Cam Newton is anything more than a slightly above average running QB.

  17. Seems that certain fans/media have not been paying attention the last 18 seasons.

    Getting the top playoff seed is NOT the goal of the New England Patriots.

  18. Viking fans crack me up. Take away the gifted tie the Vikings received and they have the exact same record as the Packers. Yet, somehow they think their team is still superior.

    Did you guys forget you almost got shutout last night?

    #wontwinanothergamethisyear #livingrentfreesince1961

  19. 19. Packers (5-7-1; No. 22): If they somehow draw an inside straight to the playoffs, will they have to keep Joe Philbin?
    =====

    If they keep Joe Philbin, they will remain at 19 throughout his tenure.

  20. 22. Lions (5-8; No. 24): Who would have guessed that practicing in the snow would help them play in the desert?
    ______________

    Definitely not a room full of media

  21. News flash: Amari Cooper DID play as well with Oakland as he has with Dallas. But Oakland is Oakland, and so while he INDIVIDUALLY played as well you have to remember that this is a TEAM sport, and Oakland has long had problems.

  22. I have never watched the Vikings play before last night.. They stick! What’s all the commotion about? And what is SKOL? so dumb…

  23. Bill saying “No one died” is probably a reference to the fact that a Worcester fire fighter did in fact die, in the line of duty the day before. That fans is a tragedy .
    Football is just a game. One fact may people seem to forget, especially on this board.

  24. 6. Bears (9-4; No. 8): When the season ends, the Bears will be kicking themselves for losing to the Packers in Green Bay and the Dolphins in Miami (and as a commenter noted the Giants in New Jersey), because the difference may end up being a bye.
    _________

    They’ll probably have a home game against the Vikings in the first round. Is that really all that different from a bye?

  25. There are a lot of players that would rather go to Belize than the playoffs. That’s part of the problem with these teams.

  26. ariani1985 says:
    December 11, 2018 at 11:31 am

    Packers would lose to everyone on this list.
    ============

    Hey ‘Nitz – You certainly know losing. Your Vikes have had 50 years of losing. “A legacy of…nothing..” Hang that pelt on your wall.

  27. Sorry Charger fan (1) the chargers are not going to the Superbowl without tickets. Descent team they are but there are too many teams that will beat them easily. Bears, Rams, Chiefs, Patriots. Chargers are midpack of the playoff teams. They are way better than my Raiders for sure of course but SB for the Chargers is not happening.

  28. Russell Wilson is the worst qb out of all the qbs in the playoffs. . 70 yards against the mediocre vikings defense. Lmao. One and done. Delusional seahawks fans think Wilson played a great game. LoL. I feel sorry for them. They won’t beat Dallas or Chicago, on the road in Dallas or in Chicago. It’ll be a blowout. Wilson stats against bears or Cowboys in the first round will be 40 yards passing, 3 ints, 2 fumbles , final score. ..
    Bears or Dallas 24
    Seahawks 3
    Seahawks are the worst team in the playoffs next to the vikings. Both will get destroyed and embarrassed. But hey you beat the pathetic vikings. Bravo. Bravo. 😂

  29. 10. Ravens (7-6; No. 10): No one in the AFC is going to want to play them in January.
    ——
    That’s because they won’t be playing in January.

  30. Vikings laid an egg last night yet their fans are in hear talking about the Packers….again. at least we beat our opponent….and sure played the Seahawks better than your team did.

  31. Giants – Pats 3. Enough of these ho-hum SB matchups. Come on football gods. One more miracle for old times sake. You have made Eli suffer enough since he sold his soul for the last 2. Thanks.

  32. Sean McDermott says ‘trust the process”….year 1 back into the playoffs and then score only 3 points…year 2 “you are what your record says you are”…..smh….

  33. The over/under for browns wins was 5.5 at the beginning of the year! That tie badly hurts anyone who took that…

  34. GoodellMustGo says:
    December 11, 2018 at 1:20 pm

    10. Ravens (7-6; No. 10): No one in the AFC is going to want to play them in January.
    ——
    That’s because they won’t be playing in January.

    =====================

    I’m not sure what’s funnier. The fact that you think the Ravens won’t win the division, or the fact that you think the Ravens won’t make the playoffs.

  35. PFT, you really think that the current Washington team is better than 9 others? I’m a 30+ year fan of theirs and I don’t believe it for a second.

  36. Even Zygi Wilf doesn’t want to live in MN…. says:
    December 11, 2018 at 12:22 pm
    Viking fans crack me up. Take away the gifted tie the Vikings received and they have the exact same record as the Packers. Yet, somehow they think their team is still superior.
    //////////////
    Unfortunately for your team, the NFL only counts the actually games, and not the “what ifs”.
    Vikings 6-6-1
    Packers 5-7-1

    The NFL counts that as the Vikings being superior to your team.

  37. conormacleod says:
    December 11, 2018 at 11:16 am
    Vikings need to go 2-1 most likely to make the playoffs. What, you think the Panthers, Redskins, or Eagles will go 3-0 and knock them out? But, they need to fire Flip to go 2-1 to make the playoffs.

    29 28
    //////////////////
    I’m interested to know which part of this statement 28 of you find untrue? Or is there just 28 Packer fans voting; “no, please don’t let the Vikings make the playoffs for two years in a row while our team doesn’t”?

  38. Steelers fan here. They are ranked way too high. They have been utterly disappointing. Changes need to be made.

  39. fmckenney says:
    December 11, 2018 at 11:11 am
    The Patriots aren’t the Patriots…these Pats can be beat.

    ———-

    Everyone is well aware they went from 2005 to 2014 without winning a Super Bowl right? They’ve been beat a lot of times. They will still be a tough out as usual.

  40. flexx91 says:
    December 11, 2018 at 11:31 am
    Wrong. No one in the NFL is going to want to play them in January or February.
    ____________________________________________________________________________

    Wrong. They’ll need a lot more than blocked kicks and missed penalties against the Saints, Rams, or Bears. They won’t make it past week 1 in January.
    ****************************
    Two games against the rams… lost by 2 points and 5 points.
    Game against the Bears… lost by a TD in Chicago..
    I’d say that they can at least provide good competition to any of those teams.

  41. redandgoldhitman52 says:
    December 11, 2018 at 1:15 pm
    Russell Wilson is the worst qb out of all the qbs in the playoffs. . 70 yards against the mediocre vikings defense. Lmao. One and done. Delusional seahawks fans think Wilson played a great game. LoL. I feel sorry for them. They won’t beat Dallas or Chicago, on the road in Dallas or in Chicago. It’ll be a blowout. Wilson stats against bears or Cowboys in the first round will be 40 yards passing, 3 ints, 2 fumbles , final score. ..
    Bears or Dallas 24
    Seahawks 3
    Seahawks are the worst team in the playoffs next to the vikings. Both will get destroyed and embarrassed. But hey you beat the pathetic vikings. Bravo. Bravo. 😂
    *******************************

    Too bad for your diatribe, Seahawks already beat the Cowboys in Seattle, lost by a TD to Bears on their field. Should be competitive in both games.

  42. The Chargers barely beat the worst Bengals team of the last decade. But yeah, the Chargers are so good that EVERYONE should be worried about them. LOL, the “experts” are a joke, as usual. Chiefs win 10th straight against the team of destiny!

  43. TheWizard says:
    December 11, 2018 at 1:04 pm
    There are a lot of players that would rather go to Belize than the playoffs.

    ———-

    To Breaking Bad fans, this has a whole different meaning! 😉

  44. A lot of people said moving two teams to LA was stupid. It might still be. With the two teams both in the top 10 teams in the NFL right now though the move might work out in the end.

  45. Gematria coding still shows a potential Rams vs. Patriots super bowl. Hear me out on this one. The NFL is an entertainment business first and a sports league second. The Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI over the Rams with a 11-5 regular season record. Currently, these 2018 Patriots are 9-4. The prediction based on the decoding is that Brady will win his 6th ring against the same team that he won his first against. Then, he’ll probably retire. This is the 99th NFL season and the Red Sox just won their MLB championship back in October. The abbreviation “NFL” equals 13 in reverse full reduction. The New England region was 13 colonies.

    On NFL Network, they stated in the pre-season commercials, “The script is flipped this season.” So, instead of the Patriots losing the super bowl, they could very well be winning it again this season. Prior to the start of this 2018 NFL season, the New England Patriots had 523 wins. 523 is the 99th prime number for the 99th NFL season. The word “Patriot” has an English Ordinal of 99. The words “Super Bowl” has a full reduction ordinal of 41. Brady is 41-years-old.

  46. No one wants to play the Ravens? You are right. Most AFC playoff teams would much rather play the Jets or the Jags or the Raiders or the Bills. But those crappy teams are not in the playoffs. The playoffs are about the best teams playing the best teams. If you are afraid of of that, stay home.

  47. pointtwopsiistheissue says:
    December 11, 2018 at 12:52 pm
    Bill saying “No one died” is probably a reference to the fact that a Worcester fire fighter did in fact die, in the line of duty the day before. That fans is a tragedy .
    Football is just a game. One fact may people seem to forget, especially on this board.
    =========================================================================================
    It is absolutely a tragedy. You do realize that the majority of people on this board aren’t from Massachusetts and thus were likely unaware of it? Criticizing them seems a bit misplaced.

  48. browns would beat 10-32 on this list. baker mayfield, clap-clap clap-clap clap. baker mayfield clap-clap clap-clap-clap.

  49. footballseasonrules says:

    ‘The New England region was 13 colonies.’

    As a math teacher for more than 30 years, I am always dismayed when students use concepts such as Gematria coding as a ‘proof.” This sort of exercise is usually based on the desired outcome, and the the coding is used to prove it. Math does not work that way. The error cited above regarding the New England region being 13 colonies is a nice sample of such. There were, of course, 4 colonies in the New England region.

    Try again. Not that I discount the possibility of a Rams-Pats SB

  50. Kolo Jezdec says:
    December 11, 2018 at 6:05 pm

    footballseasonrules says:

    ‘The New England region was 13 colonies.’

    As a math teacher for more than 30 years, I am always dismayed when students use concepts such as Gematria coding as a ‘proof.” This sort of exercise is usually based on the desired outcome, and the the coding is used to prove it. Math does not work that way. The error cited above regarding the New England region being 13 colonies is a nice sample of such. There were, of course, 4 colonies in the New England region.

    Try again. Not that I discount the possibility of a Rams-Pats SB

    _______________________________________________________________________

    If you really are a math teacher, you would know by now that the NFL fixes games every here and there. The player injuries are real. However, the desired outcome for the games, especially the most important games of the season, are scripted. As I stated before, the NFL is an entertainment business first and a sports league second. How do you explain everything else that I just posted? One coincidence, ok. Two coincidences, ok. How about six? I recommend you read a book titled, “The Fix Is In: The Showbiz Manipulations of the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR” by Brian Tuohy. The numbers definitely matter. Aaron Rodgers got his 63rd home win in Green Bay against the Niners with a final score of 33-30. Coincidence? There are many more examples.

  51. These Patriots aren’t sharp yet. Bad road losses to Jax, Tennessee and Detroit. And then the debacle at Miami which was as much coaching as execution in all phases of the game. Offense, Defense and Special Teams blew big opportunities to put the game away. Which is what makes me worry, because good teams don’t make mental mistakes that cost you games. Good teams don’t blow chances to end games. We will find out this Sunday, if this Patriots team has any real chance of winning in January. A big win against a potentially desperate Steeler team in Pittsburgh would tell us they can make some noise later. They are not what they once were, but sustained excellence at some of the levels they have reached before is not feasible in the NFL.

  52. fmckenney says:
    December 11, 2018 at 11:11 am
    The Patriots aren’t the Patriots…these Pats can be beat.

    ***********************************

    As a Pats fan, this always amazes me. Of course they’re beatable, any team is. However, name a single fan base who would WANT to play the Pats in the playoffs. Bottom line is, they’re a good team, know how to win in the playoffs, and not many teams would want to face them either.

    If they play like they can, they’re hard to beat. If they play like they did in Miami, they’re going to lose. It’s really that simple.

  53. “AFC SOUTH is the weakest division in Football1”

    Right? .. Because we currently have 3 of the top 12 teams in Football and another one that won the SB back in Week 2! Never understood all the hate on the South…

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