PFT’s Week 18 2021 NFL power rankings

NFL: JAN 02 Vikings at Packers
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1. Packers (13-3, last week No. 1): Why would Aaron Rodgers ever want to leave a division he can continue to dominate, indefinitely?

2. Rams (12-4, No. 3): If they can win when they’re not playing well, they’ll blow opponents out when they finally do.

3. Buccaneers (12-4, No. 5): Without Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown, can the Bucs repeat?

4. Titans (11-5, No. 6): If they earn the bye and get Derrick Henry back, the Titans could be Super Bowl bound.

5. Chiefs (11-5, No. 2): They failed to adjust on either side of the ball in Cincinnati.

6. Bengals (10-6, No. 9): Get used to the Bengals in the playoffs, for years to come. Get ready for them to win a playoff game, for the first time in more than 30 years.

7. Cardinals (11-5, No. 11): The Cardinals desperately needed to prove to themselves and everyone else that they remember how to win.

8. Bills (10-6, No. 8): They need Devin Singletary to keep doing what he did on Sunday.

9. Cowboys (11-5, No. 4): Do they have a true signature win this year? Will they have one?

10. Patriots (10-6, No. 10): They’re being overlooked again, just in time to make everyone regret it.

11. Colts (9-7, No. 7): If the Colts can’t win in Jacksonville, they don’t deserve to be in the playoffs.

12. 49ers (9-7, No. 12): Trey Lance will need to play better on Sunday if the 49ers are going to beat L.A. again.

13. Eagles (9-7, No. 14): The Eagles can run the ball and play defense, which gives them a chance to beat anyone.

14. Chargers (9-7, No. 16): It shouldn’t be coming down to win and in for the Chargers.

15. Raiders (9-7, No. 19): It’s amazing that it’s coming down to win and in for the Raiders.

16. Dolphins (8-8, No. 13): Reignite the Deshaun Watson talk.

17. Ravens (8-8, No. 15): Could Tyler Huntley become an affordable alternative to Lamar Jackson?

18. Steelers (8-7-1, No. 20): They need to do everything they can to get Aaron Rodgers to want to come to Pittsburgh next season.

19. Saints (8-8, No. 21): But for the Week 16 COVID fiasco, they’d have a clear shot to the playoffs.

20. Browns (7-9, No. 17): A fresh start would be good for the Browns and for Baker Mayfield.

21. Vikings (7-9, No. 18): We’ll find out soon whether almost good enough is good enough for ownership.

22. Falcons (7-9, No. 22): They had a surprisingly strong season. Can they take the next step next year?

23. Broncos (7-9, No. 23): If they add a high-end veteran quarterback, they’ll be a force in 2022.

24. Seahawks (6-10, No. 26): What took them so long to figure out how to score 50 points?

25. Bears (6-10, No. 25): A dominant performance comes too little, too late.

26. Washington (6-10, No. 24): The FedEx Field collapsible railing is the perfect metaphor for everything about this team.

27. Panthers (5-11, No. 27): Fans should start referring to him as “Matt Rule,” since they want him to get the “h” out of here.

28. Texans (4-12, No. 28): Could Davis Mills be the best quarterback of the 2021 rookie class?

29. Jets (4-12, No. 29): Best-case scenario for Week 17 = play the Bucs tough, but ultimately don’t blow the shot at the No. 3 pick.

30. Giants (4-12, No. 30): If you have to say you’re not a clown show, you might be a clown show.

31. Lions (2-13-1, No. 31): They’ve got two more wins than many thought they’d have.

32. Jaguars (2-14, No. 32): Darrell Bevell didn’t do much to enhance his prospects of becoming the team’s next full-time head coach.

45 responses to “PFT’s Week 18 2021 NFL power rankings

  1. Philly and Patriots favoritism much?

    Dallas beat them both with ease. Patriots were also heavily favored with the officials that game. If it wasn’t for them Patriots were blown out. Officials are calling flags on team early and it’s killing swinging the momentum. NBA does this exact same thing.. hit the star of opposing team with 2 quick fouls and he has to sit or risk the early 3 . It’s simple strategy to cover the numbers

  2. SO I GUESS YOUR THINKING IS TO STILL RANK CHIEFS ONE SPOT ABOVE BENGALS, EVEN THOUGH BENGALS JUST WON SUNDAY BY 3 POINTS, & BASED UPON CHIEFS’ PAST PERFORMANCES??? WELL YOUR POLL IS ABOUT THE FUTURE!!!!! ANYONE WHO WATCHED THAT GAME CLEARLY SAW THAT BENGALS ARE THE FUTURE!!! LOOK AT THE AGES OF THE BENGALS’ KEY PLAYERS!!!!

  3. Bring on the playoffs! Just some rambles: Wentz will have the Colts sitting out the playoffs. Raiders will “shock” the Chargers. Bucs will not repeat: too much chaos. Titans and Packers in the Super Bowl. Diva picks up his second ring.

  4. Matt Rhule needs to be fired for not showing up in Carolina in two seasons. No improvement has been seen at all and your record says what it says you are. The Carolina Panthers are a train wreck and musical chairs at QB and an offensive line well is rather “offensive” real tells the story of Matt Rhule and his ability to turn the franchise around. He needs to be fired now rather than later. It is what it is.

  5. I think the Bucs can still compete without Godwin and AB, although it’s obviously much more difficult without a couple of star receivers. Brady still has a long history of getting it done without having an impressive set of weapons though.

    For most of his career, his #1 receiver was a slot receiver (Welker and then Edelman), and he had nothing terribly impressive on the outside. The Bucs offense will probably have to adapt by being less vertical and more ball-control oriented like the offense the Patriots ran.

    It will be interesting to see if the guys lower on the depth chart like Scotty Miller, Breshad Perriman, and Tyler Johnson can step up. I had never even heard of Cyril Grayson before seeing highlights from the game, but Brady made an MVP-type throw to him to win with 12 seconds left, and he had a nice stat line at the end of the game – so maybe he’s a factor.

  6. Rankings 1-3 answered. #1. A good athlete would be content, but a great athlete would want to be challenged. #2. Depends on the opponent. #3. Football is a TEAM sport.

  7. Darrell Bevell was left with a team in shambles. He deserves a shot with a competent GM, like, maybe, Eliot Wolf.

  8. They make a really good selling point about Rodgers, and any potential free agent targets. Come to Green Bay where you can dominate the division on your way to a deep playoff run every single year.

  9. Dallas beat the Pats with ease? I must have watched another game, because the one I saw was an OT win.
    Maybe we have different definitions of “ease”.

  10. Jets should have beat the Bucs last week. Not kicking the field goal? Then not playing 4 deep – CB let’s the WR run past him for an easy TD with 15 seconds to go? I’ve seen better play at the end of games by high school teams.

  11. Why would Pittsburgh go after a quarterback that is one year younger than the aging one they have now?
    Tom Brady’s longevity may have made some people think that this is the new normal in terms of quarterbacks playing in their forties, but he’s been the exception not the rule.
    Rodgers may have that level success, or he could end up like Peyton Manning or Roethlisberger and have their play drop off a cliff in what ends up being their final season.
    I’d second the thought that going after Russell Wilson makes more sense.

  12. @ #28 – Yes, Mills could be the best QB of the 2021 draft, IMHO, but he needs help via the draft.

    Look for the Texans to trade Watson, who should have his issues resolved by the 2022 draft. Even if the Texans only get 1 – 1st and 1 – 2nd in 2022, and possible more in 2023 depending on how much Watson plays, the Texans can really turn the offense around with the 2022 draft.

    The Texans need OL, RB and WR early in the draft. Taking 2 – OL in the 1st, 1 – RB and 1 – WR in the 2nd, and 2 DB’s in the 3rd, the Texans have the Saints 3rd round pick, the Texans should / could put the offense on the road to at least respectability.

    With this kind of draft haul, the Texans could and should provide Mills with the OL, running game, and WR’s to see if Mills is an elite QB. Getting the offense moving in 2022 is much more important than anything of the d side of the ball.

    The Texans must give Mills more support and tools via the 2022 draft, evaluate after 2022, and if Mills in not the answer, draft a QB in 2023. Given a better OL, & more tools in 2022, Mills will show he is an elite QB, IMHO!

  13. Having the Rams at two can be defended given their record, but I wouldn’t put money on them to do well in the playoffs with Matt Stafford recapturing the glory of Detroit Lions years by committing an ungodly number of turnovers.
    They can avoid losses against bad teams despite those picks, but good luck maintaining those fortunate outcomes once the playoffs begin.

  14. Rodgers wants to win a SuperBowl, badly. If he does, he’ll want to do it two times in a row. His best opportunity to do that is to stay right where he is. Because of his irresponsible position on truth-telling and his blatant disrespect for thousands of trained specialists and healthcare experts, he has contributed terribly to the plague of misinformation in this great country. Shame on him. Win the SuperBowl or take a walk at the last whistle of your last game. He owes it.

  15. Once the Steelers beat the Ravens and the Jags take care of business against the Colts I see this board changing A LOT! GO STEELERS!

  16. Yep the powers that be wanted to make damn sure the BUCS Sid not see the saints in the first round with that shame of a COVID game.

    The thing is the BUCS are imploding as we speak. That team is certainly one and done. The defense has not been good and all the wheels are falling off the skill players.

    This playoff season is gonna be funny.

  17. 27. Panthers (5-11, No. 27): Fans should start referring to him as “Matt Rule,” since they want him to get the “h” out of here.

    BAZINGA!!!

  18. Can no one else see what’s going on? The Bucs are definitely repeating. Now that they have so many injuries, it will lift Brady’s status even higher when he beats teams with third string players. Everyone is going to bet against them in the playoffs again.

  19. Jordan says:
    January 4, 2022 at 7:03 am
    Philly and Patriots favoritism much?

    Dallas beat them both with ease. Patriots were also heavily favored with the officials that game. If it wasn’t for them Patriots were blown out. Officials are calling flags on team early and it’s killing swinging the momentum. NBA does this exact same thing.. hit the star of opposing team with 2 quick fouls and he has to sit or risk the early 3 . It’s simple strategy to cover the numbers

    _______________________________________

    The Patriots took Dallas to OT in that game. I wouldn’t call that beating them with ease.

  20. I love how people keep saying the Broncos only need a QB to be great, dominant, etc. If that is true then that QB needs to be able to call his own plays, take charge of time management, when time outs are taken, etc. Anyone who has watched the Donkeys regularly know that the head coach, offensive coordinator, and special teams coordinator need to be fired immediately after seasons end. However, because the completely screwed up ownership situation, Uncle Vic may very well survive and get another year. What a shame for Broncos fans.

  21. 21. Vikings (7-9, No. 18): We’ll find out soon whether almost good enough is good enough for ownership.

    Congrats on using “just good enough” for the 1,000th time!

  22. The Ravens are 7-4 in Lamar games and 1-4 in Huntley games, yet you guys all think Huntley is the better option. I guess it’s ok to fail as long as you’re not a running QB and if you’re a running QB only a SB title can save you. This country sure hates what is different.

  23. I don’t know…. Seeing the Donco’s look like TRASH these past 6 years has been rather enjoyable in my eyes…. Here’s to another 6!!!!!

  24. 23. Broncos (7-9, No. 23): If they add a high-end veteran quarterback, they’ll be a force in 2022

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

    Unless they add a high-end veteran quarterback, they’ll be a farce in 2022.

    Fixed it!

  25. nite2al says:
    January 4, 2022 at 12:45 pm
    The Ravens are 7-4 in Lamar games and 1-4 in Huntley games, yet you guys all think Huntley is the better option. I guess it’s ok to fail as long as you’re not a running QB and if you’re a running QB only a SB title can save you. This country sure hates what is different.

    ———-

    A bit disingenuous to say Huntley has 5 games under his belt. More like 3. And now he lost all 3, though played admirably to GB, lost big @ Cincy and close loss against Rams. Not exactly 3 easy games either.

    LaMar is better than Huntley, especially right now. But given the team needs, can you build around Huntley for another 3-4 years on the cheap vs handing out $30+/mil a year to LaMar? I dunno.

    LaMar is a gifted QB, even hoped my Pats would go after him in draft, but so far his QB deficiencies have showed up in the most meaningful games vs the best competition so far. He’s still young though…very young.

  26. nite2al says:
    January 4, 2022 at 12:45 pm
    The Ravens are 7-4 in Lamar games and 1-4 in Huntley games, yet you guys all think Huntley is the better option. I guess it’s ok to fail as long as you’re not a running QB and if you’re a running QB only a SB title can save you. This country sure hates what is different.

    ———-

    A bit disingenuous to say Huntley has 5 games under his belt. More like 3. And now he lost all 3, though played admirably to GB, lost big @ Cincy and close loss against Rams. Not exactly 3 easy games either.

    LaMar is better than Huntley, especially right now. But given the team needs, can you build around Huntley for another 3-4 years on the cheap vs handing out $30+/mil a year to LaMar? I dunno.

    LaMar is a gifted QB, even hoped my Pats would go after him in draft, but so far his QB deficiencies have showed up in the most meaningful games vs the best competition so far. He’s still young though…very young.
    _______________________________________________________

    He came in the Cleveland game in the first quarter, won at Chicago. That’s basically 5 games.

  27. Every season people bet on the Packers to at least get to the super bowl and they’re always wrong. What makes anyone think that this season will be any different? Learn to think, people.

  28. Best game of the week? The sorry giants against the pitiful WFT…. should provide many laughs

  29. Raiders win and in without a coach and their best receivers …amazing – all respect to DC

  30. The Eagles — who play in the NFL’s weakest division — have 9 wins against teams with a combined 46 wins. The Raiders — who play in the NFL’s strongest division — have 9 wins against teams with a combined 74 wins. The Raiders should be at least a couple of slots ahead of the Eagles, not the other way around.

  31. Why do fans always assume that players only choose their teams based on whether they’d have a better chance to win? We might want them to but I doubt they do. Maybe Rodgers just wants to live somewhere other than Northeast Wisconsin. I’ve got no beef with Wisconsin whatsoever but is that really that unreasonable of an idea. Maybe he just wants to go back to the west coast? I always thought SF was the right option.

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