POWER RANKINGS
While several more teams locked up playoff spots with wins during Week 16, there’s still plenty to be determined with games in the final week of the season.
The Chiefs (No. 1 seed), Bills and Steelers have all claimed their respective divisions, while the AFC South is still up for grabs, especially with every team in that division losing. The wild cards are also unsettled, with four teams still duking it out for the three spots.
In the NFC, the Packers, Saints and Seahawks have clinched their respective divisions. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers also locked up a wild card spot with their blowout win over the Lions.
Three of four NFC East teams remain in play for the division title, with three others vying for the remaining two wild cards. The Eagles are officially out after losing to the Cowboys, who have built some steam toward a playoff berth.
As for the Patriots, they got blowtorched by the Bills, who put a stamp on their AFC East takeover. The Pats will finish below .500 for the first time since the 2000 season.
So with that, here’s our NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 17.
1.
Chiefs (14-1):
Patrick Mahomes has been off his game in recent weeks. While the Chiefs can get by a team like the Falcons when that happens, they might not be as fortunate against a playoff team.
2.
Packers (12-3): Given how well they play in the snow, all of the NFC contenders are praying they won’t clinch home field for the playoffs.
3.
Bills
(12-3): They enjoyed every minute of their romp in Foxboro, beating the Patriots to a pulp. After two decades of futility, it felt good to finally beat their chest as the AFC East champs on their nemesis’ turf.
4.
Saints (11-4):
They broke their two-game losing skid. Or rather, Alvin Kamara single-handedly ended the skid. He practically beat the Vikings by himself with six touchdowns.
5.
Steelers (12-3): They only needed to make the biggest comeback of Mike Tomlin’s tenure to claim the AFC North crown -- five weeks after an 11-0 start.
6.
Seahawks (11-4): Their defense was a mess the first 10 weeks, allowing 28.8 points per game. Since then, they’ve allowed a league-low 13.7 points. Thanks to that flip, Pete Carroll’s team is wearing the NFC West crown.
7.
Ravens (10-5):
They have a string of 38 straight games which they’ve rushed for more than 100 yards. In four of the last five games, it’s been up over 200 yards. To say they’ve got it in gear would be an understatement.
8.
Buccaneers
(10-5): The NFL’s second-longest playoff drought is over. The Bucs are in, and Tom Brady is just starting to heat up. Even if the Lions were checked out, the Bucs still look like they’re ready to make a postseason run.
9.
Browns (10-5):
They lost all of their top receivers to COVID-19 protocols, lost to the lowly Jets, and lost their chance to clinch a postseason berth for the first time in 17 years. So no, they didn’t have a good week.
10.
Dolphins (10-5):
Fitzmagic lives. And so do the Fins. How else to describe a game-saving throw by Ryan Fitzpatrick and completion while getting his helmet ripped around -- coming on in relief?
11.
Colts (10-5):
A blown 17-point second-half lead to the Steelers puts the Colts on the outside looking in, and needing help to get into the postseason.
12.
Titans (10-5):
They looked horrible in the snow in Green Bay, but they can still clinch the AFC South any number of ways next week.
13.
Rams (9-6):
They’ve picked the worst time to go cold on offense, and have their starting quarterback out with a broken thumb.
14.
Cardinals (8-7):
They had the last wild card spot as the 7th seed. Operative word is had. Win, and they controlled their destiny. Instead, they let a third-string quarterback beat them.
15.
Bears (8-7):
Watching them now, you wouldn’t know they lost six straight at one point this season. A three-game win streak has vaulted them into the final wild card spot for now. As long as they play bad teams, Mitch Trubisky won’t kill them.
16.
49ers (6-9):
Kyle Shanahan says he wants to have Jimmy Garoppolo as his starter next season. It’ll be interesting to see if that actually comes to pass.
17.
Chargers (6-9):
The rookie passing touchdown record now belongs to Justin Herbert, and so does a three-game win streak for the Chargers.
18.
Raiders (7-8):
They were alive for a playoff spot with a lead and 19 seconds left in the Miami game. But a blown coverage by Damon Arnette, and an idiotic facemask penalty on the same play by Arden Key has all but buried them.
19.
Washington
(6-9): They knew going in, a win over the Panthers would clinch the NFC East. Then they proceeded to throw up a stink bomb. So it’s goodbye to Dwayne Haskins with their playoff hopes resting on Alex Smith being well enough to play.
20.
Vikings (6-9):
They’ve been pretending to play defense all year. Look no further than the Saints on Christmas day and not coming close to stopping Alvin Kamara.
21.
Patriots (6-9):
Their 2020 season officially hit rock bottom after getting bludgeoned by the Bills. Or did it? They could still get beaten by the Jets Week 17, which would be much worse in Bill Belichick’s book.
22.
Cowboys (6-9): Will Jerry’s boys be the sub-500 team to win the division, or will it be Washington? Stay tuned.
23.
Panthers (5-10):
While Teddy Bridgewater has been serviceable as a starter, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Panthers go after a quarterback in the draft.
24.
Eagles (4-10-1):
Jalen Hurts produced over 400 yards of offense, and they lost. So while the quarterback debate will rage on during the offseason, there’s also plenty to fix on the defensive side.
25.
Broncos (5-10):
What do Drew Lock and Mitch Trubisky have in common? Big arms and a penchant to make bonehead plays.
26.
Falcons (4-11):
While the offense continues to struggle, Raheem Morris has the defense playing like a contender. The 17 points the Chiefs scored were the fewest in a win with Patrick Mahomes under center.
27.
Giants (5-10):
Three straight blowout losses to the Cardinals, Browns and Ravens has burst the bubble on Joe Judge’s team.
28.
Bengals
(4-10-1): They’ve now won back-to-back games for the first time since the 2018 season. And have done it without Joe Burrow.
29.
Lions (5-10):
They played like a team that was missing most of its coaching staff due to COVID-19, and had no stake in the game. A complete no-show.
30.
Texans (4-11):
They’ve lost four straight for the second time this season. The defense surrendered 540 total net yards. And a backup quarterback torched them. No wonder J.J. Watt snapped.
31.
Jets (2-13):
So, two straight wins. And now there’s talk of keeping Adam Gase? No, that can’t be true. Has to be a joke, right?
32.
Jaguars (1-14):
They win the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes and clinched the first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. It’s the first time they’ve had a No. 1 overall pick. And they won’t get it wrong.