Top of power rankings steady
NFL power rankings, 2020 post-week 15 edition (previous rank in parentheses):
1. Chiefs (1): With RB Clyde EdwardsHelaire suffering a mini-blowout, Kansas City is literally limping to the finish ... and could really use that first-round bye.
2. Packers (2): Home-field advantage may not mean as much in 2020 playoffs largely devoid of fans ... unless you typically play in freezing temperatures in a bracket dominated by warm-weather teams.
3. Bills (4): QB Josh Allen spreads wealth nicely, Buffalo’s 13 players with TD grabs tying league record ... though one of those scores belongs to Allen himself.
4. Saints (3): They’re staggering down the stretch, but New Orleans historians will recall a similar December 11 years ago that ended with a Lombardi Gras party.
5. Titans (7): If there was an award for MUP (Most Underrated Player), QB Ryan Tannehill would probably have it on lockdown.
6. Ravens (10): Of all of QB Lamar Jackson’s outrageous stats, how about this one – he has 43 TD passes and zero INTS in red zone during his career.
7. Buccaneers (8): After all the hype surrounding this club, who would have predicted that OLB Jason Pierre-paul would be their only Pro Bowl representative in 2020?
8. Seahawks (9): Not sure what Russ has been cooking for the last seven weeks – 11 TD passes, 11 turnovers – but recipe has proven playoff-worthy all the same.
9. Steelers (6): Failed to crack 20 points in four consecutive games for first time since QB Ben Roethlisberger’s 2004 rookie season ... but Pittsburgh did reach AFC title game that year.
10. Browns (11): You knew they haven’t reached playoffs since 2002. Did you know they last hosted a postseason game in 1994, when Bill Belichick was the coach? Cleveland on verge of putting a lot of ugly history in the rear view.
11. Colts (12): No worse Pro Bowl snub this year than exclusion of DT Deforest
Buckner, who anchors one of league’s best defenses.
12. Dolphins (13): Nice job, Salvon Ahmed, who broke Miami’s 31-game streak without a 100-yard rusher after vowing to play well for his ailing grandmother.
13. Rams (5): At least they won’t see an AFC East team again unless they meet one in Super Bowl LV. Brutal loss to Jets left Los Angeles 1-3 in non-conference games.
14. Cardinals (14): You’d expert a desert-based pass rush to bring the heat, and Arizona has exploded for 14 sacks over the past two weeks.
15. Washington (15): Former Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas has developed into a bona fide NFL tight end this sea
son, basically as good as any of his NFC peers in 2020.
16. Bears (23): WR Darnell Mooney, who established a Chicago rookie record with 46 catches, is just one reason this team is suddenly back in playoff conversation.
17. Patriots (17): How’d season turn out? Two of New England’s three Pro Bowlers (P Jake Bailey and captain Matthew Slater) are special teams aces.
18. Falcons (18): With his 343rd career TD pass, QB Matt Ryan has (quietly?) cracked NFL’S top-ten all-time list ... and is 24 away from overtaking Eli Manning for ninth place.
19. Vikings (19): They’ve scored at least 23 points in six of their eight defeats – just not a stat you’d expect from a team coached by Mike Zimmer.
20. Raiders (20): Don’t blame this sinking ship on Darren Waller, whose 425 receiving yards since Week 13 are most ever for a tight end in a three-game span.
21. Panthers (25): DJ Moore and Robby Anderson are Carolina’s first pair of 1,000-yard receivers in 21 years.
22. Chargers (26): Pro Bowl WR Keenan Allen has had a nice season given his 100 catches, but hard to believe he hasn’t cracked 1,000 yards.
23. Eagles (21): If rookie QB Jalen Hurts wills Philadelphia to an unlikely division crown, fans will co-sign Carson Wentz’s desire to skip town.
24. Giants (22): They’re averaging 12.3 points in four games since their Week 11 bye ... bad even by NFC East standards.
25. Broncos (24): His turnover streak extended to a league-worst 10 consecutive games, QB Drew Lock may be playing himself out of a starting job in 2021.
26. Cowboys (28): Backup RB Tony Pollard provided nice spark (132 yards, 2 TDS) for team with still-flickering playoff aspirations.
27. 49ers (16): Plenty of factors fueled their highly disappointing NFC title defense, but perhaps Niners’ 1-3 record against NFC East best sums up what amounts to dreaded Super Bowl hangover.
28. Bengals (30): Somehow appropriate that, with second-stringers all over the field, they crafted second-biggest upset of Week 15 against Pittsburgh.
29. Texans (27): QB Deshaun Watson’s 27 TD passes are a career high, and he’s 32 yards from setting a new personal best through the air – all without WR Deandre Hopkins.
30. Lions (29): Hear the one about the special teams coach who went rogue and decided on his own to call a fake punt? Yep, the latest goings-on from Motown.
31. Jets (32): In the spirit of a team that also fails to lose in the clutch, they’re not bad enough to be at the bottom of these rankings any longer.
32. Jaguars (31): It’s only about six hours from Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence’s Cartersville, Ga., home to Jacksonville ... though slightly further to London. Get your passport ready, buddy.