NFL Power Rankings (Week 15)
The Packers are certainly deserving of the top spot. That being said, they need to fix their special teams unit ASAP if they want to win it all. Sunday Night was abysmal. I bumped the Chiefs up this week after the dominating performance they had Sunday. I’m not sure if I truly believe they deserve the second spot, but with how much better they are than the rest of the AFC, their path to the Super Bowl seems so easy, so I have them there. The Buccaneers rest of the season sets up nicely for them to win out and challenge for that top spot and bye, but right now they do still sit below the Packers because of my concerns about their secondary. The Cardinals and Rams battled it out Monday Night. The Rams face an uphill battle to take the West still, but it was certainly an impressive showing by them.
Micah Parsons is the reason I’m starting to get on board with this Cowboys team. I still have them below that top tier of NFC teams, but it certainly wouldn’t shock me if Dak turned it around and got this team there. But right now, he’s not playing well enough to be in that top tier. The Patriots have a huge test this week that could be the final nail in the coffin of how wrong I was about this team all season long. The Bills continue to disappoint. Sure, they could turn it around, particularly in an AFC devoid of top talent. But they make me sad.
The Chargers, Colts, and Titans (if they get Henry back for the playoffs) are probably the only other teams that I could see coming out of the AFC. Indy has a big opportunity this week to show how good of a team they are against New England. The Bengals have the highest ceiling of any AFC North team, but it’s so hard to have any real faith in them. The Ravens, Browns, and Steelers all wouldn’t scare anyone in the first round.
The 49ers had a nice bounceback win this week. It would shock me if any of these NFC wild card teams made any noise (outside of whoever gets that 5th seed), but the 49ers are in a good spot to at least get there. The Eagles and the Football Team play this week, with the winner keeping their hopes alive and loser likely eliminated. The Saints getting Alvin Kamara back gives them hope at least, but that’s about it. The Vikings are simply a roller coaster, but their talent at least matches up with some of the other top teams. They simply lack consistency.
The Broncos are somehow 7–6. I don’t understand it, but they do have a legitimate shot at the playoffs. I just see them as a tier below those other teams. The Dolphins come out of their late season bye riding a 5-game winning streak, and have some winnable games coming up. Crazier things have happened I suppose. The Falcons somehow keep hanging around. This week against San Fran will make or break their postseason hopes. The Seahawks have won two straight to keep their hopes alive, but that should end soon. The Raiders and Panthers freefalls continue.
The Bears played a nearly perfect first half against Green Bay, but they still found themselves down double digits in the 3rd quarter. The rest of this season is all about developing Justin Fields. The Giants are an absolute trainwreck, and one of the biggest disappointments of this season. The Core 4 bottom NFL teams (Lions, Jets, Jaguars, and Texans) all lost this week. Some wins will be had by these teams though these next two weeks as the Jaguars play the Texans and Jets.
