Week 17 Power Rankings
Merry Christmas from Around the Associations!
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The power rankings are growing increasingly difficult to write as seven teams are playing well enough to earn spots in the top four, but three are unable to earn the honor. That’s not to mention the 10 teams who should have to play the college football champion to avoid relegation from the league. They all deserve spots in the bottom five but some of them ended up in the high 20s.
As a result of these log jams on either end of the rankings, some feelings were hurt. I won’t say who, but one team at the top in particular took a massive slide down the rankings and might not be able to recover before the end of the season. Other teams steadily rose up the top, and there’s even a newly crowned number one. All that and more is ahead.
32. New York Giants (no change)
Record: 2-13
There are no words in the English dictionary to describe how terrible the Giants are. Shoutout to Drew Lock for executing the tank perfectly with two pick-sixes.
31. Tennessee Titans (down 2)
Record: 3-12
Last week, Brian Callahan went to profane lengths to defend his team as not “soft.” They sure looked soft against Indianapolis, allowing 38 points and 335 rushing yards.
30. Las Vegas Raiders (up 1)
Record: 3-12
Antonio Pierce said “screw the draft pick” and got the Raiders their first win since September. However, they beat the Mac Jones-led Jags by five at home, meaning they don’t deserve to rise more than one spot.
29. New Orleans Saints (down 4)
Record: 5-10
It turns out that sitting in a cafeteria freezer for five minutes isn’t enough to simulate a roaring, frigid atmosphere at Lambeau Field against a surging Packers team. New Orleans was the first team all season to be held scoreless and they paid the price in the rankings.
28. Jacksonville Jaguars (down 1)
Record: 3-12
The Jaguars have some playmakers (pretty much only Brian Thomas Jr.) on their team which is why they stay out of the bottom four, but Sunday was one of their worst losses of the season.
27. New England Patriots (up 3)
Record: 3-12
Drake Maye was incredible in the first half and horrendous in the second half. But in a season where there is a nauseating amount of bad teams, a good quarterback elevates you out of the bottom five.
26. Cleveland Browns (no change)
Record: 3-12
Once again, the Browns have enough tools to avoid the very bottom of the standings—Kevin Stefanski, Myles, Garrett, Jerry Jeudy, etc. That said, Dorian Thompson-Robinson might be the worst quarterback ever besides Tim Boyle.
25. Chicago Bears (down 1)
Record: 4-11
That’s now nine in a row for the Bears who didn’t do themselves any favors by firing Matt Eberflus. Caleb Williams is the king of garbage time, but at least he’s showing signs. Aside from his growth, Chicago continues to be wildly disappointing.
24. Carolina Panthers (up 4)
Record: 4-11
Bryce Young had the highest PFF grade of any quarterback last week. Let that sink in. Carolina’s recent feisty play finally paid off in the form of a win which puts them ahead of the 3-and-12 crew.
23. New York Jets (no change)
Record: 4-11
It seems crazy to have the Jets at 23rd but as you’ve seen, there is a smelly pile of terrible teams reeking up the bottom of the rankings. The Jets have better players and worse luck than any other bottom-10 team.
22. San Francisco 49ers (down 4)
Record: 6-9
San Fran has never been lower in the history of the ATA power rankings, but it’s well deserved. Brock Purdy is slowly showing that he’s not a game-changer and the rest of the team is folding around him.
21. Arizona Cardinals (down 4)
Record: 7-8
It appears Arizona was fraudulent all along. Their defense gave up 36 points to the Panthers and Kyler Murray is playing his way out of town with a few bone-headed mistakes that single-handedly turn the tides of games.
20. Indianapolis Colts (up 2)
Record: 7-8
The Colts are very inconsistent from week to week, often depending on the team on their schedule. When you play the Titans, good things are bound to happen and they did. They ran the ball 50 times and averaged 6.7 yards per rush.
19. Dallas Cowboys (no change)
Record: 7-8
Dallas is playing its best football of the season and Cooper Rush is now 9-4 as a starter in the NFL. This team is reminding us of how talented their defense is and showing that they can run the ball better than we projected prior to the season.
18. Atlanta Falcons (up 3)
Record: 8-7
Moving Kirk Cousins to the bench pushed Atlanta a couple of spots up to being with, but it didn’t hurt that Michael Penix Jr. looked clean in his debut. He can move in the pocket, he’s very accurate and appears to be well-liked in the locker room.
17. Miami Dolphins (up 3)
Record: 7-8
Tua Tagovailoa had one of his better games against the 49ers in spite of Tyreek Hill dropping every ball that came his way. As long as Miami stays in the playoff hunt, they’ll linger in the vicinity of Cincinnati and Denver.
16. Seattle Seahawks (down 1)
Record: 8-7
We should have expected a multi-week regression from Seattle given how streaky they’ve been this season. Geno Smith fought for his life against Minnesota and it was nearly enough, but the Vikings eventually secured a game-winning interception. At this point in the season, there’s no such thing as a moral victory.
15. Cincinnati Bengals (up 1)
Record: 7-8
The Bengals took advantage of another weak opponent to keep themselves alive until Christmas. They’ve got another win-or-go-home battle with Denver that will show us if this Bengals’ renaissance is real or not.
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (down 2)
Record: 8-7
The loss to Dallas isn’t as bad as people are making it out to be, but strength of schedule aside, the Bucs’ defense looks soft. They let Cooper Rush walk up and down the field and no longer control their own destiny as a result.
13. Houston Texans (down 3)
Record: 9-6
Houston has no explosive ability on offense. The deep touchdown to Tank Dell was their last big play of the game and perhaps the season now that Dell will miss the rest of the year. They look more like a one-and-done than a dark horse.
12. Denver Broncos (down 3)
Record: 9-6
The talk of the town is that Denver’s Thursday night choke will come back to haunt them when they miss the playoffs. I don’t buy it. This team is better than Cincinnati and will handle business.
11. Los Angeles Rams (no change)
Record: 9-6
It was yet another dirty win for the Rams, but they’ve now won eight of their last ten games and can lock up the NFC West this week. LA is experienced and can win in several different ways.
10. Los Angeles Chargers (up 4)
Record: 9-6
The Chargers made a statement against the Broncos last week and Justin Herbert showed us why the Chargers have the potential to pull off a playoff upset this year. When everything’s clicking, LA is hard for anyone to beat.
9. Washington Commanders (up 4)
Record: 10-5
Jalen Hurts’ early concussion certainly opened the door for Washington, but give them credit for walking through and closing it behind them. It seems the Commanders are finally out of their rut and are stacking enough wins that they’ll have a chance to get the 6th seed which would be monumental in the NFC.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (no change)
Record: 10-5
The three-game stretch of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Kansas City was going to tell us a lot about who this Pittsburgh team is. So far, it’s telling us that they’re frauds. However, I don’t think the loss of George Pickens can be slept on. He’s essentially half their offense.
7. Philadelphia Eagles (down 6)
Record: 12-3
I should have never ranked the Eagles first to begin with so it’s my own fault that they’ve dropped as far as they have. But Sunday showed that Saquon Barkley can be neutralized when the passing attack isn’t clicking and that Philly has serious issues on defense.
6. Baltimore Ravens (up 1)
Record: 10-5
The Ravens are finally showing their full potential which is scary for the rest of the league. Their much-maligned defense has held opponents to 19.2 PPG in their last five games and Lamar Jackson is scorching hot as he always is in December.
5. Detroit Lions (up 1)
Record: 13-2
The Lions dominated without David Montgomery and many of their defensive starters and deserve credit for doing so. Still, Caleb Williams passed for 334 yards which is his second most all season in games that weren’t sent to overtime.
4. Buffalo Bills (no change)
Record: 12-3
Buffalo kept their one-seed hopes alive but played C- football in the process. Once again, their pass defense looked very vulnerable as Drake Maye picked them apart in the first quarter. And if Buffalo’s offense starts slow like they did on Sunday, but against a playoff team, they’ll be in big trouble.
3. Green Bay Packers (up 2)
Record: 11-4
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, Green Bay is either the most or second-most complete team in the NFL. No matter what their opponents counter with, they have an answer which was evident in their 34-0 pounding of the Saints.
2. Minnesota Vikings (up 1)
Record: 13-2
The Vikings are the other of the two most complete teams in the NFL and Sam Darnold is going to continuously deliver big throws in the clutch like he did against Seattle, Minnesota might be the favorite in the NFC.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (up 1)
Record: 14-1
Winning is a skill and the Chiefs have it. They have now won their last 16 one-score games which is absolutely absurd but it makes sense when you watch the games. They convert every 3rd and 10, Mahomes scrambles for every timely first down, and they always end up with the ball last.
