Week 16: NFL Power Rankings
Number 17: San Diego Chargers (7-7) – Last Week 18
All hail king Rivers! Philip Rivers continued to have Peyton Manning’s number with a very impressive win in Denver this past Thursday. Rivers threw for two touchdown passes in a shocking win against Denver. I think we can just hand Rivers the Comeback Player of the Year award. In the two seasons prior to this one, Rivers has thrown 35 interceptions with 53 touchdowns. This season, not only has Rivers thrown more touchdowns than the past two seasons, but he has also thrown just nine interceptions. Another key role in the success of the Chargers is the fact that Ryan Matthews has played in all 14 games this season.
Number 18: Dallas Cowboys (7-7) – Last Week 17
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! That’s all I have to say.
Number 19: St. Louis Rams (6-8) – Last Week 21
Being a Rams fan has not been easy this season. With a 6-8 record this team has been eliminated from postseason play, however, every once in a while they put together a real promising performance like they did against the Saints. This team clearly has tons of potential. They just need Sam Bradford to bounce back nicely from his injury next season. Jeff Fisher must find a way to have this team playing consistent football next season.
Number 20: Pittsburgh Steelers (6-8) – Last Week 22
Very nice win for the Pittsburgh Steelers at home Sunday night during a rival team. Ben Roethlisberger played very well, completing 80% of his passes. Just think, if Antonio Brown didn’t step out of bounds against Miami two weeks ago this team would be very much alive in the playoff race.
Number 21: New York Jets (6-8) – Last Week 19
This offense is so bad that it has to resort to letting Sheldon Richardson run the ball for touchdowns.
Number 22: Tennessee Titans (5-9) – Last Week 20
The Tennessee Titans gave the Arizona Cardinals all they had this past Sunday as they were able to battle back from a three possession deficit. Unfortunately, their comeback fell just shy as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a costly turnover in overtime which translated into a game 41 yard game winning field goal from Jay Feely.
Number 23: New York Giants (5-9) – Last Week 22
Five, count em, five interceptions for Eli Manning. Manning now has 25 interceptions on the season. This marks the third time in his career in which he has thrown at least 20 interceptions in a season. I know he has guided them to two Super Bowls, but you have to start wondering if there might be a quarterback change coming in New York.
Number 24: Buffalo Bills (5-9) – Last Week 26
For the first in nearly a month the Buffalo Bills can call themselves winners. They were able to travel to Jacksonville and defeat the Jaguars 27-20. E.J. Manuel continued his nice rookie season with a three touchdown performance (1 rushing). Stephon Gilmore also had himself another interception just one week after picking off his first ball of the season.
Number 25: Oakland Raiders (4-10) – Last Week 24
Just a week after being decimated by the New York Jets, the Oakland Raiders found themselves on the wrong side of a 56-31 loss at home. The defense was absolutely torched by Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles. Matt McGloin finally had his rookie performance as he threw four interceptions.
Number 26: Tampa Bay Buccaneers ( 4-10) – Last Week 25
It appears that Mike Glennon and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have cooled off a bit after their three game win streak as they have lost two out of their last three games.
Number 27: Minnesota Vikings (4-9-1) – Last Week 29
No Adrian Peterson? No problem. No Toby Gerhart? No problem. Yep, that’s right, the Minnesota Vikings were able to win a game without two of their best players. It’s not like they defeated one of the worse teams either as they were able to top the Philadelphia Eagles at home in what turned out to be a shootout. Their 48 points turned out to be the most this team has scored all season. Nice win for this struggling team.
Number 28: Jacksonville Jaguars (4-10) – Last Week 28
The Jaguars were without star running back Maurice Jones-Drew this past Sunday as he was forced to miss his first game of the season due to a hamstring injury. Jones-Drew has played a huge part of the recent success of the Jaguars. Even without Jones-Drew, the Jaguars were still able to rush for over 100 yards as Jordan Todman rushed for 109 yards. They were just unable to make enough plays to defeat the Bills.
Number 29: Atlanta Falcons (4-10) – Last Week 30
The Falcons are a total of five points away from being on a four game winning streak. This team has come together as of late and are playing much better football than they were earlier in the season. They are not the same team that at one point lost eight out of nine games. Even with the turn around, they have a very tough schedule to close out the season as they have to play the 49’ers and the Panthers.
Number 30: Cleveland Browns (4-10) – Last Week 26
It has been a very rough stretch for the Cleveland Browns as they have lost eight out of their last nine games. There doesn’t seem to be much to get excited about in Cleveland. Luckily for them they were able to find Josh Gordon. He is transforming into one of the best receivers in the league.
Number 31: Washington Redskins (3-11) – Last Week 31
No RGIII, still a problem. The Redskins were unable to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in what ended up being a very close game. Despite losing the game, one bright spot was Kirk Cousins. Even though he threw a crucial interception late in the game, he still played fairly efficient, throwing for three touchdowns with a passer rating of 94.8.
Number 32: Houston Texans (2-12) – Last Week 32
Okay, so I guess this team will not play a bit of more inspired football for their new head coach Wade Phillips. The Texans are by far the most disappointing team this season. I hate to say it, but I think the nice little run this team had is coming to a close.