2021 NFL Power Rankings Week 18: Bengals, Titans take their divisions
By Randy Gurzi
![Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd (83) celebrates a go-ahead touchdown catch in the fourth quarter during a Week 17 NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-31. With the win the, the Cincinnati Bengals won the AFC North division and advance to the NFL playoffs.Kansas City Chiefs At Cincinnati Bengals Jan 2 Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd (83) celebrates a go-ahead touchdown catch in the fourth quarter during a Week 17 NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-31. With the win the, the Cincinnati Bengals won the AFC North division and advance to the NFL playoffs.Kansas City Chiefs At Cincinnati Bengals Jan 2](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/68e2c380e397d87f813af1123e7a8f76fecb7d79b2f0edd859b9e0ccb3b3c0d8.jpg)
The Cincinnati Bengals took down the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tennessee Titans beat the Miami Dolphins. See how that changes the 2021 NFL Power Rankings as we enter Week 18
It took until the first weekend of 2022, but the playoff picture for the 2021 NFL Season is finally coming together. There were a couple of teams that locked up their divisions, including the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans, while others put themselves in excellent shape to fight for their in the final week.
One of those teams was the Los Angeles Rams, who control their own destiny after a comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens — although the Cardinals aren’t going away as they took down Dallas. That loss for the Cowboys brings up major concerns for them as they still cannot beat playoff-caliber teams.
With all the dust settling on this weekend, we take some time to sort things out in this Week 18 edition of the 2021 NFL Power Rankings, which gets kicked off by a team that has been bad all season long.
Jaguars cemented at the bottom of NFL Power Rankings
team. 52. . . Previous: 32nd. Jacksonville Jaguars. 32
32. Jacksonville Jaguars
Over the last nine games, Trevor Lawrence now has just two touchdown passes. The second of those came in their 50-10 blowout loss to the New England Patriots — and it was in the fourth quarter as the game was already well in hand by the Pats.
Jacksonville is now just 2-14 on the season and 0-8 on the road. The only real positives they can take out of this season is the fact that they realized Urban Meyer was a terrible hire quickly and they will likely also end up with the No. 1 pick again this season. Still, it would be nice to see them finally start to turn those early picks into a decent roster, because they are a mess.
team. 50. . . Previous: 31st. Detroit Lions. 31
31. Detroit Lions
Things went from bad to worse for the Detroit Lions. They have just two wins on the season but they keep getting praise for playing their opponents tough. That wasn’t the case in Week 17 as the Seattle Seahawks ran them out of the building in a 51-29 win.
Detroit was without Jared Goff and Tim Boyle struggled in his place with three picks. They did have a solid game from Amon-Ra St. Brown who hauled in 111 yards and a touchdown but right now, this team is just a bunch of individuals trying to put some decent tape out there for their future.