2021 NFL Power Rankings Week 18: Bengals, Titans take their divisions
By Randy Gurzi
44. . . Previous: 21st. Atlanta Falcons. 22. team
22. Atlanta Falcons
A frustrating season will end with a losing record for the Atlanta Falcons as they fell to 7-9 in their latest defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. Somehow, even with all the issues they’ve faced, Atlanta could have pulled off a winning record with a win in the final two games and they started out with an early 2-0 lead thanks to a special teams’ safety.
But then, Buffalo scored 14 points before the first quarter ended. Undeterred, Atlanta went back up 15-14 at the half before Buffalo scored 15 unanswered in the second half. There’s a lot to figure out for the Falcons but they should be given credit for the heart they showed all season.
Cleveland Browns. 21. team. 53. . . Previous: 20th
21. Cleveland Browns: Plays on Monday Night Football vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
There was a real chance that the Cleveland Browns could win the AFC North despite their struggles and in a period of about 15 minutes, those hopes went from incredibly high, to non-existent.
First, the Rams came from behind to knock off the Ravens, which was one of two losses the Browns needed over the next two weeks. The other would have been the Cincinnati Bengals being defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs — and that’s where the letdown came in.
Cincinnati won on a last-second field goal right after the L.A. win, which ended Cleveland’s hopes of winning the North. As for their playoff chances, those were gashed following that game as the Los Angeles Chargers beat Denver to officially eliminate the Browns.
They still can play for pride on Monday as they can hand Ben Roethlisberger a defeat in his possible final home game for the Steelers. While that’s not as important as a playoff run, it would still be something for this fan base to celebrate.