Final 2021 NFL Power Rankings: Colts falter; 49ers and Raiders are in

The Indianapolis Colts blew their playoff chances by losing in Jacksonville. At the same time, the San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders officially secured their postseason tickets. Check out this week’s lineup as the 2021 NFL Power Rankings caps off the regular season.

At long last, the final week of the 2021 NFL regular season descended upon us, and for several teams, there was too much at stake. Some delivered when it counted, while others failed to pass the final test. Indianapolis just had to win in Jacksonville, a spot where they have not won since 2015.

Did they do it? Nope, and as a result, they are heading home for the offseason, with back-to-back losses. Oh, and they don’t have a first-round pick either because that’s going to the Philadelphia Eagles, who are in the playoffs themselves.

Tennessee knocked off Houston and secured the AFC’s top seed over Kansas City. Cincinnati’s resting of their players now has them as the 4th seed. Buffalo clinched the AFC East and the 3rd seed while New England will take the Wild Card Role as the 6th seed.

Thanks to Sunday Night Football not ending in a tie, the Las Vegas Raiders clinch the 5th seed, and Pittsburgh emerges as the AFC’s 7th seed after scraping through Baltimore.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Rams were upset by the San Francisco 49ers despite clinching the NFC West division on the other side of the bracket. LA now drops to the 4th seed while Arizona takes the 5th slot despite losing to Seattle.

Green Bay’s loss in Detroit was a stunning one, but the Packers already have home-field advantage. Tampa Bay beat Carolina and jumped to the 2nd seed after the Rams loss and the Dallas Cowboys moved up to 3rd.

So who got the last spot in the NFC? That would be San Francisco, whose win over Los Angeles moves them into the 6th seed, leaving Philadelphia to snag the 7th spot.

Now that we’ve gotten the weekend recap out of the way let’s divulge into the regular season’s final 2021-2022 Power Rankings as we look forward to the postseason.

Jaguars once again back at the bottom of 2021 NFL Power Rankings

32. Jacksonville Jaguars

For a bunch of cellar-dwellers, the Jags didn’t look too bad against Indianapolis. In fact, they looked great. Knowing that Indianapolis needed a win to get into the playoffs and not cause drama, Jacksonville decided to crash the party and create chaos.

Trevor Lawrence looked like a No.1 overall pick, and the Jaguars defense showed why Carson Wentz isn’t that guy at the quarterback position. Six sacks and an interception are the proof in the pudding.

Speaking of the No.1 overall pick, because Detroit pulled off an upset against Green Bay, Jacksonville is back on the clock again and is in prime position to take either Alabama’s Evan Neal or Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson. Now, if only Jacksonville can get their next head coach right, all could be trending upward in DUVAL.

31. New York Giants

Though Detroit has a worse record than Big Blue, they won against a top-tier opponent this week, so they are afforded the privilege of moving up a slot. The Giants entered their final regular-season contest against Washington with nothing to play for except pride.

Unfortunately, pride doesn’t translate to wins, at least not in this case. Joe Judge’s troops had fans looking and feeling blue while facing the harsh reality that this franchise is not good. Jake Fromm struggled immensely, and the Giants’ offensive line continues to falter. Even if they were to get rid of Judge, what other possibilities do they have?

Until they fix the trenches, the Giants are not going anywhere. Habits matter, and unfortunately, there have been so many bad habits within the organization. This offseason, it may take a massive overhaul to restore the identity they want to have.