Final 2021 NFL Power Rankings: Colts falter; 49ers and Raiders are in
Raiders and Patriots just miss top 10 of final NFL Power Rankings
team. 28. . . Previous: 17th. Las Vegas Raiders. 12
The late John Madden is smiling somewhere and Al Davis is telling his players to win. And that is just what they did. It took till the final seconds, but the Raiders are in and are on to Cincinnati. Derek Carr played strong down the stretch and outgunned Justin Herbert, and has been rewarded with a postseason berth.
Defensively, it was Maxx Crosby who took over the game and will likely need to do the same and put the pressure on Joe Burrow. Additionally, Ja’Marr Chase will be a threat to be reckoned with, but Vegas has shown that they are not afraid of the big spotlight, knowing that if they lost to the Chargers, they would have been heading home.
But they are not, and they are on their way to the playoffs after all the turmoil that they endured from the firing of Jon Gruden, the Henry Ruggs car crash, and the passing of Madden. Just win baby, and that’s what they did.
New England Patriots. 11. team. 47. . . Previous: 11th
Losing to Miami will leave a bad taste in their mouths, but the near comeback, in the end, shows that Bill Belichick’s troops are still a force to be reckoned with in the postseason. Now, they head to Buffalo for a wild card game, a site where they did something rather unorthodox.
A heavy run game proved to be fortuitous in Orchard Park, but Buffalo returned the favor in Foxborough, ensuring that this rivalry may be the real rivalry within the division. But Mac Jones looks like he can go toe to toe with Josh Allen, mainly because he has Belichick on his side.
Defensively, the Patriots can get after the quarterback, specifically Matt Judon. They will need to be at their best when the temperatures drop in Buffalo on Saturday Night. New England is back in the postseason, but they have their work cut out for them.