Another fun-packed weekend of NFL action is in the books with the playoffs and important NFL Draft positioning on the line. With just two weeks to play, the cream is rising to the top in the NFL and the best teams are coming into focus. Although NFL Power Rankings can be volatile throughout the course of the season, it’s much easier to gauge where teams stack up at this point in the season.
Let’s take a look at the weekend that was and which teams are moving around the most in this week’s NFL Power Rankings, which include a big jump from both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.
2022 NFL Power Rankings Week 17
32. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans notched their second win of the season this past weekend, a barn-burner against the Tennessee Titans. This team is now in danger of losing the no. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft although Lovie Smith probably doesn’t care much about that. He may not be around to see who gets picked.
Houston has some pieces. This team is still pretty far off from being a true competitor in the AFC South but they need to find a solution at QB and there are some intriguing options in this year’s class. Will Nick Caserio fall in love with Bryce Young? Will Levis? CJ Stroud? None?
31. Chicago Bears
I’m sure Chicago Bears fans would like to start seeing some wins for Justin Fields as he continues to develop, but they’re just not coming. This team is begging to get to the offseason at this point and they were probably pleasantly surprised to see the Houston Texans win this past weekend which gives them at least a fighting chance at the no. 1 overall pick in the Spring.
Even if they don’t get no. 1 overall, the Bears have plenty of assets to retool this roster with GM Ryan Poles now able to confidently build around Justin Fields. What’s he going to do with all the cap space and picks? It’s going to be fun to watch. I’m sure the Bears are going to be one of the favorite dark horse picks in the NFC next season when the offseason is all said and done.
30. Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a team to watch in the 2023 offseason, if for no other reason than they are pretty likely to make some massive changes. General manager Steve Keim stepped down for health reasons, but he and the Cardinals might part ways altogether.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury? Well, it feels like so much of what the Cardinals right now are built around is Kliff and Kyler, so how is it going to work if they fire the guy basically responsible for bringing Kyler in in the first place? Who will come in to build an offense around Murray?
I can’t help but wonder if the Cardinals would just promote Vance Joseph in the offseason, and go after a new offensive coordinator to work with Murray. We’ll see what happens but the Cardinals can’t even bank on Murray’s availability for next season at this point…
29. Indianapolis Colts
It’s safe to say at this point that the Jeff Saturday experiment won’t be going beyond the 2022 NFL season, but what are the Colts going to look like come next season? This team will have a new head coach, a new starting quarterback, and they need plenty of work besides those two areas.
Will GM Chris Ballard be around to try and right the ship? What is owner Jim Irsay going to push for in terms of the QB position, because you can’t help but feel like he’s been a primary motivator behind the Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan moves.
The Colts are currently projected to pick 6th in the 2023 NFL Draft and every loss brings them closer to the top of the order.
28. Denver Broncos
It certainly wasn’t a “Merry” Christmas for Denver Broncos fans as they watched their team get absolutely obliterated by the Los Angeles Rams to the tune of 51-14, a game that included a whopping three interceptions from Russell Wilson and a fourth from Brett Rypien which was returned for the Rams’ final touchdown.
The Broncos’ embarrassing season got even worse on Christmas Day. Even Patrick Starr had seen enough. The fact that Russell Wilson is playing as bad as he has been has Broncos fans dejected and longing for a future that no one can even picture at this point. What is this team going to do about his dropoff in play in 2022? Blame it on coaching?
That’s probably the direction things are headed right now, but wow. This team is a mess.
27. Atlanta Falcons
Well, at least for part of the season, the Atlanta Falcons had themselves a good run. There were some times there throughout the 2022 campaign that you felt like the Falcons might be able to make a little run in the weaker NFC South, but with four straight losses and a record of 5-10 after Week 16 action, it looks like those dreams are dashed.
The Falcons did show some nice progress this year under head coach Arthur Smith, who was able to have one of the NFL’s better offenses for a good stretch of the season with Marcus Mariota at QB. The Falcons’ front office should be encouraged for the future as they focus on finding a long-term answer at that position.
26. Los Angeles Rams
Baker Mayfield hasn’t been the “starter” for all three of his games with the Los Angeles Rams, but he’s effectively 2-1 since taking over the operation there just a handful of weeks ago. Mayfield’s emergence under Sean McVay, if only for brief moments in his first two games with the team, blossomed in Week 16 against a good Broncos defense.
Mayfield was efficient, accurate, and highly effective running McVay’s offense as the Rams improved to 5-10 on the season. They’re still not making the postseason, but at least this time with Mayfield now will give the Rams a leg up on re-signing him as Matthew Stafford’s backup and perhaps even their starter for some time in 2023 depending on Stafford’s health situation.
25. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders are the NFL’s living embodiment of, “You’re killing me Smalls!”
That’s what you want to scream at this team almost week in and week out. Last week, the Raiders have one of the most exciting walk-off wins you’ll ever see as a football fan. This week, they’re trading interceptions all game long with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Although the Raiders have some of the most exciting wins of the year for any NFL team, this is a crew that’s only going to be playing spoiler the rest of the way. We’ll see what happens in the offseason for these Raiders but you can’t help but feel like some big changes will be coming.
24. Cleveland Browns
Just when I thought I had the Cleveland Browns figured out, they go and lose a barn-burner to the New Orleans Saints. As far as NFL power rankings go, this team is going to hover in this range for the remainder of the season. The inclusion of Deshaun Watson in the lineup has not paid great dividends in terms of offensive production.
You can’t help but wonder what kind of thoughts the Browns are having internally about Watson beyond this season given what we’ve seen so far, but he’ll certainly have to start playing like an MVP sooner rather than later with his fully guaranteed $230 million deal.
23. Carolina Panthers
For my money, I’d prefer to take a shot on the Panthers making the playoffs in 2022 than any of the other teams in the NFC South. The Falcons are cooked. The Saints are just not exciting enough this season. The Tom Brady-led Bucs are a shell of what they once were. I will take the unpredictability of this Panthers team in the postseason if I can get it.
Thanks to a win this past weekend against a good Detroit Lions team, those playoff hopes are still alive for the Panthers. At 6-9, the Panthers are currently projected to pick 8th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, but they could also win their final couple of games here and make it to the postseason depending on what else happens in their division.
If nothing else, you have to tip your cap to the job Steve Wilks has done with this team since taking over as interim head coach.
22. New Orleans Saints
Can anybody make sense of the NFC South right now? This division is wild, and really in the worst way. The Saints have pushed everyone into further confusion by beating the Browns this past weekend, improving to 6-9 on the season and keeping their postseason hopes afloat.
Perhaps their road trip this coming weekend to Philadelphia will prove to be the final nail in the proverbial coffin for the Saints this season. For the time being, you’ve got to give them credit for continuing to fight and continuing to stay alive.
21. Tennessee Titans
One of the biggest surprises of Week 16 of the NFL season was the Tennessee Titans dropping their game against the hapless Houston Texans. It was only Houston’s second win of the 2022 season and the Titans’ fifth loss in a row. Halfway through the season, it looked like the Titans were going to scrape and claw their way to 10 or 11 wins and another AFC South title, but lately, the cream has risen to the top.
The Jaguars are the much more interesting AFC South team and if somehow the Titans manage to make it to the playoffs over Jacksonville, the biggest losers will be football fans. The Titans suffered one of the biggest drops in this week’s NFL power rankings and deservedly so.
20. New York Jets
The New York Jets have one of the best defenses in the league, but who knew this team’s playoff hopes in 2022 would hinge on the health of Mike White? The unfortunate reality of a couple things is setting in lately for the Jets. First of all, this team is probably not playoff-bound, barring a miraculous turnaround in the last two weeks of the season.
Second, Zach Wilson ain’t it. The Jets are going to have to scrap the idea that he’s the franchise QB of the future in 2023 and start from scratch. Meanwhile, the defense and receiver talent are playoff ready in New York.
19. New England Patriots
The Patriots played tough enough defense this past weekend to hold the Cincinnati Bengals to 22 points and keep it a one-score game, but that was it. New England isn’t a consistent threat to reach the 20-25 point mark itself, which makes this team a tough one to project on a weekly basis. They need dominant defensive performances to be able to win games consistently, and that’s just not happening.
They’ve lost two in a row, are now 7-8, and if the playoffs started today, they wouldn’t be in. Given the current makeup of this team and the AFC overall, the Patriots probably shouldn’t be in the postseason, either.
18. Seattle Seahawks
After looking like one of the better teams in the NFC during the first half of the season, the Seattle Seahawks — with Pro Bowl QB Geno Smith — are absolutely free-falling here in December. This team has lost three in a row and they’ve been on the struggle bus really since the start of November.
As they drop further and further out of relevance for the playoffs in the NFC, teams like the Packers and Lions have quickly crept into the mix. I’m not sure the Seahawks are going to be able to rebound from their recent slide, which includes a loss to Kansas City this past weekend.
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
At 7-8 on the season now, the Bucs are fresh off of an overtime win against an Arizona Cardinals team that is devastated by injuries. There’s no way the Bucs should be making the playoffs this year and yet it still might happen.
This team is so far from the version that won the Super Bowl just two seasons ago. It’s crazy to see how far they have fallen with so much talent on the roster going into the season. This team had legitimate hopes of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl so long as Brady continued his dominant ways, but that clearly hasn’t been the case.
Is this year the end of the road for Brady, for real this time? For now, the Bucs control their destiny and live to fight another day.
16. Green Bay Packers
While TB12 is on his way out of the playoff picture, Aaron Rodgers is making the Packers relevant again. As far as NFL power rankings go, being ranked 16th is nothing really to write home about, but the Packers are making significant jumps week after week as the offense slowly creeps this team back into January relevance.
With three straight wins under their belts, does anyone really want to play Rodgers and company right now in the playoffs? I’m guessing not. Aside from San Francisco’s impressive eight-game winning streak, the three-game run the Packers are on right now is the best currently in the NFC. This team might be for real.
15. Washington Commanders
It’s been a tough handful of weeks for Taylor Heinicke’s Jordan collection. The Commanders have dropped two in a row and despite their December struggles, they would still be in the playoffs if the season ended today. It’s going to be absolutely critical for this team to come out swinging in Week 17 after getting wrecked by the 49ers.
They have a home game against the Cleveland Browns which should be “winnable” for a team fighting for a playoff spot, but what should anyone’s confidence level be in the Commanders at the moment? They have to find ways to make sure Jahan Dotson and Terry McLaurin are getting the ball and put it on those two to push this team into the postseason.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers
The biggest jump of the week in these NFL power rankings belongs to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sneaking into the playoffs in the AFC is going to be a little bit difficult this year thanks to the strength of teams in the AFC East and AFC North, but thanks to the NFL adding that third Wild Card spot, the Steelers are extremely relevant right now.
They have endured through some shuffling at the QB position and although they won a little ugly against the Raiders, it was a gutsy drive from rookie QB Kenny Pickett capped off by a touchdown throw to George Pickens that got this team to 7-8 on the season. The Steelers might just pull off the comeback and get to the dance.
13. Detroit Lions
A little “back to reality” moment was inevitable at some point for the Detroit Lions, but that doesn’t mean we should all be going cold on this team, either. D’Onta Foreman ran for 165 yards this past weekend against Detroit’s improved defense, and after giving up 37 points in Carolina, Aaron Glenn’s unit needs to get back to the drawing board and fast.
The Lions don’t have any time to sulk, either. They go home to face the Chicago Bears this coming week in a game that, on paper, they “should” win. The playoffs, at this point, are on the line. If the season ended today, the Lions wouldn’t be in. They desperately need to win at home against the Bears to stay in the mix. This Lions team does belong in the playoffs this year. We’ll see if they can earn their way there.
12. New York Giants
Luckily for the New York Giants, a record of 8-6-1 is good enough right now to get this team into the postseason. That tie is less of an annoyance and more like a half-win at this time of year, and that helps. The Giants need that half-win on their record because they’ve sputtered in the second half of the season. They’re still playing tough defense, Saquon Barkley is still running well, and they haven’t gone ice cold (yet), but things need to start turning around quickly for this team.
They just lost a heartbreaker on Christmas Eve to the Vikings but they should be able to get to nine wins at home next week against the Colts.
11. Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins continue to slide despite the fact that I think this team is going to be very relevant come playoff time. They simply have too many weapons offensively and defensively to not be a threat in the playoffs. But they’ve got to make sure they punch their ticket to the dance at this point.
Right now, Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins are free-falling. They’ve now dropped to 8-7 after losing four in a row, the latest of which a home loss to the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers. This team is so explosive offensively but Tua Tagovailoa made some back-breaking throws against Green Bay that were picked off, and those proved to be major difference-makers in the game.
Miami needs to get a win in Week 17 to make it hard for any other Wild Card hopeful to leapfrog them in this playoff chase.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars
Is it a little over the top to put the Jaguars this high in this week’s NFL power rankings? Maybe. I’m not so sure, though.
The Jaguars don’t have a playoff-ready defense at the moment, at least not in my opinion, but the NFL playoffs would be so much better with Jacksonville and Trevor Lawrence in them than the Tennessee Titans in their current state. After a surprise victory by the Houston Texans in Week 16, the Jaguars find themselves in control of their own destiny.
Three wins in a row have this team in the playoffs if the season ended today. Doug Pederson deserves a ton of credit not only for fixing what Urban Meyer destroyed, but also keeping this locker room in it after starting the year 3-7.
9. Baltimore Ravens
It was another victory in Week 16 for the Baltimore Ravens, and another victory that’s not going to be making a ton of headlines. The Ravens went out — without Lamar Jackson yet again — and found a way to win 17-9 against the Atlanta Falcons.
What are we supposed to make of this Ravens team going into postseason play? They are obviously winning a lot of games this season and at this point, maybe they’ll consider just saving Lamar Jackson for the playoffs if they can help throwing him out there again. If this team is winning without Jackson, though, how much more of a threat does he make them in the playoffs?
This is such an interesting team that has certainly been banged up at key spots, and yet they’re one of just eight NFL teams with double-digit wins.
8. Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers play on Monday Night Football
All the Los Angeles Chargers need is a win against Jeff Saturday’s Colts on Monday night to get into the playoffs for the first time in Justin Herbert’s sensational young career. That’s kind of hard to believe, but here we are.
I’m fairly confident the Chargers are going to get the job done in that game and come home from Indianapolis knowing that they’re going to the postseason. That’s going to be so huge for this team and for Herbert’s career. The NFL playoffs are going to be better having no. 10 in them.
7. Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys didn’t move up in this week’s NFL power rankings despite beating the (spoiler alert) number one team. Why?
Well, as good as the Eagles are, it took the Cowboys scoring 40 points at home and all four quarters to beat Gardner Minshew. Is this Dan Quinn defense collapsing as the team approaches a potential playoff run? Quinn’s defense has been a problem the last few weeks and unfortunately, it has me rethinking the Cowboys’ playoff chances a little bit.
We’ll see how this team can continue to progress toward the postseason but you certainly can’t knock them for a big-time victory. Both the Eagles and Cowboys have now beaten each other’s backup QBs. Perhaps we’ll see Dak Prescott vs. Jalen Hurts in the playoffs…
6. San Francisco 49ers
I’m not sure who is winning NFL Coach of the Year in 2022, but it should be Kyle Shanahan. Maybe John Lynch should win executive of the year as well. The 49ers have been an absolute juggernaut for the majority of this 2022 NFL season, and they are doing so despite circumstances that would cripple most teams.
The 49ers opened the season hoping to usher in the Trey Lance era, but he suffered a season-ending injury. As fate would have it, Jimmy Garoppolo happened to still be on the roster despite saying his farewells earlier in the offseason. Then Garoppolo suffered an injury. It’s been Brock Purdy and business as usual in recent weeks for the 49ers, who just put a whopping 37 points on a very good Washington Commanders defense.
5. Cincinnati Bengals
I will be one of the first people to admit that I thought there was some kind of post-Super Bowl regression coming for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022. That has proven to be far from the case. As a matter of fact, the Bengals have done more than stay on pace as a team that was really rebuilding its roster as of just last offseason.
The Bengals’ accelerated “win now” timeline has been helped significantly by really smart free agent moves defensively and just really good drafting the last few years. This looks like one of the most dangerous teams in the league once again going into the playoffs and I think even though they are 5th in this week’s NFL Power Rankings, the Bengals are undoubtedly on the same tier right now as the Chiefs and Bills.
4. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings just continue to get the job done. They have a “team of destiny” feel this year. When you look at the rest of the NFC and compare the Vikings to some of their inter-conference peers, you can’t help but feel like they might be underdogs in the playoffs despite having one of the best records in the league. Can the Vikings keep up their magic, winning one-score games all the way to an NFC title?
As of right now, what reason do we really have to doubt this team? They have proven week in and week out that it doesn’t matter who their opponent is, they can find a way to win against just about everybody.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City continues to take care of business and keep pace with the Bills in the AFC. They have a home matchup against the Denver Broncos this upcoming week, a team that gave them some kind of scare just a couple of weeks ago despite the Chiefs getting out to a 27=0 lead in the first half.
This past weekend, the Chiefs took care of business at home against the Seattle Seahawks and continued to look like one of the best teams in the AFC. Going into this season, you kind of felt like it would be the Chiefs and Bills again at the top of the AFC but it’s looking more like the Bengals are a legitimate third party in that mix. Will Kansas City’s defense hold up against those offensive juggernauts?
2. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are almost on auto-pilot at this point. Josh Allen threw for just 172 yards against the Chicago Bears and this team still put up 35 points. We always knew this was going to be one of the league’s best teams in the regular season, but come time for the postseason, how is the loss of Von Miller going to affect the Bills’ hopes at winning a Super Bowl? Will Josh Allen and the offense be enough to beat the best teams in the AFC right now?
Unfortunately for the Bills, it almost seems like this team is setting up for January disappointment but time will tell.
1. Philadelphia Eagles
It’s almost impossible to fault the Philadelphia Eagles for putting up over 30 points and losing on the road to another top-10 team in the NFL, much less a team that has been in the top 10 of the NFL power rankings pretty much all year. the Dallas Cowboys needed 40 points and all four quarters to outlast Gardner Minshew and the Eagles, which just tells you everything you need to know about this team.
Not to sound like a broken record, but they are just one of the most well-oiled machines in the NFL. You have to think, even and maybe especially after watching them play the Cowboys, that this Eagles team could make it to the Super Bowl even if they had to use Minshew the rest of the way.