8. Baltimore Ravens (8-5)
On their bye in Week 14, the Baltimore Ravens are 8-5 and in a strong position to make the playoffs yet again, but with the Pittsburgh Steelers victory in Week 14, are now a solid two games behind Pittsburgh for the AFC North lead. Baltimore is seeing QB Lamar Jackson play the best football of his career, but much like the Cincinnati Bengals, it’s the defense that is holding this team back.
However, the Ravens defense is not nearly as bad as the Bengals defense. Notably, the Ravens lost former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to the Seattle Seahawks, and with the Seahawks victory in Week 14, they are 8-5 themselves and have won four games in a row.
Baltimore is very good and have always been high on our NFL power rankings, but this does not feel like a team that can make a run in the AFC. They may have to travel for each postseason game, and they do not have the defense to pull that off.
7. Green Bay Packers (9-4)
If there was ever a good example of a team that is truly a year away, it’s the Green Bay Packers. They now fall to 9-4 on the season, as they could not get it done against the Detroit Lions in Green Bay. It was a valiant effort, but this is who the Packers are. They’re a very good team, and they could win a playoff game or two, but this team is just not yet ready to win the Super Bowl.
It’s really had to pinpoint what the Packers are missing, but I guess it could just be boiled down to experience. Jordan Love probably needs this year under his belt, and many of their main contributors are quite young. Green Bay is now just about guaranteed to slide into a Wild Card seed in the NFC, but honestly, if this team was in mostly any other division in the NFL, they’d be the best.
Not only are they behind the Detroit Lions, but they’re also behind the Minnesota Vikings as well. Still at 9-4 even with the loss, Green Bay is indeed a very viable team in the NFL and could be one of the few Wild Card teams that could make a playoff run this year.