Week 16 of the 2025 NFL Season is nearly in the books, so we can now turn our attention to Week 17. More playoff spots have been clinched, and it's just turning into a giant mess, but in a good way. There were some shocking results this week and even more proof that anyone can win the Super Bowl this year.
Over the final two weeks of the regular season, we will begin to see some division-clinching scenarios and will see the final playoff-clinching scenarios develop as well. With so many competent teams in the league right now, there could be an argument for 8-10 wins that could win it all.
Now that Week 16 is about in the books, let's get into our updated NFL power rankings. We are now, more than ever, ranking teams on their total body of work this year, as we are approaching the tail-end of the regular season.
NFL Power Rankings, Week 17: Packers begin to tumble as Bears continue to rise
32. New York Jets
It’s hard to find anything for the New York Jets to latch onto this year. They got blown out by the New Orleans Saints and are now 3-12 on the season. The Jets need a little bit of everything, but they do have a ton of NFL Draft capital in 2026 and 2027 thanks to the Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams trades.
However, it is going to take multiple offseasons for the Jets to right this ship and get it back on track, but I guess it hasn’t been on track in about 15 years. I am also not sure Aaron Glenn is the right man for the job, but he’s also been dealt a tough hand.
Hang in their Jets’ fans, it might get better, and GM Darren Mougey was right to trade Gardner and Williams.
31. Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders put up a good fight but could not seal the deal and again lost, this time to the Houston Texans in Houston. Vegas has had a season to forget and could be primed to blow everything up yet again.
The duo of Pete Carroll and Geno Smith has not worked out like they had hoped, as the additions were supposed to bring some level of stability to the franchise, but the total opposite has happened. The Raiders could be in a prime position to land one of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft, though.
30. Arizona Cardinals
It’s another week and another bad loss for the Arizona Cardinals. I really struggle to see how Jonathan Gannon and his staff return for the 2026 season, as this team simply cannot figure out how to win a game, and they have gone backwards since the very solid 2-0 start they had at the beginning of the season.
There is also the QB issue, as Kyler Murray does not appear to be in their long-term plans, so the Cardinals are likely going to trade him for something, but where do they turn for an upgrade? The 2026 NFL Draft does not appear to be a very strong QB class, so GM Monti Ossenfort might be in a difficult situation here.
The Cardinals made some progress from 2023 into 2024, but the wheels have fallen off here in 2025. Arizona is now 30th in our updated power rankings and might need another complete reset to get back on track.
29. New York Giants
The New York Giants have dropped to 2-13 on the season and are just surely wanting this year to end - I would not blame them. It seems like the wheels really fell off after they blew that massive fourth-quarter lead against the Denver Broncos in the first half of the season.
Jaxson Dart has not played that well in recent weeks, and it’s just been a forgettable and disjointed product since then. The Giants fired Brian Daboll weeks ago and will need to bring in a new coaching staff. If you ask me, I would run to hire Mike McCarthy, a high-floor head coach who knows how to work with young quarterbacks.
The Giants have been circling the drain for years and have to get some adults into the building, or they will continue to be ranked low in our power rankings. It’s really that simple. They have some good players and bits of pieces of what could be a good team, but getting stability with the head coach and bringing someone in who knows how to develop a quarterback would be a great idea.
28. Cleveland Browns
It’s another week where the Cleveland Browns’ defense kept the team in the game, but the offense could not hold its own, and that’s been the story of the 2025 Browns. The Browns could see Myles Garrett breaking the single-season sack record soon. Garrett had a half-sack in Week 16 and now has 22 on the season, so he needs just one more sack in the remaining two games to hold the record.
He’s also likely winning the Defensive Player of the Year award this year, so that’s neat as well. I would be shocked if head coach Kevin Stefanski returned in 2026, as this franchise just might need a refresh, but GM Andrew Berry seems to have brought in a solid rookie class, and he’s probably going to remain on the job in 2026.
The Browns do have something to latch onto for the future, as the defense is just about set and might not need a ton of work in the offseason, so there could be some light at the end of the tunnel for this franchise that had a nice little spurt there a few seasons ago.
27. Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are now 3-12 on the season after a blowout win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Somehow, Chiefs’ quarterback Gardner Minshew tore his left ACL, so the Chiefs have seen their top two quarterbacks both go down with torn left ACLs in back-to-back weeks.
But the story of the day is Cam Ward, as he played well in this one and might actually be a QB worth building around. All in all, Ward’s stats do not jump off the page, but you can see the potential. Ward will make some insane throws just about each game, but the Titans’ roster might just be the worst in the league.
GM Mike Borgonzi may have hit the nail on the head with that pick, but now the job gets even bigger, as he has to bring in the right talent to ensure Ward develops, and that also goes for the coaching staff. Tennessee fired Brian Callahan much earlier this year, so there is a lot of change that is going to hit this franchise in the 2026 NFL Offseason. Ward’s passer rating hit triple-digits for the second week in a row. He now has four touchdown passes against zero interceptions in those games.
26. Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins have had a season to forget. There were signs of life there a couple of weeks ago, but a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on primetime ended their playoff hopes, and it also forced the Dolphins to make the huge decision to bench Tua Tagovailoa.
The Dolphins are now likely going to move on from their first-round QB at some point this offseason, and there probably is no guarantee that Tagovailoa is going to be starting somewhere in the 2026 NFL Season.
Going forward, the Dolphins are going to have to make some interesting decisions, as the QB of the future is clearly not on the roster, but moving on from Tagovailoa is not going to be an easy financial decision. The teams that are in this situation might follow the path that the Denver Broncos followed, which was to absorb the dead cap hit and move on without trying to force it to work.
Another wrinkle here, though, is that Miami’s roster is relatively weak overall, so this could be a multi-year rebuilding process for the Dolphins, unfortunately.
25. Washington Commanders
I feel like I use the phrase ‘if nothing else’ multiple times in our power rankings, but, if nothing else, the Washington Commanders kept it close against the Philadelphia Eagles for the first half of the game, but this season has been over for weeks now.
Where do we begin? Well, I’ll admit that I was way too high on this roster coming into the season - it was the oldest in the NFL and really wasn’t that great. Then, the injuries began, and that has included starting QB Jayden Daniels, who suffered multiple notable injuries in 2025.
All of a sudden, Washington has gone from being within a game of the Super Bowl in 2024 to one of the worst teams in the league in 2025. In the offseason, GM Adam Peters has to hit on some draft picks and just rework this roster to be younger and faster.
Daniels also suffering those injuries this year is not ideal, so he may have to learn how to protect himself a bit more. The Commanders should see a pretty high draft pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and could get a decent player there. Overall, Washington is an underwhelming, disappointing team this year and have probably already turned the page to 2026.
24. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings won in Week 16, but JJ McCarthy was nothing special and left the game with a hand injury, which is just not ideal. What we have seen from McCarthy in his starts this year has been mostly forgettable, and you have to wonder how much longer the Vikings are going to take this before they decide to not only bring in another QB, but bring in a clear-cut upgrade.
I would not be shocked if Mac Jones was a trade target for them. Anyway, Minnesota is actually 7-8 on the season, but it really does not feel like it. The Vikings have a good team and a coaching staff that has won a ton of games before, but their quarterback decisions have truly blown up in their faces.
They probably have regrets letting Sam Darnold go and might be ready to throw in the towel on the second-year McCarthy. Heck, I could even see the front office targeting a QB like Daniel Jones in the offseason, as he was on the team for a short time in 2024.
Minnesota is still in an OK spot, but it just so happens that the most important position in sports is the sore spot for them.
23. New Orleans Saints
Tyler Shough threw for over 300 yards in the New Orleans Saints’ Week 16 win over the New York Jets, and the Saints keep stacking these wins late in the season, which is not a phrase I thought I would be saying this late in the season, but the rookie Shough has played very well.
And he might be on one of the least-talented offenses in the NFL, so the Saints obviously have someone they can build around to see what he is made of. Second-year QB Spencer Rattler began the year as the starter but did not last long.
Tyler Shough was a second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and we are beginning to see why Shough was the second QB off the board. It does go to show you that having a good bit of college experience can translate into the NFL. A good example of this is obviously Bo Nix on the Denver Broncos.
The Saints are not going to the playoffs this year, but this season was a successful one overall when you consider Tyler Shough’s performance.
22. Kansas City Chiefs
Somehow, the Kansas City Chiefs will be down to their third QB in a matter of two games, as both Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew went down with torn ACLs in back-to-back games, and the Chiefs dropped to 6-9 on the season with a blowout loss against the Tennessee Titans.
It’s truly been a season to forget for the Chiefs, as they never really got things going this year and always seemed to struggle with something. The years of bad drafting and poor free agency hauls have kind of come to a boil here in 2025.
The Chiefs aren’t just one strong offseason away, either, as they are currently over the cap, have a lot of holes, and might not see Patrick Mahomes return to 100% strength until 2026 is well underway.
Kansas City now returns home on a short week and hosts the Denver Broncos on Christmas. The NFL surely did not think Kansas City was going to have nine losses by the time Christmas came around.
I would be shocked if the Chiefs didn’t hold notable starters out of the lineup at this point - the time is now to ‘rest’ some veterans and see what you have in younger players.
21. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals blew out the Miami Dolphins in Week 16. If nothing else, Joe Burrow got to pad his statistics a bit in a lost season, and that is kind of the only thing teams like this can do at this point. The Bengals lost Burrow for weeks earlier this year to a turf toe injury.
But even if Burrow was in the lineup, the Bengals would still not likely be very good, as the defense has been horrendous all season. Until Cincinnati gets serious in the front office, overhauls the coaching staff, and rebuilds the defense, they will not get anywhere.
Cincy will now miss the playoffs for the third year in a row in the Joe Burrow era, having not been to the postseason since 2022, which is flat-out inexcusable. The Bengals get a garbage-time win and at least put some nice football on tape going forward.
The Bengals being able to rebound in 2026 honestly feels a bit unlikely unless major changes are made.
20. Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons beat the Arizona Cardinals and moved to 6-9 on the season. Kirk Cousins has been starting for the Falcons for the past several weeks due to the season-ending knee injury that Michael Penix Jr suffered, and with how much QB demand there is going to be this coming offseason, I bet Cousins is hoping for one last starting chance in 2026.
That could be what his primary motivation is right now, but as for the Falcons, this team was once 3-2 on the season and had just come off a major win in primetime over the Buffalo Bills. The arrow finally felt like it was pointing upward for this franchise, but the team has since struggled to find their footing.
I am not sure Raheem Morris is the man for the job, and if we are asking this in his second year as the team’s head coach, there is a chance that he simply might not be a quality head coach in this league, period. The Falcons have to decide on Morris’ future and perhaps the future of GM Terry Fontenot, who has assembled a good roster but is also someone who traded away the team’s first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
It’s yet another year to forget for the Falcons.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers crater in our NFL power rankings as Week 16 comes to a close. The Bucs could not beat the Carolina Panthers and are now at a huge risk of missing the playoffs entirely.
Tampa needs a refresh in the worst way, and missing the playoffs might be the best thing for them. I get the sense that fans might want to see a new coaching staff brought in. Todd Bowles has probably run his course with the team and is clearly not capable of elevating this squad anymore.
The Bucs did battle some injuries this year and are seeing a bit of a regression from Baker Mayfield, but the buck stops with Todd Bowles. Tampa takes a huge hit in our NFL power rankings and are just not a good team anymore. They’ve won the NFC South for years now but might see that streak come to an end.
18. Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys have had a great offense all season but just did not get the defense right at all. The Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention even before Week 16 kicked off, but they could have played spoiler against the Los Angeles Chargers.
That was not the case, and it’s about time to turn the page to 2026. The one good thing here, though, is that the Cowboys have fixable issues - they don’t really need to touch the offense besides getting George Pickens and Javonte Williams back under contract. The fix needs to come on the defensive side of the ball.
Getting another pass rusher, another linebacker, and probably multiple new players in the secondary is what this team needs to do. If the Cowboys’ front office can do that, they could be a contending team in 2026. Dak Prescott has been excellent this year, and the offense can be unstoppable at times.
Dallas keeps stacking losses, though, and that is never a good thing. The Cowboys continue to tumble in our NFL power rankings.
17. Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore will have played on Sunday Night Football
The Baltimore Ravens will have played the New England Patirots on Sunday Night Football, and I bet the Ravens are going to play a very desperate brand of football, but not in a bad way. This team was 1-5 to begin the season and have since gone 6-2 in the following eight games, so they are making a bit of a run.
Baltimore, whether they win or lose this game, needs a refresh this coming offseason. The roster is very good when healthy, but reinforcements are needed along the offensive and defensive lines.
The secondary is also shaky, and I just think it’s time for a new era for the Ravens as Lamar Jackson creeps to 30 years old. Derrick Henry also isn’t playing forever, so while the Ravens are surely going to be competitive in 2026, this could be the time where the front office tries to turn the page a bit.
Heck, as crazy as it might sound, I do not think a head coaching change would be a bad idea, either, but I’m probably getting ahead of myself here.
16. Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis plays on Monday Night Football
The Indianapolis Colts were once 7-1 on the season, and it felt like a lock for this team to win the AFC South and earn one of the top three seeds in the AFC Playoff Picture, but things have just gone off the rails since then, as the Colts saw Daniel Jones go down with a torn Achilles, and not only that, but Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard are still hurt.
The Colts are now going to be starting Philip Rivers for the second game in a row, and they host the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football. Funnily enough, I believe the Colts match up quite well with San Fran. The Niners have a fine defense, but they simply cannot create pressure and will have a huge task against Indy’s top OL.
Indy also has a plethora of weapons, but the Niners do not have the personnel to match up with everyone. The veteran Rivers should have an efficient game here, but even if Indy wins this game and manages to get into the playoffs, this team is not going anywhere. The QB position has cratered, and while it’s been a fun story with Rivers, he’s not going to be able to do much if he helps the Colts sneak into the postseason.
Indianapolis went from being one of the best to perhaps one of the more irrelevant teams in the NFL in just a few weeks.
15. Carolina Panthers
Are the Carolina Panthers for real? The Panthers won a huge game in Week 16 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and moved to 8-7, still in control in the NFC South. It has been a solid year for Carolina overall, as you can clearly see the growth put forth by second-year head coach Dave Canales. Quarterback Bryce Young has also been relatively solid this year.
I am still not entirely sure if Young is a legitimate ‘guy,’ but given how this season has gone, it would be tough to think that Young isn’t back in 2026, at least. I have always thought that this roster was a little bit better than expected, and I think we have begun to see some of this talent come together.
If Carolina were to win the NFC South this year, I am not sure they’d have quite enough to win a game, but just getting into the playoffs and being able to host a game would be pretty awesome, as this franchise has been in the abyss for years now. Carolina is again back over .500 and have risen a bit in our latest NFL power rankings. Good for the Panthers - their fans absolutely deserve this.
14. Detroit Lions
It is wild to think that the Detroit Lions are just 8-7 on the season, but not only are they not able to win the NFC North this year, but they are also now at a massive risk of missing the playoffs just one year after going 15-2 in the regular season.
It’s not been a great year for Dan Campbell’s squad, and with the Lions needing to likely win out and get a ton of help just to get in, the team should simply focus on the game ahead of them. The defense has honestly been the main cuplrit all year, as the offense has still been very efficient with Jared Goff and all of those weapons.
The Lions lost both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to head coaching jobs this past offseason, and while Detroit did start the year off on the right foot, they have since struggled to get any consistency going.
Dan Campbell may now have some major decisions to make on the defensive side of the ball, as a new coordinator could be needed, and I would almost wonder if it would be best if Campbell waited to see if there was a defensive-minded head coach who got fired?
Anyway, Detroit is struggling and definitely feels like more of an average team right now.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are now 9-6 on the season and hitting their stride late in 2025. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has not thrown an interception since November 9th, so he’s playing some efficient football right now, which is outstanding.
You can tell he’s enjoying this year, as he’s had a lot of those vintage moments in 2025. Rodgers also played in Detroit for years as the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, and no matter how you slice it, this Pittsburgh Steelers’ win in Week 16 was very impressive. The Steelers will remain atop the AFC North no matter what the Baltimore Ravens will have done on Sunday Night Football.
Pittsburgh is staring down another double-digit win season, but I again think the same concern remains that was present last year - this team will get into the playoffs, but they do not feel quite good enough to actually win a playoff game this year.
I guess you could argue that playing in Detroit in Week 16 was a playoff atmosphere, but Pittsburgh will certainly not get to play a bottom-10 defense when the playoffs roll around.
This was a nice win for the Steelers, a team that always seems to come through when it matters the most.
12. Green Bay Packers
It’s been a brutal couple of weeks for the Green Bay Packers, as the Pack are now all of a sudden 9-5-1 on the season after a horrific overtime loss to the Chicago Bears. The Packers saw Micah Parsons tear his ACL in Week 15, and Jordan Love left the game in Week 16 with a concussion.
The Packers now do not control their own destiny for the NFC North title, but this seemed to be their best chance at winning the division in quite some time. After winning four games in a row, the Packers have dropped their last two games and will have remaining games against the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings, so those games should be winnable.
Overall, Green Bay is still stuck in that ‘good’ tier, and they really don’t come off like a Super Bowl contender this year. The injuries are beginning to pile up, and it’s just an overall lack of execution with this team on top of the injuries.
Green Bay is in a bit of a freefall in our updated NFL power rankings and will have to win out and get some help to win the NFC North this year.
11. San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco plays on Monday Night Football
The San Francisco 49ers surely did not think they were going to go up against Philip Rivers in Week 16, but here we are. The Indianapolis Colts signed Rivers a couple of weeks ago, and the veteran QB will be making his first home start of the season.
I see a scenario where the Niners lose this game, as they have struggled to get to the QB all year and just do not have a good pass rush at all. Rivers may have a ton of time to throw, as the Colts’ offensive line is great.
And with the 49ers, this is kind of their ‘thing’ this year, as they don’t have a sensational roster by any means, but instead, we’ve seen a top-tier coaching job by Kyle Shanahan, and he should very much be in the mix for the Coach of the Year award.
This is another ‘good’ team. San Fran is far from great and is going to need this coming offseason to load up this roster with the necessary talent to get back to the top of the NFC. If nothing else, the Niners should make the playoffs and actually still have a path to the no. 1 seed.
They won’t make a deep playoff run but are a well-run operation overall.
10. Philadelphia Eagles
It was looking dicey there for a second, but the Philadelphia Eagles closed things out and moved to 10-5 on the season with a win over the lowly Washington Commanders. Philly has now won the NFC East in back-to-back seasons, and it’s been years since the division has seen a repeat winner.
It’s not been a super easy season for the Eagles, though, as they have struggled on offense and are missing some juice along the defensive front. Things have not gone well for Kevin Patullo, and you struggle to see how Patullo returns in 2026.
There are also some notable limitations with Jalen Hurts as a passer, and it’s clear that Patullo is not able to consistently cover those up. Overall, Philly is a good team, not a great one. They are going to get at least one home playoff game, so that could help them win at least one postseason game this year.
But this team simply does not have that Super Bowl status to them this year - they will get bounced out of the playoffs at home point, make some key roster and coaching changes, and could be right back in the mix in 2026.
9. Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers now move to 11-4 on the season, as they beat the Cowboys in Dallas in Week 16. It was an impressive win, as Dallas is usually a tough out at home, and the Chargers have been dealing with a subpar offensive line for most of the season now.
Justin Herbert has hung tough in there and has sometimes willed this team himself. I am not sure if the Chargers will be able to snatch the AFC West lead back from the Denver Broncos, but it’s still possible.
Los Angeles has to get the offensive line right this offseason, and I would also argue that the top-end talent just is not great. We can clearly see that the Bolts have the right coaching staff in place, and that is a tough thing to do in the NFL.
LA is probably looking at a top Wild Card seed this year, but anything can happen in the NFL. With a strong defense and a solid run game, LA could be a frisky team in the playoffs and might be able to win a game in the postseason, which is something Justin Herbert has never done.
8. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans got a bit of a scare from the Las Vegas Raiders at home in Week 16, but a win is a win and it looks the same in the record. Houston is now 10-5 on the season and a sensational 10-2 since their brutal 0-3 start.
The Jacksonville Jaguars remain one game ahead, though, as the Jags took care of business in Denver, beating the Broncos in Week 16. The Texans are a very dangerous team, though, and could make a playoff run.
Top-notch defenses like Houston’s are able to travel well, so if Houston was playing an away game, their chances would be solid. I do not put a ton of stock into this shaky performance, as we are very late in the season, so teams are what their record says. The Raiders clearly knew they could play spoiler and may have caught Houston off guard a bit.
At the end of the day, the Texans are a very good team and are inside the top-10 in our updated NFL power rankings as Week 16 closes out. Houston and Jacksonville are going to be in a heated race for the AFC South in these final two weeks of the season.
7. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills never make it easy, but they win games. After a scare from the Cleveland Browns in Week 16, the Bills were able to say ‘enough of that’ and closed out the victory, remaining alive in the AFC East.
Josh Allen has been very good this year, but both sides of the ball have taken a slight step back this year. Running back James Cook has been the best player on that side of the ball, but the lack of notable talent in the wide receiver room has been a problem, as Keon Coleman has just not panned out this year.
Buffalo may have to go on the road in the postseason, and they have done that before. What is nice, obviously, is that the AFC playoffs will not have Patrick Mahomes, so some have already wondered if this is the Bills' year since there will be no Chiefs to deal with.
Buffalo has been a mainstay near the top of the AFC and have just about accomplished everything you possibly can besides getting to and winning the Super Bowl. Buffalo is again in a great spot in our NFL power rankings and can still win the division.
6. Chicago Bears
Wow. What a game. The Chicago Bears now move to 11-4 on the season with their overtime win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. Chicago clawed their way back in the fourth quarter and had to recover an onside kick and win the game in overtime.
Caleb Williams made some sensational throws in this one, including the game-tying touchdown and the game-winning touchdown, which was a deep pass to DJ Moore. With the win, the Bears are now two wins ahead of the Green Bay Packers, and it seems like it would take a massive collapse for Chicago to not win the NFC North this year.
It’s truly been a total 180 for the Bears, as first-year head coach Ben Johnson has made quick work of this turnaround and might just be the Coach of the Year at this rate. Chicago absolutely still has some roster flaws, but this team is for real, and if they can hold onto the NFC North lead, they could win a playoff game or two.
5. New England Patriots
New England will have played on Sunday Night Football
The New England Patriots will have played the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football, and while I think the Patriots are a very good team, I could see a scenario where they lose here, as the Ravens are clearly in a desperation situation and might have to win out to earn a playoff spot.
It is virtually impossible at this point for the Ravens to earn a Wild Card seed, so it might be AFC North title or bust, as crazy as that sounds. Anyway, the Patriots blew a 21-point lead at home to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, and I think the late-season inexperience from this young squad was showing in the second half of that game.
Mike Vrabel has been an excellent head coach for this team, but there is a degree of ‘house money’ with the Patriots, and I am not sure this team’s ceiling is very high heading into the playoffs.
Drake Maye is going to get a ton of MVP votes this year, but you can see some chinks in the armor with the Pats.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars climb a few spots in our NFL power rankings thanks to a huge win over the Denver Broncos in Week 16. Trevor Lawrence and the offense is beginning to truly put it all together.
The run game is still a bit of a concern, but Lawrence hitting his stride this late in the season bodes well for the Jaguars’ chances in the playoffs. With this win over Denver, they also earn a crucial head-to-head tiebreaker if that would need to come into effect in a couple of weeks.
The Jaguars have a solid roster and some excellent coaching, and it’s easy to see how this team could win a playoff game or two this year. Jacksonville rises in our NFL power rankings and is also in a position to win the AFC South this year.
Liam Coen has done a masterful job with the Jaguars in his first season on the job and could win the Coach of the Year award.
3. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos got bullied for 60 minutes by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and not only saw their 11-game win streak come to an end, but also saw their league-leading home winning streak come to an end.
Denver was only able to muster 20 points at home, and the defense gave up 34. The Broncos just had no answers for Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars’ offense, as Lawrence threw for three touchdowns and nearly 300 yards.
Denver’s defense has given up a total of 60 points over the past two games at home, and that is simply horrific for a unit that many think has been the best in the NFL. If the defense cannot shape up, this team is going to see their season ending very early.
It puts a ton of pressure on the offense, but the offense does not have an elite, go-to weapon who can change the course of a game. The Broncos are still 12-3, one of the best teams in the NFL, and in first-place in both the AFC and the AFC West. Denver is on a short week and is in Kansas City to face the Chiefs.
We can’t lose sight of the 11-game win streak and how good the Broncos have been, but this was a pretty brutal loss, and maybe many of us were underrating the Jaguars?
2. Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams blowing that lead in Week 16 is simply something that cannot happen. LA once led by 16 points in the fourth quarter but allowed the Seattle Seahawks to claw their way back and win in overtime in one of the best games of the season.
The Rams are now 11-3 as Week 16 closes out and saw their lead atop the NFC West and NFC disappear for the time being. If nothing else, Matthew Stafford is obviously the MVP of the league, as it’s absolutely too late for any other candidate to make a push.
Los Angeles is also still very much a Super Bowl contender, and what is actually neat here is that the Rams, if they do not win the NFC West, would likely be that no. 5 seed in the NFC, and that very likely means they are playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card Round, so neither opponent should be much of a challenge.
This was a shocking loss from a Sean McVay-coached team.
1. Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams in miraculous fashion in Week 16, defending their home turf and putting themselves in a great position to earn that top seed in the NFC for the playoffs. Oddly enough, Seahawks’ head coach Mike Macdonald actually performs a lot better away from home.
Seattle has played better visiting teams, and it’s an interesting trend that could benefit the big-time when the playoffs roll around. With this win, Seahawks’ QB Sam Darnold did prove a lot of those doubters wrong, as he has not always played well against the LA Rams and has crumbled in big games recently, up until TNF here in Week 16.
The Seahawks rise a bit in our NFL power rankings and are in a good position to make a deep playoff run this year, as this roster is very good.