2024 NFL Power Rankings: Week 17

Week 16 was fun, but didn’t offer much in terms of playoff clarity. The balance of power shifted in the NFC South and West divisions, the Commanders and Panthers pulled out exciting wins in the closing moments, and several NFC teams clinging to postseason life had their hope snuffed out.

Looking forward to next week, there are a bunch of clinching scenarios in play, especially in the AFC wildcard race.

We have Christmas Day NFL games on Netflix this week. Crazy times we live in.

Let’s get to the rankings:

1 — Philadelphia Eagles (12-3, —)

Star QB Jalen Hurts left the game against the Commanders in the first quarter with a concussion. The Eagles weren’t quite able to secure the road win without him, so they’ll have to wait at least a week to lock up the division.

2 — Buffalo Bills (12-3, —)

It was an uninspiring performance against New England, but good teams win the rough games too. Getting this win was important for Buffalo to stay in the hunt for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

3 — Detroit Lions (13-2, —)

The Lions had no problem dispatching the Bears. Former first-round RB Jahmyr Gibbs starred, now thrust into a larger role with the injury to veteran RB David Montgomery.

4 — Kansas City Chiefs (14-1, —)

This wasn’t a last-play victory, but a few lucky bounces still went the Chiefs’ way in the win over Houston. Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes played as though he had two fully healthy ankles, at one point trucking a defender to get into the end zone.

5 — Minnesota Vikings (13-2, —)

A gritty road win in Seattle reminded the nation that this Vikings team is for real. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are making their case as the best wide receiver duo in the league, and QB Sam Darnold is making it difficult for Minnesota to let him walk after the season.

6 — Green Bay Packers (11-4, —)

The Packers cruised to an easy home win over the Saints on Monday night behind RB Josh Jacobs and a suffocating defense. They are in firm control of a wildcard berth and are hitting their stride at the right time.

7 — Baltimore Ravens (10-5, up 1)

Lamar Jackson is insane. He threw for another three touchdowns in this game, bringing his season total to 37, and helped his team knock off Pittsburgh at home.

8 — Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5, down 1)

It’s been a tough stretch for the Steelers, as many of the issues skeptics had in the offseason are rearing their heads. The offense can’t reliably string together scoring drives, and the defense has fallen off a bit from their scorching first half of the season. Now tied with Baltimore in the AFC North, Pittsburgh runs the risk of falling into the wildcard picture.

9 — Los Angeles Chargers (9-6, up 2)

Sweeping the Broncos puts the Chargers in a comfortable playoff position after a pair of losses seemingly threatened to drop them into dicey waters. Winning one of their final two guarantees them a wildcard berth.

10 — Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-6, down 1)

With a chance to maintain their lead in the division and put a lot of pressure on Atlanta, the Bucs fell in Dallas and now need some help. Winning out still gives them a good chance to sneak in, but they lost their margin for error.

11 — Seattle Seahawks (9-6, —)

Seahawks QB Geno Smith didn’t have his best game, and with the home loss to Minnesota Seattle now needs help to get back to the playoffs. Their easiest path is winning the division, but to do that they need to win out and have the Cardinals beat the Rams next week.

12 — Los Angeles Rams (9-6, —)

The Rams are winning games, but they haven’t been clicking on offense these last few weeks. Los Angeles just needs to win one of their final two games to clinch the NFC West.

13 — Houston Texans (9-6, —)

It was a brutal, brutal knee injury to WR Tank Dell that flipped the momentum against the Texans in Kansas City. Dell miraculously held onto the ball for a touchdown on the play he went down, but the extra point was missed after an extended stoppage, and Houston couldn’t recover.

14 — Washington Commanders (10-5, up 1)

It took an injury to Hurts, but overcoming five turnovers to win the game is impressive no matter the circumstances. First-round QB Jayden Daniels all but locked up rookie of the year with this performance, throwing for five touchdowns, including the game-winner in the final seconds.

15 — Denver Broncos (9-6, down 1)

Last week’s win over the Colts is more important than ever for the Broncos after being swept by the Chargers. Winning at least one of their next two games against the Bengals and Chiefs is important, as Denver doesn’t stack up favorably in most of the tiebreaker scenarios should multiple AFC teams finish 9-8.

16 — Indianapolis Colts (7-8, —)

This was the Colts’ most complete performance of the season — fourth-quarter defensive collapse notwithstanding. Colts QB Anthony Richardson only threw 11 passes, but he elevated the offense when asked to, and the ground game was dominant.

17 — Miami Dolphins (7-8, up 1)

In a gotta-have-it moment, Tyreek Hill and RB De’Von Achane delivered to keep Miami’s playoff hopes alive another week. The tiebreaker scenarios aren’t super favorable to the Dolphins, but crazier things have happened.

18 — Atlanta Falcons (8-7, up 2)

First-round QB Michael Penix Jr. got the start at quarterback for Atlanta this week, the first of his career, and while the box score might not show it, he played quite well. With the caveat that it was against the Giants, it’s a promising start for the last of the (healthy) first-round quarterbacks to start this season.

19 — Cincinnati Bengals (7-8, up 2)

As amazing as Bills QB Josh Allen and Jackson have been this season, Bengals QB Joe Burrow would be the easy MVP frontrunner if the Bengals were two games better. He’s now thrown for at least 250 yards and three touchdowns in seven straight games, a feat only Tom Brady can also claim.

20 — Arizona Cardinals (6-9, down 3)

Though their postseason hopes came to an end in Carolina, the resurgent Cardinals have to be encouraged by this season. Starting QB Kyler Murray is back to his old form, and the offense provides him with plenty of weapons to work with. First on the offseason to-do list: get some defensive reinforcements.

21 — Dallas Cowboys (6-9, up 1)

Will the Cowboys somehow, miraculously, manage to save everyone’s jobs? That’s still on the table as Dallas shows signs of life, getting a home win over the Bucs despite being officially eliminated from postseason contention this week.

22 — San Francisco 49ers (6-9, down 3)

This season can’t be over fast enough for the 9ers. Their injury woes keep getting worse, and now having been officially eliminated from playoff contention, they’re playing for nothing but pride.

23 — New York Jets (4-11, —)

Interim HC Jeff Ulbrich’s disastrous clock management throughout this game cost his team a chance to win it. Everything the Jets do this season is corrupted by incompetence.

24 — New Orleans Saints (5-9, —)

It was a bit of a return to Earth moment for fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler on Monday night after a dazzling performance in relief of Jake Haener last week. The Saints’ offense couldn’t get anything going in Green Bay, with Rattler leading the team in rushing as well.

25 — Carolina Panthers (4-11, up 2)

Shoutout Carolina. Weeks of heartbreakingly close losses to good teams gave way to an overtime win over the Cardinals. Starting RB Chuba Hubbard made up for his overtime fumble earlier this season with a pair of powerful runs to close this one out.

26 — Chicago Bears (4-11, down 1)

Chin up, Bears fans. Lions OC Ben Johnson might be on his way.

27 — Cleveland Browns (3-12, down 1)

Backup-turned-starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson likely isn’t Cleveland’s quarterback of the future. Still, he did some nice things on Sunday, and the Browns have to be happy with his potential as a longer-term backup.

28 — New England Patriots (3-12, —)

The Patriots jumped out to a 14-0 lead in Buffalo and though they couldn’t sustain their fast start, it was yet another encouraging performance from first-round QB Drake Maye. Patriots HC Jerod Mayo’s seat may be warming, but Maye continues to look like a franchise cornerstone.

29 — Las Vegas Raiders (3-12, up 2)

Aidan O’Connell returned to the lineup and likely cost Las Vegas its shot at the No. 1 pick. The second-year quarterback out of Purdue threw for over 250 yards, including 11 completions to first-round TE Brock Bowers.

30 — Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12, down 1)

An overhaul of the front office and coaching staff in Jacksonville seems like just a formality at this point. A listless loss to the Raiders won’t help their case.

31 — Tennessee Titans (3-12, down 1)

Tennessee showed a lot of fight, coming back from a 31-point deficit to cut the Indy lead to eight late in the fourth. It still counts as a loss, but it’s good to see this crew still fighting hard.

32 — New York Giants (2-13, —)

With the Raiders victory over the Jaguars, the Giants are firmly in control for the No. 1 pick in April’s draft. Whether the current administration will still be around to utilize it, however, is much more uncertain.