NFL Power Rankings: Week 16

by Tim Culver

Before you sharpen your pitchforks, a short note on how we’ve come to rank the teams as we have: all NFLTR writers have compiled their own NFL power rankings, which we’ve compiled and averaged in the list below.  We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor, and feel free to agree, disagree, or roast us in the comments below.

Pre-Draft : Post-Draft : Week 1 : Week 2 : Week 3 : Week 4 : Week 5 : Week 6 : Week 7 : Week 8 : Week 9 : Week 10 : Week 11 : Week 12 : Week 13 : Week 14 : Week 15 : Week 16

 

#1) San Francisco 49ers (  2)

Kaepernick made a few bad throws in this game, but they were the bad throws that you forgive a savvy vet, let alone someone playing in his fifth career start.  I’m not yet sold that this was the right move for the rest of the year, but you can’t argue with his performance against the Patriots.  Next weeks match-up against the Seahawks is going to be a blast, but I do find myself wishing it would have been a “for all the marbles” event.

#2) Denver Broncos 

Scary to think that this team might notget a first round bye.  This was a perfect example of just how massive the gap is between the three top teams in the AFC and the also-rans.  What might give the Broncos the edge in the playoffs is that they’ve got the most consistent defense, as both the Texans and the Patriots have shown that they can give up big points on an off-week.

#3) Houston Texans (  1)

Twice this year the Texans have bounced back from ugly defeats to deliver an impressive performance.  They would have been really allowing the Colts to build all types of confidence if they lost this one, so it was a bigger game than you might think at first glance.  They may have clinched their division, but they’re still going to have a say in the remaining playoff picture in both conferences, as they play the Vikings and the Colts in the two coming weeks.

#4) New England Patriots (  3)

We’ll forgive them a sloppy half of football, especially since they followed it up a performance that made a mockery of one of the best defenses around.  This still feels like most recent years where the Patriots will be heavy favorites to win the Super Bowl unless someone can capitalize on some sloppy play, get a few lucky breaks, and weather a comeback.

#5) Atlanta Falcons (  2)

That may have been their best looking performance of the year.  They shut down a top offense and really moved at will on offense.  This is going to be your top seed come playoff time, but don’t tell me that they’re not susceptible to upset.

#6) Green Bay Packers (  1)

This Crosby issue is no good.  Granted they’re going to be fine just trusting Rogers’ arm on fourth down, but you really need a reliable leg to kick last minute field goals in the playoffs.  Less excusably, what are they doing calling that throwback on the punt return?  It’s a good thing for the Pack that they had the zebras playing with them in Chicago or else the questions would be quite a bit more difficult to answer.

#7) Seattle Seahawks ( 1)

About the only part of the Seahawks team that I haven’t praised this year is the offensive line, and they made things easy for Wilson and Lynch in Sunday’s game.  This is a scary first round match-up for anyone in the playoffs because they’re a balanced unit that can run, pass, and play defense.  The most frightening aspect of this team is that they seem to be improving.  Wolf gray for the win.

#8) Washington Redskins ( 4)

Cousins is looking like the best middle round pick outside of Seattle.  Fans had to be terrified going into a game against a challenging defense without RGIII and in the midst of a massive playoff push, but they picked up the win while the Giants dropped a huge one against the Falcons.  They’ve got a tough one coming up on the road against the Eagles and what a game it’s going to be to end the season against the Cowboys.

#9) New York Giants (  3)  

Seriously?  If I didn’t know better I’d think that maybe they’re trying to force a division race in order to make sure they’re an underdog in the playoffs.  Luckily for the Giants, the Ravens (their next opponent) looked just about as bad.  There’s a real risk of missing out on the playoffs in New York.

#10) Indianapolis Colts (  1)  

Talk about a great time to face the Chiefs.  The Colts gave themselves the wiggle room to drop either or both of their late season games against the Texans, and simply need to beat the lowly Chiefs on the road to solidify their spot.  Fans would like to see them play the Texans a bit more competitively in the final game of the regular season, but everything from here on out is far beyond anyone’s wildest preseason expectations.  Playing with house money.

#11) Cincinnati Bengals ( 3)

The didn’t play their best by any stretch of the imagination, but they did capitalize on a slew of Eagles mistakes and they’re still looking like they’ll have a great shot at the last playoff spot.  Two huge games remain against the Steelers and Ravens.  They’re not going to benefit from quite so many gifts in those two games, so they’ll need to bring the offense.

#12) Dallas Cowboys ( 4)

You can’t stress enough just how important this week’s game was to the Cowboys’ playoff hopes.  They’ve got tough assignments against the Saints and the Redskins remaining, which means that Carr’s interception was most likely the most important play of the year for the Cowboys.  This group is pure talent, and if they end up in the postseason they’re going to be a very tough out.

#13) Minnesota Vikings ( 2)

If AD hadn’t already been exhausted by his 200 preceding rushing yards, he probably would have finished off his long fourth quarter run and had 250 total yards.  The fact that they’re still in the playoff hunt may actually hurt his chances at the all-time rushing record, as the Texans and Packers both have the ability to force you to rely on your passing game.

#14) Chicago Bears (  4) 

It’d be nice to say that this game could be a learning experience for Bears rookie Jeffery, but all you get from looking at the film of this one is that the refs seem to simply be guessing on plays in the secondary.  This is going to be a brutal fight for a wildcard spot, but the Bears have the benefit of one of the few gimmes left when they face the Cardinals next week.

#15) Baltimore Ravens (  4)  

We’d like to forgive the Ravens a loss against a top opponent, but there’s also plenty to worry about.  The defense isn’t anything like those of the past, the offense picked the strangest of times to switch coordinators, and they’ve yet to clinch.  Add to this potent mix the fact that they’ve got games left against the desperate and dangerous Giants and Bengals and I really don’t know if I see a win left in 2012.  Time to pray for the Steelers in the wild-card round?

#16) Pittsburgh Steelers (  3)   

It’s been a while since the Steelers have looked good and I was guilty of thinking they’d get blown out by the Cowboys.  They did well to limit Romo, considering they were playing with randoms in the secondary.  They finish out the year at home, which is more than most can say, but they’ve got two tough match-ups going up against the Bengals and Browns, who would love nothing more than to have the final say in spoiling the Steelers’ season.

#17) New Orleans Saints ( 2)

Brees put it back together way too late.  How the defense sorted things out this week is beyond me, but they found a way to nullify a balanced offensive attack that has been dangerous most of the year.  If they decide to show up next week in Dallas, we could be in store for a phenomenal game of football.

#18) St Louis Rams 

The Rams aren’t the first group that Peterson has made look silly.  This was a tough way to officially be booted from contention, but no one was really taking the Rams too seriously at this point.  They’ve still got a chance to play spoiler against the Seahawks in week 17, but next week’s pairing with the Bucs has suddenly become all but irrelevant.  Fisher’s got to have fans at least interested again.

#19) Miami Dolphins ( 5)

Whenever Brady vacates the spot, Tannehill’s going to be the best quarterback in the division.  He’s been a bit lost in the shuffle with the ridiculous performance of all the rookies this year, but he’s maturing with every play.  This season’s all but over, but there’s a lot to be excited about in a division that could be there for the taking in upcoming years.

#20) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (  3)  

This was the type of game that you’d imagine the Saints mail it in and let the Bucs blow them out.  You probably wouldn’t have imagined the other way around, given that the Bucs are fighting for their playoff lives.  They couldn’t stop Brees, but that’s a tall order in itself.  The real trouble is that the offense couldn’t move against the troubled Saints defense.  In a muddled playoff picture, the Bucs just tapped out early.

#21) Carolina Panthers ( 5)

There were a lot of ex-Chargers looking pretty darn good on Sunday.  The Panthers defense looked great against a unit that hung a big number on the Steelers just one week back and that’s the way Rivera’s going to hold onto his job.  This is one of the few eliminated teams that doesn’t even get a chance to spoil in their last few games, but they’ll get a chance to make a statement against the Saints in week 17.

#22) Cleveland Browns ( 1)

It was a fun thought, but the playoff hopes for Cleveland were realistically dead months ago.  They don’t look like a group that’s going to let off the accelerator in their remaining games, and you know that they’re going to fight like mad to try and spoil things for the Steelers in week 17.  Weeden’s played well enough to ignore the QB position in the draft, so even if he’s not the long-term solution, they’re going to be able to keep strengthening that defense and building a strong line for Richardson and co.

#23) Detroit Lions  (  1) 

If there’s one clear way to put an exclamation point on a disappointing season it’s to give up 38 points to a Ryan Lindley led Cardinals team.  Granted the defense was the biggest scoring threat but that was inexcusable.  They’re still dangerous enough to throw a wrench in the Bears plans come week 17, but they’re also still inconsistent enough to lose by 30 points as well.

#24) New York Jets (  3) 

Before this week’s game started, I promised myself that no matter the outcome, I wouldn’t talk about Sanchez in this blurb.  I lied.  He’s worse than bad, he’s expensive, they can’t cut him, and they’re going to be about $20 million over the salary cap.  Their record is better than they deserved this year and they remind me a lot of the Raiders a few years back, decent defense, terrible offense, but they former will be dismantled in an attempt to purchase the latter and they’ll flounder for years.

#25) San Diego Chargers (  5) 

Silver lining: you wished for it, and you’re going to get it.  AJ and Norv have got to be gone-zo.  These lopsided scores are making the defensive unit look much worse than it actually is, but they’re being put in horrible positions by the offense, which can’t protect Rivers.  This team is an offensive line away from being a threat, but they really need a change of mentality.  Paging Coach Reid?

#26) Tennessee Titans ( 2)

Chris Johnson rushed 20 times for 28 yards, and once for 94.  Combined with Locker’s legs, that was enough to beat the Jets.  The secondary swarmed Sanchez and the Jets offense.  Considering the state of a few AFC franchises right now, maybe Titans fans were able to watch this one and think that maybe things aren’t so bad right now after all.

#27) Oakland Raiders ( 2)

I thought I was going to be stuck watching NFL RedZone on Sunday afternoon but mercifully Dennis Allen spiced up Bay Area’s local viewers by giving Terrelle Pryor a shot in this week’s snoozer… then took him right back out.  The only other noteworthy thing to come out of Oakland this week was the shutout.  The defense had been abysmal in the second half of the season, and this was a nice morale builder.

#28) Buffalo Bills (  3) 

Another miserable performance for the defense.  This group has looked silly against most opponents this year and the offense hasn’t been much better.  It’s hard to predict corrective action when they successfully recruited last year’s top free agent, but maybe this team needs to invest heavily in the O-line and build around C.J. Spiller.  He seems to be the one consistent bright spot on this roster.

#29) Arizona Cardinals ( 1)

As good as the Cardinals defense has been at points throughout this year, I didn’t think they were good enough to win without an offense, which is precisely what’s required in Arizona.  Well, they did it.  This team needs to draft two quarterbacks and five offensive linemen in the 2013 draft.  If they can trade back and pick up more, all the better.

#30) Philadelphia Eagles (  3)

The young guys made a few young mistakes, but all things considered, they’re playing decent football.  You wouldn’t know it from the score either, but the defense really kept things in check considering the offense wouldn’t let them get a breath.  They’ve still got two shots at shaping the playoff picture from an eliminated position.

#31) Kansas City Chiefs 

In case there was any doubt about the league’s worst offense, this one just got blanked by the Raiders.  I wish I hadn’t ranted about the Chiefs dire need of a quarterback so early in the season because now I’ve got no new material.  Pioli has got to go.  There’s a new one for you.

#32) Jacksonville Jaguars

Down to their 13th string running-back, you can’t put all the blame on one area of this team.  Going forward, there’s areas of need all over this team and they’ll be a candidate to shuffle back in the draft and pick up additional picks.  The defense isn’t what is was supposed to be, and that was the only area of this team anyone felt confident about when the year started.