Week 17 Power Rankings: Who Deserves To Be Playing in January?

Photo from John Sleezer/KC Star

Written by Ben Slavin

The NFL regular season is almost over. Just one week remains before the best battle it out for a chance at the illustrious Lombardi Trophy. For die-hard fans like myself, this season has flown by. It seems like just yesterday all the teams had hope. In reality, there are teams imploding left and right and the usual contenders slipping up more than usual. Hopefully that adds up to a crazy and exciting playoffs.

Real quick let’s reiterate. Now that we’re into the season, teams will move up or down a lot based on trades, injuries, or big wins or losses. Who the opponent was, how close of a game it was, and in general how good the team looked will be considered more than just getting the victory.


32. Arizona Cardinals (3-12, Same)


Arizona just got gashed for 167 yards by a running back just signed this week after getting cut by the Raiders. That’s right, the 3-12 Oakland Raiders didn’t think he was good enough and he averaged over 8 yards a carry against them. It’s poor defensive games like this that make it more understandable why a defensive coach in Steve Wilks is on the hot seat.


31. Detroit Lions (5-10, Down 2)


Detroit’s 27-9 loss to Minnesota was eerily similar to their 24-9 loss to the Vikings back in week 9. Minnesota didn’t get double-digit sacks this time like they did 7 weeks ago, but they still lived in the backfield with 12 tackles for loss. They still one-upped themselves by allowing a Hail Mary right before the half.


30. New York Jets (4-11, Down 2)


New York seems to be fighting to keep Todd Bowles. Last week they nearly knocked off the Texans while this week they took the Packers to OT. The reason Bowles is on the hot seat, though, is that his team can’t win competitive games like these recent ones. A job opening in the Big Apple is going to be a hot commodity.


29. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-10, Up 1)


Hopefully I’m not alone in thinking the Jaguars are the most offensive team in the league. Trotting out a combination of Cody Kessler and Blake Bortles at quarterback when the rest of your roster is ready to compete for a championship should be a criminal offense.


28. Oakland Raiders (4-11, Up 3)


Oakland had one of their best games of the season Monday night. Unsurprisingly, the Raiders best player wasn’t a quarterback or pass rusher, but punt returner Dwayne Harris. Harris had an amazing 99 yard touchdown after the Broncos tried to down it at the 1. He also showed great understanding of the rules by not calling a fair catch so he could hit Denver players and prevent them from downing it.


27. Carolina Panthers (6-9, Down 5)


With Cam Newton shut down for the rest of the year and Taylor Heinicke as his replacement, it looks like the Panthers are about to be the first team in NFL history to start 6-2 and then lose out. Even if the Saints rest key starters next week, Carolina is in a good position to tank for a better pick.


26. Denver Broncos (6-9, Down 8)


Who knew how important Emmanuel Sanders and Chris Harris Jr. were to this team. Denver has looked awful on both sides of the ball since their injuries. None of the remaining wideouts can create separation, though Courtland Sutton does show potential. And every corner left can’t stick on their guy long enough for Bradley Chubb or Von Miller to get to the quarterback.


25. San Francisco 49ers (4-11, Up 2)


San Francisco’s last few weeks are indicative of a team about to have a rebound season. A three game homestand with wins over Denver and Seattle and a close loss to Chicago is pretty inspiring for a 4-11 squad. Hopefully all their injured pieces make full recoveries and a strong offseason follows so the Rams will have some competition in the NFC West.


24. Buffalo Bills (5-10, Up 2)


For the second time this season, Buffalo played the Patriots hard for four quarters. That’s a great sign that maybe the Bills will be the team to end New England’s run atop the AFC East. With the Patriots decline, it’s certainly possible. The problem in Buffalo is the lack of foundational pieces. They have a quarterback, head coach, a couple defensive studs, but not much else.


23. Cincinnati Bengals (6-9, Same)


The Bengals are clearly just running out the clock on this season. They’re underwhelming at the two most important positions in professional football -- quarterback and head coach. Hopefully this year was the last straw for ownership and they finally move on from the Andy Dalton-Hue Jackson combination.


22. Miami Dolphins (7-8, Down 2)


I’m calling my shot right now and saying the Dolphins will have 5 or less wins next season. They’ve been won in ridiculous fashion too many times while being the worse team on the field for this to continue. Winning so many games will hurt them in the draft order and they have a horrible cap situation for such a bad team. I expect them to follow Buffalo’s pattern from the past two years.


21. Washington Redskins (7-8, Up 4)


It’s sad that Josh Johnson didn’t get opportunities for years because of his age. He’s clearly a better quarterback than younger guys who have gotten many shots like Christian Hackenberg, Nathan Peterman, and Paxton Lynch. The work he’s done on this Redskins team should go a long way to getting him a job somewhere next year.


20. New York Giants (5-10, Up 4)


It seems Eli Manning’s, and the Giants overall, improved play will earn him the job next year as well. I understand he’s a franchise legend, but there are many superior options out there at a cheaper price tag. Everybody also seems to be forgetting how hilariously bad he was for weeks. With a team that’s closer to playoff-ready than people realize, this is a mistake.


19. Atlanta Falcons (6-9, Up 2)


I’m in the thinking that Atlanta wasted their window of opportunity. Heading into the season, they were as talented as teams come, but elected to retain an offensive coordinator who has shown to be a liability. Now, everyone is a year older, half the roster is injured, and Julio Jones is a year unhappier. It’s entirely possible the Falcons bounce back next year, but I wouldn’t count on it.


18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-10, Up 1)


Jameis Winston has certainly done enough to save his job. The same can’t be said for Dirk Koetter and Jason Licht. Neither of them have done a great job building or coaching the team and deserve to be ousted. Whoever takes over with actually be in a good situation. You have a franchise quarterback who can likely be retained for the cheap and the rest of the roster is better than people think.


17. Green Bay Packers (6-8-1, Same)


A lot of people said Aaron Rodgers isn’t a good leader and that’s why he has less Super Bowls than Tom Brady and is therefore worse. That is preposterous for so many reasons. Besides the obvious ones like Rodgers not having Bill Belichick, Rodgers went out and proved he is a leader by going out and leading his team to victory despite it being a ‘meaningless’ game.


16. Tennessee Titans (9-6, Down 2)


Despite being one win away, the Titans are undeserving of the playoffs. They’ve been unconvincing in every game except their shocking victory over the Patriots and just struggled to beat what remains of the Redskins. It’s sad they could get in over a team like the Colts, Ravens, or Steelers.


15. Cleveland Browns (7-7-1, Same)


How crazy is the Browns turnaround since firing Hue Jackson? Well, they’ve won 5 of 7 games since with a superstar quarterback. It’s crazy to think the Browns would likely be a playoff team if they’d just moved on before the season and started Baker Mayfield from the get-go (it was also Jackson’s decision to start Tyrod Taylor, by the way).


14. Houston Texans (10-5, Down 3)


It’s scary that in a matchup with Philadelphia’s injury-riddled bunch the Texans had the worse secondary. If you have an offensive line that can win 5 on 4, Houston’s defense goes from deadly to docile. And now that Demaryius Thomas is out for the year, the offense has an even smaller chance of compensating.


13. Philadelphia Eagles (8-7, Up 3)


If Nick Foles somehow leads Philadelphia to the playoffs, they better start work on a statue immediately. Fresh off upsetting the Rams in L.A., he carved up Houston’s stout defense. If Minnesota loses to Chicago (very possible) and Philly beats Washington, they’re in.


12. Minnesota Vikings (8-6-1, Up 1)


Kevin Stefanski deserves a lot of credit for the offensive turnaround in Minnesota. John DeFilippo, an expected head coaching candidate after this year, was extremely underwhelming for the 13 games he called plays. Since Stefanski came in, they’ve looked much better and possibly like a dangerous playoff squad.


11. Seattle Seahawks (9-6, Up 1)


Seattle’s biggest strength has nothing to do with their roster. The environment at CenturyLink Field is tough for any team to play in. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, the 12th man likely won’t able to help them in the playoffs. Seattle’s only chance at a playoff game is if they are the 5 seed hosting the 6 seed in the NFC Championship game. For reference, that’s never happened before.


10. Kansas City Chiefs (11-4, Down 3)


These could be a rough playoffs for Kansas City. They’’ll most likely have a first-round bye and thus avoid losing in the Wild Card Round again. After that, though, it could be tough for the Chiefs to get a win. KC will likely see Baltimore, Pittsburgh or the Chargers in their first game. It’s going to be tough to beat any of those teams.


9. Dallas Cowboys (9-6, Up 1)


Dallas has not played their best the past two weeks, at a time when you’d like to see playoff teams clicking. Now that they’re locked into the 4 seed, the Cowboys might consider resting their starters next week against the Giants. Whether they rest or not, a likely matchup with Seattle in Jerry World awaits.


8. Indianapolis Colts (9-6, Up 1)


The Colts nearly threw away their playoff chances Sunday. Against a team they should have handled, Indy needed a late comeback to beat the 5-10 Giants. Regardless of how they played, the Colts now have their fate in their hands thanks to Pittsburgh's loss. Next week’s game against Tennessee is win or go home.


7. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6-1, Down 3)


It sucks that Pittsburgh is likely going to miss the playoffs. They are undoubtedly one of the twelve most talented teams in the league. The problem is they blew three games in which they were clearly the better team. Pittsburgh’s playoff chances are now on life support, needing to take care of Cincinnati as well as a Browns upset in Baltimore.


6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-4, Down 3)


The Chargers found a horrible matchup in Baltimore. L.A. likes to play small and fast on defense, which hurts against a team like the Ravens that just wants to run it down your throats. A weakness like that could come up huge come playoff-time.


5. Baltimore Ravens (9-6, Up 3)


Baltimore’s physical style is going to be a problem for any team in the AFC playoffs. The Chargers experienced it this week and are likely going to have to again in a playoff rematch in Baltimore. That’s actually one of the worst case scenarios for the Ravens. Along with missing the playoffs, they have the chance to secure a first round bye with some help.


4. New England Patriots (10-5, Up 1)


Tom Brady continued his recent string of underwhelming play with just 126 yards to go with 2 interceptions. Now, reports are surfacing that he’s had a serious knee injury for weeks. It’s entirely possible Brady’s camp put that out there to save face. It’s also possible this is true and it leaked from New England. If the latter’s true, the Patriots are in trouble.


3. Los Angeles Rams (12-3, Up 4)


After a few weeks of getting blown up, the Rams offensive line dominated Arizona. Gigantic holes were sprung for C.J. Anderson, who was signed this week to fill in for the injured Todd Gurley. Gurley getting two (three if they get a bye) weeks of rest is probably better than anything because he is going to need to be fully healthy for his team to best the Bears and Saints.


2. Chicago Bears (11-4, Same)


Chicago is lucky they have the best defense in the league because their offense is more inconsistent than you’d like from a contender. Mitch Trubisky makes a few mind-boggling decisions every week and the run game often stalls. Tarik Cohen is going to be the biggest X-factor of anyone in the playoffs. If he goes off every week, the Bears can make some noise in January.


1. New Orleans Saints (13-2, Same)


The Saints were able to pull out a hard-fought victory against Pittsburgh to clinch the NFC’s 1 seed. After a scary start to the season, New Orleans now has the best record in the league to go with home-field throughout the playoffs. The Saints have one of the 10 best units in the league on both offense and defense and have to be the Super Bowl favorites.


Think your team is ranked too low? Or just in general think I know nothing about football? Go crazy in the comments.