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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/NFLPowerRankers on 2024-12-24 21:13:36+00:00.
Welcome to week 16 of the r/NFL Power Rankings! With only two weeks left in the regular season, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Week 16 was filled with cheer if you’re a Packers or Falcons fan, while the Bears and Saints fans are wondering how to make it off the naughty list. The Cowboys came through the second their playoff hopes were dashed, will Dallas continue the trend now that it’s too late? Is the Commanders upset foreshadowing? What will Rodgers overall drop down to with a knee injury? Are the seven best NFC teams all slated for the playoffs? Discuss! 24/32 Reporting
| # | Team | Δ | Record | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bills | – | 12-3 | Please be ok Josh Allen! The Bills picked up an ugly 24-21 win against the bottom feeder Patriots on Sunday. The result was particularly shocking coming after a dominant performance against the Lions in the previous week. Surprisingly it was the defense that contributed most to the win, generating 3 turnovers and a pivotal fumble recovery for a touchdown. The offense struggled all day besides James Cook who averaged 9 yards a carry and chipped in with 2 total touchdowns. Good news is the Bills have a chance to show the Patriots why they are the top dogs in the division again in 2 short weeks. The Bills are pretty locked into the 2 seed and are looking to play a more complete game against the Jets and avoid imperfect victories like the 2024 Chiefs. | |
| 2. | Lions | +1 | 13-2 | Jamo. Anyways, the Lions made light work of the Chicago Bears on Sunday, with Goff furthering his MVP campaign with 336 yards and 3 TDs including a torpedo to Jamo in stride and a fake stumble because that makes sense. The defense was able to pick up a bit against a talented but incredibly disorganized Bears offense, collecting two fumbles and holding Chicago to 3 points in the entire second half. Ifeatu Melifonwu was a welcome sight, picking up a sack and ushering in the 3 Safety Era of Aaron Glenn’s 2024 Lions defensive scheme, as Detroit rolled with three safety sets on nearly 80% of defensive snaps. Also would like to shoutout Jonathan Vilma who had a great showing in the booth compared to the Indy game—credit where credit is due. Onto 49ers week, where Detroit might have a chance to start three LBs that have been on the team all year! | |
| 3. | Chiefs | +1 | 14-1 | I’d like to apologize for last week, I was in the hospital again which has been an unfortunate reoccurring theme of the last few months. In happier news the Chiefs put the most complete game of the season on tape at the perfect time. The team is favored against a good Steelers team in Pittsburgh on a short week and with that win they lock up the #1 seed. The injury to Chris Jones seems to be less serious than it could have been although if he misses this week it will certainly hurt the team. I’ve been fairly impressed with Thuney playing LT although it’s unquestionably a band aid fix. With any luck DJ Humphries will come back before playoff time and we can move him back to his home at LG. Hollywood also had a solid first game back, I think the entire Kingdom is quietly wondering what the team would look like if we had him and Rice the entire season, although it has likely been great for Xavier Worthy’s development which should help us in the long-term. Man what a fun season, despite all of the him hawing about how bad the Chiefs are it’s really nice to see the team rack up win after win and the media continuing to act like the best team in the NFL is actually bad has very likely lit a fire under 15’s ass. | |
| 4. | Eagles | -2 | 12-3 | The Eagles 10-game win streak ended Sunday, not with a bang, but with a whimper. Hurts got hurt, hurting the Eagles chances of winning the game and staying in the hunt for the top seed. There’s nothing too alarming about the loss, assuming Jalen can come back soon. If the Eagles can secure the 2-seed this week, they can rest against the Giants in week 18 and hopefully enter the playoffs with a healthy roster. | |
| 5. | Vikings | – | 13-2 | ||
| 6. | Packers | – | 11-4 | Packer fans are truly blessed man. Green Bay has made the playoffs 22 times in the last 30 years. Only twice in that span have they lost double digit games in a season. I can say that my team has won a ring in my lifetime and continually put themselves in position to contend for more, through different quarterbacks, different coaches, different general managers. What more could you want? | |
| 7. | Ravens | – | 10-5 | Let that be a lesson to you all that no one beats the Baltimore Ravens 5 times in a row(or 9 of the last 10)! While the final score of 34-17 was comforting and Marlon Humphrey’s pick 6 will surely live on in Ravens fans’ memories for years to come don’t be fooled by the final score. The Ravens forced some timely turnovers and were incredibly efficient offensively but this game was far closer than it should have been. I can hear drunk Yinzers calling for Tomlin’s head already but the absences of George Pickens, Deshon Elliott, Larry Ogunjobi, and Donte Jackson combined with a hobbled TJ Watt and early exit for Joey Porter Jr should not have resulted in a match up that was decided by an errant Russell Wilson pass midway through the 4th quarter. That said the Ravens did finally manage to play a big game that wasn’t marred by penalties (just 2 for 10 yards) and the special teams units didn’t get outplayed for once. The team appears to be rounding into form in all 3 phases and it couldn’t have come at a better time as the AFCN, a home playoff game, and a handful of other accolades seem to hang in the balance for the final two weeks of the season. | |
| 8. | Steelers | – | 10-5 | As of writing this, George Pickens is finally cleared for Wednesday’s game. Not to beat the already dead carcass of the dead horse into oblivion, but injuries continue to be an issue. On a short Saturday against the Ravens, or Wednesday against the Chiefs, these Steelers will need more than George Pickens to overcome the Chiefs. Looking forward, it seems whenever something like “this team hasn’t passed for more than 300 yards this year” or whatever, they find a way to do it against the Steelers. The white whale for the Chiefs this season has been 30 points. Will they get 31+ against the Steelers? Will this be one of these games where they win by less than a TD like most of them have been? Well, the Chiefs are +3, so do with that what you will. Hard to say what will happen with a team nursing a lot of injuries, but it’s hard to imagine them losing 3 straight, even against the 14-1 Chiefs. As far as the Ravens contest went, The Steelers finally got torched on Time Of Possession. You have to keep Lamar off the field. More turnovers give you more Lamar. More penalties keep him on the field or give him back the ball. It’s just that simple. | |
| 9. | Commanders | +1 | 10-5 | It’s been a season that’s been unlike any I have seen in my lifetime; seriously. I was 2 the last time this franchise had a record this good. Football analysis aside, I’m just proud as hell and happy for the players and the organization. Guys like Terry McLaurin have had to put up with one of the most inept organizations in professional sports, and to see so much hope shine through in the first season of real change must feel like the sky really is the limit. And you can see that in the team. You can see that this team, these dudes believe they can win on any given Sunday. This is a roster that was considered so bereft of talent, so decimated by one of the worst regimes of all time for talent evaluation. By all rights, Dan Quinn and co. could have easily skated by with another 4-13 season. But now, sitting at 10-5, the literal best season since 1991, poised to make the playoffs in the first year of the new regime with a cast of players who have almost all never played together? That’s Coach of the Year type stuff right there. I’m not saying DQ should win it, but the man should be in the conversation. Now for a conversation that seems over; Jayden Daniels is the real deal and the presumptive OROY. The guy looks like a seasoned vet, bouncing back from an interception with 3 minutes to go, to sink a game winning TD throw… just ice cold, man. This team now needs to finish strong to head into the playoffs where it could find itself upsetting one of the NFC’s favored - it remains a long shot, let there be no illusions… but… any given Sunday. Also, let me extend my sincere congratulations to the Eagles on their hypothetical win* | |
| 10. | Chargers | +4 | 9-6 | National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a movie featuring an ensemble of characters defined by their incompetence. Clark is a hardworking father who, despite his best efforts, is incapable of having something go his way. Most of the grandparents are degenerate assholes, providing him with zero help during the holiday. Eddie means well but believes emptying his trailer toilet into Clark’s sewer or kidnapping his boss are okay things to do. Aunt Bethany doesn’t know where she is. This is, ultimately, why we keep returning to it every holiday season. These characters distract us from our end-of-year troubles with the comedy of their own. Maybe that’s why the Los… |
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