This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/NFLPowerRankers on 2024-12-31 21:00:16+00:00.
Welcome to week 17 of the r/NFL Power Rankings, and Happy New Year! With the end of the regular season one week away, there was plenty on the line in week 17’s games. The Bengals and Seahawks squeaked by the Broncos and Bears respectively, while the Rams kept their week 5-present momentum alive with a late red zone interception. The Eagles and Bills are on autopilot, the Packers wished there were 70 minutes of regulation after wasting half of it. Can the Lions keep up their offensive shenanigans to bail out their defense? Which version of Drew Lock will we see next week with the #1 pick on the line? Are the ravens blessed with strong competition to prep them for the playoffs? Discuss! 27/32 Reporting
| # | Team | Δ | Record | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bills | – | 13-3 | The Bills rebounded from a win but a subpar performance against a middling Patriots team to utter demolition of divisional rival Jets. This game demonstrated that the Bills at there best are nearly unbeatable and that it may be time for the “enigma” Rodgers to hang it up. The Bills depth was on fully display with ten different players recording a catch. Iron man Josh Allen and most of the starters can enjoy playing a couple of meaningless snaps before getting well deserved rest. The defense has stared to show up generating 3 turnovers in back to back weeks (granted against reeling teams) which is a welcome sign. Looking past next week the Bills will most likely welcome the Broncos, a team that they haven’t played in the playoffs since 1992. | |
| 2. | Chiefs | +1 | 15-1 | “Hope, in reality, is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.” - Nietzche. The clock has run out on 15 of the 32 teams. Realistically the vast majority of the NFL has given up on their hopes of winning a championship this season with about 6 teams looking like they have an actual shot. Fortunately the Kansas City Chiefs have officially locked up the one seed and with a Pittsburgh win have far and away the easiest path back to the prosimed land. This team is officially 3 wins away from reaching heights that even homers like myself couldn’t even dream of a few years ago. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say until I’m blue in the face but Chiefs fans you can not enjoy what we’re expirencing enough. This is the pinnacle of sports fandom. This is something only a handful of teams in all of American sports have ever experienced in living memory. | |
| 3. | Lions | -1 | 14-2 | JKERBBBBBB ! The Lions pulled away from the 49ers to improve to 14-2 to continue the best regular season in franchise history. Jake Bates was lusted over by Joe Buck while Kerby Joseph gave Troy Aikman flashbacks to his days getting picked by Merton Hanks. There was another hook-and-ladder despite constant insistence by twitter journalists that the Lions will run out of “trick” plays. There was a play where they faked a reverse to Penei Sewell??? I love this team. Next week is the biggest regular season game since 1999, with the 1 seed and NFC North crown on the line against the GEQBUS Vikings. Dan Campbell said this is fairytale shit, so god dammit let’s go be Cinderella. (p.s. Jared Goff is still playing like an MVP and is the Lions Walter Payton MOTY Award Nominee so salute the King of the North as always) | |
| 4. | Eagles | – | 13-3 | The Dallas Cowboys are the most miserable piece of shit fucking franchise on the face of the fucking planet. This matchup is considered a “rivalry”, yet Jerry is laughing at our fans’ heckles? Micah Parsons is saying the game would have been close if the Eagles didn’t score touchdowns? Mike McCarthy exists? The whole thing is completely pathetic. The Cowboys used to have a swagger about them. Sure, they’re going to choke in the playoffs until the end of time, but I thought they were supposed to be good in the regular season? “But we were missing Dak and Lamb! And Diggs!” Ok, sure, a few of their massively overrated players wanted to golf instead of come to the Linc. Meanwhile, the Eagles had Tanner McKee throw 2 touchdowns on 4 attempts in his first NFL game. The excuses aren’t even fun anymore. The Cowboys aren’t fun to dunk on. The jokes about Cowboys fans being Yankees and Lakers fans don’t even make sense to anyone born after 1996. “But they won the division last year!” No. The NFC East chaos god randomly selected the Cowboys to suck the least, and they gave up 48 points to a real historic franchise that is actually capable of making playoff runs this millennium. I don’t want to be doing this. I should be writing about Saquon hitting 2K or the Eagles securing the 2 seed and winning the NFC East. But the only thing going through my mind is the 2nd best Texas NFL team trotting out Cooper fucking Rush twice against their “biggest rival”. I need a shower. (Next week, Eagles will likely rest starters, and I’ll give a full recap of the season) | |
| 5. | Vikings | – | 14-2 | ||
| 6. | Ravens | +1 | 11-5 | For the 2nd straight year the Lamar Jackson led Baltimore Ravens played Grinch and handed out an absolute ass whooping on Christmas Day. The defense has continued their recent stretch of dominant play, Derrick Henry looks as fresh and punishing as ever, special teams/penalties haven’t been an active detriment in several weeks, and Lamar looks as La-Marvelous as ever these days. Not going to weigh in on those conversations but never in a Ravens fans wildest dreams did they think they’d watch an offense led by someone that, with one game remaining, has a chance to set the NFL record for passer rating(both in a season and for his career) with a near 1k yard rushing season on top of it. Sometimes you just have to take a minute and really appreciate the history that you’re watching and revel in the journey regardless of the end result. With that said, despite a mildly disappointing 11-5 record thus far the Ravens as a whole have really rounded into form and are playing their best football in the most important time of the year. Through 16 games this unit is 1st in DVoA, 4th in point differential, 1st in Strength of Victory, 1st in rushing Y/A, and 1st in ANY/A passing. All despite facing the #1 adjusted Strength of Schedule in the entire league thus far. Here’s to a New Year and a new run at playoff football. | |
| 7. | Packers | -1 | 11-5 | It’s a real shame the Packers won’t be playing a home playoff game this year. If that were the case, they could add a fake 14 points to the opposing team’s tally on the scoreboard and then the offense will actually play well against a good team. It’s been a theme against good teams all year. Green Bay just can’t quite put together a complete game against them. It’s unfortunate that we played the top 3 teams in the conference 5 times but you can’t go winless against them if you want to be taken seriously as a true contender. | |
| 8. | Commanders | +1 | 11-5 | For the first time in over 30 years Washington has won 11 games in a season. Guys, I was a literal baby last time it happened; and I have kids of my own now. This is a different franchise than the one I’ve been watching for my entire life. 11 wins with an opportunity to get 12? This is unreal. And as much as one might want to credit a whole team effort to that 11th win, we have to admit it was almost entirely created by rookie phenom Jayden Daniels, who is having one of the best rookie seasons a quarterback has ever had. JD5 in the 4th quarter leads the NFL in passer rating; rookie’s aren’t supposed to do that. He broke RG3’s rookie QB rushing record. And for the second week in a row, he engineered some final drive magic to throw a TD to get the win. One could say he’s a star in the making, but I’d have to disagree; he’s already a star, and should be getting some MVP nods. Going into the playoffs, Washington should have potential opponents nervous, as this team has shown it can go toe to toe with anyone and has the will to stay in the fight to the last. Keeping optimism in check: opposing coaches will surely see a struggling Washington secondary that couldn’t stop a goal-to-go scenario from the 25 yard line; exploiting the many weaknesses of this roster could very well put the Commanders to rest in Wild Card week, but don’t be surprised if this squad steals a playoff win. As the season starts to wrap up, one can only see a bright future for our beloved, but tortured, football team. | |
| 9. | Rams | +2 | 10-6 | Another week, another stupid win. Is winning a variety of close and ugly games a sign of a great team that finds ways to win or a signal of inconsistency that could rear an ugly head? Offensive struggles have been a major concern over the last three weeks, but the #32 defense by cap space has been absolutely killing it. They’ve allowed just 8ppg over the last three games, stepping up when it matters in each game. The result is a playoff berth, which after a 1-4 start, feels like an absolute miracle. The Rams are hot, healthy, and ready to make some noise. | |
| 10. | Chargers | – | 10-6 | On January 24th, 2024, Jim Harbaugh set off on a mission—a mission to slay the demons of arguably the most cursed team in football. A mission to cure Chargers fans of the pain following the team regularly brings. Everyone doubted him. [Adam Rank had… |
Content cut off. Read original on old.reddit.com/…/official_rnfl_week_17_power_rank…