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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/NFLPowerRankers on 2026-01-06 21:00:36+00:00.
Welcome to week 18 of the 2025 r/NFL power rankings, the most biased-unbiased source for power rankings on the web. As the 16th season of these rankings comes to a close, we’d like to thank you all for reading and engaging weekly with this project. As a collective we strive to make these rankings entertaining, informative, and accurate, and are always looking improving our processes with you in mind. The 49ers put up three points and fell by three spots, while no other team fell or jumped by more than two. The Rankers have Detroit in their top 14, and the Panthers are the only playoff team ranked 15 or lower- what are your thoughts? Is another Seahawks and Patriots Superbowl inevitable? After starting the season at 25, do the Raiders deserve the worst spot? Discuss! 31/32 Reporting
| # | Team | Δ | Record | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Seahawks | – | 14-3 | Gloves off-- that’s gotta be the easiest game vs the 49ers we’ve had in at least 5 years. Seattle completely dominated San Francisco in all aspects and the game never felt close. That being said, Seattle should have scored far more than 13 points, missing a couple field goals and failing to execute on other long drives. But it didn’t matter. 3 points is the fewest total the 49ers have ever scored under Kyle Shanahan. Teams quarterbacked by Nick Mullens, Jimmy Garoppolo never performed this poorly. And all that credit goes to the insanity that is the Seahawks defense. Over their previous 3 games, the 49ers averaged 42.3 points, 455.3 yards, and 29.3 first downs. Seattle held them to 3 points, 173 yards, and 9 first downs. Any doubt Sam Darnold and the offense presents is washed away by Mike MacDonald’s suffocating defense. I trust them to keep us in every single game, regardless of whether or not Sam Darnold sees ghosts. It’ll be nice to have the week off as we prepare for the divisional round. Go Hawks. | |
| 2. | Patriots | – | 14-3 | With the regular season coming to an end, it’s almost mind blowing how much of a turnaround this franchise has undergone in a single calendar year. 2025 started with the Patriots fresh off of dismal back-to-back 4-13 seasons that each led to the firing of a head coach and their entire staff. Belichik’s poor roster construction had finally caught up to him, and Jerod Mayo’s attempts to steer the franchise in a new direction were feeble at best. Hope was hard to find in early 2025, and even the promise of an easy schedule had most Pats fans dreaming of an 8 win season at best. The addition of Vrabel and re-addition of McDaniels did help inspire a bit of confidence, but even the most delusional among us knew that this was likely to be a rebuilding year, that the massive amount of cap space meant that the talent on the roster was severely lacking, and that Maye was only in his second year and likely needed longer to develop in another new (and historically complicated) offensive system. And after Week 1, many of those fears were validated. The Patriots managed to lose to the lowly Raiders, starting fresh with a new coaching staff as well after their own miserable 2024 season. I’m not afraid to admit I was feeling pretty doom and gloom about the future of the team after that first week, but it didn’t take long for Vrabel and Co. to shut me up. After another frustrating loss to the Steelers in week 3, New England ripped off 11 straight wins en-route to a 14-3 season that saw them tied with the Broncos at the top of the AFC and the division winner of the East. This has also been a complete team effort; the coaching is visibly improved, the rookie draft class has been phenomenal, the defense has become respectable once more, and most importantly, Drake Maye has gone from promising rookie to a legit MVP candidate in a single year. Whereas last year saw January bring relief that the season was finally ending, this year January brings the promise of playoff football, at home, in a conference that has no true super-teams to stand in our way. And thus as the regular season closes, this might be the last ranking and last blurb I write for the Patriots 2025 season, but it isn’t the end of their journey. Instead of seeing inadequate and dreaming of mediocre, we saw excellence and dream of glory in the coming weeks. Happy New Year everybody, and I hope you had as much fun reading these blurbs as I did writing them! | |
| 3. | Broncos | – | 14-3 | The Broncos stayed true to their identity and won ugly regardless of the quality of their opponent. This was perhaps the most boring game of the year, and led many fans to believe that the Broncos have lost the mandate of Blucifer. Other fans believe that the goal of the game, aside from winning to lock up the 1 seed, was to hide the playoff playbook and put nothing on tape for anyone else to watch. I think both things could be true, but I also think the Broncos are capable of anything this year. The signature 4th quarter heroics of this team will only get harder as the opponents get stronger though, which should ultimately end the super bowl hopes. If the team plays to its highest capability, it’ll be really fun to see what happens. I am, as always, cautiously optimistic and ready for any outcome. The only part I’m struggling with is deciding if earning the bye counts as ‘winning’ a playoff game so I don’t have to write that positive Raiders essay. I really, really don’t want to write that stupid essay. | |
| 4. | Rams | +2 | 12-5 | In a much needed get-right game, the Rams secured the #5 playoff seed and Matt Stafford solidified his MVP campaign. It took a half or so, but Sean McVay had the right level of aggression, and the offense finally found its rhythm again. While this game ended on a high note, the season certainly did not. The loss of key offensive linemen and Davante Adams, combined with poor DB play and untimely TE drops, have left this team feeling broken at times over the last few weeks. Reinforcements are coming though, as Davante looks like a go, but the TBD return of Kevin Dotson and Quentin Lake could be the difference needed for a deep playoff run. The Rams have quite the potential revenge tour lined up, with possible matchups against Seattle, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, all of whom have given the Rams heartbreaking losses this year. First stop, Carolina, with a chance to avenge the origin of their late season struggles. | |
| 5. | Jaguars | – | 13-4 | This team is fucking fun. Whoever lines up across from us getting their ass beat. Duval v. all y’all. | |
| 6. | Texans | +1 | 12-5 | After starting the season 0-3, the Texans finish by going 12-2, including 9 straight. At this point, we know how this team is going to play heading into the playoffs, they are going to smother you with their defense and do just enough with the offense to hopefully eke out a win. Their games are often ugly but it’s proven to be effective as seen over the past 9 weeks. With wins and close losses against many current playoff teams, they are one of the most battle tested teams in the playoffs this year. As long as they can get enough production offensively they can absolutely go in a deep run. | |
| 7. | 49ers | -3 | 12-5 | While losing the final game of the season and failing to secure the #1 seed feels like a failure, no one should overlook the job the coaching staff did this season. During a season that was slated to be a transition year both sides of the ball faced significant absences (which have been well documented) and still ended the season 12-5 and a playoff berth. Now the team enters the playoffs as a 6th seed, obviously playing with house money, but after the season they have had, you cannot count them out. | |
| 8. | Bills | +2 | 12-5 | The Iron man streak stays alive! 140 straight starts by Allen is pretty impressive. Mitch came out cooking in this one putting up a 4 touchdown performance to close out the end of Highmark stadium to cap off a dozen wins on the season. A 12-5 season would’ve won 4 divisions in the NFL but unfortunately for the Bills they’ll have to settle for the 6 seed. Next up is a wild card matchup against the Jags whose last loss was before Halloween. The Bills may not have the greatest seeding this year but one advantage they can exploit is their playoff experience as they are the only playoff team to have appeared in the AFC championship game in the last 5 years which they’ve done twice. It’s time for the Bills to shock the world and become the lowest seed to win the Super Bowl since the 2010 Packers who also featured a MVP QB looking to win his first ring. | |
| 9. | Eagles | – | 11-6 | To sit or not to sit, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of an NFL game, or to take arms against Josh Johnson, and by opposing earn the 2 seed. To play, to sleep. No more, and by a sleep to say that we end the season with the worst CBs the world has ever seen, tis a consummation devoutly to be wished, to rest the starters. To rest… perchance… to dream. Aye, there is the rub. For in the sleep of the banged up O line what dreams of a Super Bowl run may come? When they have shuffled off their pads and sit on the sideline must give us pause, there’s the respect that gives calamity of a long nfl season … |
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