As you know, my power rankings tend to be rather silly. I typically eschew traditional analysis in favor of, well, nonsense. This doesn’t feel like a great week for silly nonsense. So with this being the final (full) week of power rankings, I will offer one legitimate thought about where each team finds itself for a change and we’ll keep hoping for the best for Damar Hamlin.
Here are my power rankings for Week 18 of the NFL season.
1. Buffalo Bills (12-3, No. 1 ranking last week)
They were already very good. If they’re able to get focused moving forward, they could prove to be the most determined team in football history.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (13-3, No. 3)
A lot of us our defaulting to them as Super Bowl favorites, which is really just our way of saying, “They still have Patrick Mahomes, right?”
3. San Francisco 49ers (12-4, No. 4)
If the Eagles don’t get Jalen Hurts back for some reason or if they don’t end up as the No. 1 seed, the Niners are the team to beat in the NFC.
4. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, No. 2)
But if they get Hurts back (as expected) and finally lock up the top seed, we should get right back to treating them like the Eagles again.
5. Cincinnati Bengals (11-4, No. 5)
There is a real chance they would have beat the best team in football. I can understand why they might still want to play the Bills game, as they’d definitely want home field for a potential playoff rematch.
6. Dallas Cowboys (12-4, No. 7)
They’re going to have to prove it before any of us choose to believe it.
7. Minnesota Vikings (13-3, No. 6)
We’re so convinced that they’re badly overrated that now there’s a chance they might actually be underrated and yeah we’ve gone and made things so complicated.
8. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, No. 9)
They’re impossible to figure out. You don’t think they can win the Super Bowl, but you can’t say with complete certainty that they couldn’t figure out a way to beat at least one top AFC contender.
9. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8, No. 10)
The word you’re looking for is “legitimate.”
10. Green Bay Packers (8-8, No. 11)
It feels more like they’re “inevitable” than actually good.
11. Baltimore Ravens (10-6, No. 8)
They’re either going to get Lamar Jackson back and have some chance of being interesting or they’re not and they won’t.
12. Detroit Lions (8-8, No. 13)
A neat story that will probably fall short of the playoffs and leave the impossible decision of committing to a quarterback who has played very well (but is Jared Goff) or trying to find a new non-Jared Goff quarterback and risk screwing up something that is currently working while also being the Lions.
13. New York Giants (9-6-1, No. 14)
It is extremely plausible that they could beat the Vikings in the first round.
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8, No. 16)
I guess it’s better late than never to remember you have Mike Evans on your football team.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8, No. 17)
I don’t know if Kenny Pickett will become a high-level NFL quarterback but being both elusive and clutch as hell is a pretty good place to start on that path.
16. Seattle Seahawks (8-8, No. 22)
While much better than we possibly thought they could be, it still feels like they’re finishing the season in a bit of franchise purgatory.
17. New England Patriots (8-8, No. 18)
Not good enough to be a threat, not bad enough to know it’s definitively time to move on from Mac Jones either. Purgatorian as well.
18. Miami Dolphins (8-8, No. 12)
One of the saddest stories in recent NFL memory. It’s tough to separate Mike McDaniel’s otherwise likable nature from how horrendously the organization has appeared to handle Tua Tagovailoa’s health. It just all feels so gross.
19. Washington Commanders (7-8-1, No. 15)
It’s all about right.
20. Tennessee Titans (7-9, No. 19)
I know we enjoy when crazy things happen in the NFL, but I just really hope that this time the crazy thing doesn’t happen because it doesn’t really feel right that they even still have a chance.
21. New York Jets (7-9, No. 20)
Also about right.
22. New Orleans Saints (7-9, No. 24)
They feel perfectly set up to win between seven and nine games for the next few years.
23. Carolina Panthers (6-10, No. 21)
Still a pretty dramatic upset that they even played in a meaningful football game.
24. Cleveland Browns (6-10, No. 25)
It’s a disturbing thought that this could ultimately end up working.
25. Las Vegas Raiders (6-10, No. 23)
I’m not going to overreact to one week. Jarrett Stidham isn’t the answer and neither is Josh McDaniels.
26. Atlanta Falcons (6-10, No. 27)
There is probably something there, but I’m quite glad I’m not responsible for trying to figure out what it is.
27. Los Angeles Rams (5-11, No. 26)
I’m not even remotely kidding when I say that if the Saints struggle to find a team willing to trade a draft pick for Sean Payton they should poke around with Sean McVay and the Rams about a coach-for-coach swap.
28. Denver Broncos (4-12, No. 30)
If Jim Harbaugh wants out of Michigan, fine. But if you’ve finally got the upper hand on Ohio State, why exactly are you trading that to inherit this quarterback?
29. Indianapolis Colts (4-12, No. 29)
This one makes way more sense for Harbaugh for a number of reasons.
30. Arizona Cardinals (4-12, No. 31)
I know there are questions about Kyler Murray, but this seems like it would be the most desirable landing spot for me if I were Payton (unless I happen to be in love with a particular quarterback in the draft).
31. Houston Texans (2-13-1, No. 28)
I guess there wasn’t actually anything happening after all.
32. Chicago Bears (3-13, No. 32)
Drafting Will Anderson would help … but certainly wouldn’t solve it all.
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