Week 16
Power Rankings |
Rank |
Last Wk. |
+/- |
Team |
Comment |
1 |
1 |
- |
|
It may have
been Tom Brady's worst game of the season against the Jets, but the
Patriots' perfect season still lives on comfortably. Would the team's
historic season be ruined with a divisional playoffs elimination though? |
2 |
2 |
- |
|
For the first time all season, the Cowboys' offense was completely
held in check. Tony Romo and company are supposed to be playing like
the Packers are at this point of the season -- piling it on with
confidence. |
3 |
3 |
- |
|
While the
game against the Raiders was a little too close for comfort, the Colts
have the freedom to rest their players if need be. Will Marvin Harrison
make an appearance before the end of the regular season? |
4 |
4 |
- |
|
When the
Cowboys lost to the Eagles last Sunday, all of Green Bay had to be feeling
joyous. The opportunity to finish the season as the NFC's top seed is
still possibility now. |
5 |
5 |
- |
|
I picked the
Jaguars to upset the Steelers last week because I felt Maurice-Jones Drew
and Fred Taylor would be able to take down Pittsburgh's run defense. |
6 |
7 |
+1 |
|
It's not a
coincidence: when LaDainian Tomlinson runs the ball, the Chargers start
looking like the team everyone thought they were capable of being. It may
not be because of Norv Turner, but the Chargers' late-season surge will
make it a misery for whichever wildcard team has to face them. |
7 |
10 |
+3
|
|
I may question why Jeff Garcia was still in the fourth quarter of the
Buccaneers' blowout victory over the Buccaneers, but besides that, you
can't ask for a better combined effort from offense, defense, and special
teams. |
8 |
8 |
- |
|
Things
aren't going right for the Steelers, as they lost Willie Parker for the
season on Thursday Night Football while their defense was ripped apart by
the Rams. This doesn't look like a dominating football team right now, and
they are the only division leaders that have yet to clinch. |
9 |
9 |
- |
|
The Browns
only need one more win to clinch a playoff berth, but it'll have to come
on the road against a Bengals team that always puts up points against
them. |
10 |
6 |
-4
|
|
You had to believe that the Seahawks' inability to run the football
would eventually come back to bite them, and it did against the
Carolina Panthers last week. Unless Seattle establishes the ground
attack in the final two weeks, they can't be taken as a serious
postseason threat. |
11 |
11 |
- |
|
Tarvaris
Jackson's three interception hiccup against the Bears could be looked at
as a step backwards. However, since the team confirmed that they
definitely can come together and win without him playing at his best, I
was left even more impressed with the Vikings than I was heading into the
week. |
12 |
12 |
- |
|
This week,
the Giants take on the Buffalo Bills. In Week 17, they take on the New
England Patriots. Don't rule the possibility out that the Giants won't
make the postseason. |
13 |
15 |
+2 |
|
The Titans
need to hope for the Browns to lose this week, but either way, winning has
to remain a priority. If things go wrong with the Jaguars or the Steelers,
their is still an outside chance that they can slip ahead of one of those
teams. |
14 |
18 |
+4
|
|
If the
Saints make the postseason, Drew Brees' amazing leadership of a team that
seemed beat after an 0-4 start will be highly commended. With Aaron
Stecker at running back now, the Saints, as fans have stated, have
"simplified" things on offense. Funny how that can be more effective at
times. |
15 |
14 |
-1 |
|
So you mean
to tell me that after all of those games in which Jason Campbell played
well except for the very end of a game, all Todd Collins had to do was
come in, start off the game about 0-for-7 against the Giants, and pick up
a victory? Even if the Redskins beat the Vikings this week, the downside
is that they may only really be paving the way for the Saints to move into
the sixth seed. |
16 |
17 |
+1 |
|
The
emergence of Sage Rosenfels may actually be a negative heading into next
season. The Texans need to have their sights set on a new running back
more so than they do on who should start under center next season. |
17 |
13 |
-4
|
|
The Bills
ran a screen play on fourth down without any timeouts against the Browns.
That's the play they decided to run with their season on the line? Sheesh... |
18 |
16 |
-2 |
|
The
Cardinals will look back at the opportunities they missed to make the
postseason. This team needs to be polished; other than that, the Cardinals
should be in good shape again heading into next season. |
19 |
19 |
- |
|
The Eagles
may be out of the race, but Donovan McNabb knows he has a lot to play for.
A strong finish to the season will either keep him in Philadelphia or earn
him a starting role elsewhere. |
20 |
20 |
- |
|
It seems
like decades ago that the Lions were contending for the playoffs. It's
hard to believe they've lost six straight games after starting the year at
6-2. Overall though, Jon Kitna still should not receive any
backlash from his 10-win prediction. |
21 |
21 |
- |
|
Who knows
what to do with the Denver Broncos. Teams that play different every time
they step on the field generally don't make the playoffs, and that's all
that matters now. |
22 |
27 |
+5
|
|
The
Panthers, somehow, are still alive in the NFC playoff race. Sure, that'll
end with a loss to the Cowboys Saturday night, but at least they can have
the mentality that they "still have something to play for" longer than
most teams. |
23 |
22 |
-1 |
|
If losing
has ruined the chemistry between T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chad Johnson, and
Carson Palmer, then why not just cut Marvin Lewis out of the mix? Since he
came to the Bengals, the team seems to have some of the worst player
problems in the league, and he doesn't seem to be doing much about it. |
24 |
23 |
-1 |
|
Kyle Orton
didn't disappoint against the Vikings on Monday Night. In fact, he played
exactly the way he did when he won a bunch of games in his rookie season. The
end result, a loss, only proves more that the Bears can't be carried by the
defense this season. |
25 |
24 |
-1 |
|
The Rams'
offense will be back an ready to go next season. As far as the defense
goes though, I don't know if they'll ever be able to stop opposing teams
from putting points on the board regularly. |
26 |
31 |
+5
|
|
Shaun Hill
has provided the 49ers with renewed faith to close out the season. Unlike
the Texans' situation, Hill could provide for a "good" quarterback
competition with Alex Smith since Smith has yet to prove anything in the
NFL. |
27 |
28 |
+1 |
|
"Josh McCown
will start, but JaMarcus Russell will come off the bench." That's the
quote that's getting old after about a month of hearing it. Fans don't
want to see Russell for just a series or two. They want to see him for at
least a half, and hopefully an entire game. |
28 |
29 |
+1 |
|
Chad Pennington isn't ruled out of the Jets' future as a starting
quarterback. And, if the Jets decide to go with Kellen Clemons next
season, Pennington should draw quite a bit of interest around the
league. |
29 |
25 |
-4
|
|
Priority No.
1 for the Kansas City Chiefs: find a starting quarterback in the
offseason. Sorry, but Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard aren't going to cut
it. |
30 |
26 |
-4
|
|
When Troy
Smith steps on the field for his first NFL start against the Seattle
Seahawks, it'll be the first time I'll be interested in watching the
Ravens play since the beginning of the season. |
31 |
30 |
-1 |
|
Even Tim
Couch has to be glad that the Falcons didn't offer him a contract. |
32 |
32 |
- |
|
After the
Dolphins' first win of the season, they still find themselves 13 games
behind the Patriots. Hey, at least they didn't lose any ground for the
first time this season, right? |