Week:
NFL Power Rankings: How bad is the NFC East?
Are Tom Brady & Co. still a top-five team in their current, injury-riddled state? ESPN's Power Panel says yes, but barely. After a stunning loss to Philadelphia, New England fell three spots to No. 5, easily its lowest mark of the season. Carolina, which narrowly avoided an upset loss at New Orleans to stay unbeaten, is No. 1 for the second straight week, followed by Arizona, Cincinnati and Denver.
Will the Patriots continue to slide? Perhaps. Week 14 brings a road game against the Texans (No. 13), which is hardly a gimme. And with teams such as Seattle, Pittsburgh and Kansas City hitting their stride, there's little room for error in our upper tier.
Overall, the week's biggest mover was Buffalo, which rose seven spots to No. 12. Another team of note is the Jets, who cracked the top 10 for the first time since Week 8.
Note: The comments below are provided by ESPN Stats & Information.
• Vegas Rankings
| Football Power Index Rankings | Why a Patriots losing streak should worry opponents | Team Power Rankings charts since 2002| 2015 Power Rankings: Week 14 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 |
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Last Week: 1 | Sunday was just the second game this season the Panthers trailed in the fourth quarter (a league-low 35 offensive plays this season). | ||
| 2 | 2 Last Week: 4 | Don't sleep on the Cardinals. They've scored the most points this season, allowed the fourth-fewest points and have won 23 of Carson Palmer's past 27 starts. | ||
| 3 | 2 Last Week: 5 | A.J. Green has eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in a season once again. The list of those with 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first five seasons? Green and Randy Moss. | ||
| 4 | 1 Last Week: 3 | The Broncos have rediscovered their running game, averaging 161 yards and 4.5 yards per rush with Brock Osweiler at quarterback. They averaged 86 yards and 3.8 yards per rush to start the season. | ||
| 5 | 3 Last Week: 2 | The Patriots have lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2012. The injuries on offense hurt, but the team has allowed 30 points in back-to-back games for just the second time since 2001. | ||
| 6 | 1 Last Week: 7 | Russell Wilson's past three games: 76.7 completion percentage, 10.2 yards per attempt, 11 touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 93.6 Total QBR. The Seahawks are averaging 35.3 points per game in that stretch. | ||
| 7 | 1 Last Week: 8 | Richard Rodgers, who played the hero Thursday, has been one of Aaron Rodgers' most reliable receivers. Richard has caught 72.7 percent of his targets this season. | ||
| 8 | 1 Last Week: 9 | The Steelers are averaging 35.8 points in their past four games. Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton have combined for 1,251 yards and nine touchdowns receiving in those games. | ||
| 9 | 1 Last Week: 10 | The Chiefs have won six in a row and they've been winning decisively. Their average margin of victory this season is an NFL-high 17.1 points. | ||
| 10 | 2 Last Week: 12 | The Jets currently hold the No. 6 seed but they need to capitalize on their next games. They get the 3-9 Titans at home and then take on the Tony Romo-less Cowboys. | ||
| 11 | 5 Last Week: 6 | Adrian Peterson rushed for 18 yards in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks. He's averaging 44 rushing yards in losses this season, compared to 126 yards in wins. | ||
| 12 | 7 Last Week: 19 | Tyrod Taylor, a quarterback with 35 career attempts entering this season, hasn't thrown an interception since Week 4. Taylor's streak of 187 attempts without a pick is the longest in Bills history. | ||
| 13 | 2 Last Week: 11 | The Texans allowed nine unanswered points in the fourth quarter in Sunday's loss. They had allowed seven fourth-quarter points total during their four-game winning streak. | ||
| 14 | 3 Last Week: 17 | Jameis Winston has been as good as advertised, but the resurgence of Doug Martin has been huge for Tampa. Martin is 49 yards shy of leading the league in rushing. | ||
| 15 |
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Last Week: 15 | The Falcons are 1-6 in their past seven games, averaging 16.7 points in those games. That's a far cry from their 5-0 start and 32.4-point average. | ||
| 16 | 2 Last Week: 14 | Forget that 45-10 drubbing Sunday night. The Colts play three of their last four games against division opponents. The Colts have won 16 straight AFC South games. | ||
| 17 | 1 Last Week: 16 | The Raiders need to learn how to close. They've been outscored by an NFL-worst 72 points in the fourth quarter this season, with 13 of their 20 turnovers coming in the final quarter. | ||
| 18 | 5 Last Week: 13 | Washington is averaging 2.6 yards per rush in its past three games; it has been held under 3.0 yards per rush in seven of its past eight games. | ||
| 19 | 5 Last Week: 24 | Who needs offense? The Eagles have gotten 17 touchdowns from their defense and special teams the past two seasons, eight more than any other NFL team. | ||
| 20 | 2 Last Week: 18 | The Giants have lost four times this season when holding a lead in the final minute of the game. According to Elias, that's tied for the most since the merger. | ||
| 21 | 1 Last Week: 20 | The loss to the 49ers was bad, but when Jay Cutler has started and played the full game this season, the Bears are 5-5 and have outscored opponents by 12 points. | ||
| 22 | 1 Last Week: 21 | Sorry, Detroit. It almost seems fitting that the Lions allowed the longest, game-winning, game-ending Hail Mary in NFL history at home against their biggest rivals (per Elias). | ||
| 23 | 6 Last Week: 29 | At 4-8, the Cowboys are just a game back of the NFC East lead. However, they have the second-toughest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL. | ||
| 24 | 1 Last Week: 23 | Good things happen for the Dolphins when Lamar Miller gets involved. He's averaging more than twice as many yards from scrimmage in wins (128) than losses (55) this season. | ||
| 25 | 3 Last Week: 22 | The Saints have allowed at least four touchdown passes in four of their past five games. Fifteen teams haven't allowed four touchdowns in a game one time this season. | ||
| 26 | 5 Last Week: 31 | A 44-yard, game-tying TD run and a 71-yard game-winning pass by Blaine Gabbert? That was his longest career run and his deepest career completion (46 air yards). | ||
| 27 | 3 Last Week: 30 | Marcus Mariota showed off his rushing skills with an 87-yard scramble on Sunday, finishing with 112 yards rushing. He entered Sunday with a total of 137 rushing yards. | ||
| 28 | 2 Last Week: 26 | The Rams have scored 10 points the past two weeks and have lost by 24 points in three of their past four games. No other team has two such losses this season. | ||
| 29 | 1 Last Week: 28 | The Jaguars are 4-8, but the improvement is there. With four games to play, they have already scored more points this season than they had in any of their past four. | ||
| 30 | 5 Last Week: 25 | Matt Schaub has had an interception returned for a touchdown in each of his past three games. He gets to face the "Legion of Boom" in Week 14. | ||
| 31 | 4 Last Week: 27 | The Chargers scored one field goal in each of their past two losses. Philip Rivers threw a pick-six in each game, meaning the offense generated more points for the opponent in each loss. | ||
| 32 |
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Last Week: 32 | Johnny Manziel will once again get the start for the Browns. He has one win in three starts this season; while Josh McCown and Austin Davis have one win in nine starts combined. | ||
Steve Lukens ·
I
love how the Patriots "defense" allowed over 30 points against the
Eagles. Apparently ESPN can't count since 21 of Philly's points were
scored with their offense and the Patriots defense on the bench.
Marty Hill
And these guys get paid handsomely for providing solid analysis?! The defense actually played well.
Dylan Sanborn ·
Thomas Johnson Yeah, people hate actual insight into a football game...
Franky Grimes ·
Marty Hill the defense wasn't on the field
Steve Lukens ·
Thomas
Johnson Why would my comment make anyone hate Patriots fans? If your
team played well, if not good on defense, and someone said that they
played like crap, doesn't that make a difference? That is like saying
Philly's offense scored 35 points, they didn't. Pats lost, they deserved
to lose the way they played and got outcoached, but you know what, if
you are paid to write an article, get your facts straight instead of
looking for some random fact to say the Pats are in trouble.
Russell Walvoord ·
No they just hate Cheatriot fans, that's all!
Steve Lukens ·
Russell Walvoord Hahaha, love that you said that with a picture of SC as your profile picture. hahahaha
Branden Findeisen ·
Russell Walvoord The irony. Last time I checked the Patriots still had all their championships...
 
Daniel Horowitz
The real story is that the Eagles defense refuses to play for Sanchez. You really can't blame them.
David H. Dickson
Give
me one team that hasn't give up 30 pts in a game this season. Defense
is tough in the NFL, with all of the rules stacked to favor scoring, and
the QBs and WRs are too good to be completely shut down, especially
with all the pick plays, rub routes, and throws over down the middle of
the field (which used to get WRs and TEs "lit up", but not today).
Josh Everitt
Not sure if they corrected it but it says the team has allowed 30 points, not singling out the defense.
Mark Junior ·
Josh Everitt - they corrected it
Brad Hall ·
Unless
they edited the article since you posted the summary says the Patriots
allowed 30 points in back to back games. It makes no mention of the
defense. In fact the Patriots allowed more than 30 points in straight
games.
Jordan Coombs ·
Just waiting for Patriot fans to complain about the refs again.
Teddy Ribeiro ·
so I bet when you and fellow Broncos fans complain about the refs, its always justified.
Steve Ditch
Looking forward to the Broncos early exit from playoffs again
Rick Desper ·
Not
waiting very quietly I see. Though since you brought it up, the Eagles
had _eight_ uncalled false starts on Sunday. Seems like a lot. But
hey, if you want to stand by the high quality officiating provided by
the Pete Morelli crew, go ahead!
Trevor Farr ·
Waiting for a pats hater to complain about the pats fan..oh wait nevermind
Joe Gonzales ·
Steve Ditch Not a Bronco fan, but can't you just give credit where credit is due? Geeezzzz!!
Joe Gonzales ·
Teddy Ribeiro Not a Broncos fan, but give credit where its due.
 
William Legault ·
I wad waiting for some schlub to complaing about Patriots fans complaining.
Thanks Schlub. 
Melissa Davis
Rick
Desper Bad officiating isn't selective this year. It's all around the
league. I mean, considering the plethora of intentionally grounded
passes Brady's thrown this year and not been called on, I don't see the
room for much ref scrutiny.
And all these "if" situations - they don't matter. As it stands, the Patrios have a lot of good players out. So does half the league. Injury has been a big part of this season, all around. 
Lee Reynolds
Actually they already did, apparently the refs missed 8 false starts.......saw it on csnphilly after the game.
Jet GoonFan ·
Steve Ditch Dont' worry Steve they will shoot themselves in the foot before seasons end.
Trevor Farr ·
Jason Clark boy that pats hater bandwagon keeps filling up with dirt n grime
Robert Miller ·
Works at Environmental Chemistry
Steelers
ahead of the Chiefs makes sense. In the last 6 weeks Steelers are 0-3
against teams .500 or better and 3-0 against teams below .500. Meanwhile
the Chiefs are 3-0 against teams .500 or better and 3-0 against teams
below .500. Then there's the fact that during that stretch the Chiefs
have wins against the Steelers and Broncos...but yeah,how about those
Steelers.
Jeff Porter ·
I hear ya. We'll see how the Steelers do at Cincy this weekend, and hopefully the Chiefs will handle the Chargers.
Josh Smith
"Chiefs
have wins against the steelers" The cheifs struggled against the
Steleers when Ben wasn't even starting LOL. And Steelers in Seattle,
Steelers had like what, 3 of 4 turnovers? And the game was still close,
IN SEATTLE.
Josh Smith
Oh yeah, and those teams with "Winning records" You mean the Patriots?? The begals, and The seahawks? ALL TOP TEN TEAMS.
David Dingley ·
Works at American Therapy Administrators
Not
that it matters, but that is a little odd. These guys can't really
figure out what standard they will use for their own Power ratings; is
it body of work all season or how they are playing lately? Seems to
jump all over the place. No way the Pack should be rated highly based
on recent results, but they looked like Super Bowl winners the first few
weeks before all their injuries. The Steelers are a different team
with Big Ben--but then the Chiefs are different with Justin Houston and
an offensive line that isn't changing positions in the middle of the
game with injuries. I just hope those two issues get resolved by the
playoffs and we will be ready to go
Robert Miller ·
Works at Environmental Chemistry
Josh
Smith OH NO! You guys have injuries!?!?! We don't know anything about
that except the 17 players that were on the injury report and the 3
players on IR. Chiefs O-line had only 1 starter last week, no Justin
Houston, and no Jamaal Charles but we went into Oakland and played a
team who was fighting for their season and won. I don't want to hear
excuses, Chiefs beat the Steelers that's what the score says. Also so
you lost to all the top ten teams...well you guys should do really well
in the playoffs against ALL THE TOP TEN TEAMS.
Carol Aiello ·
Works at Diodes Fabtech
Josh
Smith Steelers turned the ball over three time in KC and never had the
lead. Their defense also gave up an 85 yard drive with five minutes to
go. It was close, but the Steelers are not the better team. Also, if
you discount Jones for the Chiefs game then you should also give up the
win against Arizona. I know he only played half the game, so maybe half
a win. And bragging about losing to top ten teams is not a good sign
for your team being good. It's very glass half of you though. Big Ben
as starter has beat no one yet this year. Chiefs might have ended
Manning's career to boot, so bonus points for them.
Robert Miller ·
Works at Environmental Chemistry
Josh Smith And the Eagles and Broncos (with a backup QB) just beat the Patriots, so what does that say for your team?
Gabriel Herrera ·
None of it matters since neither of those teams will be in the Super Bowl this year.
Eric Skiba ·
Josh
Smith the Chiefs struggled against the Steelers, but who won? The
Steelers competed well against Seattle on the road, but who won? Your
points are completely destroyed by one simple stat line, the W/L column.
Robert Miller ·
Works at Environmental Chemistry
Gabriel
Herrera you're either a niner fan or a raider fan and either way your
team sucks and won't be in the playoffs....keep on hatin!
John Weida ·
Works at Benco Dental
Robert Miller you can't be comparing jamaal charles to big ben right?
also the eagles beat a team without gronk and many other key injuries.. and still barely won. with all those freak plays... 99 percent of the time they would have lost. 
Daniel Press
John
Weida Agreed. you DEFINITELY can't compare Ben to Jamaal. What a
serious joke. Really? Comparing the two? It's not even close....
Because Jamaal is the better player! He is the historically best YPA RB
in the history of the game of football. Ever. In it's history. He's
the most explosive prolific RB in the game when healthy. But yeah,
Ben's cool, he LOVES raping the competition. And women.
Robert Miller ·
Works at Environmental Chemistry
John
Weida I never compared them. I said we won this past week without JC,
J.Houston, our nickle CB and 4 O-lineman out... Save the injury excuses.
Everyone has injuries, you either over come them or whine about how
they cost you the game.
Barry Roblin ·
Works at Self-Employed
I
think I'm starting to see why ESPN didn't rate the Seahawks all that
low in the power rankings earlier this year. I disagreed with it
earlier in the season, but they're still a good team that had some
issues and lost to other good teams. It appears that they've solved
most of their problems and are played at a high level yet again. With a
favorable schedule ahead of them, it's likely that they will get into
the playoffs as a wild card team.
Thomas Halverson ·
They are actually 6-6 with a loss to the Lions.
David Messinger ·
Seattle
has a realtively easy schedule the next two games (Ravens and Browns),,
the Rams will be more of a challenge with 2 of their top defeinsive
starters back probably in 3 weeks...Arizona may not even play their
starters in week 17 since they probably will have clinched the NFC West
and the #2 seed..
Seattle made two key changes in their lineup...Lewis at center, and first benching then releasing FA corner Cary Williams. Williams had numerous failures in the Arizona game and Carolina loses (pretty much all year) Seattle also got back Lane and Burley in the secondary and Shead really has come on at RCB. Seattle lost to Cincy on the road, Carolina and Arizona in the last few moments of the game (OT Cincy). They are playing far better now on both sides of the ball and Wilson is hot......Should be an interesting finish. 
Philip Gerity ·
Not greedy, we just want to get in to the playoffs...5 sead most likely to end up 10-6 or 11-5. Once we get in we'll be fine
Tim C Fulton ·
Thomas Halverson and you are actually a fry cook at McDonald's, your point? Scoreboard wink emoticon
Khuong Huynh
Thomas Halverson - Did you even watch that football game? Wait..this come from a Bronco fan, nevermind. LOL
Jeff Mccurry ·
David
Messinger .....detroit could beat the browns and the ravens. These
games wont make the seagulls better. It will only pad their record.
Matt Garza ·
Thomas
Halverson Lol people are still on that? The game was over. The Seahawks
won. Wright could have easily caught the ball as it was in his lap. No
Lion player was near him, so the ball would have just rolled out of
bound anyway. Oh, and there were a few missed calls on the other side as
well that would have helped the Seahawks a lot. They dominated the
whole game. They won.
Jordan Skoubo ·
This
is literally exactly what I was saying when the Seahawks were 3-4 and
everyone was freaking out about them still being ranked high. Like I
said people overreact to small sample sizes. At the end of the day, the
seahawks still have the same core group of guys that took them to the
super bowl two straight years...
John Tracy ·
Thomas
Halverson No guarantee the Lions score and win. What a way to win a
game anyway. Get stuffed on a potential game winning drive, but because
somebody batted away a ball that you weren't gonna get anyway, we'll
give you first and goal. Lions woulda choked it.
Thomas Halverson ·
John
Tracy actually it is guaranteed they would have scored if the refs
would've made the correct call. It would've been a safety increasing the
lions lead and the lions would've got the ball back for what would be
the last possession of the game as long as they didn't fumble or throw
an interception (why would they throw but I guess any play call could
happen after seeing rus's interception a few plays earlier lmao)...
Heather Marshbanks Lore
David
Messinger Panther fan here and I do not want to see either Seattle or
AZ. Both are more talented than my home team, but can only hope we get
some crappy cold weather in January for home games - assuming we
continue our undefeated path.
Khuong Huynh
Heather
Marshbanks Lore - I do respect the reliciency of the Panthers this year
and Cam consistency thruout. I like the match up with Panthers rather
than playing the Cards though and would root for the Panthers to
represent NFC if the Hawks could not advance..The Hawks have not been
able to control their own div and the losses from own div hurt big time.
Even
as a Broncos fan, you need to respect what the Chiefs are doing right
now. They look to be the most dangerous team in the league right now,
and they are doing this without Jamaal Charles. You don't see KC
complaining about injuries.
David Glass ·
Well.....the KC fans are certainly complaining about injuries so.....
Mike Jacobson ·
David
Glass I don't think fanbases and outlets like ESPN are making excuses
for KC like they are for New England due to the injury bug.
Its
amazing the amount of injuries in the NFL this year. Im a Colts fan and
we obviosly have had our fair share but just seems like there are alot
of big names going down this year. At least alot more than usual.
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