NFL Power Rankings: Week 17
John
Clayton breaks down the biggest trends in the latest edition of the NFL
Power Rankings, which include a change at the top and a big jump by the
Jets.
The Cardinals, winners of nine straight, including a dismantling of the Packers in Week 16, have ascended to our top spot for the first time ever in these Power Rankings. Carolina is now No. 2, followed by New England and Denver, which returned to the top five after beating Cincinnati on Monday night.
The Jets' big win over the Patriots was good for a five-spot rise to No. 5, a season-best mark. The week's most notable fall belongs to the Steelers, who dropped five spots to No. 9 after losing to the Ravens.
A victory in Week 17 will almost guarantee Arizona the Power Rankings "title" for 2015. (Next week's edition is the last of the season.) But it won't be easy, as Carson Palmer & Co. host rival Seattle, which is smarting from an upset loss to St. Louis.
Note: The comments below are provided by ESPN Stats & Information.
• Team Power Rankings charts since 2002
| 2015 Power Rankings: Week 17 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 | 1 Last Week: 2 | The Cardinals have won nine straight games for only the second time in franchise history. The last time they did that was across the 1948-49 seasons (11 straight). | ||
| 2 | 1 Last Week: 1 | A 14-0 start might finish at 14-2 when all is said and done. The five other teams to start 6-0 or better this season each followed up their winning streak with two consecutive losses. | ||
| 3 |
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Last Week: 3 | The Patriots have lost three of their past five and committed at least one turnover in eight straight games. The Patriots didn't commit a turnover in five of their first seven games. | ||
| 4 | 4 Last Week: 8 | The Broncos had been shut out in the second half in three straight games, but a 14-point effort (plus three more in overtime) Monday night not only kept the Broncos in the playoffs, but in position for a first-round bye. | ||
| 5 | 5 Last Week: 10 | Ryan Fitzpatrick needs one more touchdown to break a tie with Vinny Testaverde for the Jets' single-season franchise record for touchdown passes (29). | ||
| 6 | 1 Last Week: 5 | Including the game in which he was injured, the Bengals are 1-2 since losing Andy Dalton. The Bengals are scoring on 30 percent of drives with AJ McCarron this season (43 percent with Dalton). | ||
| 7 | 2 Last Week: 9 | The Chiefs are 10-5 despite posting a five-game losing streak this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 1986 Jets are the only other team to win 10 games the same year as losing five straight. | ||
| 8 | 2 Last Week: 6 | The Packers' offense has been held under 100 yards in the first half in three of its past four games and has been shut out in the first half twice in that span. | ||
| 9 | 5 Last Week: 4 | The bad news: Sunday's loss has the Steelers on the outside looking in for the playoffs. The good news: They play the Browns in Week 17, against whom Ben Roethlisberger is 18-2 in his career. | ||
| 10 | 3 Last Week: 7 | The Seahawks didn't hold a lead against the Rams in Week 16. According to Elias, it was the first time under Russell Wilson the Seahawks didn't hold a lead in a game. | ||
| 11 |
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Last Week: 11 | The Vikings are heating up at the right time, as they've had their two most decisive victories in the past two weeks. Their 49 points Sunday night were their most since 1998. | ||
| 12 |
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Last Week: 12 | Kirk Cousins in his past nine games (starting with the "You like that?" game: 72.0 completion percentage, 20 touchdown passes, three interceptions and a 76.6 Total QBR. | ||
| 13 | 1 Last Week: 14 | Derek Carr is three passing touchdowns away from tying Daryle Lamonica's franchise record (34), a mark that has stood since 1969. Carr has five games with three passing touchdowns this season. | ||
| 14 | 1 Last Week: 13 | Despite starting four different quarterbacks this season, the Texans have thrown for 28 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions. One more touchdown ties the franchise high for a season. | ||
| 15 | 1 Last Week: 16 | Talk about hitting the highs and lows. The Falcons put an end to the Panthers' perfect season and were eliminated from the playoffs on the same day. | ||
| 16 | 2 Last Week: 18 | The Bills missed the playoffs again, but one more win would mean a second straight non-losing season. The last time the Bills had consecutive seasons of .500 or better was 1999-2000. | ||
| 17 | 5 Last Week: 22 | Todd Gurley has eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns this season. The last Rams rookie to accomplish that? Eric Dickerson in 1983. | ||
| 18 | 3 Last Week: 21 | To make the playoffs, the Colts need only to win in Week 17 and have the Texans, Titans, Browns, Chargers, Saints, Jets, Patriots, Bengals and Chiefs lose. | ||
| 19 |
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Last Week: 19 | Since Week 11, the Eagles have allowed 36.0 points per game, 5.2 points worse than the next-closest team (Giants). Opponents are averaging 157 rushing yards vs. the Eagles over that span. | ||
| 20 | 3 Last Week: 23 | The past three weeks have been vintage Drew Brees: 69.8 completion percentage, 355 pass yards per game, eight passing touchdowns and zero interceptions. | ||
| 21 | 6 Last Week: 15 | How did Eli Manning enjoy life without Odell Beckham Jr.? Well, he went 5-of-14 with three interceptions when targeting his wide receivers Sunday night, his worst performance in that category since 2012. | ||
| 22 | 5 Last Week: 17 | Since climbing to .500 in Week 13, the Buccaneers have lost three straight games, allowing an 89.8 Total QBR in those games. Jameis Winston has a 54.1 QBR in that stretch. | ||
| 23 | 3 Last Week: 26 | The Lions have committed the fewest turnovers (4) and have the third-best TD-INT ratio since Week 10 (16-2), going 5-2 in that span. | ||
| 24 | 4 Last Week: 28 | The Ravens are finishing with a losing record, but they swept the season series against the Steelers for only the third time in franchise history, and it might keep them out of the playoffs. | ||
| 25 | 1 Last Week: 24 | A changing of the guard taking place? Jeremy Langford has either equaled or topped Matt Forte in snaps each of the past three weeks, playing 15 more snaps total. | ||
| 26 | 6 Last Week: 20 | Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns each have 1,000 yards receiving this season. The last pair of Jaguars teammates to each top 1,000 receiving yards in the same season? Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell (2001). | ||
| 27 | 2 Last Week: 25 | Since beating the Texans 44-26, the Dolphins are 2-7. Their two wins were by a combined three points. Their losses have been decided by a combined 102 points. | ||
| 28 | 1 Last Week: 27 | Eight of the Chargers' 11 losses this season have been by eight or fewer points, tied with the Ravens for the most such losses this season. | ||
| 29 |
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Last Week: 29 | The Cowboys have lost 11 games for the first time since the 2002 season, when Dave Campo was coach and Chad Hutchinson was the leading passer. The Cowboys are 1-10 without Tony Romo this season. | ||
| 30 | 2 Last Week: 32 | Browns point totals in Johnny Manziel's past five starts: 10, 9, 24, 13, 13. The Browns are 1-4 in those starts, beating only the 49ers. | ||
| 31 | 1 Last Week: 30 | DuJuan Harris and Jarryd Hayne led the 49ers in rushing in Week 16. Harris worked as a car salesman in 2012, and Hayne was playing rugby in 2014. | ||
| 32 | 1 Last Week: 31 | An NFL-worst 32 turnovers have the 3-12 Titans in line for another top-two pick in the draft. At least that'll get Marcus Mariota some help. | ||
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