Week:
NFL power rankings: NFC East starting to get interesting
The bad news? They still don't control their postseason destiny. In fact, Ben Roethlisberger & Co. are the only 8-5 team not currently in a playoff spot. But the situation is much different here in our Power Rankings, as Pittsburgh now sits at No. 6 -- ahead of every other 8-5 team, as well as 9-4 Green Bay.
Among the other 8-5 teams, the Seahawks, despite a four-game winning streak, have slipped to No. 8, followed by the Chiefs and Jets. The Vikings (No. 11) are the only 8-5 team not in our top 10.
At the top, the unbeaten Panthers are No. 1 for the third straight week, while the Patriots gained two spots to take No. 3. The week's biggest mover was Jacksonville (No. 21), which jumped eight spots.
Note: The comments below are provided by ESPN Stats & Information.
• Vegas Rankings
| Football Power Index Rankings | Handicapping the AFC wild card race | Team Power Rankings charts since 2002| 2015 Power Rankings: Week 15 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 |
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Last Week: 1 | Cam Newton's past five games: 68.2 completion percentage, 14 touchdown passes (one interception), two rushing touchdowns and an 84.4 Total QBR. He's good. | ||
| 2 |
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Last Week: 2 | Carson Palmer leads the NFL this season with an 83.6 Total QBR. He is one touchdown pass shy of tying his career high, set all the way back in 2005. | ||
| 3 | 2 Last Week: 5 | Gronk is back, and all is right in the Patriots' world again. Tom Brady has a 65.4 completion percentage, 29 TDs and four interceptions with Rob Gronkowski on the field this season. | ||
| 4 | 1 Last Week: 3 | Andy Dalton is down. Former Alabama QB AJ McCarron takes over for Cincinnati, but an Alabama quarterback hasn't won an NFL start since Jeff Rutledge in 1987. | ||
| 5 | 1 Last Week: 4 | Brock Osweiler is turning it over much less than Peyton Manning, but he's taking sacks at nearly double the rate (8.8 percent to 4.5 percent). | ||
| 6 | 2 Last Week: 8 | The Steelers have scored at least 30 points in five straight games for the first time in franchise history. They are averaging 494 yards of offense and 383 passing yards in that stretch. | ||
| 7 |
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Last Week: 7 | Mike McCarthy took over play-calling duties in Week 14, and the Packers ran more than they passed for the first time this season. They finished with their most rushing yards in a game since 2004. | ||
| 8 | 2 Last Week: 6 | Russell Wilson has 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his past four games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two other quarterbacks have done that before: Tom Brady in 2007 and Peyton Manning in 2013. | ||
| 9 |
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Last Week: 9 | Alex Smith threw an interception on Sunday after going 312 consecutive attempts without one. According to Elias, Smith's streak is the second-longest in NFL history (Tom Brady, 358 attempts). | ||
| 10 |
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Last Week: 10 | Brandon Marshall is just five receptions shy of breaking the Jets' single-season franchise record. He has caught a touchdown in 10 games this season, best in the NFL. | ||
| 11 |
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Last Week: 11 | Teddy Bridgewater holds onto the ball longer than all but one quarterback (Tyrod Taylor), and as a result, he takes sacks at the third-highest rate (8.4 percent of dropbacks). | ||
| 12 | 7 Last Week: 19 | Sam Bradford has improved in the Eagles' offense this season. He has five touchdowns and one interception in his past four games after throwing nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his first seven games. | ||
| 13 |
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Last Week: 13 | Five times this season the Texans have replaced their quarterback at some point during a game. Unsurprisingly, the Texans are 1-4 in those games. | ||
| 14 | 3 Last Week: 17 | Khalil Mack's five sacks Sunday were the most by a Raider since Howie Long in 1983. Mack has nine sacks in his past three games played. | ||
| 15 | 3 Last Week: 18 | Kirk Cousins completed 70 percent of his passes for the sixth time this season in Sunday's win. The only quarterback with more such games is Russell Wilson (7). | ||
| 16 | 4 Last Week: 12 | The Bills can rip the officiating all they like, but they've been flagged an NFL-high 147 times this season, which has resulted in an NFL-high 1,086 penalty yards. | ||
| 17 | 3 Last Week: 20 | Odell Beckham Jr. has gained 100 receiving yards in each of his past six games, the longest streak this season. He has 43 receptions, eight touchdowns and no drops in that stretch. | ||
| 18 | 4 Last Week: 14 | The Buccaneers will have to address the pass defense this offseason. They are allowing an NFL-worst 68.7 completion percentage, including a 75.6 percent mark in Sunday's loss to the Saints. | ||
| 19 | 2 Last Week: 21 | The Bears must not like the song "Sweet Home Chicago." They are 1-6 at Soldier Field this season, tied with the Titans for the worst home record. | ||
| 20 | 4 Last Week: 16 | The Colts have allowed at least 45 points in back-to-back games (96 points total). The last time they did that in a single season? 1953! | ||
| 21 | 8 Last Week: 29 | Jacksonville has scored 90 points the past two weeks. That's 11 more than any other team in that time, and 84 more than the Chargers, who beat the Jaguars three weeks ago. | ||
| 22 | 3 Last Week: 25 | That was Tim Hightower who rushed 28 times for 85 yards and a score in Sunday's win over the Buccaneers. Prior to this season, Hightower hadn't played in the NFL since 2011. | ||
| 23 | 1 Last Week: 24 | Monday's loss officially eliminated the Dolphins from the playoffs. They have missed the playoffs each of the past seven seasons, the longest drought in franchise history. | ||
| 24 | 1 Last Week: 23 | Dez Bryant has caught 42.2 percent of his targets this season -- including one of six in Week 14 -- worst in the NFL. Matt Cassel is 16-of-42 targeting Bryant this season. | ||
| 25 | 3 Last Week: 22 | Calvin Johnson had one reception on five targets in the Lions' loss on Sunday, just the second time since 2010 he has finished with one catch in a game. | ||
| 26 | 2 Last Week: 28 | The Rams are 4-1 this season when Todd Gurley rushes for at least 100 yards. They are 1-7 when he doesn't play or fails to reach 100 rushing yards. | ||
| 27 | 12 Last Week: 15 | The Falcons have lost six in a row for the first time since 2007, and have no rushing touchdowns during the streak (11 rushing TDs prior to it). | ||
| 28 | 3 Last Week: 31 | The Chargers have been held to exactly three points in three of their past four games. There have been only five other instances of a team being held to three points this season. | ||
| 29 | 1 Last Week: 30 | The Ravens were outscored by 29 points against the Seahawks. They had been outscored by a total of 34 points in the eight losses prior. | ||
| 30 | 3 Last Week: 27 | Titans wide receivers have two touchdown receptions of 40 or more yards this season. QB Marcus Mariota has one touchdown reception of 40 or more yards. | ||
| 31 | 5 Last Week: 26 | Blaine Gabbert doesn't win consecutive starts. In fact, he has not won back-to-back games in any of his 32 career NFL starts (7-25 record as a starter). | ||
| 32 |
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Last Week: 32 | Johnny Manziel is 2-2 as a starter this season, and in his past two games, he has completed 71.1 percent of his passes with an average of 321 yards. | ||
Bryan Kean
Cleveland hammers SF...still below them.
Seattle hammers a bad team....Drops below GB who beat a bad team And drops below Pittsburgh...who lost to seattle just 2 weeks ago. Ravens HAMMERED by Seattle in their worst loss of the season and ....they go up 1 spot These rankings seem rather random 
Jeffrey Herzog ·
They are current week rankings, not two weeks ago rankings
Pete Smith
Jeffrey
Herzog, they are not current week rankings in the sense that only this
week matters. If that were the case, Denver and Cincinnati would be in
the 20s. What happened recently for all teams should play a part in
where they are ranked. However, wins and losses at the beginning of the
season would then mean a bit less. I wouldn't say the rankings are
random, but they do make the eyebrows raise in certain cases. But then
again, this information isn't new to anyone who's looked at these week
after week.
Bradley Goldschmidt ·
How the 49ers beat anyone is a bigger mystery.
Rodney Bryant ·
@ bryan and the steelers beat a bengal team that lost their qb early in the game.
Long Sean Silver ·
Works at Student
Using
your logic, since you want Cleveland above SF since they beat them,
then Seattle SHOULD be below Green Bay because Seattle lost to them.
Josh Schmutz ·
This
is why I follow FPI more than NFL Power Rankings. These have more to
do with season records than anything. There are better, more accurate
ranking systems out there. It's essentially a talking point anymore. A
way to keep us all squawking about the almighty NFL.
  
Matthew Mueller ·
Ron
James Green Bay has struggled in recent weeks, Seattle has dominated.
If these rankings are a matter of "what have you done for me lately"
than Seattle should be ranked higher.
 
Lee Chasing Ninjas DeLorme ·
Jeffrey Herzog Yes and now Seattle would beat the Steelers by 30!
Sombun Yen
Mr.
Kean- I don´t take the ranking seriously. It is one man´s opinion. He
is the writer so he will put which team he wants to . It is not worth a
can of bean , just for fun that I am reading it. LOL.
Jared Weller
Well
that's wrong. Pittsburgh does actually control their playoff destiny.
They need to win out, which I think they can and will, then they are
ahead of the Jets even if the Jets and Chiefs both win out as well. Also
the Jets have a couple tough game too. GO STEELERS! We can be
dangerous!
Connor Finnerty ·
Vic Santana No, if all three win out, then Steelers hold tiebreaker over the Jets. look it up.
Aaron Brumbaugh ·
Works at BJ Mattheiss Insurance, Inc
Vic
Santana Actually you are wrong. Right now the Jets have a better record
against AFC opponents. If Pittsburgh and the Jets win out, they both
finish with an 8-4 conference record. The next tiebreaker used will be
record against common opponents in which the steelers will be 3-1 and
the Jets will be 2-2.
Jessie Daniels
actually they don't. If the Jets, Chiefs, and Steelers win out, the Steelers will miss the play offs
Matthew Metzbower
Connor
Finnerty and if there is a 3 way tie that tiebreaker is void, so they
can all go 11-5 and the steelers are out, conference record
Timothy Rourke ·
Jessie
Daniels look it up. Aaron is correct. Steelers and Jets win out
Steelers are in and the Jets are out. Better common opponents record.
3rd tie breaker.
Jared Weller
Vic and Jessie you are both wrong. Go look at it. If they all win out the Jets miss! Check it out before ya comment. Thanks!
Matthew Metzbower
Timothy
Rourke you can go use the playoff predictor, if all 3 teams win out and
are 11-5 the chiefs get the 5, jets get the 6 and steelers watch
Theodore Ware
If
the Steelers,KC and Jets win out. The Steelers and KC makes the
playoff. The Jets will not make it. The Jets need to win out and have
KC or the Steelers to lose.
Jared Weller
Matthew Metzbower Wrong dude. http://espn.go.com/.../playoff-picture-jets-could-lose...
Gary Donnici ·
Matthew
Metzbower The New York Jets could finish 11-5 and still miss the
playoffs. Such is the reality of the wild-card chase in the AFC.
The Jets, Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers -- all 8-5 -- are the prime contenders for the two wild-card spots. If they all win out, the Jets will be the odd team out based on a three-way tiebreaker with the Chiefs and Steelers. This happens because the if the steelers win out they will have the better conference record. I still think Denver will drop the next 2 games and lose the division to Kansas City. That will shake up the entire Wild Card race! 
Randy Pytko ·
How
did the Seahawks go down? I guess these rankings really are just fan
based and without objectivity. There's a reason E!SPN is losing all of
its subcribers.
Kevin Albertson ·
If it was fan based. Seahawks would be number 1
Mandy Hubbard ·
I'm guessing it's more that other tams went up by beating more impressive oponents, and also we lost Rawls.
Kevin VanMarter ·
It says in the glossary right under the worst team how they determine the rankings... 80 writers from espn's power panel
Joshua Kageyama ·
Seattle
and Pit have the same record, Seattle beat Pit just a couple weeks ago,
Seattle is currently in the playoffs while Pit is not yet pit leapfrogs
Seattle because ESPN
Michael Trevor Dean
Probably because Pit just beat the Bengals, and the Hawks beat the Ravens?
Brian Lodwig ·
Loss
of Rawls. His replacement got 42 yards on 18 carries. As a 'Hawks
fan, gotta say this is concerning. Hopefully be good enough to get
through Browns and St.Louis and hitting his stride by Cards game. Maybe
Lynch will be back by the Cards game, but this is a very bad
development. Can't argue with ranking.
Jon Knox ·
As long as the O-line performs like they have no one will beat the Hawks.
Ryan Thompson
You
guys are funny, especially considering how this very same ESPN site had
Seattle consistently in the top 10 despite a .500 or sub .500 record
week in a week out.
Jeff Porter ·
Seahawks
went down because these rankings are relative to what the other teams
do. Chiefs, Jets, Packers, Steelers all won, just like the Seahawks.
Then you have to mix in the subjectivity of the opinions of the ESPN
experts that vote on the power rankings. They obviously like the
Steelers the best. That means the Seahawks have to go down. Chiefs,
Jets, Packers all won and didn't move. Many would argue the Seahawks
have been ranked too high for a few weeks, but that said, teams can move
up quite a few spots if other teams ahead of them lose.
Seahawks are fine. They'll be favored in their playoff game at the NFC Least division winner.  
Beer Barrelman ·
You're still here. Losing your RB in early Dec is a major blow. The run game wins games in winter.
Barry Roblin ·
Works at Self-Employed
Joshua
Kageyama while you are right about the Seahawks beating the Steelers,
there is much more significance in winning impressively against the
Bengals vice the Ravens. Also, positions 6-8 in the power rankings are
pretty much a coin flip. They're all good teams projected to make the
playoffs.
Luke Jeresaty ·
You're kidding! All year people are complaining about the Seahawks being too high. Now they drop and people complain as well?
Erik Lindstrom
Aside
from squeaking out an undeserving victory at Seattle, who has Carolina
played this year that is relevant? Despite being 13-0, they've had the
easiest schedule by a landslide and are sadly ranked #1 because of their
record, not ability. Greatest moment of the year is yet to come when
their first playoff game ends with Cam going home a loser and the
Panthers coming to terms with the fact thet they're a one hit wonder.
Davanna Ewan ·
most likely at the hands of the 2 time defending NFC champs
 
Ryan Satonick ·
Post a picture of you crying after the playoffs so we can all see it after the Hawks get blown out by the Panthers in Charlotte.
  
Eric Martens ·
Ryan
Satonick Seahawks will blow out the Panthers in Charlotte in the first
round and I hate the Seahawks but they're representing the NFC in the
Super Bowl again and beating the Patriots to win Super Bowl 50.
Carolina will lose to the Giants this weekend so they won't even be 16-0
they'll be 15-1 and one and done in the playoffs just like the 2011
Packers. That's just my prediction I have no bias against the Panthers
Eric Martens ·
The
team with the best regular season record never wins the Super Bowl
anymore. Carolina will lose to Seattle in the first round and I HATE
Seattle
Jack Nelson
Ryan Satonick Seattle is undefeated in Charlotte or have you been dabbing to much
Dave Cosford ·
Bradley
Coughlin They played a Packer team that at the time sucked big. You
forgot they lost to the Lions AND Bears AT HOME!!! Packers still having
problems, but I'd love to see them play each other in the playoffs.
Donovan Davis ·
we
are on fire, we have won 4 straight by alot unlike the panthers wo beat
the saints by like 4 so yea we would come to charolette and win!
Amber Noelle ·
Donovan
Davis that was such a stupid comment. "We are on fire, we have won 4
straight"...ummm last time I checked, the Panthers have won 13 straight
and still have a 0 in the loss column
Matthew Lemieux ·
so who's really the loser now? the team thats 13-0 or the guy wishing they lose because he is upset they are 13-0
Dan Halligan ·
Seahawk
fans are more worried of our team playing against the Patriots,
Cardinals and Packers, all teams that have shown they are beatable, than
the undefeated Panthers. Panthers had a super soft schedule. Once the
playoffs start, one loss and your out, and The Panthers are overdue for
that loss. But every true fan should feel in their heart their team is
great and going all the way if they are in the playoffs at this point,
that's part of our passion, and the smack talk adds to the fun as long
as we aren't jerks about it.
Cadel Favreaux ·
"Cam
Newton's past five games: 68.2 completion percentage, 14 touchdown
passes (one interception), two rushing touchdowns and an 84.4 Total QBR.
He's good."
this needs an annotation, *Newtons past five games came against New Orleans, Atlanta, Tennessee, Dallas and Washington, the 30th, 14th, 24th 16th and 17th best Defenses, I would hope a QB would play well against them. also, cam is still 28th in completion percentage, right next to Kaepernick.and he is 19th in attempts, so its not as if he throws all day, he throws an average to low amount and everyone on the list within 50 attempts of him ...See More 
Carl Terrell ·
Stats are overrated except for this one, Panthers, 19-0.
Lisa Grochowski ·
Carl Terrell k but that stat hasn't happened yet. it's not so much a stat as it is a pipe dream.
Jordan Biddy ·
Cam
Newtons receivers also rank 2nd in the league in drops. Sooooo you know
what you can do with your completions percentage bs...
Beer Barrelman ·
I agree completely. Panthers are over rated and will lose early in the playoffs. They have had it EASY all season.
Fred Richardson ·
Cadel,
you have three things wrong. More than that, but we will keep this
simple. First, you act as if he has the average amount of attempts. He
doesn't, his team has more running plays than passing. Second, your bad
schedule theory has a huge whole in it. Strength of schedule can be
beefed up by losing to those same teams. That's right, if you lose, your
strength of schedule goes up. Third, and this is the important one. How
are the Panthers the highest scoring offense in the league. Come on,
think. Because Cam has the highest red zone td rating, highest QBR in
the fourth quarter, and the sam...See More
Barry Roblin ·
Works at Self-Employed
Imagine
if Carolina goes all the way. Cam has really come into his own this
year, and the whole team is playing well. This isn't a crazy thought.
Cadel Favreaux ·
Jordan
Biddy for one, Carolina is 6th in drops, not 2nd, and the QBs ahead of
him in team drops all have higher completion percentage than cam at 59%,
Bradford at 63, Hoyer at 60, Carr at 63, Brady at 65, and Cutler at 63.
so that point is wrong.
Cadel Favreaux ·
Fred
Richardson i dont know what you are talking about, it doesnt matter
what the balance between run and pass is, my point was that Cam attempts
less passes, he is selective and despite that he still ranks 28th in
Completion percentage. hes not going to have a higher percentage if he
throws twice as much.
also i collected my strength of schedule data from preseason rankings, not current strength of schedule data, however if you want to play that game, the teams they have played, outside of their games against Carolina have actually underperformed and the teams have been worse than last year ...See More 
Roger Hill
Cam
also throws his average pass farther down field than anyone else except
Palmer (who btw only has a 64% completion rate, guess he sucks too),
but I can understand why you wouldn't mention that as it doesn't play
into your "Cam sucks" narrative
Ryan Minson ·
Carl Terrell Panthers are going one and done.
Jeffrey Higgins ·
I would like everyone to stop and look at this one stat when talking about Cam Newton over his career...
Look at how well he has performed when his defense has been good. Go ahead. Look it up. Carolina is where they are because of their defense. Cam Newton has made the plays needed to win, but his defense has been best in the league. I would compare Cam Newton to the same level as Joe Flacco. Good quarterbacks, but not great QBs and certainly not MVPs. Newton might not even be in the top 3 for best player on his own team. And for everyone hating on the Panthers, besides the Cardinals who has an offense that can get past that D in the NFC? Maybe even in all of football? I would love to see the Patriots at full health on offense play against the Panthers at full health on defense. As a Pats fan, I don't think we win but it would be one helluva game
Cadel Favreaux ·
Jeffrey Higgins we would trounce them
Eric Mack ·
Cadel
Favreaux Last I checked there's no Cadel on the Patriots roster. I'm
not really sure NE could "trounce" the Panthers either.
I honestly think it's so close you can't pick. All comes down to turnovers, IMO. |
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