NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Ravens Save Their Season

Here’s a look at power rankings off the Week 14 results.

NFL Week 15 Power Rankings

1. Kansas City (12-1): Patrick Mahomes has never played a road playoff game and might not have to this winter, either, as the Chiefs have taken the top spot in the AFC – but a tough one Sunday at the Saints.

2. Green Bay (10-3): Mahomes’ three picks in Sunday’s win at Miami and Aaron Rodgers’ four total touchdowns have closed Mahomes’ lead for NFL MVP. Green Bay now holds the NFC’s top seed.

3. Buffalo (10-3): The Bills are on the verge of clinching their first AFC East title since 1995 off a huge win over Pittsburgh but have no realistic chance of getting the top seed in the conference due to a head-to-head loss to Kansas City.

4. New Orleans (10-3): Taysom Hill has been solid in place of an injured Drew Brees, but Hill turns the ball over too much. There’s an outside chance Brees is back for Sunday’s potential Super Bowl 55 preview vs. visiting Kansas City.

5. Pittsburgh (11-2): From potential 16-0 to big questions. The Steelers can’t run the ball and Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t look remotely healthy.

6. LA Rams (9-4): The best coordinator in the NFL this season might be Rams DC Brandon Staley, who served three previous seasons in the NFL as an outside linebackers coach. That Rams defence is so good that Staley might get a head coaching job this offseason.

7. Indianapolis (9-4): Very important for the Colts to win the AFC South to guarantee one home playoff game as Indy, a dome team, hasn’t played great in outdoor games this season.

8. Tennessee (9-4): Very important for the Titans to win the AFC South to guarantee one home playoff game as well. Indy is more well-rounded than Tennessee, but the Titans have the ultimate weapon in Derrick Henry.

9. Seattle (9-4): The Seahawks essentially had Week 14 off as they trounced the Jets 40-3 and started resting guys in the third quarter. Big one this Sunday at Washington.

10. Baltimore (8-5): The Ravens saved their season with Monday’s incredible win in Cleveland (sorry if you had Browns -3.5!), but Baltimore still is not in the AFC playoff field.

11. Cleveland (9-4): Is there such a thing as a good loss? The Browns might have had one Monday in showing they belong, and the two-headed rushing attack of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt could cause problems in the playoffs – assuming Cleveland makes it.

12. Tampa Bay (8-5): The Bucs were a little uneven out of their bye but got help from Minnesota’s kicker in a crucial victory. Tom Brady & Co. can all but wrap up a playoff spot by winning in Atlanta on Sunday.

13. Miami (8-5): The Fins’ defence largely looked up to the task against Kansas City by picking off Patrick Mahomes three times, but the offence was missing too many weapons due to COVID/injury to keep up. Miami has to have this Sunday’s game vs. New England.

14. Washington (6-7): Ron Rivera deserves NFL Coach of the Year for what he has done with this moribund franchise, but he might have to go back to young QB Dwayne Haskins this week vs. Seattle with Alex Smith banged up. A decision won’t come until later this week.

15. Arizona (7-6): The Cards are back to controlling their Wild-Card fate as they retook the seventh spot with Sunday’s easy win at the Giants and Minnesota’s loss. Linebacker Haason Reddick had one of the great games in franchise history vs. New York with five sacks. The Arizona pass rush had been missing.

16. New England (6-7): The streak of 10-win seasons and AFC East titles is over. The Patriots could be officially eliminated from playoff contention as soon as Sunday in Miami.

17. Minnesota (6-7): Somehow, Dan Bailey is still the Vikings’ kicker at this moment even though his four missed kicks in Sunday’s loss at Tampa left 10 points on the field. That defeat knocked Minnesota out of the NFC’s final playoff spot.

18. Chicago (6-7): Bears fans are now wondering if maybe the team should bring QB Mitchell Trubisky back in 2021 after back-to-back excellent outings, but they came against two of the worst defences in the NFL in Houston and Detroit.

19. Las Vegas (7-6): The Raiders are probably going to miss the playoffs because their defence is brutal, and it cost coordinator Paul Guenther his job Sunday. That side of the ball is clearly where the team will focus this offseason.

20. Denver (5-8): The Broncos will miss the playoffs again but can help play spoilers of sorts this week with a home upset of Buffalo. Denver is last in the league in turnover margin at minus-18.

21. NY Giants (5-8): New York coach Joe Judge might have made a rookie mistake by letting clearly injured QB Daniel Jones start Sunday, and Jones was awful in a blowout loss to Arizona that cost the Giants the NFC East lead. Not clear yet if Jones will go this week on Sunday night vs. Cleveland.

22. Philadelphia (4-8-1): Did rookie second-round QB Jalen Hurts save the season? The Philly offence was much, much better with him in Sunday’s upset of New Orleans, and Hurts will get the call again (and surely the rest of the way) Sunday at Arizona.

23. San Francisco (5-8): A new rumour is that Niners may pursue a trade for Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford this offseason and let Jimmy Garoppolo walk.

24. Dallas (4-9): The Cowboys are not out of the NFC East race but could be with a loss Sunday at home vs. San Francisco.

25. Houston (4-9): How much power does a star quarterback have? The Texans this week announced they will consult Deshaun Watson on their head coaching search. Might Deshaun call his former Clemson coach Dabo Swinney?

26. Detroit (5-8): Has QB and former first-round pick Matthew Stafford taken his last snap as a member of the Lions? He’s in doubt to play this week with an injury to his ribs and it makes little sense to play him the final two weeks. Detroit could trade him this winter.

27. Atlanta (4-9): The Falcons have been eliminated from the playoffs, and Sunday’s last-second crushing loss at the Chargers probably eliminated interim head coach Raheem Morris from getting the full-time job.

28. LA Chargers (4-9): Hey, the Chargers won a close game! This team is a better coach and some better health from being a playoff contender next year behind Justin Herbert.

29. Carolina (4-9): This will be an interesting team in the 2021 draft with a Top 10 pick – take a young quarterback or stick with Teddy Bridgewater?

30. Cincinnati (2-10-1): The Bengals are lost without Joe Burrow but now are in position to land the No. 3 overall pick, which is a great spot to be when you don’t need a quarterback this year.

31. Jacksonville (1-12): Coach Doug Marrone is going back to Gardner Minshew at QB this season. Why is Doug Marrone still making decisions on this wayward team?

32. NY Jets (0-13): Speaking of wayward … the Jets wouldn’t have beaten Rutgers this past Sunday the way Gang Green quit in Seattle. The Jim Harbaugh rumours to New York are really flying now.

2021 NFL Super Bowl Odds Tracker