NFL Week 17 power rankings: Evaluating all 32 teams as Vikings, Chiefs rise

If an NFL team is getting repeatedly blown out, it’s the final sign that the locker room has given up on the coaching staff. The past two games, ugly losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons, should be more than enough evidence for New York to fire Brian Daboll at the end of the regular season. If you’re going to fire the head coach and you’re a rebuilding team, you might as well clean house and that means firing GM Joe Schoen as well. New York needs a fresh start and it should be imminent.

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Some conflicting NFL rumors were coming into Week 16 regarding New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo. One clear thing is that losing out the rest of the way puts him in jeopardy of being a one-and-done coach. Considering the remainder of the Patriots schedule – vs Los Angeles Chargers and vs Buffalo Bills – a 3-14 record with even more two-score losses to end the season might be enough to get him canned. If that happens, Drake Maye will make this a very attractive head-coaching job.

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Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts puts the Tennessee Titans in a great position to secure a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The question coming out of Sunday is how significant of changes Tennessee will make this offseason. First-year coach Brian Callahan hasn’t exactly done anything impressive this season, though poor quarterback play certainly factors into that. He’ll probably get his chance to hand-pick the Titans quarterback in 2025, but he should be on the hot seat next season.

Myles Garrett announced before Week 16 that he needs to know what direction the Cleveland Browns want to take this offseason before determining if he wants to play out his entire career with this team. The smart thing for the Browns to do, given the state of this roster, is to launch a multi-year rebuild and that includes biting the financial bullet of releasing Deshaun Watson. If Cleveland takes the long-term approach, Garrett should be put on the trade block this spring.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars have faced three of the worst NFL teams in the last three weeks and they’ve come out of that stretch with a 1-2 record. At the very least, head coach Doug Pederson is effectively serving as tank commander for this team. With that said, the fact that he’s getting outcoached by the likes of Antonio Pierce and Jeff Ulbrich should be enough evidence to prove he should never be coaching in the NFL again.

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Congrats to the Las Vegas Raiders for winning a game against an opponent that is even worse than they are. The only real bright spot from this game is rookie Brock Bowers, who deserves to be first-team All-Pro in 2024. Ironically, Sunday’s win might cost the Raiders their chance at drafting Shedeur Sanders. If the reports of this team’s infatuation with Sanders are accurate, that could make a win bittersweet for Mark Davis and Tom Brady.

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The worst thing the Chicago Bears did this year, besides not firing Matt Eberflus this past offseason, was take Thomas Brown out of the offensive coordinator role and make him interim coach. At the very least, Chicago could’ve kept Brown in his role so he could maintain his focus on helping Caleb Williams create something to build off from now to carry over into the offseason. Williams is still showing flashes and a young offensive core of Rome Odunze, DJ Moore and D’Andre Swift offers more hope for this offense to take a step forward next season. However, it’s still hard to believe this franchise will turn things around because of the decision-making at the top.

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Whatever slim chance Darren Rizzi had of sticking around as the New Orleans Saints head coach vanished on Monday Night Football. This is a poorly-coached team that has desperately needed a rebuild for years. While the absences of Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave help explain the offensive woes, it doesn’t change the fact that this team hasn’t been even half-decent outside of the first two games in September. If the Saints’ history has taught us anything, though, it’s that the organization won’t make offseason decisions that are in the best interest of this team’s future.

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The New York Jets should take nothing from this recent strong stretch of performances – 884 passing yards and 5-0 TD-INT – from Aaron Rodgers. Bringing him back is not in the organization’s best interest, especially since he’d want input in the head-coaching search. New York needs to completely hit the reset button, even if that means granting Garrett Wilson his trade request and overhauling this roster for the future.

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That’s exactly what you wanted to see from Bryce Young if you’re the Carolina Panthers. He had a setback last Sunday against Dallas, with Week 16 providing an opportunity for the second-year quarterback to show how he responds to it. All Young did is set season-highs in quarterback rating (107.5), total touchdowns (three) and rushing yards (68). He’s left no doubt regarding who will be the Panthers starting quarterback in 2025. Young and first-year head coach Dave Canales both deserve endless credit for the remarkable in-season turnaround.

Jonathan Taylor single-handedly carried the Indianapolis Colts to victory in Week 16, rushing for 218 yards and 3 touchdowns on 29 carries. The win pushes Indianapolis just a game under .500, but this team isn’t making the playoffs. So, you have a team worsening its draft position, increasing the likelihood of general manager Chris Ballard returning in 2025 and Anthony Richardson – 7-for-11, 131 yards and 1-1 TD-INT on Sunday – still hasn’t proven he can be anything more than a secondary piece in this offense. We’re not advocating for tanking, but Indianapolis seems to just be living in mediocrity and accepting it.

The San Francisco 49ers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention, which always felt inevitable considering the injuries suffered this season. What’s fascinating is the discourse starting to emerge around this team, with some questioning if the 49ers should pursue Kirk Cousins this coming offseason as a potential backup option to Brock Purdy. That seems unlikely. While this season was a massive disappointment for San Francisco and its Super Bowl window seems legitimately closed since this aging roster, Purdy has been one of the few bright spots this season.

The Miami Dolphins emerged victorious in a battle between two teams whose seasons are effectively over. It’s been a very disappointing year for Miami, but Sunday delivered another great performance from De’Von Achane as his breakout season continues. That’s all we got for Miami, this has largely always been a team that gets most of its victories against bad competition or injury-depleted opponents and this was another example.

The Dallas Cowboys locker room wanted to fight to keep Mike McCarthy’s job, going from 3-7 to 7-8 does just that. Dallas also has some quality wins over this stretch beating the Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with a two-score win over the Panthers. This is still a flawed Cowboys roster that Jerry Jones is unlikely to adequately fix in the offseason, but this team and coaching staff have earned credit and job security for the second-half turnaround.

A month ago, the Arizona Cardinals looked like a breakout team entering their Week 11 bye. Riding a four-game win streak and in position to potentially win the NFC West, the young Cardinals were taking flight. Then, the other shoe dropped. Arizona simply never had the talent defensively to maintain the success we saw from Weeks 7-10 and the defensive regression has now cost them twice in December. It’s also becoming evident that Kyler Murray – 4-6 TD-INT ratio over last five games – might not ever become the guy who can uplift this franchise to their peak potential.

Michael Penix Jr. was much better than the NFL stats show – 18-of-27, 202 yards and 0-1 TD-INT on Sunday. Atlanta Falcons pass-catchers dropped several passes, including one right off Kyle Pitts’ hands near the goal line that resulted in Penix’s lone interception. What Sunday demonstrated is this Falcons offense can function so much better with an athletic quarterback. We still don’t know if Penix Jr. can be a franchise-caliber player, but he’s better for this offense than Kirk Cousins could provide.

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The Houston Texans have already clinched a home playoff game in the Wild Card round, but this team is headed for a first-round knockout. Houston’s offense already couldn’t overcome a woeful offensive line and the absence of Stefon Diggs and now wide receiver Tank Dell is lost to a season-ending injury. Labeled as a Super Bowl contender coming into the season, Houston should serve as a reminder in 2025 to not always expect the breakout team from the previous year to take another huge leap. There are a lot of issues with the roster and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik also looks like an issue.

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Facing one of the best NFL teams this season, the Settle Seahawks took the Minnesota Vikings to the wire. Of course, there are no moral victories for Mike Macdonald and Geno Smith. The loss does massive damage to Seattle’s playoff hopes, but the improvements made defensively since the bye week and the breakout season from Jaxon Smith-Njigba still make this a season the franchise can feel good about heading into 2025.

We know Joe Burrow loves Batman, but Superman might be the more appropriate title for him. He literally pulled a Superman in Week 16, throwing a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins in mid-air. Inexplicably, the Cincinnati Bengals are 7-6 and a win in Week 17 over the Denver Broncos would actually put this team in a position to potentially make the playoffs. It will all still require a lot of dominos to fall the Bengals’ way, but Burrow is having an MVP-caliber season.

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The Denver Broncos had their shot at basically having a walk-in ticket to the playoffs. However, a short week that Sean Payton wanted, seemed to take a toll on the Broncos’ defense. Denver still controls its destiny and this has been one of the most surprising NFL teams in 2024, but the Thursday Night Football loss is another reminder of the Broncos being several tiers below the best NFL teams right now.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just had to win out to secure a first-round home playoff game with an NFC South crown, but this defense put them in an early 20-7 hole against the Cowboys that Baker Mayfield couldn’t save them from. While the Falcons still have to win out to win the division, beating the Commanders and Panthers, Tampa Bay re-affirmed why the winner of this division is likely to be a one-and-done in January.

The Los Angeles Chargers needed a big win and Justin Herbert delivered. We were low on this team coming into the season, in large part because the Chargers roster was left in a bad state by former general Tom Telesco. It’s a credit to Jim Harbaugh, Jesse Minter and Herbert that this team is now on the doorstep of making the playoffs. While Los Angeles would still face an uphill climb to avoid a first-round exit, just doing this in the first season with Harbaugh is a major achievement.

On a day when things weren’t exactly clicking for Matthew Stafford and this passing game, Kyren Williams (129 scrimmage yards and 1 touchdown) and the Los Angeles Rams defense saved the day. Los Angeles shut out the Jets in the second half and a 13-point fourth quarter allowed the Rams to turn a 9-6 deficit into a 19-9 win. It was an ugly victory, the second in a row, but the Rams’ chances of winning the NFC West keep climbing and they can be a little dangerous in the playoffs.

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Everything that could go right and wrong happened for the Washington Commanders in Week 17. Remarkably, they become the second NFL team this season to win in spite of 5 turnovers committed. They probably don’t win if Jalen Hurts (concussion) doesn’t get hurt, but rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels leading an improbable comeback against the No. 1 defense in the NFL to push the Commanders to their 10th win of the season just shows how truly special of a player he is.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers offense desperately needs George Pickens on the field to function effectively. Russell Wilson hasn’t been effective without him, averaging just 150.7 passing yards per game with a 5.2 net yards per attempt average in the last three weeks. Unsurprisingly, Pittsburgh is 1-2 over that stretch. We also might just be witnessing the Steelers’ ceiling, which depending on their AFC playoff matchup, could culminate in another first-round knockout.

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The Baltimore Ravens are getting back on track at the right time. In Week 16, Derrick Henry recorded his highest total scrimmage yards since September and this well-rounded receiving corps helped Lamar Jackson put up 3 passing touchdowns against a stout Pittsburgh Steelers defense. That’s not the biggest development for Baltimore. Instead, it’s that the Ravens’ defense has been playing at a top-five level over the last five games. If that sticks, the Ravens could become the team to beat in the AFC.

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The Green Bay Packers are easily one of the best NFL teams right now, it’s just a question of how they stack up against the elite tier of clubs. Green Bay’s losses this season came against the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Detroit isn’t as healthy now and the Packers offense is in a much better position than the last time it faced Philadelphia or Minnesota. It needs to be proven on the field, though. If Green Bay can beat the Vikings in Week 17, it will get a top-two spot on our NFL power rankings.

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For the second time this season, the Philadelphia Eagles lost because one of their top offensive weapons dropped a gimme game-sealing catch on third down. It also didn’t help that Jalen Hurts left this game early with a concussion. The Eagles are still in the elite tier of the best NFL teams right now and as long as Hurts returns quickly, Philadelphia is still as dangerous as anyone in the NFC.

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As long as Chris Jones (calf) is healthy and this Kansas City Chiefs defense can generate turnovers like they have in recent weeks, this team looks like a Super Bowl contender again. Marquise Brown returned in Week 16, Xavier Worthy had a breakout performance and Patrick Mahomes looked sharp on an ankle sprain. More importantly for an injury-riddled roster, the Chiefs are just one win shy of the all-important first-round bye.

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Even without David Montgomery, the Detroit Lions offense is phenomenal and clearly capable of putting up 30-plus points with relative ease. However, the concern remains how this injury-riddled defense will fare in a potential playoff matchup. We seem destined for the Week 18 Lions vs Minnesota Vikings matchup to determine the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Right now, we give the nod to the healthier team.

The Buffalo Bills faced some surprising adversity in Week 16, trailing the Patriots 14-0 at home. On a day when Josh Allen didn’t play like the NFL MVP, running back James Cook saved the Bills with his two-touchdown performance. It’s another example of why Buffalo is one of the best NFL teams right now. The true elites can find ways to claw their way to a win, even if the strategy is unconventional. In this case, Cook and the Bills’ defense turned a 14-point deficit into a win. Right now, the Bills are the best team in the AFC.

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There’s a compelling case to be made for the Chiefs, Lions, Eagles and Bills to all be on top of our NFL power rankings. However, we’re giving the slight edge to the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota boasts a top-five defnese, something the Chiefs, Lions and Bills don’t have. Jalen Hurts and Sam Darnold each have some flaws, but Darnold has been the better quarterback this season. Factoring in health and both sides of the ball, the Vikings are the best team in the NFL right now.

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