Geez! Just when you thought Week 17 wouldn't carry too much drama -- especially because playoffs are pretty much set -- we end off the regular season with some jazz. We applaud the Bengals, who played unlike we've seen ever before, and that was just enough to knock Baltimore off the playoff run. We can't stop stressing that key fourth-and-a-mile play, when Tyler Boyd was in the slot. And he was in single coverage. That means a single post or double move route could remove the DB off Boyd, and Andy Dalton saw that too, as he dimed a 25 yard pass for a touchdown and the lead. Anyways, let's go on with the power rankings of Week 17.
1st Rank: New England Patriots (--)
2nd Rank: Minnesota Vikings (--)
3rd Rank: Pittsburgh Steelers (--)
4th Rank: Los Angeles Rams (--)
5th Rank: New Orleans Saints (--)
6th Rank: Kansas City Chiefs (+3)
7th Rank: Philadelphia Eagles (-1)
8th Rank: Carolina Panthers (-1)
As we get on with the top eight, those five spots up there aren't moving. And that's GOOD for whoever is in those places. We see the Patriots, who beat the Jets, the Vikings, who beat the Bears, the Steelers, who edged the Browns, the Rams, who rested their starters and evidently lost, and the same goes for the Saints. Nothing going on there. But when we go down, the Chiefs manage to claim that 6th spot after a win in Denver. The Eagles lose AT HOME as Nick Foles continues to be off with the Eagles roster. Finally, the Panthers lose to the Falcons at Atlanta.
9th Rank: Atlanta Falcons (+2)
10th Rank: Jacksonville Jaguars (-3)
11th Rank: Los Angeles Chargers (+1)
12th Rank: Buffalo Bills (+5)
13th Rank: San Francisco 49ers (+2)
14th Rank: Seattle Seahawks (-1)
15th Rank: Detroit Lions (+1)
16th Rank: Tennessee Titans (+4)
As we begin the next eight, the Falcons manage to cap their season with a win. The Jaguars don't, as the Titans beat them with Jacksonville's starters in there. The Chargers finish the season with a dominate win against Oakland, while the Bills manage to get that playoff spot since a LONG time after Baltimore lost. The 49ers, still impressing people with Jimmy G leading the team, after they beat the Rams. The Seahawks aren't doing the same, though, as they lose to the Cardinals. The Lions pretty much gave up in the playoff race, but still show-off an excellent win against Green Bay, and finally, the Titans end the season with a win against Jacksonville. Pretty nice stuff coming out of these playoff teams (most of them are)
17th Rank: Baltimore Ravens (-7)
18th Rank: Dallas Cowboys (-4)
19th Rank: Arizona Cardinals (--)
20th Rank: Cincinnati Bengals (+4)
21st Rank: Washington Redskins (-3)
22nd Rank: Oakland Raiders (-1)
23rd Rank: Green Bay Packers (-1)
24th Rank: Miami Dolphins (+1)
These teams aren't in the playoffs, not a single one, because of pretty obvious reasons. One, they aren't performing well, and two, they don't have the confidence and chemistry to work it out. This week, not any different. The Ravens lose a game and a potential playoff SPOT after a loss in Baltimore. The Dallas Cowboys won, but scored 6 points against an Eagles team with ALL backups AND Nick Foles. The Cardinals manage to beat the Seahawks, the Bengals win, the Redskins lose in New York, the Raiders lose in Oakland, the Packers lose once more, and the Dolphins lose against Buffalo in MIAMI. Pretty bad stuff from these teams.
25th Rank: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+1)
26th Rank: Chicago Bears (-3)
27th Rank: Denver Broncos (--)
28th Rank: New York Jets (--)
29th Rank: Indianapolis Colts (--)
30th Rank: New York Giants (--)
31st Rank: Houston Texans (--)
32nd Rank: Cleveland Browns (--)
So, on one hand of the rankings, we have the top five teams not moving because of their stellar performance even with backups. On the other hand, we have the last SIX teams not moving because of their bad performance with starters that were against backups. That's not good. The Buccaneers beat the Saints fortunately, the Bears lose to the Vikings, the Broncos lose to the Chiefs, the Jets lose to New England, the Colts beat the Texans, the Giants beat the Redskins, the Texans losing, and finally, the Browns end the season at 0-16, being officially the second team, after the Lions, to never win a game in a season.
We have mixed emotions right now. On one side of the spectrum, we have some fabulous teams making it into the playoffs that all have an equal chance of going for it ALL and winning that Lombardi trophy. On the other side, well, we feel sorry for the teams who just couldn't get anything started throughout the season. We wish them good luck in the seasons to come and best of wishes in the NFL draft, which this year, is on April 26-28. Pretty exciting stuff coming on, but for now, we take a quick break and we will resume once PLAYOFFS begin!