NFL Power Rankings after Week 17: Not over yet!

Week 17 saw upsets, huge wins, and the Ravens and 49ers locking up the number one seeds in the AFC and NFC respectively. Heading into week 18 there is still much to play for with several playoff spots up for grabs still.

The Panthers entered the season with optimism, a new coaching staff and rookie quarterback were set to bring a usher in a new era. Almost everything went wrong A few months later; now the owner is throwing drinks at fans to cap off a miserable season.

After the early weeks of the 2023 season, the Commanders looked on track for a markedly improved season. Sam Howell was looking like the QB of the future surrounded by some intriguing offensive weapons. Now they sit 4-12 and almost everything has gone wrong.

The Pats’ season has gone from bad, to awful, to their worst season in a very long time. It seems like Bill Belichick is heading for the exit, not before he beats the Jets one more time on his way out though!

The Chargers were one of the experts’ darlings heading into the season with sky-high expectations. Now a mid-season coaching change and general mediocrity have put their severe dearth of talent on display. Big changes are needed in LA.

The Giants have shown some fight in recent weeks and there are signs the players are still behind Brian Daboll. They may well look to move on from Daniel Jones in the offseason and are in a position to perhaps grab one of the top QB prospects come draft time.

The Titans made some strange decisions in the offseason. For a while, it seemed they were looking to move on from some aging players and rebuild, then they signed DeAndre Hopkins, an aging player, and stuck to the same old formula. Now they’re 5-11 and the rebuild has been delayed by a year.

Jonathan Gannon got his revenge against the Eagles by going into Philly and spoiling the Eagles’ chances at the number one seed. Whilst there are still huge issues with this team, they are showing fight which is an encouraging sign for the future of the franchise.

Without rehashing the same points over and over, the Jets threw this season away by sticking with Zach Wilson (and then Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian) despite having an incredible roster elsewhere. A lesson in stubbornness for teams everywhere.

Despite winning some games, the Raiders have had a strange year starting with the awful vibes of the Josh McDaniels era. Now the vibes seem much better under interim coach Antonio Pierce, but wins are harder to come by. There are many different directions they could go during the offseason, including what they do at the coaching and QB positions.

There is little to like about this iteration of the Atlanta Falcons, from mediocre QB play to strange coaching and overall just being quite dull to watch. There is still a slim chance they make the playoffs but that will probably only harm them in the longer term by securing a worse draft pick.

The Russell Wilson experiment has failed and could set the Broncos back a good few years as they attempt to pick up the pieces. Sean Payton hasn’t exactly inspired confidence from fans given how he has dealt with Wilson, either, leaving lots of work to be done to turn this team around.

The Vikings have battled all year despite losing Kirk Cousins fairly early in the season. There are many reasons to be optimistic, from Jordan Addison’s very good rookie season to Brian Flores’ defense playing lights out for most of the season.

Another team that wasn’t quite able to fulfill its full potential. Seattle hasn’t been bad, they have just been too inconsistent to consider this season a success. There is still a chance they sneak into the playoffs and they wouldn’t be an easy matchup for anyone, but overall a disappointing season.

Justin Fields has found something of late that is making him look like the future in Chicago. The Bears have emerged as a 7-9 team when many thought they could end up with one of the worst records in the league after a few weeks of the season.

Joe Burrow started the season injured, barely had a chance to recover, and then got injured again. When you are relying on one player as much as the Bengals do (and why wouldn’t you when you have Burrow), if he gets injured your season is all but over very quickly.

The Saints beat the Bucs in week 17 to give themselves an outside chance at the playoffs but there is something remarkably uninspiring about this team. Derek Carr is fine and they have some nice pieces but that is about it.

The Bucs just need to beat the hapless Panthers to secure a home playoff berth where they will probably host the Eagles. Given the ups and downs of this season, that’s about as good as you can hope for. What they do next will be fascinating to follow.

The Colts have looked good all year despite starting Gardner Minshew for most of it. A win and a Jags loss gives them the AFC South title and an unexpected playoff berth. We can’t wait to see this team with a full season of Anthony Richardson in 2024.

At one point it looked as though the Steelers were set to rival the Ravens for the AFC North title. It all felt a little unsustainable though, given their lack of explosiveness of offense. A change at QB has made a difference but they need a few things to go their way to make the playoffs.

The Texans are one win away from making the playoffs in what would be one of the best turnarounds year-on-year we’ve seen for some time. C.J. Stroud is incredible and the future is looking bright in Texas.

A win against the Bears and the Packers are in the playoffs and given how well Jordan Love has been playing in recent weeks, who knows how far they can go.

The Jags season has been slowly deflating like an abandoned balloon but a win gets them into the playoffs once again and if last year is anything to go by, they will fancy themselves against anyone once they are there.

Speaking of deflating, losing to the Cardinals has taken all the wind out of the Eagles' sails. It looks as though are no longer hosting a playoff game and we have no confidence in them beating anyone at this point. Are big changes on the horizon?

The Rams were expected to be amongst the worst teams in the league, instead, they keep putting great performances together and now find themselves in the playoffs. They are getting hot at the right time and no one will want to play against them.

The Chiefs were able to beat a Bengals team that has given them some trouble in recent years, locking up the AFC West title for what feels like the 50th time in a row at this point. This isn’t the Chiefs’ team of last year, but does anyone want to play Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs?

The Dolphins have struggled all year against the top teams in the NFL and soon, come playoff time, that’s all that’s left. The loss of Bradley Chubb is a brutal one, leaving their pass rush looking a real weak spot all of a sudden.

The Lions were probably screwed by the refs on the road at Jerry World, meaning their dreams off the number one seed are dead. Still, this is a very good team that could make waves over the next few weeks.

Joe Flacco’s career looked over just a month or so ago, now he is leading a red-hot Browns team to the playoffs. With their exceptional defense and recently high-flying offense, there aren’t many teams that match up well against them.

The Bills have turned their season around after some hiccups earlier in the year. Now they are looking back to their dangerous best and a win against the Dolphins secures them the AFC East title.

The Cowboys needed a little bit of luck to beat the Lions, but beat the Lions they did and now just need a win against the Commanders to secure the number 2 seed. There are very few weaknesses on this roster making them a match-up nightmare for almost anyone.

The Niners got the job done against Washington and secured the number-one seed when the Eagles lost. They can now rest their starters in week 18 and look forward to a bye-week while the rest of the playoff teams battle it out on Wildcard weekend.

The Ravens currently seem head and shoulders above the next-best team in the league, very rarely is there a team this dominant this late in the season. Can anyone stop them in the playoffs? We’re really not sure.