NFL Power Rankings Week 16: A happy holidays, for some…

We have made it to the festive season, which means the NFL regular season is nearly over. Some teams will be gearing up for the playoffs, while others are contemplating the futures of players and coaches. So, in what is our penultimate power rankings of 2024, let’s take a look where every team sits in the NFL.

It’s an embarrassing season for the Giants, who have never looked competitive but now look ready for a break away from football. Brian Daboll and Joe Schoe are presumably gone, which clears the way for a fresh start, and a new quarterback in the 2025 draft.

Heading into the 2024 season, we had some optimism around the Jags. Our issue was, we forget they are still the Jacksonville Jaguars. This organization constantly finds ways to fail and are, once again, going to be looking for a new head coach in January.

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Per USA Today, Myes Garrett became just the second player in NFL history (after Lawrence Taylor) with five consecutive seasons registering at least 12 sacks. That might be the only bright spark in what has been an awful season.

We hope the Titans don’t talk themselves into keeping Will Levis as the starting QB for 2025, otherwise we worry we will spend most of the next season writing about he isn’t good enough. The NFL is a quarterback-led league, and the Titans’ options simply aren’t good enough.

The Saints need a fresh start, desperately. For years, they have attempted to make do with mediocre talent and spending close to the salary cap. Now, they are bottoming out and are set to be well over the presumed 2025 cap, which surely gives them an opportunity to clean house and reset…

Brock Bowers is a stud and may already be the best pass-catching tight end in football. Outside of that, there’s not a lot to be optimistic about. They should have a chance to draft a quarterback early which will at least give them something to get excited about for next season.

The Jets went all in over the past two seasons with the hope that Aaron Rodgers would lead them to the promised land. Instead, he has played badly and been a huge distraction as he forced the team to sign or trade for his friends and possibly forced out the head coach.

The Pats have a terrible roster, but they do have Drake Maye which means they can build around him and be optimistic for the future. There’s a long way to go to make this group competitive, but as they have a QB, they can draft whoever they think is the best player available with freedom.

Per USA Today, Caleb Williams broke the record for most passes without throwing an interception, with 326. It’s not always been easy for Williams, but he has put together a solid rookie year, now, build him an offensive line that can pass block.

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The Niners’ downfall this season had been as abrupt as it has been surprising. We were unsure of what we were expecting from them this year, but it wasn’t being 6-9 and out of the playoffs before the holiday period. Ultimately, injuries proved too much to handle, and the vibes have been way off.

Whether Bryce Young can continue to improve next year, we don’t know, but the signs are there that this upward trajectory is for real. This roster is just devoid of elite players which makes everyone’s job almost impossible, still, they’re fighting hard, which is worth something.

A loss to Carolina put paid to any playoff hopes in Arizona this season. We aren’t convinced they can build a consistent team around Kyler Murray at this point, but they are locked into his contract, so for their sake, we hope we’re wrong.

We might have witnessed the decline of Tyreek Hill over the course of this season, with the wideout dropping three catchable passes on Sunday, per ESPN. We weren’t convinced by Miami going into the season, as we just didn’t like their defense. Ultimately, it was another injury to Tua that derailed the season, but there are issues to address up and down the roster.

It’s possible to try and suggest the Cowboys’ bad season is due to Dak’s injury, but they were struggling before that too. Their recent performances may have saved Mike McCarthy’s job, which we don’t think is a positive for Dallas.

It’s not long since we were singing the Seahawks’ praises and expected them to put together a run to the playoffs. Unfortunately, two losses in a row makes the postseason unlikely now. A disappointing end to what could have been a great first season for Mike Macdonald.

Michael Penix Jr. wasn’t spectacular in his first NFL start, but he didn’t completely collapse like Kirk Cousins has in recent weeks. The Falcons are back in control of their playoff destiny, and Penix looks like the best option to lead them into the postseason.

The Broncos’ collapse against the Chargers was a little worrying for a team still fighting for a playoff berth. Bo Nix has looked better than most expected this season, but he will need to improve, as teams can rarely replicate defensive excellence season on season.

Shane Steichen has experience taking a young, athletic QB and leaning heavily on a running game after doing exactly that with Jalen Hurts in Philly in 2021. Sunday’s win over the Titans was a showcase of how dangerous this offense could be if they are willing to rely on Anthony Richardson’s legs more than his arm as he continues to develop.

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Early season losses have ruined what could have been a great season for the Bengals. Who knows if Tee Higgins will return in 2025 meaning this could have been the last season seeing this incredible two-pronged passing attacked play together. It feels like it’s been wasted a little bit.

We won’t knock C.J. Stroud for his emotional reaction to Tank Dell’s horrific knee injury on Saturday, which clearly led to a drop in his play, as it’s an awful thing to see. It does leave Houston lacking any depth at wideout, we’re not sure their signing of Diontae Johnson will help much.

This time last week, we were writing how the Bucs are well-placed to make a run in the playoffs. Their offense was firing on all cylinders and the defense was playing at a high level, too. Now, they’ve lost to Cooper Rush and the Cowboys in brutal fashion, which really damages their playoff hopes.

A fighting, come-from-behind win against the Broncos solidified the Chargers as a playoff team in Jim Harbaugh’s first season in charge in LA. We’re not sure many teams in the AFC will want to face this team in the postseason.

Sunday’s win over the Eagles was a bizarre game for both teams, which Washington just scraped at the end. The good news is Jayden Daniels, who showed composure beyond his years to throw the winning TD. The bad news, is this defense looked terrible when Jalen Hurts was on the field.

Things are falling apart somewhat for the Steelers, who have not been comprehensively beaten twice in a row. George Pickens’ absence is a difficult one to overcome, but the complete lack of elite offensive talent has caught up to Pittsburgh, as this defense isn’t quite good enough to win games by itself.

As Pete Prisco writes for CBS Sports, “They just keep on winning and appear to be on their way to the division title. It wasn't pretty against the Jets, but they found a way.” We couldn’t put it any better, so we won’t try to.

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The Ravens put on a commanding performance against the Steelers on Saturday, which is exactly what we wanted to see from a team we still believe can make it to the Super Bowl. There have been signs thinks weren’t running smoothly at times this season, but we’re not going to be betting against them in the playoffs.

The Packers just beat the Saints 34-0 without getting out of second gear. That should be a worrying sign for every other team in the NFC as Green Bay gears up for the playoffs. Jordan Love put on a show last January and looks primed to do the same again.

If we were betting men, we would put some money on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl once again. They have just become a cold, calculated winning machine that never seems overly worried by the opponent. Last season showed us they have another gear when the playoffs start, too.

If Jalen Hurts doesn’t get concussed, we think the Eagles win their game against the Commanders comfortably. But he did, and there was a defensive collapse late in the game which is not what we’ve been used to this season from Philly. The two-seed is all, but there’s a rematch with Washington looking likely.

Per CBS Sports, Kevin O’Connell is the first Vikings coach to ever lead the team to two 13-win seasons. This is his third season in charge. That he’s done it with Sam Darnold, on his fourth team already, is an incredible achievement.

The Lions defense is decimated with injuries. Fortunately for them, their offense is so good, it barely matters as they continue to win. They will need to win out to guarantee the one-seed and the all-important home field advantage. If they secure that, we expect them to make the Super Bowl.

It wasn’t always pretty against division rivals New England on Sunday as the Pats looked to play spoiler. Still, they got the win, and we fully expect this team to at least make the AFC Championship. Josh Allen is on track to win the MVP award, and it’s hard to argue against that.

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