With the last quarter of the season upon us, we sort out who’s up and who’s down for the final stretch. The X’s and O’s Show breaks down the Power Rankings, the NFL and everything Broncos each Sunday at 9:00am on Mile High Sports Radio.
1. Dallas Cowboys (1)
It would take a fairly significant collapse for the Cowboys not to have home-field advantage going into the playoffs. The difference between facing the Seahawks in Dallas versus the Seahawks in Seattle is obvious. But Dallas’ next three games all come against teams right in the thick of playoff battles — the Giants, Buccaneers, and Lions. Week 17 features a game in Philadelphia. All Dallas has to do is win any two of their remaining four games and they clinch the top seed no matter what else happens.
2. Oakland Raiders (3)
The Raiders are 5-0 on the road. They will get their stiffest test, though, when they visit Arrowhead Thursday to face the Chiefs. A win will practically clinch the division, but the Silver and Black also have their sites on home-field advantage. Currently tied with the Patriots at 10-2, the top seed could be decided by how those teams do in their trips to Mile High.
3. New England Patriots (2)
As good as the Chiefs and Raiders have been lately, it’s nonetheless difficult to see how anyone but the Patriots will wind up with the top seed in the AFC playoffs. New England has home games against the Ravens and Jets and trips to Denver and Miami. Losing Rob Gronkowski is a big blow, and this team is not invincible. But if they are home for the playofs, they still have to be the AFC favorites.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (6)
In Week 6, the Chiefs had no problem with the Raiders, beating them 26-10 in Oakland. The Raiders haven’t lost since. Thursday night, the teams meet again in Kansas City. Whichever team wins will become a heavy favorite to win the AFC West.
5. Seattle Seahawks (7)
Seattle’s offensive line has struggled all year, but they’ve shown clear improvement over the last month. They had their third straight game with a 100-yard rushing performance Sunday against Carolina while racking up 240 yards on the ground. Their trip to Green Bay this week represents their toughest remaining game.
6. Detroit Lions (13)
Having won 7 out of their last 8 games, Detroit has now opened up a 2-game lead in the NFC North. During this stretch, the defense has forced 13 turnovers, which is all Matt Stafford needs to reel off some wins. Teryl Austin’s unit did it again in New Orleans, forcing 3 Drew Brees INT’s and making quick work of the Saints.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (12)
The offense is getting healthy and starting to find a rhythm, which is frightening for AFC contenders. The defense was excellent against the Giants, but despite Eli Manning and Odell Beckham, the New York offense isn’t dynamic or balanced. Can the Steelers’ defense hold up against the kind of offenses they’ll face in the playoffs, like Oakland and New England?
8. Baltimore Ravens (16)
The Ravens have somehow made it to Week 14 tied for first in the AFC North. Yet even with three-fourths of the season gone, everyone still wants to know if they are for real. Well the wait to find out is over. All the Ravens have to do over the next three weeks is beat the Patriots in Foxborough and the Steelers in Pittsburgh and they’ll likely clinch the division and earn everyone’s respect.
9. Atlanta Falcons (8)
Despite having lost 2 of their last 3, the Falcons are in a pretty good spot. Tied with Tampa Bay for first place, they finish the year with the Rams, 49ers, Panthers, and Saints. Atlanta has won games in both Oakland and Denver, and they had Seattle and Kansas City both beat before getting clipped at the end. This is a team no one wants to face in the playoffs.
10. Denver Broncos (8)
Ok, Paxton Lynch has now had two full starts and Trevor Siemian had had 10. There’s enough data here that we can reach at least one conclusion that we might all agree on. This offense sucks. Pick your stat: 1-13 on 3rd downs, 105 yards passing, or the fact that they got ONE first down in the second half. Whoever is at quarterback will be leading a rather lousy unit. Are there some QB’s so good that they can win with bad offensive players around them? Sure, but not on the Broncos roster.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (19)
Ok, forget about the Dolphins. This is Florida’s most interesting team. The Bucs have won four straight, the last three of which had them winning in Kansas City, holding the Seahawks to 5 points, and winning at San Diego. With a remaining schedule that has two games against New Orleans and a home date with Carolina, 10-6 (and an almost certain playoff spot) is very achievable.
12. Miami Dolphins (7)
That thud you heard was the Dolphins crashing back to earth. Baltimore’s Joe Flacco tore up the Miami secondary like he has done to precisely nobody else all year. Flacco came into the game with just 11 TD passes in as many games—against 10 picks—but he had 4 touchdown tosses Sunday.
13. New York Giants (9)
The Giants might be one of the most interesting teams to watch down the stretch. They were in a strong playoff spot a week ago at 8-3. But after losing to Pittsburgh, New York is looking at one of the tougher finishing schedules among NFC teams. The G-Men still have a 1 ½ game cushion for the final wild card, but they might be lucky to get their win total to 9 games. Can they hang on?
14. Washington Redskins (12)
Two straight losses have dropped the Redskins to 6-5-1. They are in the mix for a wild card, but they will regret giving away a game against a very questionable Cardinals team in a game the Redskins had to have.
15. Tennessee Titans (15)
The Titans will return from their bye week to face the Broncos, and because of Houston’s loss, they will do so tied for first place. The Colts and Texans face each other this week, so Tennessee will need to beat Denver to keep pace with one of them.
16. Indianapolis Colts (20)
The Colts are getting hot at just the right time. When Andrew Luck is starting, they have won three impressive games in a row. They already own the tiebreaker over Tennessee, and they host a struggling Houston squad this Sunday. A victory will give Indy the clear inside track for the divisional crown.
17. New Orleans Saints (14)
It was no surprise that the Lions’ offense dominated New Orleans. That’s what all non-Bronco offenses do to the Saints. More surprising, and decisive, was the worst game of the season for the Sean Payton-Drew Brees offense. Brees had three interceptions, and for a team with no defense or running game, that’s a guaranted loss.
18. Minnesota Vikings (18)
It hasn’t been easy for the Vikings this season. They’ve had to move guys around at several spots, fill in for injuries, and even use third-stringers on occasion. And that’s just the coaching staff. Against Dallas, the Vikes had to replace their injured head coach with the offensive coordinator, who had to give up the OC duties to a position coach, and who was already the fill-in for the original OC, who quit mid-season.
19. Green Bay Packers (23)
The snow in Lambeau seemed to bring out the best in the Packers, who kept their slim playoff hopes alive by beating Houston, As it stands, Green Bay will need a lot of help to get in, but their biggest obstacle might be the fact that the Seahawks are coming to town, in a game the underdog Pack will have to find a way to win.
20. Houston Texans (17)
After leading their division all season, three straight losses leave Houston in a three-way tie for first. The Texans have to play road games against the other two teams, so they have the disadvantage. The first hurdle is this week, as they go to Indianapolis to face the suddenly hot Colts.
21. Arizona Cardinals (24)
The Cardinals had an impressive win against Washington, but the question is will it matter? In a crowded race for the NFC wild cards, it’s looking increasingly likely that the tie against the Seahawks in Week 7 is going to leave Arizona on the outside looking in.
22. San Diego Charges (19)
On Nov. 8, San Diegans were asked to approve a tourist tax to help fund a new stadium for the Chargers. It needed to get 66% to pass, but since all of the tax would be paid by others, it was thought to have a chance. On election day, only 44% approved, an embarrassing showing. On Sunday against Tampa Bay, Qualcomm Stadium was half-empty, and most of the fans were in Buccaneers red. San Diego will now lose their football team, but it’s getting increasingly sorry to feel any sympathy for them.
23. Cincinnati Bengals (24)
Even without A.J. Green, Andy Dalton had no trouble with the Philadelphia defense, the road version of which has been a shadow of its home self all season. He completed 74% of his passes for 332 yards and two TD’s. He also didn’t get sacked or knocked down a single time.
24. Carolina Panthers (20)
After benching quarterback Cam Newton for the game’s first series because of a dress code violation, coach Ron Riviera had to be praying for an uneventful series, so he could quietly send Newton back out and hope everybody forgets all about this. But since this is the 2017 Panthers, backup Derek Anderson threw an interception on his first and only pass attempt. After the game, Newton explained that there were some extra ties around, but none of them went with his outfit. Well, next week he can be sure to have the right accessories for his more appropriate outfit—a red nose and wig.
25. Philadelphia Eagles (18)
Over a recent stretch, Eagles QB Carson Wentz has completed 36 of his last 60 passes with 1 touchdown and three interceptions. Is that over his last 2-3 games, you ask? No, that was just Sunday against the Bengals. Philadelphia fell behind 29-0 and had to abandon the running game entirely. That’s not a formula for success with a rookie QB.
26. Los Angeles Rams (27)
Against a Patriots defense that had looked vulnerable against the pass, Rams QB Jared Goff was awful, completing just 14 of 32 passes and throwing two picks. The organization may be nervous about their franchise QB, especially since they have neither a first nor a third round pick in the upcoming draft. But, hey, at least they nailed down their coach for the future! So that’s something to build on.
27. Buffalo Bills (22)
Bills safety Corey Graham said he was “shocked” that Buffalo could blow a 15-point lead against Oakland. How could something like that happen? Well, when your defense concedes 29 points in the second half, we think any investigation should start there. At 6-6, the Bills are now longshots to make the playoffs. The good news is that they could conceivably win out, but they’re 2 games out of the final spot and would have to jump three teams to claim it, so even with a 4-0 finish they will need help.
28. New York Jets (28)
Yikes. The Jets dissolved in a half-empty MetLife Stadium as the few fans not wearing Colts blue showered them with boos. Which QB would you choose? A) 5-12; 81 yards; 1 INT. B) 11-25; 135 yards; 1 TD; 2 INTs. You can see the dilemma here.
29. Chicago Bears (29)
It’s hard to get too excited by any positive performances the Bears had against San Francisco, and we don’t have to tell you why. But the pass rush has been a bright spot in Chicago this season, so this factoid from Sunday’s game shouldn’t be dismissed: 49er quarterbacks were sacked more times (6) than they completed passes (5).
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (30)
You Jaguar fans who were worried about having to stand in line to get playoff tickets can relax now. The team was officially eliminated from the post-season with their loss to Denver. If the Broncos could have picked one game on their schedule where they would have chosen their backup QB, this would have been it.
31. San Francisco 49ers (31)
After two promising outings, QB Colin Kaepernick was benched after the 3rd quarter in Chicago after having gone 1-5. A 20% completion rate is not ideal, but how did the team only attempt 5 passes through three quarters? Oh, that’s because Chip Kelly was too busy running an endless series of sweeps to the running backs. Because running wide always works in the NFL, especially when the backs can’t get their footing on a wet field.
32. Cleveland Browns (32)
We will refrain with jokes about how the Browns finally had a weekend where they didn’t lose. Instead, we’ll just point out that with the Bengals visiting Cleveland this week, the best chance these Browns have to avoid a winless season may be at hand.