Tag: NFL power rankings

Broncos drop 5 spots in NFL power rankings after ‘TNF’ loss

Following their loss on ‘Thursday Night Football,’ the Broncos dropped five spots in NFL power rankings this week.

Coming off a 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, the Denver Broncos are now ranked No. 15 in Nate Davis’ latest NFL power rankings for USA TODAY Sports. That’s down five spots from the team’s No. 10 ranking last week.

The Cincinnati Bengals, who will host Denver on Saturday, are ranked No. 14. The Bengals-Broncos showdown will have huge playoff implications.

Here is Davis’ commentary on Denver going into Week 17:

However if they lapse at Cincinnati on Saturday – and Denver’s résumé overfloweth with victories against lightweights – then, with no wild-card berth yet secured, the pucker factor will go up significantly heading into Week 18.

Elsewhere in the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs are ranked No. 3, the Chargers are ranked No. 12 and the Las Vegas Raiders are ranked No. 27.

The Buffalo Bills are ranked No. 1 and the New York Giants are ranked No. 32 (last). To view the complete NFL power rankings going into Week 17, visit USATODAY.com.

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NFL power rankings: Detroit Lions are still the team to beat

Going into Week 17, the Detroit Lions remain the team to beat in the NFL.

Following their 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears (4-11) on Sunday, the Detroit Lions (13-2) remain the team to beat in the NFL. Yes, even above the Kansas City Chiefs (14-1).

Kansas City has a better record, but they’ve had several fluky results this year and if they meet Detroit in the Super Bowl, the Lions should be considered the favorite. There’s no guarantee that the Chiefs will reach the title game, though, because the Buffalo Bills (12-3) and Baltimore Ravens (10-5) could stand in their way in the postseason.

Even the Los Angeles Chargers (9-6) and Denver Broncos (9-6) could be capable of tripping up KC in the playoffs. The Lions, meanwhile, are clearly the top contender in the NFC.

NFL power rankings after Week 16

  1. Detroit Lions (13-2)
  2. Buffalo Bills (12-3)
  3. Kansas City Chiefs (14-1)
  4. Washington Commanders (10-5)
  5. Philadelphia Eagles (12-3)
  6. Baltimore Ravens (10-5)
  7. Green Bay Packers (11-4)
  8. Minnesota Vikings (13-2)
  9. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5)
  10. Los Angeles Rams (9-6)
  11. Houston Texans (9-6)
  12. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6)
  13. Denver Broncos (9-6)
  14. Cincinnati Bengals (7-8)
  15. Atlanta Falcons (8-7)
  16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7)
  17. Miami Dolphins (7-8)
  18. Seattle Seahawks (8-7)
  19. Arizona Cardinals (7-8)
  20. Indianapolis Colts (7-8)
  21. Dallas Cowboys (7-8)
  22. San Francisco 49ers (6-9)
  23. New Orleans Saints (5-10)
  24. Carolina Panthers (4-11)
  25. Chicago Bears (4-11)
  26. Cleveland Browns (3-12)
  27. Tennessee Titans (3-12)
  28. Las Vegas Raiders (3-12)
  29. New England Patriots (3-12)
  30. New York Jets (4-11)
  31. New York Giants (2-13)
  32. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-12)

Week 17 will kick off on Christmas Day with a Chiefs-Steelers matchup followed by a Ravens-Texans showdown.

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All 32 NFL teams (including the Broncos) ranked by FPI ratings

Going into Week 16, the Broncos have a -1.2 Football Power Index (FPI) rating from ESPN, which ranks 20th in the NFL. 

Fifteen weeks into the season, the Denver Broncos (9-5) have a -1.2 Football Power Index (FPI) rating from ESPN, which ranks 20th in the NFL.

The Los Angeles Chargers (8-6), who will host the Broncos in Week 16, are ranked 17th with a -0.0 FPI rating.

FPI is “a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season,” according to ESPN.com. “FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.”

So with that background in mind, here’s a look at how the league’s 32 teams stack up based on FPI going into Week 16 of the 2024 NFL season.

  1. Detroit Lions (12-2): 8.4
  2. Buffalo Bills (12-3): 7.3
  3. Green Bay Packers (10-4): 6.8
  4. Baltimore Ravens (9-5): 6.6
  5. Philadelphia Eagles (12-2): 5.1
  6. Minnesota Vikings (12-2): 3.5
  7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6): 2.6
  8. San Francisco 49ers (6-8): 2.6
  9. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4): 1.3
  10. Kansas City Chiefs (13-1): 1.0
  11. Washington Commanders (9-5): 0.9
  12. Houston Texans (9-5): 0.9
  13. Los Angeles Rams (8-6): 0.8
  14. Arizona Cardinals (7-7): 0.7
  15. Miami Dolphins (6-8): 0.3
  16. Cincinnati Bengals (6-8): -0.0
  17. Los Angeles Chargers (8-6): -0.0
  18. New York Jets (4-10): -0.3
  19. Seattle Seahawks (8-6): -0.9
  20. Denver Broncos (9-5): -1.2
  21. Chicago Bears (4-10): -1.7
  22. Tennessee Titans (3-11): -2.1
  23. Indianapolis Colts (6-8): -3.0
  24. Las Vegas Raiders (2-12): -3.9
  25. Atlanta Falcons (7-7): -4.4
  26. New England Patriots (3-11): -5.3
  27. Dallas Cowboys (6-8): -5.8
  28. Cleveland Browns (3-11): -5.9
  29. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11): -6.0
  30. New Orleans Saints (5-9): -6.9
  31. New York Giants (2-12): -8.5
  32. Carolina Panthers (3-11): -10.1

The Broncos will aim to improve their rating when they face the Chargers on Thursday. Denver has moved up two spots in the rankings since last week.

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Steelers fall two spots in NFL’s latest power rankings

The Pittsburgh Steelers drop in the NFL power rankings despite injuries, but their overall strength remains undeniable in 2024.

Oh, how the Black and Gold have fallen—or have they? Following the completion of Week 15’s games, recent NFL power rankings suggest so. Heading into their matchup with the Eagles, the Steelers were ranked sixth in the entire NFL, third among all AFC teams.

However, the Steelers’ loss to the Eagles spelled disaster for their ranking, dropping them two spots to eighth, now one behind the Baltimore Ravens.

Currently, the top five teams in the NFL Network’s rendition of the post-Week 15 power rankings are as follows: the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Detroit Lions, and the Minnesota Vikings.

Several high-level teams made little to no change at all—the Vikings holding steady at fifth, and the Chiefs remaining at third. It’s not hard to argue that the Steelers should have been included among these teams.

The Steelers’ loss to the Eagles was not indicative of the team’s overall strength in 2024, as Pittsburgh was grappling with several short-term injuries at the time.

As Week 18’s regular season finale draws ever closer, power rankings from multiple sports outlets will have no choice but to acknowledge the true capabilities of the Steelers.

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49ers dreary season summed up by place in NFL power rankings

The 49ers are in an embarrassing spot in the USA TODAY NFL power rankings.

The San Francisco 49ers’ rough 2024 season can be perfectly summed up by where they landed in the post-Week 15 NFL power rankings from USA TODAY.

While power rankings don’t hold weight in terms of a team winning a Super Bowl, they give a good snapshot of how a team looks from the 30,000-foot, national perspective.

USA TODAY dropped the 49ers to No. 19 overall in the rankings, which is a fine spot for a 6-8 team that is 1-4 in its division. It’s who’s around San Francisco that really drives home where their various stumbles this season have left them in the NFL pecking order.

Just ahead of the 49ers at No. 18 are the Atlanta Falcons – losers of four in a row before somehow sneaking past the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday to cap Week 15.

Just behind the 49ers at No. 20 are the Dallas Cowboys – a laughingstock that is now tied with San Francisco in the standings.

The Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots are the three teams just behind Dallas, signaling the realm the 49ers could fall into with another bad loss or two in their final three games.

As for the rest of the NFC West, they’re all way in front of San Francisco. The Arizona Cardinals are at No. 15, one spot behind the No. 14 Seattle Seahawks. The division-leading Los Angeles Rams are at No. 9.

In a year where the division was imminently winnable, instead of sitting way above the rest of the NFC West, San Francisco is looking up at them while slumming it with the Cowboys and Falcons.

Ouch.

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How Week 15 loss affected Chargers place in NFL power rankings

After their loss on Sunday, the Chargers took a little bit of a slide.

The Chargers fell to 8-6 after losing to the Buccaneers last Sunday.

After Week 15, let’s see where Los Angeles stands in NFL power rankings:

USA Today: 16 (Previous: 12)

“After surrendering no more than 20 points in their first nine games, they’ve allowed at least 27 in three of the past five, including a forty-burger to the Bucs in Sunday’s loss.”

NFL: 13 (Previous: 9)

“Holding a 17-10 lead with just over five minutes left in the second quarter on Sunday, the Chargers fell on a Bucs fumble, and the game appeared to be tilting in their direction. From that point on, Tampa outscored L.A. 30-zip. The Bolts have had some unbelievably poor halves this season, but they absolutely crumbled after halftime in this one and were completely out of it midway through the fourth quarter. It was a hard fall for this team, which has now dropped three of the past four games and appears to be treading water — at best — even with a pretty darned good grasp on a playoff spot. A few weeks ago, the Chargers looked like the kind of first-round opponent no division winner wanted to face in the postseason. Now the defense has been humbled, and a flatlining Justin Herbert is dealing with a left ankle injury heading into a big game against Denver with seeding on the line.”

ESPN: 12 (Previous: 9)

Biggest improvement: Play-action offense

“Before the Chargers’ Week 5 bye, they used play-action just 25.4% of the time. And it wasn’t particularly effective, either, as quarterback Justin Herbert had a QBR of 40.1 on those plays. Some of this likely had to do with his high ankle sprain from Week 2. Still, since Week 6, they’ve run play-action 34.4% of the time and Herbert has a 61.1 QBR. He also averages 12.1 yards per completion and 7.7 yards per attempt on these plays in that span, which is higher than the first four weeks of the season.”

CBS Sports: 13 (Previous: 9)

“That was a horrible showing against the Bucs. They have lost two straight and now face a big Thursday game on the road against the Broncos.”

Sports Illustrated: 14 (Previous: 13)

“I have been accused of being a silver linings guy and that’s a disposition I’m happy to have been saddled with. So I’ll say this after the Chargers were totally boat-raced by the Buccaneers: this isn’t indicative of some developing issue, it’s merely the point in which Los Angeles’s current level of talent and health has met the realities of their situation. I think we can all agree that this team has looked and felt different than the cardiac Chargers of the past, but Jim Harbaugh was saddled with one of the worst rosters—QB removed—in the NFL and is counting on a lot of young talent.”

Bleacher Report: 13 (Previous: 10)

“Sometimes, statistics don’t tell the whole story about a team. Los Angeles came into Week 15 with the No. 1-ranked scoring defense, slowing down mediocre and below-average offenses, some of which were led by rookies. Whenever Los Angeles plays a high-scoring opponent, its defense looks more porous than stout. The Buccaneers dropped 40 points on the Chargers at SoFi Stadium, and it should leave you questioning whether this club can hang with playoff-caliber teams.”

NFL power rankings roundup: Saints fall further after Week 15 loss

The Saints continue to move further down in the power rankings week by week as they fall to 5-9 on the season with their playoff hopes hanging on by a thread

The New Orleans Saints are back in the loss column after a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 15. This puts them at 5-9 on the season with a less than 1% chance of making the playoffs, as they continue to get closer to a good pick rather than competition.

This moves the Saints to 3-2 in the Darren Rizzi era now, and media outlets have begun to see that this is not a perfect team either, moving them back down to where they were prior to the promotion of Rizzi to interim head coach.

With only three games left in the season and an extremely improbable path left to the playoffs, the Saints are in a pretty bad spot overall, and this leaves them near the bottom of many different media outlets’ power rankings entering Week 16. Here’s a look at where they stand in the rankings of multiple media outlets, as well as where they were at this time last week:

High: 21 – Low: 26  – Average: 23.5

The Saints have a few weeks left to go up or down in these rankings, but ultimately I think the most important thing is figuring out if Spencer Rattler is your starting quarterback. After a strong second half showing for him against the Washington Commanders without preparation as the starter, they might as well give him another shot and see how he’s improved.

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NFL Week 16 power rankings: Rams continue their rise after beating 49ers

The Rams extended their winning streak to 3 games, moving up once again in this week’s power rankings

Another week, another win for the Los Angeles Rams. They’re now riding a three-game winning streak after beating the San Francisco 49ers last Thursday, improving their record to 8-6 and taking over first place in the NFC West.

It’s been a steady rise for the Rams since starting 1-4, winning seven of their last nine games to save their season – similar to the way they overcame a slow start in 2023 to make the playoffs.

With their win over the 49ers in Week 15, the Rams continued their climb in the latest power rankings. They improved their average ranking by two spots since last week, even cracking the top nine at one outlet.

The lowest they’re ranked is 14th, so Los Angeles is now widely viewed as a top-15 team in the NFL.

USA Today: 9th (last week: 10th)

ESPN: 13th (last week: 14th)

NFL.com: 14th (last week: 15th)

CBS Sports: 11th (last week: 13th)

Bleacher Report: 14th (last week: 15th)

ProFootballTalk: 13th (last week: 15th)

Yahoo Sports: 11th (last week: 14th)

The Athletic: 12th (last week: 15th)

FOX Sports: 11th (last week: 13th)

The Ringer: 11th (last week: 15th)

High: 9th – Low: 14th – Average: 11.9

After bouncing up and down throughout the year, the Rams have now settled in as a mid-tier team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. They might be a long shot now, but no one should be surprised if they make a postseason run.

With three weeks remaining, the Rams’ work isn’t done yet, but they’re inching closer to their goal of clinching a postseason berth for the second year in a row.

Broncos jump 3 spots in NFL power rankings after beating Colts

Following their win over the Colts, the Broncos are a top-10 team in USA TODAY’s latest NFL power rankings.

Following their 31-13 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the Denver Broncos are now ranked 10th in Nate Davis’ latest NFL power rankings for USA TODAY Sports. That’s up three spots from the team’s No. 13 rank last week.

Here is Davis’ commentary on the Broncos following the Colts win:

Nik Bonitto is the first linebacker since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to score touchdowns covering at least 50 yards in successive games – just one indicator of how dominant this defense has become, tied with Philly for fewest points allowed this season.

Elsewhere in the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs are ranked No. 6, the Los Angeles Chargers are ranked No. 16 and the Las Vegas Raiders are ranked No. 30. The Broncos will face the Chargers in L.A. on Thursday.

The Buffalo Bills are ranked No. 1 and the New York Giants are ranked No. 32 (last). To view the complete NFL power rankings going into Week 16, visit USATODAY.com.

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Steelers climb 1 spot in new power rankings

The Steelers are up to No. 6 in the NFL Network power rankings.

Despite all their detractors and doubters, the Pittsburgh Steelers just keep finding ways to win games and stay on top in the AFC North. Pittsburgh is 10-3 with four games to play and can clinch a playoff spot in the AFC in Week 15 with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the latest updated NFL power rankings on the NFL site, they gave the Steelers a one-spot bump up after the win over the Cleveland Browns to No. 6 in their latest power rankings. Here’s what they had to say about the Steelers:

I’ve been asked a lot on radio shows whether the Steelers are truly a Super Bowl contender, and my answer always seems to turn into a version of: Why the heck not? They have a championship-level defense and an offense that can get cooking at times. Throw in a mortal-lock kicker in Chris Boswell (36 of 39 on field-goal tries) and terrific special teams overall, and the formula is there. 

If the Steelers want to be seriously considered as Super Bowl contenders, these next three games will tell all. The Steelers taken on the Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs in a span of 10 days. The Eagles are the No. 2 team on these rankings and the Chiefs are No. 3. Come out of this stretch with a win or two and it will do a long way toward legitimizing their shot in the AFC.

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