Coming into Week 14 of the 2019 season, six teams (the Bengals, Giants, Dolphins, Falcons, Cardinals, and Lions) had already been eliminated from playoff contention, with another seven looking that reality in the face. And of those potential teams guaranteed to have an early end to their seasons, the Redskins, Panthers, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Chargers, and Jets joined their ranks. There are now 20 teams left with the playoffs as a possibility, the lowest total after Week 14 of the decade.
20 teams in Super Bowl contention with 3 weeks to play (11 in AFC, 9 in NFC) are the fewest since 2005 (both AFC and NFC had 9 remaining that year).@AndrewSiciliano @wingoz @caplannfl @BaxFootballGuru https://t.co/MSfqFRrHBS
— Joe Ferreira (@JoeNFL) December 9, 2019
Of the teams that are still in this thing, only the Ravens appear close to invincible. They’ve won nine straight, and even when they have to win ugly against great teams like the 49ers and Bills, they manage to do it. The 49ers grabbed the NFC’s one-seed with their thrilling win over the Saints, but they also allowed Drew Brees to throw five touchdown passes. The Seahawks had a shot at conference superiority, but they got blown out by the Rams, who have managed to become interesting as a wild-card possibility.
Any thoughts about the Patriots as a Super Bowl contender will have to wait until and unless Bill Belichick’s team somehow manages to re-generate its offense as it did last season. You’ll remember that the 2018 Patriots lost to the Dolphins in Week 14, lost to the Steelers in Week 15, became the NFL’s best power-running team almost overnight, and never lost another game. A re-run of that would be one of Belichick’s greatest coaching feats. The Texans and Chiefs seem to be different teams every week, the Vikings have major secondary issues, and the Packers are waiting for Aaron Rodgers to become Aaron Rodgers again. As for the NFC East, where the Cowboys and Eagles are playing as if they’re in a two-way tie for last… well, don’t even get me started on the inequity of divisional playoff seeds.
So, as many teams have already been eliminated, the 2019 playoff picture is as fascinating as any in recent years, precisely because there’s only one team that appears to have everything figured out, and a bunch of teams fighting for their own positions with their own faults.
Here’s where all 32 teams stand in our Week 15 power rankings.