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NFL Power Rankings: Giants? Steelers? Titans? Panthers? Find Out Sunday

Posted Dec 18, 2008 12:00PM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Giants, Panthers, Steelers, Titans

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How do we figure out this NFL season? The Giants have been the best team in the NFC all year, but after Sunday's loss the surging Panthers could catch them. The Titans have been the best team in the AFC all year, but after Sunday's loss the surging Steelers could catch them.

Yes, we've got a wonderful pair of games on Sunday, with the Top 4 teams in our NFL Power Rankings taking each other on and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs on the line. Our rankings of the Big 4 -- and the other 28 -- are below.

  • 1. Steelers (11-3) | Prev.: 2
    I believe the officials on the field got the call right -- and the referee got the replay review wrong -- on Pittsburgh's game-winning touchdown against the Ravens. But I think the Steelers would have scored on the next play anyway, and I think the drive leading up to that touchdown, against a tough Ravens defense, was the stuff that great teams are made of.

  • 2. Giants (11-3) | Previous Week: 1
    Well, my theory that the Giants wouldn't miss Plaxico Burress isn't looking so hot now, is it? Still, I expect the Giants to beat the Panthers on Sunday, and that will make them favorites to get back to the Super Bowl.
  • 3. Panthers (11-3) | Prev.: 5
    How many people thought the Panthers would have a real chance at home-field advantage? That was a very impressive thumping Steve Smith put on the depleted Broncos secondary on Sunday.
  • 4. Titans (12-2) | Prev.: 3
    The way the Titans lost to the Texans was pretty much the way I think they're going to lose at some point in the playoffs: The defense gives up a few too many yards and Kerry Collins can't get the offense going. The Titans are a good team, but Houston pretty much provided the road map for beating them.
  • 5. Colts (10-4) | Prev.: 7
    Has there ever been a wild card team that looks like it has a better chance of running the table than these Colts? They're probably going to be favored in their first playoff game, they've already won at Pittsburgh, and a lot of people would pick them to win at Tennessee. I'm not saying the Colts will win three road games in January, but they certainly can.
  • 6. Ravens (9-5) | Prev.: 4
    I can't say enough about this Ravens defense. Pittsburgh's running backs, Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore, combined for 21 carries and 63 yards Sunday. It's been 32 games -- two full seasons -- since a running back had 100 yards against Baltimore.
  • 7. Eagles (8-5-1) | Prev.: 8
    I still have no idea how this team could tie the Bengals (and neither does Donovan McNabb). They're probably going to miss the playoffs, but if they somehow get in they are, like the Colts, a real threat to win three road games.
  • 8. Cowboys (9-5) | Prev.: 9
    The Cowboys have an incredible 25 sacks in their last four games. Whether they can pressure Joe Flacco on Saturday and Donovan McNabb in Week 17 will be the single most important factor determining whether they make the playoffs.
  • 9. Buccaneers (9-5) | Prev.: 6
    Of all the NFC wild card contenders, the Bucs got the best schedule to end the season: Two home games, against the Chargers and Raiders. There's no reason this team shouldn't get to 11-5.
  • 10. Falcons (9-5) | Prev.: 13
    I've still got them below the Bucs because they barely beat the Bucs, in overtime, at home. But it's amazing that we've now reached the point where the Falcons are a Top 10 team. Every once in a while a bad team makes all the right off-season moves, and that's exactly what the Falcons did this year: From hiring Mike Smith to signing Michael Turner to drafting Matt Ryan, the Falcons never stepped wrong.
  • 11. Jets (9-5) | Prev.: 10
    Yes, they pulled out a close win in a division game, and I'd still call the Jets the favorites in the AFC East. But with the way their defense is playing against the run, it's hard to have any confidence in this team in the playoffs.
  • 12. Patriots (9-5) | Prev.: 11
    Tom Brady appeared at a charity event but wouldn't say how his knee is doing, explaining that coach Bill Belichick doesn't like the players to talk about their condition. He did say he still lives and dies with every Patriots win and loss, though.
  • 13. Vikings (9-5) | Prev.: 18
    Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was the NFC offensive player of the week, and if he can keep playing the way he did against the Cardinals, the Vikings are going to be real threats in the playoffs. Remember, Minnesota still has a chance to earn a bye week in the NFC playoffs, thanks to drawing the Giants in Week 17.
  • 14. Cardinals (8-6) | Prev.: 12
    With five Pro Bowlers, the Cardinals had their most in any year since 1977. That says a lot about how horrible the Cardinals have been through the years, but it also says a lot about what a good job their general manager, Rod Graves, has done. Building the Cardinals into a playoff team -- even in the weak NFC West -- is a tremendous achievement.
  • 15. Dolphins (9-5) | Prev.: 15
    And speaking of tremendous achievements, Bill Parcells might just be the best general manager (or executive vice president of football operations or whatever they want to call him) in NFL history. This is the second time a 1-15 team has hired Parcells and won nine games the next year. His ability to take terrible teams and instantly turn them into good ones is amazing.
  • 16. Bears (8-6) | Prev.: 19
    The Bears' slim playoff hopes are that they win their last two and the Vikings lose their last two. That's not out of the question -- Chicago plays Green Bay and Houston while Minnesota plays Atlanta and the Giants -- but I don't think too many Bears fans are counting on it.
  • 17. Texans (7-7) | Prev.: 20
    Much respect to Texans defensive end Mario Williams, who is in the Pro Bowl while the two guys everyone wanted Houston to draft in 2006 -- Reggie Bush and Vince Young -- will not be making any trips to Hawaii without buying a ticket.
  • 18. Broncos (8-6) | Prev.: 14
    That was a pretty horrible performance the Broncos put up against the Panthers on Sunday. They should beat Buffalo this week to clinch the AFC West, but if they're in the playoffs, the credit goes to a bad division and a bad call by Ed Hochuli in Week 1.
  • 19. Saints (7-7) | Prev.: 17
    Reggie Bush will miss the last two games. Meaning the Saints' offense will be better because Pierre Thomas will get more touches.
  • 20. Redskins (7-7) | Prev.: 16
    Redskins coach Jim Zorn began the week saying, "I feel like the worst coach in America." Then in the middle of the week he modified his comments by saying he's "probably" not the worst coach in America. That's what I call confidence.
  • 21. Bills (6-8) | Prev.: 21
    How bad have things gotten for the Bills? They're considering putting in someone named Gibran Hamdan as their starting quarterback for the final two games of the season.
  • 22. Chargers (6-8) | Prev.: 25
    That was an amazing comeback win the Chargers pulled out against Kansas City, keeping them in the AFC West race for at least one more week. So maybe I should say something positive about the Chargers this week, but instead I'll say something negative: Antonio Gates is absolutely, positively, not a Pro Bowler this year, and it's silly that he was selected. He's having his worst receiving season since his rookie year, and he's a lousy blocker. I'm not sure he's one of the 10 best tight ends in the AFC this year. He's definitely not one of the two best.
  • 23. Jaguars (5-9) | Prev.: 26
    About the only thing left for the Jaguars to do this season is play spoiler to another team's playoff hopes, either against the Colts tonight or against the Ravens in Week 17. The Jaguars have the talent to beat either of those teams (and already beat the Colts this year) but they basically look like a team that's ready to pack it in.
  • 24. Packers (5-9) | Prev.: 22
    The Packers have had a bad season, but that doesn't mean Mike McCarthy is a bad coach. Let's not forget, McCarthy took over a 4-12 team after the 2005 season. He's hit a bump in the road this year, but on balance, he's made the Packers a lot better.
  • 25. 49ers (5-9) | Prev.: 23
    If linebacker Patrick Willis played on a better team, we'd be talking about him as one of the truly elite young players in the league. He's the first 49er since Ronnie Lott to make the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons in the league.
  • 26. Browns (4-10) | Prev.: 24
    The Browns scored a touchdown in the 30-10 loss to the Eagles, but it was on an interception return in garbage time. The offense has run 262 plays since the last time it scored.
  • 27. Seahawks (3-11) | Prev.: 28
    Listening to Mike Holmgren talk this week, before his last home game as the coach in Seattle, you get the feeling that he regrets his decision to make 2008 his final year. Holmgren seems to wish he could come back in 2009 and get this team turned around -- or wish that he had left after a better season in 2007. That makes me think he'll be back coaching again some day.
  • 28. Bengals (2-11-1) | Prev.: 29
    I always like seeing teams keep playing hard even when they're out of the playoff race, and the Bengals did that against the Redskins. Of course, the Redskins are the exact opposite: A team that stopped playing hard even though it was still in the playoff race.
  • 29. Raiders (3-11) | Prev.: 27
    I was glad to see cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha make the Pro Bowl, despite the Raiders' horrid season. The Pro Bowl is about individual achievement, and no individual defensive back has played better than Asomugha this year.
  • 30. Chiefs (2-12) | Prev.: 31
    The way the Chiefs choked away a win against the Chargers might have been the last straw for Herm Edwards. I've always liked Herm, but this is a results business, and the results for Edwards have been a 19-44 record in his last four seasons as a head coach.
  • 31. Rams (2-12) | Prev.: 30
    You could actually make a pretty good case that the Rams have been worse than the Lions, all things considered, this season. St. Louis has played an easier schedule than Detroit and has suffered more blowout losses than Detroit. But since the Rams found a way to win two games, I'll keep them out of the bottom.
  • 32. Lions (0-14) | Prev.: 32
    There's talk in Detroit that a lot of Lions fans want this team to lose its last two games and become the first 0-16 team in history. It makes sense. It would be the perfect ending to the Matt Millen era.

Tags: NFL+Power+Rankings, NflPowerRankings

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