NFL Power Rankings Week 15: Will Michael Vick’s Eagles Surge to the Top?
NFL Power Rankings for Week 15 might seem a bit premature, as there are still two games left on the schedule for Week 14.
Nevertheless, we here at Bleacher Report believe we've seen enough, and that it's time to proceed with our Power Rankings.
Luckily for us, it was a heck of a weekend. Peyton Manning and the Colts got back on track, the Falcons kept rolling against Carolina, the Chargers beat up on the Matt Cassel-less Chiefs, the Patriots had a nice snow day against the Bears and Mike Vick led the Eagles to a big prime time win over the Cowboys.
So without further adieu, here are you exclusive NFL Power Rankings for Week 15.
The Bottom Of The Barrel
1 of 21
32. Carolina Panthers: That big blip on their radar has been designated "Andrew Luck."
31. Cincinnati Bengals: It really looks like Carson Palmer could give a crap where he's throwing the ball these days.
30. Denver Broncos: You know you're on a sinking ship when you lose 43-13 to the freakin' Cardinals.
29. Detroit Lions: They probably lose if they don't knock Aaron Rodgers out of the game. Good strategy, I guess.
28. Arizona Cardinals: The strong start to the John Skelton era owes a lot to Jay Feely and six Broncos turnovers.
27. Washington Redskins: It is so fitting that a gaff like that failed PAT would happen to the Redskins.
26. Tennessee Titans: At least they looked alive against the Colts. And that's a change.
25. San Francisco 49ers: Speaking of looking alive, how about Alex Smiths. Three touchdowns.
24. Buffalo Bills: Nobody gets three wins like the Buffalo Bills! Three out of five for them.
23. Cleveland Browns: They really need Colt McCoy back in the saddle.
22. Seattle Seahawks: Matt Hasselbeck did his best Brett Favre impression on Sunday.
21. Dallas Cowboys: Close, but no cigar against Vick and the Eagles. At least Tashard Choice got Mike Vick's autograph.
20. Minnesota Vikings
2 of 21
Regardless of whether or not Brett Favre plays on Monday night against the Giants, the Vikings are definitely a much better team with Leslie Frazier at the controls than they were with Brad Childress.
It's not so much that they have a better scheme or anything of the sort. It has more to do with their general effort and level of enthusiasm, which has manifested itself in the form of a two game winning streak.
Here's hoping they win one for the Dome tomorrow night.
19. Houston Texans
3 of 21
The Texans may be losers five of their last six, but the fact that they can be as high as No. 19 is a fine testament to just how dreadful the rest of the league is.
But oh well. If I must provide some silver lining, I will point out that Arian Foster is still leading the league in rushing to this point, and is the only back in the NFL that's averaging better than 100 yards per game.
But where there's talk of offense, there's talk of defense. And that's where the conversation turns sour as far as the Texans are concerned. There are only three teams in the league that give up more yards per game than they do, and nobody gives up more yards through the air than they do.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
18. St. Louis Rams
4 of 21
Sam Bradford and the Rams were badly overmatched against the Saints, but they are still your NFC West leads thanks to Seattle's huge loss at San Francisco.
I know, I know. It's depressing that a 6-7 team could be a division leader, but such is life in the NFC West,
Regardless, better the Rams than some other team. They have a lot of young talent at all the places you'd prefer to have it, and they're going to be good for years to come if Bradford continues to mature.
17. Oakland Raiders
5 of 21
Thanks mainly to the unstoppable force that is Darren McFadden, the Raiders had their chances against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But any team that gives up 31 points in the second half deserves whatever happens to them.
As such, the Raiders probably deserved worse than a close 38-31 loss. Their tackling in the third and fourth quarters was atrocious, and the defense as a whole just seemed like it was completely overmatched.
And shoot, maybe it was. If so, hats off to the Jags.
16. Miami Dolphins
6 of 21
It figures that the only thing people would want to talk about after Miami's 10-6 win over the New York Jets would be the antics of some misguided jackass on the Jets' sideline.
But you know what, I think they'll take it. Indeed, any win in which you gain just 131 yards and turn the ball over three times is one you're glad to have.
In addition, they should probably all write to Mark Sanchez and thank him in print for going 17-of-44.
15. Indianapolis Colts
7 of 21
As much as I think we all want to issue kindhearted pats on the back to Peyton Manning and the Colts for ending their dreadful three-game skid, I suppose it's my task to be a Negative Nelson.
Yes, Peyton did indeed look like his old self again in throwing for 319 yards, two touchdowns, and no picks. But look who they beat. The Titans have lost six in a row, and have easily become one of the most depressing teams in the league to behold.
I don't know about you, but I need to see what Indy does against Jacksonville before they can scurry back up the rankings.
14. San Diego Chargers
8 of 21
The Chargers dominated the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs about as badly as you can dominate somebody.
They torched Kansas City for 426 total yards, controlled the ball for better than 40 minutes, scored 31 points, and held the Chiefs to zero points and just 67 total yards.
Wow. Not to be overlooked is that they also rushed for over 200 yards. Looks like that loss to Oakland was but a bump in the road.
13. Kansas City Chiefs
9 of 21
Is it fair to give the Chiefs a mulligan for losing 31-0 to the Chargers without the services of Matt Cassel?
I think so. After all, Cassel still has 23 touchdown passes, and the best touchdown-to-interception ratio for anybody not named Tom Brady (27/4 to 23/4). One would think that the Chiefs would have managed better than just 67 total yards had he been under center.
And in actuality, maybe Cassel's appendix picked a good week to explode. The Chiefs are still in first place even after their bad loss, and they will win the West as long as they win out.
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10 of 21
There was absolutely no luck involved in Tampa Bay's 17-16 win over the Washington Redskins. Nope, none at all.
That was a joke.
But seriously, the Bucs are still better than they get credit for. At 8-5, they have the same record as teams like the Packers, Chiefs, and Jaguars. In fact, I suppose the only reason we don't give them credit for having won eight games is because they tend to do it with a severe lack of style points.
But no matter. A few more pieces here and there, and the Bucs could be a playoff team next year.
11. Green Bay Packers
11 of 21
The Packers' biggest concern right now is not that they lost to the Detroit Lions by a final score of 7-3.
Indeed, if you didn't know that Aaron Rodgers' had suffered his second concussion of the season, that would sound like the craziest thing anybody has ever said.
But make no mistake, if Rodgers has to miss more than a week of action, the Packers are doomed. With the Giants and Saints doing work elsewhere in the NFC, their ticket into the playoffs is the NFC North crown. And they won't get that with Rodgers on the shelf.
10. New York Jets
12 of 21
The Jets have some serious issues. That much is certain. They've lost two in a row, and have looked bad doing it.
But if you extend your gaze even beyond the last two weeks, the Jets still don't really look all that great. If you look at their last 10 games, they've played seven games against teams with worse than .500 records.
Those are the only seven games that they won. In other words, they're basically a group of phonies that can't go toe-to-toe with teams their own size.
As for the whole tripping episode, it's one of the most bush league things I for one have ever seen.
9. Chicago Bears
13 of 21
Coming into Sunday's action, the Bears boasted one of the best defenses in the league, at least as far as the stats are concerned. They allowed an average of just 16 points and just barely better than 300 yards per game.
Against the Patriots, they gave up 475 yards and 29 points (the Pats' other touchdown came on defense), all of which came under conditions that had no earthly business being kind to any kind of offense.
But the Bears shouldn't be punished too much. It's not their fault they ran into a buzz saw.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars
14 of 21
The idea that Jacksonville could be as high as No. 8 in any list baffles even me.
But then I remember that I had the pleasure (or because I'm a Raiders fan, the displeasure) of watching them run all over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday afternoon, in which they pulled out a 38-31 win in a game that they trailed 17-10 at halftime.
True, they got a little help from the Raiders' atrocious tackling. But when a team rushes for 234 yards, it's hard to say that it was entirely because of bad defense. Especially when I for one know for a fact that Maurice Jones-Drew, a graduate of the great De La Salle High School, is a true BAMF. Six straight 100-yard games for him.
7. New York Giants
15 of 21
It's been an interesting weekend for the football Giants. First they get stuck in Kansas City en route to Minnesota, then Minnesota's stadium collapses in on itself, and now they have to play a Monday night game in Detroit.
Through it all, however, they've been afforded a chance to move up the ranks my merit of the losses of others.
Nevertheless, the Giants are still a deserving team. They're won their last two games, the most recent of which was a stomping of the Redskins in which they forced six turnovers. They've also revived Brandon Jacobs, which should scare opposing defenses.
6. Philadelphia Eagles
16 of 21
Indeed, it was quite the tease, but the Eagles aren't No. 1 quite yet.
That being said, they showed true grit in their win over the Cowboys on Sunday night, particularly in their ability to dial up a big play when they need one. Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson are a dangerous mix.
In addition, Vick is apparently good enough to make opposing players ask for his autograph.
5. Baltimore Ravens
17 of 21
The Ravens get the pleasure of facing the Houston Texans and their semi-permeable defense on Monday Night Football, which should equal a ninth win for them.
If so, they'll move to within a game of the Steelers in the AFC North, who were lucky to beat the Ravens in Week 13.
I can guarantee you that this is a team nobody wants to face in the playoffs.
4. New Orleans Saints
18 of 21
Despite the fact they're 10-3 and winners of six games in a row, you almost get the feeling that the Saints are flying under the radar. This has a lot to do, I suspect, with the success of the Atlanta Falcons and the general bias for all things in the AFC.
But damn the bias, says I. The Saints are No. 4 in my book. They've got the offense working for them again, and their defense continues to be one of the more underrated units in football (allowing just 18.9 points per game).
By the way, the first person that identifies the characters on Tracy Porter's head gets a prize.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
19 of 21
The Steelers did their thing against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon. That basically means they put forth a studly defensive effort that limited the Bengals to 190 total yards that also saw the Steelers get two defensive touchdowns.
At the end of the day, the Steelers walked away with their 10th win of the season and their fourth victory in a row. It won't be long before they punch their ticket to the playoffs.
2. Atlanta Falcons
20 of 21
The Falcons enjoyed what was basically a gimme win on Sunday with their 31-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers, who are now 1-11.
But oh well. Atlanta is obviously still a great team with great individual players, and they've won seven games in a row. If they can secure home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, they're as good a bet as anyone to end up in the Super Bowl.
1. New England Patriots
21 of 21
The Patriots dominated the Chicago Bears and their vaunted defense from start to finish on Sunday, winning their fifth game in a row to run their record to 11-2.
If snow and a great defense can't slow Tom Brady and the Pats, I don't know what will. They're the best team in the NFL until proven otherwise.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")