NFL Power Rankings Week 16: Eagles Take Flight While Dolphins Sink
Another week of football is in the rearview mirror and the playoff picture is starting to get clearer.
The Steelers and Falcons both punched their tickets to the playoffs to join the Patriots.
Meanwhile the Eagles pulled off a crazy victory against the Giants to all but ensure themselves a playoff spot.
Further down the East Coast, the Dolphins managed to eliminate themselves with an embarrassing home loss to the Bills.
So where did everyone end up after the craziness?
32. Arizona Cardinals
1 of 32
This Sunday the Cardinals lost to a one-win Carolina Panthers team.
In what is by far the league's worst divsion, the Cardinals are just 1-4.
Anyone have Kurt Warner's phone number still?
31. Carolina Panthers
2 of 32
Beating the Cardinals didn't do much for the Panthers, and now they need to be careful not to accidentally win again.
What's more important, a few moral victories, or getting the No. 1 pick in the draft?
They need to make sure they stay a two-win team.
30. Denver Broncos
3 of 32
Even Tim Tebow couldn't turn the Broncos around.
Despite having a good debut, two touchdowns and zero turnovers, the Broncos still found themselves losing to the Raiders.
Their five-game losing streak is tops in the NFL.
At least the future got a little bit brighter...
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29. Cincinnati Bengals
4 of 32
After finding out the Panthers had won their game, the Bengals may have regretted winning theirs.
By beating the Browns, they stayed one game ahead of the Panthers for the (dis)honor of last place in the league.
Cedric Benson put Bengals on his back and carried them to victory against the Browns.
28. Buffalo Bills
5 of 32
I watched the entire Bills-Dolphins game.
At the end of the game, I didn't feel like the Bills had won, but that the Dolphins had simply found a way to lose.
Ryan Fitzpatrick showed flashes of brilliance and could be the key to a good future for the Bills.
27. Washington Redskins
6 of 32
Four-game losing streak.
No Donovan McNabb.
What's going on in Washington? Anyone else think Mike Shanahan is losing his marbles?
26. Houston Texans
7 of 32
The Texans have won one of their last eight games.
How does Gary Kubiak still have a job?
25. Detroit Lions
8 of 32
The Lions won their first game on the road after 26 consecutive losses.
Their win game against a team in playoff contention to make it even sweeter.
24. Cleveland Browns
9 of 32
The Browns have narrowly lost in two consecutive weeks.
The problem is that they lost to two awful teams in the Bills and Bengals.
How much time does Eric Mangini have left?
23. Minnesota Vikings
10 of 32
The Vikings have no home stadium.
They are on their third string quarterback.
Their head coach has already been fired.
And on Monday night they got manhandled by the Bears.
There is always next year?
22. San Francisco 49ers
11 of 32
Since beginning the season 0-5, the 49ers have actually been a winning team.
Now they have to hope they can carry that trend over to 2011 because it's too late for 2010.
21. Seattle Seahawks
12 of 32
The NFC West is so bad that this Seahawks team still has a chance to win it.
To do that they will need to beat St. Louis in the final week of the season.
20. St. Louis Rams
13 of 32
The Rams still have a chance to win their division.
Crazy isn't it?
Sam Bradford has been decent in his first NFL season, and can only get better from here.
19. Tennessee Titans
14 of 32
The Titans snapped a six-game losing streak with a thrashing of the Texans.
That was just a week after they lost by two points to Indianapolis.
Are things starting to look up again?
18. Miami Dolphins
15 of 32
The Dolphins are 1-6 at home.
In their last three games, they have managed to lose to both the Browns and Bills when they could have been fighting for a playoff spot.
17. Oakland Raiders
16 of 32
The Raiders wish they could play all their games in the AFC West where their record is 5-0.
On Sunday they absolutely destroyed a reeling Broncos team.
16. Dallas Cowboys
17 of 32
The Cowboys continue to win under interim coach Jason Garrett.
They are now 4-2 since Wade Phillips' firing, and their two losses have come by a field goal a piece to the Saints and Eagles.
15. Tampa Bay Bucs
18 of 32
Tampa Bay has been one of the NFL's most surprising teams.
But, that isn't enough when you play in a division with the Falcons and Saints.
Josh Freeman, LeGarrette Blount and Mike Williams give this team a young core that will be good for years to come.
14. Jacksonville Jaguars
19 of 32
The Jags had a chance to clinch a playoff spot by beating the Colts on Sunday.
That didn't happen, so now they need to win their last two, and hope someone beats the Colts.
13. Green Bay Packers
20 of 32
The Packers have managed to lose two consecutive games that they needed more than anything to make the playoffs.
Yet, if they beat the Giants, they still have a shot at getting a Wild Card spot.
But, for that to happen, Aaron Rodgers needs to return from injury.
12. Kansas City Chiefs
21 of 32
By some miracle, Kansas City continues to cling on to a playoff spot.
Two weeks ago they lost by 31 points to the team in second place.
The Chiefs have two games they should win left against Tennessee and Oakland, but I really doubt they will.
They are the Chiefs after all.
11. New York Giants
22 of 32
The Giants let a potential playoff berth slip through their fingers when they blew their game against the Eagles.
It was really, really ugly.
Luckily for the Giants, they will clinch a playoff berth if they beat Green Bay.
10. San Diego Chargers
23 of 32
The Chargers have won six of their last seven and have a MVP candidate at quarterback in Philip Rivers.
Now they have to hold on to the hope that the Chiefs lose one of their final two games and they continue to win.
9. New York Jets
24 of 32
A week after having absolutely no offense and losing to the Dolphins, the Jets beat the Steelers.
How the heck did that happen?
I don't get it, but the Jets still have a shot at earning a Wild Card berth.
8. Indianapolis Colts
25 of 32
The Colts put themselves in position to win their division by beating the Jaguars on Sunday.
With Peyton Manning at the helm, does anyone really want to predict a collapse?
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
26 of 32
Their defense couldn't stop a Jets offense that the Dolphins had stuffed just a week earlier.
They still clinched a playoff spot, but they may have cost themselves a bye with their stumble.
6. Baltimore Ravens
27 of 32
The Ravens had an impressive victory over the Saints a week after looking sloppy against the Texans.
Be afraid of this team come playoff time.
5. Chicago Bears
28 of 32
No matter how many times I see the Bears win, I still am not sold on them.
New England did just throttle them a week ago.
4. Philadelphia Eagles
29 of 32
The Eagles want it more than any team I've seen play in a while.
Losing big on the road to a team you're fighting for the division would cause panic in a lot of teams.
Instead Mike Vick put his team on his shoulders and let DeSean Jackson finish the job.
3. New Orleans Saints
30 of 32
The Saints would have to lose their final two games to miss the playoffs.
Well that, and some other teams would have to win out.
It's unlikely, but for the defending champs, it's not a comfortable position with two tough divisional games left on the schedule.
2. New England Patriots
31 of 32
The Patriots are in the middle of a six-game winning streak.
All but one of the teams in that streak have been in playoff contention.
Is another Super Bowl victory forthcoming?
1. Atlanta Falcons
32 of 32
Every time I see that the Falcons won, I'm still surprised.
How did they get so good this fast?
They have won eight in a row and clinched a playoff spot. One more win and they clinch the division.
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