NFL Power Rankings Week 16: Looking at Teams Losing the Most Ground

Even in Week 15, a single loss can send a team plummeting down the power rankings, depending on which team they lost to and by what margin.

The following three teams had playoff hopes just a few weeks ago but now have found the odds against them after notching yet another demoralizing loss.

New York Giants (This week: 18; last week: 12)

For so much of the 2011 season, the New York Giants held the top spot in the NFC East.

However, they've since lost five of their last six games while their closest division rival, the Dallas Cowboys, have won five of their last seven.

Most recently, the Giants fell to the then-4-9 Washington Redskins, further damaging their chances not just to win the NFC East but to also nab a Wild Card playoff spot.

This late-season collapse is nothing new to the Giants, who have famously been stronger in the first half of the season since head coach Tom Coughlin took over the team in 2004.

But that doesn't change the fact that with this most recent, embarrassing loss, the Giants have fallen six spots in the power rankings from Weeks 15 to 16.

Tennessee Titans (This week: 20; last week: 14)

The Tennessee Titans also had an outside chance to make the playoffs in Week 15, though the Houston Texans had already clinched the AFC South title and the postseason berth that goes with it.

At 7-6 headed into their Week 15 contest against the winless Indianapolis Colts, it seemed more than possible for Tennessee to win at least two of their three remaining games and contend for the final remaining AFC Wild Card spot. 

Now, all that has changed. The Titans fell flat against the Colts, despite holding the team to just 10 first downs, out-gaining them by 100 yards and running a whopping 25 more plays.

Turnovers were the key in this game, with Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck throwing two picks—one for a touchdown—before being pulled from the game, rookie Jake Locker taking his place. Tight end Jared Cook also lost a fumble.

To lose so spectacularly to the worst team in the league despite doing so many things better than the Colts, makes the Titans one of the week's biggest fallers in the power rankings.

Chicago Bears (This week: 27; last week: 22)

Things only seem to get worse for the Chicago Bears.

Already without starting quarterback Jay Cutler (who had surgery on a broken thumb and has been sidelined since Week 12 as a result) and league-leading running back Matt Forte (who is suffering from a sprained MCL), the team lost wide receiver Johnny Knox for the season in Week 15, after he broke a spinal joint caused by a very scary hit in the first quarter of the game.

The Bears ended up losing that game against the Seattle Seahawks 38-14, marking the team's fourth consecutive loss in the Caleb Hanie era.

Hanie won't likely be under center for the team this Sunday, when they take on the Green Bay Packers.

This would have been one of the week's marquee matchups, but with so many injuries and losses to the Bears' name, it's likely to be yet another loss for a season that held so much promise just six weeks ago.

Injuries don't have to doom a team's chances—it's how they respond to them that really matters. Chicago hasn't managed to respond well, and the result has been a four-game losing streak, a loss of their playoff footing and a continued slide in the power rankings.

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