NFL Power Rankings Week 17: How Do the New England Patriots Stack Up?

Saturday's Christmas Eve battle was a true tale of two halves. 

The New England Patriots played as awful as I have seen them all season in the first half, as the Miami Dolphins held a 17-0 lead while Tom Brady completed eight of his 20 passes. However once the second half rolled around, it was a completely different story.

New England came out ready to play as they rallied off 27 unanswered points which ultimately gave the Patriots a 27-24 victory over Miami.

With the win, the Patriots improved to 12-3 clinching a playoff bye and remain as the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

If the Patriots want to guarantee the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, then they need to beat the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium next week in the NFL's season finale.

With that being said, let's dive right into this week's power rankings: How do the Pats stack up?

Tony Santorsa's Week 17 Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers

2. New Orleans Saints*

3. New England Patriots

4. San Francisco 49ers

5. Baltimore Ravens

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

7. Atlanta Falcons*

8. Detroit Lions

9. New York Giants

10. Cincinnati Bengals

11. Dallas Cowboys

12. Houston Texans

13. Denver Broncos

14. Tennessee Titans

15. Seattle Seahawks

16. Philadelphia Eagles

17. New York Jets

18. Oakland Raiders

19. San Diego Chargers

20. Miami Dolphins

21. Arizona Cardinals

22. Kansas City Chiefs

23. Chicago Bears

24. Carolina Panthers

25. Washington Redskins

26. Buffalo Bills

27. Cleveland Browns

28. Jacksonville Jaguars

29. Minnesota Vikings

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

31. Indianapolis Colts

32. St. Louis Rams

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