Happy Thanksgiving! We have a busy day in football today with 3 games, so let’s talk about the latest edition of the power ranks.
Even though they are not the #1 team (yet) it seems odd to have a season go by without the shouting Eagles fan pictured for a power rank post. So here he is. Yes, for the first time this season, the Eagles have taken over 1st in the NFC East and cracked the top 5 in the power ranks after beating the stumbling Giants. The Falcons remained as the top team this week after beating the Rams. The Packers moved up 1 spot for crushing their former QB and the Vikings, while the Jets fell back 1 spot to #3 for narrowly winning yet again, this time over the Texans. The Patriots knocked off the Colts to take their #4 spot, while the Colts fell all the way back to #11 for the loss.
On the bottom side, some how, some way, the Bills are out of the bottom 5! They now own a 2 game winning streak. Filling their void at #30 was their Week 11 victim, the Bengals. The Cowboys also climbed out of the bottom 5 for winning their 2nd game in a row. Filling in for the Bills and Cowboys are the new #28 Broncos, who fell to 3-7 this week, and the #29 Vikings, who are in complete chaos. The Cardinals and Panthers held on to their #31 and #32 spots, respectively.
The biggest gainer this week was the Cowboys, who jumped up 6 spots to #22 and actually look alive now with Jason Garrett as head coach. The Redskins, Ravens, and Buccaneers also jumped 5 spots. The biggest loser was the Colts, who narrowly lost to New England but actually fell out of 1st place in the AFC South with their loss. They dropped 7 spots to #11. The Giants and Titans, who were 2 of the highest rated teams a few weeks ago, continued their slides to mediocrity by dropping 6 spots each.
Today’s games feature pretty much the best and worst of the NFL. We have 2 8-2 vs. 2-8 games and a 7-3 vs. 3-7 game. In ranking terms, you have the #4 Patriots vs. #25 Lions, #8 Saints vs. #22 Cowboys, and #3 Jets vs. #30 Bengals.
Playoff Projections:
NFC
First Round Byes: #1 Falcons, #2 Packers
#8 Saints @ #5 Eagles
#7 Buccaneers @ #21 Rams
Top 5 Out: #10 Bears, #16 Giants, #18 Redskins, #22 Cowboys, #23 Seahawks
AFC
First Round Byes: #3 Jets, #6 Steelers
#9 Ravens @ #11 Colts
#4 Patriots @ #12 Chiefs
Top 5 Out: #13 Chargers, #14 Raiders, #15 Titans, #17 Jaguars, #19 Browns
Full Ranks:
1. Falcons – 81.28 – Even
2. Packers – 76.57 – +1
3. Jets – 72.37 – -1
4. Patriots – 71.81 – +1
5. Eagles – 70.53 – +1
6. Steelers – 66.50 – +1
7. Buccaneers – 64.76 – +5
8. Saints – 64.64 – Even
9. Ravens – 63.73 – +5
10. Bears – 63.55 – +3
11. Colts – 59.72 – -7
12. Chiefs – 57.61 – +3
13. Chargers – 55.67 – +4
14. Raiders – 55.27 – -3
15. Titans – 53.76 – -6
16. Giants – 52.17 – -6
17. Jaguars – 49.18 – +4
18. Redskins – 49.11 – +5
19. Browns – 47.98 – +1
20. Dolphins – 46.67 – -4
21. Rams – 39.45 – -3
22. Cowboys – 38.17 – +6
23. Seahawks – 38.14 – -4
24. 49ers – 35.58 – -2
25. Lions – 35.33 – Even
26. Texans – 35.19 – -2
27. Bills – 34.97 – +3
28. Broncos – 32.63 – -2
29. Vikings – 29.48 – -2
30. Bengals – 26.04 – -1
31. Cardinals – 21.26 – Even
32. Panthers – 17.76 – Even
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