NFL POWER RANKINGS WEEK 15

BY ADAM GREENE

The final full month of the NFL season is upon us and we have 32 franchises to rank via a system I just made up this morning.

1. BALTIMORE RAVENS (10-3)

The Ravens retain the top spot after holding off a Los Angeles Rams team that gave them all they wanted. Lamar Jackson is now, officially, 19-1 as a starter against NFC teams. Which is something that could really come into play if Baltimore makes it to the Super Bowl.  Last week: No. 2

2. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (10-3)

Brock Purdy has beaten the odds in so many ways, from taking over as the 49ers’ starter as a rookie Mr. Irrelevant to being realistically in the MVP conversation this season. It’s not a fair criticism to point out he’s playing with star players around him, because so was Jimmy Garoppolo and he never put up these kinds of numbers. Purdy, as of right now, has the highest passer rating with a minimum of 500 passing attempts in NFL history. That’s no fluke.  Last week: No. 3

3. DALLAS COWBOYS (10-3)

After being criticized, and rightly so, for not beating a team with a winning record all season, the Cowboys stacked up two of those in a row. The first, a not very impressive shootout win over a Seattle Seahawks team that will never boast a winning mark again this season. The second, against the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles a week after Philly was dominated by the 49ers, absolutely counts on every level. While Dallas is currently in first place in the NFC East, they’re probably still going to be a Wild Card team. The Eagles have a significantly easier schedule down the stretch and all the tie breaks go their way if both squads finish with the same record. Does that mean that Mike McCarthy still gets fired if the Cowboys don’t make it at least to the NFC Championship? Probably, but you know what. I’m going to surprise myself here and say he probably shouldn’t. I’ve never liked McCarthy and thought this hire was a disaster from the start, but the proof is on the field right now and Dallas has one of the top offenses in football with Dak Prescott playing the best ball of his career. That can’t be an accident. And I am more than willing to blame Aaron Rodgers for McCarthy’s downfall in Green Bay. Make no mistake. Last week:  No. 4

4. MIAMI DOLPHINS (9-4)

The Power Rankings bloodbath began on Sunday, but the wave hit the Dolphins Monday night as both favored teams playing on the first school night of the week took an “L.” I haven’t seen the new episode of Hard Knocks just yet, but I’m guessing at some point head coach Mike McDaniel must  rend his gray sweatpants in frustration after falling to the Tennessee Titans. Last week: No. 1

5. DETROIT LIONS (9-4)

Our Top 10 loser No. 2 did its work so early Sunday that by the time I put the rankings together, they didn’t even have to drop a spot because of how poorly everyone else played above and behind them. Detroit is making the playoffs and has posted a winning record in back-to-back years for the first time since the 2016-2017 seasons (both 9-7), but no one is expecting a lengthy playoff run. And, honestly, they’ll likely draw either the Green Bay Packers, who dominated them the last time they played, or the Los Angeles Rams and their former quarterback Matthew Stafford in the Wild Card Round. If I’m picking those games today, I’m picking the Lions to lose. Detroit couldn’t have been more exposed over the last month if their OnlyFans was leaked. Last week:  No. 5

6. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (10-3)

I didn’t expect the Eagles to lose two games this regular season, let alone two in a row., And these were bad losses, games where Philadelphia wasn’t even competitive for four quarters. That’s the bad news. The good news? The other great teams in the NFC, the Cowboys and 49ers, also had bad losing stretches like that this season and survived them to return to the top of the rankings. I feel as if Philly will do the same, starting Monday night at the Seattle Seahawks. Last week: No. 6

7. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (8-5)

Let me just put this out there. Kadarius Toney was offsides on that final play. He couldn’t have been more offsides if I’d turned around and seen him standing in my living room before the ball was snapped. To complain about that being called, an obvious penalty, is baby-ish whining I don’t normally expect to see anywhere outside of the  San Francisco Bay Area. Yet, there was Patrick Mahomes crying into Josh Allen’s shoulder at the end of last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. Sure, it negated an incredible game winning play from Travis Kelce that would have gone down in NFL lore forever. It would have been a highlight at Kelce’s Hall of Fame induction. But you can’t blame the refs for calling Toney offsides when he was basically lined up as Buffalo’s safety. Last week: No. 7

8. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (8-5)

Our last Top of the Rankings losers to show up are the Jags, who fell to the suddenly potent Cleveland Browns last week. How much of it was the actual talent and coaching in Cleveland vs Trevor Lawrence playing while injured? We’ll probably find out in the Wild Card round when the two teams could be rematched. Last week: No. 8

9. CLEVELAND BROWNS (8-5)

There’s an argument to be made that the Browns should be higher, but a five-team jump is pretty good for a squad coming off a close win that stopped a two-game losing streak where they were blown out in consecutive contests by the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams. Last week: No. 14

10. CINCINNATI BENGALS (7-6)

For the second game in a row backup QB Jake Browning showed up to ball. And while he deserves every bit of praise you can send his way, let’s not forget who’s calling the offense here that’s winning games without Joe Burrow. Head coach  Zac Taylor doesn’t get nearly the love and respect from the NFL community, even from Bengals fans, that he deserves. This is one of the better head coaches in the league and Cincy is lucky to have him. Last week: No. 16

11. DENVER BRONCOS (7-6)

What should not be forgotten with the Broncos is that this team started 0-4 and looked very much like an 0-4 team. At one point, they gave up 70 points to the Miami Dolphins, something that should not be possible in the modern day NFL. Since then, they’re 7-2, playing great on both sides of the ball and look to me like a club no one should look forward to playing in the postseason. Sean Payton was worth the price. Last week: No. 17

12. BUFFALO BILLS (7-6)

Cue all the WWE Undertaker popping out of the coffin memes on the Bills’ season, because that victory over the Chiefs, which should not have been controversial at all, just put this team back into the mix. And with Joe Brady calling the plays, they should stay there. Last week: No. 18

13. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (7-6)

The Vikings kept their spot in the NFC playoff bracket with a 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, the lowest scoring NFL game in the last 16 seasons. My question is, why?  Meanwhile, the “Passtronaut” has been passed up on the depth chart. Joshua Dobbs will open this week as QB3. Last week: No. 19

14. HOUSTON TEXANS (7-6)

There’s bad losses for a team hoping to make a surprising playoff push, then there’s getting blown out by the Zach Wilson-led New York Jets. You can’t feel too bad for Houston at this point. With seven wins already on the books, they’re playing with the house’s money. Last week: No. 9

15. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (7-6)

There’s two schools of thought when it comes to potential postseason teams — “No one wants to face this team in the playoffs” and “no one wants to see this team in the playoffs.” Unfortunately for the Colts, they definitely fall into the latter category. Last week: No. 10

16. GREEN BAY PACKERS (6-7)

Speaking of bad losses, the Pack looked as if they were cruising to a Wild Card spot at worst and, considering how easily they handled the Lions on Thanksgiving, were still in the mix for an NFC North title and homefield playoff game. But then Tommy DeVito, the passing paisan, took care of that problem. The Pack are still in, thanks to a tiebreaker over the Los Angeles Rams, but that loss will sting for at least a week. Last week: No. 11

17. LOS ANGELES RAMS (6-7)

Speaking of the Rams, rookie Puca Nakua has five 100-yard games this season, more than any other rookie wide receiver and is only the fourth WR in NFL history to hit 1,100 receiving yards through his first 13 career NFL games. The other three? Randy Moss, Anquan Boldin and Odell Beckham, Jr. Speaking of OBJ, he showed up to the Browns game two weeks ago wearing a Sean McVay shirt. Don’t be shocked to see him line up with Cooper Kupp and Nakua back in LA next season.  Last week: No. 12

18. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (6-7)

With a solid road victory over the Atlanta Falcons last week, the Bucs move into first place in the NFC South and are that much closer to the Wild Card blowout loss the champion of that division has coming to them in the playoffs. But, hey, at least Todd Bowles will get to pick up at least another season of game checks if it happens. Last week: No. 22

19. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (6-7)

Speaking of bad NFC South teams, the New Orleans Saints. Once again, that’s it. That’s the joke. You could say that Dennis Allen is already looking at U-Haul deals, but with his career, you’d expect he’d be on some kind of preferred customer plan at this point. Last week: No. 23

20. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (7-6)

As hard as it is to believe, not only are the Steelers still in the AFC playoff race, they’re actually the sixth seed as of today. All they need to do to keep that spot is knock off the Indianapolis Colts, who are starting their own backup QB in Gardner Minshew, with a team led by Mitchell Trubisky, a guy who seemed to target New England Patriots defensive backs on purpose last Thursday. Last week: No. 13

21. CHICAGO BEARS (5-8)

Well, as of last week, Justin Fields can finally start dancing like he’s on Maury’s stage, because the Green Bay Packers are no longer the father. Last week: No. 24

22. NEW YORK GIANTS (5-8)

At this point, especially as he continues to win and capture the hearts and minds of Giants fandom and media, the fact that I can’t craft a satisfactory Tommy DeVito/Danny DeVito joke is an albatross with a millstone around its neck I’ll just have to carry. Last week: No. 25

23. TENNESSEE TITANS (5-8)

The Titans are a well-coached team that’s in a mini rebuild that’s already paying off. The only thing that could ruin it is letting Mike Vrabel get poached by the New England Patriots this coming offseason. Last week: No. 28

24. NEW YORK JETS (5-8)

Well, it’s nice to know that Robert Saleh’s groveling at Zach Wilson’s feet paid off with a win. I’m not sure Saleh’s mom is quite as thrilled, considering her DMs being open were probably in on the deal. Last week: No. 29

25. ATLANTA FALCONS (6-7)

Which goes first? Arthur Smith from the Falcons facility or that chocolate milk stain of a mustache he’s grown to attempt to hide his identity? Last week: No. 15

26. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (6-7)

Hey, remember how I wrote two weeks ago, as I predicted the Seahawks would lose to the Cowboys, that they’d not enjoy a winning record again this season. Well, they’ve now dropped another game, their fourth straight and face an Eagles team that’s lost two in a row facing a must-win situation on Monday night. Here comes loss No. 8. Last week: No. 20

27. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (5-8)

Thanks to Justin Herbert’s broken finger, Brandon Staley got to keep his job this week. If the team loses to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night, that will probably change in a hurry. Staley might not even be let back on the plane and it’s a short trip from Vegas to LA. He’ll be hoofing it across the Mojave. Last week: No. 21

28. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (5-8)

Speaking of the Raiders, they scored exactly zero points last week in a 3-0 loss that should not be humanly possible in the NFL. Everyone associated with this team, especially owner Mark Davis, should be fired. And I know you can’t fire an owner, but still. Fire him. Last week: No. 26

29. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (3-10)

Since the rumors are out there swirling that the Pats are “moving on” from Bill Belichick at the end of the season, all that we can expect is a solid win streak to finish out the year and screw up any hope of the next regime landing one of the top quarterbacks. Burn the whole thing down, Bill.  Last week: No. 32

30. ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-10)

Here’s the good news for the Cardinals. By the time the draft rolls around, they should know everything they need to if they want to keep Kyler Murray as their quarterback or ship him out for a low first rounder and start over with a rookie. All they have to do now is not win anymore games, but at the same time, see Murray thrive in the offense. It’s a tightrope but considering the Cardinals’ losing history, I believe they can pull it off. Last week:  No. 27

31. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (4-9)

The Commanders had a full week off on the final bye of the season to figure out every way Sam Howell will throw interceptions to Rams defenders in Week 15. He might mix it up this time. Do a few left-handed or something. Maybe like a two-handed granny shot style pick-six? Last week: No. 30

32. CAROLINA PANTHERS (1-12)

And with one more loss the Panthers return to where they should be, the bottom of the rankings. Thanks to making one of the dumbest trades in NFL history to acquire Bryce Young when quarterback was just one of the team’s many problems, they should be here awhile. As with the Raiders, it might be time to take a good long look at firing David Tepper, the owner. Let’s try to figure out how to do that, for the sake of the Panthers fans, if nothing else. Last week: No. 31

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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