NFL Power Ratings Entering Week 17 of the 2021 Season (previous range in parentheses):
1. Packers (1): A Christmas miracle? Aaron Rodgers sounded tremendously grateful to be a part of this franchise after Saturday win. It sure looks like he and the organization are tending toward a reconciliation that could make him the rare quarterback who plays his entire career in one place.
2. Heads (2): Your best league eight game winning streak has been fueled by a dominant six-game defensive stretch at Arrowhead Stadium. The AFC West champions won’t play there again until the postseason and must do some work in Cincinnati and / or Denver to secure home-field advantage.
3. Buccaneers (3): In less than two seasons at Tampa Bay, Tom Brady has led the Bucs to consecutive 11-win seasons for the first time in franchise history and is just four TD passes from second on the club’s career roster. . For an encore, he might also become your first two-Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
4. Jeans (4): Quarterback Dak Prescott’s notion about holiday gifts? Air Jordans for all their teammates, Four Seasons gift certificates for their offensive linemen, and four TD passes – to an RB, WR, TE and OL (something that had never happened before in the regular season) – during NFC East crowning Sunday night.
5. Foals (6): QB Carson Wentz’s notion about holiday gifts? Various meats, bourbon and Yeti outfitted their offensive linemen, and two TD passes during Saturday night’s victory in the desert. Advantage: Prescott.
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6. Rams (5): Nice (not so pretty?) Odell Beckham Jr.’s griddy tribute in Minneapolis after losing his receiving record to Justin Jefferson. LA is also proving to be brave in the backfield, Sony Michel and perhaps convalescing Cam Akers taking over from the injured Darrell Henderson.
7. Invoices (10): They host Atlanta and the NYJ to close out the regular season, which means Buffalo will most likely enter the postseason with a four-game winning streak and the AFC East crown as had been the master plan from the beginning.
8. Patriots (7): OLB Matt Judon landed on the reserve / COVID-19 list, and QB Mac Jones has been on the reserve / rookie nervousness list the whole month. New England, which will host Jacksonville next, is likely to limp into the postseason, but the team has lost significant momentum.
9. Titans (9): How crucial was the return of WR AJ Brown? He set a league record with eight receptions on third down in Week 16 against San Francisco.
10. Bengals (13): Meet the first team in NFL history with a 4,000-yard passer (Joe Burrow), a 1,000-yard running back (Joe Mixon) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins) all before their 26th birthday. years. Looks like they might be the kings of the jungle for a minute.
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11. Cardinals (8): Who cares that they fell from their prime position in the NFC West? A team that has lost four straight at home is better off making it to the postseason on the road.
12. 49ers (11): After two months of exceptional work, a poor game and a injury to the thumb in a timely manner End quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s tenure in the Bay Area?
13. Eagles (16): Very good vacation in Philadelphia, the Iggles moved into a projected wild-card slot and essentially blocked Indianapolis’s first-round pick that was originally a conditional second-round when Wentz was traded earlier this year.
14. Vikings (15): Did you know they’ve only lost twice in their last six trips to Lambeau Field? I’m just saying … there’s (more than) one chance.
15. Chargers (12): If your season is ultimately ruined by Davis Mills and Rex Burkhead, or in general by a defense that has given up more points than anyone other than the Jets, it’s worth wondering how much the Bolts have really progressed.
16. Raiders (18): As bad as this locker room may have felt at various points in a crossover season, Silver and Black could still end up in a good playoff story.
17. Dolphins (20): It is the first team to have a seven-game losing streak and a seven-game win streak in the same season, and it could be the first team to make the playoffs after a 1-7 start.
18. Crows (14): In fact, they’ve gotten over their quarterback issues quite decently. What’s killing Baltimore is the worst defense John Harbaugh has ever deployed. The Ravens have allowed more than 30 points six times this season, including two 41-point outbursts by Cincinnati.
19. Santos (17): Would they have started (or even drafted) Ian Book if they had known he would contribute to a 24-game losing streak by Notre Dame quarterbacks dating back to 2012?
20. Brown (21): Quarterback Baker Mayfield has nearly $ 19 million guaranteed in 2022. Despite his generally uneven play over four seasons, it’s a good bet that he will be in Cleveland for a fifth.
21. Steelers (19): Pathetic sight on Sunday, but especially for a defense that adds up to far less than the sum of its parts and could be in need of free agent updates in 2022.
22. Broncos (22): Pathetic display on Sunday, mostly from an offense that adds up to far less than the sum of its parts and desperately needs a quarterback upgrade in 2022.
23. Washington (23): WFT went full anagram Sunday night, getting embarrassed on and off the field in front of a national television audience. And any outdated advice? Leave those team benches in Dallas.
24. Hawks (25): His average margin of victory in seven victories: 4.7 points. Their average margin of defeat in eight defeats: 19.4 points.
25. Bears (28): It’s hard to believe that OLB Robert Quinn’s next sack will give him 18 and a new Chicago record in a single season. Less hard to believe that quarterback Nick Foles is winning games in December.
26. Seahawks (24): They will finish last for the first time since returning to the NFC in 2002. Before that, they finished last in the AFC West six times in 25 years.
27. Giants (26): Truly a commercial tragedy that a State Fromm Jake ad campaign apparently doesn’t come to fruition. (Yes, credit for this joke goes to a friend from the show.)
28. Panthers (27): Public Service Announcement: Matt Rhule Has 99 Problems, But being compared to Jay-Z it is not one of them.
29. Jets (30): Braxton Berrios is the very rare player that New York took from the New England junk heap and became a valuable contributor. He has career-best 38 receptions in 2021 and leads the league with 30.7 yards per kickoff return.
30. Texans (31): According to the NFL, Mills is the third rookie quarterback in history with at least 250 passing yards, two TD shots and a passer rating of more than 130 in multiple games. He joins Robert Griffin III and Justin Herbert … so clearly this could be two ways.
31. Lions (29): The best thing they’ve done in 2021 is put together a towering offensive line, put a pin on “Assembly Line,” which should quickly reflect the culture that head coach Dan Campbell is trying to establish.
32. Jaguars (32): His last two games against New England and Indianapolis are probably safe to start sewing Aidan Hutchinson jerseys in Jacksonville.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism