The NFL Blog: Power Rankings (After Week 15)

Power Rankings After Week 15

1. Pittsburgh 11-3 (2nd)
2. New York Giants 11-3 (1st)
3. Tennessee 12-2 (3rd)
4. Indianapolis 10-4 (4th)
5. Baltimore 9-5 (5th)
6. Carolina 11-3 (6th)
7. Philadelphia 8-5-1 (8th)
8. Dallas 9-5 (NR)

-Previous week’s ranking in parenthesis;

Out: Tampa Bay (7th);


Explanation: My power rankings changed at the top and bottom this week but not in the middle. For the first time since week 3, a team other than the Titans and Giants holds the top spot in my rankings. The Pittsburgh Steelers moved to 11-3 on the year with their controversial win over the Ravens on the road on Sunday and I decided to move them up a spot to 1st for the first time this season. The Giants had been the top team in my rankings for the previous 3 weeks but I dropped them down a spot to 2nd after they lost to the Cowboys on the road for their second defeat in a row to fall to 11-3. I kept the Titans at #3 for the 4th week in a row after they lost by a point to the Houston Texans on the road to fall to 12-2. While I’m definitely concerned about the injury situations of both the Giants and Titans, and I’m concerned that both teams may have peaked too early, I’m not yet ready to move them below any of the other teams in the League. The Colts won by 10 over the Lions to go to 10-4 and they are one of the hottest teams in the League, but I decided to keep them in the number 4 spot because I still think they’d lose to the Giants or Titans on a neutral field. I kept the Ravens in the #5 spot despite the fact that they lost at home to Pittsburgh to fall to 9-5. They lost on a controversial call to the top team in the NFL and I didn’t think that warranted a move down in the rankings. Carolina is now 11-3 after they won by 20 over the Broncos in week 15 but I kept them in the number 6 spot because I still have doubts about how good they really are. I moved the Eagles up a spot from 8th to 7th this week after they handled the Browns easily at home on Monday night for their 3rd straight win. Tampa Bay had been 7th in my rankings but I moved the Bucs out of my top 8 after they lost in OT on the road to the Falcons to fall to 9-5. I know that it seems harsh to drop them out of the rankings after such a tough loss but they would probably be my #9 team in a top 9. The Bucs were the only team to fall out of my rankings this week. The new team in my rankings this week was Dallas at #8. I moved the Cowboys back into rankings after a 1 week absence following their impressive 20-8 win over the Giants on Sunday night.