The NFL Blog: 2010 Power Rankings (After Week 17)

Power Rankings After Week 17

1. New England 14-2 (1st)
2. Pittsburgh 12-4 (2nd)
3. Baltimore 12-4 (3rd)
4. Philadelphia 10-6 (5th)
5. Atlanta 13-3 (6th)
6. New Orleans 11-5 (4th)
7. Indianapolis 10-6 (7th)
8. Chicago 11-5 (8th)
9. Green Bay 10-6 (10th)
10. New York Jets 11-5 (11th)
11. Kansas City 10-6 (9th)
12. New York Giants 10-6 (12th)
13. Oakland 8-8 (13th)
14. Tampa Bay 10-6 (14th)
15. San Diego 9-7 (15th)
16. Detroit 6-10 (18th)
17. Jacksonville 8-8 (16th)
18. St. Louis 7-9 (17th)
19. Minnesota 6-10 (19th)
20. Dallas 6-10 (20th)
21. Washington 6-10 (22nd)
22. Tennessee 6-10 (24th)
23. Houston 6-10 (25th)
24. Buffalo 4-12 (21st)
25. Cleveland 5-11 (23rd)
26. Cincinnati 4-12 (27th)
27. Miami 7-9 (26th)
28. Denver 4-12 (29th)
29. San Francisco 6-10 (30th)
30. Seattle 7-9 (31st)
31. Arizona 5-11 (28th)
32. Carolina 2-14 (32nd)

-Previous week’s rankings in parenthesis;

Movers and Shakers in the Final Week. No team climbed more than 2 spots in my rankings this week, and no team fell more than 3 spots in the final rankings. Some might wonder why the Rams-Seahawks game had seemingly no effect on my rankings. I know the Rams might seem to be ranked a little high, but take a look at the teams below them and tell me who I should move ahead of them. As for Seattle, they just suck. Sorry but they have a -97 scoring differential this season, 5th worst in the entire NFL. Buffalo and Arizona each fell 3 spots in my rankings this week. The Bills did not show up for the season finale with the Jets, losing 38-7 to fall to 4-12 on the season. I moved them down 3 spots in my rankings from 21st to 24th. The Cardinals got blown out by the Niners for the 2nd time this year. I moved them down 3 spots from 28th to 31st.

Rankings and Playoff Teams Matching up…Almost. There’s been a lot of talk recently about whether or not the NFL needs to look at the current playoff structure. I have never tried to make my power rankings correspond with win-loss records. I was surprised to realize that my top 11 teams qualified for the playoffs this season. My highest ranked team not to make the playoffs was the Giants at #12. The only playoff team not ranked in my top 11 was Seattle. The Seahawks are by far and away my lowest ranked playoff team, coming in at #30.

Patriots Finish as Favorites. Despite resting starters for most of the day, the Patriots demolished the Dolphins on Sunday, 38-7, to finish the regular season 14-2 and atop my final power rankings. The Patriots were one of 5 teams to hold the #1 spot in my rankings at some point during the 18 weeks of the regular season (preseason and 17 weeks). The Patriots held the top spot for 9 of the 18 weeks, the most of any team. They debuted in the top spot in week 8,fell out of the #1 ranking for a week, and then reclaimed the top spot in week 10. They would maintain the #1 ranking for the final 8 weeks (longest streak for any team this season). The Ravens had the next most weeks at #1 with 4 (4-6, 9). The Steelers and Saints were each ranked #1 for 2 weeks (Steelers: 3 and 7; Saints: 1-2). Minnesota was my preseason #1 (ouch).

Panthers Most Deserving of #1 Pick. The Carolina Panthers were unable to put up a fight on the final Sunday, losing big in Atlanta to finish the season 2-14 and at the very bottom of my power rankings. 6 different teams were ranked #32 in my rankings during the 18 weeks of the season (preseason and 17 weeks), but the Panthers held the bottom spot more often than any other team. The Panthers were last in my power rankings in 6 of the 18 weeks (2-3, 10-11, 16-17), including the final 2 weeks. Denver was a close 2nd, being ranked 32nd in 5 different weeks (7-9, 14-15). The Bills held the #32 spot in 3 weeks (4-6), and Buffalo and Denver tied for the longest streak in last place, each holding the spot for 3 consecutive weeks. The Cardinals held the bottom spot in weeks 12 and 13. Oakland was #32 after week 1. The Rams were #32 in my preseason power rankings.