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Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun volition fertile each 32 NFL teams. The rankings volition instrumentality into relationship not conscionable play performance, but however good each squad measures up arsenic Super Bowl contenders, careless of win-loss record.
Here are the rankings aft Week 17:
Super Bowl favorites
1. Green Bay Packers (13-3; No. 1 past week)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (11-5; No. 2)
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-4; No. 3)
4. Buffalo Bills (10-6; No. 6)
The Packers are the betting favourite to triumph the Super Bowl, and backmost Aaron Rodgers is expected to triumph his 2nd consecutive NFL Most Valuable Player award. You can’t inquire for a amended play for Green Bay, which mightiness yet interruption done successful the postseason acknowledgment to clinching the first-round bye and home-field vantage successful the NFC.
The way to a title looks adjacent clearer for the Packers present that the Buccaneers volition beryllium without Antonio Brown for the remainder of the season. Coach Bruce Arians said the wide receiver is nary longer connected the squad after helium took disconnected his jersey and near the tract successful the mediate of Sunday’s 28-24 triumph implicit the Jets, costing the squad 1 of its champion violative players. Tampa Bay has already mislaid wide receiver Chris Godwin to season-ending genu wounded and has seen Mike Evans hobbled by a hamstring injury, which means Brady volition beryllium relying connected seasoned choky extremity Rob Gronkowski and backup wideouts Cyril Grayson, Breshad Perriman and Tyler Johnson down the stretch. Brady’s worked wonders with an mean radical of receivers before, but there’s nary uncertainty that Brown’s lack volition severely wounded the discourtesy successful the postseason.
In the AFC, the pecking bid is simply a small little clear. The Chiefs’ 34-31 nonaccomplishment to the Bengals opened the doorway for the Titans, Bengals and Patriots to triumph the No. 1 effect successful 1 of the astir wide-open races successful years. According to ESPN, the AFC’s eventual apical effect volition person astatine slightest 5 losses, tied for the astir for the AFC’s apical squad since the NFL began the seeding process successful 1975. Kansas City’s discourtesy is inactive playing astatine a precocious level down backmost Patrick Mahomes, but the defence showed wherefore it can’t beryllium trusted Sunday by allowing Joe Burrow to propulsion for 446 yards and 4 touchdowns and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase to acceptable the single-game rookie grounds with 266 receiving yards.
The Bills, meanwhile, person won 3 consecutive to ascent backmost into the premix of Super Bowl contenders. Quarterback Josh Allen has not been precise effectual throwing the shot lately — arsenic evidenced by his 11-for-26 show with 3 interceptions successful Sunday’s 29-15 triumph implicit the Falcons — but has go a unsafe limb successful the moving game. The Bills’ defence has been the existent star, however, ranking 3rd successful Football Outsiders’ DVOA. If Buffalo tin get the champion mentation of Allen this postseason, it has a bully accidental of making the Super Bowl for the archetypal clip since 1994.
The apical contenders
5. Los Angeles Rams (12-4; No. 4)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (10-6; No. 10)
7. Arizona Cardinals (11-5; No. 9)
8. Dallas Cowboys (11-5; No. 5)
9. New England Patriots (10-6; No. 8)
10. Tennessee Titans (11-5, No. 11)
The Rams’ 20-19 triumph implicit the Ravens connected Sunday was a cleanable encapsulation of the Matthew Stafford experience. The prima backmost threw an disfigured pick-six aboriginal successful the crippled and followed it up with different interception into triple coverage, but helium rallied the discourtesy down the agelong to decorativeness with 309 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game-winning people with little than a infinitesimal near to Odell Beckham Jr. The Rams mightiness person the astir high-end endowment of immoderate roster successful the league, and it showed erstwhile it mattered astir Sunday arsenic commercialized acquisition Von Miller came up with the game-sealing sack disconnected the edge. This Rams squad is acold from perfect, but it has the firepower to support up with the apical contenders successful the NFC if Stafford tin debar costly turnovers.
Of course, the Rams aren’t the lone talented squad successful the NFC. The Cardinals, erstwhile considered the champion squad successful the league successful these rankings, ended a three-game losing streak with a 25-22 triumph implicit the Cowboys to amusement erstwhile again wherefore they request to beryllium taken seriously. Former Texas precocious schoolhouse prima Kyler Murray remains undefeated astatine AT&T Stadium, which mightiness beryllium the tract of a first-round matchup betwixt these teams. For each its faults nether manager Mike McCarthy, Dallas is inactive 1 of the champion teams successful the league, ranking archetypal successful DVOA. But the discourtesy tin beryllium stagnant astatine times, arsenic it showed successful the archetypal fractional Sunday. The Cowboys request Dak Prescott, who acceptable a vocation precocious Sunday with his 32nd touchdown pass, to play astatine an elite level to marque a heavy playoff run.
For each the attraction connected the Chiefs and Bills successful the AFC, the Titans presently clasp the No. 1 seed. Tennessee conscionable needs to bushed the Texans this Sunday to clinch the first-round bye and home-field advantage, which would beryllium a monolithic boost for a squad that has not been precise awesome for astir of the season. The Titans fertile 19th successful DVOA, down 3 teams that person already been eliminated from playoff contention (Seahawks, Browns, Vikings) and 2 that are hardly inactive live (Ravens, Saints). Tennessee’s rushing onslaught has amazingly been conscionable arsenic effective since prima moving backmost Derrick Henry’s injury, but the Titans request much from backmost Ryan Tannehill if they privation to marque a Super Bowl run.
The Bengals, meanwhile, made a large connection Sunday with a triumph implicit the AFC-leading Chiefs. Coach Zac Taylor continues to beryllium aggressive, going for it connected 4th down and letting Burrow onslaught the defence done the air. The violative enactment has struggled, but the Bengals tin instrumentality a triumph thigh for selecting Chase implicit a apical violative lineman successful the 2021 draft. The rookie has been a difference-maker for what’s turning into the champion radical of wide receivers successful the league.
The chaotic cards
11. Indianapolis Colts (9-7; No. 7)
12. Los Angeles Chargers (9-7; No. 12)
13. Philadelphia Eagles (9-7; No. 15)
14. San Francisco 49ers (9-7; No. 13)
15. Las Vegas Raiders (9-7; No. 17)
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7-1; No. 21)
If 1 of these teams reaches a league title game, it wouldn’t beryllium shocking, particularly fixed however unpredictable this play has been. The Colts are a pugnacious matchup for immoderate squad due to the fact that of their ascendant rushing onslaught down prima Jonathan Taylor and dependable defense, but they inactive person to bushed the Jaguars to clinch a playoff spot. The Chargers person shown flashes of brilliance, beating the Chiefs and Bengals earlier this season, but person been maddeningly inconsistent contempt having 1 of the champion quarterbacks successful the league successful Justin Herbert. They inactive request to bushed the Raiders to clinch a playoff spot.
The Steelers’ triumph implicit the Browns connected Monday nighttime was not lone a bully sendoff for backmost Ben Roethlisberger astatine Heinz Field, but kept Pittsburgh live successful the playoff hunt. The Steelers request to bushed the Ravens successful Week 18, get a Jaguars triumph implicit the Colts and not person the Raiders-Chargers crippled extremity successful a necktie to marque the postseason. Stranger things person happened, but asking the 2-14 Jaguars to bushed a 9-7 Colts squad with a playoff spot connected the enactment feels astir impossible. At slightest manager Mike Tomlin tin bent his chapeau connected 15 consecutive seasons without a losing record.
Still hanging on
17. Baltimore Ravens (8-8; No. 14)
18. New Orleans Saints (8-8; No. 20)
There’s a crushed the Ravens’ playoff chances are lone 2% heading into Week 18, according to FiveThirtyEight. They request a triumph implicit the Steelers, positive a Chargers nonaccomplishment to the Raiders, a Colts nonaccomplishment to the Jaguars and a Dolphins nonaccomplishment oregon necktie against the Patriots to marque it in. But it’s lone fitting that the Ravens participate the past week of the regular play with seemingly insurmountable odds.
Season-ending injuries to moving backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, positive Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters, successful the preseason enactment Baltimore a measurement down earlier it adjacent took the field. Then the Ravens mislaid near tackle Ronnie Stanley, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and information DeShon Elliott, among others, and yet saw backmost Lamar Jackson miss 3 important games with an ankle injury. Despite it all, the Ravens mislaid 4 of their past 5 games by a full of conscionable 5 points. It’s hard not to wonderment “what if” for a squad that was 8-3 and atop the AFC with a steadfast Jackson.
Entering an uncertain offseason
19. Miami Dolphins (8-8; No. 16)
20. Cleveland Browns (7-9; No. 18)
21. Minnesota Vikings (7-9; No. 19)
22. Denver Broncos (7-9; No. 22)
23. Atlanta Falcons (7-9; No. 23)
24. Seattle Seahawks (6-10; No. 26)
25. Chicago Bears (6-10; No. 25)
With the offseason accelerated approaching, get acceptable for the manager and backmost carousel. Will the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa and the Browns’ Baker Mayfield commencement the bulk of the 2022 season? Will the Vikings’ Kirk Cousins, the Falcons’ Matt Ryan and the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson beryllium traded? Will the Bears’ Matt Nagy, the Vikings’ Mike Zimmer and the Broncos’ Vic Fangio beryllium fired? Is Denver going to onshore a prima backmost to circular retired 1 of the league’s champion young rosters?
When it comes to the draught and escaped agency, these are going to beryllium the teams to watch.
The basement
26. Washington Football Team (6-10; No. 24)
27. New York Jets (4-12; No. 28)
28. Carolina Panthers (5-11; No. 27)
29. Houston Texans (4-12; No. 31)
30. Detroit Lions (2-13-1; No. 30)
31. New York Giants (4-12; No. 29)
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-14; No. 32)
Continuing a forgettable season, the Giants suffered their 5th consecutive nonaccomplishment Sunday, 29-3 to the Bears. But this was nary mean defeat. The Giants recorded minus-10 passing yards — the lowest full successful an NFL crippled since 1998 — committed 4 turnovers and finished with a season-low 151 full yards.
After the game, manager Joe Judge went connected an 11-minute rant astir the authorities of the team, pointing retired that “this ain’t immoderate clown amusement organization.” He said determination are players connected the squad begging him to travel back, and that immoderate erstwhile Giants are calling him “twice a week” wishing they were inactive successful New York. He adjacent implied that the Patriots coaches feared for their jobs during a 2018 play that ended with a Super Bowl title.
Since ESPN reported Dec. 26 that Judge and backmost Daniel Jones were expected to beryllium brought backmost for the 2022 season, the Giants person been outscored 63-13. General manager Dave Gettleman has agelong been expected to beryllium fired erstwhile the play ends, but it’s hard to spot what Judge has done to merit different chance. A squad that entered the play with playoff expectations is alternatively going to person a top-10 draught prime for the 5th clip successful the past 7 seasons. Thanks to a first-round prime from the Bears successful the Justin Fields trade, the Giants person a large accidental to rebuild this offseason. Sticking with Judge could derail immoderate accidental astatine progress.
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