What this is
A comparison of APR's Week 16 power rankings with ESPN's rankings for the same week of games. This acts as a sanity check (both ways) to see what teams are over- or underrated.
Only teams with the widest differential are listed. The number in parentheses is the difference between APR's rank and ESPN's rank.
Teams ESPN likes more than APR:
- Packers (+14)
- ESPN had the Packers overrated when they were without Aaron Rodgers (and Randall Cobb), so it's fair to say APR has them underrated now that they've returned. Still, I don't think a late win over a not-very-good Bears team is worth a 4 spot bump.
- Bears (+10)
- Maybe APR has them ranked a bit too low at #25, but #15 is too high for the Bears and their awful defense. Only the Vikings allowed more points this year. and only the Cowboys and Vikings allowed more yards.
- Cowboys (+7)
- APR and ESPN both drop the Cowboys 2 spots after losing to the Eagles. This is another team with a bad defense, and shouldn't be ranked as high as #17.
- On the Bubble
- Nobody closer than the Lions, Chiefs, Broncos, and Colts (all +5).
Teams APR likes more than ESPN:
- Rams (-11)
- APR has the Rams rated way too high at #9.
- Buccaneers (-10)
- And #17 is too high for the 4-12 Buccaneers.
- On the bubble:
- Nobody closer than the Vikings, Bills, Gians, and Cardinals, all (-5)
