Rank | Team | Power Index | W-L | This Week |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 (↑1) | Seahawks | 1.0892 (LW × 1.0214) | 12-4 | Won by 14 vs Rams |
2 (↓1) | Patriots | 1.0703 (LW × 0.9572) | 12-4 | Lost by 8 vs Bills |
3 (-) | Broncos | 1.0081 (LW × 0.9978) | 12-4 | Won by 33 vs Raiders |
4 (-) | Packers | 0.9889 (LW × 1.0090) | 12-4 | Won by 10 vs Lions |
5 (↑4) | Bills | 0.9843 (LW × 1.0490) | 9-7 | Won by 8 @ Patriots |
6 (-) | Steelers | 0.9790 (LW × 1.0178) | 11-5 | Won by 10 vs Bengals |
7 (↓2) | Chiefs | 0.9686 (LW × 1.0044) | 9-7 | Won by 12 vs Chargers |
8 (-) | Cowboys | 0.9476 (LW × 1.0086) | 12-4 | Won by 27 @ Washington |
9 (↓2) | Cardinals | 0.9244 (LW × 0.9718) | 11-5 | Lost by 3 @ 49ers |
10 (↑1) | Colts | 0.9218 (LW × 0.9904) | 11-5 | Won by 17 @ Titans |
11 (↑4) | Eagles | 0.9155 (LW × 1.0129) | 10-6 | Won by 8 @ Giants |
12 (↑2) | Bengals | 0.9112 (LW × 0.9996) | 10-5-1 | Lost by 10 @ Steelers |
13 (-) | Ravens | 0.9097 (LW × 0.9925) | 10-6 | Won by 10 vs Browns |
14 (↓4) | Lions | 0.9042 (LW × 0.9712) | 11-5 | Lost by 10 @ Packers |
15 (↑1) | Texans | 0.8860 (LW × 0.9903) | 9-7 | Won by 6 vs Jaguars |
16 (↑1) | Rams | 0.8802 (LW × 0.9852) | 6-10 | Lost by 14 @ Seahawks |
17 (↓5) | Dolphins | 0.8801 (LW × 0.9531) | 8-8 | Lost by 13 vs Jets |
18 (-) | Chargers | 0.8746 (LW × 0.9825) | 9-7 | Lost by 12 @ Chiefs |
19 (↑5) | Jets | 0.8475 (LW × 1.0428) | 4-12 | Won by 13 @ Dolphins |
20 (-) | Vikings | 0.8440 (LW × 1.0015) | 7-9 | Won by 4 vs Bears |
21 (-) | 49ers | 0.8419 (LW × 1.0065) | 8-8 | Won by 3 vs Cardinals |
22 (↓3) | Falcons | 0.8287 (LW × 0.9648) | 6-10 | Lost by 31 vs Panthers |
23 (↓1) | Giants | 0.8195 (LW × 0.9848) | 6-10 | Lost by 8 vs Eagles |
24 (↓1) | Raiders | 0.8182 (LW × 0.9995) | 3-13 | Lost by 33 @ Broncos |
25 (↑2) | Panthers | 0.8157 (LW × 1.0466) | 7-8-1 | Won by 31 @ Falcons |
26 (↓1) | Saints | 0.8005 (LW × 0.9993) | 7-9 | Won by 3 @ Buccaneers |
27 (↓1) | Browns | 0.7961 (LW × 0.9940) | 7-9 | Lost by 10 @ Ravens |
28 (-) | Bears | 0.7615 (LW × 0.9876) | 5-11 | Lost by 4 @ Vikings |
29 (↑2) | Jaguars | 0.7439 (LW × 1.0092) | 3-13 | Lost by 6 @ Texans |
30 (-) | Buccaneers | 0.7334 (LW × 0.9869) | 2-14 | Lost by 3 vs Saints |
31 (↓2) | Washington | 0.7268 (LW × 0.9720) | 4-12 | Lost by 27 vs Cowboys |
32 (-) | Titans | 0.6698 (LW × 0.9896) | 2-14 | Lost by 17 vs Colts |
Comments:
The top seeds for both conferences occupy the top four spots in the rankings.
Bills are the highest ranked team out of the playoffs, thanks in part to a 4-spot bump on beating the nothing-to-play-for Patriots.
On the one hand, I feel like #6 is to high for a Steelers team with ugly losses to the Bucs, Jets, and Saints. On the other hand, pretty much everyone below them has at least a couple ugly losses on their record, so I can't really make the case that they should be ranked lower either.
Maybe the real observation is that after the top four teams, there's a pretty steep drop off in quality.
Unsurprisingly, the 7-8-1 Panthers are the lowest-ranked playoff team. Of the rest, the Lions are lowest ranked at #14, perhaps thanks some close wins over the Bucs and Vikings, followed with a road loss to the Packers.
Could the Panthers actually get on a run in the playoffs? After a streak of games where they were 1-8-1 from mid September to late November, they've run off a series of 4 wins. Not exaclty against the class of the league, but still better than anyone else in the NFC South can claim.
The Seahawks clinch the #1 seed in the NFC for the second season in a row, the first time it's done back-to-back since the Eagles did it three times, 2002-2004. They certainly seem to be in a good position to be the first defending Super Bowl champion to win a playoff game the following season since the Patriots did it in 2005.