Monday, December 29, 2014

NFL Week 17 Power Rankings

RankTeamPower
Index
W-LThis Week
1 (↑1)Seahawks1.0892
(LW × 1.0214)
12-4Won by 14
vs Rams
2 (↓1)Patriots1.0703
(LW × 0.9572)
12-4Lost by 8
vs Bills
3 (-)Broncos1.0081
(LW × 0.9978)
12-4Won by 33
vs Raiders
4 (-)Packers0.9889
(LW × 1.0090)
12-4Won by 10
vs Lions
5 (↑4)Bills0.9843
(LW × 1.0490)
9-7Won by 8
@ Patriots
6 (-)Steelers0.9790
(LW × 1.0178)
11-5Won by 10
vs Bengals
7 (↓2)Chiefs0.9686
(LW × 1.0044)
9-7Won by 12
vs Chargers
8 (-)Cowboys0.9476
(LW × 1.0086)
12-4Won by 27
@ Washington
9 (↓2)Cardinals0.9244
(LW × 0.9718)
11-5Lost by 3
@ 49ers
10 (↑1)Colts0.9218
(LW × 0.9904)
11-5Won by 17
@ Titans
11 (↑4)Eagles0.9155
(LW × 1.0129)
10-6Won by 8
@ Giants
12 (↑2)Bengals0.9112
(LW × 0.9996)
10-5-1Lost by 10
@ Steelers
13 (-)Ravens0.9097
(LW × 0.9925)
10-6Won by 10
vs Browns
14 (↓4)Lions0.9042
(LW × 0.9712)
11-5Lost by 10
@ Packers
15 (↑1)Texans0.8860
(LW × 0.9903)
9-7Won by 6
vs Jaguars
16 (↑1)Rams0.8802
(LW × 0.9852)
6-10Lost by 14
@ Seahawks
17 (↓5)Dolphins0.8801
(LW × 0.9531)
8-8Lost by 13
vs Jets
18 (-)Chargers0.8746
(LW × 0.9825)
9-7Lost by 12
@ Chiefs
19 (↑5)Jets0.8475
(LW × 1.0428)
4-12Won by 13
@ Dolphins
20 (-)Vikings0.8440
(LW × 1.0015)
7-9Won by 4
vs Bears
21 (-)49ers0.8419
(LW × 1.0065)
8-8Won by 3
vs Cardinals
22 (↓3)Falcons0.8287
(LW × 0.9648)
6-10Lost by 31
vs Panthers
23 (↓1)Giants0.8195
(LW × 0.9848)
6-10Lost by 8
vs Eagles
24 (↓1)Raiders0.8182
(LW × 0.9995)
3-13Lost by 33
@ Broncos
25 (↑2)Panthers0.8157
(LW × 1.0466)
7-8-1Won by 31
@ Falcons
26 (↓1)Saints0.8005
(LW × 0.9993)
7-9Won by 3
@ Buccaneers
27 (↓1)Browns0.7961
(LW × 0.9940)
7-9Lost by 10
@ Ravens
28 (-)Bears0.7615
(LW × 0.9876)
5-11Lost by 4
@ Vikings
29 (↑2)Jaguars0.7439
(LW × 1.0092)
3-13Lost by 6
@ Texans
30 (-)Buccaneers0.7334
(LW × 0.9869)
2-14Lost by 3
vs Saints
31 (↓2)Washington0.7268
(LW × 0.9720)
4-12Lost by 27
vs Cowboys
32 (-)Titans0.6698
(LW × 0.9896)
2-14Lost 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.