NFL Consensus Power Rankings, Week 15
The Packers and Colts are a perfect 13-0 and imperfect 0-13, respectively, the unanimous No. 1 and No. 32 team, respectively, and the consensus No. 1 and No. 32 teams, respectively, in our NFL Consensus Power Rankings.
Although the Packers lost receiver Greg Jennings to an MCL injury, he is expected to be back in time for the playoffs. His absence may make it harder for the Packers to finish with a perfect regular season, but the Packers need to win only one of their final three games to lock up home-field advantage in the NFC.
Meanwhile, the Colts will almost certainly land the top overall pick in this year's draft and it's a virtual lock that they will draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. However, some comments this week from Archie Manning, Peyton's father, have added to the drama in Indy. [See our updated 2012 NFL Mock Draft Database.]
Here are some stats on this week's consensus rankings:
- Biggest jump from last week: New York Giants (+2.75)
- Biggest drop from last week: Miami Dolphins (-3.00)
- Team(s) with widest difference between high and low rank: Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7)
[See this week's full rankings.]
As part of our weekly power rankings, we will feature one question that all four rankers will answer.
Here is the Week 15 question (followed by our responses): Who will be the best team that you believe will NOT make the playoffs in 2011?
John (follow John on Twitter): The best team that's going to miss the playoffs this year will be the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are very talented, and at points during the season, have been viewed as a team that could potentially challenge the likes of Green Bay and San Francisco as champions of the NFC. Unfortunately for them, it has just been more of the same December issues, as the Cowboys lost an ugly game to the Cardinals last week, and this past weekend blew a 12-point lead with under six minutes to go to their NFC East rival Giants. The Cowboys are still vying for the division, but they just can't seem to find a way to win the close games that they need to, and I don't expect a different outcome when they go back to New York to play the Giants in Week 17.
Sean (visit Sean's website): Two teams that were considered legit Super Bowl contenders this offseason, the NY Jets and Dallas Cowboys both have tough roads for the playoffs. Since the Cowboys currently are tied record-wise in the NFC East, and the wildcard picture is a mess filled with teams with huge question marks, I am going to go with the Jets as the team that misses the playoffs. The Bengals have an easy road for the last wildcard spot with games vs St. Louis and Arizona still, and Tennessee has games vs Indy and Jacksonville. Both of these teams face teams in Week 17 that may be resting their starters.
Dan (follow Dan on Twitter): For the playoffs, even though they have showed signs of life recently, I think the best team that will miss the playoffs will be the San Diego Chargers. They certainly are one of the most talented teams in the league, and when Philip Rivers is on form, he is one of the hardest quarterbacks to defeat. The Chargers have too many tiebreakers and too many good to decent teams to climb over, as it looks like they started their traditional playoff push one week too late.
Kevin (follow Kevin on Twitter): Losing to the Giants on Sunday Night Football, the Cowboys dropped to second place in the NFC East, which means they would miss the playoffs if the season were to end this week. With only three games to go, I have a feeling that the division will be decided by their Week 17 rematch. Since the Cowboys trail the Lions by one-game and lost their Week 4 matchup, overcoming the deficit to secure a wild card berth will be an uphill battle.
See how all 32 teams were ranked in our Week 15 Consensus NFL Power Rankings.
