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NFL Week 17 power rankings: Vikings continue on, Chargers make a statement

vincent parise, bears wire
·4 min read

The NFL is now through 16 weeks of play, and there is still a lot to be decided around the league. Teams are fighting for playoff spots, top conference seeds, and division titles while others are battling for the best position in the 2025 NFL draft.

When it comes to power ranking teams in the NFL, we are at the point where there are a few teams that are contenders. Beyond them, about half of the remaining teams are "playoff bubble" teams, and the other half are done with a focus on the draft.

With that in mind, here are our Week 17 NFL power rankings:

The Contenders

1. Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 1)

2. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 2)

3. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 3)

4. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 4)

5. Baltimore Ravens: (Last Week: 5)

6. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 6)

7. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 7)

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 8)

9. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 14)

These are the contending teams in the NFL. No matter what your biases are, these are the nine teams that have double-digit wins through 16 games played. Winning double-digit games in the NFL is a sign of being an elite team which is why only nine have. Only two (maybe three) more will reach that plateau before the season ends. In the NFC, the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles are the teams to beat. In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are the teams to beat. Can anybody do it? The other five teams in this tier have a shot. None of them are perfect, but they all have something about them that makes them special.

Teams to Watch

10. Houston Texans (Last Week: 10)

11. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 13)

12. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 12)

13. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 11)

14. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 16)

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 9)

16. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 17)

17. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 15)

18. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 19)

19. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 20)

All 10 of these teams have a shot to make the playoffs still, if they haven't clinched already. There are mathematical ways in which it can be done for all of them. For the teams at the bottom of the tier, it is less likely than others but anything can happen. On the flip side, the top teams in this tier believe that they can challenge for the Super Bowl if they can just find a way to get hot at the right time. There are multiple difference-making quarterbacks in this tier like CJ Stroud, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, and Joe Burrow. Any one of them could be good enough to win on any given Sunday. We will soon find out who makes the dance and who watches from home with the teams in the next tier.

Looking Towards the Draft

20. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 18)

21. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 22)

22. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 21)

23. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 23)

24. New England Patriots (Last Week: 25)

25. New York Jets (Last Week: 28)

26. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 24)

27. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 26)

28. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 27)

29. New York Giants (Last Week: 29)

30. Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 30)

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 31)

32. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week: 32)

All of the teams in this tier are bad football teams. Some of them are worse than others but none of them are alive in the playoff race anymore. They've all been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. There are a few surprises in this tier. Nobody expected the New York Jets to be this bad with Aaron Rodgers. Teams like the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers (who were in the Super Bowl 10 months ago), and Jacksonville Jaguars certainly had higher expectations as well. The Chicago Bears are the only team in the NFC North that won't be going to the playoffs with Super Bowl aspirations. They have been a major disappointment, as well, but that's par for the course with that franchise. Hopefully, the draft can help them and every other team in this tier. There is a lot of bad in the NFL right now.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: NFL Week 17 power rankings: Vikings prevail, Chargers make statement