Crowe - NFL Week #16 Power Rankings

Crowe - NFL Week #16 Power Rankings

For those of you baby boomers, like myself, you might remember a little show called “Eight is Enough” on ABC in the ’80s. It was one of those family comedic dramas that brought us the weekly hijinks of widowed newspaper columnist Tom Bradford and his clan of eight kids. Well, flash forward to 2021 and we give you the sequel, “Eight Isn’t Enough.”

This NFL weekly drama is dominated currently by the players and coaches from Baltimore. Buffalo. Cincinnati. Los Angeles Chargers. They’re all quality teams with flashes of brilliance at times through the first 15 weeks of the season but also with times of despair where fans and viewers alike are left just shaking their heads.

With three games left in the regular season, there’s still time for any, or all of them for that matter, to make a real run in the postseason. Until then, they’re on the outside looking in at this week’s power rankings.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

EDITOR'S NOTE: The column was written before Thursday night's game.

 

10. San Francisco 49ers (8-6, Last week: not ranked)

Remember when we were all wondering when Trey Lance would be taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback for the struggling 49ers? Well, after winning five of the last six games, Jimmy G (3127 yards, 18 TDs) has left the rookie QB in the dust and has the Niners sitting as the 6th seed in the NFC heading into week 16’s game at Tennessee. We could be looking at three teams from the NFC West in the playoffs.

 

9. Tennessee Titans (9-5, Last week: ranked 8th)

The team that the Niners will be hosting to start week 16, the Titans, now have the Colts looking over their shoulders in the AFC South race. Just a few weeks ago, Tennessee was walking away with the division, but now with Sunday’s 19-13 loss at Pittsburgh, it’s down to just a one-game lead. If the Titans aren’t careful, it might be too late by the time that Derrick Henry returns from foot surgery.

 

8. Indianapolis Colts (8-6, Last week: ranked 9th)

Give the Colts credit. They brought urgency and emotion early last Saturday night at home in dominating the Patriots to a quick 20-0 lead before holding on for a 27-17 victory. Think about it, Carson Wentz threw just five passes for 57 yards and a touchdown and it was still good enough to take down the previous number one seed in the AFC. Of course, having Jonathan Taylor cap a 170-yard rushing night with a 67-yard touchdown run doesn’t hurt either. No one wants to play Indy in the playoffs. No one.

 

7. Arizona Cardinals (10-4, Last week: ranked 5th)

You can probably excuse a week 14 loss to the Rams. You can definitely NOT excuse a week 15 loss to the previously one-win Detroit Lions. What’s worse is that the Lions had control of the game from the get-go, winning 30-12. Kyler Murray has been sacked 13 times and thrown 6 interceptions over the past five games, three of them losses. If Arizona’s not careful, they could be repeating last season’s second-half collapse.

 

6. Los Angeles Rams (10-4, Last week: ranked 7th)

Two words: Cooper Kupp. Simply put, he’s a stud that’s the unstoppable force behind the Rams resurgence that’s now put them back atop the NFC West. Kupp put up a 136-yard, 2 touchdown night Tuesday to lead LA past Seattle 20-10. He’s now got an NFL-best 122 receptions for 1625 yards. With three wins coming after three straight losses, the Rams are pointed in the right direction and tied with the Rams atop the NFC West.

 

5. New England Patriots (9-5, Last week: ranked 4th)

The first three quarters in Indy were certainly forgettable for the Patriots. The good thing for Mac Jones (299 yards 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions) and New England is that they shook off a mistake-filled first 45 minutes and fought back to make it a one-score game before losing 27-17. With a win Sunday at home against Buffalo, the Patriots would clinch a tie for the AFC East Division Title and put a huge dent in the Bills playoff chances.

 

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4, Last week: ranked 3rd)

The bad news is that Tom Brady was shut out for the first time since week 15 of 2006. The even worse news is that TB12 lost three huge weapons in the 9-0 home loss to the Saints. WR Chris Godwin is out for the season with a torn ACL, RB Leonard Fournette will miss the rest of the regular season with a hamstring injury while WR Mike Evans is week-to-week with a hamstring injury. Antonio Brown is back from his suspension to go with the recently signed Le’Veon Bell. The good news for Tampa Bay is that Bucs play the Panthers twice over the final two weeks as well as the Jets.

 

3. Dallas Cowboys (10-4, Last week, ranked 6th)

It wasn’t a scintillating offensive performance from the Cowboys, but Dallas did what they had to do, beating the Giants 21-6. Defensively, they turned the G-Men over four times putting to rest any doubt as to who is going to be NFC East Champs in 2021. Now, can they get the offense back to its lofty #1 early-season status before Prescott’s calf injury? They’ll need to if they want to challenge the Bucs and Packers in the NFC.

 

2. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4, Last week: ranked 2nd)

Stars shine in big moments. The trio of Patrick Mahomes (410 yards, 3 touchdowns), Travis Kelce (191 yards, 2 TD), and Tyreek Hill (12 catches, 148 yards, TD) rallied the Chiefs to a come-from-behind 34-28 overtime win in LA against the Chargers. Mahomes to Kelce, who darted through the Chargers’ defense for the game-winner certainly signified the Chiefs are 100% back. It’s now seven wins in a row for the defending AFC Champions who now have themselves atop the AFC again after a rough 3-4 start. This week will be a test though as they welcome the Steelers to town as Kelce and Hill are among the latest players to find their way onto the COVID-19 list.

 

1. Green Bay Packers (11-3, Last week: ranked 1st)

The optimist will point towards the Packers holding a 31-16 lead in the fourth quarter over the Ravens Sunday. The pessimist will point towards the Packers holding on for dear life as Ravens couldn’t convert on a final-minute two-point conversion to win 31-30. Either way, Green Bay sits stop the NFL with the best record in the league at 11-3 after another 3-touchdown, 0-interception day from Aaron Rodgers. This week, it’s a Christmas Day home contest against the Browns awaiting the Pack to unwrap.

Games to watch in week 16:
Browns at Packers / Colts at Cardinals – A Christmas Day doubleheader gift from the NFL.
Bills at Patriots – AFC East supremacy on the line in Foxboro.
Steelers at Chiefs – Pittsburgh’s playoff life is on the line against the COVID-19 riddled Chiefs.
Dolphins at Saints – Two 7-7 teams who absolutely need this Monday night victory to make the playoffs.

Last week:
10. Ravens
9. Colts
8. Titans
7. Rams
6. Cowboys
5. Cardinals
4. Patriots
3. Buccaneers
2. Chiefs
1. Packers