Crowe - NFL Week #18 Power Rankings

Crowe - NFL Week #18 Power Rankings

This is history in the making. The first-ever week 18 in an NFL season. If you’re the NFL, after a second straight season living through the COVID-19 pandemic, you have to be thankful that you’ve made it through having an extra game with no postponements. Now, as if it were a network television episodic show, the NFL is promoting week 18 as its two-day season finale with two games flexed to Saturday on ABC and ESPN to extend the broadcast windows an extra seven-plus hours this weekend.

As we head into the final regular-season week, we still have three playoff spots up for grabs in the AFC and NFC as well as seeding up and down both conferences. Tennessee and Kansas City are still vying for the top seed and first-round bye in the AFC. Meanwhile in the NFC, Green Bay has the top spot and first-round bye locked up, but the rest of the seeding is still up for grabs.

It’s those same Packers who’ve comfortably sat atop our rankings for several weeks now who have the same question they’ve had for the past two seasons: are the Pack ready to complete the journey back to the Super Bowl after two straight NFC Championship Game losses? Or are the Bucs ready to make it two Super Bowl Championships in a row? In the AFC, will it be the Chiefs joining Tampa Bay back in the big game, or does another upstart team, maybe the Bengals, Bills, Patriots, or Colts challenge KC’s reign of winning three straight AFC Championships?

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

Needless to say, our bold prediction of the Browns vs. Packers in Super Bowl LVI is out the window, but at least we have half of the pick still alive, right? So, with that having been said, here’s our final regular-season power rankings for the 2021 season.

10. New England Patriots (10-6, Last week: ranked 10th)

It may have only been Jacksonville, but anytime you win an NFL game by 40 points, scoring 50 in the process, is a very good thing. The Patriots, after back-to-back losses to the Colts and Bills, got their confidence back heading into the regular-season finale at Miami and clinched a playoff spot to boot. Plus, New England may have found itself another weapon on offense as wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson replaced N’Keal Harry in the line-up and caught four passes for 42 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

9. Arizona Cardinals (11-5, Last week: not ranked)

Who are the real Cardinals? Is it the team that lost four in a row and struggled offensively or is it the team that dominated Dallas last Sunday before holding on for a 25-22 win? Kyler Murray (263 yards, 2 TDs) made every play he needed to as the Cards won for the eighth time in nine road games this season. If you’re the Cards, you definitely want to draw Dallas in the playoffs. Murray is now 8-0 at AT&T Stadium.

8. Buffalo Bills (10-6, Last week: ranked 6th)

It seems odd to say about a team from Buffalo, but maybe the Bills just don’t like the cold and snowy weather. They struggled in a week 13 loss to the Patriots and again in week 17 against the Falcons before netting a 29-15 victory. Still, with a victory Sunday at home over the Jets, the Bills will clinch the AFC East and possibly face the Patriots in round one again in upstate New York. Then again, is that a good or bad thing for them?

7.  Cincinnati Bengals (10-6, Last week: ranked 9th)

The Bengals clinched the AFC North Title in style, beating the Chiefs in an offensive shootout on a last-second field goal, 34-31. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase seemingly clinched rookie of the year honors with a 266-yard, 3 touchdown game but quarterback Joe Burrow (446 yards, 4 TDs) injured his knee on the last series of the game. He’s out this Sunday against Cleveland but he should be good to go next week as the Bengals are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

6. Dallas Cowboys (11-5, Last week: ranked 3rd)

There’s something I just don’t trust about the Cowboys. Just when you want to believe in Dallas, they lose again at home to Arizona, a team that had lost three straight games. It just seems like if the Cowboys don’t get an early lead, they struggle. Then there’s this: Dallas has only two wins over teams with better than a .500 record (Chargers, Patriots).

5. Tennessee Titans (11-5, Last week: ranked 8th)

The Titans might just be the most dangerous team in the AFC right now. Tennessee’s 34-3 rout of Miami, coupled with the Chiefs’ loss to the Bengals, gives them the number one seed in the conference, something they can clinch Sunday with a win over the Texans. Plus, running back Derrick Henry practiced this week for the first time since foot surgery in November. With a first-round bye and a home game for the Divisional Weekend, the Titans just might be right back in the AFC Championship Game for the second time in three seasons.

4. Los Angeles Rams (12-4, Last week: ranked 5th)

Give the Rams credit, they’ve won five straight games and are now just a victory over the 49ers Sunday away from being NFC West Champions. They’d have to break a five-game losing streak to San Francisco to do that. Still, if they are to be looked at as serious contenders, quarterback Matthew Stafford has to stop turning the ball over. Stafford threw two interceptions to go along with a fumble as the Rams had to rally on a last-minute Stafford to Odell Beckham Jr. touchdown pass to beat Baltimore, 20-19.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-4, Last week: ranked 4th)

Talk about the good, bad, and the ugly. The good is the Bucs rallied from 14 points down in the second half to get by the Jets 28-24. The bad was another injury with running back Ronald Jones going down with an ankle. The ugly, of course, was wide receiver Antonio Brown’s wild antics where he stripped off his pads and shirt in the third quarter while jogging right out of MetLife Stadium. Now, it’s the game of he said, he said as the Bucs and Brown argue over whether he quit or was being asked to play hurt. In the end, Tom Brady has another weapon lost which hurts the Bucs chances of repeating as champs.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (11-5, Last week: ranked 2nd)

Granted, it was a tough week for the Chiefs as they lost in the final seconds in Cincinnati, 34-31, and lost their hold on the number one seed in the AFC too. But it took a Herculean effort from Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase to do it. Despite seeing an end to its eight-game winning streak, Kansas City is still the most dangerous team in the AFC.

1. Green Bay Packers (13-3, Last week: ranked 1st)

35 touchdowns. 4 interceptions. If this is truly Aaron Rodgers’ last season in Green Bay as some have opined then he’s going down with another successful chip on his shoulder. There’s nothing to play for this week other than a 14th victory as the Pack has already clinched a first-round bye. So, the NFC road to the Super Bowl goes once again through Lambeau Field, where the Pack is undefeated (8-0) this season.

-----------------------------------------------

Games to watch in week 18:
Cowboys at Eagles – You could argue that Philly is the team playing better heading into the postseason.
Steelers at Ravens – Big Ben’s swan song?
49ers at Rams – Arguably the best game of the day with a playoff spot on the line for SF while a top seed at stake for LA.
Chargers at Raiders – Winner makes the playoffs. Both teams go in with a tie and a Colts loss to Jacksonville.

--------------------------------------------------

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