NFL Power Rankings

My current NFL Power Rankings.

I’m going to use these rankings as the order for my 2020 NFL Mock Draft during the 2019 season. Follow @walterfootball.

I’ve gone from WORST to FIRST, so if you don’t see reverse numbering (via Javascript), don’t worry; the Dolphins and Bengals aren’t my top teams.

Updated: Dec. 17

Detroit Lions (3-10-1) – Previously: 31.
The Lions have to be considered the worst team in the NFL at this point, at least until they get healthy. By my count, they were missing 10 starters against the Buccaneers, resulting in a 21-point blowout loss.

Miami Dolphins (3-11) – Previously: 30.
If the Dolphins somehow end up with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, I wonder if they’d eschew Justin Herbert in favor of Chase Young. Herbert isn’t a great prospect, as he’s nowhere close to the caliber of Young. Perhaps the Dolphins would use one of their other first-rounders on a quarterback, perhaps even Tua Tagovailoa.

Jacksonville Jaguars (5-9) – Previously: 32.
The Jaguars tried hard for the first time in about a month. That said, I wonder if they would’ve quit if the Raiders had established a larger lead by converting more of their 10 trips into Jacksonville territory.

New York Giants (3-11) – Previously: 29.
The Giants won with Eli Manning, as the most overrated quarterback in NFL history improved his career record to an even .500. Great stuff. What’s even better is that the Giants, despite the win, still hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Oakland Raiders (6-8) – Previously: 26.
Ten trips into Jacksonville territory, 16 points. Ten trips into Jacksonville territory, 16 points. TEN trips into Jacksonville territory, 16 points. TEN TRIPS INTO JACKSONVILLE TERRITORY, 16 POINTS!!! IN THE TEAM’S FINAL GAME IN OAKLAND, EVER!!!!!

Washington Redskins (3-11) – Previously: 28.
Bravo to the Redskins, who put on a great show for the three fans of theirs in the stands and still found a way to lose to preserve their draft positioning. Way to go!

That said, the three fans had to be thrilled with what they saw from Dwayne Haskins. The rookie quarterback finally showed signs of life, playing the best game of his career thus far.

Arizona Cardinals (4-9-1) – Previously: 27.
“Kyler Murray is coming off two rough games since his bye, but it’s worth noting that he’s battled the Rams and Steelers, two of the better defenses in the NFL. He’ll have a much easier time against the Browns, who aren’t nearly the same without Myles Garrett.”

In a week where so much went wrong, I’d like to point out one correct thing I said.

Cincinnati Bengals (1-13) – Previously: 25.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Bengals are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Carolina Panthers (5-9) – Previously: 24.
Props to Football Outsiders, who were the first to point out that the Panthers were massively overrated. Back when Carolina was 5-3, DVOA had the Panthers as just the 27th-best team in the NFL. I think that goes to show how irrelevant records are. The Panthers were always a 5-9 squad; they were just wearing a 5-3 mask for Halloween.

New York Jets (5-9) – Previously: 23.
R.I.P. to my Jets over 7.5 wins bet. I loved it going into the year, but the combination of Sam Darnold’s mono, countless injuries to the defense and offensive line, and my miscalculation of how abysmal of a head coach Adam Gase is ensured that it would be a loser.

Cleveland Browns (6-8) – Previously: 22.
The Browns sure have low standards. They’re planning on bringing back Freddie Kitchens because he had a 4-1 stretch in which he beat Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andy Dalton and Mason Rudolph. That’s like a girl dating some dead-beat with a drug addiction and five kids with different women, and you don’t know why. Except, these are the Browns we’re talking about, so that girl in question has herpes all over her mouth.

Indianapolis Colts (6-8) – Previously: 12.
I’ve had the Colts as underrated for quite some time, but Jacoby Brissett just hasn’t seemed right since returning from injury. Indianapolis has been eliminated from the playoffs, so it might as well sit Brissett so he recovers.

Philadelphia Eagles (7-7) – Previously: 21.
The Eagles needed last-season comebacks to beat both the Giants and Redskins. What’s going to happen when they’re not playing some of the worst teams in the NFL? I think people know, as 80 percent of the action is on the Cowboys.

San Angeles Chargers (5-9) – Previously: 18.
Do you know how frustrating it is to spend hours upon hours trying to handicap a game, only to see the players on the team you pick fumble five f**king times? Seriously, if news breaks in a decade that Melvin Gordon bet against his own team in a battle against the Vikings in 2019, I won’t be surprised in the slightest.

Denver Broncos (5-9) – Previously: 17.
Don’t blame Drew Lock for the blowout loss at Kansas City. The Broncos just aren’t used to the snow because they’re from, uhh, never mind. Lock was absolutely terrible; he resembled absolutely nothing from what we saw in Houston. I imagine he’s really something in between at the moment, but we’ll see. Lock will have a full year to prove himself in 2020, and he should benefit from a full offseason in the NFL.

Atlanta Falcons (5-9) – Previously: 20.
The Falcons are trying their hardest to save Dan Quinn’s job. Perhaps they’ve done so, but at what cost? Once upon a time, they had the inside track to Chase Young. Then, it was determined that they’d have to “settle” for Jeff Okudah. Now, they may be out of range for Young, Okudah AND Derrick Brown!

Let this be a lesson to all NFL owners: If you have a coach you want to fire, do it during the regular season.

Los Angeles Rams (8-6) – Previously: 8.
I’ve removed the Rams from the overrated list in the wake of their blowout loss to Dallas. They’re almost officially done for 2019, as they’re a loss or a Minnesota win away from being eliminated. It doesn’t help that Jared Goff won’t be able to play well because of his thumb injury.

Dallas Cowboys (7-7) – Previously: 19.
The Cowboys tried their best to give the Rams game away, opting to have Los Angeles receive first possession in both halves and coming out of a timeout with 10 men on offense. However, the Rams said, “Hold my beer!” Sean McVay countered the shorthanded Cowboys by bailing them out with a touchdown. Dallas also was very fortunate that Jared Goff injured his hand in the second quarter when it crashed into the helmet of a teammate on a follow through. I’m not convinced Dallas has turned things around.

Chicago Bears (7-7) – Previously: 14.
It’s ridiculous that some guy won $250,000 by using Mitchell Trubisky as his captain on a recent Thursday night, and yet I can’t even win $400 by getting four points with Trubisky against the Packers! Trubisky was so confident against the Cowboys, and yet he was just as tentative at Green Bay. Hey, Bears, can you replace this idiot before I lose more money betting on or against him?

By the way, it was a sad state of affairs on the final play of last week’s game. It really epitomized the downfall of Ivy League colleges – and most universities in general – when Harvard grad Jesper Horstead wasn’t smart enough to lateral the ball to Allen Robinson for the tying score.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7) – Previously: 16.
You know the sensation of watching Jameis Winston? Bottle that up and store it in your brain. In 30-50 years, when your grandkids ask what it was like to watch the first-ever quarterback to throw for 450-plus yards in NFL history in consecutive games, you can let them know.

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6) – Previously: 13.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Steelers are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Houston Texans (9-5) – Previously: 15.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Texans are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Buffalo Bills (10-4) – Previously: 11.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Bills are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Minnesota Vikings (10-4) – Previously: 10.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Vikings are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Tennessee Titans (8-6) – Previously: 7.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Titans are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Seattle Seahawks (11-3) – Previously: 9.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Seahawks are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

Green Bay Packers (11-3) – Previously: 6.
Overrated NFL Team: See why the Packers are an overrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

New England Patriots (11-3) – Previously: 5.
Underrated NFL Team: See why the Patriots are an underrated NFL team in our Overrated-Underrated page.

New Orleans Saints (11-3) – Previously: 3.
Congratulations to Drew Brees for all of his wonderful records, but I’m sure he would trade at least some of them away for a second Super Bowl victory. The chances of that happening potentially took a hit when Larry Warford suffered an injury in the third quarter. It’s unclear how severe Warford’s injury is, but his absence would be a major hit to New Orleans’ offense.

San Francisco 49ers (11-3) – Previously: 2.
This 49ers regime is an inexperienced team with no track record of success, so that might explain why they fell victim to one of the most obvious sandwich games of all time. Missing five defensive starters probably hurt, too. I imagine they’ll recover and play much better next week against the Rams, assuming they get some of their defensive starters back.

Kansas City Chiefs (10-4) – Previously: 4.
The Chiefs have shut down every single offense they’ve faced since their bye three weeks ago. Granted, those quarterbacks were Derek Carr, a struggling Tom Brady and Drew Lock, but still, it’s noteworthy that they’ve improved against the run since their week off. I don’t know what Andy Reid did during his week off besides eat cheesesteaks, but whatever he did really paid off.

Baltimore Ravens (12-2) – Previously: 1.
Lamar Jackson looked pretty ordinary against Buffalo’s awesome defense in Week 14. He had a quad injury going into the Jets game, but looked so much better. Battling a team missing more than half of its defensive starters helped, but it was nice to see Jackson overcoming his quad injury.