NFL Power Rankings: Week 17 Edition

With Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season is in the books, it’s time for an incredibly meaningful and serious exercise: NFL Power Rankings! What differentiates these rankings from all the others is that they’re THE only truly accurate ones in the entire universe. Hard to believe, I know. Let’s take a look at how all 32 teams stack up.

BLG’S NFL WEEK 17 POWER RANKINGS

1 – Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 1) – How could the Rams possibly still be No. 1 after losing to the Seahawks?! Well, the Rams previously beat them. And there’s hardly shame in losing to them in Seattle by one point in overtime. I mean, the Rams covered the spread as 1.5-point road underdogs in what can be considered a pretty fluky loss. This team still has the best resume in the NFL.

2 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 2) – As a team, the Seahawks deserve to be taken seriously. But it’s going to be difficult to believe Sam Darnold is truly going to come through in playoffs until we see it happen. Getting the No. 1 seed should only serve to help him out.

3 – New England Patriots (LW: 4) – Inexperienced quarterbacks typically don’t fare well in the postseason but I’m feeling like Drake Maye might be the exception to the rule. He looks great.

4 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 5) – It feels like they’ve been an afterthought for most of the season but they might end up with a first-round bye. Brock Purdy is playing his best football down the stretch.

5 – Denver Broncos (LW: 3) – They’ve been due for some one-score game luck regression but that’s not even what their loss to the Jags was about. The Broncos just got straight up whooped in Denver. It’s possible that Sean Payton’s team will fall to a Wild Card slot.

6 – Houston Texans (LW: 6) – Not great that they couldn’t beat the Raiders more decisively but they’re now 10-2 since the 0-3 start. The Texans can clinch a playoff spot this weekend with either a win over the Chargers or a Colts loss to the Jags.

7 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 7) – The Bills failed to cover the spread in a win over the Browns … but Buffalo is 5-1 straight up in their last six games. Will be very interesting to see how their bad run defense holds up against the Eagles’ rushing attack in Week 17.

8 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 11) – Hard to doubt the Jags after a high quality win in Denver. Jacksonville has the best strength of victory of any AFC team currently projected to make the playoffs.

9 – Chicago Bears (LW: 10) – The Bears rank 15th in point differential and 16th in point differential. They’re an average team masquerading as one of the NFL’s top teams. But they might very well get the No. 2 seed and there’s a lot of value in that spot.

10 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 8) – Two straight losses has the Packers trending in the wrong direction down the stretch. Green Bay is banged up and vulnerable.

11 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 12) – The Bolts are 7-1 in their last eight games. The sole loss was to the Jags, who look pretty good. This team can actually win the AFC West if they’re able to beat the Texans and Broncos over the final two weeks. Won’t be easy.

12 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 13) – The Birds have won two straight after a three-game losing streak. The competition has hardly been fierce but that’s okay. The Eagles really needed things to stabilize and it feels like they have. Now we’ll see just how much of their recent progress is for real as this team takes on the Bills in Buffalo.

13 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 14) – The Steelers’ magic number to win the AFC North is down to one. It’ll be their first division crown since 2020 if they manage to pull it off.

14 – Detroit Lions (LW: 9) – According to FTN Fantasy’s DVOA playoff odds, the Lions’ chances of making the postseason are down to 5.3%. They only have a chance at the No. 7 seed after a painful home loss to the Steelers. 2025 is much less fun for this team than 2024 was. A reminder of how things can change fast in the NFL.

15 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 19) – The Panthers are in a good position to win the NFC South after beating the Bucs. They’ll face Tampa again in Week 18 but that game won’t matter if the Panthers beat the Seahawks and the Bucs lose to the Dolphins in Week 17.

16 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 15) – The Ravens were the favorites to win the AFC North even when they dropped to 1-5. A five-game winning streak made it look like they were going to recover. But their playoff chances are now down to 2.7%.

17 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 16) – They’re just 1-6 in their last seven games. And it looks like they’re going to miss the playoffs. Disappointing finish after a 6-2 start.

18 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 17) – The Vikings have won three straight games, all against NFC East opponents. But who really cares since they’re already eliminated.

19 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 18) – Dak Prescott will officially finish his 10th NFL season with just two career playoff wins under his belt. He is the highest paid player in the league on an annual basis.

20 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 23) – The Falcons are 6-9. Nice. But not really.

21 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 24) – Three wins in a row for the Saints! And with the Titans and Falcons up next, decent chance they finish the season on a five-game wining streak. I’m usually not a big believer in momentum carrying over to the next season but maybe this is a good culture-building stretch for Kellen Moore’s group.

22 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 25) – It’s a shame we won’t get to see Joe Burrow play in the playoffs for the third season in a row.

23 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 20) – Don’t think Quinn Ewers is the answer as Tua Tagovailoa’s replacement.

24 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 21) – Philip Rivers can clearly still play. It’s a shame the Colts’ defense let him down on Monday night.

25 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 22) – The Chiefs are down to their third quarterback, Chris Oladokun. Couldn’t have told you anything about him before Googling him.

26 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 26) – Shedeur Sanders isn’t doing anything so good that the Browns shouldn’t draft a quarterback.

27 – New York Jets (LW: 27) – If the Jets are smart, they will do their best to lose their final two games and try to get as close to the No. 1 overall pick as possible.

28 – Washington Commanders (LW: 28) – Dan Quinn punted twice in obvious go for it situations and then talked tough about going hard against the Eagles in Week 18 (when Philly might be playing their backups). Loser.

29 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 31) – Cam Ward’s last two games are his best games this season. The rookie quarterback could be making some real developmental progress.

30 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 29) – Jonathan Gannon is 1-12 in his last 13 games. He is 15-34 as the Cards’ head coach. And it sounds like Arizona might keep him? Lol if so.

31 – New York Giants (LW: 30) – The G-Men came close to beating the Vikings in Week 16. They might win a must-lose game against the Raiders in Week 17 that could cost them the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft order.

32 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 32) – The Raiders shutting down Brock Bowers seems to suggest they know the assignment. Lose to the Giants this weekend and lose to the Chiefs (hardly a given!) in Week 18 and the No. 1 pick is theirs! Watch them blow it by winning both games.