Week 16 NFL Power Rankings: Patriots on top, Saints and Bills climb, 49ers crash

28. No sweep for the Raiders this season, as they lost again. They have major rebuilding ahead.. (2-12). Previous: 32nd. Oakland Raiders. 32. team

52. They had more fight in them than normal against the Ravens, but fell short in the end. Who knows what the future holds for this team, but at some point, the Jags have to change their ways.. (2-12). Previous: 31st. Jacksonville Jaguars. 31. team

35. Riddled with injuries, poor play, just bad all around.. (2-12). Previous: 29th. Tennessee Titans. 30. team

(2-12). Previous: 28th. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 29. team. 48. They hung in against the Panthers, but couldn’t pull off the upset. That last gasp looked horrible. I don’t know what is going to fix this team, but don’t expect things to change against the Packers.

30. When you have two bad teams playing each other, someone has to emerge victorious. The Jets did just that on the road, and look to play spoilers down the road. We’re smarter than that though.. (3-11). Previous: 30th. New York Jets. 28. team

(5-9). Previous: 24th. Chicago Bears. 26. team. 57. This team is bad, I mean <em>really</em> bad. I don’t know what was worse – the play or the fact the media failed to show up to the  post-game press conference for Jay Cutler.

Previous: 26th. New York Giants. 25. team. 31. Odell Beckham Jr. is something special, and if the Giants can keep building off of him, they’ll improve tremendously.. (5-9)

44. The league’s worst defense can’t carry this team. They have to hope for some help this week, and beat the Saints in the Superdome. Time is running out for Mike Smith.. (5-9). Previous: 22nd. Atlanta Falcons. 24. team

23. team. 87. They’re still very alive in the NFC South, but they have to take care of business against the Browns, and hope that the Falcons can beat the Saints. Cam Newton isn’t a lock to play this weekend either.. (5-8-1). Previous: 23rd. Carolina Panthers

team. 60. They virtually controlled the entire game against the Lions, but fell apart in the end. What was up with that 68-yard field goal try? That final play looked like poop.. (6-8). Previous: 21st. Minnesota Vikings. 22

Previous: 25th. New Orleans Saints. 21. team. 15. Signs of major improvement with a victory over Chicago, but is that because the Bears were that bad, or the Saints were that good? I want to see what they’re made of against the Falcons, then I’ll look at ranking them higher.. (6-8)

Previous: 20th. St. Louis Rams. 20. team. 51. That was more like the Rams we expected, as they missed out on a real opportunity to spoil the Cardinals’ bid for the NFC West crown. They hope to at least finish the year at .500, and it’ll be fun to see how they fare against Odell Beckham and company.. (6-8)

team. 10. They moved to 0-13 against the Colts in Indianapolis, and are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs now. They host the Ravens, and both need a win. Will that defense show up to take one from them?. (7-7). Previous: 19th. Houston Texans. 19

team. 53. Johnny Flopball couldn’t get anything go whatsoever, as the Bengals shut them out to spoil his debut. The Browns are going to finish with a much better record as opposed to recent years. Maybe Manziel turns it around against the Panthers?. (7-7). Previous: 18th. Cleveland Browns. 18

The wheels have completely fallen off for the Niners, as they were eliminated from playoff contention by their hated rival, the Seahawks. Harbaugh’s future is in doubt, and one wonders if it’s going to get worse.. (7-7). Previous: 13th. San Francisco 49ers. 17. team. 42

Miami Dolphins. 16. team. 59. Two back to back losses really put the Dolphins in a bind for their postseason quest. Luckily, they have Minnesota and New York (Jets) to close out their season, so there’s still hope, but they have to beat those type of teams to make us believers.. (7-7). Previous: 14th

13. It’s quickly becoming a season of what ifs for the Bolts. They desperately needed a win over the Broncos, but failed to deliver. Now they have to hope a short trip to San Francisco will keep their postseason hopes alive.. (8-6). Previous: 13th. San Diego Chargers. 15. team

14. team. 124. I’m breaking my cardinal rule of ranking up teams by beating horrible teams, but the Chiefs look better than the previous two teams.. (8-6). Previous: 15th. Kansas City Chiefs

(8-6). Previous: 17th. Buffalo Bills. 13. team. 16. The Bills handled Aaron Rodgers and the Packers high-powered offense with ease it seemed. Imagine if they had a powerful offense to compliment that.

team. 26. The Jags actually gave the Ravens a run for their money in a classic trap game. Luckily, the Ravens were able to hold them at bay and emerge victorious. They’re clinging by a thread to that last playoff spot in the AFC.. (9-5). Previous: 12th. Baltimore Ravens. 12

Pittsburgh Steelers. 11. team. 55. It would be a scary thought to see Le’Veon Bell and Big Ben in the postseason. They were able to fend off those pesky Falcons, and are quite alive in the playoffs. They might be a huge underdog team when it’s all said and done. They have a huge game against the Chiefs this weekend.. (9-5). Previous: 11th

team. 56. How do you put to bed a feeding frenzy of Johnny Manziel? Beat the stuffing out of them. That was an impressive outing for the Bengals. They need help to clinch the AFC North, but they first have to handle the visiting Broncos on <em>Monday Night Football</em>.. (9-4-1). Previous: 10th. Cincinnati Bengals. 10

team. 54. Two tough losses in a row, and both were at home. Now the Eagles are on the outside looking in. They need major help, but they need to win first.. (9-5). Previous: 7th. Philadelphia Eagles. 9

46. The Colts are more of the forgotten at this point, as many look at the AFC and realize it’s the Patriots and Broncos. I wish I could sit here and tell you they can really make the noise when it counts, but losing to both will hurt your chances. They can make some big believers this weekend by beating Dallas.. (10-4). Previous: 9th. Indianapolis Colts. 8. team

The Cowboys are so close to the postseason that they can taste it, as they knocked off the Eagles to take back the NFC East. No DeMarco Murray can really hurt this team, and for their sake, they hope he doesn’t miss much time.. (10-4). Previous: 8th. Dallas Cowboys. 7. team. 123

On paper, the Lions are the NFC North leaders right now. Does this mean that I’m completely disrespecting them by not ranking them higher? No. However, I have witnessed a team struggling over the past few weeks. I just don’t think they’re as strong as they were before.. (10-4). Previous: 6th. Detroit Lions. 6. team. 50

36. They added the knockout blow to end the 49ers season, and they’re still heavily favored to do things in the NFC. They can ultimately spoil the Cardinals bid to lock up home field advantage throughout the playoffs and win the NFC West.. (10-4). Previous: 5th. Seattle Seahawks. 5. team

Previous: 1st. Green Bay Packers. 4. team. 49. The Packers are no longer invincible as they seemed, as the Bills defense really did a number on the Pack this weekend. We wonder if it’s just a bump in the road or an indication of a fizzle to come.. (10-4)

Previous: 4th. Arizona Cardinals. 3. team. 32. You might find it easy to poke fun at the Cardinals for their quarterback carousel right now, but despite this, they are winning games. They have the ultimate test this weekend by hosting the Seahawks. Can Lindley power them through it? Regardless, they’re in the postseason.. (11-3)

Denver Broncos. 2. team. 45. Anyone happen to catch the <strong>NOMAHA</strong> sign at that game? That was pretty funny. At any rate, the Broncos get into the postseason again under Manning, and one wonders if it could be his last ride. The Broncos look to be the best suited team to challenge the Pats, but that home field advantage spells the difference.. (11-3). Previous: 3rd

1. team. 47. Another division title for the Pats, and they are clearly the team to beat right now in the NFL. It’s not even the offense that poses the scary threat right now.. (11-3). Previous: 2nd. New England Patriots