With only one week remaining, I decided to scrap my bracket style for the power rankings. Instead they are broken up into two groups. Playoff bound or potentially playoff bound teams, and teams that are officially eliminated. So without any further rambling, have at it.



1. San Diego Chargers (4) – With a Christmas day thrashing of the Titans in Tennessee, the Chargers won their 10^th straight game and clinched the second seed in the AFC. This is the one AFC team that the Colts do not want to face in the playoffs. Last season, an 8-8 Chargers team defeated the 12-4 Colts in the playoffs. The year before that, the Chargers beat the Colts in Indianapolis in the divisional round. If there is one team that seems to have the Colts number, it's the Chargers.

2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – The Colts suck. Ok, so they are pretty good, but I'm still highly disappointed in them for pulling their starters. They had a chance at history and gave it up to "save themselves" for the Super Bowl. Terrible decision. Absolutely horrid. They are already getting a week off for the wild card round, but apparently that isn't enough. I loved how Tony Dungy defended them for the decision. It's like he completely forgot all the times he pulled a similar stunt and the Colts choked in the playoffs. Never mind the fact that the year they won the Super Bowl, the starters played through Week 17.

3. New Orleans Saints (1) – The Saints wrapped up the number one seed this past week thanks to Minnesota's loss in Chicago. . After last week I wondered if it was a good thing that they lost their game and could now focus on the Super Bowl, but now I'm not so sure. Since their Week 12 victory over New England, the Saints have been anything but spectacular. They beat both Washington and Atlanta by the skin of their teeth and followed it up with these two losses. To summarize, it's been a full month since the Saints have played well. That isn't exactly a recipe for success when heading into the playoffs.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (5) – I knew this Week 17 matchup against Dallas would be an important game. Granted I thought a playoff spot would be up for grabs, but it's still a big game nevertheless. The winner of this game will determine the NFC East champion, which also means the winner gets to host a playoff game in the wild card round. Even more interesting, if Philly and Arizona win their game, that sets up another Dallas/Philadelphia and Green Bay/Arizona matchup in the playoffs. Has there ever been a time when both NFC wild card games were the same matchups as Week 17?

5. Minnesota Vikings (3) – It was nice to see Minnesota actually show up on Monday Night Football instead of mailing it in. Ahem, that was sarcasm. In the event of a New Orleans/Minnesota matchup in the NFC Championship, at least it will still be indoors. That has to be good news for Old Man Favre.

6. New England Patriots (10) – The Patriots took back the AFC East throne after loaning it out to Miami last season by beating Jacksonville in a laugher. Literally. Randy Moss was laughing hysterically on the sidelines during the game. How does that feel Jacksonville? Eh, who cares?

7. Dallas Cowboys (9) – Dallas has proved me and plenty of other football fans wrong with their last two December victories. In fact, I think it's safe to say we can put that argument to rest. Next step, actually winning a playoff game.

8. Cincinnati Bengals (6) – The Bengals finally clinched the AFC North with a victory over Kansas City. Now it's just a matter over whether they get the three or four seed in the AFC. Either way, they are hosting a home game in the wild card round, so the game this Sunday night is somewhat meaningless for them.

9. Green Bay Packers (12) – The Packers also clinched a playoff spot this past Sunday and as highlighted above, might be facing Arizona in consecutive weeks. It presents an interesting situation. Seeing that they will definitely be on the road in the first round, do they even try at Arizona? With a chance to play Arizona twice, I would assume that they don't want to give anything away by playing all out.

10. Arizona Cardinals (7) – I'm so tempted to pick against Arizona once the playoffs roll around, but the memories of last season are still vividly ringing in my head. I couldn't be more excited for playoff football to begin. Ok, I'm lying. I would be more excited if the Bills were actually participating.

11. Baltimore Ravens (11) – Despite handing the game to Pittsburgh, the Ravens are still in a 'win and in' scenario this Sunday. Seriously, have you ever seen a team just serve the game on a silver platter and still only lose by three? It was absolutely amazing. They have the Raiders in Oakland this week, which has proven to not be a totally easy game, but it should be a game they can win, especially with a playoff spot on the line.

12. New York Jets (18) – Like Baltimore, the Jets also control their own destiny. I know I've been harsh on the Sanchise and Rex Ryan this season, but I really hope they pull this one out. I know you're probably wondering how I can root for the Jets to win and make the playoffs when my team is a division rival, but if you knew me you would understand completely.

13. Pittsburgh Steelers (16) – The Steelers have done their best to rally late in the season, but their hopes are still slim. If Pittsburgh loses, they are finished.

14. Denver Broncos (8) – Unlike the Steelers, the Broncos have done their best to crap away a good season. They were clearly in the driver's seat a few weeks ago and now need a ton of help to make the playoffs.

15. Houston Texans (20) – Houston is also still alive, but needs quite a bit of help to make the playoffs. Regardless, at least their fans have something to cheer for in Week 17. It must be nice.

16. Miami Dolphins (13) – It's nice to see Miami playing their best ball when the playoffs are on the line. Oh well, they are still in it, although barely, and the only thing they can control this Sunday is their game against Pittsburgh.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars (15) – The Jags had the playoffs clearly in their sights until they decided to lay down and die the past three weeks. Nobody wanted to see them in the playoffs anyways so this was probably the best case scenario for all football fans.



Instead of copying all the playoff scenarios into the rankings, I felt it would be easier (and more proper) to just like the page from ESPN that clearly highlights all the scenarios for Week 17. Read and enjoy! And now without further ado, the best the worst.



18. Tennessee Titans (17) – The Titans had a slim chance at the playoffs until they got throttled on Christmas night by San Diego. I still give them credit for bouncing back from a 0-6 start and playing the way they did down the stretch. Chris Johnson needs only 128 yards in the final game against Seattle to reach 2,000 for the season. In fact, he only needs 234 to surpass Eric Dickerson for the most rushing yards in one season. If I'm the Titans, I'm giving Johnson the ball as many times necessary to help him get the record. When there is nothing else to play for, might as well make the season memorable.

19. Atlanta Falcons (19) – The Falcons creamed the Bills this past Sunday, which isn't saying much, but at least they haven't totally given up on their season. A healthy Matt Ryan is probably the difference between the Falcons being out of it and the Falcons preparing for the playoffs. If they win this Sunday at Tampa Bay, they will at least finish 9-7 and have back to back winning seasons.

20. Carolina Panthers (23) – Jake Delhomme's job is officially in jeopardy, or at least it should be. Matt Moore has been impressive in the past two weeks, and even more impressive, the Panthers have handled the Vikings and the Giants. While the Giants won't be in the playoffs, they could've been if it wasn't for Carolina. In other news, John Fox and his staff were informed that they will be back in 2010, which rules out Bill Cowher coming to Carolina (if he is planning on coaching next season for sure).

21. New York Giants (14) – The Giants have been a huge disappointment this season. So what better way to cap off a wildly inconsistent year than getting blown out at home by Matt Moore and the Panthers, in the final home game in Giants Stadium for the Giants. Maybe the Jets can at least make the closing of the stadium a little more memorable next week.

22. San Francisco 49ers (21) – Barring some kind of miracle, the 49ers should be able to beat St. Louis this week and finish the season 8-8. While it wasn't good enough for the postseason, it is an improvement over 7-9 last season and should fill Niners fans up with some hope. They will definitely need a new QB this offseason but that might be all they need seeing they still play in the NFC West.

23. Chicago Bears (24) – Sometimes I love fantasy football and other times I hate it. Heading into Monday night, I was leading our very own Scott Lunn 86-85, with each of us having one player left. Scott had Minnesota's defense and I had Chicago tight end Greg Olsen. Somehow, Cutler actually played like a good QB and even hit Olsen for a touchdown ensuring me of the victory. This is why I love fantasy football. Normally I would've had no interest in this game, instead I watched with a great deal of interest.

24. Cleveland Browns (29) – The Browns have really come on as of late. I realize their last two wins were only against the Chiefs in Kansas City and the Raiders at home, but that is something Pittsburgh couldn't do this year. Speaking of that, the Browns are actually on a three game winning streak when you include their Thursday night victory over the Steelers in Week 14. It's almost like that win was enough to get a little momentum going. Unfortunately for Browns fans, this might be enough for Eric Mangini to remain the Head Coach for at least next season.

25. Oakland Raiders (27) – The Raiders should finish this season 5-11 which isn't very good, unless you consider the amount of dysfunction that they have faced this season. Did I mention that JaMarcus Russell was their starting QB for over half the season too? So as you can see, it's actually been a pretty solid season for the Raiders. In other news, while the Bills have gone 53 games with having a 300 yard passer, both Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye have done it this season with the Raiders.

26. Buffalo Bills (22) – How bad was the Bills game in Atlanta? I got up and started doing household chores once halftime hit. They were literally so bad that I couldn't stomach it. Of course I had the game on in the background so I was at least following it somewhat, but there was no way I could justify wasting a Sunday afternoon watching that game when I had other things that needed done.

On the positive side of things, I was somewhat pleased with Brian Brohm in his first NFL start. When you factor in that he has only been a member of the Bills for a few weeks and hadn't even practiced with the first team until a few days before the game, he played quite well. And shall I even mention the offensive line he had protecting him? He did throw two interceptions, but I'll argue all night and day that the first one wasn't his fault. It could've been easily avoided if a certain wide receiver gave at least a 2% effort to break up the pass. Despite his mailing it in on that play, Terrell Owens did surpass 1,000 receptions for his career for that I say, congrats T.O.

27. Kansas City Chiefs (28) – I had the Chiefs a little higher, but even I couldn't rank them ahead of Buffalo. I mean, the Bills actually got one of their wins against the Chiefs, so yes, they are that bad. I'll be highly interested to see what they have planned for the draft this spring. Do they grab a QB or do they hope that Matt Cassel somehow reverts back to his Patriot form? Unless the Chiefs plan on bringing Randy Moss and Wes Welker into town, I don't see that happening.

28. Seattle Seahawks (25) – The Seahawks have pretty much mailed it in for the season. I wondered aloud before the season why Seattle didn't show any interest in signing Michael Vick and now I'm wondering about that even more. It's apparent that Matt Hasselbeck has seen better days. I'd be shocked if he was starting for Seattle next season.

29. Washington Redskins (26) – Speaking of mailing it in, the Redskins have been outscored 62-12 at home in the past two weeks by the Giants and Cowboys. Now I know both of those teams are much better than Washington, but still, they are a division rival. Shouldn't those games be a little closer? I'm fairly certain that Mike Shannahan will be the next coach of the Redskins. So ummm…good luck with that Mike.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (31) – Tampa Bay shocked the football world yesterday with their win in New Orleans. Not only did they grab their third win of the season, they may have completely altered the landscape of the NFC playoff picture. We'll know more after next week but Minnesota is sending many thank you cards out to Tampa Bay right now.

31. Detroit Lions (30) – Well this has been a typical season from the Lions. I'd like to comment more on their game against the 49ers, but until I checked the box scores, I wasn't even sure the game was played.

32. St Louis Rams (32) – Not that the Rams will have to try, but they really should tank this last game and ensure themselves of the number one pick. I'm sure they have a ton of needs to address this offseason, but there is no way they can pass up Ndamukong Suh.