Week 15 NFL Power Rankings 2019
1. Baltimore Ravens (11-2)
The fact that Lamar Jackson has been held in check in consecutive contests and the Ravens have still defeated Top 10 teams in the 49ers and Bills indicates their depth of talent. Baltimore now has the third-rated pass defense in the NFL with Marcus Peters joining Earl Thomas and company.
2. San Francisco 49ers (11-2)
Jimmy Garoppolo completed 12 of his first 13 passes in New Orleans and led the 49ers offense to a whopping 48 points against a top 10 team in both DVOA pass and rush defense. If he can maintain that level of play, San Francisco is truly an elite team with a swarming defense led by Nick Bosa.
3. New Orleans Saints (10-3)
What happened to the Saints defense? And what happened to the usually reliable Alvin Kamara? New Orleans has plenty to dissect in the film of their loss to the Niners, but Sean Payton and his staff are more than capable of fixing those issues.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (9-4)
Patrick Mahomes is dealing with a laundry list of injuries and the Chiefs run defense is still well below average. But they’ve been getting consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks and came up with enough clutch plays on the back end to down the Patriots in Foxborough.
5. New England Patriots (10-3)
What grade would give the Patriots for their tough five-game stretch against the Ravens, Eagles, Cowboys, Texans, and Chiefs? They went 2-3 with two very unconvincing wins against the struggling NFC East teams and had their doors blown off early in three losses. We could be creeping towards the end of the Brady-Belichick era.
6. Minnesota Vikings (9-3)
The beat goes oh for the Vikings with elite receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring) unavailable. Kirk Cousins has been aces against below-average teams, the question remains, can he perform in the clutch against the NFC’s best?
7. Green Bay Packers (10-3)
Beating Washington, 20-15, at home is something of a moral defeat. However, getting 192 scrimmage yards from Aaron Jones should give Packers fans optimism in an offense that can become more multiple as the weather gets colder and colder.
8. Seattle Seahawks (10-3)
With Ziggy Ansah (shoulder) and Mychal Kendricks (hamstring) out, and Jadeveon Clowney (core) limited, the Seahawks laid an egg on Sunday night at the Rams. Russell Wilson is a magician, but he couldn’t conjure something out of nothing with his receivers getting smothered by the surging Rams defense.
9. Los Angeles Rams (8-5)
Acquiring Jalen Ramsey and getting Clay Matthews back from injury has helped the Rams craft a new identity as an elite defensive team. Jared Goff simply has to play the role of game manager to keep this team on schedule, yet he may be asked to do more in tough matchups against the Cowboys and Niners the next two weeks.
10. Buffalo Bills (9-4)
The Bills’ speedy defense arguably did the best job any unit has done against Lamar Jackson this season, holding the likely MVP to 40 yards rushing and 145 yards passing in a narrow 24-17 loss.
11. Tennessee Titans (8-5)
Make that a 6-1 record for Ryan Tannehill as the Titans starting quarterback. Derrick Henry has been a beast and Mike Vrabel’s defense is swarming. With two games against the division-leading Texans over the final three weeks, Tennessee is right in the mix for the AFC South crown.
12. Houston Texans (8-5)
Talk about a trap game. The Texans were riding high after a win over the Patriots and completely forgot about Denver, which raced out to a 31-3 lead in Houston to serve this team some humble pie.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5)
Mike Tomlin is doing a masterful job coaching his defensive-minded team to tough wins and the Steelers have a shot at a Wild Card berth despite all their injuries. The point total should be very low when they host the Bills next Sunday.
14. Los Angeles Chargers (5-8)
The Chargers have dropped plenty of close games this season, but left no doubt with a 45-10 drubbing of a Jaguars team that has seemingly checked out.
15. Denver Broncos (5-8)
Drew Lock carved up the Texans secondary in a huge road performance and the Broncos appear to have found their quarterback of the future. This team should be back in the mix next season and they’re ready to continue playing spoiler down the stretch this year.
16. Tampa Bay Bucs (6-7)
Jameis Winston giveth, and Jameis Winston taketh away. In a typically mixed performance, Winston threw a bad Pick Six and still led Tampa to a shootout win over the Colts with Mike Evans (hamstring) unavailable down the stretch.
17. Philadelphia Eagles (6-7)
Losing consecutive games to the Dolphins and Giants would have ended the Eagles season in embarrassing fashion, but they rallied late and live to face the Cowboys in Week 16 for first in the NFC Least.
18. Dallas Cowboys (6-7)
It seems ridiculous to even keep the Cowboys in the top 20 after their fourth loss in five games. Yet if anyone but Jason Garrett was coaching this talented squad, the results would likely be far different.
19. Atlanta Falcons (4-9)
The Falcons hammered a Panthers team that basically has nothing outside of Christian McCaffrey and looked downright disorganized after firing HC Ron Rivera this past week.
20. Chicago Bears (7-6)
It took well over half the season, but Mitchell Trubisky finally seems to be making the leap in his third season. It’s likely too little, too late for the Bears since they wrap up against the Packers, Chiefs, and Vikings.
21. Cleveland Browns (6-7)
The Browns barely beat the Bengals and are becoming less and less dangerous offensively now that we have an official reason for Odell Beckham’s lackluster season (he’s dealing with a sports hernia).
22. Indianapolis Colts (6-7)
Collapsing late against the Bucs should pretty much put the last nail in Indy’s coffin with a 6-7 record and a brutal matchup coming up next Monday at the Saints.
23. Oakland Raiders (6-7)
Derek Carr found a rhythm and carried the Raiders offense with rookie Josh Jacobs (shoulder) out. Jon Gruden should play it safe with his dynamic rookie RB and let Carr show what he can do over the final three weeks.
24. Carolina Panthers (5-8)
The Panthers predictably struggled in Atlanta and have now dropped five straight. After starting 5-3, the Panthers could realistically end their year on an eight-game losing streak.
25. Detroit Lions (4-7-1)
David Blough is playing well enough for a third-string quarterback, but he’s obviously not on the same level as Matt Stafford (back) and is in a bad situation since the Lions defense can’t stop anyone lately.
26. Arizona Cardinals (3-9-1)
Kyler Murray looked like a rookie in a second straight week, tossing three picks against the Steelers, as the Cardinals made a slew of costly mistakes to forfeit their chances of an upset.
27. Cincinnati Bengals (1-12)
Their 1-12 record belies how competitive the Bengals have been this year. They’re 4-2 against the spread on the road and are obviously better off with Andy Dalton under center.
28. New York Jets (5-8)
In a field goal filled battle that nobody really cared about other than Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Jets outlasted their former quarterback and avoided a season sweep at the hands of the Dolphins.
29. Miami Dolphins (3-10)
Miami may have the least talent in the NFL, but the Dolphins play so hard with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the vanguard and Brian Flores knows how to coach up a defense.
30. Washington Redskins (3-9)
For a few brief moments, it looked like Washington had a chance to record a third straight win, and an upset at Green Bay would’ve truly turned some heads. But the Skins offense remains toothless and fails to complement a pretty solid defensive unit.
31. New York Giants (2-11)
Eli Manning inspired the troops initially and nearly led the Giants to a season-spoiling win in Philly on Monday night. But ultimately, the G-Men didn’t have the talent to close it out.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9)
If we’re grading teams based on effort, Jacksonville clearly deserves the bottom spot in these rankings. The Jaguars have been outscored, 144-57, during a five-game losing streak and look completely disinterested in tackling or establishing the run.
