Arizona Sports Week 16 NFL Power Rankings: Patriots, Cowboys still the creme
Dec 20, 2016, 5:19 PM | Updated: Dec 21, 2016, 8:36 am
New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett runs past Denver Broncos inside linebacker Todd Davis during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
There was little movement in our penultimate NFL Power Rankings on ArizonaSports.com.
The New England Patriots shut down the Denver Broncos’ offense (or did the Broncos do it to themselves) in a less-than-picturesque 16-3 win at Mile High, while the Dallas Cowboys needed three fourth-quarter field goals from Dan Bailey to dispatch of the pesky, up-and-coming Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Both of those performances were enough to keep the Pats and ‘Boys running 1-2 in our Arizona Sports pecking order.
The Kansas City Chiefs, who lost a tough one to the Tennessee Titans, fell two spots to No. 5, while the red-hot New York Giants ascended into the league’s top three for the first time all season.
1. New England Patriots (12-2) —
The Pats earned a playoff spot for the 18th time in Robert Kraft’s 23 years as owner. — Morgan
Next: vs. New York Jets
2. Dallas Cowboys (12-2) —
No fine for Zeke on his TD celebration is further proof the NFL loves the Cowboys. — Dimakos
Next: vs. Detroit
3. New York Giants (10-4) ▲ 2
They’ve won eight of nine and have beaten Dallas twice. They’re worth keeping an eye on. — Lapinski
Next: at Philadelphia
4. Oakland Raiders (11-3) —
There will be silver and black in the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. — Grialou
Next: vs. Indianapolis
5. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4) ▼ 2
Face it, you would have tried to ice Ryan Succop, too. — Marotta
Next: vs. Denver
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-5) —
Maybe the scariest team in the NFL in terms of what they’re capable of. — Green
Next: vs. Baltimore
7. Seattle Seahawks (9-4-1) ▲ 1
Can someone please shut Richard Sherman up? — Dimakos
Next: vs. Arizona
8. Atlanta Falcons (9-5) ▲ 1
Falcons have topped 40 points five times this year. The rest of the league has combined to do it 15 times. — Marotta
Next: at Carolina
9. Detroit Lions (9-5) ▼ 2
Detroit is going to blow the division lead to Green Bay and miss the playoffs, isn’t it? — Morgan
Next: at Dallas
10. Green Bay Packers (8-6) ▲ 1
Rodgers hasn’t thrown a pick since Nov. 13. Should’ve had two more TDs this week. — Lapinski
Next: vs. Minnesota
11. Miami Dolphins (9-5) ▲ 3
Does Miami now have a quarterback controversy? — Grialou
Next: at Buffalo
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) ▼ 2
Only 10 teams have a negative point differential, and somehow Tampa’s one of them. — Lapinski
Next: at New Orleans
13. Denver Broncos (8-6) ▼ 2
No offense, but they’ve got no offense. — Marotta
Next: at Kansas City
14. Baltimore Ravens (8-6) ▲ 2
They won Pennsylvania, but they’re not winning the AFC North. — Green
Next: at Pittsburgh
15. Tennessee Titans (8-6) ▲ 2
Back-to-back wins over Denver and Kansas City can’t be ignored. — Lapinski
Next: at Jacksonville
16. Houston Texans (8-6) ▲ 2
Base salary for Texans’ new starter Tom Savage: $600K. — Morgan
Next: vs. Cincinnati
17. Washington Redskins (7-6-1) ▼ 4
Bad loss on Monday night. Heavily reliant on an offense that isn’t consistent enough. — Green
Next: at Chicago
18. Indianapolis Colts (7-7) ▲ 2
Offense looks fine … every other week. — Lapinski
Next: at Oakland
19. Minnesota Vikings (7-7) ▼ 3
Injuries aside, I’ve never seen a team go from dominant to dreadful so fast. — Morgan
Next: at Green Bay
20. Buffalo Bills (7-7) ▼ 1
Maybe the players want Rex to stick around. Or maybe they were playing the Browns. — Green
Next: vs. Miami
21. Carolina Panthers (6-8) ▲ 2
Cam Newton is now 4-0 vs. Washington. — Grialou
Next: vs. Atlanta
22. New Orleans Saints (6-8) ▲ 2
Brandin Cooks is still open. — Lapinski
Next: vs. Tampa Bay
23. Arizona Cardinals (5-8-1) ▼ 2
One of these weeks, special teams will win them a game. HAHAHAHAHA! — Marotta
Next: at Seattle
24. Cincinnati Bengals (5-8-1) ▼ 2
I wish for once a team could get away with disgracing the Terrible Towel. — Green
Next: at Houston
25. Philadelphia Eagles (5-9) —
I hate Carson Wentz, but at least he isn’t Goff. (*Tweets from Philly) — Dimakos
Next: vs. New York Giants
26. San Diego Chargers (5-9) —
Your security guards are gross. — Dimakos
Next: at Cleveland
27. New York Jets (4-10) —
I don’t know if they’ve quit or they’re just awful. Either way, it’s not pretty. — Green
Next: at New England
28. Chicago Bears (3-11) —
Went conservative — played for the tie late. Ended up with a loss. — Lapinski
Next: vs. Washington
29. Los Angeles Rams (4-10) —
What’s worse than a junior high offense? They’ve scored 23 less points than the Browns. — Marotta
Next: vs. San Francisco
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-12) —
At least they won the offseason. — Green
Next: vs. Tennessee
31. San Francisco 49ers (1-13) —
What does it say about the Browns that they’re worse than the 49ers? — Lapinski
Next: at Los Angeles
32. Cleveland Browns (0-14) —
So sad that Adele might have to write a song about them. — Lapinski
Next: vs. San Diego
