JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser's post-Week 13, pre-Week 14 2017 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are:
Rank.Team (record) | Comment
1.New England Patriots (10-2) | 2 | Back where they expected to be
2.Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) | 1 | Hard to drop them far for road loss at Seattle
3.Pittsburgh Steelers (10-2) | 3 | Victory seemed secondary on Monday
4.Minnesota Vikings (10-2) | 4 | Long past time to stop overlooking these guys
5.Los Angeles Rams (9-3) | 5 | High-stepping to stay ahead of the 'Hawks
6.New Orleans Saints (9-3) | 6 | Season-defining victory Sunday
7.Seattle Seahawks (8-4) | 9 | When they're good, they're very good
8.Carolina Panthers (8-4) | 7 |Will be a tough out if they get in postseason
9.Atlanta Falcons (7-5) | 9 | Brutal schedule taking a big toll
10.Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) | 10 | December football is fun football
11.Tennessee Titans (8-4) | 11| A win is a win is a win is a win …
12.Baltimore Ravens (7-5) | 12 | Quietly becoming one of AFC's hottest teams
13.Los Angeles Chargers (6-6) | 13 |How quickly things change; now tied for first in West
14.Dallas Cowboys (6-6) | 16 | Trying to hang on until Zeke returns
15.Oakland Raiders (6-6) | 19 | Back in it somehow, some way
16.Green Bay Packers (6-6) | 18 | Need a lot to happen to get back into a tough NFC race
17.Detroit Lions (6-6) | 15| Wild card starting to look like too long a shot
18.Buffalo Bills (6-6) | 17 | Four losses in five games after 5-2 start
19.Kansas City Chiefs (6-6) | 14 | Fading remarkably fast
20.Washington Redskins (5-7) | 20 | Too inconsistent too consistently
21.Arizona Cardinals (5-7) | 21 |Last real hopes for this season likely ended Sunday
22.Cincinnati Bengals (5-7) | 22 | Recovering from Monday a long, long shot
23.Houston Texans (4-8) | 23 | Will be tough to play throughout December
24.New York Jets (5-7) | 24 | Memo about tanking apparently still not circulated
25.Miami Dolphins (5-7) | 28 | Up again down again up again
26.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8) | 25 | One of league's bigger disappointments
27.San Francisco 49ers (2-10) | 31 | Has the feel of a team playing better late in the season
28.Denver Broncos (3-9) | 26 | Fell so far, so fast
29.Indianapolis Colts (3-9) | 29 | Just not enough here without any Luck
30.Chicago Bears (3-9) | 27 | NFC's longest losing streak
31.New York Giants (2-10) | 30 | Oh, Blue … Blue, Blue, Blue …
32.Cleveland Browns (0-12) | 32 | Running out of time