JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser's season-ending 2017 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are:
Rank.Team (record) | Comment
1.New England Patriots (13-3) | 2 | Champs clear favorite entering postseason
2.Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3) | 3 | Potential Divisional Playoff opponent for Jaguars
3.Minnesota Vikings (13-3) | 4 | A hometown Super Bowl team at last
4.Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) | 1 | Hard to see them as favorites without Wentz
5.Carolina Panthers (11-5) | 5 | Don't count Cam out
6.Los Angeles Rams (11-5) | 6 | Resting starters didn't hurt seeding after all
7.New Orleans Saints (11-5) | 7 | Won NFL's toughest division
8.Atlanta Falcons (10-6) | 9 | Defending NFC Champions are in
9.Kansas City Chiefs (10-6) | 11 | Regained footing entering postseason
10.Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6) | 8 | It's playoff time at the 'Bank
11.Tennessee Titans (9-7) | 14 | It's official: AFC South runners-up
12.Buffalo Bills (9-7) | 17 | Back in the postseason after 18 seasons
13.Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) | 13 | Might be best team not in postseason
14.Seattle Seahawks (9-7) | 12 | Five-year postseason streak comes to an end
15.Baltimore Ravens (9-7) | 10 | Hearts broken
16.Dallas Cowboys (9-7) | 15 | So close and yet so far
17.Detroit Lions (9-7) | 16 | Jim Caldwell out after winning season
18.San Francisco 49ers (6-10) | 18 | Won six of last seven
19.Cincinnati Bengals (7-9) | 23 | Played spoiler role in epic fashion
20.Arizona Cardinals (8-8) | 20 | Bruce Arians retirement means new coach here
21.Green Bay Packers (7-9) | 19 | Aaron Rodgers loss just too much to overcome
22.Washington Redskins (7-9) | 21 | Let the Kirk Cousins speculation begin
23.Oakland Raiders (6-10) | 24 | Gruden time again
24.Denver Broncos (5-11) | 25 | Vance Joseph … in or out?
25.Miami Dolphins (6-10) | 22| Limped to the finish
26.New York Jets (5-11) | 27 | Todd Bowles … in
27.Chicago Bears (5-11) | 28 | John Fox … out
28.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11) | 29 | Dirk Koetter … in
29.Indianapolis Colts (4-12) | 30 | Chuck Pagano … out
30.Houston Texans (4-12) | 26 | Bill O'Brien … evidently in
31.New York Giants (3-13) | 31 | Long season reaches merciful Blue end
32.Cleveland Browns (0-16) | 32 | History made
