JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser's pre-Week 16 2021 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are …
Rank.Team (record) | Prev. | Comment
- Green Bay Packers (11-3) | 1 | Because he's Aaron Rodgers
- Kansas City Chiefs (10-4) | 4 | Getting back where they belong
- New England Patriots (9-5) | 2 | Not perfect, but what team is?
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4) | 3 | Shut out, but far from shut down
- Dallas Cowboys (10-4) | 7 | Could the 'Boys actually be overlooked?
- Los Angeles Rams (10-4) | 8 | Looking like a Super Bowl contender again
- Indianapolis Colts (8-6) | 11 | Will be a very tough postseason out
- Arizona Cardinals (10-4) | 5 | Slip, sliding away
- Tennessee Titans (9-5) | 6 | Only victory in last four games over Duuuval
- Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) | 9 | Soooooo close to being really good
- Baltimore Ravens (8-6) | 10 | Live by the sword, die by the sword
- Buffalo Bills (8-6) | 12 | When they're good, they're very good
- Cincinnati Bengals (8-6) | 13 | Will win division if they win out
- San Francisco 49ers (8-6) | 17 | If they get in, look out
- Miami Dolphins (7-7) | 15 | NFL's longest winning streak at six
- Cleveland Browns (7-7) | 14 | Running out of time
- Philadelphia Eagles (7-7) | 18 | Running out of time
- Minnesota Vikings (7-7) | 21 | Running out of time
- Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6-1) | 19 | Need to beat very hot Chiefs to stay in picture
- Denver Broncos (7-7) | 16 | Gritty and gutty, but playoff losses slim
- New Orleans Saints (7-7) | 24 | If only they played the Bucs every week
- Las Vegas Raiders (7-7) | 22 | Clutch drive, clutch kick … still alive
- Washington Football Team (6-8) | 20 | Better than the record, but not enough
- Atlanta Falcons (6-8) | 23 | Matt Ryan future will be an offseason issue
- Seattle Seahawks (5-9) | 25 | Scrappy, gutty – but not scrappy, gutty enough
- Carolina Panthers (5-9) | 26 | Slip, sliding away
- New York Giants (4-10) | 27 | Five consecutive double-digit-loss seasons
- Chicago Bears (4-10) | 28 | Lost eight of nine since 3-2 start
- New York Jets (3-11) | 29 | Up next: Home against Duuuval
- Detroit Lions (2-11-1) | 31 | Season-long guts and grit paying dividends
- Houston Texans (2-12) | 30 | Got right in Duuuval Sunday
- Jacksonville Jaguars (2-12) | 32 | Oof
