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NFL Power Rankings: Week 15 Edition

Now that Week 14 of the 2024 NFL season is in the books, it’s time for an incredibly meaningful and serious exercise: NFL Power Rankings! What differentiates these rankings from all the others is that they’re THE only truly accurate ones in the entire universe. We use a proprietary system that heavily accounts for all-important vibes. Let’s take a look at how all 32 teams stack up. (Click here for last week’s version.)

BLG’S WEEK 15 NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 - Detroit Lions (Last Week: 1) - The Lions are in a strong position to be the No. 1 seed for the first time ever. Dan Campbell’s aggression is a big driver behind Detroit’s success.

2 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 4) - The Chiefs clearly have plot armor. They’re the main character. And they’re likely going to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture once again; one model gives them a 88% chance.

3 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 2) - Six touchdowns for Josh Allen is impressive and all but the Bills’ loss in LA likely cost them a first-round bye. Buffalo probably needs to win out (at DET, vs. NE, vs. NYJ, at NE) in addition to KC dropping at least two games (at CLE, vs. HOU, at PIT, at DEN). Not impossible but not probable.

4 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 3) - The Eagles won their ninth straight game to advance to 11-2. And yet the vibes certainly don’t feel great. Concerns about the passing game clearly aren’t just external. Philly’s chances of getting a first-round bye also took a significant hit with the Lions’ win over Green Bay.

5 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 6) - The Vikings have won six games in a row. All of those opponents are currently under .500. They get another favorable matchup this week (Chicago) but then it’ll be interesting to see how they finish the season: at SEA, vs. GB, at DET. The Vikings are still alive for the NFC North and the No. 1 seed but no one is expecting them to actually come through on that front.

6 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 5) - Matt LaFleur being conservative has cost the Packers in the past and it continues to be an issue for them in big games.

7 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 7) - The Steelers have a shot at the No. 1 seed but it’ll take a massive effort to get there. Pittsburgh has the second-hardest remaining strength of schedule: at PHI, at BAL, vs. KC, at CIN. They could very well lose control of the AFC North.

8 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 8) - The Ravens return from their bye to take on NYG. Should be a pretty easy win for them as they try to surge to a division lead.

9 - Denver Broncos (LW: 9) - The Broncos return from their bye to host Indy. With a win, they’ll effectively seal their spot in the playoffs. A loss allows for Indy to chase them down for the No. 7 seed. Big game.

10 - Washington Commanders (LW: 10) - The Commanders return from their bye to play in New Orleans. If they lose and the Eagles beat the Steelers, the Birds will officially be NFC East champions and the Commanders will have to settle for a wild card spot at best.

11 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 12) - Oh, someone actually wants to win the NFC West? The Seahawks are certainly acting like it with four straight wins. But holding the division lead might not be easy with the following four games left: vs. GB, vs. MIN, at CHI, at LAR.

12 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 14) - We’ve been saying for weeks that the Bucs were poised to take the NFC South lead and that’s exactly what they’ve done. They could be a tough out in the playoffs.

13 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 11) - The Chargers have been able to beat lesser teams but they’re lacking a true signature win this season.

14 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 15) - The 49ers are not in a great spot with just a 5% chance of making the playoffs. But in the unlikely event that they do make it to the postseason, no one would be thrilled about facing them.

15 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 18) - Putting up 44 points to beat Buffalo was impressive. Next up for the Rams is a Thursday night road game against San Fran. If they can win that, they’ll continue to push for the NFC West lead. Or a wild card spot.

16 - Houston Texans (LW: 16) - The fraud Texans return from their bye to host Miami. Wouldn’t be surprised if they lose. They’re less than standard three-point favorites.

17 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 17) - The Dolphins are better than the NFL’s lesser teams and lesser than the NFL’s better teams. Their game against Houston this week is the Mid Bowl.

18 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 19) - With a win in Dallas on Monday night, the Bengals still have a 1% chance of making the playoffs. Don’t count them out just yet!

19 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 13) - The Cardinals have lost three straight and two of the games were to Seattle, who now hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona. It’s looking like Jonathan Gannon won’t have a chance to blow a playoff game this season.

20 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 20) - The Colts return from their bye to take on Denver. As previously mentioned, Indy really needs to win their game to keep their playoff hopes alive. Let’s see how they look with their season on the line.

21 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 21) - The Falcons deserve to be lower but there are a lot of other bad teams taking up spots. Atlanta blew a golden division lead and they’re not getting it back. It’s time to stop wasting snaps on Kirk Cousins see what they have in Michael Penix Jr.

22 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 22) - It looked like the Cowboys might pull off an upset before a special teams gaffe doomed them on Monday night. But you really have to love the way this team is playing if you’re Jerry Jones. Extend Mike McCarthy! Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons said they want him back!

23 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 24) - The Saints needed a blocked field goal at the end of the game to avoid overtime against NYG.

24 - Chicago Bears (LW: 23) - There was no interim head coach bump for the Bears, who got absolutely destroyed in San Francisco.

25 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 25) - The Browns do have a chance to play spoiler against some teams down the stretch (vs. KC, at CIN, at vs. MIA, at BAL). So, there’s that.

26 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 28) - Bryce Young and the Panthers continue to look much more competitive than they did early in the season. They’re on a three-game moral winning streak.

27 - New England Patriots (LW: 27) - The Pats return from their bye to play in Arizona. New England just needs one more win from their final four games to hit the over on their projected win total (3.5 games).

28 - New York Jets (LW: 26) - The Jets’ playoff drought was officially extended to 14 seasons. In a league designed for parity, this failure is a special kind of ineptitude.

29 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 31) - The Jags are the only team that doesn’t have to play an opponent with a winning record the rest of the season. There’s a real chance for them to finish on a high note (read: ruin their draft positioning).

30 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 29) - Well, the Titans have definitely learned that Will Levis isn’t the answer.

31 - Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 30) - The NFL’s longest losing streak has been extended to nine games. With injuries to Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, the Raiders are down to ... Desmond Ridder. Yikes. They definitely have the potential to lose out.

32 - New York Giants (LW: 32) - Whether it’s tanking or not, the Giants are dreadful. It’ll be pretty funny if they’re this bad and still don’t get the No. 1 pick. They’re currently second in the 2025 NFL Draft behind Las Vegas due to a strength of schedule tiebreaker that’s pretty close.

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