Comparing NFL Power Rankings from where teams started to how they finished

For the last few years, we’ve held our weekly NFL Power Rankings but this year, we’re gonna end the season a little differently.

Instead of putting last week’s rankings in parentheses this week, I thought it would be fun to go back and see where I had these teams ranked at the beginning of the season and then compare how they ended up.

Take a look!

 

(Won-Loss Record and Season Opening Ranking in parentheses.)

1.  Carolina Panthers (15-1) (T-16) – Not quite “worst to first,” but well in excess of expectations.

2.  Denver Broncos (12-4) (T-6) – Peyton’s back!

3.  Arizona Cardinals (13-3) (15) – The game didn’t ultimately matter, but not really the finish you would have wanted was it?

4.  Seattle Seahawks (10-6) (2) – They finish the season red hot.

T-5.  New England Patriots (12-4) (1) – Having lost four of their last six, can they turn it around for the post season?

T-5.  Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) (24) – Hmm.  This top 5 kind of shows you just how much preseason Power Rankings are worth, doesn’t it?

7.  Cincinnati Bengals (12-4) (19) – Will Andy be ready next week?

8.  Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) (T-6) – They back in, but they could care less.

9.  Minnesota Vikings (11-5) (10) – They finally won the big one.

10.  New York Jets (10-6) (25) – I’m not even a Jets fan and I feel terrible for them.

11.  Houston Texans (9-7) (20) – Looking a lot better than any AFC South team did at any time during the season.

12.  Green Bay Packers (10-6) (4) – They finish the season looking slightly more appealing than a dumpster fire.

13.  Washington RacialSlurs (9-7) (32) – Would you rather be the mediocre team that’s hot or the good team that looks like a dumpster fire. We’ll find out next week.

14.  Buffalo Bills (8-8) (11) – Small consolation.

15.  Oakland Raiders (7-9) (23) – EVERYONE’s pick for next year’s playoffs.

16.  Detroit Lions (7-9) (22) – The team that should be everyone’s pick for next year’s playoffs.

17.  New Orleans Saints (7-9) (T-16) – Got it turned around a few weeks too late.

18.  New York Giants (6-10) (9) – Can they put some kind of defense on the field next year?

19.  Atlanta Falcons (8-8) (T-16) – Given the season’s hot start, the .500 finish is still a disappointment.

20.  Indianapolis Colts (8-8) (5) – When the tornado of house cleaning is over, don’t expect to see anyone for sure except Andrew Luck.

21.  St. Louis Rams (7-9) (14) – Put their defense with the Giants’ offense and you’d win 3 Super Bowls in 5 years.

22.  Philadelphia Eagles (7-9) (13) – Think DeMarco Murray is happy Chip Kelly got fired?

23.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-10) (30) – More than enough highs this season to make up for the lows.

24.  Miami Dolphins (6-10) (12) – A season full of ifs and buts.

25.  Baltimore Ravens (5-11) (3) – Calling it now:  biggest improvement in record from 2015 to 2016.

26.  Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11) (26) – The fixes are obvious:  o-line, defensive secondary, a year’s experience worth of cutting down on the mistakes by Bortles.

27.  Chicago Bears (6-10) (28) – In the end, this team was the dud everyone thought they’d be.

28.  Dallas Cowboys (4-12) (8) – Fear not Cowboys fans, the division’s gonna suck next year too.

T-29.  Cleveland Browns (3-13) (29) – Please don’t draft another quarterback.

T-29.  San Francisco 49ers (5-11) (27) – Seems a little unfair that they fired the coach. Right?

31.  San Diego Chargers (4-12) (21) – I’m still dumbfounded that a team with quarterback play this good this year could be THIS bad.

32.  Tennessee Titans (3-13) (31) – Unlike the Bucs, they are no better now than they were last year.

 

Featured image via Chiefs