JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser's pre-Week 16 2018 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are:
Rank.Team (record) | Comment
1.Los Angeles Chargers (11-3) | 4 | A new No. 1
2.New Orleans Saints (12-2) | 1 | Scraping by – but still best in NFC
3.Los Angeles Rams (11-3) | 2 | Top seed in NFC slipping out of reach fast
4.Kansas City Chiefs (11-3) | 3 | Still the AFC's top seed
5.Chicago Bears (10-4) | 5 | Division clinched
6.Houston Texans (10-4) | 8 | Ten of 11 and counting
7.Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5-1) | 10 | Suddenly … life
8.New England Patriots (9-5) | 6 | Vulnerable? Yes. Done? Hardly
9.Indianapolis Colts (8-6) | 12 | They're in it for real now
10.Baltimore Ravens (8-6) | 11 | Looking more dangerous by the week
11.Tennessee Titans (8-6) | 14 | Back to life, but needing help
12.Minnesota Vikings (7-6-1) | 13 | Back with a vengeance
13.Dallas Cowboys (8-6) | 7 | Oof
14.Philadelphia Eagles (7-7) | 17 | Staying alive
15.Seattle Seahawks (8-6) | 9 | Missed a big, big opportunity Sunday
16.Cleveland Browns (6-7-1) | 18 | Future looks brighter and brighter
17.Miami Dolphins (7-7) | 15 | Up next: Jaguars
18.Denver Broncos (6-8) | 16 | Back-to-back losses have doused playoff hopes
19.Green Bay Packers (5-8-1) | 19 | Even Aaron Rodgers isn't immune to criticism
20.Cincinnati Bengals (6-8) | 20 | Too little too late for these guys
21.Washington Redskins (7-7) | 22 | Stayed alive in Duval
22.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-9) | 21 | Change in the air by the bay
23.New York Giants (5-9) | 24 | They were really hot; now, they're not
24.Carolina Panthers (6-8) | 23 | Epic slide now at six
25.Detroit Lions (5-9) | 25 | Officially out of the postseason
26.Buffalo Bills (5-9) | 27 | Waitin' 'til next year
27.Atlanta Falcons (5-9) | 28 | Huge victory at end of a lost season
28.New York Jets (4-10) | 26 | Nearly played the spoiler Saturday
29.San Francisco 49ers (4-10) | 31 | Turning in an impressive December
30.Jacksonville Jaguars (4-10) | 29 | September seems so long ago
31.Oakland Raiders (3-11) | 30 | Settled in at No. 31
32.Arizona Cardinals (3-11) | 32 | Settled in at No. 32
