JACKSONVILLE – Here are senior writer John Oehser's season-ending 2017 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are:
Rank. Team (2016 record) | Comment
- New England Patriots (14-2) | No. 1 until they're not
- Atlanta Falcons (11-5) | No. 2 until they're not
- Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) | Can end-of-'16 momentum carry over?
- Seattle Seahawks (10-5-1) | Legion of Boom still has a lot left
- Green Bay Packers (10-6) | Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Rodgers …
- Dallas Cowboys (13-3) | with or without Zeke early, Cowboys should be strong
- Oakland Raiders (12-4) | One more go-round in the Black Hole
- Kansas City Chiefs (12-4) | Teams overlook the Chiefs at their own risk
- New York Giants (11-5) | A lot of excitement over this team in the Northeast
- Detroit Lions (9-7) | Quiet offseason makes it easy to forget this was a '16 postseason team
- Houston Texans (9-7) | Return of J.J. Watt makes No. 1-ranked defense even better
- Tennessee Titans (9-7) |Steady '16 improvement makes them a team to watch in '17
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) | This is starting to feel like the Bucs' breakout year
14.Denver Broncos (9-7) | Rebound seems likely after missing '16 postseason
15.Arizona Cardinals (7-8-1) | Strong potential to make '16 slide a distant memory
16.Carolina Panthers (6-10) | Hard to see a repeat of 6-10
17.Philadelphia Eagles (7-9) | Improved in the offseason; enough to catch New York and Dallas?
- Miami Dolphins (10-6) | All eyes on Jay Cutler early
19.Cincinnati Bengals (6-9-1) | A bounce-back season is far from out of the question
20.Washington Redskins (8-7-1) | Underrated team in a tough division
21.New Orleans Saints (7-9) | Addition of Adrian Peterson could give offense a new feel
22.Baltimore Ravens (8-8) | Will offensive-line concerns derail this team?
23.Minnesota Vikings (8-8) | Defense is still good enough to make them dangerous
24.Los Angeles Chargers (5-11) | Philip Rivers, pass rush gives this team a chance
- Jacksonville Jaguars (3-13) | Defense, rookie RB Leonard Fournette – that's the hope
- Los Angeles Rams (4-12) | Young QB, 31-year-old head coach – this is a team to watch
- Buffalo Bills (7-9) | QB worries, WR worries … a lot of worries here
- Indianapolis Colts (8-8) | It's all about Andrew Luck
- Chicago Bears (3-13) | How long until the kid takes over at quarterback?
- San Francisco 49ers (2-14) | Year 1 of long-term rebuild under new GM, coach
- Cleveland Browns (1-15) | Season largely about development of DeShone Kizer
- New York Jets (5-11) | No. 32 until they're not
