JACKSONVILLE -- Here are senior writer John Oehser's season-ending 2014 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are:
1.New England Patriots (12-4) | 1 | Looks like Tom Brady will start in the postseason
2.Seattle Seahawks (12-4) | 2 | Overwhelming NFC favorite – and rightly so
3.Green Bay Packers (12-4) | 3 | As good as anyone … except Seattle?
4.Denver Broncos (12-4) | 4 | Can they go on the road in postseason and win?
5.Dallas Cowboys (12-4) | 5 | Running game could make them dangerous in Seattle
6.Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) | 9 | This franchise is never down for long
7.Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) | 6 | Inconsistency could hurt in postseason
8.Detroit Lions (11-5) | 8 | One of most overlooked good teams in a long time
9.Indianapolis Colts (11-5) | 11| They're dangerous in postseason for a round or so
10.Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) | 12 | Still hard to imagine postseason without them
11.Arizona Cardinals (11-5) | 7 | The whole "QB Thing" looks too much to overcome
12.Baltimore Ravens (10-6) | 13| Very capable of winning in Steeltown
13.Kansas City Chiefs (9-7) | 14 | Second-best team not in postseason
14.San Diego Chargers (9-7) | 10 | Did a lot through a lot of injuries this season
- Buffalo Bills (9-7) | 16 | An elite QB away from being really, really good
16.Houston Texans (9-7) | 15 | Can they get QB fixed in one offseason?
17.San Francisco 49ers (8-8) | 18 | Harbaugh will be hard – if not impossible – to replace
18.Carolina Panthers (7-8-1) | 20 | Your NFC-South Champion Carolina Panthers
- Miami Dolphins (8-8) | 19 | Second consecutive 8-8 season meant a testy end to season
20.New Orleans Saints (7-9) | 22| A really, really odd 7-9
- Minnesota Vikings (7-9) | 24 | A really, really good 7-9
22.Cleveland Browns (7-9) | 17 | The Johnny Drama goes on and on and on
23.Atlanta Falcons (6-10) | 21 | Depleted roster finally caught up to Mike Smith
24.St. Louis Rams (6-10) | 23 | Is next year finally the year?
25.New York Giants (6-10) | 25 | TC will be around at least one more year
- Chicago Bears (5-11) | 26 | Stunning fall led to regime change in Chicago
27.Washington Redskins (4-12) | 27 | RGIII apparently returning, but what does future hold?
28.New York Jets (4-12) | 28 | Long decline finally got a good coach fired
- Jacksonville Jaguars (3-13) | 29 | Three victories won't be enough next year
30.Oakland Raiders (3-13) | 30 | No Harbaugh. No Gruden. Who will coach Raiders?
31.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-14) | 31 | Will pick No. 1 overall
32.Tennessee Titans (2-14) | 32 | Ten-game losing streak to end season
