JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser's pre-Week 15 2018 NFL power rankings. And we all know how important these are:
Rank.Team (record) | Comment
1.New Orleans Saints (11-2) | 2 | Because someone has to be No. 1
2.Los Angeles Rams (11-2) | 1 | Not invincible after all
3.Kansas City Chiefs (11-2) | 3 | Breathing room in race for home-field
4.Los Angeles Chargers (10-3) | 5 | Big chance on Thursday versus KC
5.Chicago Bears (9-4) | 8 | Maybe you can win with defense
6.New England Patriots (9-4) | 4 | Miami Miracle could cost NE home field
7.Dallas Cowboys (8-5) | 11 | Suddenly as hot as any team in the NFL
8.Houston Texans (9-4) | 6 | Streak ends at nine, but still South favorites
9.Seattle Seahawks (8-5) | 10 | Quicker than a flash, they're back
10.Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5-1) | 7 | More vulnerable by the week
11.Baltimore Ravens (7-6) | 12 | Missed chance to take AFC North lead
12.Indianapolis Colts (7-6) | 14 | Still very much in playoff race
13.Minnesota Vikings (6-6-1) | 9 | Real danger of missing playoffs
14.Tennessee Titans (7-6) | 15 | Looked like world-beaters Thursday
15.Miami Dolphins (7-6) | 17 | What a way to save the season
16.Denver Broncos (6-7) | 16 | Bad loss at a bad time
17.Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) | 13 | That'll probably do it
18.Cleveland Browns (5-7-1) | 22 | Turning into impressive turnaround season
19.Green Bay Packers (5-7-1) | 21 | Packers got that new-coach jump
20.Cincinnati Bengals (5-8) | 20 | Clock may be ticking on Marvin Lewis era
21.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-8) | 23| Will Koetter survive? Winston? Many questions
22.Washington Redskins (6-7) | 18 | Quarterback injuries killed season
23.Carolina Panthers (6-7) | 19 | Befuddling slide could shake franchise
24.New York Giants (5-8) | 25 | Improvement has been steady lately
25.Detroit Lions (5-8) | 28 | Victory ain't always pretty
26.New York Jets (4-9) | 29 | Memorable moment for Sam Darnold Sunday
27.Buffalo Bills (4-9) | 26 | Josh Allen continues to show good signs
28.Atlanta Falcons (4-9) | 24 | Slipping and sliding on down
29.Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9) | 27 | Oof
30.Oakland Raiders (3-10) | 31 | Biggest victory of latest "Gruden Era" so far
31.San Francisco 49ers (3-10) | 32 | All Hail Kittle
32.Arizona Cardinals (3-10) | 30 | Settling back in at No. 32
