There are still 8 open playoff spots with three weeks to go, and plenty of teams still vying for those spots. One of the spots that is already taken belongs to the New England Patriots, who are now spending their 4th straight week in the top spot of my rankings after pasting the Houston Texans 42-14 on Monday Night Football. Houston had been #1 in ESPN's rankings for a while, while the Patriots had been at the top of mine, and they proved which was more accurate last night. Here are my current rankings, with ESPN's Power Rankings in parentheses and teams grouped by similar level of performance.
TW. (LW) Team (Record) Result (ESPN)
1. (1) New England (10-3) W (1)
2. (6) Seattle (8-5) W (10)
3. (5) NY Giants (8-5) W (7)
4. (2) San Francisco (9-3-1) W (4)
5. (4) Denver (10-3) W (2)
6. (7) Chicago (8-5) L (11)
7. (3) Houston (11-2) L (3)
8. (10) Baltimore (9-4) L (8)
9. (8) Atlanta (11-2) L (5)
10. (13) Washington (7-6) W (12)
11. (11) Green Bay (9-4) W (6)
12. (9) Cincinnati (7-6) L (14)
13. (12) Tampa Bay (6-7) L (18)
14. (20) Dallas (7-6) W (13)
15. (15) Saint Louis (6-6-1) W (17)
16. (17) Minnesota (7-6) W (16)
17. (14) Pittsburgh (7-6) L (15)
18. (19) San Diego (5-8) W (23)
19. (18) Miami (5-8) L (21)
20. (26) Carolina (4-9) W (26)
21. (21) Detroit (4-9) L (25)
22. (25) Cleveland (5-8) W (20)
23. (16) New Orleans (5-8) L (22)
24. (22) NY Jets (6-7) W (19)
25. (24) Buffalo (5-8) L (24)
26. (27) Indianapolis (9-4) W (9)
27. (29) Philadelphia (4-9) W (27)
28. (23) Arizona (4-9) L (29)
29. (28) Tennessee (4-9) L (28)
30. (31) Kansas City (2-11) L (32)
31. (32) Oakland (3-10) L (30)
32. (30) Jacksonville (2-11) L (31)
After pulling off an upset at Chicago a week ago, the Seattle Seahawks were looking forward to an easier game against Arizona this week, but they had no idea how easy it would be. The Cardinals turned the ball over 8 times and didn't even put up a fight as the Seahawks pulled off the 4th-largest shutout victory in NFL history. They are now thinking conference title, with an easy game against Buffalo in Toronto this week followed by home dates with the other two division challengers.
The Philadelphia Eagles won for the first time since September when they upset the Buccaneers on a last-second field goal, and though they won't be making the playoffs, they definitely hurt Tampa Bay's chances, and they also gave their young players some good experience being on the winning side of the game for once.
New Orleans got off to a rough start this season, then pulled things together and started to look like they might make a playoff run, but after three straight losses to division leaders, their playoff hopes are nearly gone. All three of their remaining games are winnable, but they will need a lot of help from teams above them in the rankings to make it back to the postseason and have a shot at a home Super Bowl.
The Houston Texans have had the league's best record almost all season long, but when they have gone up against other elite teams, they have had mixed results. They beat very good Baltimore and Denver teams, but got blown out by Green Bay and New England, giving up 42 points each time. Their final 3 games are all against overrated teams, so they should finish with the top record in the AFC, but it may not be enough to get them to the Super Bowl if they have to play the Patriots again.
Playoff Predictions
AFC
1. Houston (14-2)
2. New England (13-3)
3. Denver (13-3)
4. Pittsburgh (9-7)
5. Indianapolis (10-6)
6. Baltimore (9-7)
Left Out: Cincinnati (9-7), NY Jets (8-8)
NFC
1. Atlanta (13-3)
2. NY Giants (11-5)
3. Seattle (11-5)
4. Chicago (11-5)
5. San Francisco (10-5-1)
6. Washington (10-6)
Left Out: Green Bay (10-6), Dallas (9-7)
Super Bowl
New England over NY Giants
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
Thursday
Cincinnati at Philadelphia - Bengals by 5
Sunday
NY Giants at Atlanta - Giants by 4
Green Bay at Chicago - Bears by 7
Washington at Cleveland - Redskins by 1
Minnesota at Saint Louis - Rams by 4
Jacksonville at Miami - Dolphins by 15
Tampa Bay at New Orleans - Buccaneers by 1
Denver at Baltimore - Broncos by 1
Indianapolis at Houston- Texans by 14
Seattle vs. Buffalo - Seahawks by 16
Detroit at Arizona - Lions by 3
Carolina at San Diego - Chargers by 5
Pittsburgh at Dallas - Cowboys by 5
Kansas City at Oakland - Raiders by 3
San Francisco at New England - Patriots by 10
Monday
NY Jets at Tennessee - Jets by 1
NBA
New York at Brooklyn - Knicks by 3
LA Lakers at Cleveland - Lakers by 6
Denver at Detroit - Nuggets by 1
Washington at New Orleans - Hornets by 6
LA Clippers at Chicago - Clippers by 4
College Basketball
Binghampton at (3) Michigan - Wolverines by 42
Norfolk State at (10) Illinois - Fighting Illini by 22
North Dakota State at (13) Minnesota - Golden Gophers by 12
Prediction Results
NFL: 10-6 (.625) 130-77 overall (.628)
Upsets: 2-1 (.667) 19-17 overall (.528)
NBA: 6-0 (1.000) 204-99 overall (.673)
College Basketball: 1-0 (1.000) 252-54 overall (.824)
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