WEEK 17 NFL Power Rankings

 

The Indianapolis Colts lost to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, but they're going to stay at the top of the Power Rankings heading into the final week of the season. The Colts were in an impossible situation on the weekend - the off-field distractions were enormous, their head coach was not on the sidelines,

they were on the road, they had nothing to play for in the standings, and many of their starters were slated to get some rest. The Seahawks wanted a win in this game to wrap up homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, and gave regular duty to both Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander. As a result, the Colts and Seahawks now boast the same record (13-2). However, Seattle will have to settle for spot No. 2 on this week's list, and aim to move up with a strong postseason effort.

Jumping from No. 4 to No. 3 this week are the Denver Broncos, who take that spot from the Cincinnati Bengals (who fall to No. 6). The Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears each move up two positions this week to round out the top five. The New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers make up the rest of the Week 17 top 10. The New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Dallas Cowboys fall outside of the top 10 this week, but they have bigger fish to fry at this point - they need to put forth a strong effort on the weekend to qualify for the postseason. In fact, this is the final edition of the Power Rankings to feature all 32 of the league's teams; starting next week, the rankings will include only those teams still in Super Bowl contention.

The 2005-06 NFL Week 17 Power rankings. Click your favorite team for their NFL Team Resources Page.

Week 16 NFL Power Rankings:				Last Weeks Power Rankings >>
05 Record	Rank	Team		2005 NFL Power Rankings - Comments
13-1-0	1	Colts		Host the Cardinals in their final game of the regular season, which should allow them to coast into their bye week.
13-2-0	2	Seahawks		Have now clinched everything they can, so could rest key players during their game with the Packers this week.
12-3-0	3	Broncos		Topped the Raiders on the weekend to earn a first-round bye, so Week 17 game against the Chargers means little.
11-4-0	4	Bengals		Somehow lost to the Bills on the weekend, which knocked them a notch below the Broncos in the AFC seedings.
10-5-0	5	Patriots		Easy win over the Jets on Monday night was their fourth in a row. Peaking just in time for another postseason run.
11-4-0	6	Bears		Rex Grossman threw for only 166 yards versus the Packers, but it was enough to clinch them a first-round bye.
10-5-0	7	Steelers		Emphatically dumped the Browns last week for their third straight win; will look to seal up a playoff spot in Week 17.
10-5-0	8	Buccaneers		Sit tied with the Panthers in the NFC South after their win in Week 16. Host the Saints in their final game of the year.
11-4-0	9	Jaguars		Have won two in a row behind David Garrard, who threw for 292 yards and a score against the Texans last week.
10-5-0	10	Panthers		Let the Cowboys pull out a win in the fourth quarter on Saturday, to lose control of the NFC South. Falcons up next.
10-5-0	11	Giants		Lost to the Redskins on the weekend, but at least they only have to play the struggling Raiders in their season finale.
9-6-0	12	Redskins		Have now won four straight, and put up 35 points against the Giants on the weekend to tighten up the NFC East.
9-6-0	13	Chargers		Not a good game for Drew Brees against the Chiefs: 18-of-33 for 161 yards passing, one TD, one interception.
9-6-0	14	Chiefs		Took care of the Chargers on the weekend, but will need to beat an angry Bengals team to get into the postseason.
9-6-0	15	Cowboys		Only a game back of the Giants in the NFC East now, but will need a win and some help to advance to the playoffs.
8-7-0	16	Falcons		Lost in overtime to the Bucs, and no longer have a shot at the postseason. Can play the spoiler versus the Panthers.
8-7-0	17	Dolphins		Five straight wins for the Dolphins after beating the Titans on the weekend. 172 rushing yards for Ricky Williams.
8-7-0	18	Vikings		Have now lost two in a row, and are out of the playoff picture. Play the Bears only for pride in their Week 17 finale.
6-9-0	19	Ravens		Have won two straight games, and will be looking for their first road win of the season this week against the Browns.
6-9-0	20	Eagles		Are the only NFC East team no longer in contention. Who would have expected that at the start of the 2005 season?
5-10-0	21	Browns		Not a great effort by Charlie Frye against the Steelers, and they sit in the AFC North division basement as a result.
5-10-0	22	Bills		Kelly Holcomb led the team in its upset of the Bengals on Saturday, throwing for 308 yards and a touchdown.
4-11-0	23	Titans		Steve McNair was ineffective against the Dolphins in their Week 16 loss, and eventually left with a pectoral injury.
5-10-0	24	Rams		Need to beat the Cowboys to halt a four-game losing streak, and have any shot at finishing above the Cardinals.
5-10-0	25	Cardinals		Have to play the Colts on Sunday, but at least they're coming off a 27-21 win on the weekend against the Eagles.
4-11-0	26	Raiders		Kerry Collins went 17-of-41 for 178 yards passing, no TDs, and one interception versus the Broncos. Just terrible.
5-10-0	27	Lions		Kicked a couple of fourth-quarter field goals against the Saints to pull out the win, only their fifth so far this season.
3-12-0	28	Jets		Went winless on the road in 2005, and haven't exactly been world-beaters at home either (3-4 after seven games).
3-12-0	29	Packers		If they can beat the Seahawks in Week 17 they'll end the season with four wins. Not a great year in Green Bay.
3-12-0	30	Saints		Looks like playing home games in San Antonio, Baton Rouge, and Giants Stadium didn't do much for the Saints.
3-12-0	31	49ers		Unfortunately for them, were matched up with a weak Rams team in Week 16, and actually pulled out a win . . .
2-13-0	32	Texans		. . . so the Texans have a one-game advantage in the loss column heading into their Week 17 matchup on Sunday.