NFL Power Rankings: Final Edition

The 2019 NFL regular season schedule is in the books. Now it’s time to see where all 32 teams stack up for one last time. For reference purposes, here is a link to last week’s NFL Power Rankings.

BLG’S FINAL NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 - Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 1) - The Ravens rested starters and still won by 18 points despite playing a Pittsburgh team fighting for a playoff spot. Easily the biggest favorites to win Super Bowl LIV.

2 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 2) - The Chiefs haven’t lost a game since November 10. They were fortunate to get help from Miami in order to clinch a first-round bye. Obligatory: “Is this the year Andy Reid finally wins a Super Bowl? We’ll believe it when we see it.”

3 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 4) - They’re only the No. 3 seed but they’re still the scariest team in the NFC. The offense is averaging 36.3 points per game in their last seven matchups.

4 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 3) - San Fran was an inch away from dropping down to the No. 5 seed. Instead they’re the No. 1 seed. It’ll be interesting to see how Jimmy G fares in his first playoff game.

5 - New England Patriots (LW: 5) - The Pats were 16.5-point home favorites in a game they needed to clinch a first-round bye. They lost to Miami. Would it really be so shocking if they lost again in the wild card round?

6 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 6) - Aaron Rodgers looked pretty awful as the Packers barely beat Detroit to clinch a first-round bye. He was missing a ton of throws. This team isn’t going to the Super Bowl unless he starts playing a lot better.

7 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 7) - Russell Wilson gives them a chance to win every single week but injuries are starting to take a toll.

8 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 9) - The Vikings rested some starters since they were locked in to the No. 6 seed. Kirk Cousins is 0-2 in the playoffs and it’ll take a big effort for him to get his first win in the Superdome.

9 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 11) - The Eagles overcame a ton of injuries to clinch the NFC East with their fourth straight win. It’d be a mistake to sleep on the Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz combination right now. Philly’s defense has played well, too.

10 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 10) - The Bills rested starters ahead of their wild card game in Houston. They’ve got upset potential. They’ve also got one-and-done potential after finishing the regular season with the league’s easiest strength of schedule.

11 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 13) - Can’t rule out the Titans making some noise in the postseason with Ryan Tannehill playing so well. There’s a sentence I never expected to type at the beginning of this season.

12 - Houston Texans (LW: 8) - Dropping the Texans not because they lost in Week 17 while resting starters. Dropping them because signs point to them being a fraud team. They’re 15th in point differential and 19th in DVOA. Their ceiling is one playoff win.

13 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 15) - Stealing this stat from my BGN Radio co-host Jimmy Kempski: “2019 marked the 23rd season in row that the Cowboys did not appear in a conference championship game. The only teams with longer droughts? Cincinnati (30), Washington (27), Detroit (27), Cleveland (26), Miami (26), and Buffalo (25).”

14 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 16) - Sean McVay’s encore to scoring the fewest points in Super Bowl history was failing to lead his team to the playoffs.

15 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 17) - The Falcons are keeping Dan Quinn after going 6-2 in the second half of the season. Does keeping the head coach who should’ve been fired often work out? The pressure will be on in 2020.

16 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 14) - Jameis Winston’s 30th interception was fittingly a pick six to end the Bucs’ season with a loss. Bringing him back would be a mistake for Tampa.

17 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 12) - An 8-8 finish is respectable considering they lost their top two quarterbacks due to injury. Did you realize the Steelers haven’t had a losing season since 2003? Just one of their two in the last 20 years.

18 - Denver Broncos (LW: 18) - The Broncos finished the season 4-1 with Drew Lock starting. He’ll be their guy for 2020.

19 - Chicago Bears (LW: 20) - The Bears really need to be thinking about a Mitchell Trubisky exit strategy. They’re not going far with him under center.

20 - Indianapolis Cols (LW: 19) - The Colts could’ve done worse than a 7-9 finish given their starting quarterback surprisingly retired days before the season. Indy needs to find an upgrade on Jacoby Brissett moving forward.

21 - New York Jets (LW: 22) - Joe Douglas has a lot of work to do in his first full offseason as a general manager.

22 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 21) - The Cardinals jumped from 32nd in DVOA last year to 20th this year. They appear to be team on the rise with Kyler Murray in the fold.

23 - Oakland Raiders (LW: 23) - The Raiders are 11-21 after two years into Jon Gruden’s 10-year, $100 million contract.

24 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 28) - The 2019 Dolphins really reminded me of those Process Sixers teams that were clearly bad but fought really hard and punched above their weight at times. Finishing the season with an upset win in New England was impressive. Now they just need to find a long-term answer at quarterback.

25 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 24) - 2020 might be the first time the Chargers start a quarterback not named Philip Rivers since 2003. The 37-year-old Rivers is a free agent.

26 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 27) - The Jags are running it back with Doug Marrone and expecting a different result in 2020. Maybe Gardner Minshew makes a leap after exceeding expectations as a rookie? What happens with Nick Foles?

27 - New York Giants (LW: 26) - The Giants dropped to 4-20 in their last 24 games against Philly with a loss on Sunday. Pat Shurmur is gone but Dave Gentleman remains, which is a problem for New York’s outlook.

28 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 32) - With the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Joe Burrow, quarterback, LSU. A long overdue Andy Dalton replacement.

29 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 25) - The Browns’ disappointing season appropriately ended with a loss to the team with the NFL’s worst record.

30 - Washington Redskins (LW: 29) - Washington won by losing since they held on to the No. 2 overall pick. There’s some hope in DC with Bruce Allen out and a new head coach (Ron Rivera?) and Chase Young on the way in. That Dan Snyder guy is still around, though.

31 - Detroit Lions (LW: 31) - The Lions actually put up some fight against Green Bay in Week 17 but still lost their ninth game in a row.

32 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 30) - The Panthers finished the season with eight losses in a row. Outscored by 64 points in the final two weeks. Their final DVOA rank: 31st.