NFL Power Rankings: Final Edition

The 2020 NFL regular season schedule is in the books. Now it’s time to see where all 32 teams stack up for one last time ahead of the playoffs. For reference purposes, here is a link to last week’s NFL Power Rankings.

BLG’S FINAL NFL POWER RANKINGS

1 - Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 2) - The Bills didn’t have much to play for against a Miami team that was fighting for a postseason berth .. and beat the crap out of them anyway. Buffalo is going to win the Super Bowl. They’re a well-oiled machine. Great vibes here.

2 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 1) - They rested their starters with nothing to play for in Week 17. Between that and having the bye week, the Chiefs should be pretty fresh when they play again. Will they look better than they did while playing down to their competition to end the season? Hard to count out Patrick Mahomes but I think Buffalo can beat them.

3 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 3) - Aaron Rodgers finished the season with 48 touchdowns to five interceptions for a 121.5 passer rating. He should be getting his third career MVP trophy and perhaps his second Super Bowl ring.

4 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 4) - It’ll be very fun to see how the Saints choke in the playoffs this year.

5 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 6) - The Bucs took advantage of weaker competition to end the season with four straight wins. They should be able to beat Washington in the wild card round. Still don’t trust them to get to the Super Bowl since they’ll falter against better opponents.

6 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 5) - Hard to feel like the Seahawks are truly about to go on a run with how lackluster they’ve looked. But they’re certainly a threat to win a playoff game or two. Not just going to lie down.

7 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 7) - Not sure that Ben Roethlisberger has enough left in the tank to get the Stillers to the Super Bowl. Thinking Pittsburgh might max out at one playoff win.

8 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 9) - After the Bills, the Ravens should be the team that no one wants to play in the playoffs. Lamar Jackson is going to get his first playoff win. Baltimore is hot heading into the postseason.

9 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 10) - Congrats to the Browns on making the playoffs for the first time since 2002! Now, can they win their first playoff game since 1994? History typically works against quarterbacks making their first postseason starts. Might be one and done.

10 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 11) - Multiple things to like about the Titans: their fighting spirit under Mike Vrabel, Derrick Henry being a badass, their offense as a whole. But that defense is sus and will ultimately be their downfall.

11 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 12) - The Colts are a quality regular season team but they’re not going to experience much, if any, postseason success. Just not on the same level as Buffalo. Does Carson Wentz replace Philip Rivers next year?

12 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 13) - The Rams might be relying on John Wolford at quarterback in the wild card round. So, that’s not ideal.

13 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 8) - Is Tuanigamanuolepola Tagovailoa definitely the Dolphins’ franchise quarterback? Miami seriously needs to think about taking another passer at No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

14 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 16) - Had it not been for Anthony Lynn holding them back, the Chargers feasibly could’ve had a winning record this year. The Chargers should be formidable if they can get the right head coach in the building. Pairing Brian Daboll or Arthur Smith with Justin Herbert could be pretty great.

15 - Chicago Bears (LW: 14) - The Bears backed into the playoffs and could be due for the second first-round exit of Mitchell Trubisky’s tenure. Being stuck in the middle is the worst place to be.

16 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 15) - Disappointing to miss the playoffs. Getting Kyler Murray a taste of the postseason would’ve been ideal. On the bright side, the Cardinals took a step forward in 2020. Now the pressure is on to improve again in 2021.

17 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 17) - Justin Jefferson sure is awesome but the Vikings are ultimately spinning their wheels with Kirk Cousins as their franchise quarterback. Mired in mediocrity.

18 - New England Patriots (LW: 18) - Weird year for the Pats with Tom Brady leaving and dealing with a bunch of COVID opt-outs. New England needs to find an upgrade on Cam Newton.

19 - Washington Football Team (LW: 19) - On the bright side, Ron Rivera winning the NFC East in his first year on the job could be a positive sign for culture-building in Washington. On the dark side, Washington making the playoffs hinders their ability to find a much-needed long-term answer at quarterback.

20 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 20) - Teddy Bridgewater got benched for a former XFL player. He ain’t it. Carolina has to hope they can trade him because cutting him isn’t a super realistic option.

21 - Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 23) - Jon Gruden has yet to have a winning season since returning to the Raiders. The pressure will be on to get Las Vegas to the playoffs in 2021.

22 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 22) - Tough season for last year’s NFC champs. Had to deal with too many injuries. They reasonably made the most of things. Poised to rebound next year if they can get healthier and figure out the quarterback situation.

23 - New York Giants (LW: 25) - Just a thought but maybe the Giants should’ve tried winning more than six games if they wanted to make the playoffs.

24 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 21) - Assuming Dak Prescott is back, the Cowboys should be in better shape next year. Gotta fix that defense, though.

25 - Denver Broncos (LW: 24) - John Elway ceding power has the potential to be good for the Broncos. New general manager needs to find a quarterback. Hard for Vic Fangio to do much without one.

26 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 26) - The Falcons have an opportunity for a fresh start with a new head coach and general manager. What becomes of Matt Ryan?

27 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 27) - For the Bengals’ sake, hopefully Joe Burrow can get healthy. Lot of pressure on Zac Taylor to get Cincy looking a lot better next season.

28 - New York Jets (LW: 28) - The Jets have draft picks and cap space for Joe Douglas to work with. Can they find the right head coach? Is Sam Darnold part of the solution? Do they trade down from No. 2? Many questions to be answered.

29 - Houston Texans (LW: 30) - Having Deshaun Watson in place should be appealing to head coach candidates. The lack of draft picks is a problem, though, and J.J. Watt might want out.

30 - Detroit Lions (LW: 31) - Will be interesting to see if the Lions feel like they can win now with Matthew Stafford or trade him and start a long-term vision with a new head coach and quarterback. Thinking the latter might be the route to go.

31 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 29) - The Eagles are a mess. Their $128 million quarterback, who played like the worst starter at his position this season, is reportedly demanding a trade. There’s limited path to improvement due to poor contracts and a lack of faith in the front office to make the right draft picks. Perhaps Jeffrey Lurie is running it back with Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson because it wouldn’t even be fair to evaluate a new general manager and head coach in this environment.

32 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 32) - The Jags went 0-15 after winning all the way back in Week 1. There’s hope on the horizon, though, with the No. 1 overall pick and the most cap space in the NFL to work with. Just need to get the head coach and general manager hires right.