NFL 2024 Week 16 Power Rankings and Week 17 picks

 Some turmoil within the Power Rankings!  As the playoff races get tight, and injuries mount up, the games get more cut-throat.

Power Rankings  [Last week's rank]

1.  DETROIT LIONS (13-2) [1]

2.  Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) [2]

3.  Minnesota Vikings (13-2) [4]

4.  Buffalo Bills (12-3) [5]

5.  Green Bay Packers (11-4) [6]

6.  Philadelphia Eagles (12-3) [3]

7.  Baltimore Ravens (10-5) [9]

8.  Denver Broncos (9-6) [7]

9.  Washington Commanders (10-5) [10]

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) [8]

11. Los Angeles Chargers (9-6) [12]

12. Houston Texans (9-6) [11]

13. Tampa Bay Bucs (7-8) [13]

14. Cincinnati Bengals (7-8) [16]

15. Seattle Seahawks (8-7) [14]

16. Los Angeles Rams (9-6) [19]

Divisional Power Rankings  [Last week's rank]

1.  NFC NORTH [1]

2 (tie).  NFC West [2]

2 (tie).  AFC West [3]

4.  AFC North [4]

5.  NFC East [5]

6.  AFC East [6]

7.  NFC South [7]

8.  AFC South [8]

Christmas Day

Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers : The Chiefs keep finding ways to win, and the Steelers offense is a little off-kilter right now.  CHIEFS, 24-20

Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans : Both teams have strong defenses and tricky QBs.  Lamar has been doing it a bit longer than Stroud.  RAVENS, 20-17

Thursday night

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears : Wither Bears.  SEAHAWKS, 23-3

Saturday

Los Angels Chargers at New England Patriots : The Pats showed a little power last week, but they couldn't sustain it.  CHARGERS, 24-10

Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals : Cincy is picking up, but the Broncos have been a silent but deadly force for most of the season.  BRONCOS, 23-20

Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams : The Rams are playing for a divisional title, and that should be sufficient incentive to push them to a win.  RAMS, 26-23

Sunday early games

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Bucs : Carolina has won more games than their pint differential should have allowed, and I think it will start to affect them.  The Bucs can be a tugh opponent at home.  BUCS, 27-20

Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles : The Eagles play for the division title.  While the Boys would love to play spoiler, I don't see it here.  EAGLES, 27-17

Indianapolis Colts at New York Giants : This is a devastating year for the Giants.  COLTS, 24-6

Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints : The Saints may not have scored a point on Monday Night, but that's not a normal situation for them this season.  SAINTS, 24-13

New York Jets at Buffalo Bills : At game time, the Bills will know if they have a shot at the top seed.  Since I dn't think they do, the question is how many players will sit out this game?  Even so, I think the Jets will still lose.  Not only do the players seem deflated, but they had very poor clock management this past week.  BILLS, 20-10

Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars : Both teams have struggled badly this season, but the Jags have shown life against divisional opponents.  JAGS, 16-13

Sunday late games

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings : The Pack may be playing for the playoffs, while Minnesota wants to keep pace with Detroit.  This will be a close hard-fought game, but I give the slight edge to the home team.  VIKINGS, 27-24

Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns : Should be a big win for Miami.  DOLPHINS, 24-13

Sunday night

Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders : Battle of the rookie QBs, but Daniels clearly has the edge.  COMMANDERS, 24-17

Monday Night Football

Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers : The Lions should roll here, maintaining their lead on the top seed.  LIONS, 27-14