Metro's NFL Power Rankings, Week 17

Metro’s NFL Power Rankings, Week 17

Rodgers and the Packers went wire-to-wire as No. 1 in Metro's weekly NFL power rankings. He's also (duh) our pick for MVP.

We’re going to keep the final edition of our NFL Power Rankings brief. It’s playoff time …

1. Green Bay Packers (15-1): They can’t even lose when they bench their starters. Matt Flynn for MVP. Last week: 1

2. New Orleans Saints (13-3): We’ll say it again … this is the most dangerous team in the postseason party. Last week: 2

3. New England Patriots (13-3): Yes, we know. The defense stinks. But no deficit is too large with White Jesus at QB. Last week: 3

4. San Francisco 49ers (13-3): That fake field goal was a little bush league, but Jim Harbaugh still Coach of the Year. Last week: 4

5. Baltimore Ravens (12-4): When you need a big play, there’s no one better than Ray Rice. Last week: 5

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4): Big Ben is gimpy. So when hasn’t he been? He’s still 10-3 all-time in the playoffs. Last week: 6

7. Detroit Lions (10-6): Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson are clicking at exactly the right time. Last week: 8

8. Atlanta Falcons (10-6): Averaging 33 points per game in final four weeks — winning three of them. Last week: 9

9. New York Giants (9-7): Big Blue can sure look good when they want to. Another team we wouldn’t want to play, in Cruz control. Last week: 11

10. Houston Texans (10-6): We know they weren’t playing for much, but entering the playoffs on a three-game losing skid is never good. Last week: 7

11. Cincinnati Bengals (9-7): ’Cats are 1-6 vs. teams with winning records. Yet we like them to pull off the first-round upset. Last week: 10

12. Dallas Cowboys (8-8): If they had a legit secondary, there’s a good chance they win the NFC East. Last week: 12

13. Denver Broncos (8-8): Steelers DC Dick LeBeau is probably Tebow-ing in his sleep. That’s not good for Broncos fans. Last week: 13

14. Tennessee Titans (9-7): Mike Munchak should get some Coach of the Year votes. Incredible job. Last week: 16

15. Philadelphia Eagles (8-8): Andy Reid saved his job with a late-season surge. Team set franchise records for yardage, first downs. Last week: 18

16. San Diego Chargers (8-8): Curious decision to keep Norv Turner. Still, admit it, Philip Rivers is a man-beast. Last week: 19

17. Oakland Raiders (8-8): They did it! Raiders set the record for most penalty yards in a season. Last week: 14

18. Arizona Cardinals (8-8): Went 7-2 in last nine games with inept QB duo of Kevin Kolb/John Skelton. Wow. Last week: 21

19. New York Jets (8-8): And, on the seventh day, Rex Ryan cried. They take more questions than Alex Trebek does on a daily basis into the offseason. Last week: 15

20. Carolina Panthers (6-10): Now the fun begins as NFL coordinators learn how to game-plan for Rookie of the Year Cam Newton. Last week: 20

21. Seattle Seahawks (7-9): We’re sticking with Marshawn Lynch for Comeback Player of the Year. Last week: 17

22. Chicago Bears (8-8): Jay Cutler might actually last an entire season with Mike Martz gone. Last week: 23

23. Kansas City Chiefs (7-9): Stop the Josh McDaniels talk right now. This job belongs to Romeo Crennel. Last week: 24

24. Miami Dolphins (6-10): Umm, career backup Matt Moore finished as the second-best QB in the AFC East. No, really, that happened. Last week: 22

25. Buffalo Bills (6-10): Jury’s still out on Ryan Fitzpatrick. Jury loves Fred Jackson, though. Last week: 26

26. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11): Congratulations to Maurice Jones-Drew on winning the rushing title. Last week: 27

27. Washington Redskins (5-11): They couldn’t even manage the clock last week and get a field-goal attempt off before the half ended. Last week: 25

28. Cleveland Browns (4-12): Colt McCoy isn’t the answer. Anyone got Bernie Kosar’s number? Last week: 28

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12): Bucs aren’t as bad as record shows. They just gave up on their coach. Last week: 29

30. Minnesota Vikings (3-13): Forget Adrian Peterson’s knee. Franchise might be on the move. Last week: 30

31. Indianapolis Colts (2-14): We bumped them up for winning the “Suck for Luck” sweepstakes. Last week: 32

32. St. Louis Rams (2-14): Let’s see what a healthy Sam Bradford and new coach can do in 2012. Last week: 31

And since we’re not ashamed to lay it all out on the table (feel free to e-mail, text, Facebook, whatever and make fun), here are our Week 1 picks, done before any games had even been played. In all honesty, we could have done a lot worse!

Bang it here tomorrow to get our playoff predictions and a Super Bowl pick.