1. Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) Def. NY Giants 34-29. Last Week: 1
The Eagles overcame a poor defensive start that saw them fall behind 20-7 behind four touchdown passes from Nick Foles in his 2017 debut as the Eagles starting quarterback and a late goal line stand that redeemed the defense. Nelson Agholor, Zach Ertz, and Alshon Jeffery all caught touchdowns and became the first trio of Eagles to each record at least eight receiving scores in the same season. Philadelphia remains in the driver’s seat for home-field advantage in the NFC.
2. New England Patriots (11-3) Def. Pittsburgh 27-24. Last Week: 3
The Patriots didn’t make it out of Pittsburgh completely unscathed. They’re down one Rex Burkhead. But surviving the Steelers final drive means completing a sweep of the Bills and beating the Jets will give them home field advantage in the playoffs. It sure was nice to have Gronk back on the field.
3. Minnesota Vikings (11-3) Def. Cincinnati 34-7. Last Week: 4
The Vikings clinched the NFC North in style, dismantling the Bengals early enough that they were able to test Teddy Bridgewater in garbage time. The returning quarterback threw an interception on a tipped ball on the first pass he’s thrown in over a season. The Vikings have to keep winning to lock up their first-round bye in the playoffs, and the newly eliminated Packers are next up.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3) Lost to New England 27-24. Last Week: 2
The bad news is that the Steelers lost Antonio Brown and, obviously, the game. The good news is Brown’s injury shouldn’t cause him to miss the playoffs. The Steelers have a bit of a history of letting up against less than stellar competition, so now their focus must be taking care of business against the Texans and Browns and getting the bye week once the playoffs begin.
5. Los Angeles Rams (10-4) Def. Seattle 42-7. Last Week: 6
The Rams showed Seattle exactly who owns the division in the roughest way possible, taking a 40-0 lead on the way to handing Pete Carroll his worst loss as Seahawks head coach. Todd Gurley’s name should be appearing in MVP talks after a rash of injuries to other contenders and back-to-back monster performances from the LA running back and NFL’s leading rusher.
6. Carolina Panthers (10-4) Def. Green Bay 31-24. Last Week: 5
All of the headlines may have centered on Aaron Rodgers return to try and guide the Packers into the playoffs, but it was Cam Newton who threw four touchdowns and shepherded Green Bay to elimination while keeping the pressure on the Saints in the NFC South. Carolina gets a chance to beef up their 2-2 division record this week when they take on the Buccaneers before a big game with the Falcons.
7. New Orleans Saints (10-4) Def. NY Jets 31-19. Last Week: 7
Alvin Kamara didn’t miss any time for the Saints, but it was Mark Ingram who provided 151 yards and two-touchdowns to lead the win over the Jets in a surprising close late contest. The Saints remain in first place in the NFC South thanks to their two wins over the Panthers, but need to beat the Falcons this week after losing to them a week ago.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) Def. Houston 45-7. Last Week: 9
Jacksonville have clinched their first playoff berth in a decade and remain in the running for a first round bye. This team continues to win in new ways (hello Blake Bortles!) on offense but has relied on its stellar defense all season. That’s what’s changed in Jacksonville. Tennessee’s loss to San Francisco means the Jaguars can clinch their division with a win against the same Niners this weekend.
9. Atlanta Falcons (9-5) Def. Tampa Bay 24-21. Last Week: 8
Devonta Freeman led the Falcons to victory with 126 yards rushing during a quiet night for the passing offense. The Falcons have positioned themselves well. They’re in the final wild card spot at the moment but winning out with games against Carolina and New Orleans would see them take over the division. It’s in their hands.
10. Kansas City Chiefs (8-6) Def. LA Chargers 30-13. Last Week: 17
The Kareem Hunt show is back. The rookie followed his first 100-yard outing in several weeks with a 200-total yard, multiple touchdown effort against LA. Marcus Peters added two interceptions and a fumble recovery. The Chiefs need to keep winning, but beating the Raiders and Chargers in convincing fashion the last two weeks has done a lot to move them toward the AFC West title that once looked assured.
11. Baltimore Ravens (8-6) Def. Cleveland 27-10. Last Week: 12
The Ravens defense stole four more turnovers from the Browns – making it nine on the season. The Ravens lost Jeremy Maclin in this one but if the suddenly revived offense can steer through the Colts and Bengals to end the season they’ll find themselves in the playoffs despite the loss to Pittsburgh a week ago.
12. Los Angeles Chargers (7-7) Lost to Kansas City 30-13. Last Week: 10
The Chargers aren’t done yet, but they saw their four game win streak ended in the worst possible way by their division rivals. They need help to make the post-season now. After a three interception day against Kansas City, Philip Rivers has now thrown nine picks in the Chargers seven losses, and just one in their seven wins.
13. Dallas Cowboys (8-6) Def. Oakland 20-17. Last Week: 13
In their final game without Ezekiel Elliott Dallas moved their record to 3-3 without the star running back. After beating Oakland by a hair’s breadth Sunday their playoff hopes are still alive, but it will be tough sledding. The Falcons currently own the final playoff spot in the NFC and they also own a head-to-head victory over the Cowboys.
14. Seattle Seahawks (8-6) Lost to LA Rams 42-7. Last Week: 11
The Seahawks are on the outside of the playoffs looking in after one of their worst performances in recent memory. Russell Wilson, carrying the team for much of the year had a terrible outing that included a fumble, safety, and negative 26 yard pass.
15. Detroit Lions (8-6) Def. Chicago 20-10. Last Week: 16
Darius Slay had two of three interceptions for the Detroit defense, and his second sealed the game. The Lions will need to push their two game win streak to four if they want to remain in the playoff race. They have a good chance against a slumping Bengals team that has endured two straight blowouts as they’ve seen their own post-season hopes wiped away.
16. Buffalo Bills (8-6) Def. Miami 24-16. Last Week: 18
LeSean McCoy scored twice and became the 30th player in NFL history with 10,000 career yards while helping the Bills keep their playoff hopes alive. Buffalo knocked back one of their chief competitors this week in the Dolphins, and will make the playoffs if they win out, but faces a major challenge this week in New England.
17. Tennessee Titans (8-6) Lost to San Francisco 25-23. Last Week: 15
The Titans have made things much harder on themselves after back-to-back losses to NFC East bottom dwellers. The good news is the losses coming to NFC opponents leaves their AFC record impressive, something that could come in handy in the crowded AFC wild card race.
18. Green Bay Packers (7-7) Lost to Carolina 31-24. Last Week: 14
The Packers weren’t officially eliminated until Atlanta beat Tampa Bay… but now they are. It remains to be seen if Aaron Rodgers will continue playing this season after he returned two months removed from injury to throw three touchdowns but also three interceptions in defeat.
19. Washington (6-8) Def. Arizona 20-15. Last Week: 22
Washington finally secured a victory, though it’d be hard to say they made it look easy against the Cardinals, managing only 208 total yards and 31 on the ground. After Samaje Perine struggled again (2.6 yards per carry,) keep an eye on Kapri Bibbs’ chance to supplant him at running back (four catches for 47 yards and a touchdown in his first appearance.)
20. Miami Dolphins (6-8) Lost to Buffalo 24-16. Last Week: 19
A week after shocking the Patriots (and the nation) to vault themselves back into playoff contention, the Dolphins look much further away (though not technically eliminated) after a loss to the Bills. They have another game with the Bills to close the season after a difficult trip to Kansas City this week.
21. Oakland Raiders (6-8) Lost to Dallas 20-17. Last Week: 20
Derek Carr’s fumble just shy of the goalline was the lone turnover of the night for the Raiders, but it was plenty costly. The Raiders fell two games back in the AFC West and wild card races with two games to play. The story of the season a year ago, this team has come crashing back to earth in 2017.
22. Arizona Cardinals (6-8) Lost to Washington 20-15. Last Week: 21
It was an ugly day for a Cardinals offense headed by Blaine Gabbert and Kerwynn Williams, which is perhaps both an unexpected and expected sentence. For the second week in a row, Phil Dawson scored all the Cardinals points. This time however, that wasn’t good enough for a win, and the Cardinals were eliminated from playoff contention.
23. San Francisco 49ers (4-10) Def. Tennessee 25-23. Last Week: 25
The 49ers won their third in a row with Jimmy Garoppolo starting at quarterback and for the second time this season relied on at least five field goals from Robbie Gould, who had six on six attempts Sunday. When. Garoppolo goes for his fourth straight he’ll be in for a tough test against Jacksonville’s defense.
24. Denver Broncos (5-9) Def. Indianapolis 25-13. Last Week: 27
Denver won their second in a row following an eight game losing streak behind Brock Osweiler’s best play since his first stint with the Broncos. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third in relief of Trevor Siemian, who injured his shoulder in the first quarter.
25. New York Jets (5-9) Lost to New Orleans 31-19. Last Week: 24
The Jets stuck with the rushing attack (albeit by massive committee: five players had 15 yards and six had carries) on a day when they fell behind early and Bryce Petty was going 19-for-39 and it allowed them to hang around long enough to be an onsides kick away.
26. Chicago Bears (4-10) Lost to Detroit 20-10. Last Week: 26
A week after torching the Bengals for over 200 yards on the ground, the Bears run game was back to its struggles against the Lions, finishing with just 43 yards as Jordan Howard was limited to 37 yards on only ten carries.
27. Cincinnati Bengals (5-9) Lost to Minnesota 34-7. Last Week: 23
After a last-second loss to the Steelers the Bengals have lost the last two games by a total of 57 points. The Bengals are officially eliminated from playoff contention, leaving the only drama for the rest of the year the future of Head Coach Marvin Lewis, whose contract is expiring after this season.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-10) Lost to Atlanta 24-21. Last Week: 29
The Buccaneers lost again as a 54-yard field goal that would have tied the game sailed wide. With a season that’s gone as amiss as this one, it would have been easy for them to pack it in after falling behind a better team Monday night. At least they didn’t do that.
29. Houston Texans (4-10) Lost to Jacksonville 45-7. Last Week: 28
The lone bright spot for the team from the Lone Star State remains DeAndre Hopkins. He had 80 of Houston’s 99 total passing yards and scored their only touchdown long after the game was out of hand. This team is limping to the finish.
30. New York Giants (2-12) Lost to Philadelphia 34-29. Last Week: 31
The Giants were the first team to test a Carson Wentz-less Eagles and almost did so successfully. Eli Manning had 434 yards and three touchdowns in defeat, most of it going to Sterling Shepard, who now has 18 catches for 272 yards in two meetings with Philadelphia this season.
31. Indianapolis Colts (3-11) Lost to Denver 25-13. Last Week: 30
Frank Gore returned from injury to reach 1,000 total yards for the twelfth straight season. That was one of the rare positive moments in the second half. The Colts took a 10-0 lead only to lose their fifth straight game.
32. Cleveland Browns (0-14) Lost to Baltimore 27-10. Last Week: 32
The Browns have to beat Chicago or Pittsburgh to avoid becoming just the second team ever to finish 0-16. They’ll have to win on the road too, as they just finished up 0-8 at home.
