FTRsports Week 16 NFL Power Rankings

Week 15 was nothing short of magical for gambling with highs and lows that could rival a Lindsay Lohan bender. The Browns scored an unbelievable 41 points against the lowly Chiefs in a thriller. Josh Cribbs and Jerome Harrison stepped into the limelight for the day thanks to KC’s epically bad defense and special teams. San Diego proved it’s worth by beating the Bengals in So Cal in the game dedicated to Chris Henry who we’ll touch upon later. Let’s see how this week’s rankings shape up:

1. Indianapolis Colts- With the Saints fall from grace in down in the Bayou, Peyton Manning’s forehead has led the Colts to the top of the pile with 2 games remaining. The Colts have the Jets and Buffalo left on the menu, and you can bet they will keep their foot on the gas through the end to go undefeated. Don’t let the media fool you into betting against them.

2. New Orleans Saints- Believe it or not the Saints are now more dangerous than ever now that the pressure to go unblemished is off of their shoulders. I wouldn’t bet on Saints games these next two weeks, because they have nothing to play for, but you can bet the house on these guys in the playoffs. They’re the team to beat in the NFC, and probably the whole league.

3. San Diego Chargers- We shouldn’t be so shocked to see the Chargers plowing through December considering they play their best football every season around Christmas, but I was pretty surprised to see them beat the Bengals this week. If the Chargers defense can show up in the playoffs they may actually win a playoff game, but don’t expect to see any miracles from this team. They hate playing football in January.

4. Minnesota Vikings- They may have lost two games in a row, but this team still has more weapons than Al-qaeda and the North Koreans combined. Packers fans may have been right though a couple weeks ago when they said that Favre would hit the wall. He’s nowhere near as sharp as he was a month ago, and arguing with coach Brad Childress seems silly considering Favre is probably old enough to be Childress’s biological father. Bet on Minnesota to pound the Bears next week on Monday Night Football.

5. Cincinnati Bengals- The Bengals are trying to prove me wrong about being a playoff Cinderella by losing to legitimate contenders like the Vikings and the Chargers back to back, but the Bengals are still a solid football team that can run the ball down your throat. Closing out the season with cakewalk games against the Chiefs and Jets should help the Bengals get their minds right for the playoffs.

6. Philadelphia Eagles- If McNabb could throw the ball to Desean Jackson on every single snap, I would rank the Eagles #3 right now. This team is nothing without Jackson, but fortunately for them they play in the mediocre NFC East where one star is enough to win.

7. New England Patriots- The Patriots haven’t won any impressive games in weeks, but they also haven’t blown any lately like Arizona and Green Bay. Their secondary needs major work as the playoffs approach, but Randy Moss gets a second shot at Chris Gamble and the Panthers for the final game of the season. Don’t plan on seeing Moss “shut down” that game. It will be a statement game for the Patriots as they finish the season 11-5.

8. Dallas Cowboys- Yeah I know you think the Cowboys should be ranked above the Patriots and maybe even the Eagles, but the truth is you can never count on the Cowboys. They could easily lose to Washington next week after beating the mighty Saints this week. You never know. Betting on the Cowboys is like throwing darts in the dark. Which I do not recommend.

9. Josh Cribbs- This poor kid has been rotting in Cleveland for 5 years, and is finally getting the recognition he deserves. He officially has more career kickoff return TDs than any other NFL player in history.

Other Notables:

-The Tennessee Titans would be playoff bound if Vince Young had been playing all season, but sadly, they are pretty much chasing the dragon unless they can pull off a stunner against the Chargers next week.

- The Green Bay Packers are kind of like the Cowboys in that you never know whether or not they will show up to a game. Losing to the Steelers the way they did in the waning moments of this week’s game was heart breaking for fans, but fear not cheeseheads, Seattle is on their way to town, and they love losing football games!