… and then there were two.

I have to admit, I definitely didn’t see this Super Bowl coming. And you know what? Neither did you. In my first rankings, the Seahawks were 18th. The Patriots were 27th. Both were 0-1 at the time. You would have had to be insane to think they’d be here. But they are. And now they’ll play for the championship. Everyone else is finished, and for them, this will be the final rankings of the year.

And so for the rest, the what if’s. Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Buffalo, San Francisco- they all must be feeling like they missed an opportunity. They kind of did. Of course, this begs the question- was this a change season? New England, Seattle, Denver, Chicago- these aren’t old teams. They’re brand new to the stage. Do the teams who have been contending (definitely include Kansas City) have the rosters and front offices to build back up and compete next year? Some definitely will. Some won’t. For someone, we’ll figure out who next Fall, the window just closed. Lots to think about there.

I’ll do my Super Bowl pick closer to the game. For now, the final rankings.

1/19 rankings. 1/13 rankings. 1/6 rankings. 12/30 rankings. 12/24 rankings. 12/16 rankings. 12/9 rankings. 12/3 rankings. 11/26 rankings. 11/18 rankings. 11/11 rankings. 11/4 rankings. 10/28 rankings. 10/21 rankings. 10/15 rankings. 10/8 rankings. 9/30 rankings. 9/24 rankings. 9/16 rankings. 9/9 rankings.

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. New England Patriots
3. Los Angeles Rams
4. Denver Broncos
5. Chicago Bears
6. Buffalo Bills
7. Houston Texans
8. San Francisco 49’ers
9. Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Philadelphia Eagles
11. Los Angeles Chargers
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Carolina Panthers
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. Minnesota Vikings
17. Atlanta Falcons
18. Baltimore Ravens
19. Detroit Lions
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. Miami Dolphins
22. Indianapolis Colts
23. New Orleans Saints
24. Cincinnati Bengals
25. Kansas City Chiefs
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Washington Commanders
28. Tennessee Titans
29. New York Jets
30. Arizona Cardinals
31. New York Giants
32. Las Vegas Raiders

… And then there were four. Are you ready for the best Sunday of football this year? It’s time for the conference title games. As the season winds towards it’s conclusion, I think we can come to one major conclusion- this was a season of change. Kansas City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco are all not here (don’t write their permanent obituaries, but still). In fact, the only team playing in these conference title games that went past the first round in last year’s playoffs are the Los Angeles Rams. A new generation of great teams has arrived, and they will probably be around for a while.

Thoughts on both games:

• New England (-4.5) @ Denver- Obviously Stidham starting instead of Nix colors any and all thoughts about this game for everyone. The former Auburn Tigers QB has played but a hand full of snaps all season, but does have experience as a starter in the NFL. Even so, I find it hard to believe that Vrabel’s defense isn’t going to frustrate him and take advantage of his mistakes after the way they handled Herbert and Stroud the last two weeks. New England very well might have won this game with Bo Nix playing. I’m taking them to cover as is.
• Los Angeles @ Seattle (-2.5)- I’m kind of surprised by the early narrative about this game. I figured everyone would be predicting LA to walk back to the Super Bowl, but instead it’s Seattle who is the early favorite. Well, they looked like a team who should be favored in destroying San Francisco, backing up their top seed. LA didn’t look incredible in beating Chicago, but let’s consider something- they beat the #2 seed on the road in tough weather and a tough environment. That’s more impressive than we give it credit. Home field is a huge advantage usually, but this is a division game and I don’t think it matters as much. With that said, Seattle has looked like the best team for several weeks now. My head tells me they can’t beat LA twice in a row, but I watched what I watched this weekend.

As for who to cheer for- I don’t care very much. A Broncos win would be funny, but I don’t like Sean Payton. Can anyone in America wish more good for New England at this point? I do like Vrabel and Maye though. Seattle and Sam Darnold winning would silence a lot of narratives, but it could also jump start a run for them, and I don’t like that. Does anyone really want to see Los Angeles win anything right now? Let alone McVey fanboys will come out of the woodwork again. But I like Stafford a lot, and him winning a second title would cement his legacy. I’m totally ambivalent here. They’re all fine. They’re all not.

On to the updated rankings. From #9 back stays the same for now. From #5 to 8, this is the final placement. Here you go.

Past rankings- 1/13 rankings. 1/6 rankings. 12/30 rankings. 12/24 rankings. 12/16 rankings. 12/9 rankings. 12/3 rankings. 11/26 rankings. 11/18 rankings. 11/11 rankings. 11/4 rankings. 10/28 rankings. 10/21 rankings. 10/15 rankings. 10/8 rankings. 9/30 rankings. 9/24 rankings. 9/16 rankings. 9/9 rankings.

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. New England Patriots
3. Los Angeles Rams
4. Denver Broncos
5. Chicago Bears
6. Buffalo Bills
7. Houston Texans
8. San Francisco 49’ers
9. Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Philadelphia Eagles
11. Los Angeles Chargers
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Carolina Panthers
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. Minnesota Vikings
17. Atlanta Falcons
18. Baltimore Ravens
19. Detroit Lions
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. Miami Dolphins
22. Indianapolis Colts
23. New Orleans Saints
24. Cincinnati Bengals
25. Kansas City Chiefs
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Washington Commanders
28. Tennessee Titans
29. New York Jets
30. Arizona Cardinals
31. New York Giants
32. Las Vegas Raiders

A few more notes here:

1. When is a receiver down by contact and when do they have to “survive the ground.” I’m not saying the refs screwed the Bills or the Bears with the way it was called this weekend, it seems to me like the rule is unclear, but isn’t that kind of a problem? Those plays could have changed seasons. How are we in 2026 and can’t have a uniform standard for when a receiver is down?
2. Should the Texans call Cincinnati? Ok, I’m serious here, C.J. Stroud for Joe Burrow is probably a ridiculous reach, but after that playoff performance by Stroud, you can’t help but wonder if the Texans would be championship favorites next year if they could pull it off. Look, a lot of teams will call about Burrow, but unless he demands a trade it won’t happen.
3. The Bills job is really attractive, but who is a real upgrade on McDermott? It’s fine to fire your coach because of continually coming up short, but don’t you need to have someone better to hire? I’m not sure who that coach is right now.

… And then there were eight. With one weekend of NFL Playoff football done, some major contenders are out. Others are still in. More commentary about this week’s games after the rankings.

1/6 rankings. 12/30 rankings. 12/24 rankings. 12/16 rankings. 12/9 rankings. 12/3 rankings. 11/26 rankings. 11/18 rankings. 11/11 rankings. 11/4 rankings. 10/28 rankings. 10/21 rankings. 10/15 rankings. 10/8 rankings. 9/30 rankings. 9/24 rankings. 9/16 rankings. 9/9 rankings.

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Denver Broncos
3. New England Patriots
4. Houston Texans
5. Chicago Bears
6. Los Angeles Rams
7. Buffalo Bills
8. San Francisco 49’ers
9. Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Philadelphia Eagles
11. Los Angeles Chargers
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Carolina Panthers
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. Minnesota Vikings
17. Atlanta Falcons
18. Baltimore Ravens
19. Detroit Lions
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. Miami Dolphins
22. Indianapolis Colts
23. New Orleans Saints
24. Cincinnati Bengals
25. Kansas City Chiefs
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Washington Commanders
28. Tennessee Titans
29. New York Jets
30. Arizona Cardinals
31. New York Giants
32. Las Vegas Raiders

No changes in the order from 15 on back. Teams 9-14 are basically in their old order. While teams did move up into the top 8, nobody jumped each other this week. It’s hard to drop teams for winning. So the order kind of just holds for now.

As for this week’s games-

Bills (-1.5) @ Broncos- I love the assumption in Vegas that this is Buffalo’s year. I really do. Just because Mahomes isn’t here, we think the Bills will win a second straight road playoff game against the team that was first in the AFC for the last couple of months? On the other hand, Jacksonville may very well have been the best team, and Buffalo just went there and beat them. If the line gets worse I’m taking Denver, but I do see the Bills by under a field goal.

49’ers @ Seahawks (-7)- This line still feels crazy to me. Sure, Seattle shut down the Niners offense in week 18. San Fran is still an experienced playoff team, taking a relatively short trip for them, to a stadium they’re used to. Also, San Fran’s defense also played really well in week 18, and in the Wild Card game. I think Seattle should be favored, they’re rested and home, but they won’t cover 7. Seattle by under a score.

Texans @ Patriots (-3)- Houston has the best defense in football. New England’s defense is really good too. For me, this comes down to whether you’re more confident in Stroud or Maye. People are going to call me nuts, but I think this is Stroud’s best chance to win in his young career. I think either of these teams will actually win the AFC if they get through here. I’m taking the Texans in the upset.

Rams (-3.5) @ Bears- Lots of people have tried to call each of these teams frauds in recent weeks. So who is it? Just as the collective group think has been it’s Buffalo’s year in the AFC, everyone keeps wanting to declare the Rams the team to beat. Every time they do, they stumble. So what happens here? Weather is expected to be awful. Everyone will say that helps Chicago, but last year the Rams gave the Eagles their hardest game in the snow. I’m going to take the Rams here. I just don’t think Chicago can pull another comeback if they get behind these guys.

The season is over. The playoffs are set. Before I get deep into the playoffs though, I want to do my final regular season rankings. Playoff predictions and regular season football are different things. These rankings will reflect the long season that began four months ago. The playoffs are about being able to string together three or four wins.

So anyway, here’s the last rankings. The rest to follow.

12/30 rankings. 12/24 rankings. 12/16 rankings. 12/9 rankings. 12/3 rankings. 11/26 rankings. 11/18 rankings. 11/11 rankings. 11/4 rankings. 10/28 rankings. 10/21 rankings. 10/15 rankings. 10/8 rankings. 9/30 rankings. 9/24 rankings. 9/16 rankings. 9/9 rankings.

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Denver Broncos
3. New England Patriots
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
5. Houston Texans
6. Chicago Bears
7. Philadelphia Eagles
8. Los Angeles Rams
9. Buffalo Bills
10. San Francisco 49’ers
11. Los Angeles Chargers
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Carolina Panthers
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. Minnesota Vikings
17. Atlanta Falcons
18. Baltimore Ravens
19. Detroit Lions
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. Miami Dolphins
22. Indianapolis Colts
23. New Orleans Saints
24. Cincinnati Bengals
25. Kansas City Chiefs
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Washington Commanders
28. Tennessee Titans
29. New York Jets
30. Arizona Cardinals
31. New York Giants
32. Las Vegas Raiders

There are so many dumpster fires in this group, but one could fairly say the top 23 teams all at least had a good point in the season. For teams #15-32, it’s the offseason. Coaching changes, the draft, and free agency await. I won’t be changing the order there anymore at this point. Obviously the most disappointing season goes to the Chiefs, which isn’t really necessarily anyone’s fault, time just caught up to them. The most hopeful of the non-playoff teams, to me, should be New Orleans.

So, about the playoffs- totally different season. If the regular season is about consistency and repeating good habits, the playoffs are about top end talent, typically. Now, there is a lot of crossover- the last three NFC champs were top two seeds- but it’s not a lock. This year you have Wild Cards like the Rams and 49’ers who have made recent runs to the Super Bowl, and teams like Buffalo with plenty of experience at this time of year. So what’s my take about this week’s games?

• Rams (-10.5) @ Panthers- The Rams should win this and cover, however I did watch this regular season game, and Bryce Young and the Panthers offense looked really good. Also, the Panthers have been winning every other week for like two months, and are coming off of a loss. So I’m tempted to bet on the Panthers to at least cover, and I think I like the over in this game. However, in the real world, I’d be shocked if the Rams don’t win this.
• Packers (-1.5) @ Bears- I don’t think the Bears are flukes. I also don’t think they win this game. These two teams split this season, with the Bears winning the more recent game. It was an exciting, back and forth game though, one that the Packers found every way to lose. This is a divisional game, and those are way harder to win two in a row. It also sounds like the Packers are a bit healthier this week, so I’m calling the upset.
• Bills (-1.5) @ Jaguars- This one is a hard game to predict. Jacksonville had one of the hottest finishes in football. They are a surprise to be here though, while the only surprise with Buffalo is that they’re on the road. I feel like Buffalo needs to get it done this year. On the other hand, Lawrence has played plenty of postseason games, and has wins too. I have the least feel for this one, but I’ll take Buffalo on here, I guess.
• 49’ers @ Eagles (-4.5)- I love my Eagles, but this is a genuine heavyweight fight. After the Eagles, the Niners and Rams are probably the best two NFC teams of the past five years. Here the Niners are again, albeit with a very different team, back in Philly for a playoff game. Purdy and Shanahan have been in plenty of games, they won’t be intimidated. With that said, the travel, the home field advantage, and health all favor the team that won the Super Bowl last year. For those reasons, the Eagles should win. I just wouldn’t sleep on it.
• Chargers @ Patriots (-3.5)- Are the Chargers of today just the Chargers of the Rivers days? They’re really good, they have a great coach/QB combo. They’re here consistently. But is it ever their time? This is a far travel, to play a team who had a little bit better season. So the Patriots should be the favorites, and they are. Is this the time for the Chargers though? Doesn’t seem like it.
• Texans (-3) @ Steelers- The Steelers are a lot better than people give them credit for. If they keep Tomlin and Rodgers for next season, and add more talent around them, the 10-7 division champs could truly contend. However, what they need to do is find their future QB for after next year. The Texans should give them time to do that. This defense is absolutely elite, and up to the task of a deep playoff run.

There’s not much left to decide. With one game to go, we know six of the seven playoff participants in both conferences. We know that Denver, Seattle, and San Francisco control their destinies, in terms of winning home field. The order behind those teams could move a bit, but for the most part, it’s done.

The truth is that there are some teams who don’t care, and haven’t cared for weeks, and then there are some teams trying. So what is there to learn at this point? Not a ton. Just enough to hold your interest though, and that’s why you’ll watch this week. You still won’t really know who is the favorite in the NFC though, because you just won’t. The same could be said of the AFC, which none of you would trust anyway.

So basically you have a couple of meaningful games left. They are:

• Ravens-Steelers- the winner wins the AFC North. If the Steelers win, most people will make them the underdog now, no matter who they play in round one. If the Ravens win, people will start calling them the sleeper, and blah, blah, blah. Lamar has been hurt and inconsistent all year, but I guess that will all change when the calendar changes, according to some.
• Panthers-Buccaneers- If you still believe there are football gods, the Bucs should disprove that for you. They have been one of the worst football teams in the league for about two months, and yet they’re a home win against an 8-8 team away from the playoffs. They’ll probably be favored at kickoff. Meanwhile the Panthers grew from a hideous football team early to become really no worse than some of the NFC’s “contenders” after the first month. And yet, they both have a chance.
• Seahawks-Niners- Winner gets home field, a bye, and wins the best division in football this year. Loser gets either five (Seahawks, where they will still be favored) or six (possible for the Niners, but the reward is a trip to Philadelphia in January). This is literally a difference of having the easiest or one of the hardest roads to the Super Bowl. The Niners might never leave home again this season, a streak that would encompass the last two games of the season, two rounds of the playoffs, and the Super Bowl, or they could travel 3,000 miles to a hostile environment. Completely insane.
• There are other games that sort of matter for seeding, or could matter if Denver were to lose, but those are remote possibilities.

Ok, so on to the rankings.

12/24 rankings. 12/16 rankings. 12/9 rankings. 12/3 rankings. 11/26 rankings. 11/18 rankings. 11/11 rankings. 11/4 rankings. 10/28 rankings. 10/21 rankings. 10/15 rankings. 10/8 rankings. 9/30 rankings. 9/24 rankings. 9/16 rankings. 9/9 rankings.

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Denver Broncos
3. New England Patriots
4. San Francisco 49’ers
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
6. Houston Texans
7. Chicago Bears
8. Philadelphia Eagles
9. Los Angeles Rams
10. Buffalo Bills
11. Los Angeles Chargers
12. Baltimore Ravens
13. Green Bay Packers
14. Pittsburgh Steelers
15. Carolina Panthers
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
17. Minnesota Vikings
18. Atlanta Falcons
19. Detroit Lions
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. Miami Dolphins
22. Indianapolis Colts
23. New Orleans Saints
24. Cincinnati Bengals
25. Kansas City Chiefs
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Washington Commanders
28. Tennessee Titans
29. New York Jets
30. Arizona Cardinals
31. New York Giants
32. Las Vegas Raiders

We have a new #1. At least for now? Sure, Seattle took over the lead in the NFC by themselves on Thursday. Now all they have to do is beat Carolina and San Francisco on the road to hold it. No big deal. The Rams have a stupid easy finish, so there’s no margin for error for Seattle. Meanwhile San Francisco and Chicago remain alive as well, and well, they play each other this week. Green Bay still could factor into everything, and they finish with a desperate Baltimore team and a game in Minnesota. Philadelphia will be #2 or 3, and it’s probably three, but they have a tough game in Buffalo before coming home for Washington.

In the AFC everything is a mess. Denver probably still finishes first, but the Chargers still can catch them for the division, and they just lost to Jacksonville, who can also catch them. New England loses the tiebreaker to Denver, but that’s assuming they don’t win the top spot outright. Of course, if they don’t win out, they may not even hold off Buffalo. By the way, Houston is right in this thing too. And Pittsburgh, they just keep winning.

On to the rankings.

12/16 rankings. 12/9 rankings. 12/3 rankings. 11/26 rankings. 11/18 rankings. 11/11 rankings. 11/4 rankings. 10/28 rankings. 10/21 rankings. 10/15 rankings. 10/8 rankings. 9/30 rankings. 9/24 rankings. 9/16 rankings. 9/9 rankings.

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Denver Broncos
3. New England Patriots
4. Los Angeles Rams
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
6. Buffalo Bills
7. San Francisco 49’ers
8. Chicago Bears
9. Los Angeles Chargers
10. Houston Texans
11. Philadelphia Eagles
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Carolina Panthers
15. Detroit Lions
16. Baltimore Ravens
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
18. Indianapolis Colts
19. Minnesota Vikings
20. Atlanta Falcons
21. Dallas Cowboys
22. Miami Dolphins
23. Kansas City Chiefs
24. New Orleans Saints
25. Cincinnati Bengals
26. Washington Commanders
27. Cleveland Browns
28. Tennessee Titans
29. New York Jets
30. Arizona Cardinals
31. New York Giants
32. Las Vegas Raiders

How ’bout them Cowboys?

John Cena graduated high school, played college football, became a bodybuilder, joined the WWE, became the top star in the company, went to Hollywood, and retired from WWE after a 23-year career…

all before the Cowboys made it back to an NFC Championship Game.#ThankYouCena pic.twitter.com/x40qWeEhOB

— Eagles Fan Central (@PhilaFanCentral) December 14, 2025

Ok, now that I got that out of my system, the NFL made sense of itself this weekend. The overwhelming majority of the league is now either in, out, or damn near out. Kansas City is eliminated and no longer has to be treated as a threat. Dallas did what Dallas does. Miami’s mini run is over and they’re done. Cincinnati is finished. Meanwhile Tampa tried to hand the division away, but Carolina handed it back. Buffalo is in fact not dead, and Denver is on it’s way to home field. Things make sense now. Mostly. Jacksonville makes no sense, but we’ll see where things are in a couple of weeks.

On to the rankings.

12/9 rankings. 12/3 rankings. 11/26 rankings. 11/18 rankings. 11/11 rankings. 11/4 rankings. 10/28 rankings. 10/21 rankings. 10/15 rankings. 10/8 rankings. 9/30 rankings. 9/24 rankings. 9/16 rankings. 9/9 rankings.

1. Denver Broncos
2. Los Angeles Rams
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. New England Patriots
5. Buffalo Bills
6. Jacksonville Jaguars
7. San Francisco 49’ers
8. Chicago Bears
9. Green Bay Packers
10. Los Angeles Chargers
11. Houston Texans
12. Philadelphia Eagles
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Baltimore Ravens
15. Detroit Lions
16. Indianapolis Colts
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
18. Carolina Panthers
19. Minnesota Vikings
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. Atlanta Falcons
22. Miami Dolphins
23. Kansas City Chiefs
24. Cincinnati Bengals
25. New Orleans Saints
26. Washington Commanders
27. Cleveland Browns
28. New York Jets
29. Arizona Cardinals
30. New York Giants
31. Tennessee Titans
32. Las Vegas Raiders