NFL POWER RANKINGS - FINAL WEEK

POWER RANKINGS
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Indianapolis Colts	1
	The momentum of going 13-0 will return in the playoffs. They are still the team to beat.
	2	Seattle Seahawks	2
	They are the top seed in the NFC, and the playoffs will go through Seattle, but they are beatable.
	3	Denver Broncos	3
	They aren't getting much attention heading into the playoffs, even though they had the second-best record it the conference. That's a mistake.
	4	Jacksonville Jaguars	4
	With the league's fourth-best record, they don't get any credit for how they finished. Watch out for this team in the playoffs.
	5	New England Patriots	5
	The champs start their defense against the Jaguars. We'll know by midnight Saturday if they are indeed back to their old ways.
	6	Pittsburgh Steelers	6
	They are a road favorite in the playoffs. That says something about the way they're playing. The defense has to play better in the playoffs.
	7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	8
	The Bucs get a rematch with the Redskins in the first round. Jon Gruden has done a heck of a job.
	8	Chicago Bears	7
	The Bears get a bye this week, then play at home next week in the divisional round. With Rex Grossman back, they are dangerous.
	9	Cincinnati Bengals	9
	Two consecutive losses has this team limping into the playoffs. A victory over Pittsburgh will make that moot.
	10	New York Giants	10
	The offense will have to carry this team in the playoffs since the defense is so banged up.
	11	Washington Redskins	11
	Here's a team built for the playoffs: They can run it and play good defense. The key will be how well they throw it.
	12	Carolina Panthers	12
	The way they bounced back from a home loss against Dallas to beat the Falcons on the road was impressive. Now that they're in, they'll be tough going the rest of the way.
	13	Dallas Cowboys	13
	They took a step forward, just not a big enough one. There is plenty to be excited about for next season.
	14	Kansas City Chiefs	14
	This is a good team, but in a strong AFC they fell just short. Now they will start over with a new coach.
	15	Minnesota Vikings	15
	The coach lost his job and it's time to start over. They rallied to make it interesting down the stretch, but still a disappointing year.
	16	Miami Dolphins	17
	For this team to win nine games is amazing. In two more years, Nick Saban will have the Dolphins pushing for a Super Bowl.
	17	San Diego Chargers	18
	This season has to be considered a bad one. There was so much hope, and they're not even in the playoffs.
	18	Atlanta Falcons	16
	Can you say flop? This was a bad season for a team that expected so much more.
	19	Baltimore Ravens	19
	You can't win in this league without consistent quarterback play. Now they have to find out if Kyle Boller was just a tease.
	20	Buffalo Bills	20
	So much for the idea they would push for a playoff spot. The defense had a major regression.
	21	Arizona Cardinals	21
	Some fools –- me included –- thought this would be a division-winning team. Can we start the 2006 hype for this team?
	22	Cleveland Browns	25
	The fact they didn't quit down the stretch is a good sign for a young team. Can Charlie Frye be this team's franchise quarterback?
	23	New York Jets	27
	They enter the offseason wondering about their quarterback. Can Chad Pennington get back? If not, they might be down here again next year.
	24	St. Louis Rams	26
	The Mike Martz era is over. It ended with a thud, but there were some good times.
	25	Tennessee Titans	23
	They had the type of season many expected. Cap hell crippled this franchise. It should be a lesson to all.
	26	Green Bay Packers	28
	Will Brett Favre play again? And who will be the coach? This is a huge offseason for the Packers.
	27	Philadelphia Eagles	22
	Look at the bright side, Eagles fans. The T.O. saga is official over.
	28	Oakland Raiders	24
	It's a mess, a Grade A mess. What do they do to fix it?
	29	San Francisco 49ers	29
	The record wasn't great, but this team made strides under Mike Nolan. It will take time, but they will get better.
	30	Detroit Lions	31
	They need a new coach and a new quarterback. No wonder they stunk.
	31	New Orleans Saints	30
	The season from hell is over. And so is Jim Haslett's tenure with the Saints. Lucky him.
	32	Houston Texans	32
	Whew. They almost blew it and didn't get the first pick. Then David Carr got hurt. Wink. Wink.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

2005 Power Rankings: Week 18
	RK (LW)	TEAM	REC	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Colts	14-2-0	Yes, the Colts haven't run the ball very well in their last three games (just 78 yards on 48 carries). But do you think it's a coincidence that the ground struggles started when the Colts wrapped up home field in the AFC?
	2 (2)	Seahawks	13-3-0	Kudos to Shaun Alexander for the TD record and rushing title. The focus now turns to the real prize -- the Lombardi Trophy.
	3 (3)	Broncos	13-3-0	Mike Shanahan appears to have his best squad since winning back-to-back Super Bowls. Let's see how far it gets him.
	4 (4)	Patriots	10-6-0	As stoic as Bill Belichick can be at times, letting Doug Flutie attempt that dropkick Sunday was a nice touch.
	5 (5)	Bears	11-5-0	We understand the concern over Rex Grossman getting hurt in a meaningless game, but couldn't he use some extra playing time, too? He still has thrown only 39 passes this year.
	6 (7)	Steelers	11-5-0	Willie Parker carrying the load and Jerome Bettis in short-yardage situations has been working pretty well for the Steelers. Expect more of the same in the payoffs.
	7 (8)	Buccaneers	11-5-0	If Bucs-Redskins comes even close to the 36-35 thriller in Week 10, fans in Tampa are going to be in for a treat. Of course, only if the outcome (a Bucs win) is the same, too.
	8 (6)	Bengals	11-5-0	Maybe they were just coasting into the playoffs, but the Bengals didn't look good late, especially on defense.
	9 (10)	Panthers	11-5-0	If the Panthers can find a consistent running game, they can beat anyone in the NFC.
	10 (11)	Giants	11-5-0	Tiki Barber has averaged 1,495 yards a year the last four years. Anyone still think he's not a franchise back?
	11 (9)	Jaguars	12-4-0	Has a 12-win team ever gotten less credit than the Jaguars? Hey, they didn't make their schedule, they just beat most of the teams on it.
	12 (12)	Redskins	10-6-0	The Redskins are 7-2 this season when Clinton Portis rushes for more than 100 yards -- though one of those losses was to the Bucs, their first-round opponent in the playoffs.
	13 (13)	Chiefs	10-6-0	Regardless who replaces Dick Vermeil as coach, the offensive strategy in '06 will be pretty simple -- get the ball to Larry Johnson as much as possible.
	14 (17)	Dolphins	9-7-0	Did Gus Frerotte earn himself a starting job next season with six straight wins to finish the season?
	15 (14)	Chargers	9-7-0	GM A.J. Smith stated earlier that the team could afford to bring back Drew Brees and Philip Rivers in '06. Given Brees' shoulder injury Saturday, they might be forced to now.
	16 (15)	Cowboys	9-7-0	All eyes in Dallas now turn to Bill Parcells' future. We have no inside knowledge, but we're guessing it will come down to whether he thinks the Cowboys have a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl.
	17 (18)	Vikings	9-7-0	The Vikings have talent and could be an attractive landing spot for a new coach. Although a lot of that will depend on how the front office shakes out.
	18 (16)	Falcons	8-8-0	So much for the Falcons being pumped up about the possibility of finishing with a winning record in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history.
	19 (21)	Browns	6-10-0	Romeo Crennel probably wants nothing to do with moral victories, but a 6-10 record for the Browns is definitely a step in the right direction.
	20 (19)	Ravens	6-10-0	With decisions to make about the QB (Kyle Boller) and the RB (Jamal Lewis), the Ravens will be an interesting team to watch this offseason.
	21 (20)	Eagles	6-10-0	Was Philly's downfall this season largely because of T.O. and injuries, or are the Eagles on the start of a slide? That's the big question in Philly?
	22 (24)	Rams	6-10-0	Firing Mike Martz was a given, but it sounds as though the problems in St. Louis are much bigger than head coaching.
	23 (22)	Bills	5-11-0	Ralph Wilson sure sounded like an owner who wasn't going to sit around this offseason and maintain the status quo.
	24 (25)	Cardinals	5-11-0	Neil Rackers' new NFL record of 40 made FGs is probably as much a reflection of his strong leg as it is of the team's shoddy red zone execution.
	25 (23)	Titans	4-12-0	We have to imagine that Norm Chow would salivate at the chance to grab Matt Leinart with the No. 3 pick in the draft.
	26 (27)	Lions	5-11-0	Probably won't keep him in Detroit, but Joey Harrington made some pretty good throws Sunday against the Steelers.
	27 (28)	Jets	4-12-0	Herman Edwards is still under contract to the Jets, and he says he's not leaving. But the Edwards-to-the-Chiefs rumors just won't go away. Is that because there's actually something to them?
	28 (26)	Raiders	4-12-0	So Norv Turner reportedly has cleared out his office? Appropriate, since his playbook was apparently empty on that final red zone possession.
	29 (29)	Packers	4-12-0	It'll be interesting to see what Brett Favre decides to do in the wake of Mike Sherman's firing. There are coaches the Packers could bring in that Favre would be comfortable with, but he might not want to start over with someone he doesn't know.
	30 (31)	49ers	4-12-0	In a span of two weeks, they went from potentially having the top overall pick to landing the sixth or seventh pick. So much for the illusions of landing Reggie Bush.
	31 (30)	Saints	3-13-0	So will Matt Leinart (if the Saints draft him at No. 2) be playing for the Los Angeles Saints someday?
	32 (32)	Texans	2-14-0	If Reggie Bush lives up to the hype, Kris Brown will have a permanent place in Texans history.