Mark Craig's Week 15 NFL power rankings
The Steelers are falling fast, and the Bills are making their move as the season heads to the finish.
By Mark Craig, Star Tribune
December 15, 2020 at 5:10PM
Patrick Mahomes takes a 30-yard sack, throws three interceptions and is still good enough to win.
2. Bills (10-3)
Stefon Diggs is excellent. But let's hold off on the ultimate team player story line until he's not being fed 100 catches.
3. Packers (10-3)
Matt LaFleur is 23-6 and now 2-for-2 in NFC North titles.
4. Steelers (11-2)
They're riding a two-game losing streak and haven't reached 20 points in three straight games.
5. Saints (10-3)
New Orleans got run over by Philly while peeking ahead to Kansas City.
6. Rams (9-4)
In their past five games, they're 4-1 with wins over Seattle, Tampa Bay and Arizona.
7. Ravens (8-5)
Unfortunately for Cleveland, Lamar Jackson's cramps ended just in time for Lamar to remind everyone why he's the reigning league MVP.
8. Browns (9-4)
Cheer up, Cleveland. Tough, hard-fought losses in meaningful mid-December games sure beats "winning" the draft every April.
9. Buccaneers (8-5)
Tom Brady picked a real good time to leave the AFC for the NFC.
10. Colts (9-4)
Indy's O-line pitched the perfect game: No sacks, a 6.8-yard rushing average and one opposing defensive coordinator fired.
11. Seahawks (9-4)
How to build confidence in a bad defense: Hold the Jets to 185 yards and 3 points.
12. Titans (9-4)
How to regain confidence in a throwback offense: Have Derrick Henry run for 215 yards against Jacksonville.
13. Dolphins (8-5)
They led 10-0. They won the turnover margin 3-1. They were at home. And they lost. Welcome to playing the Chiefs.
14. Cardinals (7-6)
Haason Reddick had five sacks, three forced fumbles and caused power rankers to type a name other than Kyler or DeAndre.
15. Washington (6-7)
The offense had 193 yards, but the defense had three takeaways, two touchdowns and one ironclad defensive rookie of the year case for Chase Young.
16. Patriots (6-7)
Note to self: Don't pick the Patriots again! (Although, come to think of it, they did beat Miami back in Week 1).
17. Raiders (7-6)
How did the wheels fall off on a team that's beaten the Saints, Chiefs and Browns?
18. Giants (5-8)
It was fun while it lasted, Big Blue. Next up: Browns and Ravens.
19. Vikings (6-7)
You know things are bad when Bears fans feel sorry for your kicker.
20. Bears (6-7)
For the record, the Vikings' four missed kicks on Sunday are as many as the Bears have missed all season.
21. Broncos (5-8)
A sentence you don't read often: Drew Lock won a game and didn't throw a pick.
22. Eagles (4-8-1)
Give Philly credit. It does find a way to win big games without Carson Wentz.
23. Lions (5-8)
Darrell Bevell's resume now has one win and one competitive loss in which the Lions didn't play the role of bumbling buffoons.
24. Chargers (4-9)
Win masks yet another clock management blunder by Anthony Lynn and his assistants.
25. 49ers (5-8)
See you next year, San Francisco.
26. Cowboys (4-9)
The offense was ugly, but nobody out-uglies the Bengals under Zac 4-24-1 Taylor.
27. Falcons (4-9)
Matt Ryan is 11-17 with 25 interceptions in his last 28 games.
28. Panthers (4-9)
Teddy Bridgewater is 8-9 with 33 sacks in his last 17 starts.
29. Texans (4-9)
How bad are the Texans? For three whole hours, they made Mitchell Trubisky look better than Deshaun Watson.
30. Bengals (2-10-1)
Cincinnati has scored a combined 31 points in three games without Joe Burrow.
31. Jaguars (1-12)
Can they keep the draft-positioning pressure on the Jets? They finish with the Ravens, Bears and a Colts team they beat in Week 1.
32. Jets (0-13)
They finish with the Rams, Browns and Patriots. Congrats, New York. There's a Trevor at the end of your Tunnel.
about the writer
Mark Craig, Star Tribune
The No. Gophers had a nine-game winning streak snapped last Saturday at Bemidji State and and will look to bounce back against a struggling Notre Dame team.
