by Dan Salem and Todd Salem (12-30-13)
The NFL season is over with the end reminding us of how things began. The Rankings may have changed all the way, but the top ten did not. Seesaw Sports has its Final NFL power rankings on Black Monday.
Recap: [1st Quarter Power Rankings]
Recap: [2nd Quarter Power Rankings]
Recap: [3rd Quarter Power Rankings]
Final Power Rankings:
[Numbers in parentheses equal difference in rank from Todd: i.e (+1) equals one spot higher]
TODD DAN
32. Washington Redskins Houston Texans (-1)
31. Houston Texans Washington Redskins (+1)
30. Oakland Raiders Jacksonville Jaguars (-1)
29. Jacksonville Jaguars Oakland Raiders (+1)
28. Atlanta Falcons Cleveland Browns (-1)
27. Cleveland Browns Atlanta Falcons (+1)
26. Buffalo Bills Tennessee Titans (-3)
25. Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings (0)
24. New York Giants Buffalo Bills (+2)
23. Tennessee Titans Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-1)
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers New York Giants (+2)
21. St. Louis Rams Detroit Lions (-2)
20. New York Jets St. Louis Rams (+1)
19. Detroit Lions Miami Dolphins (-5)
18. Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens (-2)
17. Dallas Cowboys Pittsburgh Steelers (+1)
16. Baltimore Ravens New York Jets (+4)
15. San Diego Chargers San Diego Chargers (0)
14. Miami Dolphins Dallas Cowboys (+3)
13. Chicago Bears Chicago Bears (0)
12. Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts (0)
11. Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles (0)
10. Arizona Cardinals Green Bay Packers (-1)
9. Green Bay Packers Arizona Cardinals (+1)
8. New Orleans Saints New Orleans Saints (0)
7. Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals (0)
6. New England Patriots San Francisco 49ers (-3)
5. Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs (0)
4. Carolina Panthers New England Patriots (+2)
3. San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks (-1)
2. Seattle Seahawks Carolina Panthers (+2)
1. Denver Broncos Denver Broncos (0)
Comments from the Rankings:
TODD:
Obviously getting into the playoffs is a team's top priority. Thus, the best sixteen teams should be the sixteen playoff teams. However, I don't believe that is actually the case. The Arizona Cardinals had a fantastic year. They are certainly better than the sixth seed from the AFC, if not the sixth seed from their own conference.
Also, all divisions are not created equal. I will take the Kansas City Chiefs over all but three division winners in football. In regards to San Francisco, I like them even more. I say they are a top three team even though they didn't win their division.
As for tiers to finish out the season, the top six teams are slightly ahead of the rest of the league. From there, tier two contains teams seven through seventeen. These were all playoff or borderline playoff teams, but, other than Indianapolis, no one in this group felt comfortable in their playoff admission before the season's final game.
Tier three are teams who can pull an upset but don't bring their A game consistently. That would be everyone from Pittsburgh to Cleveland. The bottom five teams are a step below. It is hard to fathom that the Houston Texans would be able to lose fourteen consecutive ballgames. It is also slightly hilarious that I would take them over Washington right now if the two teams played each other.
And oh yeah, Washington doesn't have its own 2014 first round draft pick. Whoops.
DAN:
Its pretty incredible how close our rankings are to one another, and yet that's not the story here. I'm staring at two teams in the top five that didn't even sniff the postseason last year. The Chiefs and Panthers epitomized the NFL and hope for teams ranked twenty two or lower.
I love your tiers, with a BIG exception in Tier two. Also, my bottom tier has way more than five teams.
We have the exact same teams in our bottom eleven, Tier four in my opinion, with a slightly different order that couldn't matter any less. Those teams suck and we all know it.
Tier three needs to be teams ranked twenty one to sixteen. All average teams with a big win at some point this season, but the playoffs were a long shot and its obvious why. I'm fine with the Cowboys in this tier, but not at the expense of boosting the Dolphins to an unreasonable level.
Teams ranked fifteen up to seven are in Tier two, but you can NOT put Miami in this discussion. This tier is playoff teams and playoff caliber teams. The Cowboys, with Tony Romo, and the Bears are both playoff teams in the AFC. Same with Arizona, who got robbed this season. No one else belongs.
We agree completely on our top Tier one teams, ranked seven and above. However, you're crazy if you think the Patriots aren't better than San Francisco. I get it, I do, you see those gaudy NFC victories that San Fran put up in the final month and look to New England who barely squeaked by Houston and even lost to Miami. Don't be fooled, that team was hurting, but the team that stands today with a first round bye is top five in the league.
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