NFL power rankings entering Week 18 of the 2021 season (previous rank in parentheses):
1. Packers (1): Pretty good closing argument by the NFC’s top-seeded club that it will enter the Super Bowl 56 tournament as the favorite. Green Bay, the first team to win at least 13 games in three consecutive seasons, is also the only club undefeated this season at home – which is where it will take the field in postseason. And remember, injured Pro Bowlers like LT David Bakhtiari, CB Jaire Alexander and OLB Za’Darius Smith – plus OL Billy Turner and WR Randall Cobb – could all return to contribute.
2. Chiefs (2): WR Tyreek Hill’s 110 receptions are a single-season team record. His 11.2 yards per catch are his lowest – by 3.5 yards – since he became a starter in 2017. Despite Sunday’s stumble in Cincinnati, no one is going to want to see Hill or Kansas City once the playoffs start.
3. Rams (6): QB Matthew Stafford’s seven turnovers over the past three games are deservedly a point of concern. But don’t lose sight of the fact that Los Angeles has won five in a row, its new players jelling right on time as this team matches the Pack with a league-best five-game winning streak. Not bad considering the more significant issues other NFC teams are experiencing.
4. Buccaneers (3): Tom Brady is the second quarterback ever with successive seasons of 40 TD passes. However he won’t be throwing any more to WRs Chris Godwin or Antonio Brown as the bleeding Bucs try to defend their title.
5. Titans (9): All that stands between the back-to-back AFC South champions – the first time Tennessee has managed that – and home-field advantage is Houston … so, not much. Remarkable resilience by a team that’s gone 7-1 this season against 2020 playoff clubs and is poised to get RB Derrick Henry back very soon.
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6. Colts (5): RB Jonathan Taylor’s remarkable season continues as he’s now displaced Hall of Famer Edgerrin James with the most rushing yards (1,734) in one season in franchise history and Hall of Famer Lenny Moore for the most TDs (20) in any Colts campaign.
7. Bills (7): They’re headed to postseason for the third straight year. The question is, how long will they stay given Trevor Lawrence is the only player with more interceptions than Josh Allen, who’s stuck on 15.
8. Patriots (8): They’ve scored at least 45 points in three games this season … but won’t encounter the Browns, Jets or Jags in the playoffs.
9. Bengals (10): The last time they won a playoff game was 1990, when they beat the Houston Oilers … before losing to the Los Angeles Raiders the following week. Wow. History. Cincinnati now has a nifty shot to end its league-long 31-year streak of infamy.
10. Cardinals (11): Given QB Kyler Murray is now 8-0 as a starter AT&T Stadium – including high school and college – Arizona might want to ensure its projected playoff rematch against Dallas holds.
11. Cowboys (4): Their last win over a team that currently sports a winning record came in a Week 6 overtime escape at New England. Worrisome playoff harbinger for a franchise that hasn’t advanced beyond the divisional round since 1995?
12. Chargers (15): Justin Herbert’s 35 TD passes are a single-season record for an organization that has featured John Hadl, Dan Fouts, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers under center.
13. Raiders (16): Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, remarkable that they’ve survived into Week 18 and are only a win shy of their second playoff berth in 19 seasons.
14. 49ers (12): Bay Area fans have to be wondering if they’re better off moving forward into postseason with rookie QB Trey Lance – and the assortment of options he brings to the table – or going back to fairly lame duck Jimmy Garoppolo.
15. Eagles (13): Remarkable rise from 2-5 to playoff qualifiers, though COVID-19 might be giving some Philly players an unwanted bye in Week 18.
16. Steelers (21): OLB T.J. Watt doesn’t get enough love. A half-dozen games with multiple sacks and 21½ total in just 14 games? Reggie White-esque, the ultimate compliment.
17. Saints (19): Speaking of the virus, DE Cam Jordan has 7½ sacks over the last three games since COVID forced him to miss the first contest of his 11-year career. Sure seems like he’s trying to will New Orleans into postseason to get that game back.
18. Vikings (14): Maybe they’d still be viable if they’d adjusted the game plan and fed their most effective weapon, C Garrett Bradbury, Sunday night.
19. Dolphins (17): Welp, they couldn’t stay on the junior varsity circuit forever.
20. Ravens (18): Now in his 14th season, John Harbaugh had never suffered a five-game skid … until now. He can certainly be forgiven considering how decimated his roster is.
21. Browns (20): Time to look to the future … and wonder how much longer QB Baker Mayfield, who will be a free agent in 2023, will be part of it.
22. Broncos (22): Time to look to the future … and wonder how much longer QBs Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock will be part of it.
23. Bears (25): Maybe Matt Nagy should have followed his offseason instincts and stuck with a veteran quarterback in 2021 after all.
24. Seahawks (26): They’re four games under .500, yet have a point differential of +21. Go figure.
25. Washington (23): As if you don’t know there was a lot of work ahead of this team, it then becomes widely apparent that their erector set stadium is also falling apart.
26. Falcons (24): LB Foyesade Oluokun, a Yale product, has double-digit tackles in 11 games this season, the most for any NFC player this century.
27. Jets (29): Over the last five seasons, their 22-58 is tied for the NFL’s worst – matched only by … the Giants.
28. Giants (27): Over the last five seasons, their 22-58 is tied for the NFL’s worst – matched only by … the Jets.
29. Panthers (28): What is it with 26-year-old feline franchises that have lost 11 of 13
30. Texans (30): Tip of the cap to WR Brandin Cooks, who managed a career-best 87 receptions in 2021 despite suboptimal circumstances … to say the least.
31. Lions (31): Finishing up strong, surrendering 51 points in Week 17 …
32. Jaguars (32): Finishing up strong, surrendering 50 points in Week 17 … (somehow, they’re worse without Urban Meyer).
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
