Top 14 NFL regular season Power Rankings, 2023

[74_75_78_79_]

Another regular season gone. And another PRs thread in real-time just before the playoffs as the case with a couple of recent ones.

Though I feel that there is a nice enough chance that San Fran beats Baltimore in a possible rematch next month (I believe Vegas still gives them the best odds to win-it-all), and though I feel that there is a real good chance as well of the Rams perhaps representing the NFC instead (it wouldn't surprise me), I will have #1 and #2 where I have them. As for my #5 - I predict they winning this weekend, though I won't be actually rooting for them, and at least make it to the NFCCG. Two years removed from that World Championship, McVay's troops sure got that swagger going in!

Top ten not too tough...

1) Ravens
2) Forty Niners
3a) Browns
3b) Bills
5) Rams
6 - tie) Cowboys & Lions
8) Chiefs
9) Texans
10) Dolphins

But the remaining four? That's where things get murky. But I'll give it my best go...

11) Packers
12) Saints
13) Colts
14) Steelers

I'm going to let a playoff game, Eagles@Tampa Bay, decide the honorable-mention spot! As I did with not placing the Jets on my '86 such list, I didn't include the Eagles on this list either. The only argument for placing them there is the simple how great they were last year and then the 10-1 start albeit signs already being seen in hindsight; and then thinking about those "came back to life" '86 Jets and the possibility of Sirianni flipping a switch as well.

Bengals were real tempting not just for HM, but being on this list-period! Maybe they should be a non-playoff team that gets in as the case with NO & Indy. Not bad at all considering Burrow going out. But getting swept by the Steelers, blown-out in that second game, beating a Browns team yesterday that was already in to make it 9-8 and simply having an offense outside the top 20, a defense outside the top 30, and a minus-946 yardage differential even worse than Pittsburgh (make that, noticeably worse) has to keep them out.

Steelers? Yes, maybe they shouidn't be in. Minus-20 PD and minus-643 in total yardage. Those back-to-back home losses to 2-win teams such a glaring double-blackeye! And then getting trounced at Indy the following week. But a case of they handicapping themselves by not giving Mason a shot earlier. Those last three wins something to hang hat on going into the playoffs; yes, even beating Ravens at Balt without they having Lamar and most of their starters nothing too much to sneeze at. And they did beat them, "fluke" or not, earlier on along with wins over Cleveland, Rams, and Packers. Yes, perhaps an 'excuse' for each of those as well, but eight victories against a team that would finish above-500 is...(yeah)...

It might (maybe, maybe not) be okay to say that you can take GB, NO, Indy, Pit, Phi, TB, Cin - put them in a hat - and randomly pull out four to decide #11-thru-#14.

Seahawks? I don't know. Mostly beginning-of-the-season-heavy with me though beating Det & Clev. Win over Philly when they did not saying much.

Jaguars? Even less a case considering their own faltering down the stretch. Trevor situation, of course, didn't help.

In either event, all 14 playoff teams for 2023 had winning records! And with 5 other winners to spare making it nineteen total! No, I still wish there weren't that many teams in the playoffs!

[ChrisBabcock]

1. Ravens
2. 49ers
3. Bills
4. Cowboys
5. Browns
6. Rams
7. Lions
8. Chiefs
9. Dolphins
10. Texans
11. Buccaneers
12. Packers
13. Eagles
14. Saints

I think I could have put my #4 through #7 in almost any order but settled on this. I can't ignore the Eagles first 11 games body of work but their late season collapse plummets them down to #13 in my rankings. And yes, I left off a team that swept the Ravens.