NFL Power Rankings Week 15 Pittsburgh Steelers hit No. 1 spot

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 15: Pittsburgh Steelers hit No. 1 spot Published: Dec 12, 2017 at 02:45 AM Elliot Harrison Clutch performances abounded in Week 14. There was in a mora s of white cotton candy. The Jags' pa s rush put in a malaise trying to get the ball out with the game hanging in the balance. rolled out the red carpet for his mentor with on-point throws late in Cleveland. is always money. But my two favorite moments defined the unpredictability of this season, albeit in different ways ... With his team trailing by a point to the top offense in the NFL -- and his team's potential league MVP having been done in for the season minutes earlier -- might have delivered home-field for the . After a decade in the NFL trenches, the veteran pa s rusher had in his sights. Feeling him move up in the pocket, Long made the extra effort of leaving his feet to lunge for the ball -- not easy, 50-some odd minutes deep into a game. and went on to kick a go-ahead field goal. Long could have merely kept running toward Goff, yet something in him decided to sell out to reach the football -- the same extra something that causes a wide receiver to go up and get a ball rather than let it come to him. , let go of by the in October, did anything but let go of his opportunity Sunday. With the tied in overtime, lobbed a ball down the right sideline (if you can call it that in the snow) in Thompson's direction. so it would not hit the ground when his body did and squirt out of his wet paws. Incredible. Buffalo's third-string QB chucked it to a guy picked up off the street, saving the ' playoff hopes. This is an actual photo from the middle of an NFL game, and we still can't believe it. Top snow photos from yesterday's game: Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) Can't believe it either, man. For more analysis on the , and everyone else, see below. You'll notice that several losing teams did not move down this week. The league's pecking order is taking shape, as it usually does at this time of year. Your timely take is welcome: is the place. Let the di sension commence! For more in-depth analysis on the updated league pecking order, tune in to NFL Network every Tuesday night at 6 p.m. ET for the "NFL Power Rankings" show. Want to add YOUR voice? Provide your thoughts at the bottom of this page or tweet , and your comments could be featured on air. The lineup below reflects changes from . The jump up into the top spot on the heels of . The Pittsburgh offense took over late -- kinda like this new Antonio Brown-for-MVP discu sion, which is because, well, it's a topic I broached years ago. Back when everyone thought was the top defensive player in football -- many felt he should've won the MVP in 2014 -- I believed Brown was the premier player. In that '14 campaign, Brown led the NFL in catches and receiving yards while notching 13 touchdowns. OK, so was a very deserving MVP winner that season -- I just wanted Brown to be . And in 2015? Well, I thought the wideout deserved serious consideration for the hardware. I mean, dude posted over 1,800 yards receiving with Michael Vick and throwing him the ball for a solid chunk of the season. Brown's on pace for 1,857 yards this season. And while many tout as the most gifted player at the position, Brown has been the far more consistent and productive receiver. Oh, but nowwwww he's an MVP candidate. Got it. Not the ' night . was off. Three core players were out (and sorely mi sed). Hard for Brady to start feeling it on some of his throws when, too often, he felt the pa s rush first. The left side of the line got beat repeatedly in the second half, with pestering Brady from the inside and the edge rushers collapsing the pocket regularly. Also problematic: The absence of New England's own outside pa s rush. Uh, that might be an i sue vs. the ' pa sing attack. P.S., still isn't open. The remain in the No. 3 spot despite . Minnesota simply couldn't stop when it mattered. Actually, the QB posted putrid pa sing numbers, but those kinda count, you know? All in all, Carolina put up 216 rushing yards on Mike Zimmer's defense. Still, I'm keeping the at No. 3 because that was their first lo s since Oct. 1, and it came at the end of an extremely tough stretch where they played the on the road, returned home to face the , then had three straight roadies against teams that currently boast winning records (Detroit, Atlanta and Carolina). So there you go, Minnesotans -- you happy? No fan base has complained about its team's ranking more than Vikes supporters, as evidenced by . Honestly, at least half the section each week consists of Minnesota fans saying they're getting no respect and should be ranked higher. Well, in order to be No. 2, you gotta beat No. 8. Craig Reynolds Jersey There will be those who think the should move down further, with taking over at quarterback in the wake of . Those same folks should consider that Foles has enjoyed succe s -- -- as a starter before. Teams have gone all the way with their backup before, too. Everyone knows about and the 2001 , but that's certainly not the only example. The '71 started the season with Craig Morton ... and ended it with Roger Staubach and a Lombardi Trophy. The next year, the perfect went most of the regular season with Earl Morrall at quarterback. He started in the Divisional Round, as well, but not the . In 1980, the turned to journeyman Jim Plunkett after starter Dan Pastorini got hurt. They won it all -- vanquishing Philadelphia on Sunday, as a matter of fact. Doug Williams became the XXII MVP in January of 1988, despite starting just two regular-season games during the '87 campaign. Then there were the 1990 , who hoisted the hardware with Jeff Hostetler filling in for Phil Simms. How about Kurt Warner, who only got the opportunity to start on what would become "The Greatest Show on Turf" because Trent Green went down in the 1999 preseason? Not to mention Trent Dilfer, who won the the next year by riding the ' defense. While the might no longer be favorites, they're far from out of it. This was a really long blurb. Free football. , as a play here or there would have altered the outcome at the L.A. Coliseum. Call it a mi sed opportunity for Sean McVay's group, who -- with the and both losing -- could have made a push for home-field, especially with in for over the last handful of drives on Sunday. Now and Co. must shake off the late mi steps and refocus on the division. A win in Seattle means the race is likely over, as the would own a two-game lead, with the going on the road . Goff must have a hastier internal clock than he did against those pesky . leaving the game early last Thursday night changed everything. He's important to what the do. Does if he has Kamara (who has been an absolute stud in the red zone) at his disposal? Is even in the deep middle with Kamara running wide? Was le s effective without his tandem-mate? Got into an argument with a few NFL Media colleagues the other day. My take: If Kamara were to pick up the pace statistically a little bit, he could be a dark-horse MVP candidate. They felt that New Orleans utilizing Ingram more was just as crucial to the ' resurgence. Nope. The might not be wowing everyone at this point, but they are as sturdy a top-10 team as any other. While the defense racks up sacks and turnovers and closes in on a 1,000-yard rookie campaign (he's only 77 yards shy with three games to go), the undercurrent of truth to this team's playoff narrative is the steadier hand of . Don't look now, but the oft-critiqued quarterback (that's putting it rather nicely) has strung together a couple of quality starts in a row. Also, he's only to sed eight interceptions all season. The last time Bortles turned the ball over was , where he more than made up for that giveaway with two rushing touchdowns. was actually more on the defense. against a quality team and inched closer to . The NFC South title is obviously attainable, especially if keeps running like Randall Cunningham and the J-Stew/McCaffrey combo platter can average more than 5 yards per carry. (As talented as those running backs are, their yards-per-tote average has been in the toilet for most of the season.) sure is handling the absence of OK, don't you think? Next up: . Quite po sibly with under center. We'll see if there is another round of in that deal. Microsoft Surface, to be exact. Sponsors. was slinging it all over the ballpark for the better part of Sunday's game. That is, until got so out of hand that Anthony Lynn pulled his franchise quarterback in the fourth quarter. Even with the major slamming of the brakes on offense, Rivers departed eaaarrlllly, with more than 300 yards pa sing. More impre sively, Rivers averaged 10.3 yards per throw. Media and statniks alike pay far too much attention to the "Cmp %" section on the stat line and not enough to the "Y/A." Rivers is hovering around 7.8 for his career, ranking fifth highest among active pa sers. More impre sive: He's also led the NFL in that category three times. can't say that. Nor can . Sloppy game became , and that's A-okay for Atlanta. The desperately needed a W to stay ahead in -- at the least -- and to have any chance at the NFC South crown. While ' performance was central to the win ( ), 's fourth-quarter sack of was huge. Clayborn's clutch takedown was the consummate effort play, and might have been an integral piece to saving the season. What a season for that guy, right? It's become increasingly clear that the can't go on the road against quality teams and pull games out with a frantic push at the end, much le s impose their will. They're too depleted on the back end, which (of all people) shoved in their collective face on Sunday. tried his darndest to pull yet another game out of his rear end, but being down 17 points with 10 minutes left was too steep a hill to climb for the NFL's best fourth-quarter player. -- you know, where Wilson was swarmed in about 2.3 seconds -- looked like a Jags jailbreak. Otherwise known in football circles as Well, that was one slick fourth-quarter from the . Slick uni matchup, too -- although if Dallas would have donned the right pants, the game would've been the stuff of Landry-Parcells vintage. A few more quick thoughts: **A)** Get more involved. **B)** holds, doesn't get thrown the ball, then delivers . **C)** is freaking incredible. **D)** is more effective than most realize -- well, except when it comes to staying in-bounds when it matters. **E)** was hitting some ducks out there. Flying saucers. Charlie Hough knuckleballs. Charlie Hough was so money, he didn't even know he was money, man. #Rangers </content:power-ranking> No move for the , who hung with the for 60 minutes on Sunday, or at least 59:17. That last drive was rancid (can't use the word to actually describe it). Yet, Baltimore showed it can manufacture more than a morsel of offense. was one heckuva independent contractor in the second half. , on the other hand, is flummoxing. He's so cool that when your team's going against him, you don't know whether to be scared silly ... or relieved that he's clearly about to deliver a three-and-out drive-by. -- with the abrupt ending it induced -- dotted what was such a frustrating lo s for fans. Praise abounds for following his fine rendering late . Right when you start feeling bad for the , you realize the ' win means Rodgers could be dropped back into the playoff race like a smooth Jager shot in a breezy cold beer ... Like Luke Skywalker's cameo in "Force Awakens" -- except not with a Michael McDonald beard. Maybe they were setting up the next movie. Rodgers' return is a gift for all football fans -- especially with and now gone till 2018. If the sneak in and No. 12 starts rocking, they can beat anyone. fans have been quite upset with yours truly of late for a perceived low ranking. They weren't much happier when . While the record is still impre sive -- something many readers pointed out when Tenne see won six of seven -- even the most Julian Okwara Jersey nutso Tenne see fan with a Keith Bulluck alternate road jersey and Blaine Bishop bobblehead will tell you the team has been wildly inconsistent. 's play has dipped, if not taken nosedive -- was the latest in a subpar anthology for the franchise leader. Not to mention, 159 pa sing yards on 31 attempts is unacceptable production. Give Mariota credit for putting that ball right on during Tenne see's final offensive stanza, however. The Cards were playing kickball out there. That's OK: The threw to a defensive back -- -- with the game on the line. Playoffs are still the talk in Detroit for now. The are conveniently ignored around the league, yet can still navigate their way toward January football, with two very winnable games on tap: and . Then . Whether will be on that bus is the key. Well, he'll be on it, but whether he's a cheerleader or trying to push the Pack into their own postseason slot is the question. Either way, Detroit could be 9-6 for the second year in a row, playing the in a high-stakes Week 17 game for the second year in a row. ... And then 9-7 for the second year in a row. for the . That was one of I've ever seen. Coincidentally, or perhaps ironically, 's looked so similar to he authored while playing for the against the in deep snow Ironic, because then-rookie head coach Chip Kelly needed that win to push Philly into the postseason. First-year head coach (and former defensive coordinator) Sean McDermott inched closer to pulling off the same feat in his initial run as front man in Buffalo with the OT win Sunday. Of course, fans will tell you he darn near blew it by punting while You know what really matters? That you see 's one more time. -- that's what Sunday was. What a weird week in Kansas City. Andy Reid's future with the franchise Reid for a matchup with an AFC West-rival quarterback who earlier this year. Then former GM John Dorsey in Cleveland, resurrecting more talk. Nothing went wrong. Dorsey drafted solid players in the early/middle rounds, Reid and staff have coached them up, and the are in the playoff scrum again. can't do it by himself. While the are apparently still evaluating Cousins, perhaps they can pull out a compa s, protractor and TI-81 graphing calculator and find that scant pa s rush early in the game. You know, the same pa s rush (pa s deliberation?) that let QB uncork a couple of let-me-double-clutch-and-take-a-javelin-step-before-I-uncork-the-hell-out-of-this-throw deep balls to and The stat sheet said two sacks for Washington. That was misleading. As were a few throws by Cousins, who was trying to escape real pre sure. Garbage performance of the week? So many analysts thought the would not only win their game , but make a playoff run. That includes , who was all over me on the "NFL Power Rankings" show about how Oakland would be the AFC West champs when it was all said and done. (As I am typing this blurb, is playing where the guy with a sweater sits at dinner with his slightly -- OK, much more than slightly -- more attractive partner and her family of fans. Besides outkicking his coverage there, he probably could have made more plays on the K.C. secondary than Oakland's receivers.) should have made more plays downfield against that defense. They've been getting torched , and he The season is on the line this weekend. Hat pulled low, arms folded, Adam Gase revealed little during the game Monday night. His team finally looked like the playoff outfit from a year ago, piecing together a complete game on offense, defense and special teams. The ferocious hits from the latter could be heard all the way out of the stadium and through flat screens everywhere. made disappear . And as far as is concerned ... The stoic Gase didn't look like a man with buyer's, er, . Miami looked fantastic all the way around Monday night. The will be playing for .500 Isn't that shocking? Doesn't it feel like Arizona has suffered through a terrible season? Perhaps even more surprising is that the own a better record than their opponent, the banged-up . Maybe in Week 1 and the ' other early struggles (including QB Carson Palmer's caused us to write off Bruce Arians' team. Look, Arizona isn't going anywhere -- as in, to the playoffs. The actual state isn't moving, either. Let's hope Arians, and a couple of other veterans also stay put beyond 2017. Who wouldn't like to see the venerable head coach, wide receiver and veteran quarterback give it one more try? I heard Arians on the radio this week gushing over the players on injured reserve. Didn't sound like a man ready to hang up is now a local legend in San Francisco. He's 4-0 as a starter in the NFL. He surpa sed 300 yards pa sing in making him the first quarterback to pull that off since John Brodie. So maybe that's an exaggeration -- but Garoppolo the first Niners quarterback to do that since Maybe this flurry of wins (yes, two in a row counts as a flurry for this group) will result in San Francisco mi sing out on a top-five pick in the 2018 . Fine. Picking sixth or seventh ain't so bad when you aren't desperate for a quarterback. Just a thought. Not sure where came from, but this team continues to play for its embattled head coach. Heard much speculation about John Fox, whose 13-32 record in Chicago isn't bringing back memories of Mike Ditka, much le s George Halas. Dave Wannstedt was destroyed for compiling a much better catalogue in the 1990s. But Fox's players compete. They didn't fold their tents up after the ' electric-slid them And Chicago is building something with , and that front seven. Days after the emptine s of in front of the home crowd, the made up for it by on Sunday. What can you say about that performance? Cincinnati lost 33-7 to a team that -- wait, Cincy was by a 3-9 team that, until Sunday, hadn't scored 30 points in a game all season. Hadn't come close, really, other than in Baltimore. averaged le s than 5 yards per attempt, which is just this side of awful. Chicago owned the ball for over 38 minutes. The David Shula at their worst looked better than this. who are not only playing out the string but should be in full eval mode over the last three games. Look for rookie tight end to get even more involved in the offense. Running back , too, as has endured a ma sively frustrating year. The secondary as a whole will be addre sed in the offseason, after became the latest quarterback to complete ball after ball (36, in fact). There's no quit in this Tampa team, however. Also worth noting: Heard coach Dirk Koetter on the radio this week reminding fans that is only 23 years old. Expectations are a bit high in the NFL. Agreed. After eight straight Denver lo ses, the ' defense delivered on Sunday. Following three quarterback switches, did enough to stay in the saddle for now. That included a quick start in the first quarter, in which Siemian and the offense took advantage of gracious field position, driving the ball into field-goal range. Siemian then made off the back foot ( style) to for a touchdown. Denver would climb into field-goal range yet again in the opening period, only to see hook it from 29 yards out to start the second quarter. Well, maybe the botched kick was important -- it confirmed these guys were the after all, and not imposters. The large drop stems from losing . The against their worst opponent of the season. Odd. McCown has fared with the best of 'em, as you know from reading this space all year. He was not himself, going 6 of 12 for 46 yards and an interception before Which is really a shame, because it means for a veteran no one anticipated producing, well, quite this kind of year. McCown , and that's a huge reason this team been such a tough out. New York could only gain 100 yards of offense against a defense that played with the pride on Sunday that the have all year. It will be up to to raise that bar next week ... Ugh. in conditions that brought back memories of "The Thing." Sorry, old Kurt Ru sell movie. (No, not "Tango and Cash.") That was a money throw from on that second-and-10 slant to in overtime Sunday. The had to have that play, as Hilton was wide open and the completion would have at least kickstarted a potential game-winning drive. head coach Sean McDermott punted inside Indianapolis territory, mostly because he trusted his defense and the elements more than he feared the ' offense. Bri sett could have made him pay. (Did you catch all that? Cash, money, pay ... You're welcome.) How about -- the greatest worker in the snow since that kid in "The Shining" -- mi sing not long after putting precisely the right English try? #firstworldproblems Not precisely sure in Houston this past weekend with , but whoa, was it scary seeing him after that hit. Even scarier? Savage getting back into the game. performed admirably in his stead shades of the 2011 playoff stretch. Any person who would throw the shade should check out ' game tape. As my colleague pointed out on Twitter, it doesn't matter if it's Yates, , , or P.J. Carlesimo -- Hopkins produces. but beautiful unis, man. The era resumed, sparking a sparkling one-game consecutive start streak. Manning was so-so on Sunday, although third-down drops on consecutive second-half drives didn't help. Nor did not getting the benefit of a PI call on another third down in the fourth quarter. The hung in, but they simply don't have the personnel offensively to vault themselves out of the basement (or past the 50-yard line). Those unis, though. Reminded me of the first time the Bill Parcells pasted the , back in Week 2 of the 1984 season. It was a huge win for the Tuna, who got swept by Dallas during his frustrating 3-12-1 rookie season as head coach in the year prior. New York would go 9-7 in '84, make the playoffs, and take off from there. The rest, as they say, is history. Gue s it goes without saying that can't unload that ball in overtime. At least not like he did, with his pa s than any ball Brian Sipe put up. Chris Spielman nailed it in on the broadcast, saying that Kizer simply panicked. The caught Kizer's to s (punt?), and was soon in the books. More significant than Kizer's blunder was another viable outing from Trey Flowers Jersey the ' defense, which couldn't hold down in the end but has overcome being kept on the field all season by a non-existent offense. More -- much more -- significant: the hiring of John Dorsey, a football man, as GM. This signals a departure from Moneyball and a departure from meddling. Having recently watched Brad Pitt in track suits play Billy Beane in "Moneyball," I'm a fan of sabermetrics. That said, the aren't the 2002 A's, and Bill James isn't walking through that door. *Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter . And be sure to tune in to the "NFL Power Rankings" show on NFL Network every Tuesday night at 6 p.m. ET. * This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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