Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season in the books. Lots of teams are starting to clinch their playoff berths, but seeding still has a lot to be determined. There are still two more weeks of action to determine who will finish in certain spots. 

There are still division titles to be handed out, number one seeds (and first-round byes), and even four more spots in the playoffs entirely. The bad teams are also jockeying for position in the 2026 NFL draft, which will be here before you know it.

A couple of divisions, the NFC North and NFC West, are loaded with teams near the top of the overall standings. That also means that they heavily impact the power rankings. Here are our Week 17 power rankings:

The Contenders

1. Seattle Seahawks (Last Week: 2)

2. Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 1)

3. Denver Broncos (Last Week: 3)

4. Chicago Bears (Last Week: 5)

5. Buffalo Bills (Last Week: 6)

6. New England Patriots (Last Week: 8)

7. Philadelphia Eagles (Last Week: 7)

8. San Francisco 49ers (Last Week: 9)

9. Houston Texans (Last Week: 12)

10. Los Angeles Chargers (Last Week: 10)

11. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last Week: 11)

12. Green Bay Packers (Last Week: 4)

13. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last Week: 13)

14. Carolina Panthers (Last Week: 17)

All of these teams are currently in the postseason or in playoff position entering Week 17. According to most metrics, these are going to be the 14 squads that compete for the Super Bowl when the NFL playoffs begin in January.

The Carolina Panthers are the most surprising among them. They have overcome a lot over the last handful of years to be in this position. They are not the team with the best record, and they are benefiting from Tampa Bay’s collapse, but they deserve a ton of credit for turning their ship around.

Last Thursday night, to kick off the week, the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks played an epic game for first in the division and the conference. After a thrilling overtime victory, the Seahawks take over as the number one team in the power ranking.

The Chicago Bears maintain their top-five status with a victory over the Green Bay Packers. It wasn’t pretty, but the first 57 minutes don’t outweigh the last three, if you prove that you’re the more deserving team when it matters most. The Packers have slid all the way down outside of the top 10 with the injuries that they’ve sustained.

One of these teams is going to play for the Super Bowl in February. Who has the perfect mix of players and health to get the job done when the season is on the line?

Teams to Watch

15. Detroit Lions (Last Week: 15)

16. Baltimore Ravens (Last Week: 16)

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last Week: 14)

18. Indianapolis Colts (Last Week: 18)

The teams in this tier, all four of them, are still alive. They all, however, have a slim chance of being in the postseason. Not only do they need to win out, but they also need other teams to help them out.

In the NFC, the Buccaneers have the most fall-off of any team midseason. They went from being 6-2 to likely not going to the postseason. Unless they jump the Carolina Panthers to win the division in the end, they will be watching the tournament from home.

The Detroit Lions are not going to win the NFC North, but they can find a way to sneak into the wild card if one of the teams ahead of them blows their chances while the Lions win out.

In the AFC, the Colts need help. They need to win out, and the Texans need to lose out. The likelihood of this happening is slim to none. As far as the Ravens, they must win the AFC North to get in. The wild card is not an option. For that to happen, they need to win both of their remaining games, and the Steelers need to lose both.

Eliminated from Postseason Contention

19. Minnesota Vikings (Last Week: 23)

20. Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 19)

21. Kansas City Chiefs (Last Week: 20)

22. Miami Dolphins (Last Week: 21)

23. Atlanta Falcons (Last Week: 22)

24. Cincinnati Bengals (Last Week: 24)

25. Washington Commanders (Last Week: 25)

26. New Orleans Saints (Last Week: 27)

27. Cleveland Browns (Last Week: 32)

28. Arizona Cardinals (Last Week: 26)

29. New York Jets (Last Week: 28)

30. New York Giants (Last Week: 29)

31. Tennessee Titans (Last Week: 31)

32. Las Vegas Raiders (Last Week: 30)

All of the teams in this tier are not created equal. The Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs, and Dallas Cowboys have the pieces to build a contender. There are a few things that went wrong this year that forced them into this reality.

Some squads suffered injuries to their star quarterbacks, like the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders. They might be alive today if those unfortunate events had never taken place.

Which one of the two-win teams is going to be in the spot that drafts first overall in the draft? That will certainly be a topic of conversation in the coming weeks when they play.

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