Santa brought some teams a bag of presents and others lumps of coal over the holiday weekend. The Tennessee Titans and Oakland Raiders had a terrible Christmas Eve with the loss of their franchise quarterbacks. Within hours of each other, Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr both suffered fractured fibulas. The Raiders will carry on into the playoffs under Matt McGloin while the Titans playoff dreams came to a close. The Patriots held serve as the best team in the AFC with a dominant victory over the Jets. Meanwhile, the Seahawks may have cost themselves a first round bye with their narrow loss to the Cardinals. With Seattle's loss, Atlanta steps into the two seed in the NFC and can secure a first round bye with a win over the Saints in Week 17. The Packers and Dolphins remain two of the hottest teams in the league and continued their winning ways in Week 16. They will be far from Christmas presents to their postseason opponents. All this points to an exciting close to the season next week with plenty of playoff spots up for grabs. Click the arrow on the right side of the above image to see Heavy's latest NFL power rankings. (Getty)
No. 10 Seattle Seahawks
Record: 9-5-1
Last Week's Ranking: 5th
Last Game: Lost 34-31 to Cardinals
Outlook: The Seahawks have been one of the most difficult teams to understand this season. Just when you think they have turned the corner, they regress and lose a game they are expected to win. With two games remaining, the Seahawks controlled their own destiny for a first round bye. With their loss to the Cardinals, they will need to beat the 49ers and have the Falcons lose to be able to secure the number two seed. One thing that has been consistent with the Seahawks is the poor play of their offensive line. It has contributed to an inept rushing attack for most of the season and the line has not consistently provided the protection Russell Wilson needs to be able to get his receivers going. Seattle is running out of time to hit their stride before the playoffs start. (Getty)
No. 9 New York Giants
Record: 10-5
Last Week's Ranking: 3rd
Last Game: Lost 24-19 to Eagles
Outlook: The Giants had a costly loss on Thursday Night Football. It knocked them out of contention for both the NFC East title and a first round bye. They head to Washington to take on the Redskins to close out the season. New York has been a giant killer this season with wins over the Cowboys, Steelers and Lions. Their offense has been sputtering as of late and will need to find its footing again as the playoffs approach. (Getty)
No. 8 Pittsburgh Steelers
Record: 10-5
Last Week's Ranking: 7th
Last Game: Won 31-27 Over Ravens
Outlook: The Steelers pulled out a late Christmas victory over the Ravens to punch their ticket to the postseason. They take on the Browns to close out the season. It has been a remarkable turnaround as Pittsburgh was on a four-game losing streak before their recent hot streak. With the weapons the Steelers have on offense, they have a chance to win any game they play and will be a tough out in the playoffs. (Getty)
No. 7 Atlanta Falcons
Record: 10-5
Last Week's Ranking: 9th
Last Game: Won 33-16 Over Panthers
Outlook: The Falcons could not have had a better Christmas Eve. They dominated a Panthers team that has played better as of late. Atlanta got to sit back and watch the Seahawks lose narrowly to the Cardinals. Atlanta now controls their own destiny for a first round bye. A win over the Saints and the Falcons will secure the two seed in the NFC. Atlanta has won their last three games but are flying a bit under the radar as the Cowboys, Seahawks and Packers have received a lot of the attention in the conference. With the Falcons offense playing well, this as dangerous of a team as any other in the NFC. (Getty)
No. 6 Miami Dolphins
Record: 10-5
Last Week's Ranking: 10th
Last Game: Won 34-31 Over Bills
Outlook: The Dolphins went up to Buffalo and pulled out a difficult matchup on the road. Miami has started another win streak with three straight wins. The Dolphins have now won nine of their last ten games. Miami's offense has been steady the last two weeks under Matt Moore. Moore was 16-of-30 for 233 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. The Dolphins are the kind of team that could give teams fits in the playoffs with all the momentum they are riding. They have a tall task against the Patriots in Week 17 but have the advantage of hosting the game. The Dolphins lost by a touchdown in their Week 2 matchup in Foxborough. (Getty)
No. 5 Green Bay Packers
Record: 9-6
Last Week's Ranking: 8th
Last Game: Won 38-25 Over Vikings
Outlook: If there were questions about Aaron Rodgers injury status, he seemed to have answered that against the Vikings. Rodgers threw for 347 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Packers have won five straight games and have turned things around after a four-game losing streak. They head to Detroit for a battle with the Lions for the NFC North. Green Bay is arguably the hottest team in the NFC and no one is going to want to face them in the playoffs. (Getty)
No. 4 Kansas City Chiefs
Record: 11-4
Last Week's Ranking: 6th
Last Game: Won 33-10 Over Broncos
Outlook: Kansas City made short work of Denver on Christmas evening and are officially in the playoffs. The Chiefs need to win out and have the Raiders lose to the Broncos in Week 17 to be able to win the AFC West. As it stands now, the Chiefs would be playing on opening weekend on the road despite having a better record than most of the division leaders and Wild Card teams. Kansas City takes on San Diego in Week 17. If the Raiders do stumble in the final week, the Chiefs own the tiebreaker if the teams have identical records based on sweeping the Raiders in the regular season. (Getty)
No. 3 Oakland Raiders
Record: 12-3
Last Week's Ranking: 4th
Last Game: Won 33-25 Over Colts
Outlook: The Raiders may have gotten the victory, but the news that matters is the loss of quarterback Derek Carr. Carr suffered a broken fibula in the fourth quarter against the Colts. Matt McGloin will take over at quarterback for the forseeable future. We did not downgrade Oakland in our rankings, but they certainly face an uphill battle without Carr. A win next week at Denver would clinch a first round bye for the Raiders and make things more manageable for Oakland. (Getty)
No. 2 New England Patriots
Record: 13-2
Last Week's Ranking: 2nd
Last Game: Won 41-3 Over Jets
Outlook: It may have been against a bad Jets defense, but the Patriots offense looks to be firing on all cylinders even without star tight end Rob Gronkowski. With the way LeGarrette Blount is playing along with the Patriots receivers, New England's offense looks as potent as ever. Tom Brady was 17-of-27 for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns. They take on a surging Dolphins team as they look to wrap up the top spot in the AFC. New England clinches it with either a win or a Raiders loss. The Patriots have won six straight games and have not lost since November 13th against the Seahawks. (Getty)
No. 1 Dallas Cowboys
Record: 12-2
Last Week's Ranking: 1st
Last Game: Won 26-20 Over Bucs
Outlook: The Cowboys received an early Christmas present with the Giants loss on Thursday night. It gave Dallas the NFC East and clinched the top seed in the NFC. This means Dallas will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. It takes the pressure off for their Monday Night Football contest against the Lions. While it may not impact the standings, the Cowboys still want to head into the playoffs on a strong note. After their showdown with Detroit, the Cowboys will head to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles to close out the season. (Getty)
NFL Power Rankings Week 17