NFL Power Ranks; Divisional Playoffs

As we head into the Conference championship games this weekend, we have a new #1, and needless to say this team is pretty familiar with the #1 spot. It's none other than the Indianapolis Colts. The Chargers long winning streak was shockingly snapped by the red hot Jets and they are out of the playoffs, but only fell to the #2 spot since they were so far ahead of everyone else coming into this week. The Jets benefited immensely from their win, shooting all the way up to #3, by far the highest they have been ranked all year. The Vikings moved up 1 spot to #4 after eliminating the formerly #2 ranked Cowboys, who fell to #5. The Colts dominating win over the Ravens knocked them back 5 spots to #9, and the Saints moved up to #8 after dispatching the Cardinals with authority. There was also a little bit of strength of schedule jockeying around lower in the ranks.

So right now, I have a high amount of confidence that whoever ends up winning the Super Bowl will finish #1 in these ranks, which is never a guarantee when its purely based on a formula. The Colts, Jets, and Vikings are all within 2.52 points of each other and the Saints are not too far back. The Saints are still paying for their late-season swoon, but they can easily make up for that by winning it all.

So lets look at this week's games:
#1 Colts (71.70) vs. #3 Jets (70.35) - As I have said, the Jets are red hot, but this week they are facing a team that only sometimes chokes in the playoffs instead of always chokes in the playoffs (Chargers). Can the Jets do it? Probably not. The Colts' 2 I don't care loses didn't seem to affect them on the field, but has hurt them in the ranks, making it seem that these 2 teams are closer in overall ability than they really are.

#4 Vikings (69.18) vs. #8 Saints (63.93) - The Saints proved they didn't accumulate too much rust over the past 5 weeks and blew out Arizona, while the Vikings may or may not have run up the score on Dallas. So what to predict in this one? Well, the Saints gave away their last game of the season which hurts them in the recent success category, but I think the lingering question with them is can a team with that bad of a defense win the Super Bowl? The Vikings, Colts, and Jets have all been pretty stingy this year to get where they are, but the Saints have done it mostly through offense with some inconsistent defensive play. If the Saints wouldn't have mailed it in at the end of the year, they would probably be #2 or #3 instead of #8 so this one is anyone's guess.

Here are the full ranks:
1. Colts - 71.70 - +2
2. Chargers - 71.09 - -1
3. Jets - 70.35 - +4
4. Vikings - 69.18 - +1
5. Cowboys - 65.73 - -3
6. Texans - 65.26 - Even
7. Packers - 64.06 - +1
8. Saints - 63.93 - +2
9. Ravens - 62.64 - -5
10. Eagles - 61.94 - -1
11. Falcons - 61.30 - Even
12. Patriots - 60.91 - Even
13. 49ers - 60.39 - Even
14. Panthers - 59.13 - Even
15. Steelers - 58.87 - Even
16. Titans - 52.28 - +1
17. Cardinals - 50.06 - -1
18. Bengals - 48.54 - Even
19. Browns - 44.99 - Even
20. Bills - 44.77 - Even
21. Bears - 43.64 - +1
22. Broncos - 43.55 - -1
23. Giants - 41.59 - Even
24. Dolphins - 38.82 - Even
25. Jaguars - 35.32 - Even
26. Buccaneers - 32.30 - Even
27. Chiefs - 30.63 - +1
28. Redskins - 30.43 - -1
29. Raiders - 27.81 - Even
30. Seahawks - 23.65 - Even
31. Lions - 15.54 - Even
32. Rams - 11.11 - Even