NFL Power Rankings 2025: Week 17, All 32 Teams

The 11-game winning streak has been snapped. Bo Nix ranked fifth-worst in the league in Week 16 as 14.9% of his passes went off-target as the Broncos failed to keep pace with Jacksonville’s high-powered offense. This was the highest scoring total Denver’s defense has allowed to an opposing team this season, with the previous high being 32 points to the Giants in Week 7. Even with the loss, Denver’s 12-3 (.800) record has allowed them to maintain the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but they once again hold the tiebreaker over New England based on only their record in common games.

Against one of the league’s toughest rushing defenses, James Cook III led the charge with 117 yards and a pair of scores (including a 44-yard dash to tie the game at seven in the first) on just 16 attempts. As the passing attack struggled (with only Khalil Shakir managing more than two targets or 26 yards), their fifth-ranked rushing success rate (48%) propped up the offense enough to secure their 11th win of the season. Wins in these last two weeks could still be enough to catapult them into control of the AFC East, but they’ll need some help from the Jets and Dolphins if they hope to end the season ahead of the rival Patriots.

The Bears extended their lead in the division this week as home dogs, overcoming the +1.5-point favorite Packers in overtime to maintain their position as the NFC’s second seed. This was Caleb Williams’ third consecutive game throwing for multiple touchdown passes, but he didn’t find the end zone until just 24 seconds were remaining in the fourth quarter, when he hit Jahdae Walker with a 6-yard dart for his first professional touchdown. Just four plays later, Williams found D.J. Moore with a 46-yard moon shot to win it in overtime, helping Moore finish the day with a season-high 97 yards on seven targets (also leading the team in Week 16). The Bears remain in contention for a first round bye, but they’ll need to gain some ground back from the 12-3 (.800) Seahawks in the next two weeks if they hope to relax through Wild Card weekend.

The 49ers walked into Lucas Oil Stadium guns a-blazing and walked away with Week 16’s highest scoring total at 48 points. Brock Purdy finished the day with five touchdown passes (the most for a 49er’s quarterback since Steve Young threw six back in 1995) and a fourth-ranked 73.5% completion rate. He also ranked third with a 126.8 passer rating. Purdy found plenty of help from his receivers on Monday, as George Kittle led the way with a season-high 115 yards and Jauan Jennings registered his best day since Week 10’s loss to the Rams (71 yards and a score on five catches). The defense’s play made this pace even more difficult to match, as they sacked Philip Rivers twice, recovered a pair of fumbles, and took a 74-yard interception back to extend their fourth-quarter lead to three touchdowns. Before this game even began, the Lions’ loss to Pittsburgh solidified San Francisco’s playoff participation, but they will still have to jockey for position as the NFC’s fifth seed. Their 4-1 record in divisional games is the only thing keeping them above the 11-4 Rams, after all.

Even with Malik Willis completing 81% of his passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in relief of Jordan Love, Green Bay failed to hang on to their 6-0 halftime lead. The Packers allowed 13 fourth-quarter points, including a touchdown on the Bears’ final offensive drive of regulation. This score was only made possible by a successful onside kick attempt that fell in and out of the hands of Romeo Doubs. The loss was Green Bay’s second straight, and allowed Chicago to solidify their command of the NFC North. The Packers are still the NFC’s seventh seed with just two games remaining, but that could change depending on the outcome of the next two weeks, as a confrontation with the eighth-seed Lions looms.

After trading blows throughout the first half, Justin Herbert marched his team down the field on an 81-yard scoring drive (that he capped off himself with a one-yard dive into the end zone), flipping this game’s momentum on its head. The Chargers went on to score 13 unanswered points in the second half to secure their 11th win of the season. Herbert ended the day with 300 passing yards (ranked seventh in the league this week), his highest total since Week 7’s loss to the Colts. This marks L.A.’s fourth consecutive win during this home stretch, and a continuation of that streak could mean a chance to steal the division away from the Broncos in Week 18.

Week 16 ended in heartbreak for Detroit as their two-minute drill came up just short. Amon-Ra St. Brown showed incredible awareness on a backwards lateral at the goal line as he was stopped short, allowing Jared Goff to collect the ball and dive in for the would-be game-winning score himself. If only St. Brown had shown the same awareness before committing offensive pass interference in the end zone to clear himself a path on that very same play, negating the touchdown and ending the game in favor of Pittsburgh. The Lions found themselves playing from behind for much of this game as they failed to establish the run in any sense, with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combining with Goff for the league’s lowest rushing total this week (just 15 yards total on the day). They compensated with the league’s third-highest passing total (346 yards) as Goff led the NFL in attempts (54) and completions (32) in Week 16. In spite of this, the Lions still dropped their seventh game of the season (losing consecutive games for the first time this year), widening the gap between them and the seven-seed Packers even further.

As was their identity in 2024, the Eagles’ offense maintained control over this game on the back of their hard-nosed rushing attack. Saquon Barkley carried the majority of the load, taking 21 carries (his third-straight outing with 20+) for 132 yards and his third touchdown in as many games. Tank Bigsby also broke one of his four carries for a 22-yard score to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 19 in the fourth quarter. Jalen Hurts was able to keep the football safe in a second consecutive game since his five-turnover outing in Los Angeles, with Will Shipley committing the team’s only fumble by muffing the game’s opening kickoff. With just two weeks remaining, the Eagles have officially locked down the NFC East, becoming the first team to clinch their division in 2025.

Carolina’s first meeting with the rival Buccaneers ended in their fifth home win of the season. Bryce Young showed off some of his newfound poise throughout this matchup, but it was especially evident as he led the Panthers down the field on a seven-play two-minute drill to set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s game-winning field goal. The defense then found the perfect time for their first takeaway of the day, as Lathan Ransom picked off a Baker Mayfield misfire on the Bucs’ own two-minute drill to set Young up to kneel out the clock. At the end of the day, Young ranked top-10 with a 102.5 passer rating, leading the team to a top-10 offensive success rate (45.5%). With the win, the Panthers have now pulled into the lead of the NFC South at 8-7 (.533), but they’ll likely have to survive a trip to Tampa next week after their visit from the Seahawks to stay there.

With the Eagles’ win preceding their third-consecutive loss, the Cowboys became yet another casualty of playoff elimination this week. After throwing for a third-ranked 139.8 passer rating in the first half, Dak Prescott dropped to an 18th-ranked 81.3 rating in the second half after completing just 58.3% of his passes (ranked 20th). Dallas did avoid committing a turnover until Joe Milton stepped in at quarterback for the team’s final drive (once the game was already well out of reach), but that didn’t stop the Cowboys from possessing the ball for just 25:33 minutes total (ranked 28th) on the day.

Despite five receivers registering more than his single reception, Emeka Egbuka’s 40 receiving yards led the team at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. Beyond that and Mike Evans’ lone touchdown reception in the first quarter, this Bucs’ passing attack stagnated. Tampa ranked just 28th in Week 16 with just 127 total air yards on the day, with a 27th-ranked 5.6 yards per attempt. This was only the team’s third-lowest total in the past nine weeks, and the Buccaneers have now slid back into a losing record for the first time since Week 12 of last season. The division title is still within reach, but that will now require a win over the Panthers in Week 18.

The Ravens threw everything they had at New England in an effort to stave off New England’s fourth-quarter comeback, except for Derrick Henry. Following his two-yard touchdown run at the start of the fourth quarter, Baltimore’s bellcow back was noticeably absent from the field as the Ravens gave up the football on their final two offensive drives. Henry had rolled up 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns on his 18 carries to that point, but Jim Harbaugh chalked his lack of late-game usage to simply “working the rotation”, which becomes even more baffling when you consider Lamar Jackson’s second-quarter exit. The former NFL MVP left Week 16’s game early with a back bruise, paving the way for Tyler Huntley to throw just 10 passes for the remainder of the game. The defense did help to keep the Ravens close until late in this game, racking up a league-leading 23 pressures on the day and sacking Drake Maye three times in the process. Their efforts were for naught, however, as the Steelers have begun to run away with the AFC North lead. Baltimore will now rely on a Steelers’ loss next week to keep their playoff hopes alive.

As disappointed as Joe Burrow was with his Week 15 performance, he made up for it with a season-high 146.5 passer rating (ranked first in Week 16), dicing Miami for four touchdown passes. Two of those touchdowns found Chase Brown, part of his three-score quarter that rolled the Bengals’ lead up to 24 at the start of the fourth. At 5-10 (.333), the Bengals find themselves well outside of playoff contention with two weeks left to play, but their burst of offensive success following last week’s shutout provided some hope for a continued rebuild around Burrow.

While the Dolphins were able to keep pace with Cincinnati’s explosive offense early in this contest, their opponents’ high-scoring nature forced Quinn Ewers to throw more frequently than the limited comfort zone of his first NFL start allowed. The second-year quarterback was intercepted twice in the third quarter, both paving the way for Bengals touchdowns and allowing their opponents to build up a 31-point lead in the fourth quarter. Miami ranked 24th in Week 16, allowing 407 yards of total offense to Cincinnati.

The Saints have extended their recent winning streak to three after sacking Brady Cook a league-leading eight times on Sunday. This wave of defense held the Jets to punts and turnovers on their final eight offensive drives of the day after starting the field-goal-fest of an afternoon tied at six. The only touchdown scorer on the day was Chris Olave, who astonished with a career-leading 148 yards on ten receptions this week. Olave’s pair of touchdowns extended his recent run to five scores in the last six games. With the NFL’s easiest schedule in the remaining two weeks, the Saints could ride this winning streak through the end of the regular season, but it would come at the cost of even more draft stock.

Tennessee found their third win of the season in one of the most unlikely matchups, as they took down the reigning AFC champions at home by the league’s fourth-highest point margin this week (+17). The Titans have now won their second in the last three games thanks to the combined efforts of Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears. The pair took 34 total carries for 154 yards, including a 4-yard Spears’ score to kick off their 10-point fourth quarter. In the passing attack, Cam Ward ranked third in the league in Week 16 with a 75% completion rate on 28 attempts, rolling up 228 yards and two passing scores (his third consecutive week with a pair of touchdown passes) in the process. In a season mired by crushing losses, this is the type of win that will keep a fanbase coming back for more.

Things went from worse to rock bottom this week as the Chiefs’ season continues its downward spiral. After being eliminated from playoff contention and losing Patrick Mahomes in last week’s loss to the Chargers, Kansas City was forced to start Gardner Minshew in Tennessee this week. Minshew attempted just eight passes (of which he completed only three) before he sustained a knee injury of his own. Chris Oladokun entered the game and covered for him as best he could, completing an 11th-ranked 68.8% of his passes despite getting sacked four times. Oladokun’s tremendous effort in his NFL debut fell flat on the scoresheet, however, as Kansas City managed just three Harrison Butker field goals in this stunning road rout.

Brady Cook spent much of his trip to the Big Easy running for his life, as he was tracked down and sacked eight times by seven different Saints’ defenders. Chase Young and Jonas Sanker also came up with takeaways as the Jets’ struggles at quarterback continued. New York’s limited scoring came on a pair of Nick Folk field goals, but the team’s 0% offensive success rate in the red zone (ranked 30th in Week 16) kept them out of the end zone for a third time in 15 games this season.

Shedeur Sanders barely raised the bar from his 8.0 QBR from Week 15, posting a 26.3 QBR in Week 16’s tight loss to the Browns. Sanders did hit a career-high 69% completion rate this week, which ranked 10th this week, but two of those incompletions found Buffalo defenders for interceptions. Cleveland ranked 24th in Week 16 with just 294 yards of total offense, and 31st with just 5.2 yards per passing attempt (ahead of only the Giants).

The story of Las Vegas’s 13th loss of the season stemmed from Ashton Jeanty. The rookie running back’s play had lost him a lot of good faith leading into Week 16, but he finally showed the kind of offensive impact he was drafted for as he led the team in rushing and receiving on the day. He caught just one pass, but it went for a 60-yard touchdown to build on his 128-yard rushing total. The rest of the offense, however, managed just 158 yards beyond that, as the Raiders came up short in their ninth consecutive game.