Sportsnaut
Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season delivered a unique schedule with high stakes for many teams across the league. Coming off a slate that saw action on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, we’re getting a clearer picture of who the best NFL teams are right now.
Let’s dive into our NFL Week 17 Power Rankings, evaluating all 32 teams after Week 16.
Sam Darnold got his redemption, and the Rashid Shaheed trade continues to pay huge dividends as of late for the Seattle Seahawks. What really matters for this game is that we saw a rare occasion where Seattle’s defense struggled for most of the night; however, facing a two-score deficit, Darnold stepped up and helped lead a comeback. If Darnold can just be solid in big games, Seattle could run the table to reach the Super Bowl.
The Los Angeles Rams’ special-teams unit cost them again, and it is now responsible for three of their four losses this season, resulting in the firing of Chase Blackburn. There is no margin for error when a shot at the Lombardi Trophy is at stake. We have no doubt that the Rams are capable of making a deep playoff run, but the fact that they will likely now have to win three road games to reach the Super Bowl opens them to risks they could have avoided. When the little things cost you home-field advantage, that is what gets Blackburn fired.
The Jacksonville Jaguars suddenly look like the best team in the AFC. They did not just beat the Broncos; they went into Denver and convincingly knocked out a team on an 11-game win streak. Trevor Lawrence was outstanding and Parker Washington turned into an All-Pro, with the duo dicing up Denver’s defense. Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s defense is looking like a top-five unit as of late. The one-year turnaround done here by Liam Coen and Anthony Campanile in Jacksonville is incredible.
All of that momentum, gone. It looked like we would have a Week 16 thriller midway through the game after RJ Harvey tied it at 17 early in the third quarter. After that, the Denver Broncos pulled a vanishing act at home. Bo Nix turning it over twice certainly did not help, but this loss squarely falls on the shoulders of the defense. Right when it seemed like Denver was in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, that is now up for grabs with two weeks remaining.
We will start with the good news for the Buffalo Bills. They were victorious on the road in Week 16, with James Cook (117 rushing yards and two touchdowns) demonstrating that this team does not need Josh Allen to go into beast mode to win. With that said, the issues in the Bills’ passing game and this defense’s inability to stop the run (allowing...
