Skip to main content
Advertising

Neil Reynold's end of Regular Season Power Rankings

Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds returns with his end of regular season Power Rankings. Watch Neil through the playoffs n Sky Sports every weekend in January.

The Ravens have done it a different way in 2019 as they rushed for a league record 3,296 yards and are undoubtedly class of the NFL with a points differential of +249.

The Niners have been battle tested in the second half of the season and they know how to win close games, as they proved once again in Seattle on Sunday night.

You could make a case for the Saints being the class of the NFC and they must feel unlucky to be playing in the Wild Card round. The offense is humming and they have a chance to go all the way.

The Chiefs now have a chance to rest the hamstrings of the sprinters on their offense. They have not quite reached the heights of 2018, but their defense is improved and they also have a shot.

The Packers may be the number two seed in the NFC but I think they sit below the Niners and Saints in the Power Rankings. Green Bay make hard work of games against lesser opponents.

Seattle rely heavily on their little magician at quarterback in Russell Wilson. But how much longer can he keep this team in the Super Bowl conversation given their growing injury list?

Tom Brady missed open receivers with all day to throw against Miami last weekend, so the whole 'the receivers cannot get on the same page as their QB' argument should be null and void.

The Texans have the talent to beat anybody on their day - they already have wins over New England and Kansas City in the regular season. But consistency is a real problem for this team.

The Titans have the league's highest-rated QB in Ryan Tannehill, the rushing champion in Derrick Henry and a receiver who can score from anywhere on the field in A.J. Brown. Dangerous.

I don't expect Buffalo to advance too far in the playoffs but this has been a season of growth. The defense is very good, Josh Allen has improved and Devin Singletary is the answer at running back.

Kirk Cousins gets the blame when things go wrong in Minnesota and he had a shaky end to 2019, but can we shine a little light on the offensive line here, as well? His protection must be better.

The Eagles have benefited from a soft schedule down the stretch so don't expect them to make major noise in the playoffs. Carson Wentz has been outstanding at QB with the season on the line.

The Rams need to re-group in the offseason and think about their strategy moving forward. They don't have many draft picks to play with but there is also plenty of talent already on the roster.

At the time of writing, Jason Garrett appears to be gone. A new head coach will have lots of talent to work with but the first order of business will be to tie down Dak Prescott to a long-term deal.

The Falcons finished in fine form and saved Dan Quinn's job. They have the talent to make a quick turnaround, providing they can steer clear of an injury bug they haven't been able to shake.

A lot of the pieces are in place for Indy to compete once again in 2020 but I'm not sure that Jacoby Brissett is the long-term answer at QB. A new WR in the NFL Draft would help the cause.

Injuries wiped out the Pittsburgh attack in 2019 but what we learned this season is that Mike Tomlin is a heck of a coach and the defense is high-end when compared to the rest of the NFL.

The Broncos won four of their last five with rookie quarterback Drew Lock at the helm. With Philip Lindsay, Courtland Sutton, Von Miller and Bradley Chubb on the roster, this team has talent.

The Bears have a big quarterback question that needs to be answered in the offseason. Do they stick with Mitchell Trubisky or bring in a competitor who could take the reins in 2020?

The Raiders made some strides in 2019 with a 7-9 record and now they are off to Las Vegas. But does Derek Carr go with them? Don't be surprised to see a change at QB in 2020.

The season began with talk of tanking but ended with five wins and some hope for the future under Brian Flores. Miami will add talent in the NFL Draft as they own three first-round picks.

There is not much between the Dolphins and Jets in terms of talent but I have Miami on top due to the coaching. I trust Brian Flores much more than I believe in Adam Gase.

The Bucs must spend some time deciding what to do with Jameis Winston, who threw for 5,000 yards but also became the first player in NFL history to throw 30 TDs and 30 interceptions.

There were positive signs of growth in the desert with Kliff Kingsbury calling the plays and Kyler Murray at quarterback. A 5-10-1 record is a decent platform for a team that was so bad in 2018.

What a tyre fire the 2019 season became for the Browns and it cost head coach Freddie Kitchens and general manager John Dorsey their jobs. Whoever takes charge, must 'really' be in charge.

Washington only won three games but they played hard down the stretch, have a few intriguing young players in Dwayne Haskins, Derrius Guice and Terry McLaurin; and they have Ron Rivera.

The equation for the Chargers was simple. They won the close games in 2018 and made the playoffs. They lost the close ones in 2019 and fell to 5-11. Now what to do with Philip Rivers?

Doug Marrone and Dave Caldwell got a reprieve at head coach and general manager. What we need to see most from this six-win team in 2020 is an improvement in overall discipline.

Few teams slid as badly as the Panthers in the second half of the season and now they have massive questions to answer, most notably who will be their head coach and quarterback?

It surprised many when Matt Patricia was given a vote of confidence and told he would be back for 2020. But let's not forget this was an early-season competitor with Matthew Stafford at QB.

It was a miserable 4-12 season in the Big Apple but I think this remains an attractive job for an incoming head coach. Daniel Jones has promise at QB and Saquon Barkley is a stud rusher.

The only way is up for the miserable Bengals and their climb back to respectability should come with the selection of Joe Burrow at the very top of the 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas.

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.