Consistency at the top -- that is the theme of the Week 16 Power Rankings.
That's a good thing, right? After all, shouldn't we know who the premier teams in the NFL are after 15 weeks of play? The Panthers survived, with their Superman saving the day when needed. The Cardinals showed their No. 2 rating is more than earned. The Patriotscrushed the Titans. The Steelers' aerial show did the same to the Broncos' Orange Crush 2.0. And the Seahawks, well, let's just say nobody wants to play them right now.
Oh, yeah -- and then there's red-hot K.C. My question: What was the better show, "The Jeffersons" or "What's Happening!!"?
Well, what's going down in the NFL right now is that final playoff push. My guess is that only one team from the top 12 below will not be part of the postseason dozen come January. We'll see. Feel free to share your thoughts on any team: @HarrisonNFL is the place.
Let the dissension commence!
NOTE: The lineup below reflects changes from our Dec. 15 Power Rankings.
Now, on to important matters. Here is my MVP ballot after 15 weeks of action:
1) Cam Newton
2) Tom Brady
The giant upset was there for the taking. Instead, the Giants' fans and players are just plain upset.
**a)** Everyone thought the
Texans were headed to 5-11 in early October.
**b)** Those same
*everyones* thought defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel should get canned.
**c)**
Brandon Weeden was out there leading O'Brien's team to victory. That is madness.
**d)** Oh yeah, and Houston had never won in Indianapolis in 13 tries before Sunday. Nope, not even Sage Rosenfels delivered there.
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[Thinking ... Thinking ... What do I type next? ... The defense? Well, that's a sore spot. ... Rob Ryan? He's killing Wahoo's fish tacos somewhere. ...]
Here's what I got: People are quick to speculate on a certain head coach moving on after this season. Remember, that same guy took this franchise to the NFC Championship Game one year after a hurricane devastated New Orleans, and secured a Lombardi Trophy for an organization that didn't go to the postseason for its first 20 years of existence. In Bryant Gumbel voice: Moving along ...
[Touchdown. And ... scene.]
Sunday's loss in San Diego might have been the ugliest of the season, the exact opposite of what
the Dolphins did to the Texans early in Dan Campbell's interim tenure. At least
Ryan Tannehill got fired up down 23-7 with a few minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
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The absolute dearth of offense from midway through the first quarter until early in the fourth -- during which Cleveland gained all of 65 yards -- certainly didn't help. The Seahawks' penchant for keeping the ball only left Johnny Manziel with seven offensive possessions to get anything going. If you didn't see the highlights, he didn't get anything going. #spoileralert
Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonNFL.