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AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman

2024 NFL Power Rankings: Week 18


Happy New Year! The Week 18 power rankings for the 2024 NFL regular season include a quick sentence for each squad.

 

1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-1) | Last week: 1

Now clicking on offense too, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs looked even scarier in the second game with receiver Hollywood Brown in the lineup of the Christmas Day win over the Steelers.

 

2. Detroit Lions (14-2) | Last week: 2

Defensive Player of the Year candidate Kerby Joseph intercepted two passes, making a huge difference in the Monday night shootout win over the 49ers.

 

3. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) | Last week: 3

DeVonta Smith bounced back from his Week 16 drop in a major way, with 120 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout win versus the rival Cowboys despite no Jalen Hurts (concussion) in the lineup.

 

4. Buffalo Bills (13-3) | Last week: 4

The Bills secured the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs by dominating the Jets and can get a week to rest some guys ahead of the postseason.

 

5. Minnesota Vikings (14-2) | Last week: 5

Sam Darnold not only has the Vikings competing for the NFC’s No. 1 seed at Detroit this Sunday, but he’s playing himself into becoming the team’s long-term franchise quarterback.

 

6. Baltimore Ravens (11-5) | Last week: 6

Baltimore’s defense didn’t allow any points at Houston, and the offense displayed their pick-your-poison ability with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.

 

7. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6) | Last week: 9 (+2)

A win would get the Chargers into the postseason, and they comfortably took care of business at Foxboro—including two touchdowns from rookie receiver Ladd McConkey.

 

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) | Last week: 7 (-1)

No doubt, the Steelers are in a rut right now, but Saturday night provides a great opportunity to knock out a hot Bengals squad to build some momentum into the postseason.

 

9. Green Bay Packers (11-5) | Last week: 8 (-1)

The Packers battled back to make it a game late, but they’ve now lost to both the Lions and the Vikings twice (as well as the Eagles in Week 1).

 

10. Los Angeles Rams (10-6) | Last week: 11 (+1)

Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon’s diving interception sealed another low-scoring victory for the Rams, which eventually led to the five-game winning streak ending the weekend with the NFC West crown.

 

11. Washington Commanders (11-5) | Last week: 13 (+2)

One of the best things about the Commanders’ fantastic first season under Dan Quinn is that they’ve been battle tested with tight wins on their way to a playoff berth.

 

12. Denver Broncos (9-7) | Last week: 12

While the Broncos didn’t get the win at Cincy, on a huge stage, rookie quarterback Bo Nix again showed the haters and doubters that he has major star ability with phenomenal play when Denver was down in the fourth quarter.

 

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) | Last week: 15 (+2)

With a little help from Washington, the Bucs are back in the driver’s seat in the NFC South following a five-touchdown performance by Baker Mayfield versus the Panthers.

 

14. Houston Texans (9-7) | Last week: 10 (-4)

The Texans are slumping, and players on both sides of the ball sound frustrated while trying to find answers to avoid being a one-and-done in January.

 

15. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8) | Last week: 17 (+2)

Tee Higgins stepped up with three touchdowns, displaying what makes Joe Burrow and company so difficult to stop when he and Ja’Marr Chase are healthy and clicking.

 

16. Miami Dolphins (8-8) | Last week: 19 (+3)

Tyler Huntley was very impressive in getting the nod with Tua Tagovailoa out, making accurate throws with good timing in a needed victory at Cleveland.

 

17. Atlanta Falcons (8-8) | Last week: 14 (-3)

While Michael Penix Jr. missed some throws, he came through to give Atlanta a shot on Sunday night—but the clock management by Raheem Morris on multiple occasions was very disappointing.

 

18. Seattle Seahawks (9-7) | Last week: 16 (-2)

The Seahawks won’t be playing past this weekend, but Mike Macdonald has set a good foundation in a Year 1 that the team will look to end with a 10-7 mark.

 

19. Indianapolis Colts (7-9) | Last week: 18 (-1)

The Colts were next in line for an AFC wild card spot if the Broncos lose in Week 18, but a stunning loss to the Giants—with the Indy defense not playing well at all—has led to some uproar.

 

20. Dallas Cowboys (7-9) | Last week: 20

The Cowboys brought energy and played hard at Philly, but they were simply overmatched roster wise with all the injuries—including CeeDee Lamb (shoulder) being shut down for the final two games.

 

21. Arizona Cardinals (7-9) | Last week: 21

Again, the Cardinals are a team that has made progress but might need to learn how to close out and win close games, not coming through in a prime opportunity to upset the Rams on Saturday night.

 

22. San Francisco 49ers (6-10) | Last week: 22

Hopefully quarterback Brock Purdy is OK after leaving Monday night’s loss against the Lions with an arm injury, but he and the offense showed the flashes that make San Francisco an exciting squad to obviously not count out in 2025.

 

23. Carolina Panthers (4-12) | Last week: 23

Carolina is another team hit very hard by injuries right now and perhaps having the wheels fall off a little bit, as they didn’t have the pieces to hold down Tampa Bay last week.

 

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12) | Last week: 27 (+3)

Wins were against the struggling Titans, but still give the Jaguars credit for playing solid football over the final stretch—headlined by star rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

 

25. Las Vegas Raiders (4-12) | Last week: 30 (+5)

Vegas can arguably be over Jacksonville after beating them a couple of weeks ago, but regardless they are coming off two straight wins and Brock Bowers broke Mike Ditka’s rookie record for receiving yards by a tight end.

 

26. New Orleans Saints (5-11) | Last week: 25 (-1)

The Saints were competitive before the Raiders eventually pulled away, and a storyline this week is whether veteran running back Alvin Kamara plays with a shot at his first career 1,000-yard rushing season.

 

27. New York Jets (4-12) | Last week: 24 (-3)

The loss to Buffalo was a good showcase of just how far away New York is from fielding a legitimate championship contender—unless they quickly get people that know what they’re doing in the front office.

 

28. Cleveland Browns (3-13) | Last week: 26 (-2)

The offense is struggling mightily in Cleveland, but we’ll see if they can pull off a second upset of Baltimore this year to make the AFC North interesting.

 

29. Chicago Bears (4-12) | Last week: 28 (-1)

The defense stepped up and played much better on Thursday night, and they’ll look to finally put together a complete game to close out their season.

 

30. Tennessee Titans (3-13) | Last week: 29 (-1)

The Titans will win no better than four games after two straight offseasons of adding veteran talent with the intention of competing.

 

31. New York Giants (3-13) | Last week: 32 (+1)

The Giants are out of the basement in the power rankings, with Drew Lock powering the upset of the Colts to finally end the franchise-record losing streak—which was good to see despite some fans being angry about draft positioning.

 

32. New England Patriots (3-13) | Last week: 31 (-1)

After playing a good half versus the Bills a couple of weeks ago, the Patriots have fallen off over the past six quarters and are now in position for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.