NFL Power Rankings: 2019 Regular Season Recap

The NFL regular season is over, and the 12 teams competing in the playoffs have been set. The Titans dominated the short-handed Texans to secure the AFC’s second Wild Card spot, while the Patriots somehow lost a home game to the Dolphins, which dropped them to the third seed and gave Kansas City a first-round bye. In the NFC, the Eagles held off the Giants to secure the NFC East, while the 49ers won a thriller over the Seahawks to lock up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and send Seattle to Philadelphia next weekend.

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32) Cincinnati Bengals (Prev: 32)
The Bengals ended their season with an impressive 33-23 win over the Cleveland Browns. Joe Mixon rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Andy Dalton was far from great in the victory, and now we are left to wonder what the Bengals will do with him after they, in all likelihood, select Joe Burrow in next year’s draft.

31) Washington Redskins (Prev: 30)
Washington was outgained 517-271 as the Cowboys destroyed them in the final game of the season. Without Terry McLaurin and Dwayne Haskins, the Washington offense managed only 13 first downs and turned the ball over twice. The good news for Washington is that they proved to have a lot of young talent this season and will pick second in the NFL Draft.

30) Detroit Lions (Prev: 31)
The Lions gave everything they had this week against the Packers, but they failed to ruin Green Bay’s chances to achieve a first-round bye in the playoffs. Detroit ended their season on a nine-game losing streak but showed promise in the season finale.

29) Carolina Panthers (Prev: 28)
Carolina ended the season on an eight-game losing streak, and they were barely competitive in any of the games. Sunday was just another example of how overwhelmed they were by their competition in the second half of the season, as they got blown out 42-10 by the Saints. Christian McCaffrey became the third player in NFL history to receive and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.

28) New York Giants (Prev: 26)
New York hung tough with the Eagles into the fourth quarter until they gave up 17 unanswered. Saquon Barkley busted a huge 68-yard touchdown run as he ended his sophomore season on a positive note.

27) Los Angeles Chargers (Prev: 25)
The Chargers ended their disappointing season with yet another loss, giving them a record of 5-11 and 0-6 against their division. They lost six of their last seven, a span that saw Philip Rivers throw 13 interceptions.

26) Miami Dolphins (Prev: 29)
The Dolphins had a terrible start to their season, but they knocked off the Patriots in Foxborough in Week 17 to ruin New England’s chances of a first-round bye. Miami ended the season on a two-game winning streak and with a shocking 5-11 final record.

25) Jacksonville Jaguars (Prev: 27)
Gardner Minshew threw for 295 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in the season finale as the Jaguars beat the Colts 38-20. Jacksonville trailed 20-13 in the second quarter, then scored the last 25 points of the game to pull out the victory in what could be Doug Marrone’s final game as head coach.

24) Arizona Cardinals (Prev: 24)
Kyler Murray passed for 325 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the final game of his rookie season. In all, Arizona finished the game with five turnovers as they fell to 5-10-1 on the season. They will pick eighth in next year’s draft.

23) Cleveland Browns (Prev: 22)
The Browns’ season ended the same way it way began, with a disappointing loss that will leave people in Cleveland wondering what went wrong after acquiring so much talent. Baker Mayfield threw another three interceptions, leaving him with 21 on the season. Unsurprisingly, Freddie Kitchens was fired after the loss.

22) Indianapolis Colts (Prev: 20)
The Colts failed to score in the second half after holding a 20-13 lead near the end of the second quarter. They gave up the final 25 points of the game and dropped the seventh of their last nine games.

21) New York Jets (Prev: 23)
The Jets beat the Bills in sloppy conditions on Sunday, and they finished the season 7-9, but an impressive 6-2 in their last eight games. The defense forced three turnovers in a game that New York never trailed.

20) Denver Broncos (Prev: 21)
The Broncos were outgained 477-238, but they stopped the Raiders’ two-point conversion and held on for the 16-15 victory. Denver was 4-1 in games which rookie quarterback Drew Lock played in this season. He finished the year with a 64.8% completion percentage, six touchdowns, and three interceptions.

19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Prev: 17)
It only makes sense that the Buccaneers’ season would end with a Jameis Winston pick-six. He became the first player in NFL history to throw for 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season, and now Tampa will have to decide whether or not to stick with him next season.

18) Oakland Raiders (Prev: 13)
The Raiders lost their final game as the Oakland Raiders and finished the season a disappointing 7-9 after their hot start. Derek Carr threw for 391 yards, and Dwayne Washington rushed for 77 yards filling in for the injured Josh Jacobs.

17) Pittsburgh Steelers (Prev: 15)
Pittsburgh’s offense let them down in a must-win game as Devlin Hodges went a terrible 9-25 for just 95 yards. One bright spot for the offense was Benny Snell, who rushed for 91 yards and one touchdown. The defense even struggled to shut down the second-string Ravens’ offense. It marked a disappointing end to the Steelers’ season as they lost their final three games.

16) Atlanta Falcons (Prev: 19)
The Falcons’ season was disappointing, but they finished 6-2 in their last eight games and secured Dan Quinn’s job for next season. By beating the Buccaneers on Sunday, Atlanta wrapped up second place in the NFC South after starting the season 1-7.

15) Chicago Bears (Prev: 18)
The Bears managed to finish the season at .500 after their 21-19 win over Sean Mannion and the Vikings. It wasn’t an impressive win, but it ends the Bears’ season on a somewhat positive note.

14) Dallas Cowboys (Prev: 16)
The Cowboys decimated the short-handed Redskins on Sunday, but it was too little too late as they missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record. Jason Garrett will likely be fired in the coming days as Dallas reevaluates their situation in the offseason. They finished the season with the number one total yardage offense in the NFL.

13) Los Angeles Rams (Prev: 14)
In their final game in the LA Coliseum, the Rams won 31-24 over the Cardinals to finish the season 9-7. Jared Goff threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. It wasn’t the season result that the Rams hoped for, as they finished with the best record of all teams that missed the playoffs.

12) Philadelphia Eagles (Prev: 12)
The Eagles’ injury report included most of their offensive weapons, and then it only got longer when Miles Sanders went down early with an injury. But Philadelphia rode Boston Scott and his three touchdowns to a victory over the Giants and an NFC East title. They will host the 11-5 Seahawks next weekend.

11) Minnesota Vikings (Prev: 10)
Matt Boone rushed for 148 yards and one touchdown as the Vikings’ backups hung tough with the Bears before ultimately falling on a last-second field goal to Chicago. The Vikings will travel to New Orleans next week to take on the Saints on Wild Card weekend.

10) Tennessee Titans (Prev: 11)
Derrick Henry played like an absolute beast for the Titans on Sunday, as he rushed for 211 yards and three touchdowns on his way to securing not only a Titans’ playoff berth but also the NFL rushing title. Ryan Tannehill threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. 

9) Buffalo Bills (Prev: 9)
The Bills benched most of their starters in their regular-season finale loss to the Jets, so to only lose 13-6 actually wasn’t too bad of a look for the backups. They will travel to Houston next weekend for a Wild Card matchup.

8) New England Patriots (Prev: 4)
All the Patriots had to do to secure a first-round bye was win a home game against the 4-11 Dolphins, a team they had previously beaten 43-0 in Miami. And they couldn’t do it. New England is limping into the playoffs and coming off by far their worst loss of the season. They will take on the Titans this week in the Wild Card round.

7) Houston Texans (Prev: 8)
Bill O’Brien talked about playing Sunday’s game to win, but he elected to do so without his starters on gameday. The Texans had nothing to play for by the time their game began as the Patriots had already wrapped up the third seed. The Texans will host the Bills next weekend.

6) Seattle Seahawks (Prev: 7)
The Seahawks looked dead to rights in the first half, but they made a valiant comeback in the second half and were just inches away from securing a Wild Card weekend home playoff game. Instead, they will have to travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. Russell Wilson passed for 233 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.

5) Green Bay Packers (Prev: 6)
Once again, the Packers looked mediocre at best, but they found a way to win and wrapped up a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs. They trailed David Blough and the Lions 17-3 heading into the second half, but they scored 20 of the game’s last 23 points to beat the Lions on a last-second field goal for the second time this season. They seem to have embraced the win-ugly mentality but will surely need to play better to make a Super Bowl run.

4) San Francisco 49ers (Prev: 5)
The 49ers’ defense made an incredible goal-line stand as Dre Greenlaw stood up Jacob Hollister inches from the end zone to secure the NFC West and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 285 yards and just four incompletions, and Raheem Mostert scored two rushing touchdowns in the victory.

3) New Orleans Saints (Prev: 3)
The Saints absolutely dominated the Panthers on Sunday, as they jumped out to a 35-0 lead over the Panthers. Unfortunately for the Saints, due to other results, New Orleans will have to host the Vikings this weekend in the Wild Card round rather than enjoy a first-round bye.

2) Kansas City Chiefs (Prev: 2)
Thanks to the Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs earned a first-round bye and the number two seed in the AFC. Running back Damien Williams had two incredible touchdown runs, including an 84-yarder, where he should have been tackled for a small gain. The Chiefs head into the playoffs on a six-game winning streak.

1) Baltimore Ravens (Prev: 1)
Robert Griffin III and the Ravens’ backups beat the playoff-hopeful Steelers 28-10, and they finished the regular season 14-2 and on a 12 game winning streak. The defense allowed only 168 yards and forced two turnovers. Gus Edwards led the way on the ground with 130 rushing yards. 

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Philip Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Philip, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.