2013 Week 17
This past Sunday was a lot more fun than the last, making the holiday season a little bit brighter. Well, aside from fans of teams that lost I suppose. This may be especially true for fans of the Kansas City Chiefs, whose embarrassing loss to the Indianapolis Colts dropped them out of my Top 10, despite placing at #6 last week. Frankly, I'm just fed up with them and, although I'm still a bit fan of their underdog season, have lost faith that they can truly compete with the NFL's elite teams. Creeping up on the list are the underestimated San Diego Chargers and, with the return of Aaron Rodgers and Eddie Lacy, the Green Bay Packers. But where do the teams who made the Top 10 rank? Let's get to it; hike!
Nipping at #10's heels: The Chiefs & Chargers
Last Week: --
Top Ranking: 1st (Week 9)
No offense to Houston and Tennessee, but what the Colts did defensively to the Chiefs surpasses anything they did against those vacation-bound teams. The Colts sacked Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith four times to go with two Jerrell Freeman interceptions in their first victory over a team with a winning record since beating Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on Oct. 20. The Chiefs looked like they were going to have a field day on the Colts after they took their opening possession and running back Jamaal Charles easily scored on a 31-yard run. Kansas City gained 59 yards on its opening drive but gained only 228 more yards the rest of the game. - Mike Wells
9. Arizona Cardinals
Last Week: 10th
Top Ranking: 9th (Week 13, 17)
Last Week: 9th
Top Ranking: 8th (Week 9, 10, 13, 17)
Sunday's victory means the Bengals have -- for one week, at least -- done exactly what they've been preaching since last Sunday's loss at Pittsburgh. They have controlled what they can control. The only way they can be assured that their postseason fate is playing out precisely the way they want is to simply win and win some more. Now that they have done that for one week, they have to do it one more when they play the Ravens in their final AFC North game of the season... As embattled as he has been all season, the Cincinnati quarterback [Andy Dalton] has actually put together a solid month so far. With a game left in the season, he has played some of his best football of the year of late. - Coley Harvey
7. New Orleans Saints
Last Week: 5th
Top Ranking: 2nd (Week 6)
A disastrous loss for the Saints. Losing would have been gut-wrenching in any fashion -- but especially the way they did it, blowing a 13-10 lead in the final minute. The Saints' defense played great for almost the entire game before completely breaking down on a five-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that lasted just 32 seconds. The final dagger was a 14-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton to Domenik Hixon to burst a failed blitz. Once again, the Saints' offense struggled mightily on the road (though it did nearly pull it out with a terrific 97-yard touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter). Now the Saints will almost certainly have to hit the road for the playoffs as a wild-card team. - Mike Triplett
Last Week: 8th
Top Ranking: 6th (Week 17)
Coach Chip Kelly motivated his team to play perhaps its best all-around game despite an oddly deflating turn of events. When Dallas rallied to beat [Washington] earlier in the day, the Eagles lost the ability to clinch the division. Considering their awful performance against the Minnesota Vikings last week, they very well could have come out flat again. Instead, they jumped all over the Bears, smothering a high-powered offense and striking quickly for a 21-0 first-quarter lead... [and] the Eagles continued to play well in the second half. They had let big leads get whittled down by Washington and Arizona in recent wins. This time, they piled 30 second-half points onto the 24 they scored in the first half. - Phil Sheridan
5. New England Patriots
Last Week: 7th
Top Ranking: 1st (Pre-Free Agency)
Last Week: 5th
Top Ranking: 4th (Week 14, 16, 17)
The Panthers (11-4) clinched their first playoff berth since 2008 and have a chance to win the NFC South and first-round bye with a victory at Atlanta next week. It happened on a day when the defense played spectacular and the offense made just enough plays to get by... Quarterback Cam Newton was having his absolute worst home game of the season. Then he completed three of four passes in the final minute, including a game-winning, 14-yard touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon with 23 seconds left. It was the third last-minute, winning drive of the season for the first pick of the 2011 draft. It made the rest of his miserable day forgotten... [and] extended the team's home winning streak to seven straight and gave the Panthers their 10th win in their past 11 games overall. Their magical season continues. - David Newton
3. San Francisco 49ers
Last Week: 3rd
Last Week: 2nd
Top Ranking: 1st (Week 5, 6, 7, 12, 15)
On a day when things were tougher than many had anticipated, the Broncos got the division title they wanted as well as a first-round bye by virtue of the win and Kansas City's loss to Indianapolis... The Broncos wrap up the regular season in Oakland against a Raiders team limping to the finish. The Broncos would like to end the regular season as healthy as possible, but they haven’t always been sharp down the stretch and need to smooth out a few rough edges. That's especially true on defense, where they continue to look for the groupings that will give them some success. - Jeff Legwold
1. Seattle Seahawks
Last Week: 1st
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