NFL Power Rankings: Week 16 Shake-up!
NFL Power Rankings Week 16: Lions Lead, Eagles Climb, Cowboys Slide
The NFL playoff picture is taking shape, and Week 16’s Power Rankings—based on the Sports Power Rankings Formula—highlight which teams are peaking and which are fading. Let’s get into it.
Top Dogs: Lions Holding Strong
For the second week running, the Detroit Lions hold the No. 1 spot with an SD score of 1.056. Their slight dip from 1.118 last week isn’t enough to knock them off their perch.
The Buffalo Bills sit comfortably at No. 2. They improved their score to 0.770, keeping pace as a legitimate contender.
Movers and Shakers
- Eagles (No. 5 → No. 3): Philadelphia jumps two spots after boosting their score from 0.491 to 0.624. This team is rounding into playoff form.
- Broncos (No. 12 → No. 8): Denver cracks the top 10 with a strong push to 0.408. They’ve quietly been one of the league’s most improved squads.
- Buccaneers (No. 8 → No. 6): Tampa Bay climbs two spots as their SPR score rises to 0.489. A solid bounce-back for a team many had written off.
Teams in Trouble
- Commanders (No. 9 → No. 11): Washington slides as their score dips from 0.297 to 0.286.
- Cowboys (No. 25 → No. 25): Dallas remains stuck. Their SD score improves slightly to -0.420, but the climb feels steep.
At the bottom, Carolina Panthers (No. 32) stay anchored with an SD score of -0.849—even worse than last week.
Middle of the Pack
Several teams are lingering around neutral territory:
- Texans (No. 16 → No. 14): Their SPR Score nudges into positive territory at 0.009.
- Seahawks (No. 14 → No. 15): Seattle’s SPR Score drops to an almost-zero 0.001. Consistent but uninspiring.
- Steelers (No. 7 → No. 9): Pittsburgh improves their SPR Score to 0.303, but it’s not enough to hold their spot.
Takeaways
The Lions continue to set the pace, while the Eagles and Bills are building momentum. Teams like the Broncos and Buccaneers are making their moves, while traditional powers like the Cowboys and Patriots are stuck in neutral or reverse.
With just three weeks left, the race for the NFL playoffs is far from over.
What’s your take? Are the Lions for real? Can the Eagles or Bills make a push to the top? We’ll have the Sports Power Rankings Formula NFL power rankings for Week 17 next Tuesday.
Week 16 NFL Power Rankings (Rank. Team — SPR Score)
- Lions – 1.056
- Bills – 0.770
- Eagles – 0.624
- Packers – 0.585
- Vikings – 0.567
- Buccaneers – 0.489
- Ravens – 0.447
- Broncos – 0.408
- Steelers – 0.303
- Chiefs – 0.294
- Commanders – 0.286
- Cardinals – 0.249
- Chargers – 0.222
- Texans – 0.009
- Seahawks – 0.001
- Bengals – -0.006
- Fortyniners – -0.010
- Rams – -0.015
- Colts – -0.125
- Falcons – -0.178
- Saints – -0.201
- Dolphins – -0.295
- Jets – -0.315
- Bears – -0.334
- Cowboys – -0.420
- Jaguars – -0.525
- Giants – -0.579
- Titans – -0.580
- Browns – -0.654
- Patriots – -0.669
- Raiders – -0.699
- Panthers – -0.849
Results
The SPR Formula correctly predicted the outcome of 15 of 16 NFL games last week, missing only on the Bills historic win over the Lions. A punter wagering one unit on the money line of each game would have retuned 7.71 units, for a 48% ROI!
The SPR Formula also went 11-5 ATS, returning another 5 units at -110 odds (31% ROI).