2018 NFL Power Rankings: Week 16
Teams Ranked 22nd to 13th
| Rank | Team | nERD | Rec | Playoff Odds | Off. NEP Rank | Def. NEP Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | New York Giants | -3.01 | 5-9 | 0.0% | 20 | 22 | -1 |
| 21 | Atlanta Falcons | -2.91 | 5-9 | 0.0% | 8 | 32 | 2 |
| 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | -2.08 | 5-9 | 0.0% | 11 | 27 | 0 |
| 19 | Carolina Panthers | -0.66 | 6-8 | 1.6% | 13 | 24 | 0 |
| 18 | Tennessee Titans | -0.34 | 8-6 | 34.8% | 18 | 15 | 0 |
| 17 | Philadelphia Eagles | -0.13 | 7-7 | 34.0% | 15 | 18 | 0 |
| 16 | Green Bay Packers | 0.02 | 5-8-1 | 0.0% | 10 | 25 | 0 |
| 15 | Dallas Cowboys | 0.48 | 8-6 | 93.6% | 22 | 7 | -1 |
| 14 | Cleveland Browns | 0.66 | 6-7-1 | 2.0% | 27 | 3 | +1 |
| 13 | Denver Broncos | 2.47 | 6-8 | 0.0% | 17 | 5 | -2 |
As mentioned in the intro, 2018 has been good to the team ranked at the bottom of our preseason ratings.
Things have been less kind to the team which topped the list, and while the Philadelphia Eagles still have a punchers' chance of defending their Super Bowl title, they have to rank among the league's bigger disappointments this year.
The Eagles finished last regular season ranked fourth in both Offensive and Defensive NEP, but are in the middle of the pack in both regards this year. Carson Wentz has been solid, but has not duplicated the form of last year's MVP-caliber campaign. His completion percentage has actually improved by 9.4 points since last year, but at the expense of big plays down the field, as his yards per completion rate has dropped from 12.4 to 11.0.
The combination of these factors plus a below-average rushing offense has yielded an offense in the middle of the pack.
The Eagles' performance on defense has been in this territory as well, as they are tied for 18th in Passing NEP allowed per dropback and 20th in Rushing NEP per carry.
They are coming off a big win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday that kept them in the playoff hunt, but overall they have looked much closer to an average team than the reigning Super Bowl champions.
