With another NFL season in the books, let's look back and spin forward with a final edition of the Power Rankings. No. 1 was an easy call.
Thanks to everyone for reading in what was my first year on the PR beat. You'll get your next edition later this spring, when 2020 rosters start to take shape. Until then, know that you're all No. 1 in my heart. Well, except for your cousin. You gotta get that dude off Twitter.
NOTE: Records reflect the entirety of postseason play.
罢丑别听聽are on top of the pro football world after -- spoiler alert --聽winning Super Bowl LIV聽on Sunday night. Kansas City ended its season on a nine-game winning streak, and聽聽has won a league MVP award聽and听补听聽MVP across two seasons as a starter. Yes, these are the good days. Best of all for the聽: They will retain their nucleus of dynamic talent around their superstar QB for the coming title defense in 2020. Here's an insane stat, courtesy of NFL Media Research: Mahomes was 5-0 this season (including playoffs) when trailing by 10-plus points at any point in the game. 罢丑别听聽are the first team to win the聽聽after trailing by 10-plus points in every one of their playoff games ... and they won all three games by more than 10 points. Special, special stuff.
罢丑别听' defense played the game of its life for 53 minutes in聽Super Bowl LIV.聽Niners fans will be thinking about those final seven minutes of the fourth quarter for years to come. The game shifted on聽聽in the fourth quarter, the first of several coverage breakdowns that doomed San Francisco. The blame isn't all on the defense, however. Kyle Shanahan's offense had opportunities to close out Kansas City in the fourth quarter -- but聽聽and Co. simply weren't up to the task. Jimmy G's reputation will surely take a hit for how this game ended, but he remains a solid quarterback with substantial upside. The Niners聽should聽be back in the mix come next January ... but nothing is promised.
It's still hard to believe the聽' 2019 campaign -- one that seemed destined for immortality after a 14-2 regular season -- ended with an unceremonious聽聽in January. Football, man. One of the biggest offseason decisions will center around defensive end聽, a free-agent-to-be聽聽a franchise-tag-and-trade candidate. Judon stepped up with a career-best season when Baltimore's front seven was in a vulnerable time of transition, but he is also the type of player who -- like聽听补苍诲听聽in similar situations last year -- could fetch a substantial return on the trade market. A trade of Judon would give the聽聽increased financial flexibility and another influx of young talent through the draft. Feels like a move that would make sense for a forward-thinking franchise.
罢丑别听聽Watch is on in New Orleans. The 41-year-old quarterback said last week that he'll take聽聽before deciding whether or not to return for a 20th season. The uncertainty spawns some uneasy times in the Big Easy, but a reunion between player and team makes too much sense not to happen. Brees continued to play at a high level in 2019, setting a career high in passer rating while bouncing back strong from a thumb injury that cost him several weeks in September and October. 罢丑别听聽are right to ponder internally whether they want to stay in business with a clearly-declining聽聽-- the聽聽shouldn't be facing the same dilemma. Unless, of course, they believe聽聽is the Steve Young to Brees' Joe Montana.
聽will turn 37 in December. It's now-or-never time for the聽聽and their legendary QB, and this offseason should be all about helping No. 12. Brian Gutekunst was roundly praised for his upgrades to the defense last offseason -- now, common sense demands the general manager add firepower on offense. Wide receiver and tight end are the two obvious areas of need;聽,听,听,听听补苍诲听聽are all currently slated for free agency. Green Bay is in the bottom third of the league in terms of available cap space,听聽so a combination of free agency and the draft (this year's class is loaded with pass-catching talent) is the most likely road here. Get to work, Gutie!
Our unsolicited advice to the Titans: Don't overthink it!聽听补苍诲听聽are both slated for free agency, and you could make the case that it would be wise to avoid a big-money investment in either veteran. The logic: Tannehill's sample size in Nashville is small, and he never blossomed into a true franchise passer in seven years with the聽. Henry had a gargantuan workload in 2019, and recent investments at running back have been hit-or-miss, to put it charitably. But, again, let's not overthink it. 罢丑别听聽hit on something with Tannehill and Henry, and finding a way to bring both back for a 2020 encore -- perhaps via a long-term deal for one player and the franchise tag for the other -- just feels like the smart move.
What is the聽' regular-season record if you swap out聽聽for a replacement-level quarterback in 2019? You could probably flip that 11-5 to 5-11. Wilson was Superman for Seattle, but now it's on GM John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll to build a more complete team around their star quarterback. The most obvious area of need is on the defensive line, where聽听补苍诲听聽are scheduled to hit free agency. There's a general feeling that bringing back Clowney is a no-brainer, but given the former No. 1 overall pick's injury history, pedestrian statistical production and massive price tag, you can make a very strong case for spreading the money earmarked for Clowney over multiple players instead. In retrospect, Schneider should have just paid聽, who was Aaron Donald-level dominant for the聽聽in the season's second half.
聽(probably) doesn't want to leave the聽. Robert Kraft聽听迟丑别听. Even Joe Montana聽听迟丑别听. Everything seems to be pointing to the legendary quarterback re-upping with his forever team for a final year or two, but you know who we haven't heard from? Yep, Bill Belichick -- who certainly has a loud voice in the room on this matter. Belichick is famous for his lack of sentimentality when it comes to roster churn, and he's always more likely to part ways with a decorated veteran a year too early rather than a year too late. Brady is an outlier, however, and even a coach as forward-thinking as The Hooded One would probably think twice about messing with the long-term relationship between the聽聽and the greatest quarterback who's ever lived.
Bill O'Brien's aggressive land grab became official last week, when聽聽chairman and CEO Cal McNair announced that the head coach聽聽as the general manager, as well. O'Brien had been acting in that capacity since the firing of Brian Gaine last June, but the official decree puts the coach in a special class when it comes to organizational sway. It's essentially BOB's show now, and any success or failure will point directly back to him. He'll have to be creative as a roster builder this offseason: Quarterback聽聽and left tackle聽聽will soon require new deals that could set the market at two marquee positions. That will gobble up cap space and could lead to salary-cap casualties and frugal spending on the free-agent market. The draft will present challenges, as well, after the聽聽sent premium picks to Miami to land Tunsil last summer. Good luck, BOB.
Josh Allen聽came apart in the聽'听聽to the聽, but that shouldn't obscure what was a promising Year 2 for the former first-round pick. He improved on nearly all facets of his game, and the聽聽are right to remain completely committed to Allen in the pivotal Year 3. With a loaded defense, a promising young running back in聽聽and a rising offensive line, it makes sense for the聽聽to add more weapons around their young quarterback this spring. Wide receiver聽聽was an excellent acquisition by GM Brandon Beane last year. The signing of聽, the slot man and Allen security blanket, also worked out. Now Beane must complete his wideout rebuild with an upgrade who will line up across from Brown.
罢丑别听' offense ended its season on a horrible note, producing just seven first downs in聽聽to the eventual NFC champion聽. Though the unit battled to be consistent -- the offense laid another hideous egg in聽聽against the聽聽-- Minnesota's attack was strong overall, and Mike Zimmer made a smart move by sliding Gary Kubiak, who served as an assistant head coach and offensive advisor in 2019,听聽vacated by Kevin Stefanski. Kubiak is one of the best veteran minds in the game, and his well-known scheme, one that relies heavily on play action, should be a perfect fit for聽聽and Co. 罢丑别听聽are on their fifth offensive coordinator in as many years, but Zimmer told reporters last month that Kubiak will run the "same system" in 2020. The continuity is a net positive.
聽needs help. The concussion that聽聽was beyond unfortunate, but that shouldn't obscure what the former first-round pick was able to do in leading the聽聽to an improbable playoff berth. Wentz is a star, and he can be an MVP with the right supporting cast. Taking聽聽out of the conversation, Philly's playmakers were old and slow in 2019, and it's unwise to assume healthy returns from聽听补苍诲听聽will jump-start what was one of football's most deliberate attacks in 2019. 罢丑别听聽need to import fresh legs and allow Wentz to do what he does best -- attack defenses with his downfield passing ability.
Good on Mike McCarthy and the聽' front office for keeping Kellen Moore in the fold. McCarthy is a high-profile veteran coach with an offensive pedigree, and typically a hire like McCarthy's would spell doom for the incumbent play-caller. But Moore had an excellent 2019 season, and it would behoove McCarthy to give his OC space and let Moore and聽聽continue to build on that familiarity. That offense won't perform well if Dallas doesn't find a way to hold on to聽, the No. 1 wideout聽聽罢丑别听聽should side with chemistry again on this one: Prescott and Cooper have shown they produce on a star level together -- re-signing the wide receiver for the balance of his prime years makes too much sense not to happen.
罢丑别听聽said goodbye to defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and special teams coordinator John Fassel after the season and added an offensive coordinator in Kevin O'Connell, signs that point to a time of transition within the organization. Changes will extend beyond the coaching staff. Los Angeles has a handful of notable free agents -- a list that includes left tackle聽, defensive end聽, linebackers聽听补苍诲听聽and kicker聽聽-- but L.A. sits in the bottom third of the league in terms of available cap space,听聽Multiple starters could leave, and it will be on general manager Les Snead to find their replacements via value buys in free agency, through the draft and on the existing roster. 罢丑别听聽exist as a curiosity as we look toward 2020 -- it's hard to see where they fit in the NFL landscape right now.
A strong finish to the 2019 season saved Dan Quinn's job, but it's likely playoffs-or-bust for the head coach in 2020. Atlanta has significant needs on the defensive side of the ball, both on the line and in the secondary. With several huge contracts聽听迟丑别听聽will have to be smart in their offseason spending. The best free agent the team could sign might already be on the roster: Tight end聽聽set career highs in catches (75), receiving yards (787) and touchdowns (6) last season, and he can be an impossible cover when defenses have to contend with聽听补苍诲听Calvin Ridley聽on the outside. Keeping these three playmakers together would be a huge win for offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and quarterback聽.
罢丑别听聽have now gone two straight seasons without a playoff berth, an eternity for a franchise that has been a model of consistency in the聽聽and Mike Tomlin era. Getting Roethlisberger back from the elbow injury that torpedoed his 2019 season is obviously the No. 1 path to improvement for Pittsburgh. There's still some uncertainty around the quarterback, but consider it a surprise if Roethlisberger isn't taking the field with his teammates in Week 1. The biggest free agent priority? Retaining former first-round pick聽, who broke out this season with 16 tackles for loss and a career-high 11.5 sacks. Dupree and聽聽formed a fearsome twosome on the edges --聽**聽may have to make some tough decisions if they want to bring back Dupree on a long-term deal.
Yeah, yeah, general manager Ryan Pace said the聽**聽with Mitch Trubisky as their starting quarterback in 2020, but now is where it gets interesting. There are several notable free agent quarterbacks set to hit the open market, and Chicago would be very wise to copy the聽' strategy of last offseason: buy low on a faded name brand -- conceivable options include聽,听听辞谤听聽-- and let the competition begin.聽聽saved the day in Nashville when the聽' own former first-round pick,听, couldn't get the job done. Pace needs to build up the offense in several areas, but the No. 1 priority is giving head coach Matt Nagy another choice behind center.聽"Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed."聽And with that, I just became the 10 millionth sportswriter to quote Bruce Springsteen.
罢丑别听聽have now missed the playoffs in four consecutive years, that dry run coming directly off the heels of a stretch in which Denver qualified for the playoffs five straight times and won a聽. In 2020, the pressure will be on to get this one-time model of consistency back on track. Enter John Elway, the general manager who will have a lot of holes to fill but聽听补苍诲听聽with which to do it. (Consider the聽聽an early favorite to "win the offseason" come this spring.) One internal roster decision yet to be made: Should the聽聽dole out big money to keep cornerback聽? The former All-Pro is entering his age-31 season, but he's head and shoulders above every other cover man in the Denver secondary.
尝别迟'蝉听not聽talk about聽聽here. Yes, the future of the quarterback is the most high-profile decision facing Tampa Bay, but it's not the only big free-agent situation. Cut to: Outside linebacker Shaq Barrett, who signed a one-year contract with the Bucs last spring and proceeded to deliver the best "prove it" performance since聽'蝉听聽run with the聽. Barrett's monster season -- in which he broke the single-season franchise sack record with 19.5 -- is going to lead to a massive payday, whether it's from the Bucs or another team in need of a dominant pass rusher (that's everyone). Bruce Arians said Barrett, 27,听聽... but now the Bucs and GM Jason Licht have to close the deal.
In retrospect, it feels like the聽聽were trying to convince themselves that聽聽was their locked-and-loaded replacement for Andrew Luck. The latter's sudden retirement last summer had the potential to throw the organization into tumult, and the move to re-do Brissett's contract shortly after Luck's exit brought with it a sense of continuity. Unfortunately for Indy, Brissett floundered in the back half of the season, bringing into question whether they really have The Guy. General manager Chris Ballard certainly seemed unsure at his end-of-season press conference, telling the assembled media "anytime we have a chance to acquire a player that makes us better, at any position, we're going to do it." Translation: Brissett is about to have new company in his QB room -- and he may not like it. 罢丑别听,听聽as any team in the league, are ready to make a splash.
罢丑别听聽have an obvious need along their offensive line, which requires something close to a complete rebuild after a rocky 2019 season. It's the all-important Year 3 in the development of quarterback聽, and putting capable blockers in front of him is, by far, the most consequential offseason priority for general manager Joe Douglas. 罢丑别听聽have enough cap space to address their big-man problem through both free agency and the draft. Still, don't assume New York grabs an offensive lineman with its first pick --聽聽罢丑别听聽will also have a glaring need at wide receiver, especially if they allow聽聽to walk in free agency (a very real possibility). If a potential star playmaker is on the board at 11, Douglas would be wise to accept that gift from the Football Gods. 罢丑别听聽don't get many of those.
Jon Gruden is聽聽when it comes to his starting quarterback, so perhaps聽聽should hold off on buying property in the Las Vegas area at this time. Carr set career highs in passing yards (4,054) and completion percentage (70.4) in his second season under Gruden, but his sometimes conservative nature can test a coach's patience. What kind of move would help Carr (or whomever is under center come September)? Finding a true No. 1 wide receiver. 罢丑别听聽made big gains on offense in 2019 -- are we talking about one of the best attacks in football if聽聽would have been able to keep it together? Would we even be debating Carr's future? If Gruden stays the course at QB, he should do Carr a solid and give him a playmaker he can make magic with on the outside.
Baker Mayfield聽looked like a franchise savior at this time last year. After a truly lost campaign that saw the former No. 1 overall pick put up one of the worst statistical seasons in the league, Cleveland needs to do everything in its power to get the kid back on track. A lot of that will fall on new head coach Kevin Stefanski, who produced big numbers with聽聽as offensive coordinator in Minnesota. But this roster needs reinforcement, especially on an offensive line that allowed Mayfield to be sacked 40 times in 16 games.聽聽consider it a huge surprise if the new聽聽braintrust doesn't add a premium pass blocker -- even if they have to move up higher in the first round to get their guy. Fix the line, fix Mayfield and optimism will return in a hurry in Believeland.
It's all been building to this offseason. The organic tank is complete, and even if this season's surprising 5-11 finish didn't net the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, Miami is still flush, possessing聽听补苍诲听聽including a whopping three first-rounders. 罢丑别听聽have been looking for a quarterback since Dan Marino shut it down 20 years ago, and it will be very surprising if Miami doesn't come out of the first round with their new hope behind center. Will that be Tua Tagovailoa? There's a solid chance the Alabama star, currently recovering from a serious hip injury, will be on the board at No. 5. Any rookie joining the quarterback room will have a quality teammate in聽,听聽he'll return in 2020. It would behoove the聽聽to keep the Amish Rifle in the building.
Officially, the聽聽have not decided as to whether聽聽will be back with the team, but all signs point to the end of this marriage. If the Bolts do indeed decide to move on, they'll have to do better than聽聽(a perfectly serviceable backup, mind you) if they hope to contend and spark the imagination of the Los Angeles area as they move into vast SoFi Stadium this fall. We're seeing more and more how a mobile quarterback can tilt the field for offenses. After a few years of聽' statue-in-the-pocket routine, you could see why Anthony Lynn might view Tua Tagovailoa as a tantalizing option with the No. 6 overall pick. The problem, of course, is the team just ahead of the Bolts, both in the draft order and these power rankings. Could general manager Tom Telesco make an aggressive move up the draft board to jump in front of the Fins? Let the games begin.
Congratulations are in order for聽, the No. 1 overall pick who capped his rookie season with the Offensive Rookie Of The Year award. Murray's surprise win follows a season in which he -- somewhat quietly -- put together one of the best rookie campaigns from a quarterback. Murray is the sixth player overall, and the second rookie since聽, to throw for more than 3,500 yards and run for more than 500 yards in a season. Murray will be a buzzy pick to make a huge Year 2 leap (also known as The Lamar), and that bodes extremely well for Arizona's chances of breaking a postseason drought that has now stretched over four seasons. It will be interesting to see how the聽聽attack the offseason from a personnel standpoint on offense -- the team took three wideouts in last year's draft, but didn't see much return on investment in 2020.
聽is officially retired, Joe Judge leads an overhauled coaching staff and the聽聽are finally ready for a fresh start in the Meadowlands. New York would be smart to focus heavily this offseason on the trenches. Improvement is necessary by everyone on the offensive line not named聽聽-- there could be two or three new starters by September. Then there's the defensive front, the heart-and-soul positional group of champion聽聽teams of the past. GM Dave Gettleman said after the season that "everyone east of the Pacific" knows the聽聽need pass-rush help, so don't be surprised if Big Blue opens up its wallet and spends big on one of the impact pass rushers on the market (聽聽is a particularly attractive option if the聽聽can't keep him in-house).
Another offseason, another year talking about uncertainty at the quarterback position in Jacksonville.聽聽was supposed to end such discussions, but his 2019 was a lost cause wrecked by injury and inconsistency before a late-season benching.聽聽made the Jags a somewhat compelling watch in spurts, but is Doug Marrone willing to tie his fate (it's playoffs or bust for Doug in 2020,听for real this time) to the former sixth-round pick? The Jags can protect themselves by keeping both Foles and Minshew on the roster, though Jacksonville might want to see what Foles could fetch on the trade market. All that said, it really doesn't matter who's playing quarterback if the Jags can't improve their offensive line. An overhaul is necessary.
It's a time of transition for the聽, who could look like a completely different team by Week 1. Matt Rhule has replaced Ron Rivera.聽聽is retired.聽聽is ... ? Ian Rapoport聽聽that Carolina would put its star quarterback on the trade block this offseason. Last week, it was reported the聽聽wanted to see Newton in a workout before deciding what comes next. "They want to at least give him a shot, see where he's at," a team source聽. "Then we'll see what happens." That doesn't exactly sound like a team excited about the possibility of keeping the former MVP in the building. The question: Will the聽聽attempt to patch up their deficiencies this offseason ... or are they the next team to strip it down to the studs in service of a brighter tomorrow?
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Let's start with left tackle聽, who missed all of last season, first as a holdout and then on the non-football injury list, and who still has one year left on his deal. 罢丑别听聽cleaned house in their front office and medical staff after the season -- could that set the stage for a reconciliation? On defense, two veterans jump out:聽聽looms as a salary-cap casualty, especially with Ohio State defensive end Chase Young likely staring in Washington's face with the No. 2 overall pick. Then there'蝉听, the big-money cornerback who was benched after a run of ineffective play late last season. It would make financial sense for Washington to part ways with him, but the arrival of Ron Rivera -- Norman's former coach in Carolina -- presents a potential lifeline.
罢丑别听聽laugh at your organic tanking. Cincinnati "earned" the No. 1 pick the old-fashioned way, and now the reward is a quarterback who can change the franchise's trajectory overnight. Joe Burrow could be to the organization what Carson Palmer was 17 years ago. The first step, of course, is actually picking the kid with the No. 1 overall pick, which most expect to happen. The impending arrival of a phenom under center makes keeping聽聽in the building an easy call if the playmaking wideout wants to stick around. (Publicly, he's saying he does.) Green could be to (probably) Joe Burrow what聽聽was to聽聽as a rookie.
罢丑别听' defense was a mess in 2019. Couldn't tackle. Couldn't get to the quarterback. Couldn't cover. Couldn't make a stop. None of this was a good look for defensive-minded head coach Matt Patricia, but Detroit brass opted to go the route of preserving continuity rather than making a change in the big chair. So now what? Picking No. 3 overall,听聽fans should start praying right now that a team trades ahead of them for a quarterback, allowing Chase Young to fall to Detroit. If Young isn't an option, the聽聽could look at adding another difference-maker in the secondary alongside聽. Upgrading the talent on defense and getting聽聽healthy could turn things around quickly in Motown.
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