NFL power rankings entering Week 18 of the 2024 season (previous rank in parentheses):
3. Detroit Lions (2): Despite all the injuries, they’re on the verge of the first No. 1 playoff seed in team history. And regardless of the defensive health, this group is capable of beating anyone in a shootout – and most definitely so at Ford Field (though it’s also incumbent to note that the Lions are the first team to go undefeated on the road in four years). Could this be the year they finally break through for their first Lombardi Trophy?
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5. Philadelphia Eagles (6): As QB Jalen Hurts continues navigating the concussion protocol for the newly crowned NFC East champs, let’s hope discretion is the better part of valor when it comes to 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley, who’s 101 yards shy of the league’s single-season rushing record.
10. Washington Commanders (10): Of all of rookie QB Jayden Daniels’ insane numbers, consider this – he has five TD passes in the final 30 seconds or overtime of a game this season, which is two better than any other quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
13. Cincinnati Bengals (14): He almost certainly won’t win the MVP award, but that doesn’t mean that QB Joe Burrow hasn’t been the league’s most spectacular player in 2024. Here’s hoping he and his team overcome heavily stacked odds and get to show off in the postseason showcase.
16. Houston Texans (13): They may be AFC South champs for the second straight year, but they also look like a very inviting opening-round playoff matchup.
17. Atlanta Falcons (17): You have to wonder how this season might have been different if they’d gone to rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. earlier … or simply burned a few timeouts Sunday night.
25. New England Patriots (24): They’re currently projected to pick first in the 2025 NFL draft – a valuable commodity in any year, but especially so when you already seem to have a young franchise quarterback (Drake Maye) in the building.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.