NFL Power Rankings Week 15

NFL Power Rankings Week 15

The top five are still the same teams, but the order is juggled a bit. It's no surprise that the Pats were finally acknowledged to be #1 after outscoring the Bears and Jets 81-10 the last two weekends.

Crazy stat o' the week: the Chargers are #2 in the league in yards per game (the mighty Patriots are only eighth.) So their failing is defense? Wrong. They are #1 in the league in restricting opponents yards per game (New England is 27th).

You'd think that a team which has outgained opponents 5100-3400 should be pretty good, right?

No, you're wrong. They should be not just pretty good, but historically, epically good. Those numbers are almost identical to the numbers of the undefeated Miami Dolphins of 1972 (5036-3297).

So where are those mighty Chargers, the team for the ages? They're 7-6, including two losses to the Raiders, who are 4-7 against the rest of the schedule. The Chargers will finish with three easy games, so they should finish 10-6, and their stats should look even more impressive by season's end. On the other hand, they've already screwed up so many opportunities, you wonder if they might somehow figure out how to lose to the 2-11 Bengals or the 3-10 Broncos.