NFL Power Rankings - Week 18: Looking back at every team's season

NFL Power Rankings are selected by a panel of theScore's football editors.

This week, we look back at each team's Power Rankings movement throughout the 2024 season.

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ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SEA | SF | TB | TEN | WAS

1. Buffalo Bills (13-3)

The Bills don't have the best record in the NFL this season, but they have arguably the best two wins of the year after taking down both the Lions and Chiefs.

2. Detroit Lions (14-2)

The Lions spent only one week this entire season outside the top three. That's mighty impressive.

3. Kansas City Chiefs (15-1)

The Chiefs entered the season as Super Bowl favorites, and though they haven't dominated their opponents, Andy Reid's outfit has already secured a first-round bye in the playoffs.

4. Minnesota Vikings (14-2)

No team has made a bigger leap than the Vikings, who started the year 26th in our rankings and are now 14-2 entering the season finale.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)

That early period where the Eagles hung outside the top 10 for three weeks feels like a different universe now.

6. Baltimore Ravens (11-5)

Baltimore lost its first two games this year - including a defeat to the Raiders - but the Ravens finish the regular season as one of football's hottest teams.

7. Green Bay Packers (11-5)

There was only one edition of our Power Rankings where the Packers weren't included in the top 10.

8. Los Angeles Rams (10-6)

No team survived adversity quite like the Rams, who went from being inside the top 10 to in the bottom third to back in the top 10 by the end of the year.

9. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6)

Jim Harbaugh's impact on this team is clear, as the Chargers - coming off a 5-12 season in 2023 - have already clinched a playoff spot and could even finish as the AFC's 5-seed.

10. Washington Commanders (11-5)

Up, up, and way. The Commanders started near the bottom but kept climbing as they grew into a quality playoff team thanks to Jayden Daniels' emergence.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)

The Steelers went as high as fifth and never dipped below 17th, but they're now struggling to hang on as the season comes to a close.

12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)

The Bucs are on the doorstep of the postseason, largely due to the job Baker Mayfield and offensive coordinator Liam Coen have done.

13. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)

Cincinnati began the season as an AFC playoff contender, but its defensive issues cost the team several games. It might be too late now for the Bengals to sneak into the postseason.

14. Denver Broncos (9-7)

There were low expectations for Denver to start the year, but Bo Nix and the team's elite defense have helped the Broncos overachieve.

15. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)

The Seahawks have had equal flashes of brilliance and mediocrity, but most of their year has just been bang-on average.

16. Houston Texans (9-7)

Injuries and C.J. Stroud seemingly taking a step back have been a big issue for the Texans, who head into the playoffs with a lot of questions.

17. Atlanta Falcons (8-8)

The Kirk Cousins experiment appeared to be working decently until it went off the rails. The Falcons are still trying to recover from that.

18. Miami Dolphins (8-8)

Our chart makes it easy to identify when Miami suffered with Tua Tagovailoa's injury early in the season, a loss that changed the team's campaign.

19. Arizona Cardinals (7-9)

The Cardinals really wanted us to believe in them, creeping as high as 11th at one point, but they couldn't help but fall in the opposite direction again.

20. San Francisco 49ers (6-10)

The 49ers have been trending in the wrong direction all year long, creating some major questions for the offseason ahead.

21. Dallas Cowboys (7-9)

Injuries and poor play turned the Cowboys from what was supposed to be a strong force in the NFC into a basement dweller.

22. Indianapolis Colts (7-9)

The Colts were far from being an elite team this season but were showing improvement before a terrible loss to the Giants on Sunday.

23. Carolina Panthers (4-12)

The Panthers were last at the midway point in Week 9. Since then, they've made up nearly 10 spots.

24. Chicago Bears (4-12)

The Bears offered early optimism, but they've spent most of the year stuck in no-man's land.

25. Las Vegas Raiders (4-12)

The Raiders were in contention for the 2025 first overall draft pick all season, but winning their past two games likely means they won't have a top-five selection after all.

26. New York Jets (4-12)

From having Super Bowl aspirations to potentially having a top-seven draft pick in 2025. This season couldn't have been more heartbreaking for Jets fans.

27. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12)

Even before Trevor Lawrence's shoulder injury, it's pretty clear that the Jaguars never really clicked in 2024.

28. New Orleans Saints (5-11)

The Saints will always be able to look back on their 2-0 start that included two 40-plus-point games and think, what could have been?

29. Cleveland Browns (3-13)

Cleveland and its solid defense made the playoffs last year, but the team's struggles with Deshaun Watson back under center in the first half of the season quickly made the Browns one of the league's worst teams.

30. New York Giants (3-13)

It's hard to say we're surprised by how the Giants have trended this season.

31. New England Patriots (3-13)

Rookie quarterback Drake Maye provided a spark, and the Patriots won two games from Weeks 8-10, but the rest of their year was marked by losses.

32. Tennessee Titans (3-13)

The Titans started the season with hopes that Will Levis would elevate the team in his first year as the full-time starter, but they couldn't have been more wrong.