End of Regular Season NFL Ratings/Ranking and Review

The regular season is now complete, and none too soon given the way some good teams packed it in the last few weeks.  Teams resting starters wreaked havoc with the computer's picks the last few weeks, but the question now is if those teams can go back to where they were?

The latest rankings are below but always found here.  And there are some changes.  New Orleans somehow manages to stay #1 even though they lost over 1.2 ratings points as they had a big enough lead, and many of the other top teams also did poorly and dropped.  New England was one of those dropping nearly a full ratings point but benefited by the Colts dropping over 2 points to stay #2, and Dallas jumps up to #3 with San Diego close behind at #4.

The question now is if the teams are rated where they should be.  Indianapolis seems low at #8, but history shows that when they've rested folks they've been unable to get it back.  Dallas and San Diego are finishing strong and getting rewarded for it.  The Jets even with their finish have jumped to #7.

The whacky end of season games did result in the computer only going 8-8 against the spread.  Here's hoping it does better in the playoffs more in line with the season record of 148-102-6.  Full prediction performance shown here.

Look for an upcoming entry on wildcard weekend picks as well as Superbowl chances for each team.  If you are interested in detailed playoff games previews, subscribe to the newsletter.  See the bowl game previews for examples of what you'll get.

Rank	Team	Rating	Record	Schedule	Change
Rank	Team	Rating	Record	Schedule	Change
1	New Orleans	87.593	13-3	80.858	+0, -1.208
2	New England	86.684	10-6	82.069	+0, -0.908
3	Dallas	86.594	11-5	80.982	+3, +0.984
4	San Diego	85.721	13-3	79.851	+1, -0.569
5	Philadelphia	85.259	11-5	81.155	-1, -1.176
6	Green Bay	85.158	11-5	78.809	+3, +1.494
7	NY Jets	85.114	9-7	81.758	+0, +0.722
8	Indianapolis	84.925	14-2	80.356	-5, -2.149
9	Minnesota	84.673	12-4	78.875	+1, +1.178
10	Baltimore	84.332	9-7	80.390	-2, +0.207
11	Atlanta	83.990	9-7	82.562	+0, +0.502
12	Carolina	83.967	8-8	82.992	+0, +1.116
13	Houston	82.618	9-7	80.137	+1, +0.346
14	Pittsburgh	82.156	9-7	80.025	+5, +0.976
15	Cincinnati	81.782	10-6	80.467	+0, -0.482
16	Arizona	81.692	10-6	78.647	-3, -1.139
17	San Francisco	81.196	8-8	79.010	+3, +0.068
18	Miami	80.933	7-9	83.173	-1, -0.590
19	Tennessee	80.479	8-8	81.110	+2, -0.267
20	NY Giants	80.477	8-8	82.180	-2, -0.890
21	Denver	80.388	8-8	81.155	-5, -1.739
22	Buffalo	80.351	6-10	82.443	+0, +1.648
23	Chicago	78.332	7-9	79.968	+2, +0.628
24	Tampa Bay	77.777	3-13	83.521	-1, -0.344
25	Washington	77.371	4-12	80.887	+1, +0.301
26	Jacksonville	77.247	7-9	80.523	-2, -0.572
27	Cleveland	76.213	5-11	80.529	+0, +0.825
28	Kansas City	75.812	4-12	80.851	+2, +1.801
29	Oakland	74.811	5-11	81.610	-1, -0.021
30	Seattle	74.288	5-11	79.568	-1, -0.220
31	St Louis	70.037	1-15	80.137	+0, -0.625
32	Detroit	69.438	2-14	80.812	+0, -0.189