2023 NFL Week 18 Power Rankings and Perspectives

Plenty of good football was played on Sunday, but unfortunately for the NFL, nothing so surprising happened that might dilute the impact of the Cowboys and Lions debacle from Saturday night.

I already broke that game and it’s ending down here, so let’s talk a little about officiating in general and why the league needs to start taking this issue more seriously.

Perspective 1: Zebra Power

There are many, many factors at play, but the most prevalent has been the rise of sports betting and the NFL’s embrace of sportsbooks.

As a friend on Threads so eloquently put it, “If the NFL is going to be in bed with sports betting they need their officiating to be cleaner than ever, to build trust and confidence with players and fans.”

That’s the nail on head. The NFL needs to recognize this as a time to be so far above the fray that the it’s all rigged crowd can be easily squashed. There are steps that can be taken, first and foremost to some of the archaic processes in place, and those steps need to be taken loudly and publicly.

Perspective 2: Ravens Flock

I don’t know what they’ll look like a month from now, but if you told me this Ravens team, right now, was going up against some of the best teams in history, I’d say they have a really good shot.

Not only are they 13-3, but they got to that spot by completely dismantling 2 of the best teams in the league, but of whom are still in my top 4. Maybe dismantle isn’t strong enough. Obliterate? A combined 89-38 against 2 of the top teams in football. They’ve won their last 6, and 4 of those were against teams currently projected to make the playoffs.

This pick from Roquan Smith completely changed the game (click to view on YouTube).

It was still a one score difference at that point, and it looked like Tua Tagovailoa would go punch for punch with Lamar Jackson. I promise you, somewhere, Ray Lewis was smiling.

The Bears will regret trading Roquan for a long time. Just for fun, here’s a 90 year old Bears fan reacting to that fateful trade last year.

Perspective 3: Gardner Minshew of the Year Award

There’s always some ambiguity when it comes to the Comeback Player of the Year award. Does it go to someone returning from a serious injury, like Damar Hamlin? Someone with lackluster start to their career who finally starts to shine, like last year’s winner Geno Smith?

I propose an alternative, and will this year be presenting the first ever Gardner Minshew of the Year award to Gardner Minshew II.

Comeback player can be whatever you want. This award is for the guy constantly shat upon by a league looking for prototypes, who takes the reins when the prototype fails and leads his team further than anyone expects, knowing that when next season starts, he’ll be relegated back to the bench. Again.

Congrats to the Mississippi Mustache™️ for this prestigious award and for inspiring The hell going on recognition for the underdog brand of football we all love.

And with that, here are your NFL Week 18 Power Rankings! As always, may all your teams win or be marked safe from the Ravens.

1. Baltimore Ravens (13-3)
2. San Francisco 49ers (12-4)
3. Buffalo Bills (10-6)
4. Miami Dolphins (11-5)
5. Cleveland Browns (11-5)
6. Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
7. Dallas Cowboys (10-6)
8. Detroit Lions (11-5)
9. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
10. Houston Texans (9-7)
11. Los Angeles Rams (9-7)
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7)
13. Indianapolis Colts (9-7)
14. Green Bay Packers (8-8)
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
16. Vegas Raiders (7-9)
17. Seattle Seahawks (8-8)
18. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8)
20. Chicago Bears (7-9)
21. New Orleans Saints (8-8)
22. Atlanta Falcons (7-9)
23. Denver Broncos (8-8)
24. Minnesota Vikings (7-9)
25. Tennessee Titans (5-11)
26. New York Giants (5-11)
27. New York Jets (6-10)
28. Los Angeles Chargers (5-11)
29. Arizona Cardinals (4-12)
30. Washington Commanders (4-12)
31. New England Patriots (4-12)
32. Carolina Panthers (2-14)