NFL Power Index: AZ in top spot, Seattle drops
By Keith Myers
The NFL Power Index was not forgiving to the Seattle Seahawks for getting beat up on by the mediocre St. Louis Rams.
There is a new No. 1 in the NFL Power Index this week. The Arizona Cardinals take over the spot for the first time this season. The Cardinals are peaking at the right time, while Seattle and KC both take a step back.
Two weeks ago, the Seahawks were in the top spot in the NFL Power index. Last week they dropped down a spot to No. 2. After their pathetic showing against the Rams on Sunday, they dropped down another spot to No. 3.
The gap between No. 4 Cincinnati and No. 5 Pittsburgh is huge. There is clearly an elite group of four teams, and then everyone else. The Bengals are without their QB right now though, so they aren’t the threat that they appear to be.
The Packers, Seattle’s most likely Wild Card playoff opponent, dropped outside top 10 with their blowout loss to Arizona. The data here suggest that the Seahawks would be favored by 4.5 points, even with the game being in Green Bay.
Minnesota, which is starting to get healthy, is the best of Seattle’s potential opponents. They must beat the Packers in Green Bay, and have Seattle lose to Arizona in order to host the Seahawks in the playoffs.
NFL Power Index: Week 17
| Rank | Last | Team | Yds | Pt Dif | SoS | Power |
| 1 | 3 | Arizona | 1.7 | 13.7 | 0.5 | 97.04 |
| 2 | 1 | Kansas City | 1.1 | 7.5 | 1.6 | 89.83 |
| 3 | 2 | Seattle | 2.1 | 7.7 | 0.8 | 85.86 |
| 4 | 4 | Cincinnati | 0.5 | 8.8 | 1.4 | 80.89 |
| 5 | 5 | Pittsburgh | 1.2 | 5.8 | 2 | 71.07 |
| 6 | 6 | Carolina | 1.4 | 10.9 | -1.6 | 70.17 |
| 7 | 7 | New England | 0.2 | 10.6 | -0.4 | 67.43 |
| 8 | 8 | Denver | 1.2 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 65.39 |
| 9 | 10 | Minnesota | 0.2 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 65.01 |
| 10 | 11 | NY Jets | 0.6 | 5.2 | -1.6 | 60.94 |
| 11 | 9 | Green Bay | -0.5 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 59.28 |
| 12 | 12 | Buffalo | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0 | 57.47 |
| 13 | 15 | Houston | -0.6 | 0.1 | -0.6 | 53.67 |
| 14 | 13 | Oakland | 0.0 | -2.3 | 0.6 | 51.74 |
| 15 | 14 | Tampa Bay | 1.5 | -3.2 | -2.7 | 48.31 |
| 16 | 16 | Atlanta | -0.1 | -0.2 | -2 | 48.11 |
| 17 | 18 | Washington | -1.3 | -0.1 | -1.3 | 47.35 |
| 18 | 20 | New Orleans | -1.8 | -4.7 | -1.9 | 45.14 |
| 19 | 21 | St. Louis | -0.1 | -3.1 | 1.2 | 44.46 |
| 20 | 17 | NY Giants | -1.0 | -1.1 | -0.8 | 43.19 |
| 21 | 19 | Jacksonville | 0.4 | -3.2 | -1.9 | 42.27 |
| 22 | 25 | Chicago | -0.8 | -3.9 | 1.3 | 39.11 |
| 23 | 22 | Philadelphia | -0.6 | -3.9 | -0.7 | 38.79 |
| 24 | 23 | Tennessee | -0.6 | -7.9 | -2.2 | 35.81 |
| 25 | 24 | San Diego | -1.6 | -4.7 | 0.3 | 35.55 |
| 26 | 26 | Indianapolis | -1.5 | -5.4 | -0.5 | 34.56 |
| 27 | 27 | Miami | -0.2 | -6.0 | -0.8 | 34.23 |
| 28 | 29 | Detroit | -0.8 | -3.0 | 1 | 33.80 |
| 29 | 30 | Baltimore | -0.4 | -4.3 | 0.4 | 30.84 |
| 30 | 28 | Dallas | 0.0 | -5.9 | 0.3 | 29.77 |
| 31 | 31 | Cleveland | -1.3 | -9.2 | 1.1 | 25.31 |
| 32 | 32 | San Francisco | -0.9 | -10.1 | 2 | 16.85 |
The NFL Power Index is created from 32 different team stats. All stat are either per game, or per play, except for turnovers. Strength of schedule is provided by Team Rankings.