NFL Power Index: Seahawks drop yet again, Falcons take top spot
By Keith Myers
Two bad losses in the past three weeks have the Seattle Seahawks plummeting in the NFL Power Index rankings as the end of the season draws near.
The Seahawks have been one of those team whose record and expectations haven’t matched their Power Index this season. This has been a pattern in past seasons. Seattle starts low in the NFL Power Index, then move up into the top 5 by the end of the season.
That hasn’t happened this season. The Seahawks started high in the NFL Power Index, dropped to 14th, moved back up to 4th, and hence dropped all the way to 16th. This season has been different because this Seahawks team simply isn’t as good as past versions.
The biggest thing holding down the Seahawks right now is their lack of success on third downs. Their offense struggles to extend drives, while their defense can’t seem to regularly get off the field. Instead they’ve pushed the “bend but down break” model.
While they have been able to make due for the most part, their loss in Green Bay finally exposed why that isn’t a viable path to sustained success. The defense bent, then bent more, and then gave up touchdowns. That seems pretty broken to me.
It isn’t just Seattle though, the entire league is down this season. There’s not one team above 80, and only one team above 70. There are no dominant teams.
Even Dallas, which are 11-2 and about to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, only have a power rating of 66.99. Their No. 2 overall ranking is mostly because of everyone else moving down below them, and not truly them moving up to take it.
Here are the full NFL Power Index rankings for Week 15:
| Rank | Last | Team | Yds | Pt Dif | 3% | SoS | TO | Power |
| 1 | 2 | Atlanta | 1.4 | 6.4 | -2.32 | 1.4 | 8 | 75.16 |
| 2 | 6 | Dallas | 1.3 | 7.9 | 3.32 | -0.4 | 2 | 66.99 |
| 3 | 1 | New England | 1.3 | 9.1 | 6.4 | -1 | 3 | 66.60 |
| 4 | 7 | Pittsburgh | 0.3 | 4.7 | 4.62 | 0.7 | 2 | 63.95 |
| 5 | 5 | Denver | 0.5 | 4.2 | -0.49 | 0.6 | 5 | 62.69 |
| 6 | 4 | Buffalo | 0.3 | 1.8 | -0.7 | 0.7 | 8 | 61.53 |
| 7 | 9 | Oakland | -0.9 | 2.9 | -0.14 | 0.9 | 15 | 60.82 |
| 8 | 12 | Minnesota | -0.6 | 2.5 | -0.16 | -0.1 | 12 | 59.60 |
| 9 | 15 | Tennessee | 1.0 | 1.2 | 6.93 | -1.3 | 2 | 57.71 |
| 10 | 13 | Washington | 0.8 | 1.0 | -1.28 | 1.1 | 1 | 57.57 |
| 11 | 11 | Arizona | 0.6 | 1.7 | 4.61 | -0.7 | 0 | 56.50 |
| 12 | 16 | Kansas City | -0.3 | 3.6 | -10.07 | 1 | 11 | 56.40 |
| 13 | 17 | Tampa Bay | -1.0 | -0.3 | 10.19 | 0.3 | 6 | 56.35 |
| 14 | 18 | Baltimore | 0.0 | 3.3 | -0.42 | -0.9 | 7 | 55.63 |
| 15 | 3 | New Orleans | 0.5 | 0.5 | 7.32 | 0.2 | -5 | 55.50 |
| 16 | 10 | Seattle | 1.1 | 3.3 | -4.8 | -0.5 | 0 | 54.73 |
| 17 | 8 | San Diego | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.44 | 0.8 | -5 | 54.35 |
| 18 | 23 | Green Bay | -0.5 | 1.6 | 5.06 | -0.1 | 1 | 54.18 |
| 19 | 24 | Cincinnati | 0.2 | -0.1 | -0.58 | 0.3 | 3 | 53.75 |
| 20 | 14 | Miami | 0.3 | -1.6 | 0.28 | -1 | 2 | 50.93 |
| 21 | 20 | Detroit | -0.6 | 2.1 | -1.13 | -1.6 | 4 | 49.79 |
| 22 | 21 | NY Giants | 0.1 | 0.8 | -2.17 | -0.5 | -5 | 47.08 |
| 23 | 22 | Carolina | -0.2 | -2.0 | 0.58 | 0.5 | -2 | 45.25 |
| 24 | 19 | Philadelphia | -1.0 | 1.4 | -2.16 | 1 | 1 | 45.20 |
| 25 | 25 | Indianapolis | -0.8 | -0.4 | 1.98 | -1 | -5 | 44.47 |
| 26 | 26 | Chicago | 0.8 | -5.3 | -2.15 | -0.9 | -7 | 43.10 |
| 27 | 27 | Houston | -0.8 | -3.5 | 2.72 | 0.4 | -7 | 38.09 |
| 28 | 28 | NY Jets | -0.2 | -7.3 | 0.8 | -0.3 | -16 | 32.86 |
| 29 | 30 | Jacksonville | -0.2 | -7.5 | -1.9 | 0.5 | -17 | 25.08 |
| 30 | 29 | Los Angeles | -1.0 | -8.5 | -3.81 | 0.4 | -11 | 25.07 |
| 31 | 31 | San Francisco | -1.4 | -10.9 | -11.72 | 0.3 | -3 | 20.00 |
| 32 | 32 | Cleveland | -1.2 | -12.9 | -13.12 | 0.4 | -10 | 11.82 |
Next: Does Russell Wilson have a Rams problem?
All stats used to make this index from from the NFL GSIS database except for strength of schedule. That is provided by Team Rankings.