NFL power rankings Week 18: With Rams' latest loss, who's No. 1 as playoffs near?

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NFL power rankings entering Week 18 of the 2025 season (previous rank in parentheses):

1. Los Angeles Rams (1): Say what? They're still atop these rankings after successive losses that have relegated them to wild-card status? In a word: Yep. Matthew Stafford remains this season's best quarterback. Puka Nacua remains this season's best wideout. The defense is one of the NFC's best when fully stocked. LA will be getting WR Davante Adams, DB Quentin Lake and some starting offensive linemen back for the playoffs. The Rams' beleaguered special teams even made a big play in Monday night's loss at Atlanta − a game that suddenly didn't mean all that much after the weekend's developments. Yep, we'll continue riding with a talented team that can beat anybody and, more importantly, do it anywhere.

2. Seattle Seahawks (2): Why aren't they No. 1 … even though they might wind up there in the overall NFC standings? The defense is formidably elite, and the special teams aren't far behind. But QB Sam Darnold still doesn't have a playoff win on his résumé, and Seattle's run game can be feast or famine. This team could struggle to get out of a two-score hole against playoff competition.

3. New England Patriots (5): Why aren't they No. 1 … even though they might wind up there in the overall AFC standings? Drake Maye looks like a future MVP … and maybe even the next one if Stafford loses enough momentum. But this is an inexperienced squad that's benefited from a weak schedule − one of its 13 wins against opponents that currently have a winning record. Are the Next Gen Pats ready to win big now? TBD.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (3): Why aren't they No. 1 … even though they might wind up there in the overall AFC standings? Their seven-game winning streak, most of those victories of the decisive variety, is currently second only to Houston's. The Jags are committed to the run, take the ball away and can rush the passer. But as well as QB Trevor Lawrence has played since Thanksgiving, he also remains an unproven commodity − at the professional level anyway − when it comes to January football.

5. San Francisco 49ers (4): Why aren't they No. 1 … even though they might wind up there in the overall NFC standings? They're not even two years removed from a near-miss Super Bowl, can light up a scoreboard with anybody − largely because QB Brock Purdy has a blazingly hot hand, and RB Christian McCaffrey has become a helluva rhythm guitar for this offense. But have the Niners lost too many key bodies, especially on defense, to survive in January … even if LB Fred Warner somehow returns at some point in the playoffs? Run enough track meets, and you're bound to get dangerously fatigued.

6. Denver Broncos (6): Why aren't they No. 1 … even though they might wind up there in the overall AFC standings? The defense is as scary as any in the league. And while the Broncos consistently play to the level of their competition, that's not necessarily a bad thing when you enter the postseason. But second-year QB Bo Nix remains something of a wild card, and his pattern of salvaging wins in the fourth quarter could be tough to maintain against top-level competition.

7. Houston Texans (7): Now on an eight-game heater, their league-best defense − stifling, opportunistic and rude to opposing quarterbacks − should keep them in just about every game. But can an often limited offense, particularly in the run game, hold up its end of the bargain − especially if a franchise that's never reached the AFC title game winds up on the postseason road?

8. Chicago Bears (9): One of the great stories of the 2025 season, the newly crowned NFC North champs seem at least a year ahead of schedule − armed with an identity and confidence in rookie coach Ben Johnson's philosophy on and off the field. But second-year QB Caleb Williams is another without big-game experience. Maybe of more concern is a gambling approach, great as it is at forcing turnovers, that has seen Chicago surrender at least 27 points in seven of its 16 games.

9. Los Angeles Chargers (10): QB Justin Herbert needs the week off given the abuse he's absorbed this season. Will it be enough for the sixth-year passer to finally get his first playoff win?

10. Philadelphia Eagles (11): Think QB Jalen Hurts needs the week off, too, given he hasn't cracked 200 passing yards in his past three outings? Eh, Philly won all of those games, and we know Hurts comes up big in big moments. But Week 18 won't be one of them, so good opportunity to rest Hurts and other key starters.

11. Buffalo Bills (8): Think QB Josh Allen needs the week off given how limited the MVP has looked on his bum foot the past two weeks? Probably. But a guy who hasn't missed a start since his rookie year probably makes at least a cameo Sunday, wearing a red Bills helmet in a game for the first time and in what will almost certainly be the last hurrah for Highmark Stadium.

12. Green Bay Packers (12): They haven't been better than a seventh seed post-Aaron Rodgers. Hard to see this battered team being much more than one-and-done in the playoffs.

13. Pittsburgh Steelers (13): They're desperately hoping to be a fourth seed with Aaron Rodgers. Hard to see this limited team being much more than one-and-done in the playoffs … if it even gets that far.

14. Baltimore Ravens (15): Everyone seems to be expecting another big game from RB Derrick Henry on Sunday night. Just a note − he's averaged 57.3 rushing yards in three career games in Pittsburgh.

15. Carolina Panthers (16): A band that's alternated wins and losses since Week 7 … is due for a win − and, apparently, the NFC South trophy, this Sunday.

16. Atlanta Falcons (17): They're 3-0 in their gorgeous throwback uniforms this season and 4-9 otherwise. Maybe they should change their wardrobe before they change management?

17. Minnesota Vikings (20): WR Justin Jefferson's 59.2 receiving yards per game are, by far, the fewest of his career − through no fault of his own. But hit that average in Week 18, and he'd join Mike Evans and Randy Moss as the only players to top 1,000 in each of his first six seasons.

18. Detroit Lions (14): A team that hadn't had a losing streak since 2022 could end this season on a four-game tailspin − one that would leave the Lions below .500 for the first time since 2021.

19. Dallas Cowboys (21): Given how the last 12 months have gone − notably the departures of former coach Mike McCarthy and DE Micah Parsons − a .500 finish in 2025 would have seemed rather admirable. One more win will get Dallas there.

20. Cincinnati Bengals (22): A year ago, they were a team nobody wanted to face. Right now, they're a team nobody wants to face. And, like 12 months ago, nobody will have to once the regular season wraps.

21. Indianapolis Colts (19): Nunc Coepi, fellas … just not sure who you're beginning with next.

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (18): QB Baker Mayfield has avoided throwing an interception just once in his past seven starts − which also happens to be the only game the drowning Bucs have won during that stretch.

23. New Orleans Saints (23): Winners of four straight, the NFC South's last-place club might also be its most deadly at this point in time.

24. Tennessee Titans (24): Congratulations to Pro Bowl WR Chimere Dike, who's had a historic rookie season … even if he's not the rookie the Titans had hoped would have a historic season.

25. Cleveland Browns (29): The notion of firing two-time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski seems insane given the green roster he's been working with this year − particularly given its potential to blossom in 2026 with the right QB pulling the trigger.

26. Kansas City Chiefs (26): The last time they endured double-digit defeats, Romeo Crennel was the coach and Matt Cassel the quarterback.

27. Miami Dolphins (27): Should they get there, an 8-9 finish this year would be far more impressive than the 8-9 record they settled for in 2024.

28. Washington Commanders (28): The season could wrap without a single of their players surpassing 900 yards from scrimmage.

29. New York Giants (30): Who's Richard Johnson, you ask? The last player − prior to Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson − to have a 1,000-yard receiving season despite being 5-8 or shorter. If only the Giants had shorter odds for the draft's No. 1 pick after their unhelpful win in Las Vegas.

30. Arizona Cardinals (25): A team that could end its campaign on a nine-game slide − and is so far behind its NFC West peers − seems headed for a very consequential offseason.

31. Las Vegas Raiders (31): Just Win, Baby? Commitment to Excellence? Pffft.

32. New York Jets (32): The first team in 53 years − and just the second of the Super Bowl era (since 1966) − to lose four consecutive games by at least 23 points apiece. Trust the process.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL power rankings Week 18: Playoffs near, who's No. 1 amid Rams' loss?

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