NFL Week 17 Power Rankings: Jets Surging After Back-to-Back Victories

After two wins in a row against the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams, the New York Jets are surging in NFL power rankings for Week 17

Max Goodman | Dec 29, 2020

Through Week 14, it looked like the Jets were destined to go 0-16 and stay in the cellar of any NFL power rankings all year long.

Now. after taking down two playoff-caliber opponents in consecutive weeks, the Jets are surging.

New York (2-13) was listed at No. 28 in Sports Illustrated's power rankings this week. That's after spending practically the entire season in the very last spot as their winless record ballooned during a 13-game losing streak.

The Jets are ranked above the Jacksonville Jaguars—the team that leapfrogged them into pole position for the first pick of next spring's draft—as well as the Detroit Lions (5–10), Houston Texans (4–11) and Cincinnati Bengals (4-10-1).

Other power rankings don't have the Jets quite as high. For instance, NFL.com has New York ranked 30th in their latest list while ESPN left the Jets in the 31st slot despite their upset over Cleveland.

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Even though New York is locked in to pick second in the 2021 NFL draft, they rank ahead of franchises better records and lower draft positioning. Makes you wonder what kind of season this team could have had if they put together some wins earlier in their campaign.

Gang Green closes out the season on Sunday on the road against the Patriots, a team they nearly beat back in Week 9. After New England's abysmal performance on Monday Night Football against Buffalo, the Patriots are down to No. 20 in SI's power rankings.

With another win this weekend to close out the season, taking a three-game winning streak into 2021, who knows how many more places the Jets can jump upward while still preparing to pick at No. 2 in the draft.

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Published Dec 29, 2020

MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.