| CNN/SI Power Rankings |
| Rank | LW | Team |
| 1 | 1 |  | St. Louis Rams 13-3 |
| What's not to like? Right now you have to make 'em Super Bowl favorites. |
| 2 | 2 |  | Indianapolis Colts 13-3 |
| Effective, but still a bit over-balanced on the offensive side. |
| 3 | 3 |  | Tennessee Titans 13-3 |
| Very tough and resilient, but they've got the wild card route to follow in the playoffs. |
| 4 | 4 |  | Jacksonville Jaguars 14-2 |
| Boselli's out and Searcy's hurting. Where do you find tackles? |
| 5 | 5 |  | Buffalo Bills 11-5 |
| No more Flutie magic. Is Rob Johnson really that good? |
| 6 | 6 |  | Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11-5 |
| NFC Championship game? Why not? But I have trouble projecting them past St.Louis. |
| 7 | 9 |  | Minnesota Vikings 10-6 |
| Yes, they're dangerous, and if they get on top they can play with anybody. But that defense will give up a lot of points. |
| 8 | 10 |  | New York Jets 8-8 |
| The best team nobody wants to coach. |
| 9 | 7 |  | Seattle Seahawks 9-7 |
| Sad sacks down the stretch, but so was everyone else. |
| 10 | 12 |  | Oakland Raiders 8-8 |
| Plenty of superstars, plenty of fireworks once they were convinced the game was meaningful. |
| 11 | 8 |  | Kansas City Chiefs 9-7 |
| Beaten by the strong right foot of Joe Nedney. What a legacy. |
| 12 | 14 |  | Washington Redskins 10-6 |
| So Daniel Snyder is going to the playoffs. What an inspirational story. What a message to the good guys of this world. |
| 13 | 11 |  | Miami Dolphins 9-7 |
| For Jimmy Johnson, the postseason is just prolonging the agony. |
| 14 | 13 |  | Denver Broncos 6-10 |
| Yes, they found a runner to back up Terrell in 2000. Did they find a QB? We'll see. |
| 15 | 15 |  | Baltimore Ravens 8-8 |
| Let's not forget that their best quarterback started off No.3 on the depth chart. |
| 16 | 16 |  | Detroit Lions 8-8 |
| They can beat the jinx and win in Washington for the first time since FDR was calling signals. |
| 17 | 17 |  | Green Bay Packers 8-8 |
| Here's a formula for next year: Just pretend every week that you're in a must-score point-differential crucial against the Cards. |
| 18 | 18 |  | Carolina Panthers 8-8 |
| Dallas and Green Bay saved us the embarrassment of seeing these guys in the playoffs, but it was close, lemme tell you. |
| 19 | 19 |  | New England Patriots 8-8 |
| The second-best team no one wants to coach. |
| 20 | 20 |  | San Diego Chargers 8-8 |
| A tough outfit that no one enjoyed playing. |
| 21 | 21 |  | Dallas Cowboys 8-8 |
| Yes, they won when they had to and Troy Aikman seems back in the groove again and all that, but I'm still thinking about New Orleans. |
| 22 | 22 |  | Chicago Bears 6-10 |
| Yes, there seems to be a future -- Cade McNown and Marcus Robinson and all that. |
| 23 | 23 |  | New York Giants 7-9 |
| Wellington Mara talked to his team about pride, Jerry Jones about finances. Guess who won? What kind of message does this send to the youth of America? |
| 24 | 24 |  | Pittsburgh Steelers 6-10 |
| I remember when Three Rivers Stadium was new. Now it's obsolete. Which is exactly what people are saying about me. |
| 25 | 25 |  | Arizona Cardinals 6-10 |
| My advice -- get 'em signed in camp. Get 'em ready to play. Remind your QB that he used to be Jake Plummer. |
| 26 | 26 |  | Philadelphia Eagles 5-11 |
| I hear rumors that CEO Tom Modrak is unhappy with the organization. That makes him even with the fans, writers, vendors, cops and bookies in town. |
| 27 | 27 |  | Cincinnati Bengals 4-12 |
| You'll notice that nothing has changed since last week. Or last year. |
| 28 | 29 |  | Atlanta Falcons 5-11 |
| Falcons-Niners on Monday night TV was a grim reminder of the ebb and flow of man's fortunes. |
| 29 | 28 |  | San Francisco 49ers 4-12 |
| Not quite at the level of New Orleans or Cleveland, but if the season were a few weeks longer, who knows? |
| 30 | 31 |  | New Orleans Saints 3-13 |
| Patsies on the bottom end of a point-differential massacre was a fitting climax to the year. |
| 31 | 31 |  | Cleveland Browns 2-14 |
| Hey, Dwight. Hey, Carmen -- see what you've done to the 49ers? Want to re-structure a few contracts in Cleveland? |
