The New York Jets and New York Giants both went backwards in the SB Nation Week 17 NFL Power Rankings, which were released Wednesday afternoon. The Jets fell from No. 5 to No. 8 after a 38-34 loss to the Chicago Bears. The Giants fell from No. 10 to No. 12 after being embarrassed by the Green Bay Packers, 45-17.
For the Jets, the ranking and the loss are really unimportant. They qualified for the AFC playoffs anyway, thanks to a loss by Jacksonville on Sunday. The loss by the Giants was much more devastating as it puts them in a situation where they must win Sunday against Washington and hope Green Bay loses to Chicago in order to qualify for the playoffs.
New England remains No. 1 in the weekly rankings, as has been the case for several weeks now. New Orleans jumped all the way from No. 7 to No. 2 after a 14-10 victory Monday night in Atlanta.
Rounding out the top five are No. 3 Baltimore, No. 4 Pittsburgh and No. 5 Atlanta.