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With the regular season finale coming up, there really isn't much point to these power rankings anymore. Teams either make the postseason or they don't, where they rank on a power rankings list is largely irrelevant.
Of course, some would argue that this has been the case with all power rankings since Week 1. Be that as it may, today we look at our last power rankings summary of the 2011 season.
| Opinion-based rankings |
ESPN: 11th (10th). "Looks like even with a bruised right hand, Tony Romo will play against the Giants. The Cowboys will need him."
Walter Football: 11th (11th). No comments here this week.
ProFootballWeekly: 12th (10th). "Injury to OG Montrae Holland the latest blow to the run game."
Drafttek.com: 12th (10th). No comments from the draft gurus.
NFL.com: 12th (10th). Elliot Harrison provides the comments: "Like Cincy, it's win and in for the bruised knuckle'd Cowboys. Dallas isn't bruised from hitting anyone hard last Saturday, as this club performed like it had nothing to play for against the Eagles (which it didn't). Still, what a turd of a performance by Rob Ryan's defense. But Tony Romo's knuckle is all the news in Dallas after the QB hit it on a helmet. He's practicing, but one wonders how effective he'll be in the biggest game of the year for the Cowboys. "
ProFootballTalk.com: 12th (11th). "If the Cowboys finish 0-4 against the Eagles and Giants, how can significant changes not be made?"
Covers.com: 12th (11th). "Dallas' game against Philly was inconsequential in the division race. The injury to Tony Romo's right hand is a big deal though."
CBSsports.com: 12th (13th). "How will Tony Romo's hand be for Sunday's game? If he can't grip the football, the Cowboy have no chance."
SB Nation: 12th (13th). "The Giants and Cowboys' game next week will be the game of the week -- win and you're in."
Fox Sports: 14th (11th). Brian Billick: "The Cowboys were one blocked field goal away from locking up this division and now they have to go into the Meadowlands with a quarterback that has a severely swollen throwing hand. Either way, neither the 'Boys or the Giants will make much noise in the playoffs."
| Stat-based rankings |
Oddsshark: 7th (6th). Oddshark use a multitude of stats to establish an offensive and defensive power ranking, which they then adjust for the remaining strength of schedule.
WhatIFsports: 9th (8th). These guys simulate every possible match-up in the NFL 100 times, and use the winning percentages from those nearly 50,000 games to evaluate every team, with updated rosters and depth charts.
Advanced NFL Stats: 10th (7th). Offense drops one to seventh, defense drops two to 22nd.
Coolstandings.com: 11th (10th). These guy use Bill James' modified Pythagorean theorem to calculate their power rankings.
Football Outsiders: 14th (11th). FO have the Cowboys with the 10th-ranked offense (-1), the 17th-ranked defense (-2) and the 24th ranked special teams (-1).
Sagarin NFL rankings: 16th (11th). These are rankings based on W/L record, points differential and schedule strength.
Teamrankings.com: 21st (16th). This site measures the relative strength of all teams using team performance, home/away status, margin of victory and other factors.
Below is how the remaining NFC playoff contenders fared in this week's power rankings. The Lions have already locked up their wildcard berth, the Falcons, Cowboys and Giants have to wait until Sunday for final clarity. The Eagles are included just for laughs.
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| Week 17 | Week 16 |
Week 17 |
Week 16 | Week 17 |
Week 16 | Week 17 |
Week 16 | Week 17 |
Week 16 | |
| ESPN | 11 | 10 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 |
| Walter Football | 11 | 11 | 9 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| Pro Football Weekly | 12 | 10 | 16 | 19 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Drafttek | 12 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| NFL.com | 12 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Pro Football Talk | 12 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 10 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Covers.com | 12 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| CBSSports.com | 12 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| SBNation | 12 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 9 |
| Foxsports | 14 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 |
| Sportingnews | - - | 10 | - - | 19 | - - | 14 | - - | 8 | - - | 9 |
| WEEI | - - | 11 | - - | 15 | - - | 10 | - - | 7 | - - | 8 |
| NFP | - - | 12 | - - | 10 | - - | 18 | - - | 8 | - - | 7 |
| Avg. Opinion-based | 12.0 | 11.0 | 14.8 | 17.3 | 10.5 | 14.2 | 8.7 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 8.3 |
| Oddsshark | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 24 | 23 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 14 |
| Whatifsports | 9 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| AdvancedNFLStats.com | 10 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 10 |
| Coolstandings | 11 | 10 | 18 | 21 | 14 | 20 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Football Outsiders | 14 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 12 |
| Sagarin Ratings | 16 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 |
| Team Rankings | 21 | 16 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 20 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 12 |
| Avg. Stat-based | 12.5 | 9.8 | 10.2 | 12.0 | 13.4 | 16.2 | 9.4 | 8.5 | 9.1 | 10.8 |
| Total Average | 12.2 |
10.6 | 12.9 | 15.5 | 11.7 |
15.0 | 9.0 |
8.1 | 7.9 | 9.3 |
For those who're interested, the Redskins rank 24.9 overall, 25.5 opinion-based and 24.1 stat-based. The remaining rankings will be updated when they become available.