NFL Power Rankings: A change at the top? Nope, not necessary

I’ve never been a big fan of the notion that, when it comes to rankings, when you lose matters so much.

We’ve all seen it before. Team A loses in Week 3. Team B loses in Week 10. Team A goes higher in the Week 11 rankings because Team B’s loss was more recent. It doesn’t make any logical sense. Neither does the idea that when the No. 1 team in college football or basketball rankings loses, it has to move down.

So I’m not doing that here. The Carolina Panthers have been the best team in the NFL this season, and they’re not moving out of the No. 1 spot just because they lost last week.

Sunday’s 20-13 loss at the Atlanta Falcons wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t that damaging. The Panthers are still a home win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers away from clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC. That would make them the sixth 15-1 team in NFL history. The Panthers haven’t shown too many cracks all season. Losing by a touchdown at a division rival with little to play for other than the chase for 16-0 isn’t some sign of impending doom. It was just a loss. Everyone else has at least two of them this season.

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The Panthers were getting everyone’s best shot, especially as they got deeper into the season without a loss. In many ways the loss could help them, because now the undefeated sideshow is over. Instead of being asked constantly about a perfect season, they can just go back to being a normal (and very good) football team heading into the playoffs.

It’s not to say the Panthers are unbeatable, especially if and when they face another very good team like the Arizona Cardinals, because we’ve seen 15-1 teams and a 16-0 team lose in the playoffs. But when you look at entire canvas, the Panthers are still the No. 1 team in the NFL. And Cam Newton is still the MVP. That doesn’t change just because their loss came more recently than losses by other teams.

Here are Shutdown Corner’s power rankings after Week 16:

32. San Francisco 49ers (4-11, Last week: 31)

Jarryd Hayne is back on the active roster, and he had 27 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards on five carries in Sunday’s game. I hope he keeps getting chances as he learns American football, because his story is really fun.

31. Cleveland Browns (3-12, LW: 30)

Johnny Manziel went 13 of 32 for 136 yards on Sunday. If this last stretch was an audition, I think he needs a strong finish. Too inconsistent for a team to feel good building around him next offseason.

30. Tennessee Titans (3-12, LW: 29)

At the end of the day, losing is beneficial for the Titans because of draft position. But that was one terrible, uninspiring performance. Oh well, most things in Tennessee will look different next season anyway.

29. Dallas Cowboys (4-11, LW: 28)

Darren McFadden has 997 rushing yards. He has reached 1,000 yards just once, in 2010. It has been a nice rebound story after some really down and injury-plagued years.

28. Baltimore Ravens (4-11, LW: 32)

All I have to say is John Harbaugh is a heck of a football coach.

27. Miami Dolphins (5-10, LW: 27)

Not to go all Miko Grimes on you, but it’s shocking how much worse Ryan Tannehill looks this season. The coaching changes haven’t helped, but he took a major step back this season. Not good, right after the Dolphins gave him a big contract.

26. San Diego Chargers (4-11, LW: 26)

The Chargers put four players on injured reserve. That brings their total number of players on IR to 17. That’s amazing. Also worth keeping in mind as we debate the future of coach Mike McCoy.

25. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-10, LW: 23)

If you watched the Saints-Jaguars game, you realize how empty Blake Bortles’ 368 yards and four touchdowns were. When the game was competitive the Jaguars offense did very little. There’s still a long way to go with this team. Some promising signs, but keep games like Sunday in mind if the offseason buzz on them gets louder.

24. New Orleans Saints (6-9, LW: 25)

I just can’t imagine Drew Brees isn’t back with the Saints next season, somehow. He has meant too much to that franchise and he’s still playing at a very high level.

23. Indianapolis Colts (7-8, LW: 19)

Frank Gore had a nice 85-yard, two-touchdown day. Still, his average is a career-low 3.7 per carry and he hasn’t had a 100-yard game all season. He’ll be 33 next year, and you’d assume the Colts won’t rely on him for 250 carries again (he has 241 carries with a game to go).

22. Detroit Lions (6-9, LW: 24)

Hard to say if Jim Caldwell has saved his job with a few wins. I assume the new general manager will have something to say about it, though.

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-9, LW: 18)

I don’t know what the Buccaneers will decide to do with free agent-to-be Doug Martin this offseason, but Charles Sims is a really good player. He’s averaging 5 yards per carry and 11.6 yards per catch in a part-time role. The Bucs would be just fine with him handling the load.

20. Chicago Bears (6-9, LW: 22)

Jay Cutler hasn’t had a multi-interception game all season, and he hasn’t even thrown interceptions in back-to-back games since Sept. 27-Oct. 4. It has been a very good year for Cutler. It’s just disappointing that despite Cutler making major strides, the Bears still won’t have a winning record.

19. Philadelphia Eagles (6-9, LW: 15)

Zach Ertz was expected to have a nice year for the Eagles, but had just 403 yards over Philadelphia’s first 12 games. But he has had 298 yards in the Eagles’ last three games. Did they just forget he existed for three months?

18. New York Giants (6-9, LW: 14)

Eli Manning, who will turn 35 this week, will have an odd football legacy. He has been to the playoffs just five times in 12 years. And the Giants went one-and-done three times, with Manning throwing for 169 yards or less in each loss. So in 12 NFL seasons, 10 will end without Manning’s Giants winning a playoff game. And as he showed on Sunday night, when he has a bad game it can be really, really bad. He has finished among the NFL’s top 10 in passer rating just once, finishing seventh in 2011. But he also has the two Super Bowl rings and is in the top 11 in career passing yards and touchdowns. Not the type of career that is easily defined.

17. St. Louis Rams (7-8, LW: 21)

If only there was a way to get this team to play well every week, and not just for two or three games out of 16. If only.

16. Oakland Raiders (7-8, LW: 17)

Latavius Murray has averaged 4.1 yards per carry and maybe most importantly has been healthy for 15 games. He has proven a lot this season and will be just 26 next season.

15. Buffalo Bills (7-8, LW: 16)

It’s only 23 carries, but Mike Gillislee has a 10.4-yard average. He has looked very good. Between Gillislee and Karlos Williams, the Bills have a couple of young, intriguing backs making very little money. Makes you wonder if a team that has a lot of money already committed to the 2016 cap has any remorse over the trade and contract extension for LeSean McCoy, who has a $7.7 million cap hit next season.

14. Atlanta Falcons (8-7, LW: 20)

Hey Falcons, thanks for playing well again after it’s too late. Good win and nice for offseason momentum, but I’m sure “offseason momentum” wasn’t what the Falcons wanted to be playing for at this point of the season after a great start.

13. Houston Texans (8-7, LW: 13)

It’s not totally crazy to think of DeAndre Hopkins as a dark horse MVP candidate. We all know the Texans’ quarterback issues this season. Yet, Hopkins has caught at least one touchdown in six of Houston’s eight wins, and had at least 94 yards in six of the Texans’ eight wins. The Texans finished Sunday on the verge of an AFC South title. There are a few reasons for that, and Hopkins is one of the main ones.

12. Washington Redskins (8-7, LW: 12)

The NFC East was a joke most of the season, but Washington has played very well lately. Don’t be so quick to pick the Seahawks on wild-card weekend if that ends up being the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup. Washington will be a tough opponent.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6, LW: 5)

The worst loss of any NFL team this season. Maybe for a few seasons. Totally inexcusable, with all that was on the line. Wasn’t even a fluke. The Ravens had more yards, more first downs and never trailed. There needs to be a lot of soul searching in Pittsburgh this offseason if that keeps them out of the playoffs. They had a chance to make a very deep run, like a “Wow, a wild card ended up in the Super Bowl!” type run. What a disappointment that they probably won’t even make it.

10. Green Bay Packers (10-5, LW: 9)

If not for a Hail Mary victory, the Packers would be 3-6 after a 6-0 start. I wrote Sunday night about Aaron Rodgers not playing well, flawed supporting cast or not. There are no signs of this turning around. And anything less than a Super Bowl trip is disappointing after what happened in last season’s NFC title game.

9. New York Jets (10-5, LW: 11)

While the Steelers are more exciting, the Jets are a great playoff story too, and they’re playing well. It was going to be a shame if they finished 11-5 and missed the playoffs, but that’s not possible anymore. All they have to do is win next week … against Rex Ryan and the Bills.

8. Minnesota Vikings (10-5, LW: 10)

Jerick McKinnon is averaging 5.3 yards per carry. But he only has 49 carries all season because he plays behind one of the few remaining guys who can handle 325 or so carries in a year.

7. Seattle Seahawks (9-6, LW: 7)

That game Sunday meant almost nothing for them, so a loss is no reason to freak out. Getting absolutely nothing out of the tailback position against the Rams is something to worry about moving forward, though.

6. Kansas City Chiefs (10-5, LW: 8)

The Chiefs haven’t lost since Oct. 18. The thing to watch, now that they’re in the playoffs, is whether outside linebacker Justin Houston will return soon from a knee injury. He’d make them much better, and they’re already pretty good.

5. Cincinnati Bengals (11-4, LW: 4)

AJ McCarron looked really good for a half against Denver, and then the top-ranked defense in the NFL got to him. Still was a pretty positive performance for someone in his second career start. That won’t help the Bengals feel better, because their shot at a first-round bye probably vanished in Denver. And that probably hurts Andy Dalton’s chances of returning for the playoff opener, without the week off.

4. Denver Broncos (11-4, LW: 6)

The Brock Osweiler roller coaster keeps going. He’s the only one who seems to be handling it pretty well.

3. New England Patriots (12-3, LW: 2)

I’m sure there are great reasons to kick off in overtime, and I’m sure Bill Belichick has thought them all through. But I’m still just doing the mindless thing and giving the ball to Tom Brady to start overtime.

2. Arizona Cardinals (13-2, LW: 3)

The Packers offense seems beyond broken, but it’s still a huge positive for the Cardinals defense to play that well without Tyrann Mathieu.

1. Carolina Panthers (14-1, LW: 1)

Whatever you thought of Carolina before Sunday, you should still think the same about them today. That loss doesn’t fundamentally change anything.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab