Patriots Football Weekly has created a weekly Power Ranking based on the proprietary Wilson-Hart Power Index. The system uses the most important statistics in the game - those most closely associated to winning and losing - to rank all 32 NFL teams based on their performance to date this season.
Here are the PFW NFL Power Rankings heading into week 17.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | DIFFERENCE | TEAM | RECORD | INDEX |
| 1 | 2 | up 1 | Green Bay Packers | 11-4-0 | 4.333 |
| 2 | 1 | down 1 | New England Patriots | 12-3-0 | 4.500 |
| 3 | 4 | up 1 | Seattle Seahawks | 11-4-0 | 5.667 |
| 4 | 3 | down 1 | Denver Broncos | 11-4-0 | 8.000 |
| 5 | 7 | up 2 | Dallas Cowboys | 11-4-0 | 8.500 |
| 6 | 6 | same | Detroit Lions | 11-4-0 | 10.000 |
| 7 | 10 | up 3 | Houston Texans | 8-7-0 | 10.333 |
| 8 | 7 | down 1 | Buffalo Bills | 8-7-0 | 11.000 |
| 9 | 5 | down 4 | Arizona Cardinals | 11-4-0 | 11.500 |
| 10 | 14 | up 4 | Cincinnati Bengals | 10-4-1 | 12.167 |
| 11 | 11 | same | Baltimore Ravens | 9-6-0 | 12.667 |
| 12 | 15 | up 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-5-0 | 13.333 |
| 13 | 13 | same | Kansas City Chiefs | 8-7-0 | 13.500 |
| 13 | 12 | down 1 | Miami Dolphins | 8-7-0 | 13.500 |
| 15 | 19 | up 4 | Atlanta Falcons | 6-9-0 | 13.667 |
| 15 | 9 | down 6 | Indianapolis Colts | 10-5-0 | 13.667 |
| 17 | 16 | down 1 | San Diego Chargers | 9-6-0 | 14.500 |
| 18 | 18 | same | Cleveland Browns | 7-8-0 | 14.833 |
| 19 | 16 | down 3 | San Francisco 49ers | 7-8-0 | 15.000 |
| 20 | 22 | up 2 | New York Giants | 6-9-0 | 16.833 |
| 21 | 23 | up 2 | Philadelphia Eagles | 9-6-0 | 18.000 |
| 22 | 20 | down 2 | St. Louis Rams | 6-9-0 | 18.333 |
| 23 | 25 | up 2 | Carolina Panthers | 6-8-1 | 19.333 |
| 24 | 21 | down 3 | New Orleans Saints | 6-9-0 | 19.667 |
| 25 | 24 | down 1 | Minnesota Vikings | 6-9-0 | 20.167 |
| 26 | 26 | same | Chicago Bears | 5-10-0 | 24.500 |
| 27 | 27 | same | Washington Redskins | 4-11-0 | 26.000 |
| 28 | 28 | same | Tennessee Titans | 2-13-0 | 27.167 |
| 29 | 30 | up 1 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 3-12-0 | 28.333 |
| 30 | 29 | down 1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2-13-0 | 28.500 |
| 31 | 31 | same | New York Jets  | 3-12-0 | 29.000 |
| 32 | 32 | same | Oakland Raiders | 3-12-0 | 29.333 |
