A gift for every team, including a big award for the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons –


We’re in the holiday spirit here at The Athletic’s NFL Power Rankings, and after reviewing each team’s wish list, we’re handing out some gifts.

This week, national writer Lindsay Jones is joined by Broncos beat writer Nick Kosmider to play Santa.

Do you want the No. 1 draft pick, Detroit? Done!

How about a new receiver, just in time for the playoffs, Kansas City? You’ve been nice, so we can make that happen.

How about a big award for Micah Parsons? Absolutely.

Before we get to our gifts, a reminder of how these rankings work: Our NFL reporters and editors submitted their ballots after the conclusion of the Week 15 games Tuesday night, and these rankings are a composite of those votes.

A few notes from this week’s balloting:

• The Chiefs continue to climb and are back to No. 2 thanks to their thrilling win over the Chargers and the Bucs’ ugly loss to the Saints. Three-quarters of our panelists had the Chiefs at No. 1 or No. 2 this week.

•  The Cardinals, meanwhile, have fallen from No. 1 two weeks ago down to No. 7 after back-to-back losses, including a head-scratching defeat to the Lions on Sunday. Arizona is still technically in first place in the NFC West because of a conference-record tiebreaker over the Rams, but our voters have moved L.A. (which jumped three spots this week) ahead of Arizona.


Kyler Murray and the Cardinals got knocked down by the Lions. (David Reginek / USA Today)

•  The Jaguars did not improve their play on their field or their spot in our rankings after firing Urban Meyer last week. Jacksonville was a near unanimous choice at No. 32, with just one voter stubbornly ranking Detroit last.

•  The Bills and the Titans were the most difficult teams to rank: Buffalo received votes as high as No. 4 and as low as No. 18, while the Titans ranged from No. 8 to No. 21.


1. Green Bay Packers (11-3)

Previous rank: 1

Week 15 result: Beat the Ravens, 31-30

Our gift to you: A finale that out-Last Dances “The Last Dance.” What does that include? An NFC Championship Game win over Tom Brady at Lambeau Field, a second consecutive MVP award for Aaron Rodgers, a game-winning touchdown from Rodgers to Davante Adams and a five-part documentary with behind-the-scenes footage and hours of interviews with Rodgers, Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4)

Previous rank: 3

Week 15 result: Beat the Chargers, 34-28

Our gift to you: A third weapon for Patrick Mahomes. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill have continued to turn in monster performances during the Chiefs’ seven-game win streak, but now both are on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Last year’s Super Bowl also tells us what can happen when an elite defense brings front-four pressure while hovering over those two dynamic receivers. Let’s hand Kansas City an Antonio Brown-type No. 3, only with fewer headaches.

3. Los Angeles Rams (10-4)

Previous rank: 6

Week 15 result: Beat the Seahawks, 20-10

Our gift to you: A deep playoff run for Matthew Stafford. Isn’t that the reason the Rams traded for him in the first place? The Rams aren’t perfect, but no one in the NFC is. If you need a quarterback to root for in the…



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