Week 17 NFL Powerless Ranking: Houston Texans remain at the bottom

It’s time to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. The final two weeks of the 2022 NFL season are upon us, and it’s been a wild season filled with ups, downs, triumphs, and disappointment for all 32 squads. Now let’s get into the Week 17 powerless ranking.

 Teams on the doorstep: New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons

The battle of Los Angeles did not go the way of the Rams this year, with them going down in defeat, 31-10 to the Chargers. All the shine on Baker Mayfield from his first Rams start a couple of weeks ago seems to be gone completely. Mayfield is back to his usual self, completing just 11 passes for 132 yards against the Chargers. With all the injuries the Rams have suffered this season, they’re lucky to have won five games. The offseason will be focused on getting key guys healthy, like Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald.

It’ll be intriguing to see how long it takes Jim Irsay to announce his decision on Jeff Saturday following the season’s conclusion. The Colts got smacked by the Giants, 38-10, in Week 17. Between Nick Foles and Sam Ehlinger, the Colts passed for 141 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Most people felt Saturday being named interim head coach while working for ESPN was a slap in the face to all coaches. If Irsay decides to play the stubborn role and keep Saturday on full-time following the season, we could see a mutiny in Indianapolis.

Watching Russell Wilson share a field with Patrick Mahomes looks nothing like what we expected entering the season. There’s a clear grand canyon size gap between the two quarterbacks and their production. The good news is the Broncos were able to make this a game but simply fell short in executing like they’ve done all year. So, even with Nathaniel Hackett gone, Denver still has plenty to clean up. Since this season is a wash, their main focus is bringing in the next head coach and ensuring they find the appropriate candidate to reinvigorate their QB.

Arizona fought hard but fell to the Falcons, 20-19. That’s the sixth consecutive loss for the Cardinals, who haven’t won a game since mid-November, and their eighth loss in the last nine games. Looking for bright spots in a loss is about the best any Cardinal fan can do right now, and there haven’t been many. Trey McBride caught seven balls for 78 yards and a TD from David Blough. This franchise needs more direction and will need to spend the offseason figuring out whether Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury are the duo to get them back to respectability. Let the Sean Payton talk commence.

This game looked promising after one quarter for Bears fans as Chicago led 10-7. From the second quarter on, the Bears were shutout 34-0 by the Lions, suffering their 13th loss. This ties an unwanted franchise record for most losses in a season with the 2016 and 1969 campaigns. So, unfortunately, there’s still a chance to set a new record for most losses in a season for the Bear next week against the Vikings in Chicago.

At this point, the Texans are just finishing the schedule, and it looked like that Sunday against the Jaguars, who are in the midst of a battle for the AFC South division crown with the Titans. Jacksonville stomped Houston out early, shutting them out in the first half. Ultimately, the Texans scored one field goal, falling 31-3. Houston just about has the No. 1 pick locked up, although Chicago is hot on their heels. The Texans play the Colts to close out the season, and it’s no telling how that game will play out. Just lose, baby! That’s Houston’s motto heading into Week 18.