
NFL power rankings for Week 18: Razor-thin lines separating the top five
NY Post
The crazy reality created by this uncharacteristically bloated season is that the team seeded No. 5 in the NFC playoffs might just be the second-best team in the NFL.
Depends on if you favor the powers atop the NFC or AFC.
The winner of the Lions-Vikings battle Sunday night will clinch the NFC North title, the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The loser will be the No. 5 seed and possibly be on the road for the duration of the playoffs.
It is befitting of a season where a razor-thin line separates the five-best teams in the NFL.
You won’t quite find either the Lions or Vikings listed below in the top-two in The Post’s NFL power rankings for Week 18, but who knows how things will look after the final 16 games are played.

For seven straight starts, Clay Holmes has been unable to finish the sixth inning. His struggles to get deeper into games combined with the lack of distance from every rotation-mate besides David Peterson have put a further strain on an overworked and over-hurt Mets bullpen. David Stearns has publicly stated that the relief corps should be upgraded, which he expects to do at the trade deadline, and he has suggested that Triple-A starters could be shortened into relief help.