2019 NFL power rankings, Week 15: 49ers impress, Patriots depressed

Recap: It wasn’t long ago that the Silver and Black had strung together three consecutive victories and there was talk of playoffs. But the Raiders werr coming off back-to-back road losses to the Jets (34-3) and Chiefs (40-9) by a combined 74-12 score. And now Jon Gruden’s squad, minus rookie running back Josh Jacobs (shoulder) hosted the suddenly-hot Tennessee Titans. Coordinator Paul Guenther’s defense simply had no answers for quarterback Ryan Tannehill and an attack that would roll up 552 total yards on just 59 plays. Derek Carr did throw for 263 yards and two scores without an interception. But without Jacobs, the Raiders’ ground game was limited to 97 yards.

Next Week: The Raiders play host to the Jaguars for the first time since 2013 as these clubs meet for only the ninth time and the first time since 2016. Oakland has prevailed in the last three contests between the clubs, the latest a 33-16 victory at Jacksonville three years ago. The teams have split their previous eight meetings dating back to ‘96.

Playoff Hopes: Gruden’s struggling club is in the midst of a three-game skid that has seen them allow a whopping 116 points. And the Raiders’ record in the conference has now dropped to 4-5 after this latest setback. And all of a sudden this is a club that appears to be headed in the wrong direction after a very promising midseason stretch.

Recap: Frank Reich’s team began a stretch of three straight interconference games as they headed to Tampa to take on the explosive Tampa Bay Buccaneers and old friend Bruce Arians. Second-year linebacker Darius Leonard had quite the afternoon, picking off Jameis Winston twice as the Colts came up with four takeaways by game’s end. And the Colts owned a 24-14 lead in the second quarter. But even with the Bucs making their share of mistakes, the Indianapolis’ defense gave up a slew of big plays and wound up surrendering 542 total yards to Bruce Arians’ club. Jacoby Brissett threw for 251 yards and two scores but the Colts were limited to 66 yards rushing.

Next Week: Reich’s club heads to the Superdome for a Monday night clash with the NFC South champion Saints in the second of three straight games vs. NFC South clubs. As for this series, the Colts have dropped three in a row to Sean Payton’s team – including a 31-17 loss at South Florida to Drew Brees and company in Super Bowl XLIV.

Playoff Hopes: Make it three consecutive losses for Reich’s team, which has really struggled to handle opposing quarterbacks the last three weeks. The Indianapolis’ secondary has been torched in a big way as of late and now the Colts are below the .500 mark. And now the Colts are two games behind both the Texans and Titans.

Next: Nos. 18 and 17