2023 NFL power rankings, Week 18: Ravens, 49ers secure top seeds, Cowboys make move

Interim head coach Antonio Pierce has had the Silver and Black playing good football. The Raiders made their way to Indianapolis and would find themselves down 14-3 at halftime. Aidan O’Connell finished with 299 yards through the air, and his two touchdown tosses went to Davante Adams. However, it was too little, too late for this team.

The Raiders were officially eliminated from the playoffs with the loss, the 19th time in 21 seasons (dating back to 2003) that the franchise won’t be in the postseason. There’s also been no playoff victory since 2002. Ouch!

The Bengals were in Kansas City as they and the Chiefs renewed acquaintances for the fifth time in three years. Zac Taylor’s squad owned a 17-7 second-quarter lead thanks in part to a Jake Browning TD toss and a touchdown run. However, the team was shut out the rest of the way and Browning was sacked five times in the second half.

After reaching Super Bowl LVI in 2021 and going to the AFC Championship Game this past season, Taylor’s team has been eliminated from this year’s playoffs. The loss of Burrow combined with a porous defense proved fatal.

It was perhaps the team’s most complete performance of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Dennis Allen’s team went to Tampa to take on the first-place Buccaneers and shut out Baker Mayfield and company for three-plus quarters. Derek Carr threw for 197 yards and two TDs as the Saints opened up a 20-0 lead.

Mayfield wound up throwing for 309 yards, but Allen’s defense sacked him twice and picked off two of his passes. The Saints also came up with two more takeaways in the 10-point victory and are still alive in the postseason hunt.