Craig: Week 17 Picks & Power Rankings

What would you rather do on a Sunday morning than wake up early and read weekly picks and power rankings involving 32 teams that basically are of equal strength and ability to beat, lose to or tie anyone on any given Sunday, Monday, Saturday, Thursday (and some day, when the revenue ceiling needs to be extended to a gazillion bazillion dollars, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday as well)?

CRAIG'S NFL POWER RANKINGS
BEST OF THE BUNCH
1. Seahawks (11-4)
Why: The defending champions have Russell Wilson, a running game and a defense that is allowing an average of 6.6 points during a current five-game winning streak. If these fellas throw home-field advantage on top of all that, you're looking at the NFC champions right here.

THE REST

2. Patriots (12-3); 3. Cowboys (11-4); 4. Lions (11-4); 5. Packers (11-4); 6. Bengals (10-4-1); 7. Broncos (11-4); 8. Steelers (10-5); 9. Cardinals (11-4); 10. Colts (10-5); 11. Chargers (9-6); 12. Texans (8-7); 13. Ravens (9-6); 14. Dolphins (8-7); 15. Chiefs (8-7); 16. Giants (6-9); 17. Panthers (6-8-1); 18. Rams (6-9); 19. Falcons (6-9); 20. Saints (6-9); 21. Redskins (4-11); 22. Eagles (9-6); 23. Raiders (3-12); 24. Bills (8-7).

THE VIKINGS
25. Vikings 6-9 (Last week: 22): You can talk about the better draft pick that could come with a loss today all you want. From this viewpoint, there's more value in terms of mental health for the people of this franchise to beat the Bears. A 7-9 record will be remembered, discussed and received much better than a 6-10 season that saw the Vikings lose their last three games and go 0-6 in the division with a loss to a Bears team that was about to be blown to bits by its ownership.

THE REST OF THE REST
26. 49ers (7-8); 27. Browns (7-8); 28. Bears (5-10); 29. Jets (3-12); 30. Jaguars (3-12); 31. Titans (2-13).

WORST OF THE BUNCH
32: Buccaneers (2-13): We flip-flopped the Titans and the Bucs from their bottom two spots for this final game-day power ranking. We wanted the Bucs down here to remind people that back in March, it was the Bucs who were universally considered among or at the top of the lists proclaiming "FREE AGENCY WINNERS!!!!!!!!!!" Remember that the next time you have to urge to get this excited over offseason NFL news.

1, Teddy Bridgewater. We'll make him reasons 1a through 1z. Will he be great? Don't know. Is he worth risking your scar-tissue-filled purple heart being broken for the 768^th time of your life? Yes. He has the talent, the instincts, the intelligence and the calmness amid chaos. It should be fun to watch him develop.

2, Mike Zimmer. What Zimmer has done this season has energized a number of young defensive players who could come together and be a force with some more infusion of talent. His aggressive philosophy brought life to that side of the ball. Another reason to pull for a victory today is to put some mental distance from last week's second half in Miami. That defensive meltdown was not typical of the way Zimmer's defense played overall this season. But if the same were to happen against the Bears today, how do you think people will be talking about the defense heading into the offseason?

3, Norv Turner. He's not the retiring type, his days of being offered head coaching jobs are over and the word from Winter Park is he's even more energized by Bridgewater's future. And Norv's already a high-energy guy to begin with.

THREE REASONS FOR VIKINGS FANS TO BE NERVOUS

1, Cordarrelle Patterson. We're on record as saying give the guy another season to show whether he can learn how to become an NFL receiver. He's never been in the same system in consecutive seasons at the major college or NFL levels. However, that being said, it is unfortunate that the team will have to hedge its bet at a position where they just spent a first-round pick on in 2013. From where we stand (and with the Adrian Peterson situation still up in the air), the two biggest offseason needs are a big, fast receiver with polished route-running skills and a powerful and polished left guard to put next to not only play that position but also help left tackle Matt Kalil.

3, Running back. Sorting through the Adrian Peterson mess before the start of free agency is the team's biggest offseason priority. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as just deciding whether or not to bring him back. His salary cap number of $15.4 million for 2015 will be the biggest hurdle. Under normal circumstances, that number likely would have needed to be renegotiated. That needs to be sorted out so the team can move forward with or without Peterson. The team on the field obviously would be better off moving forward with Peterson and Bridgewater together. But the vibe sure feels like that's not going to happen.

THE PICKS

VIKINGS
Bears plus-6 ½ at Vikings. The pick: Vikings 28, Bears 21

Why?: The Vikings have nothing to play for, but they're at home and their coaching staff still has the full attention of the players. The Bears have nothing to play for and they're also on the road with a coaching staff and front office that presumably is less than 24 hours from being blown to smithereens.

Last week: Vikings plus-6 ½ at Dolphins. The pick: Vikings 27, Dolphins 24. The final: Dolphins 37, Vikings 35. Redord: 11-4.

Panthers plus-4 at Falcons. The pick: Panthers 24, Falcons 17

Why?: Two teams the Vikings beat by a combined 31 points will meet to decide the NFC South title. The feeling here is the Panthers are a little less smelly than the Falcons, and it won't matter where the game is because it's hard to picture Atlanta going 6-0 in any division, even the NFC South.

Last week: Vikings plus-6 ½ at Dolphins. The pick: Vikings 27, Dolphins 24. The final: Dolphins 37, Vikings 35. Record: 5-11.

THE REST

Bengals plus-3 ½ at Steelers: Steelers by 7

Jaguars plus-9 ½ at Texans: Texans by 7

Colts minus-7 at Titans: Colts by 3

Browns plus-10 at Ravens: Ravens by 14

Bills plus-4 ½ at Patriots: Patriots by 7

Jets plus-5 ½ at Dolphins: Dolphins by 10

Eagles plus-3 at Giants: Eagles by 6

Cowboys minus-5 ½ at Redskins: Cowboys by 14

Saints minus-4 at Buccaneers: Buccaneers by 7

Rams plus-12 ½ at Seahawks: Seahawks by 21

Cardinals plus-6 at 49ers: 49ers by 3