The Denver Broncos finish the regular season on top of the TSN.ca NFL Power Rankings, after going back-and-forth with the second-ranked Seattle Seahawks over the last six weeks of the campaign. Making a big jump in the final rankings, the Green Bay Packers vaulted from 19 to nine after getting quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Randall Cobb back in the lineup. The Packers defence remains questionable, especially while missing linebacker Clay Matthews, but Rodgers gives them a chance in the postseason. A couple of also-rans, the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets, were mediocre, but more competitive than expected. As a result, the Titans moved up from 21 to 16 and the Jets from 24 to 18 in the final rankings. One of the seasons biggest surprises, the Kansas City Chiefs, lost five of seven down the stretch and fell from six to 11 in the rankings. After coughing up their shot at the postseason, the Chicago Bears dropped from 11 to 17, and the Miami Dolphins, who came back to earth in the final two games, dropped from 13 to 21. All of this weeks rankings include mention of the teams preseason rankings and where some differences were observed from the preseason ranking to the final ranking. As mentioned, the Chiefs were the big surprise, up from 26 in the preseason, while the Houston Texans were the biggest disappointment, plummeting from a fourth-place ranking down to the bottom of the list by seasons end. Scott Cullen can be reached at
Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. . -- The Washington Redskins coaching staff distanced itself from other coaches Thursday by siding with ownership -- and not the players -- in the NFLs labour dispute. . - The Jacksonville Jaguars are leaning more toward playing injured quarterback Blake Bortles against Tennessee on Thursday night. . -- The NFL Players Association wants to determine if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaked information about quarterback Josh Freeman being in the NFLs substance abuse program. .com) - The Atlanta Hawks have stepped up to every challenge during their 14-game winning streak and will face another daunting task Friday with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in town. . Numbers Game looks into the Wild getting Matt Moulson from Buffalo. The Wild Get: LW Matt Moulson and LW Cody McCormick.NEW YORK -- For a young pitcher such as Zack Wheeler, the most promising performances can come on days he doesnt have his best stuff. Daniel Murphy hit a three-run homer to back up Wheelers sixth straight strong start, and the Mets routed the Phillies 11-2 on Wednesday afternoon. "You saw a guy battle without his best command," manager Terry Collins said proudly of the 24-year-old right-hander. Wheeler (6-8) gave up two runs and seven hits with four strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings -- the sixth consecutive outing in which he allowed two runs or fewer. The Mets sent 10 men to the plate in the seventh inning, scoring five insurance runs off the Philadelphia bullpen to take two of three in the series. After the Phillies went up 1-0 in the top of the fifth, New York quickly responded -- with Wheeler helping himself at the plate. Juan Lagares opened the bottom of the inning with an infield hit when backup shortstop Andres Blanco double-clutched after ranging far to his left to field the grounder up the middle. Ruben Tejada singled to bring up Wheeler, who fouled off his first two bunt attempts. But with two strikes, he got the ball in play -- and it was a good one, easily advancing the runners to second and third. Curtis Granderson walked to load the bases, then Kyle Kendricks wild pitch with Murphy at the plate tied the game. Three pitches later, Murphy put the Mets ahead 4-1 with his first homer since July 1. "It happened quick," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "(Kendrick) just wasnt able to keep it at one or two runs there." Jimmy Rollins, out of the lineup for the noon start after a night game, pinch-hit for Kendrick (5-11) to open the seventh and homered for the second straight day to pull the Phillies within 4-2. They had runners on first and third with two outs, but Jeurys Familia came on to retire Marlon ;Byrd.dddddddddddd Familia went on to get his first career RBI with a single in the bottom of the inning, when the Mets broke the game open with the help of an error by reliever Justin De Fratus that led to two unearned runs. With one out, the Phillies intentionally walked David Wright to bring up Lucas Duda, who was batting .153 against lefties. But he singled off Mario Hollands to put New York up 5-2. Duda added his fifth homer in eight games in the eighth. "I have confidence in myself that I can hit lefties," Duda said. "Right now Im going through a bit of a rough spell." Ryan Howard broke out of an 0-for-12 slump with a two-out RBI double in the fifth that briefly put the Phillies up 1-0. METS MOMENTUM New York has won six of nine games and five of its past seven series. The 11 runs were the most the Mets had scored at home since last Aug. 29, also against the Phillies. Familia has pitched 9 1-3 straight scoreless innings. HEATING UP Lagares came into the series mired in an 0-for-17 slump, then went 6 for 12 against the Phillies. Tejada was 3 for 4 on Wednesday after coming in 4 for 38 over his past 14 games. TRAINERS ROOM Mets: LHP Dana Eveland was back on the mound two days after he left the game when he was struck on the pitching elbow by a line drive. The reliever struggled with his control after replacing Wheeler with two outs in the seventh. He walked Chase Utley, who stole second then advanced to third on a passed ball. Eveland hit Howard and was taken out for Familia, who got the Mets out of the jam. ON DECK Phillies: LHP Cliff Lee (4-5) faces Nationals LHP Gio Gonzalez (6-6) as Philadelphia opens a four-game series in Washington on Thursday. Mets: The Mets have Thursday off, then send LHP Jonathon Niese (5-6) to the mound when they open a four-game home series against the Giants on Friday. ' ' '
