With the arrival of the playoffs, we mark the final regular-season edition of ESPN.com's 2008 NFL Power Rankings.

The Tennessee Titans finished our balloting as the league's top team, edging the New York Giants for that distinction by seven points in the weekly polling of our experts. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts, respectively, round out our top five.

ESPN.com's Power Rankings The rankings were determined by a poll of ESPN.com's NFL staff: writers John Clayton, Jeffri Chadiha, Tim Graham, Matt Mosley, James Walker, Kevin Seifert, Paul Kuharsky, Pat Yasinskas, Bill Williamson and Mike Sando, and Scouts Inc. Insiders Jeremy Green and Matt Williamson.

The New England Patriots, who entered the season as our top-rated team, are deemed the NFL's ninth-best this week. Unfortunately for the Patriots, that ballot finish and their 11-5 record did not translate into a playoff berth. Of the playoff qualifiers, the No. 13 Arizona Cardinals are the lowest-ranked team. The Cardinals, who played poorly after locking up the NFC West title early, used a Week 17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks to vault six places in the rankings.

One indication of how unpredictable the season has been is the Atlanta Falcons' finish. Atlanta, which was 4-12 in 2007, began this season considered the league's worst team by our experts. But after a 34-21 season-opening victory over none other than the Detroit Lions, the Falcons began a surge to lofty heights. They finished the regular season ranked seventh and visit the Cardinals on Saturday in an NFC wild-card playoff game.

Perhaps the most intriguing playoff matchup will feature two of the league's hottest teams, each coming off mercurial rides in our rankings. The Colts, who closed the regular season on a nine-game winning streak, ranked as low as No. 18 entering Week 9 of our rankings. On Saturday, they'll visit the No. 12 San Diego Chargers. As recently as Week 14, the Bolts were ranked a mediocre No. 23. A four-game flourish boosted them to the AFC West title and playoff berth.

Given the turnarounds of teams such as the Falcons and Miami Dolphins, the 0-16 Lions should take heart for 2009. The Lions, 7-9 in 2007, entered this season ranked 26th. You know where they finished.

• More: Voting | Watch: AFC Playoff breakdown | Watch: NFC East Bloggers' Blitz | NFC South | Football Today
• Pick'em: Ravens-Fins | Colts-Bolts | Eagles-Vikings | Falcons-Cards | Rank'em
(Editor's note: LW indicates each team's ranking last week.)

2008 Power Rankings: Week 18
	RK (LW)	TEAM	REC	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Titans	13-3-0	Coach Jeff Fisher earned the right to play his backups and play vanilla in Indianapolis. (PK)
	2 (2)	Giants	12-4-0	I know they've lost three of four, but the Giants are still the best team in the league. (MM)
	3 (4)	Steelers	12-4-0	No one needs a bye week more than QB Ben Roethlisberger. (JW)
	4 (3)	Panthers	12-4-0	Kicker John Kasay came through to save the division title and the No. 2 seed. That gives a banged-up defensive front some time to heal. (PY)
	5 (5)	Colts	12-4-0	Can the league's hottest team go to San Diego, beat the Chargers a second time and avenge last season's playoff ouster? (PK)
	6 (6)	Ravens	11-5-0	Although the Ravens are the AFC's No. 6 seed, they like their chances against anybody. (JW)
	7 (7)	Falcons	11-5-0	The Falcons closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak. That's plenty of momentum, and a road playoff game at Arizona is at least winnable. (PY)
	8 (9)	Dolphins	11-5-0	The Dolphins pulled off an unprecedented turnaround by beating the Jets to clinch the AFC East title. (TG)
	9 (8)	Patriots	11-5-0	The Patriots deserved better. They're only the second 11-win team in NFL history not to make the playoffs. (TG)
	10 (11)	Vikings	10-6-0	The first home playoff game in eight years awaits the Vikings this weekend. (KS)
	11 (15)	Eagles	9-6-1	What an amazing turn of events Sunday. This team will be dangerous in January. (MM)
	12 (16)	Chargers	8-8-0	Forget the regular season. The Chargers are in the playoffs and are mighty dangerous. (BW)
	13 (19)	Cardinals	9-7-0	Only the Lions, Rams, Broncos and Chiefs allowed more points this season. (MS)
	14 (10)	Cowboys	9-7-0	Jerry Jones will stay the course with a "changed" Wade Phillips. Much rejoicing in the land. (MM)
	15 (13)	Bears	9-7-0	Coach Lovie Smith needs to take apart his defense before he can put it together again. (KS)
	16 (12)	Buccaneers	9-7-0	If the Jets and Cowboys weren't in such big markets, people around the country would be talking about Tampa Bay's collapse. As it is, folks in Florida are griping about a team that went from a 9-3 start to missing the playoffs. (PY)
	17 (14)	Jets	9-7-0	The nosedive continued even after Sunday's final gun. The Jets need a new coach and maybe a new quarterback. (TG)
	18 (21)	Texans	8-8-0	Despite the big finish, the Texans have a lot of roster revisions to make. (PK)
	19 (17)	Saints	8-8-0	Drew Brees threw for 5,000 yards, but it didn't really matter. You must at least be able to run a bit and play some defense to reach the playoffs. (PY)
	20 (23)	49ers	7-9-0	The Niners are lamenting that Monday night defeat at Arizona. (MS)
	21 (18)	Redskins	8-8-0	The hot start is a distant memory. This team has a lot of questions to address heading into 2009. (MM)
	22 (20)	Broncos	8-8-0	It will be a long, cold winter in Denver as the Broncos chew on their historic collapse. (BW)
	23 (22)	Bills	7-9-0	For the third straight season, the Bills finished 7-9. How inspiring. (TG)
	24 (24)	Packers	6-10-0	The Packers will look for help on both lines this offseason. (KS)
	25 (25)	Jaguars	5-11-0	Last year, the Jaguars made a big trade up to No. 8 in the draft. This time, the Jags earned it all on their own. (PK)
	26 (27)	Raiders	5-11-0	Is Oakland on its way up? Well, two wins to end the season won't hurt the Raiders' psyche. (BW)
	27 (29)	Bengals	4-11-1	A season-ending three-game winning streak provides a ray of hope for 2009. (JW)
	28 (26)	Seahawks	4-12-0	The Seahawks need to find a pass rush in a hurry. (MS)
	29 (28)	Browns	4-12-0	The Browns will start from scratch for the fourth time in 10 years. (JW)
	30 (30)	Chiefs	2-14-0	A season of change is upon us in Kansas City. (BW)
	31 (31)	Rams	2-14-0	The Rams need to become more physical on both sides of ball. (MS)
	32 (32)	Lions	0-16-0	Are the Lions actually pushing continuity after finishing 0-16? (KS)

Glossary

TG - Tim Graham (AFC East); JW - James Walker (AFC North); PK - Paul Kuharsky (AFC South); BW - Bill Williamson (AFC West); MM - Matt Mosley (NFC East); KS - Kevin Seifert (NFC North); PY - Pat Yasinskas (NFC South); MS - Mike Sando (NFC West)