Sunday, November 20, 2011

NFL Power Rankings Week 12

For those of you who are fairly new to the power rankings, I base the scores on a variety of different things such as record, the records of those they have played, total offense, total defense, and point differentials between games all with a weight associated with each. The number in ( ) is the previous week's score.

1. Green Bay Packers: 445 (411)
Previous Week: 1
Notes: They face their two toughest games against the Lions and the Giants. If they win both, they'll likely be 16-0.

2. San Francisco 49ers: 392 (343)
Previous Week: 2
Notes: Who would have thought in the beginning of the season that the 49ers would be a better team than the Ravens (who they're facing this Thursday). This should be a great matchup.

3. Houston Texans: 315 (323)
Previous Week: 3
Notes: Can Matt Leinart keep the Texans on top? He'll face an "easy" game to get him into it against the Jags before his first true test against the Falcons.

4. New Orleans Saints: 286 (286)
Previous Week: 4
Notes: A win against the Giants next week means a very strong possibility of a 3 seed or better come playoff time.

5. Detroit Lions: 286 (274)
Previous Week: 5
Notes: Good teams like the Lions find ways to come back from large deficits. At 7-3 with an injured Bears team, this team looks to be in good shape to make the playoffs.

6. Baltimore Ravens: 286 (258)
Previous Week: 6
Notes: A big win over the Ravens that makes it even more likely that they'll take the AFC North.

7. New England Patriots: 269 (212)
Previous Week: 8
Notes: An expected blowout against the Chiefs. At 7-3, they're in good shape to take the AFC East with the Bills going downhill and the Jets sitting at 5-5 (with the tiebreaker in favor of the Pats).

8. Pittsburgh Steelers: 256 (252 )
Previous Week: 7
Notes: After looking subpar all season long, this team seems to be back on track over their last few games.

9. Chicago Bears: 228 (190)
Previous Week: 10
Notes: They've now won 5 in a row, but hit a huge roadblock with Jay Cutler suffering a season ending injury. Lets see if Caleb Hanie can lead this team to the playoffs.

10. Dallas Cowboys: 216 (147)
Previous Week: 12
Notes: Dallas is starting to look like the team we've expected. They almost lost that game to the Redskins, but the key to winning it was the lack of turnovers given up by the offense (namely Romo). If Romo plays his best, this team will make the playoffs.

11. Cincinnati Bengals: 190 (209)
Previous Week: 9
Notes: Two losses against the Ravens and Steelers doesn't mean this team "isn't who we thought they were" as others have stated. They played both teams tough and are still the favorite for 6th playoff seed.

12. Atlanta Falcons: 167 (128 )
Previous Week: 13
Notes: Big win over the Titans that helps keep them in both the wildcard and division races.

13. New York Giants: 144 (171 )
Previous Week: 11
Notes: That game against the Eagles was just as important to them as it was their opponent. People are now saying that they need to win against the Saints or Packers to stay alive, but not the case. If they lose both of those games and then win their remaining 4 (two against the Cowboys, one against the Jets, and one against the Redskins..all possible wins) they'll clinch.

14. Philadelphia Eagles: 139 (64)
Previous Week: 19
Notes: The Eagles have kept their season alive. Against the NFC East they look like the team we expect them to be, but struggle against non-division opponents.

15. Oakland Raiders: 112 (82)
Previous Week: 18
Notes: Who would have thought that the team standing in the Raiders way of a division title would be the Broncos?

16. New York Jets: 104 (119)
Previous Week: 14
Notes: Tough loss. 6-4 and 5-5 is a big difference right now in the AFC wildcard race. The Jets need to turn it around (especially on offense) and fast.

17. Tennessee Titans: 74 (106)
Previous Week: 15
Notes: The bright spot in the Titans loss was Locker who looked great at QB.

18. Buffalo Bills: 61 (104)
Previous Week: 16
Notes: Well, the Bills I guess weren't the elite team we thought they were over their first few games. The Dolphins might actually catch them.

19. Denver Broncos: 59 (15 )
Previous Week: 20
Notes: Don't want to take away from the Broncos great win, but Tebow does not look as good as others have been making it out to be. He's lucky he's won his last two games and needs to significantly improve at the starting QB position in order for this team to win the AFC West.

20. San Diego Chargers: 56 (93)
Previous Week: 17
Notes: The only reason this team is still alive for the playoffs is that they play in the AFC West.

21. Miami Dolphins: -4 (-54 )
Previous Week: 28
Notes: Winners of 3 in a row, the Dolphins are not only winning, but winning big. Dallas better be careful this Thursday and not take this team lightly.

22. Seattle Seahawks: -5 (-54)
Previous Week: 27
Notes: I can't say that the Seahawks are a "good team", but they are definitely separating themselves from the Cardinals and Rams. Given that they play in the NFC West, this team can finish the season at 8-8.

23. Cleveland Browns: -12 (-50)
Previous Week: 26
Notes: They won a home game against a team that's about equal (maybe slightly less) in their playing ability. This team always seems to beat the teams below them and lose to the teams that are average or good.

24. Washington Redskins: -53 (-35)
Previous Week: 21
Notes: So close to breaking out a slump, but still ended up at the losing end. Grossman played a great game, but it just wasn't enough. The Redskins are officially (albeit not mathematically) out of the playoff hunt.

25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -66 (-49)
Previous Week: 24
Notes: They don't lose too many spots in the rankings since they played the Packers a lot closer than anyone expected. Losers of 4 in a row, they face a must win against the Titans.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars: -71 (- 49)
Previous Week: 25
Notes: The Jaguars might very well lose their next 5 before ending their season with a game against the Colts.

27. Arizona Cardinals: -89 ( -46 )
Previous Week: 22
Notes: After a shocking win against the Eagles on the road they are brought back to reality with a thrashing by the 49ers.

28. Carolina Panthers: -96 (-48)
Previous Week: 23
Notes: Would have been a nice surprise victory for the Panthers. Instead they blow a big lead against the Lions.

29. Kansas City Chiefs: -102 (-57)
Previous Week: 29
Notes: No surprise that they lost as badly as they did to the Patriots. What was more surprising was how competitive they played for the first quarter and a half.

30. Minnesota Vikings: -110 (-77)
Previous Week: 30
Notes: They face a tough remaining schedule and can very likely end up 2-14.

31. St. Louis Rams: -199 (-154)
Previous Week: 31
Notes: They worst of the teams with at least a victory. They'll remain that way unless they can take 2 out of 3 against the Cards, 49ers, and Seahawks in the coming weeks.

32. Indianapolis Colts: -357 (-357)
Previous Week: 32
Notes: Someone left a comment on my last post about how the Colts might be throwing their season for a #1 draft pick. While at this point they might be aiming for that, they can still win a game and be guaranteed the worst record in the NFL. Plus. I don't think a team ever really wants to be associated as "one of the worst NFL teams in history". This team is just downright awful. I am hoping their losing streak continues as I am picking the Panthers on the road against them in my survivor pool.

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