NFL Power Rankings - Week 13

This week's rankings features a new #2.

1. Houston Texans 302
Last Week: 1

Notes: Two overtime wins in a row doesn't make this team look as dominant as they did a couple of weeks back, but they are still at 10-1 and, in my opinion, the best in the NFL.

2. New England Patriots 281 
Last Week: 3
Notes: More than half of the games they've been playing are reminiscent of their brilliant 2007 season. Thanksgiving against the Jets was one of those games. Nobody wants to play the Pats right now.
 
3. Atlanta Falcons 255
Last Week: 2
Notes: Another example of the Falcons just skating by. Yes they are 10-1, but all of their games in November have been decided by 6 or less points.
 

4. San Francisco 49ers 246

Last Week: 4

Notes: I feel bad for Alex Smith. He deserves to be the starter after how great he's been performing, but Kaepernick looks to be (potentially) more efficient at getting the passing game going.

5. Chicago Bears 219

Last Week: 7

Notes: They have Jay Cutler back and are just as dangerous as they were before his injury.
 

6. Denver Broncos 214

Last Week: 5

Notes: Division games are always tough, despite opponent and Sunday's game against the Chiefs was no exception. However, they got the win and are pretty much a lock now for the division.

7.  Baltimore Ravens 213
Last Week: 6
Notes: A nail biter against the Chargers, but the Ravens are now at 9-2 and a comfortable 3 games ahead in the division.

8. New York Giants 161
Last Week: 9
Notes: The bye week seemed to do the Giants well as they played one of their best games of the season Sunday night against the Packers.
 

9. Green Bay Packers: 123
Last Week: 8
Notes: That loss drops the Packers back into 2nd place. While they will most likely make the playoffs (whether it's as a division winner or a wildcard), the team's injuries will hurt them if they don't get most of their team back by the playoffs.
 

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 95
Last Week: 10
Notes: A great game against the Falcons, but they find themselves on the losing end. On the positive side, the 2011 Bucs wouldn't have made that game even competitive.
 

11.  Seattle Seahawks: 79
Last Week: 11
Notes: If the Seahawks want to be legit contenders, they need to find ways to win more on the road. 1-5 isn't going to cut it.

12.  Cincinnati Bengals 75
Last Week: 15
Notes:  After losing 4 in a row, the Bengals look lights out their last 3 games. They've played dominant football against the Giants, Chiefs, and Raiders. Their next 3 games are against opponents below .500, all winnable games, before facing the Steelers.
  

13. Pittsburgh Steelers:64

Last Week: 12

Notes: Charlie Batch showed why he's the 3rd string quarterback. The Steelers are in a lot of trouble if Big Ben doesn't return next week.

14.  Minnesota Vikings 48
Last Week: 13
Notes:  Ugly game against the Bears. That loss pretty much secures them for 3rd place in the NFC North.

15. Indianapolis Colts: 27
Last Week: 17
Notes: The Colts find themselves now at 7-4 and a game ahead of the current 6th seeded Steelers. If they beat the Lions and Titans next 2 weeks, they'll be at 9-4 and in good shape to take one of the wildcard seeds.

16. Washington Redskins: 18
Last Week: 18
Notes: The Redskins keep their playoff hopes alive with two impressive wins against divisional opponents.

17. New Orleans Saints:10

Last Week: 14

Notes: The Saints need to rebound and beat the 10-1 Falcons (again) in order for any shot of the playoffs. No easy task.

18. Miami Dolphins: 0
Last Week: 21
Notes: The Dolphins still have a long road ahead to make it into a wildcard seed with the Colts, Steelers, and red hot Bengals ahead, but they got the important win against the Seahawks. Now they need to take it one game at a time.
 

19. Dallas Cowboys: -5
Last Week: 16
Notes: You're fighting for the NFC East division and then you play like garbage against the Redskins. 

20.  San Diego Chargers -19

Last Week: 19

Notes: And that's the nail in the coffin. The Chargers played the Ravens tough, but couldn't get the win.

21.  Detroit Lions: -33

Last Week: 20

Notes: Gotta feel bad for the Lions. They should have gotten the win against the Texans. A bad call and a bad challenge cost them the game. Even if they beat the Texans, it probably wouldn't have saved their season anyway.

 

22. St. Louis Rams: -39
Last Week: 22
Notes: A win against the Cardinals moves the Rams out of last in the NFC West.

23.  Arizona Cardinals -64
Last Week: 23
Notes: Now they are at 7 losses in a row. Even with a new QB, I thought they were going to pull off the win. I guess the safe bet is to go against the Cardinals.

24. New York Jets: -86

Last Week: 24

Notes: Rex Ryan is trying to give this team hope that they can still make the playoffs, but all they are fighting for now is to not end up last in the division.

25. Cleveland Browns: -93
Last Week: 27
Notes: Even though it was against Charlie Batch, the Browns D played well and took the upset win.
 
26. Buffalo Bills: -98
Last Week: 25
Notes: The Bills schedule gets a little easier with games against the Jags and the Rams

27. Carolina Panthers: -106

Last Week: 29

Notes: Not too many bright spots for the Panthers this season, but they managed to pull themselves out from being the worst in the NFC conference after beating the Eagles. 

28 Tennessee Titans: -124
Last Week: 26
Notes: The Titans are a 4-7 team that play like a 1-10 team.

29. Philadelphia Eagles: -144

Last Week: 28

Notes: If the season ended today, the Eagles would be dead last in the NFC conference. This was a team that was expected to at minimum be competitive all year.

 

30  Oakland Raiders: -198
Last Week: 30
Notes: Another week, another loss for the Raiders. 

31. Jacksonville Jaguars: -205
Last Week: 31
Notes: I'm not on the Henne bandwagon yet, but I think that a big change to helped sparked something positive in this Jags team.
 

32. Kansas City Chiefs: -262

Last Week: 32

Notes: The Chiefs played the Broncos tough, but they are a terrible team.