Sunday, December 11, 2011

NFL Power Rankings (Week 14)

1. Green Bay Packers (13-0)
With the Chiefs, Bears, and Lions left on the schedule it isn't too hard to believe that the Packers should go undefeated in the regular season. I don't even think the Lions poise too much of a threat.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3)
Pittsburgh better hope that the injury to Big Ben isn't to serious. Especially with San Francisco this Monday night.

3. New Orleans Saints (10-3)
It was a scare, but the Saints pulled out the win when they needed to. But it took a sack with no time left on the clock to seal the win.

4. Houston Texans (10-3)
Despite losing their top two QBs, the Texans continue to roll due to their strong running game. However it took a TJ Yates TD pass to win the game and clinch the Texans' first ever playoff appearance.

5. Baltimore Ravens (10-3)
Any time you play the Colts this year you have it easy. This weekend the Raven's did. They won. If the Ravens want to clinch a 1st round bye they'll have to go through Cleveland, San Diego, and the Bengals. That should be pretty easy.

6. New England Patriots (10-3)
Because of a poor secondary, the Patriots kept the Redskins around and only won by 7. Now the Patriots must face off against Tim Tebow and the Broncos.

7. Denver Broncos (8-5)
Denver might be the hottest team playing right now. Sure they've had an easy schedule so far, but they are winning and that is all that matters in this league. But we'll find out how good they really are when they face off against the Pats this weekend.

8. San Francisco 49ers (10-3)
The 49ers have had a great season so far, but you can't explain that loss to the Cardinals. Especially when Kevin Kolb went down.

9. New York Jets (8-5)
For as bad as the Jets have looked at times this year, their only losses are to Division leaders. Now the Jets look to end the season strong and face off against an Eagles team that is looking to keep their roll going.

10. Detroit Lions (8-5)
After a huge start to the season the Lions are back down to earth. But they are still in the hunt for a wild card berth. But they'll need to play better than they did against Minnesota where they needed a forced fumble at the end to win the game.

11. New York Giants (7-6)
After looking like one of the best teams in the NFL for most of the first half of the season, the Giants went winless for 4 straight games. However they snapped that streak with a big win over the Cowboys. The win gives the Giants the lead in the NFC East.

12. Atlanta Falcons (8-5)
It took 2 4th quarter TDs but the Falcons beat NFC South rival Carolina and improved to an 8-5 record. The win also puts the Falcons right in the hunt for one of the wild card spots.

13. Cincinnati Bengals (7-6)
It looked like they would get yet another win, but TJ Yates proved to be too much for them. But they get the Rams next week. They need to win out if they want to make the playoffs.

14. Seattle Seahawks (6-7)
Even though they are under .500 they still have an outside shot at making the playoffs. Taking care of the Rams was the first step, now they have to beat the down and out Bears to keep the momentum going.

15. Tennessee Titans (7-6)
After another injury to Matt Hasselbeack, it looks like we might be seeing the start of the Jake Locker era? He looked pretty good in my opinion.

16. Oakland Raiders (7-6)
I don't understand why everybody thought that the Raiders had a great shot to beat the Packers. The same team who didn't have their best offensive player and a weak secondary.

17. Dallas Cowboys (7-6)
Yet another game wasted away. Dallas is the best team in the league at wasting away leads and losing games because of it. For a 2nd straight week they missed a kick after being iced. They are wasting away a pretty good season.

18. Arizona Cardinals (6-7)
Somehow the Cardinals are finding ways to win. This week it took John Skelton replacing a injured Kevin Kolb to lead them to a big win over the 49ers.

19. Philadelphia Eagles (5-8)
It hasn't been the season they hoped for, but the Eagles have a chance to make some noise in their division with games against the Cowboys and Redskins. But they'll have to go through the Jets first.

20. San Diego Chargers (6-7)
San Diego ended the bleeding, but they haven't fixed their team. They just got lucky playing a beat up Buffalo team. But it doesn't get much easier with Oakland, Detroit, and Baltimore left.

21. Buffalo Bills (5-8)
Their loss to the Chargers continues a streak of 6 straight. But hope is near. A game against Miami next week gives the Bills a chance to end their streak.

22. Kansas City Chiefs (5-8)
The shoe has finally dropped and HC Todd Haley has been fired. We probably would have seen it sooner, but the Chiefs actually started winning. Injuries were the biggest reason they lost this year, but Haley's seat had always been warm.

23. Chicago Bears (7-6)
The latest team to be Tebow'ed. You gotta feel for the Bears. They were riding high. They had just blown out the Chargers and with an easy schedule where on their way to at least a 11-5 record. But with Cutler and Forte out with injuries the Bears have lost three straight and two to the Chiefs and Broncos. A once promising season is now going down the drain.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9)
No matter who the opponent is, when you blow out another NFL team 41-14 you know it's a big deal. Jacksonville now has three winnable games down the stretch to finish their season strong and have some momentum going into the off season.

25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-9)
When it rains it pours. And you know it's bad when the Jaguars blow you out. That's just unacceptable.

26. Miami Dolphins (4-9)
For 7 straight games the Dolphins were playing some good football. The won four of those games and lost three by a total of 7 combined points. But that all came crashing down with a huge loss to the Eagles. It also ended HC Tony Sparano's firing.

27. Carolina Panthers (4-9)
It looked like the Panthers were going to pull out the victory against the Falcons, but a missed FG doomed them. I'm really looking forward to see how this team does next year.

28. Washington Redskins (4-9)
Washington made it interesting, but the Patriots were in control the entire game. Washington and Mike Shannahan can't wait to get a new franchise QB next year and it looks like they'll get a shot at either Matt Barkley or Robert Griffin.

29. Cleveland Browns (4-9)
The Cleveland Browns are a mess. You wonder if they should have kept Eric Mangini as the coach. He had this same team, but they were much better.

30. Minnesota Vikings (2-11)
Despite their losses, the Vikings have been competitive. This week they had a shot to win against the Lions, but Joe Webb fumbled with a shot to take the lead.

31. St. Louis Rams (2-11)
In front of a nation audience, the Rams continued their free fall. Their 30-13 loss was another kick in the gut. But at least they will be set up to get an impact player in the draft.

32. Indianapolis Colts (0-13)
The season from hell continues in Indy where they drop another game, this time to the Ravens. Indy has three more shots at their first win, but you know Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Houston don't want to be Indy's first win.

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