POWER RANKINGS WEEK 12/13
1 (1). New York Giants (12-0) - It looks like no team will stand in the way of the New York football Giants’ undefeated season. After recently breezing through all teams in the AFC East, the Giants look to close out the season as not only the #1 seed in the NFC, but the #1 defense in the league. The G-Men are currently holding opponents to 11 points per game and if my math is correct they also lead the league with 23 sacks. Boom!
2 (2). Oakland Raiders (11-0) - Oakland has finally displayed a slight crack in their armor. That crack being their porous secondary. After playing two thrillers with the Dolphins and Steelers, the Raiders finally fell to the Chargers (lost the scrim, game being simmed though). The offense is still playing strong (Jason Campbell has still only thrown one pick all season) and they shouldn’t have a problem holding onto the #1 seed in the AFC, but the Raiders are looking human.
3 (5). Houston Texans (9-3) - Right when we thought we were going to see this team tailspin after a divisional loss to the Jaguars, the Texans bounced back the following week to give to the Jets their 2nd loss of the season. Now with a healthy lead in the AFC South, the Texans are looking to make a move for a bye in the AFC playoffs. The remainder of their schedule is no cake walk, but with their balanced attack (Schaub’s 29:4 TD:INT ratio and Slaton a top 10 back) they will be tough to beat from here on out.
4 (3). New York Jets (10-2) - Another power rankings, another drop in their spot on the list. The team, however, is finding new ways to win. After being carried by Mark Sanchez’s arm in the early part of the season, in the last 4 games Greene has carried it on an average of 170 yards. The team faces two tough challenges versus the Dolphins and the Steelers in the coming weeks, which will ultimately decide if the Jets can hold onto their playoff bye or if we’ll see them fall not only here but in the AFC standings.
5 (7). San Francisco 49ers (9-2) – Talk about righting the ship. The team hasn’t lost since their Week 9 bye. They’ve finally separated themselves from the NFC West and could be on their way to a playoff bye too. They face all 3 divisional rivals (including those pesky Seahawks) plus the surging Chargers to end the season, so a bye will be no easy task but it looks like their defense and running game is living up to the hype.
6 (4). Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) - Buckle up Pittsburgh, you’re in for a bumpy ride. Losses to the Raiders and Ravens put the Steelers at a disadvantage for that 2nd AFC bye, but despite the rough patch the team is still in control of their playoff destiny. They will meet the Jets in Week 15, a win there and they will be a great position to rest up during the wild card round of the playoffs. The dangerous Panthers loom the following week though, so Pittsburgh may have the toughest end to their schedule yet.
7 (6) New Orleans Saints (8-3) - The Saints come to play against tough opponents (see: their wins over divisional rival Panthers and the Seahawks), but came up just short against the inconsistent Cowboys last week. So instead of pulling away in the division, the Saints will have to continue to fight off both the Falcons and Panthers for the NFC South. Their Week 16 matchup against Atlanta has game of the week written all over it.
8 (10). San Diego Chargers (7-4) - Currently on the fast track to the playoffs and coming off a (scrim) win versus the top dog in the AFC in Oakland, the Chargers have went from top 10 pick in the 2011 draft to a top 10 team in the NFL. The Dolphins, Ravens, and Jaguars are three teams that could stand in San Diego’s way of a playoff spot, but without a chance to play any of them they need to focus on their own schedule and just win games, preferably all of them.
9 (8). Carolina Panthers (7-4) - Those close losses are the ones that hurt the most. A 3-point loss to the Saints, followed by a 1 point loss to the Bucs, but they’ve won their last two and look focused as they wind down their season. DeAngelo Williams is easily the #1 back in the league and a potential MVP candidate, rushing for 2121 yards and 31 TDs (both league-leading). They have a chance to assert their dominance in the NFC South still with two games still left versus the Falcons.
10 (15). Atlanta Falcons (8-4) - Since we saw them last, they turned their 3-game winning streak into a 6-game winning streak, eventually falling to the Packers. They won 7 out of their last 8 games and might be the hottest team in the NFL that’s not undefeated. This isn’t just great news for the Falcons, however, it was necessary. Their next 4 games are hell! Panthers (2x), Seahawks and Saints. They can take these 4 games head-on and not only claim a wild card spot, but they could take the NFC South outright. And if they do, this could be one of the most dangerous teams entering the playoffs.
11 (16). Washington Redskins (7-5) - After saying that this team needed to get consistent, they did just that by winning 3 games in a row. The streak-stopping Giants put an end to that this week, but the Skins are still looking good mainly thanks to new addition Donovan McNabb (top 10 QB, 2935 yards on the season). The problem is 3 out of their 4 final games are versus teams over .500 and one of those teams happen to be the Giants. Good luck.
12 (12). Baltimore Ravens (7-5) - While they still haven’t been able to string together more than 2 wins in a row, the Ravens have beaten the Dolphins and the Steelers since we last saw them. After almost writing this team off in the middle of the season, we may still see this team sneak into the playoffs and if that happens, who knows what kind of damage this team could do. The Texans and the Saints are next up for Baltimore, they need to win at least one of those games if they want to stay alive.
13 (13). Miami Dolphins (7-5) - Chad Henne is slinging it! Leading the league in both yards and passing TDs, the young QB is leading the Dolphins nicely. Now can he do it at the hostile New Meadowlands Stadium next week? The game isn’t as do-or-die as one would think though. Miami has a very favorable end to their schedule (opponents record: 10-23), so even with a loss to their rivals the team could still see Henne throw his way to an AFC wild card spot. They will be scoreboard watching the Ravens and Chargers closely from here on out.
14 (9). Seattle Seahawks (6-5) - Don’t call me Nostradamus, but as predicted the Seahawks are in danger of sitting at .500 as they face the Panthers to end the week. This is the time to do some damage to a fellow potential wild card. A W here and an upcoming game versus the Falcons, will go a long way in securing this team one of the last spots in the playoffs. Leon Washington almost has a combined 1500 yards catching and receiving, if he can continue to be the stud RB he’s turned into then Seattle can very well pull this off.
15 (11). Jacksonville Jaguars (6-5) - After upsetting the Texans, the Jaguars coaching staff had to take a leave of absence and because of that the team lost their next 2 games. While it seems the AFC South crown is now out of reach, the team could be sitting at even records with the Ravens and Dolphins for the last wild card spot and at most a game back from the 1st wild card. All they need to do is beat the Titans this week. It does not get any easier after that (Raiders, Texans, Colts, Redskins), so every win counts.
16 (22). Indianapolis Colts (6-6) - The Colts are still making their moves to get above .500 and as predicted it looks like it will happen sooner rather than later. While they face the Raiders in the final 4 games, the other 3 are certainly winnable. 8-8 or 9-7 might not be a record Peyton Manning has looked up at in quite sometime, but that kind of record could still have this team in play for a wild card spot, especially if one of those Ws are versus the Jaguars in Week 15.
17 (14). Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1) - Midway through the season the playoffs looked like a real possibility and this team was poised to be the other great team in the NFC East, but things have changed. The Redskins leapfrogged them and the coaching staff is on leave for at least 2 games, one of which they already lost. There's promise here with this team, but barring a 4-game winning streak to end the year, I don't see the team sneaking ahead of those in front of them for the wild card.
This is where I left off. I'm going to be off for the night (it's my birthday, yay) but I wanted to post what I had before I did. The rest of the teams will likely be finished up tomorrow sometime. Remember the number in parenthesis is where the team was last power ranking.
bummer, guys.
