NFL Power Ranking: Week 13

Here is our updated power rankings!  Can you believe we are so far along in the season? It has gone to quick!  This ranking was completed by staff writer Jon New.

1. Atlanta Falcons – Atlanta will move down when they stop winning.  Until then they look to be as good as any team out there, and solid in all phases of the game.

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2.  New England Patriots – Tom Brady is starting to show his fiery self again and will no doubt be ready to go against the trash talking Jets this weekend.

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3.  New York Jets – The Jets are in third here because of the 9-2 teams I trust their QB the least.  They can gain some separation and show what they are made of by sweeping their New England series this weekend.

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4.  Baltimore Ravens – The Baltimore Ravens are good.  We will know how good when they play Pittsburgh this coming weekend.

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5.  New Orleans Saints – The Saints are showing why they were Super Bowl champs last season.  They snuck by Dallas on Thanksgiving and have had a long week to prepare for a struggling Bengals team.

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6.  Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles have been brought back to earth after they drubbed the Redskins, but Michael Vick is still playing great and this team has as many playmakers as any team in the league.

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7.  San Diego Chargers – Is there a hotter team in football in November and December?  You would think a team in a warm climate would struggle in the cold but Phillip Rivers has this team on his shoulders.  Once again we ask…is this the year the Chargers break through?

8. Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers played their best team football the 4 weeks Big Ben was suspended.  Since his return they have won but have not looked great.  A big test awaits them this week against Baltimore.

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9.  Chicago Bears – Their defense is fantastic and is carrying this team.  That could come in handy down the stretch and come playoff time.  Their offense is their weakness but at 8-3 who is complaining.

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10.  Green Bay Packers – Obviously pretty banged up the Packers are getting better and despite a loss this last weekend to Atlanta are a team with a stud QB that no one wants to play.

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11.  New York Giants – Giants keep on winning and it appears to be a two team race in the East for the division.  The health of some stars will determine the success of the Giants down the stretch.

12.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers – They played Baltimore tough, but appear to be the odd man out in their division despite their surprising success.  They are winning with young talent which is a true testament to what a good draft can do for you.

13.  Kansas City Chiefs – Kansas City keeps on winning and beating teams they should beat.  As an AFC wild card I still am hoping to get to play this team over most other division leaders at this point.

14.  Indianapolis Colts – If you look at the Colts starting lineup it’s a wonder they have 6 wins.  Then again my money is on Peyton Manning over David Garrard in the AFC South.

15.  Jacksonville Jaguars – They can thank San Diego for knocking off Peyton and the Colts to keep them in first place in the division.

16.  Miami Dolphins – Their QB remains in question and their division is so difficult it will be hard for the Dolphins to make the playoffs without catching fire down the stretch.

17.  St. Louis Rams – The Rams held off a late comeback by the Broncos to move into a tie for first in the NFC West.  All those years of picking in the top 5 is paying off now that they have found Sam Bradford to lead the way.

18. Tennessee Titans – With a QB named Rusty Smith starting please tell me why Chris Johnson had a meager 5 yards rushing on Sunday.  Shouldn’t he get the ball every down?  He ruined my fantasy season and perhaps his teams as well.

19. Washington Redskins – Washington needs to get McNabb some talent or they are going to ruin him in a hurry.  It will be interesting to watch this soap opera play out.

20.  Oakland Raiders – How fast things change in the NFL.  Two weeks ago the Raiders were on fire and people were thinking they were finally turning the corner.  Now they are just good enough to hang onto 3^rd place in their division.

21.  Houston Texans – Remember when this team was 3-1?  Me neither.  Seems like the wheels are falling off in Houston again, and Gary Kubiak may be on his way out given the hot start.

22.  Seattle Seahawks – Nothing about this team screams success.  If I am a wild card team in the NFC I am praying Seattle wins the division.  Hard place to play or not this team is not that good.

23. San Francisco 49ers – It wasn’t pretty but the 49ers won on Monday Night Football and sit a mere game out of first place in the atrocious NFC West Division.

24.  Cleveland Browns – While no team wants to play the Browns right now, they still aren’t very loaded with talent.  They need a good draft or two to secure some more playmakers around Colt McCoy.

25. Minnesota Vikings – Another coaching change another change in team attitude.  Despite the fact the same players play every week it seems to work.  To little to late for this team though.

26. Dallas Cowboys – Dallas has showed they have some talent with the departure of Wade Phillips.  It wasn’t quite enough to knock off the Saints, but Jason Garrett may be securing his job future.

27. Denver Broncos – Spygate 2 loomed over the Broncos this week and they went out and lost again.  The team can score almost at will, but have exactly zero defense.  On the bright side for Josh McDaniels his former first round pick Alphonso Smith looked horrible against New England and showed McDaniels wasn’t crazy in dumping him.

28. Arizona Cardinals – Hard to believe this team was in the Super Bowl two years ago.  One has to wonder how bad Matt Leinart must have looked in August that he couldn’t beat out Derek Anderson.

29.  Buffalo Bills – Buffalo nearly won its third straight game and should have beaten the Steelers in Overtime.  They are steadily improving and gaining confidence with every week.

30. Detroit Lions – Detroit was laying it on the Patriots but in the end fell apart.  Shaun Hill is a decent backup, but sadly has played to many snaps for this team this year.  Detroit needs a few more pieces but are on the right track.

31. Carolina Panthers–  The Panthers are at the very least competitive and came within inches of knocking off an improving Cleveland Team.  The question for them is to try and figure out who on their roster deserves to stay and can help them long term.  This includes Jimmy Clausen who has failed to impress to this point.  If Carolina ends up with the first pick does Clausen become expendable like his predecessor at Notre Dame Brady Quinn did in Cleveland?

32.  Cincinnati Bengals– This team is spiraling out of control and quickly losing any opportunities to be competitive.  They have lost 9 straight and their schedule is fairly rough down the stretch.  Their best hope at this point is for Carolina to pull out some wins and end up with the lottery ticket that is the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.