Tuesday, November 6, 2012

2012 NFL Power Rankings: Week 10

1- Atlanta Falcons - 8-0 (+0) - The Falcons look vulnerable and beatable. I don't know how long they are going to continue their unbeaten streak, but I highly doubt that they will go undefeated. It's of note that they have only played one playoff team so far and unless a team like the Bucs or Lions sneaks back into the playoffs, they only have one playoff team left on their schedule. However, they still remain the league's only unbeaten team and until that changes, they deserve the top spot.

2- Houston Texans - 7-1 (+0) - While it was a closer game than it should've been, the Texans still showed their dominance Sunday against the Bills, completely shutting down Fitzpatrick and the Bills' decent offense. Andre Johnson even showed signs of life Sunday, which is positive.

3- Chicago Bears - 7-1 (+0) - If you weren't sold on the Bears before, I hope you are now. This defense is looking is setting NFL records this season and if Cutler, Marshall, and Forte are on the top of their game like they were Sunday, this team will be very hard to beat.

4- San Francisco 49ers - 6-2 (+1) - They Niners come off their bye week with a two game home stretch. While it's not good to write off a divisional matchup against Jeff Fisher's Rams, this game should be more of a tweener game as they have the Bears coming into town in two weeks.

5- New England Patriots - 5-3 (+1) - The Patriots have been a team of a few different faces this season, but if they come off their bye week playing like they did in London, they should be able to cruise through these next few games and establish themselves again as an AFC powerhouse.

6- Denver Broncos - 5-3 (+1) - Payton is now the all time leader in fourth quarter comebacks as the Broncos surprisingly struggled against a reeling Bengals team. They shouldn't have a problem building on their three game win streak as they travel to Carolina this next week.

7- Baltimore Ravens - 6-2 (+1)- After getting a week off to ponder about the beatdown by the Texans, getting the Browns on their schedule was a nice way to get their confidence back. Another should be win against the Raiders is up next before they really get tested in Pittsburgh.

8- Pittsburgh Steelers - 5-3 (+2) - I hope you didn't write the Steelers off a few weeks ago because now they have fought through injuries and other problems and are playing at the top of their game. That win against the Giants should make some AFC teams nervous now.

9- New York Giants - 6-3 (-5) - The Giants always are good at getting to six wins rather quickly, but can never seem to finish the second half of the season as good as they want. It's a good thing they don't have to worry too much this season. The rest of their division is having troubles even getting to .500.

10- Green Bay Packers - 6-3 (-1) - A win's a win I suppose, but another week has passed and yet we still have only seen the Packers of last year once. They need to get their act together soon because now they whole NFC North is .500 or above.

11- Indianapolis Colts - 5-3 (+3) - If you were to tell me before the season started that the Colts would start the season 5-3, I probably would've laughed at you. This is quite the turnaround for the Colts as they playing inspired football right now. They shouldn't have much trouble increasing their record to 6-3 as the play the Jags this week.

12- Seattle Seahawks - 5-4 (+1) - They couldn't stop Adrian Peterson to save their life on Sunday, but it was s a good thing for them that AP was the only Viking to show up. They end their season in a rather brutal way, so they really need a win at home against the Jets on Sunday so they have some breathing room to finish things off.

13- Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 4-4 (+2) -  Hellooo Doug Martin! His 250 yard, 4 touchdown game was quite the pleasant surprise for Buc fans as this offense continues to play well. They are going to need to tighten up that defense, though, if they are going to sneak into the playoffs. It'll be a little tougher to win shootout games against teams like the Broncos, Saints, and Falcons than it was against the Raiders this past week.

14- Detroit Lions - 4-4 (+3) - Don't look now, but the Lions have won 3 out of their last 4 games. While beating the Jags wasn't an impressive feat, winning due to a good running game was. If they continue that, they could sneak their way back into a wild card spot.

15- Miami Dolphins - 4-4 (-3) - That loss to the Colts really hurt the Dolphins. They have a really tough 3 game stretch coming up here soon, so they really need to win these next few games against the Titans and Bills if they want to continue fighting for a playoff spot.

16- Minnesota Vikings - 5-4 (-5) - The Vikings are in trouble. They really couldn't afford to lose to both the Bucs and the Seahawks. Now they will take a two game losing streak into their next stretch of four straight divisional games. If AP continues to be the only Viking to show up, they could be staring at a six game losing streak at the end of this stretch. A playoff appearance is really looking doubtful for them.

17- San Diego Chargers - 4-4 (+8) - Yes, it was only the lowly Chiefs that they beat Thursday, but that was still a good win for them. With the way their schedule finishes off, they are still very much in the playoff hunt. That is as long as Philip Rivers remembers that in order to score points, he needs to pass to his team and not the defense.

18- New Orleans Saints - 3-5 (+9) - Don't look now, but the Saints have now won three out of their last four games. The Eagles really helped them out by deciding to not play football in the red zone last night, but still. The Saints have the offensive firepower to make a run if they can just find some sort of defense. Next week's game against the Falcons is a must win, though, if they want a shot at the playoffs.

19- Dallas Cowboys - 3-5 (-3) - The Cowboys are getting really good at giving their fans hope, then turning around and crushing it. They haven't played bad this season, they just can't perform in the clutch. I wouldn't write them off quite yet, but they need to figure out how to play in the fourth quarter if they want to have a shot.

20- Arizona Cardinals - 4-5 (+1) - The Cardinals actually showed some signs of life last week against the Packers, but nonetheless, a loss is a loss and now they have five of them straight. The get a week off to figure things out before they go on the road in three of their next four games, starting with a trip to Atlanta.

21- Oakland Raiders - 3-5 (-3) - It's always embarrassing when you let a rookie running back run for 250 yards and 4 touchdowns on your defense. Ray Rice will be licking his chops next week as the Raiders travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens.

22- Cincinnati Bengals - 3-5 (+2) - They were almost able to avoid a four game losing streak, but couldn't quite pull off the upset against Payton and company. Things aren't looking better this next week as the other Manning brother comes to town in hopes for redemption after a disappointing loss to the Steelers.

23- St. Louis Rams - 3-5 (+3) - The Rams had a week off after the tragedy against the Patriots to put their selves back together and now they get rewarded by a trip to San Francisco to play the NFC West leading Niners. They need to forget about the Patriots game and not let it get to their head, because outside that game they have done a great job of competing.

24- New York Jets - 3-5 (+4) - The Jets get to play the NFC West in three out of their next four games, while hosting the Patriots in between. Normally that would be a safe three wins for the Jets with a challenge against the Pats, but with the state of the NFC West and the state of the Jets, that could very well be a four game losing streak this time around.

25- Tennessee Titans - 3-6 (-2) - The Titans have shown up at times this year, but that performance against the Bears was rather embarrassing. The Titans aren't awful, they just aren't good enough to compete when it matters this season.

26- Buffalo Bills - 3-5 (-7) The Bills were supposed to have a good defense this year, but someone forgot to tell them that because they just haven't shown up. However, that unit played well against the Texans in the first half. The problem is that the offense is the unit that didn't show up this time. That's not a good sign.

27- Philadelphia Eagles - 3-5 (-7) - This team continues to perplex me. For the most part of the game, they played the Saints quite well. The problem is that they couldn't score once they got to the redzone and once again, they had turnover problems. You know you have issues when you get owned by the Saints's defense.

28- Washington Redskins - 3-6 (-6) - Cam Newton came up on top in the Newton vs RG3 battle. For a Redskins team that showed lots of promise at the start of the season, this is really embarrassing. Previous losses were understandable. This one wasn't.

29- Cleveland Browns - 2-7 (+0) - On one hand, you would've thought that the Browns would've been able to take advantage of a depleted Ravens defense. But then you have to realize that this is the Browns we are talking about. They don't have much of an offense this year.

30- Carolina Panthers - 2-6 (+0)  - The Panthers finally got a win this past weekend as they won the Cam Newton vs RG3 battle. The problem is that it was only their second win on the season. Looking at their schedule, it will probably be another month before they get win number three.

31- Jacksonville Jaguars - 1-7 (+0) - It's easy right now to say the Jags are doomed to lose yet another game this weekend when they face an inspired Colts team. But remember, their only win on the season came in Indianapolis. They have actually been surprisingly competitive, despite the fact that they haven't won games. It's been a while since a team blew out the Jaguars.

32- Kansas City Chiefs - 1-7 (+0) - As yet another week passes, it seems more and more likely that the Chiefs will win the Matt Barkley sweepstakes. Things don't get any easier for them as the face the Steelers, Bengals, and Broncos in their next three games.

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