The NFL Blog: Power Rankings (After Week 13)

Power Rankings After Week 13

1. New York Giants 11-1 (1st)
2. Pittsburgh 9-3 (4th)
3. Tennessee 11-1 (3rd)
4. New York Jets 8-4 (2nd)
5. Tampa Bay 9-3 (5th)
6. Indianapolis 8-4 (6th)
7. Baltimore 8-4 (7th)
8. Dallas 8-4 (8th)

-Previous week’s ranking in parenthesis;

Out: none;

Explanation: My power rankings are almost exactly the same this week. The only difference is that the 2nd and 4th place teams swapped positions. For the first time since week 3, and just the second time all season, no team fell out of my top 8. Despite the distractions and the fact that Plaxico Burress is now gone for the year, the Giants are the #1 team in my rankings for the second straight week. The Giants got another impressive road win in week 13, choking the Redskins 23-7 to go to 11-1, and they’ve been handling things without Burress for most of this season. If any other Giants are suspended because of this whole mess, then I’d have to reevaluate, but right now they’re my top team with or without their prima donna wideout. There’s a new #2 team in my rankings this week, as the Steelers jump 2 spots from 4th to 2nd after they drubbed the Patriots, 33-10, in the rain in Foxboro last Sunday to go 9-3. They’ve faced the toughest schedule of any of the top teams in the AFC and they are finally getting healthy. This is the first time they’ve been 2nd in my rankings since week 2. I kept the Titans in 3rd place for the 2nd straight week after they walked all over the hapless Lions, 47-10, on Thanksgiving to go to 11-1. I thought about moving them up to 2nd but then I decided that I’d probably pick the Steelers to beat them on a neutral field right now. Just a week after jumping all the way from out of my rankings to the #2 spot, the Jets fell 2 spots to 4th in my rankings this week after they got smoked at home by the Broncos, 34-17, to fall to 8-4 on the year. I know they just hammered the Titans on the road two weeks ago, but I decided to drop them below Tennessee after their awful performance last Sunday. I had always thought people were jumping on the Jets’ bandwagon too eagerly, but after what they did to the Titans I was convinced they were really that good. Then they made me rethink things after shitting all over themselves last week. The final 4 spots in my rankings stayed the same this week. The Bucs are my #5 team for the 3rd straight week after they got a huge 23-20 win over the Saints at home to go to 9-3 on the season. I almost moved them up to 4th ahead of the Jets but I’m still concerned about their running game without Earnest Graham so I kept them 5th. The Colts are again in my number 6 slot after they squeaked by the Browns, 10-6, on the road last week to get to 8-4, despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. The Colts aren’t really playing that well but they are winning. This was their 5th straight win so I decided to leave them at 6th for a 3rd straight week. The number 7 team in my rankings is again Baltimore after they smooshed the Benglas, 34-3, last week to go 8-4. The Ravens are playing well but the Colts beat them 31-3 back in week 6 so I’m leaving them 7th for now. Baltimore has been 7th in my rankings for 4 of the last 5 weeks. The Cowboys are in the final spot in my rankings for a 2nd straight week after they hammered the Seahawks, 34-9, on Thanksgiving to get to 8-4. Dallas hasn’t lived up to expectations recently but they might finally achieve something this year playing as a dark horse.