The NFL Blog: 2010 Power Rankings (After Week 14)

Power Rankings After Week 14

1. New England 11-2 (1st)
2. Pittsburgh 10-3 (2nd)
3. Philadelphia 9-4 (4th)
4. Atlanta 11-2 (5th)
5. Baltimore 9-4 (3rd)
6. New Orleans 10-3 (7th)
7. New York Giants 9-4 (10th)
8. San Diego 7-6 (13th)
9. Indianapolis 7-6 (14th)
10. Chicago 9-4 (9th)
11. Kansas City 8-5 (11th)
12. Tampa Bay 8-5 (12th)
13. Green Bay 8-5 (6th)
14. Jacksonville 8-5 (17th)
15. New York Jets 9-4 (8th)
16. Oakland 6-7 (18th)
17. St. Louis 6-7 (15th)
18. Cleveland 5-8 (16th)
19. Dallas 4-9 (20th)
20. Houston 5-8 (21st)
21. Miami 7-6 (22nd)
22. Buffalo 3-10 (23th)
23. Detroit 3-10 (24th)
24. Minnesota 5-8 (19th)
25. Tennessee 5-8 (26th)
26. Washington 5-8 (25th)
27. San Francisco 5-8 (27th)
28. Seattle 6-7 (28th)
29. Cincinnati 2-11 (29th)
30. Carolina 1-12 (31st)
31. Arizona 4-9 (32nd)
32. Denver 3-10 (30th)

-Previous week’s rankings in parenthesis;

Pats Pad Their Lead. Over the course of a few weeks, the Patriots have managed to elevate themselves several levels about the rest of the NFL. All season long it had been difficult to separate the contenders from the pretenders, to say nothing of singling out one team as the best in the league. But with their spectacular play over the last few weeks, the Patriots have suddenly emerged as the clear number one team in the NFL. Not only are they the favorites to win the Super Bowl at this point, they appear to be getting better with each week.

The AFC Block Continues to Crumble. For many weeks there were four AFC teams from two divisions holding down the top four spots in my rankings. Last week the Jets fell out of the top 4, and this week the Baltimore Ravens followed them. On the heels of their late collapse against the Steelers on Sunday night in week 13, the Ravens went to Houston on Monday Night Football and built a 21-point lead on the Texans. However, questionable play calling and more not-so-stellar play from Joe Flacco allowed the Texans to hang around. Then in the 4th quarter, the Houston offense shredded the vaunted Baltimore defense, marching on a pair of 95+ yard drives to tie the score, and completely taking over the game in the process.

The Ravens pulled it out in OT on a pick-six, but I’m starting to believe that at this point Baltimore’s great defense is more reputation than reality. I dropped the Ravens down 2 spots in my rankings this week from 3rd to 5th. The Eagles moved up a spot from 4th to 3rd and the Falcons moved up a spot from 5th to 4th. While the top 2 spots in my rankings are still held by AFC teams, there are now a pair of NFC teams in my top 4.

Mile Low Salute. The Denver Broncos fired their brat of a head coach, but it didn’t seem to help them in week 14, as they were soundly beaten by fellow cellar dweller Arizona. Denver allowed an Arizona offense led by rookie QB John Skelton to put up 43 points in a 30-point rout. I moved the Broncos down 2 spots from 30th to last in my rankings at #32. The Cardinals climbed up a spot and out of last place to #31.

Rebounders. I guess I have a short memory when it comes to established contenders like the Colts and Chargers. Indy came into the week having lost 3 straight, and while they got off to a good start in Nashville on Thursday night, they ended up having to hang on for a 2-point win. Still, I moved the Colts up 5 spots in my rankings from 14th to 9th. The Chargers had been hot until they got caught sleep walking by the Raiders in week 13. However, the Chargers came back this week and whitewashed the Chiefs for their 5th win in their last 6 games. I moved the Chargers up 5 spots in my rankings from 13th to 8th.

Quarterback Voids. It seemed like missing QB’s was a theme in week 14. Of the 3 teams that fell at least 5 spots in my rankings this week, 2 suffered the effects of serious injuries to their QB’s in week 14, while the third suffered the effects of serious injuries caused by their QB. The most difficult case to assess was that of the Packers, who lost Aaron Rodgers early on against Detroit, and went on to lose 7-3. This is Rodgers’ 2nd concussion of the season, and while I don’t question his toughness for a minute, I’m just not sure the league and the media will allow the Packers to play Rodgers any time soon. This is obviously a major concern. I moved the Pack down 7 spots in my rankings this week from 6th to 13th.

Brett Favre was hurt last week but it was unclear whether he would be able to play this week until the day of the game (which turned out to be Monday due to the roof collapsing in the Metrodome). Because Favre had been so absolutely terrible this season, I actually did not think they would lose much without him in the game against the Giants. I was mistaken. Tavaris Jackson showed once again that he is far closer to being out of the league than he is to being a decent quarterback. Because Favre appears to be almost certainly done for the year, and because Jackson looked so awful, I moved the Vikes down 5 spots in my rankings this week from 19th to 24th.

Finally, I moved the Jets down 7 spots this week from 8th to 15th, in large part because I don’t think Mark Sanchez is a ready for primetime QB. The Jets again appeared to be without their previous swagger this week in a loss to the Dolphins. New York’s rushing game has not been as effective this season, particularly recently. Their defense has also fallen off to be sure. This is not good for the Jets, because Mark Sanchez hasn’t progressed at all from last year to now. He looks lost, and so do the Jets.