The NFL Blog: 2012 Power Rankings (After Week 12)

Power Rankings After Week 12

1. New York Giants 7-4 (6^th)

2. San Francisco 8-2-1 (3^rd)

3. Green Bay 7-4 (1^st)

4. Houston 10-1 (2^nd)

5. Atlanta 10-1 (4^th)

6. New England 8-3 (8^th)

7. Denver 8-3 (7^th)

8. Baltimore 9-2 (5^th)

9. Chicago 8-3 (11^th)

10. Tampa Bay 6-5 (10^th)

11. Seattle 6-5 (9^th)

12. Indianapolis 7-4 (13^th)

13. Pittsburgh 6-5 (12^th)

14. Minnesota 6-5 (14^th)

15. New Orleans 5-6 (15^th)

16. Cincinnati 6-5 (16^th)

17. Washington 5-6 (17^th)

18. Detroit 4-7 (18^th)

19. Dallas 5-6 (19^th)

20. New York Jets 4-7 (20^th)

21. Miami 5-6 (21^st)

22. St. Louis 4-6-1 (23^rd)

23. Tennessee 4-7 (24^th)

24. Carolina 3-8 (25^th)

25. Buffalo 4-7 (27^th)

26. Jacksonville 2-9 (29^th)

27. San Diego 4-7 (26^th)

28. Cleveland 3-8 (30^th)

29. Philadelphia 3-8 (22^nd)

30. Arizona 4-7 (28^th)

31. Kansas City 1-10 (32^nd)

32. Oakland 3-8 (31^st)

Comments: There was a bit more change in my power rankings this week, with 22 of 32 spots experiencing change, up from 18 last week. Almost all of the change occurred at the top or bottom end of the power rankings. 

12 teams rose up the rankings this week, while 10 teams fell. Of the 12 teams going up in the rankings, 6 moved up more than 1 spot. Of the 10 teams going down in the rankings, 6 dropped by more than 1 spot. 

The Giants came out of their mini-slump and dominated the Packers on Sunday night, and not surprisingly, New York made the biggest move up the rankings, climbing 5 spots to move from #6 to #1. The G-Men regained the top spot in these rankings for the first time since week 8, snapping Green Bay’s 2 week run atop the rankings in the process. 

As so often seems to happen, the team that got beat in the final game of the week (on MNF) ended up being the team taking the biggest fall in my rankings this week. The Eagles dropped 7 spots this week from #22 to #29. 

We also have a new team at the bottom of the ranks. Oakland got blown out again on Sunday, and they dropped 1 spot in my rankings from #31 to #32, falling to the bottom spot in my rankings for the first time this season. The Kansas City Chiefs certainly didn’t win on Sunday but they still managed to rise 1 spot in my rankings from #32 to #31, moving out of the bottom spot in my rankings after falling to #32 last week.