The NFL Blog: 2010 Power Rankings (After Week 12)

Power Rankings After Week 12

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

-Previous week’s rankings in parenthesis;

Some Separation at the Top. The top 6 remained in place the week, with the Patriots again ranked #1. The Ravens, Jets, and Steelers again made up the rest of the top 4. This week the division rivals in the top 4 square off, with the Ravens hosting the Steelers on Sunday night, and the Jets going to Foxboro to play the Pats on Monday night. There are 3 teams from the NFC South in the top 9.

The Cardinals are Who We Thought They Were. There’s a new but familiar face in the bottom spot this week. Arizona’s pathetic effort at home against fellow shitty NFC West team San Fran on Monday night ended in their 6th consecutive loss. I dropped the Cards a spot from 31st to 32nd this week. Just like that, the two time defending NFC West champs--who were just a few plays away from winning the Super Bowl two years ago—are back to being the laughing stock of the NFL. It is my belief that Arizona’s improbable rise to legit contender was nothing but a fundamentalist conspiracy which came to an end when Kurt Warner decided to focus more on his ministry through Dancing with the “Stars.” Carolina came within a missed field goal of beating Cleveland last Sunday, and the Panthers moved out of the bottom spot this week, climbing 2 spots from 32nd to 30th.

Constant Movers. Yeah, I still don’t can’t figure out the Miami Dolphins. Not only did Chad Henne miraculously go from out for the season to into the starting lineup, but the Fins went from scoring 0 points against the Bears at home to putting up 33 against the Raiders in Oakland. The Dolphins were one of three teams that jumped 6 spots in my rankings this week, climbing from 25th to 19th. I also moved the Vikings up 6 spots this week. Minnesota followed Dallas’ example last week, firing their head coach and then winning on Sunday. The Vikes went from 26th to 20th in my rankings.

The other team that went up 6 spots this week was Chicago. It’s time for me to admit it: the Bears are not who I thought they were. Jay Cutler played a terrific game on Sunday in Chicago’s big win over Philly, though the fact that he somehow drew a personal foul penalty with his mouth leads me to believe that the bad Cutler will continue to pop up from time to time. It was Chicago’s defense that really impressed me. The Bears jumped from #17 to #11 in my rankings this week.

Fo on da Flo. There were 4 teams that dropped at least 4 places in my rankings this week. The Titans—who looked like something close to Super Bowl contenders just a few weeks ago—appear to be in a tail spin. Their chances of turning things around depend almost entirely on the health of Kerry Collins. That’s not exactly what you would think of as a good thing. Tennessee got shutout by a historically bad Houston defense last week, dropping their 4th straight. I moved the Titans down 4 spots this week from 22nd to 26th.

The most surprising team to take a fall in my rankings this week is Indianapolis. I don’t think the Colts are dead, but at this point they are not contenders. They are 6-5, and Sunday’s loss at home to the Cardinals might have been the worst game I’ve seen Indy play since that blowout loss to the Jets in the 2002 playoffs.

The team that traded Jason Campbell before the season and the team that benched him during the season each dropped 6 spots in my rankings this week. Washington became the first team to lose at home to Minnesota in nearly a year, thus they fell from 16th to 22nd in this week’s rankings. Oakland got outmuscled and outmanned by the Dolphins at home last week. Just when Raider Nation was starting to believe that the era of humiliation was coming to an end, Oakland has turned back into a pretender. The Raiders fell from 18th to 24th in my rankings this week. As for Campbell, he will be back in the starting lineup this week, as Bruce Gradkowski is now out for the season due to injury.