Power Rankings: Week 12

Last week's rankings in parenthesis
*This will be updated when the Sunday and Monday night games are finished.*

1. New York Giants (1) - Told you they were number 1. They just beat a VERY good Cardinals team.
2. Tennessee Titans (2) - They're vulnerable when they can't run. But everyone is allowed a stinker or two every once in a while. That's what makes the NFL so much better than college football. But they need to hold onto the ball longer than 19 minutes a game. Any defense, even the #1 defense in the league, can't have energy after being on the field for 40:30. Yikes.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (5) - Just like Tampa, they took care of business against a down team. Big Ben kept the ball safe, and kept himself upright, which is an improvement
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6) - Warrick Dunn is pretty good, and Jeff Garcia's effeciency will take this team far. They took care of business against the Lions this week. Nothing really stands out against Detroit, but they won handily. That's all you need against a down team. The Bucs are the quietest dominant team in the NFL.
5. New York Jets (10) - Heck of a win. This team's running defense might be one of the most underrated in the league. They did everything right in this game. Like I said last week, Brett Favre is one of the best leaders and game-managers in the league. Movin' up!
6. Indianapolis Colts (4) - xx
7. Carolina Panthers (3) - Maybe their defense isn't as good as I thought they were...
8. Atlanta Falcons (7) - they just dropped 48 on a very good Panthers defense. My god is Michael Turner good...and Matt Ryan continues to play mistake-free football. He's only thrown 6 picks in 11 games. When you have receivers and running backs like he does, that's all he's gotta do. O yeah, and he averages just under 200 yards a game, and has a rating just under 90.
9. Baltimore Ravens (11) - A great bounce-back game, they ripped the Eagles into tiny pieces, chewed them up, spit them out, and stepped on them. They pretty much ended the Eagles' season and are responsible for sparking a Donovon McNabb saga that is sure to continue for a while. This is bigtime win, and tells me the loss to the Giants might be just a blip.
10. Arizona Cardinals (8) - This team is really good. They were competitive against the number 1 team in the league. However, they rely WAY too much on the pass, and that hurts them. When they need to match a high-powered offense, the best way to do it is to keep them off the field...A.K.A run the ball. When Larry Fitzgerald and Anquon Boldin and Steve Breaston all don't reach 100 yards, the team is going to lose. If they could get a running game...wow.
11. Washington Redskins (9) - It'd be great to beat one of the bottom 3 teams by more than 3 points...but a win's a win, just gotta get that W. An efficent game by Jason Campbell, and Clinton Portis punched in with 143 yards...just another day in the office for him. This team is very good. But they need to score more points with 38.5 minutes of the football to beat really good teams.
12. Dallas Cowboys (16) - Romo is back, and so are the Cowboys' playoff hopes. This is a good team again. He's got a Tom Brady-like effect. But their defense can't give up 22 points to San Fran.
13. New England Patriots (17) - Matt Cassel!! Woo!! Offensive explosion. Their defense isn't what it used to be, but Miami's offense is a lot better than what it used to be too. A good win for the Pats, they need all they can to keep up with the much-improved Jets.
14. Green Bay Packers (15) - xx
15. Minnesota Vikings (14) - Nice job stickin it to the Jags. This team could be so much better if Adrian Peterson got more than 17 carries.
16. Miami Dolphins (12) - A tough loss, the defense just fell apart against the Patriots receivers, like so many other defenses have. But this offense is good. They're obviously falling in the rankings after losing by 20. But don't count them out yet.
17. Denver Broncos (13) - This is the most inconsistent team in the NFL. They've beaten the Bucs and Chargers, and they've lost to the Jags and the Dolphins. Here's the best part: Week 1: Denver 41, Oakland 14; Week 12: Oakland 31, Denver 10. What?? I honestly can't figure out where to put this team. I'm dropping them because they have more bad losses than good wins.
18. Buffalo Bills (20) - 51 points?! Wow. Gonna have to keep KC from scoring 31 in the future. But this was a heck of a showing. It helps when the other team coughs the ball up 6 times too...but the defense deserves credit for that too. This team could be back to beginning-of-the-season form.
19. New Orleans Saints (19) - xx
20. San Diego Chargers (21) - xx
21. Chicago Bears (22) - Good work taking care of the Rams. The defense did it's part, that's for sure. And how good is Matt Forte? Answer: very. Kyle Orton is also doing his part to not mess up, which Rex Grossman failed at. He was good, but he shot himself in the foot. Orton is avoiding doing that.
22. Philadelphia Eagles (18) - They just benched Donovon McNabb. What?? This team is spiraling down into they bottomless abyss. Their coach stinks, their quarterback is playing like crap and is mad now, their backup quarterback is mad. But WHY is Andy Reid benching McNabb? That's not what your team needs! Cris Collinsworth is absolutely right, this move closes the book on McNabb's days in Philly.
23. Houston Texans (25) - Rosenfels had an ok game, but he's WAY too mistake prone. 2 more picks compared to only 1 TD.
24. Cleveland Browns (24) - They lost to the Texans. DROP! Brady Quinn's first ugly game. Is he the answer?
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (23) - Another week, another loss, another NFL expert scratching their head wondering what happened to the Jags this year. It's rough...I couldn't give you the answer.
26. Oakland Raiders (28) - Where did this win come from? Just as I say their offense stinks, they drop a 41-spot on Denver. Granted Denver's defense is nothing to be impressed with....but STILL! It's nice to see some kind of promise from a bad team.
27. Kansas City Chiefs (31) - Taylor Thigpen and co. scored 31 points, but 6 turnovers? This team is still really bad. Gotta change that. However, they're beginning the slow process towards moving up.
28. Seattle Seahawks (30) - Competative against Washington. They're still bad.
29. San Francisco 49ers (26) - Here's what I said last week: "Bottom line: their defense stinks." I rest my case this week.
30. Cincinatti Bengals (27) - Last year the whole team was in jail, this year the whole team is in the doctor's office. Another week, another loss.
31. St Louis Rams (29) - Keith Obermann on the Bears-Rams highlights: "Now the Bears and the Rams....well, really just the Bears." Story of the Rams season. They stink. They amounted a meager 14 rushing yards against Chicago. That's right. 1-4.
32. Detroit Lions (32) - Think Culpepper could have been the answer? WRONG. This team has a legitimate shot at an 0-16 season. You don't believe me? Look at their schedule. Where's the win?