NFL Power Rankings: Lions, Bengals, Colts in top 10

1. Green Bay Packers (9-3): Are people seriously discussing J.J. Watt for league MVP? It’s great that he plays both ways, he’s a throwback to a different era – the whole bit. But his Texans are a perfectly average 6-6. Aaron Rodgers has his Packers at 9-3 and he’s 90 percent of the reason why his team owns that sparkling record. Do you think Matt Flynn or Scott Tolzien would have beaten the red-hot Patriots this past Sunday? Rodgers is your MVP.
2. New England Patriots (9-3): It sure looked like the best two teams in the NFL were squaring off at Lambeau this past Sunday. Picking nits here, but Tom Brady hasn’t played at “Aaron Rodgers-level” since the Pats’ win over Denver a month ago. He threw two picks at Indy, had a 94.0 QB rating against the Lions and threw for just 245 yards against Green Bay. Those are fine numbers for a mortal NFL QB, but No. 12 is held to the highest standard.
3. Denver Broncos (9-3): It’s probably a good thing for Denver that it went through a mini-slump in November. Its win at Arrowhead on Sunday night was impressive and likely a sign of things to come. While C.J. Anderson is probably just the Mountain Time version of Jonas Gray, it has been nice to see the Broncos establish the run these past two weeks.
4. Philadelphia Eagles (9-3): Nick Foles is getting close to a return but is not yet cleared to practice. And no matter how many error-free games Mark Sanchez completes going forward, a team without a superstar quarterback in this league is viewed by most as an also-ran. Could Foles or Sanchez pull a Joe Flacco come January, however? It’s possible.
5. Seattle Seahawks (8-4): The Legion of Boom has allowed a grand total of six points the past two weeks. Critics will point out that those defensive efforts came against a Drew Stanton-quarterbacked team and a 49ers squad that rarely cracks the 20-point mark, but suddenly no one wants to mess with the defending champs again.
6. Detroit Lions (8-4): If only Matthew Stafford could play at Ford Field every game. Stafford had a 116.0 QB rating against the Bears on Thanksgiving. The Lions could certainly find themselves in the NFC Championship game if they can somehow get a divisional round home game. Detroit has a soft schedule down the stretch.
7. Arizona Cardinals (9-3): Interesting figures: the current top five teams in the league, by record (Cardinals, Broncos, Packers, Patriots, Eagles), are all 6-0 at home and 3-3 on the road. That doesn’t tell the story of which direction the Cards are headed in, however.
8. Cincinnati Bengals (8-3-1): It sure seems as though the Bengals have lost more than three games this season, doesn’t it? Truth is, Cincy hasn’t played a sure-fire playoff team since Indianapolis in Week 7 … and it got blown out in that one, 27-0. The Bengals’ December slate is brutal, however, with three AFC North games and a Week 16 game against Denver.
9. Indianapolis Colts (8-4): The Colts’ 49-27 blowout win over the Redskins won’t do anything to wash away their current “bully” stigma, but you can only play the teams on your schedule. Their December schedule is far from daunting: at Browns, vs. Texans, at Cowboys, at Titans.
10. Dallas Cowboys (8-4): Uh-oh. Things may be unraveling in Big D. The Cowboys no-showed on Thanksgiving against the Eagles as Tony Romo posted a QB rating of 53.7. And DeMarco Murray has a former college teammate accusing him of sleeping with his wife.
11. San Diego Chargers (8-4): It might surprise some to see the Chargers ranked No. 7 overall in pass defense as they allow just 221.6 yards per game through the air. The San Diego secondary will need to be great this week as they take on a Tom Brady that hasn’t stopped hurling F-bombs since around 7:30 EDT this past Sunday.
12. Baltimore Ravens (7-5): The AFC North has played its non-conference games against the NFC South this season. Not so surprisingly, four of the Ravens’ seven wins have come against the worst division in football. Also – depending on how you feel about Pittsburgh or Cleveland, you could make the case that Baltimore doesn’t have one impressive win on its 2014 resume.
13. Miami Dolphins (7-5): We wanted to see the Dolphins win a close game as all of their wins prior to Monday night were by 13 points or more. Sure, their squeaker victory came against the Jets – but as Rex Ryan keeps telling us: “Hey, we’re really not THAT bad. Am I right, guys? … Guys?!”
14. Buffalo Bills (7-5): Kyle Orton jokes are always in style, but give Mr. Mediocre some credit in that he’s won the games he’s supposed to. The Bills have beaten the Lions, Vikings, Jets (twice) and Browns with Orton under center. They’ve lost to the Patriots, Chiefs and Dolphins since Orton took over.
15. Cleveland Browns (7-5): Don’t listen to all the conservative talking sports heads this week talking about how this is “Brian Hoyer’s team!” Memo: Brian Hoyer’s team was not going to win a Super Bowl nor compete for a Super Bowl. That’s the goal for every team in this league, regardless of playoff droughts, right? Hoyer’s TD to INT ratio the past two weeks has been 0:5. Things aren’t getting better. A quarterback change was and is necessary.
16. Kansas City Chiefs (7-5): In the grand scheme, losing to the Broncos anywhere is forgivable. Add in that the Chiefs are the only team to have waxed the Pats this year, and they get more mulligans. But 151 total yards of offense in any game is cause for alarm.
17. San Francisco 49ers (7-5): That Colin Kaepernick “I’m the Man” / Beats by Dre commercial from last season would be laughable to watch right about now. Kaepernick’s QB rating against the Seahawks on Thanksgiving night was a paltry 36.7. That’s Dalton bad.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5): How in the world did this team register a blowout win over the Colts on the Sunday before Halloween? Seems like a lifetime ago.
19. Atlanta Falcons (5-7): People keep pointing back to how the 2010 Seahawks, who entered that postseason with a 7-9 record, upset the Saints in the wild card round. It may be hindsight, but wasn’t that Seattle team lightyears more talented than this Atlanta bunch?
20. Houston Texans (6-6): DeAndre Hopkins had quietly been having a good year prior to Sunday, as he had three 100-plus yard receiving days before his 238-yard day against Tennessee.