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It was a weekend of statement games in the NFL both from a positive and negative perspective. The Saints and Patriots both got big blowout wins over NFC East teams to cement themselves among the league's elite. However, the Lions made a statement of another kind with their loss to Green Bay on Thanksgiving. They've now lost to the 49ers, Bears, Packers and Falcons this season... Those are the teams they'll have to face in the NFC playoffs and so far they've come up small.
As far as other possible playoff contenders, the AFC West continues to be interesting as both the Raiders and Broncos got wins. It's actually too bad that those two don't play each other in these last five weeks. The Cowboys are in a position where if they don't get swept by the Giants, they're all but assured to win the NFC East. And finally, don't sleep on the Titans in the AFC South. Without Houston losing yet another QB, that division could get interesting.
With that, onto the week 13 power ranks.
1) Green Bay Packers - Spoiled the Lions Thanksgiving, but entertained the rest of us in the process. LW (1)
2) New England Patriots - Completely embarrassed the Eagles at home and appear to be rolling toward a #1 seed in the AFC. LW (3)
3) New Orleans Saints - Hung a ridiculous 49 points on the Giants on Monday Night Football. It's hard to see anyone beating them in that dome. (LW 4)
4) Pittsburgh Steelers - A rough game, but in the end a professional win on the road in KC this week. (LW 7)
5) San Francisco 49ers - They were in a very tough spot on the road, with a short week in Baltimore, but they really came up small offensively. This is what people fear about the Niners. Good defense, but can you trust that offense in the playoffs? (LW 2)
6) Houston Texans - They're 8-3, they've won 5 straight, but have now lost another QB for the season. Word is now that they're working out Jake Delhomme. It's a shame really. (LW 9)
7) Baltimore Ravens - That was a heck of a defensive battle with San Fran last week. The only question about them is really just at QB. (LW 6)
8) Dallas Cowboys - Struggled with Miami a home, but given the way Miami has played I don't think that's necessarily a thing to be ashamed of. (LW 10)
9) Atlanta Falcons - Falcons are in the pole position for the first wildcard in the NFC. (LW 11)
10) Chicago Bears - The Bears had a shot in this one without Jay Cutler, but Caleb Hanie was about as good as could be expected. Three picks and one inexplicable play at the end. Their prospects really don't look good in the wildcard race. (LW 5)
11) Detroit Lions - Failed their third test against another NFC contender. The Lions have a good future, but it doesn't seem like they're ready to win a big game yet. (LW 8)
12) Oakland Raiders - Just might kick their way to an AFC West title this year. (LW 13)
13) New York Jets - Jets improved to 6-5 and actually have a couple winnable games in a row coming up. (LW 15)
14) Denver Broncos - Everyone talks about Tim Tebow, but make no mistake about why the Broncos are winning... They've got one of the best defenses in the NFL. (LW 16)
15) New York Giants - With their third straight loss last week, the Giants appear to be mired in yet another second half collapse. At this point, they need to go 4-1 with two wins over the Cowboys to make the playoffs at all. (LW 12)
16) Cincinnati Bengals - Kept themselves alive in the wildcard race with a win over the Browns. They're still probably going to have to beat Pittsburgh or Baltimore if they want to be in the playoffs though. (LW 14)
17) Tennessee Titans - Every time I want to write off the Titans, they get a win to stay alive. And with the Texans QB situation, they've actually got a shot at the AFC South title. (LW 20)
18) Buffalo Bills - The Bills have now lost four straight since giving Ryan Fitzpatrick that big, new contract. (LW 19)
19) Philadelphia Eagles - Just a sorry performance against the Pats that all but extinguished any playoff hopes they may have still had. (LW 17)
20) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Tampa has lost five straight and are cooked in the NFC wildcard race. (LW 18)
21) Seattle Seahawks - Seattle welcomes the dysfunctional Eagles to town this Thursday. That should be a fun one. (LW 23)
22) Miami Dolphins - Miami could win another 3 games this year. Does that put a franchise QB out of reach? (LW 21)
23) Cleveland Browns - If they have a shot at one of the top QBs in the draft, would they pull the trigger? (LW 22)
24) Washington Redskins - It was a very Rex Grossman-like performance last week. Bunch of yards, couple of TDs and a couple of picks. (LW 29)
25) Arizona Cardinals - A monster 228 yard performance from Beanie Wells last week. (LW 24)
26) San Diego Chargers - Who has the 2nd longest losing streak in the NFL? The Chargers, who have now dropped six straight. (LW 25)
27) Kansas City Chiefs - You can't say that KC has given up, but they're still not very good. (LW 26)
28) Jacksonville Jaguars - Jack Del Rio was fired today after the team started 3-8. Was he the guy who picked Blaine Gabbert? (LW 27)
29) Carolina Panthers - They finally got a win, but it was over the Colts so... (LW 31)
30) Minnesota Vikings - Toby Gerhart is obviously no Adrian Peterson. (LW 30)
31) St. Louis Rams - There may be a pretty major housecleaning in STL after this season. (LW 28)
32) Indianapolis Colts - Peyton Manning will go for a checkup this week on his injured neck. That should be more interesting than the next actual Colts game. (LW 32)
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