Week 13 NFL Power Rankings

By Anh Vo

1)      Green Bay Packers (12-0)[Last Week: 1] – The Packers’ defense again gave up some big plays which led to big points, but their offense came through in the clutch. The perfect season is now one game closer.

2)      New England Patriots (9-3) [Last Week: 2]  – The Patriots offense showed up as usual and did their thing, but surprisingly the defense gave up a lot of points to the Colts. The Patriots are still experimenting with their backup players on defense, but time is running out as the playoffs are only a couple of weeks away. It’s concerning when Dan Orlovsky was able to burn the defensive backs the way he did.

3)      Baltimore Ravens (9-3) [Last Week: 3] – Just another game for the Ravens. They were successful with the running game as Ray Rice went off on the Browns, but their passing game was unimpressive yet again as Joe Flacco was only 10/23 for 158 yards.

4)      New Orleans Saints (9-3) [Last Week: 4] – Another week, another high scoring game for the Saints as they carved up the Lions’ defense both in the air and on the ground.

5)      Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) [Last Week: 5] – The Steelers’ offense showed up the last game after a disappointing performance two weeks ago against the Chiefs. Balanced offensive attack as their top players all scored this game (Ben Roethlisberger, Rashard Mendenhall, and Mike Wallace). They should put up similar numbers this week against the Browns.

6)      Dallas Cowboys (7-5) [Last Week: 6] – Good defensively against the Cardinals throughout the game…except for the last drive in overtime. Where was the offense in this game against a poor Cardinals defense?! The Cardinals are just playing spoilers at this point and they did just that to a Cowboys team vying for the top spot in the division. The good news is that Miles Austin is ready to suit up in the showdown with the Giants.

7)      Houston Texans (9-3) [Last Week: 7] – The Falcons’ defense was able to slow down the Texans, but the Texans’ defense did a better job of shutting down the Falcons’ offense for the win. Bad news for the Texans as Andre Johnson strained his other hamstring and will miss some time, so now they will have to rely on their running game even more. The Bengals’ stout run defense is a good test this week.

8)      San Francisco 49ers (10-2) [Last Week: 8] – The good news: The 49ers aired it out last week and were successful. The bad news: It was the Rams’ defense. I would like for them to throw more going forward before I’m a real believer in their offense heading into the playoffs.

9)      Atlanta Falcons (7-5) [Last Week: 10] – The Falcons’ defense was impressive against the Texans’ number one ranked run offense, but their offense didn’t do enough to win the game.

10)   New York Giants (6-6) [Last Week: 11] – Which Giants defense will show up this week? After getting blown out by the Saints two weeks ago, they bounced back and pressured Aaron Rodgers and played tight coverage on the Packers’ receivers despite giving up a lot of points. With Ahmad Bradshaw back (albeit not 100%) and their running game restored, will they make a run for the playoffs?

11)   Detroit Lions (7-5) [Last Week: 9] – The Lions are self-destructing right before our eyes. Their players are hurting their team’s chances of winning games by committing stupid penalties. They have also been playing too conservative, as if they don’t believe in their offense anymore, and I blame that on both the offensive coordinator and head coach. Too many screen passes and short slant passes that are easy to pick off and not enough shots downfield. The coaches have also been doing a bad job of getting Calvin Johnson open as he has been shut down for the past few weeks.

12)   Denver Broncos (7-5) [Last Week: 15] – A couple of missed tackles and blown coverage by the secondary allowed the Vikings to score, but the defense as a whole pressured Christian Ponder (without Von Miller) and picked him off twice (one for a score and one that set up the game-winning field goal) at critical times in the game. While Tim Tebow wasn’t able to run against the tough Vikings’ run defense, he displayed great accuracy in his throws and racked up 202 yards on 10/15 passes for two touchdowns. He is improving by the week.

13)   Cincinnati Bengals (7-5) [Last Week: 12] – The Bengals were shut down last week against the Steelers as they only scored seven points with Andy Dalton throwing for 135 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, their defense gave up 35 points both through the air and on the ground. They have another tough matchup this week against the Texans.

14)   New York Jets (7-5) [Last Week: Unranked] – Ever since they lost to the Broncos a few weeks ago, Rex Ryan said that they will be playing hard for the remainder of the season and they have done just that. With their backs against the wall, they have been playing at a much higher level on offense, something they weren’t able to do in the first half of the season.

15)   Oakland Raiders (7-5) [Last Week: 13] – The Raiders have been pretty consistent on offense when it comes to running and throwing the ball. Whether they win or lose depends on how well their defense plays. 

Editor's Note: You can follow Anh (@PrototypeDemo) on Twitter. He loves a good football discussion, or any sports discussion for that matter. So check Anh out on Twitter.