Week 12 Power Rankings

1. New England (11-0) Survived a scare against Philadelphia.

2. Dallas (10-1) Will beat Green Bay this week because it's in Dallas.

3. Green Bay (10-1) I think the Packers are a better all-around team than Dallas, but they have to play the Cowboys in Big D.

4. Indianapolis (9-2) Starting to get healthy.

5. Pittsburgh (8-3) Survived in the mud. Face a good test this week with Cincinnati.

6. Jacksonville (8-3) This team is really playing well, but has to travel to Indy this week.

7. San Diego (6-5) Don't forget about the Chargers.

8. Seattle (7-4) Found a way to win on the road.

9. Cleveland (7-4) The defense is playing better, but still isn't where it needs to be.

10. Tampa Bay (7-4) Tampa's defense is playing very well.

11. N.Y. Giants (7-4) The annual second-half swoon may be starting.

12. Detroit (6-5) Needs to right the ship.

13. Tennessee (6-5) In the same boat as Detroit.

14. Philadelphia (5-6) Could sneak into the playoffs in the NFC.

15. Minnesota (5-6) No QB, but it might not matter in the NFC.

16. Chicago (5-6) Why does anybody kick to Devin Hester if they don't have to.

17. Houston (5-6) Still not ready for prime time.

18. Denver (5-6) This team just can't seem to bring it all together.

19. New Orleans (5-6) The Saints could still make a playoff push.

20. Washington (5-6) How do you lose to a team that fails to record a first down in the second half?

21. Arizona (5-6) How do you lose to San Francisco twice?

22. Buffalo (5-6) The Bills could win seven or eight games this season by default because the rest of the divison is so bad, or they may not win again. It's that close.

23. Cincinnati (4-7) The offense is getting healthy. If they only had a defense.

24. Kansas City (4-7) That loss to the Raiders will haunt them.

25. Carolina (4-7) How do you fail to win a home game in more than a year?

26. Baltimore (4-7) The wheels have come off.

27. Oakland (3-8) A commitment to Justin Fargas.

28. San Francisco (3-8) Is Fank Gore finally healthy? If so, they could play a spoiler role.

29. Atlanta (3-8) Bobby Petrino could be one and done in Atlanta if the right college program comes calling.

30. St. Louis (2-9) If Bulger comes back, this is as dangerous a two-win team as there is in the league.

31. N.Y. Jets (2-9) Forget the win against the Steelers coming out of their bye, the Jets are who we thought they were.

32. Miami (0-11) The Dolphins have problems and they are great.