NFL Power 32 Rankings

Four weeks ago, The Academy of One released a Midseason Report Card to give their analysis on the respective performances of each team within the National Football League. In the month since, a few franchises have maintained their spot, others have improved or fallen drastically. To record where each team currently stands, allow us to introduce The NFL Power 32 for the week ending December 5:

1. (1) Green Bay Packers (12-0): The remaining schedule looks comfortable, and Homefield Advantage for the moment is a mere three wins away. These guys know how to do that, right? Be warned though: the last team to finish the regular season undefeated ended up tripping at the finish line...

2. (2) San Francisco 49ers (10-2): Pittsburgh is the greatest remaining challenge, but Jim Harbaugh and company don’t want to take their eyes off the prize. No one knows them better than their division rivals, and they play them all one more time.

3. (4) Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3): After throttling legitimate playoff contender Cincinnati on Sunday, a can’t miss game with the 49ers looms, but bitter rival Cleveland stands in the way tomorrow night.

4. (5) New Orleans Saints (9-3): How is it possible that Drew Brees is being overshadowed by Brady and Rodgers when he’s the only QB this season who has already surpassed 4,000 passing yards and is tied for second in touchdown passes? It doesn’t seem possible, but in the midst of the Packers undefeated season--could the Saints, who just two seasons ago won it all, be getting overlooked? You can bet that the Titans aren’t looking past them this week.

5. (8) Baltimore Ravens (9-3): Yes. The Ravens do own a sweep over the Steelers and thus the undisputed tie-breaker. However, Flacco has been less than prolific as of late, being outdone in passing yards by Colt McCoy last week while Peyton Hillis outperformed all Ravens’ receivers with only 52 receiving yards. In short, Baltimore is investing all hope for their playoffs future in the ground performance of Ray Rice and the stingy play of their defense. Those go, The Ravens go. A date with the winless Colts should push Baltimore to 10-3 this week.

6. (6) New England Patriots (9-3): The fact that the Patriots have arguably the softest remaining schedule of any team in the league borders on suspicious, until you realize that Tom Brady continues to win in spite of a Swiss Cheese Defense. Hate him all you want (I do), but the long and short of it is that Brady has proven time and time again that winning just comes naturally. Look for the Pats to shine again this week against Shanahan’s Redskins.

7. (3) Houston Texans (9-3): How they continue to defy the odds, considering the injury to their first two starting quarterbacks, the loss of Mario Williams and the constant injury patterns of Andre Johnson, is nothing short of baffling. It’s a wonder that the team has held together, let alone is in position to secure a playoff spot for the first time since Bud Adams retired the word “Oilers”. Cincy and Tennessee will be teams to keep an eye out for...

8. (16) New York Jets (7-5): The Jets have bounced back nicely from the disappointing loss against the Broncos on Thursday night and are right back in the race for a Wild Card spot. Their remaining opponents have an aggregate record of 19-29, so the odds favor them for at least the #6 seed.

9. (14) Tennessee Titans (7-5): Don’t rule out the Titans just yet. All eyes could be on Texans-Titans when Week 17 rolls around to see who snatches up the #3 or #4 seed.

10. (18) Denver Broncos (7-5): The Cinderella story is living on borrowed time. The Patriots come to Denver in two weeks, and Tim Tebow is in store for a SERIOUS reality check. The Patriots have a very real capability to send the Broncos into a tailspin for the last three weeks.

11. (13) Dallas Cowboys (7-5): No team is more hit or miss than the Dallas Cowboys. One week, they’re destroying the Bills, other weeks, they squeak by the Redskins, get picked apart by the Eagles or cough up a game that they had won in overtime by icing their own kicker. Tony Romo is consistent in his inconsistency, perhaps the most inconsistent starting quarterback in the league. Knowing the depths of the bad and the limits of the good, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see the Cowboys miss the playoffs yet.

12. (15) Atlanta Falcons (7-5): A soft remaining schedule makes a playoff appearance very manageable, but they can’t allow themselves to get beaten by a T.J. Yates every week. The loss to Houston and their third-string quarterback is utterly inexcusable.

13. (7) Chicago Bears (7-5): Since losing Jay Cutler, the Bears and Caleb Hanie are 0-2. Yet the Bears, who are still very much alive in the playoff race refuse to extend a hand to Donovan McNabb or another free agent QB who can get the job done. So any subsequent loss is essentially self-inflicted.

14. (11) Detroit Lions (7-5): Suh’s “Two-Step” on Thanksgiving Day has the Lions frantically scrambling to put the cork back in the bottle of lightning that they captured through the first five games this season. Sunday night’s loss to the Saints wasn’t a good start. They might catch a reprieve playing against the Vikings without Suh this week, but they better not let their guard down.

15. (12) Oakland Raiders (7-5): The Raiders got a little too comfortable with their position atop the division and it proved costly. An old fashioned whipping by the Dolphins and another Tebow Houdini act pushes them into a tie for first, and the Broncos own the tie-breaker at the worst possible time, with games against Green Bay, Detroit and the other two division rivals still on the road ahead.

16. (10) Cincinnati Bengals (7-5): After a very impressive performance this season by their rookie QB-WR connection, the nasty loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday is a little unsettling. Can the Bengals shake this off and recover in time to secure a Wild Card spot?

17. (9) New York Giants (6-6): The 6-6 record doesn’t do this team justice. Over the course of this season, they’ve gotten the best of the Patriots, came within a score of tipping the 49ers and were easily the greatest challenge to the Packers’ thus far undefeated season on Sunday. A win over the Cowboys Sunday night could make the NFC East playoff race VERY interesting.

18. (19) San Diego Chargers (5-7): Just when you thought the Chargers were content to roll over and die for the rest of the season, they produce a convincing victory over the sputtering Jaguars on Monday Night. Norv Turner’s not off the hot seat yet, though...If the Chargers can’t somehow escape with the AFC West title, the coach may yet be shown the door.

19. (23) Seattle Seahawks (5-7): After dismantling the Eagles this past week, if the Seahawks can create an upset atmosphere at home when they host the 49ers in two weeks, they could walk away from the season with a respectable 9-7 mark in spite of their rocky start.

20. (20) Kansas City Chiefs (5-7): Tyler Palko produced a pleasant surprise by knocking off the Bears this week. But with a team that is largely still contending for the AFC West title, most Chiefs fans would likely feel more comfortable with Kyle Orton behind the wheel for the last four games. Especially considering the final four games are two remaining divisional games against Oakland and Denver a game against the Jets and another versus the undefeated Packers.

21. (24) Arizona Cardinals (5-7): The Cardinals caught a break this week when somebody made the decision to ice his own kicker (what an idiot). Though they are essentially playing for nothing with the NFC West locked up, The Cardinals look like a team that won’t quit. This is good, because they can’t expect the 49ers, Bengals or Seattle to make the same mistakes Dallas did.

22. (17) Buffalo Bills (5-7): At midseason, this team was one game out of first place in the AFC East. What happened?! Winless since the shutout against the Redskins. Winless since before HALLOWEEN. The team that started with such promise could be finished with a loss to the Chargers this week or a Patriots victory over the Redskins. You can probably count on at least the latter.

23. (28) Miami Dolphins (4-8): The Dolphins are 4-1 since falling to 0-7. The only thing preventing them from being 5-7 is a one-point loss in the final moments of the Thanksgiving Game against the Cowboys. So the question becomes; after drubbing one division leader and nearly knocking off another, why did you wait until this late in the season to start the surge?

24. (30) Carolina Panthers (4-8): The Falcons, Texans and Saints won’t be easy, but if Cam Newton can take advantage of a third string QB in Houston and familiarity among division rivals, The Panthers could conceivably escape with an 8-8 record, but 6-10 looks more likely.

25. (25) Cleveland Browns (4-8): Colt McCoy had the unfortunate duty of playing against the projected AFC North Champion Ravens this week. Tomorrow night, it’s the Steelers, and the Ravens play host in two weeks. Start planning your Draft Position now, because you’ll be somewhere in the first ten picks.

26. (27) Washington Redskins (4-8): The ‘Skins had the Jets on the rope throughout the first half on Sunday. Too bad they didn’t get the memo to finish the fourth quarter...This week’s game with the Patriots will be the biggest remaining challenge, but rivalry games with the Giants and Eagles won’t be cakewalks, either...

27. (26) Philadelphia Eagles (4-8): The wheels have fallen off. Losing to Seattle means the Eagles would have to win out while Dallas and the Giants would in all likelihood have to lose the remainder of the schedule in order for Philly to have a chance. Since the Cowboys and Giants still have two games against each other, that won’t happen. Better luck next season. Maybe don’t hire an Offensive Line Coach to be your Defensive Coordinator next time. Sorry Juan Castillo, you’re in the WRONG position.

28. (21) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8): The Bucs were handled expertly by Cam Newton this week and still face the season finale with the Panthers in Carolina. However, if Tampa can assume the role of spoiler, they could still send Cowboys and Falcons’ fans home unhappy come January.

29. (22) Jacksonville Jaguars (3-9): Teams that fire their head coach three quarters of the way through the season usually don’t finish well, which means that the Buccaneers might actually reverse their fortune briefly this Sunday. A game against the winless Colts in Week 17 could even be spoiled by a highly unlikely, but still remotely possible return of Peyton Manning.

30. (31) Minnesota Vikings (2-10): Tebow and the Broncos just barely escaped the Metrodome with a win. The Saints game in two weeks is un-winnable, but with the Redskins, the imploding Lions and the Cutler-less Bears on the horizon, the Vikings could conceivably pull three games out of the remaining schedule.

31. (29) St. Louis Rams (2-10): The remaining schedule looks pretty ugly, especially after letting the NFC West Champions shut them out on Sunday. The Rams play under the lights Monday night, but still have games against the Bengals, Steelers and one more round with the 'Niners.

32. (32) Indianapolis Colts (0-12): They can lock up the Andrew Luck sweepstakes in three weeks. Even if Archie Manning and everyone else doesn't think they want it, trust me, they do.