NFL Power 32 (Week 14 Edition)

Down the stretch they come.

The Academy presents a look at where your favorite teams stand, with only three weeks left to make a good impression. Let's take a look at whose stock is on the rise, who might be headed for a fall, and who might come out of nowhere in the few weeks that are left:

1. (1) Green Bay Packers (13-0): We said the same thing around Thanksgiving Day. The Green Bay Packers best chance of being defeated lies with the Detroit Lions in the season finale. And it's still true. After a fierce thrashing of the Oakland Raiders, the Pack looks ahead to Kansas City, who just got eliminated from playoff contention and fired their head coach. Be warned, Aaron Rodgers. Fewer things are more dangerous than a team with nothing left to play for and a defensive wizard like Romeo Crennel now at the helm...

2. (5) Baltimore Ravens (10-3): The Ravens got a big boost from playing the listless Colts this week, but as long as they keep winning, they’ve got the AFC North on lockdown having swept the Steelers. A victory over the unpredictable Chargers paired with a 49ers win over Pittsburgh on Monday could give them some breathing room.

3. (3) Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3): The Steelers hold their position with a gritty, in the trenches victory over bitter rival Cleveland this week, but will need help from San Diego to try and push themselves back in front for a chance at a higher seed.

4. (6) New England Patriots (10-3): The Patriots get a jump this week, but questionable defensive play matched with a less-than-perfect outing by Brady clouds an otherwise 100% certainty that they could be the ones to extinguish the recent “Tebow Magic” that has been infecting the league and its analysts.

5. (4) New Orleans Saints (10-3): The Saints snatched up a playoff spot this week, but the win over Tennessee on Sunday was too close for comfort in a division where the Falcons are breathing down their neck.

6. (7) Houston Texans (10-3): Houston has won their division for the first time since the days of “Love Ya, Blue”. And they did it with a third-string quarterback. Wonders never cease. Cam Newton and the Panthers come to town this week, and nothing is for certain when playing against last year’s #1 pick.

7. (2) San Francisco 49ers (10-3): The 49ers REALLY didn’t need that loss to the Cardinals with the Steelers and Seahawks on the docket in the next two weeks...

8. (8) New York Jets (8-5): The Jets are still in really good shape for a position in January, but neither the Eagles nor the Giants will be as easy to dismantle as the Chiefs were on Sunday.

9. (12) Atlanta Falcons (8-5): As the ranking indicates, The Dirty Birds continue to “rise up”, but they have to play much better than they did Sunday against Carolina. Look for the Falcons to go into overdrive on Thursday night against the Jaguars, because Week 16 in the Superdome is going to be CRITICAL.

10. (14) Detroit Lions (8-5): The win against struggling Minnesota was expected, but necessary. With Oakland, San Diego and the undefeated Packers on the way, the Lions need to stop getting in their own way. Making stupid mistakes at this juncture will prove very costly.

11. (10) Denver Broncos (8-5): Does someone want to tell Tim Tebow that he can’t afford to fall behind this week against the Patriots? “Tebow Magic” is real, for what it’s worth, but it has a limit. That limit is the performance of Tom Brady. The clock strikes midnight for Cinderella this week.

12. (17) New York Giants (7-6): Even in loss to the Packers, it’s as though the Giants have had new life breathed into them. Their come from behind victory Sunday night to reclaim the division lead from the Cowboys was impressive to say the least. Can they keep the momentum going against the Redskins next Sunday?

13. (16) Cincinnati Bengals (7-6): The Bengals benefited from several middle-of-the-pack teams dropping their games this week or having a less than stellar win. The defense really let them down in the closing seconds on Sunday. If they hope to find a spot in the playoffs, their issues will have to be fine tuned over the course of this week. No game is a gimmie at this point, even the Rams. The Cardinals proved that they’re not the team to sleep on and Baltimore is a brick wall the Bengals will have to overcome in Week 17.

14. (11) Dallas Cowboys (7-6): Sunday night was the kind of loss that usually heralds how the Cowboys will perform in the closing weeks of the season. With that demoralizing loss in the books, the Cowboys are a psychological wreck. The Eagles and Giants will be the hardest games Dallas has ever played and even Tampa Bay will give Romo a run for his money.

15. (13) Chicago Bears (7-6): WHY ARE YOU STILL STARTING CALEB HANIE? If they don’t put in a decent starting quarterback in the next three weeks, the Seahawks, the Packers and yes, even the Vikings will tear them apart.

16. (9) Tennessee Titans (7-6): Jake Locker was superb again this week, but the loss was crucial. Fortunately, they won’t have to fight too hard to stay in contention over the next couple weeks in games against the Colts and Jaguars.

17. (15) Oakland Raiders (7-6): Oakland is tanking at the most inopportune time, leaving the division wide open to Tebow and the slowly recovering Chargers. A win over the Lions and Chiefs could help silence the whispers.

18. (18) San Diego Chargers (6-7): The Chargers are looking like the team that they should have been during their six-game losing streak. Who knew that a last-second fumble on Monday night football could be so impactful? Big challenges ahead, but San Diego has the potential to drastically change the landscape of the AFC West in the next few weeks.

19. (19) Seattle Seahawks (6-7): The Seahawks effectively handled the Rams Monday night and may yet pull out a 9-7 mark, which may yet earn them a #6 seed, but they’ll need the Bears and Cowboys to fold first. Incidentally, this is very possible.

20. (21) Arizona Cardinals (6-7): An unexpected win over the 49ers keeps Arizona alive, barely. A win over Cleveland next week will help them pull even, but they still need assistance from Chicago, Dallas and Seattle collapses in order to squeeze into the same #6 slot they’re all fighting for.

21. (27) Philadelphia Eagles (5-8): Michael Vick came back just in time. A loss to the Jets next Sunday will sink them for sure, but as long as the Cowboys and Giants are hit-and-miss, the Eagles could still mathematically win out and steal the division out from under both of them.

22. (22) Buffalo Bills (5-8): The AFC East has become a two-team race. So disappointing. Buffalo is 0-6 since shutting out the Redskins. Early hope extinguished by the grind of midseason.

23. (20) Kansas City Chiefs (5-8): Season: Over. Head Coach: Fired. Next opponent: Undefeated. Interim Coach: Defensive Wizard. Odds of Winning: unlikely to mildly probable. Teams with nothing left to play for are unpredictable.

24. (29) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9): Blaine Gabbert did a serious number on the Bucs on Sunday, but in all likelihood will only pick up one more win (the Colts) on the home stretch.

25. (26) Washington Redskins (4-9): Where did that come from? After nearly upsetting The Brady Bunch on Sunday, Shanahan’s crew meets with the Giants this week (having already upset them in Week One) and has a winnable game against Minnesota followed by a slightly less winnable game against the Eagles still on the horizon.

26. (24) Carolina Panthers (4-9): Cam Newton could tell you that his team knows how to write a formula for losing a game, but the formula won’t be needed this week in Houston or in the season finale at New Orleans.

27. (25) Cleveland Browns (4-9): No offensive production, no progress, no victories. The Browns will finish 4-12. Count on it.

28. (23) Miami Dolphins (4-9): A loss to the Eagles provides another bump in the road for the team that limped to an 0-7 start. They’ll snatch up another win this week against the Bills, but with games against the Pats and Jets still to come, that’s where it ends.

29. (28) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-9): It seems every year you can pick out at least one or two teams that have given up by Week 13. This season, it’s the Bucs. Tampa Bay has quit on themselves. The last three games of the season are merely a courtesy to the NFL Regular Season schedule makers as far as the Buccaneers are concerned, and that’s unfortunate.

30. (30) Minnesota Vikings (2-11): Christian Ponder got them close against the Lions, but at the end of the day, it’s still the Vikings. The Saints, Redskins and Bears will all greatly appreciate the victories coming their way.

31. (30) St. Louis Rams (2-11): Just another day in the miserable career of Sam Bradford. Poor kid, he has no supporting cast other than Steven Jackson. It’s not getting any easier the rest of the way either. At least they’ll only finish with the second worst record in the league...

32. (32) Indianapolis Colts (0-13): The Colts will seal up Andrew Luck in two weeks. They can wrap it up next week in the unlikely event that the Rams and Vikings both win. In any case, the Colts aren’t winning a game this season.