NFL Week 13 Power Rankings

2010 NFL Football Power Ratings

Each week during the heart of the NFL season, and once or twice during the NFL Preseason, we’ll gather the troops around the roundtable and hash out the NFL Power rankings. We check out the stats, looks at the records, and, most importantly, we take a close, close look at the heart of each team.

We encourage you to come back each week and see how the NFL Power Rankings have changed.

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Welcome to Big Game Weekend.

Tampa Bay gets another chance to beat a plus-.500 team when the Bucs (+2) take on the Falcons in a huge NFC South game.

Women and children will have to be protected when the Steelers (+3) travel to Baltimore in the Sunday night game between two 8-3 NFC North teams.

And the Biggest of the Big Games is set for Monday night in Foxboro when the Pats (-3.5) host the New York Jets. The loser will probably get to finish around 12-4 or 13-3 and wind up on the road in the first round of the playoffs.

This, folks, is as good as it gets in the NFL.

Until the next big weekend.

To the rankings:

1. New England Patriots (1) – Deion Branch 33 catches since coming to New England. Randy Moss 17 catches since leaving the Patriots.
2. Atlanta Falcons (2) – Matt Ryan 19-1 in home games, including 14 in a row.
3. New York Jets (3) – Hilarious line from a New York paper quoting Rex Ryan gushing about the Patriots: “Rex Ryan said he wouldn’t kiss Belichick’s rings; now’s he kissing his ass.”
4. Baltimore Ravens (9) – Joe Flacco and Derrick Mason appear to have patched things up since their sideline blowup in the Carolina game – on the surface anyway. Mason was targeted 13 times and had 8 catches in last Sunday’s important win over Tampa Bay.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (7) – Rashard Mendenhall has been quietly efficient this season, and should reach 1,000 yards rushing this weekend against the Ravens.
6. New Orleans Saints (10) – Not exactly sure what’s wrong with Reggie Bush, but he’s about as relaxed as Kim Kardashian’s backside.
7. San Diego Chargers (15) – Seems like every Charger season plays out the same way – like an inverted letter V. Start slow, close the regular season high, then crash in the playoffs.
8. Chicago Bears (12) – George Bush said it best: We misunderestimated these guys.
9. Green Bay Packers (6) – Packers figured they’d have some separation by now in the NFC North, but instead they’ll have to go balls to the wall for perhaps a wild card spot.
10. New York Giants (8) – Better to add a W than an L, but the win over Jacksonville still did little to eradicate doubts about Big Blue. Why do they have so much trouble stopping the run on a consistent basis?
11. Philadelphia Eagles (4) – First step in stopping Michael Vick – make sure the game is played on moist, natural grass which makes cutting next to impossible.
12. Indianapolis Colts (5) – Injuries? Yep, but 1,500 miles to the northeast his brother Eli figured out a way to get the job done with some receivers missing.
13. Kansas City Chiefs (14) – Chiefs lead the league in fewest giveaways this season – just 13 in 11 games.
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11) – Still a good season and playoffs are within their grasp, but eventually the Bucs are going to have to beat a good team to raise some eyebrows. Teams they have beaten this year are a combined 17-54.
15. Miami Dolphins (18) – Just when you think they have to go shopping for a quarterback, Chad Henne goes 17 for 30 with two TDs and you think he may be the guy. Fins are going to have a tough decision to make on him this offseason.
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (13) – They have as good a shot as anyone in the AFC South, but Jags will have to find a way to win in Indianapolis on Dec. 19 to steal the division.
17. St. Louis Rams (20) – Not only are the Rams leading the NFC West (at 5-6), but they are also the best (tied with the Bucs) cover team in the league at 8-3 ATS.
18. Oakland Raiders (16) – Just when it looked like McFadden was developing into an elite back, Dolphins stiff him for just two yards on eight carries.
19. Tennessee Titans (17) – Memo to fans who want Jeff Fisher fired: Rich Kotite and Les Steckel are available.
20. Houston Texans (23) – As Michael Corleone said in Godfather Part III: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
21. Seattle Seahawks (21) – Seems ludicrous, but two 6-8 teams could be fighting it out for the division title and playoff berth in Week 17 when the Rams are at Seattle.
22. Dallas Cowboys (19) – Attention was focused on Tony Romo/Roy Williams and the offense, but only Denver has allowed more points this season.
23. Cleveland Browns (24) – Word on the street is that Dog Pound residents are renting out their services for LeBron’s return to Cleveland on Thursday.
24. Minnesota Vikings (27) – Who knew that Tony Gerhart was the answer all along? Who knew who Tony Gerhart even was?
25. Washington Redskins (22) – By the end of the season injured Clinton Portis will have missed 19 of the last 32 games. Could be the end of the line for a guy with an $8.25-million contract next season.
26. Buffalo Bills (28) – Since their bye week the Bills have scored more points than their opponents, but without much (2-4 record) to show for it. More impressively, they are 5-0-1 ATS since the week off.
27. Detroit Lions (29) – Shaun Hill reports that the Patriots tried to break his arm during a goal-line free-for-all on Thanksgiving. They also said a lot of really mean things to him.
28. San Francisco 49ers (25) – Crabtree picked wrong season to hold out.
29. Arizona Cardinals (26) – Things are pretty bad, but on the plus side, the rattlesnake threat is minimized as vipers begin to hibernate in cooler weather.
30. Cincinnati Bengals (30) – Bengals were reportedly in the market for a new placekicker. At this point that seems to be the least of their problems.
31. Denver Broncos (31) – Sooner or later (probably sooner) Josh McDaniels will be looking for a job. After throwing the Patriots under the bus to save his skin in SpyGate Redux, it won’t be in New England.
32. Carolina Panthers (32) – Zen question: How do you blow up a team that looks like it has already been blown up?

Comment on the Power Rankings below, or as always hit us with your pregame NFL picks and predictions…

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Lawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel writer from Massachusetts.