Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Week 13 Power Rankings

     There are five games left in the 2011 regular season, and only one team, the Green Bay Packers, remains undefeated. They will be tested this weekend as they face the New York Giants away from Lambeau field. Clearly, the Packers are ranked first in this week's power rankings, but many other top spots are up in the air.  Tebow and the Denver Broncos managed to pull off a win against the struggling San Diego Chargers in an overtime win. Now, the Broncos are considered to be a legitimate playoff contender in this crazy year of football. Week 13 should be great, and The NFL Report has everything you need to know about the 13th week of football. Enjoy, and be sure to comment!

1. Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers has done extremely well this year, with great statistics, amazing intelligence, and an 11-0 record. The Packers offense has been nearly unstoppable, especially with a WR corp consisting of Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and Jermichael Finley. The defense, ranked 30th overall in yards allowed per game, obviously needs to do better if they want to have a perfect season.

2. Baltimore Ravens: After a win against the San Francisco 49ers, the Ravens look to be a great Super Bowl contender. Baltimore's defense is doing extremely well, ranked 3rd overall in terms of points allowed per game. The only problem is the inconsistent Baltimore passing game. If the Ravens want to win the Super Bowl, Joe Flacco must improve before the playoffs start.

3. New Orleans Saints: After a dominating performance against the New York Giants, the Saints appear to be playing extremely well. Saints quarterback Drew Brees is on track to break Dan Marino's single season passing yard record, and is a clear contender for the MVP award. Overall, New Orleans is ranked 1st in terms of total offense (449.6) and 1st in terms of passing yards per game (324.2). The Saints are on a 3 game win streak, and don't expect them to stop as they face the Detroit Lions this weekend.

4. San Francisco 49ers: Sure the 49ers are 9-2, but they are coming off of disappointing loss against the Baltimore Ravens. San Francisco has done extremely well when it comes to defense, and they have yet to let up a rushing touchdown this season. The offense in San Fran is mediocre at best, especially with a struggling QB (ranked 29th overall in passing yards per game). I believe if the 49ers were to play better teams in the NFC (such as the Packers, Saints and Bears), they would not be as high up in the power rankings. However, the big game will come against the Steelers in Week 15. Until then, San Francisco is 4th overall in this week's power rankings.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers: The 8-3 Pittsburgh Steelers just squeaked by against the struggling Kansas City Chiefs, winning 13-9. Though the Steelers' offense was not exactly stellar, the defense managed to hold Kansas City to just 9 points. If Ben Roethlisberger can improve his game, the Steelers will make a deep playoff run this January.

6. New England Patriots: Last weekend, Tom Brady and the Patriots tour apart the Philadelphia Eagles 38-20. However, the Patriots are dead last in total yards allowed per game, passing yards allowed per game, and receiving yards allowed per game. If the Patriots can not fix their horrific defense, they will have a hard time making it past the first round of the playoffs.

7. Even without quarterback Matt Schaub, the Texans were able to beat Jacksonville on the road, stretching their win streak to 5 games. They key to the Texans success; a spectacular defense. Houston ranks 1st overall in total yards allowed per game (268.4), 2nd in passing yards allowed per game (175.8), and 4th in rushing yards allowed per game (92.5). However, with Schaub on the IR, they may have some difficulty against Atlanta next weekend.

8. Oakland Raiders: Even without star running back Darren Mcfadden the past few games, the Oakland Raiders beat the Chicago Bears and the San Diego Chargers. Oakland is first in the AFC West with a 7-4 record. The Raiders defense has not been great, so it is important for the offense (more importantly the rushing game) to do well for the last few games.

9. Cincinnati Bengals: Though the Bengals are competing in a difficult AFC North, they are doing extremely well this year. Andy Dalton has done well this year, and has become a more experienced quarterback in the NFL. Not to mention, Cincinnati's defense has done extremely well (ranked 5th in total yards allowed per game). The Bengals still have a chance at making the playoffs if their offense can finish the year off strongly.

10. Chicago Bears: Though they are coming off of a loss against the Oakland Raiders, Chicago has done extremely well this year, especially when it comes to defense. Running back Matt Forte leads a somewhat weak Bears offense, especially without quarterback Jay Cutler. The next few games should be rather easy (besides Green Bay), so hopefully Chicago will be able to resurrect themselves after a loss against Oakland. 

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