NFL Power Rankings - Week 11

Indy survived another close one, while New Orleans continues to trounce opponents.  Many of the weak teams won this week, but they were so bad previously they didn't move up much.  Still, the margin between the poor and mediocre teams is shrinking, and the gap between the top of the league and the rest is growing.  There should be a few playoff teams with great records, and the rest will only be mediocre this year.

This week's rankings [Last week's position]
1.  New Orleans Saints (10-0) [1] : Are we ready to call this the consensus best team in the league?  Their offense is outstanding, and their defense continues to improve.
2.  Indianapolis Colts (10-0) [2] : They don't win pretty, but Peyton has the best stats of his career, and winning is the name of the game in this league.
3.  Minnesota Vikings (9-1) [3] : Brett Favre is the consensus Comeback Player of the Year
4.  New England Patriots (7-3) [4] : This team is much better than their record indicates.  Their three losses have all been close
5.  Dallas Cowboys (7-3) [6] : Ugly win; looked like a baseball score.  They should do better for Thanksgiving
6.  San Diego Chargers (7-3) [11] : They destroyed Denver!
7.  Green Bay Packers (6-4) [8] : They need to work on their defense, but they should still do well on Thanksgiving
8.  Arizona Cardinals (7-3) [9] : Tremendous win!
9.  Philadelphia Eagles (6-4) [12] : My Bears made it tough, but McNabb engineered two excellent second half drives
10. Cincinnati Bengals (7-3) [5] : Complete meltdown after their win over Pittsburgh last week!
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) [7] : Speaking of a team in meltdown mode, they should never have let this game go to overtime
12. Baltimore Ravens (5-5) [10] : The AFC North had trouble this week
13. New York Giants (6-4) [17] : They stopped the downwards slide, and they have the declining Broncos Thursday night
14. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4) [15] : It ain't always pretty, but they get the job done
15. Atlanta Falcons (5-5) [13] : Tough overtime loss
16. Houston Texans (5-5) [14]
17. San Francisco 49ers (4-6) [16] : Played Green Bay tough, although defense was not up to what we've expected from their coach
18. New York Jets (4-6) [18]
19. Miami Dolphins (5-5) [21] : The wildcard DID fool Carolina!
20. Chicago Bears (4-6) [20]
21. Denver Broncos (6-4) [19] : The slide continues
22. Tennessee Titans (4-6) [24] : Vince Young is in control; he even got a ref to high five him!
23. Seattle Seahawks (3-7) [22] : This team is in disarray
24. Carolina Panthers (4-6) [23]
25. Kansas City Chiefs (3-7) [27] : Nice upset of the Super Bowl Champs
26. Oakland Raiders (3-7) [28] : They upset of the hottest teams in the AFC in preparation to face Dallas
27. Washington Redskins (3-7) [26] : Whoa, where'd that DEFENSE come from?
28. Detroit Lions (2-8) [30]
29. Buffalo Bills (3-7) [25] : Time to wrap up this season
30. Tampa Bay Bucs (1-9) [29]
31. Cleveland Browns (2-8) [31]
32. St Louis Rams (1-9) [32]

Biggest gain: San Diego Chargers
Biggest sack: Cincinnati Bengals

Division rankings [Last week's position]
1.  NFC East [2] : Nice improvement by the Giants, and the others played well (even Washington)
2.  AFC South [3] : Except for Houston, this division did well
3.  NFC North [4] : Even Chicago's loss couldn't hurt them, since they hung in against Philly
4.  AFC North [1] : Terrible collapse for all of the teams
5.  AFC East [5] : The Pats and Miami are the cream
6.  NFC South [6]
7.  AFC West [8] : Great wins for San Diego, KC, and Oakland
8.  NFC West [7]