SB Nation Arizona - NFL Power Rankings, Week 17: Packers Close Out On Top

NFL Power Rankings, Week 17: It's Closing Time

2011-12-27T13:01:11Z

Week 17's Power Rankings represent the last week of the NFL regular season. Like pretty much every season, there was a lot of drama, and there actually seemed to be more drama than usual heading into the final weeks. But most of that is over now. The last week of the season won't go far in determining who's in and who's out, but there's some seeding on the line. Here's how the Top Ten stacks up to close things out:

1. Green Bay Packers (14-1): Aaron Rodgers recovered quickly from his "bad" game to thoroughly punish the Chicago Bears at Lambeau. The obvious MVP had a 5:8 touchdown-to-incomplete pass ratio on the Pack's way to clinching the top seed.

2. New Orleans Saints (12-3): Drew Brees is having himself an MVP-type season as well, and if Rodgers were playing like a football demigod, Brees would win the award. But the second seed in the NFC might have to do.

3. New England Patriots (12-3): The Pats clinched a first round bye in the AFC and their offense is really clicking these days. Their defense remains suspect, however.

4. San Francisco 49ers (12-3): The Niners took care of business against the Seahawks, and they're right up there in the NFC playoff picture. But Alex Smith is no Mr. Brees and that may hurt them come postseason time.

5. Baltimore Ravens (11-4): It's looking like the Ravens will clinch the AFC North, particularly with Ben Roethlisberger ailing. Can they finally cash in on some of their Flacco-era hype?

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4): The Terrible Towels played well without Big Ben in Week 16, but his injury comes at an inopportune time. They'll need every ounce of Ben to survive the AFC playoffs.

7. Detroit Lions (10-5): Matthew Stafford had himself another spectacular game against the San Diego Chargers and the Lions clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 1999.

8. Houston Texans (10-5): Although the Texans have clinched their division, their injuries are catching up to them and the T.J. Yates mania has been quelled a bit with two straight losses.

9. Atlanta Falcons (9-6): Atlanta's in as an NFC wild card team, but this is not the dominant team of last season. A weak showing against the Saints on Monday Night doesn't increase confidence in their postseason chances.

10. New York Giants (8-7): The Giants don't really deserve a spot in the Top Ten, but they're currently leading the NFC East, and they're playing better ball than the rest of the teams reaching for the playoffs.

In local news, the Arizona Cardinals were eliminated from playoff contention thanks to their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. John Skelton again had a painful start and an impressive finish, in the Tim Tebow fashion. Although the Cardinals were aggressive in snatching a new quarterback this offseason, there remains a giant question mark there. They won a lot more games with Skelton, but he's not even close to being an easy answer.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: Cardinals Continue Their Streak

2011-12-20T18:22:37Z

The Arizona Cardinals are one of the hottest teams in football.

Yes, you read that right.

The Cardinals have won six of their last seven games including three overtime victories and are trying their best to stay afloat in the playoff race. One thing is certain: nobody would want to play them if they did get in with how well they're playing right now.

ESPN moved the Cards up two spots to no. 17 in its power rankings mentioning how the Cards have trailed in the second half of every game this season.

Sportsline moved the Cards up two spots to no. 18 and let it be known that whether Kevin Kolb is healthy or not, that John Skelton has earned the right to keep the starting quarterback job.

SBNation moved the Cards up one spot to no. 18 and are still in shock of how almost random this run of games have been.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 16: Packers Lose, Colts Win, Cats and Dogs Living Together

2011-12-20T13:01:20Z

Week 16 of the NFL Power Rankings reflect a wacky weekend in the National Football League. The hopes and dreams of the Green Bay Packers going 16-0 have officially been obliterated thanks to Kyle "Dave Grohl" Orton and his new team, the Kansas City Chiefs. The fears and sad-making of the Indianapolis Colts going 0-16 have officially been obliterated thanks to the Tennessee Titans. Two of the league's most intriguing stories took severe blows in one Sunday. Anyway, on to the Top Ten:

1. Green Bay Packers (13-1): Yeah, they lost, but they're still number one. Aaron Rodgers had his "worst" game of the year, but still threw a touchdown pass and had no turnovers.

2. New Orleans Saints (11-3): As Drew Brees nonchalantly prances his way to the most passing yards ever posted in a single season, his team continues to trounce their competition.

3. New England Patriots (11-3): Tom Brady is also likely to surpass Dan Marino's yardage record. But more importantly, he deflated Tebow-mania a bit with the Pats' drama-free victory over the Denver Broncos.

4. San Francisco 49ers (11-3): San Fran took out the Pittsburgh Steelers at home and proved the team (or at least the defense) is worth of a high seed in the NFC.

5. Baltimore Ravens (10-4): As soon as it seems like they're going to start being impressive, they get crushed by the formerly struggling San Diego Chargers. And yeah, Joe Flacco's still frustrating.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4): A loss to the 49ers was somewhat unexpected, but it's not embarrassing. They still have a fighting chance to win the AFC North.

7. Houston Texans (10-4): Well, it wasn't a great week for T.J. Yates and team. The surprisingly successful rookie QB was thoroughly outplayed by Cam Newton, but doesn't matter much; the Texans are till going to the playoffs.

8. Atlanta Falcons (9-5): After stumbling quite a bit, the Falcons seem poised to snag an NFC wild card spot after winning a couple in a row.

9. Detroit Lions (9-5): The Lions also appear firmly in grip of an NFC wild card spot. All they need to do is win one of their last two to eliminate some of the outliers like the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks.

10. Denver Broncos (8-6) (tie): The Power of Tim Tebow couldn't help the Broncos overcome the Patriots, but the Mile High Messiah still has his team in control of their own playoff destiny.

10. Dallas Cowboys (8-6) (tie): They don't necessarily deserve it, but the Cowboys will probably make the postseason after the New York Giants crapped the bed against the Washington Redskins.

In local news, the Cardinals kept up their improbable winning ways; their streak is now up to four. It took an overtime period and a critical punt return by Patrick Peterson, but Arizona got an exciting win to continue an interesting turnaround it what seemed like a wasteland of a season. There's still an outside, outside chance they can make the playoffs, but they'll need a little divine intervention, and I think Tim Tebow's hogging it all.

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 15: The Power Of Tebow Compels You

2011-12-13T13:01:03Z

Week 15 of the SB Nation Arizona NFL Power Rankings brings us more heroics from Mile High demigod, Tim Tebow, and his Denver Broncos. They topped the Chicago Bears 13-10 with their third overtime victory of the season. The Tebows have now won six straight and seven of their last eight, and look to be steamrolling (generally by 6 points or fewer) their way into the playoffs. Now onto the rest of the elite:

1. Green Bay Packers (13-0): The Pack is playing to win all 16 in the regular season, and it certainly looks like that's a reasonable accomplishment. They may have lost Greg Jennings for the remainder of that journey, but at this point, only an injury to Aaron Rodgers is likely to detail the cheese machine.

2. New Orleans Saints (10-3): Drew Brees and his Nawlins boys have finally overtaken the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC. They had a tough time putting away the pesky Tennessee Titans, but all that matters at this point is the W. Brees' outstanding play under center continues.

3. Baltimore Ravens (10-3): Apparently a lot of Ravens fans read these Arizona power rankings, so they'll be pleased, maybe, to see the Ravens make a nice jump. They did beat the Indianapolis Colts pretty convincingly, but they're most here because of faltering competition and a stout defense.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3): Ben Roethlisberger suffered an ankle sprain in the Steelers' win over the Cleveland Browns, so that might set them back a bit. Probably not, though, as Benjamin seems to be immune to prolonged ankle problems.

5. Houston Texans (10-3): Little Man Yates, as in T.J. Yates, has been a surprise success playing in lieu of Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart, and his non-disastrous fill-in work has helped the team to their first playoff berth and first 10-win season.

6. New England Patriots (10-3): On the surface, this team is playing as well as they always have. Tom Brady's second in passer rating and his team has ten wins. But their horrendous defense ensures Brady needs to score and score big every week. That might get exhausting.

7. San Francisco 49ers (10-3): One wouldn't think a team only sustaining their third loss of the season would fall this far in the rankings, but it's how they lost that's troubling. The Niners' inept offense -- in particular, their woeful red zone play -- will probably keep them from getting very far in the postseason.

8. Denver Broncos (8-5): Tim Tebow will probably never lose another game, ever. But it sure would be nice if he could play decently in the first three quarters of a game. It'd be a lot easier on everyone.

9. New York Jets (8-5): The Jets have fairly quietly won three in a row at a time when they really needed to. But overall, it's been a disappointing season filled with injuries and underperformances. None of their wins are particularly impressive, but they've got eight of them, so that's something.

10. New York Giants (7-6): Yeah, there are other teams with better records, but Eli Manning isn't on those teams. The other Manning has played well this season and his team plays in a winnable division. The Giants can still squeeze their way into the playoff picture.

In local news, the Arizona Cardinals pulled out a win over the San Francisco 49ers, despite losing Kevin Kolb (again), this time to a concussion-esque injury. John Skelton was shaky in the beginning, but ended up throwing three touchdowns, and the continually improving Cardinal defense locked things up again, allowing only one TD. Arizona is hanging around the playoff picture, but it will take some effort to make it in.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 14: Cardinals Make Moves Up Rankings

2011-12-06T20:13:53Z

Well, well, well...The Arizona Cardinals have decided that being subpar for the entire season just wasn't going to cut it.

After a dramatic 19-13 OT win over the Dallas Cowboys, the Cardinals are now winners of four of their last five games, sit at 5-7, have garnered the respect of the nation's Power Rankings and are making some late season noise as one of the ‘teams you don't want to play'. They're a long shot to make the playoffs, but they'll scare some people trying to.

Sportsline moved the Cards up four spots to no. 24, pointing out how much the defense has improved. ESPN moved the Cards up seven spots to no. 18, also pointing out how the defense has only allowed five touchdowns in their past five games. SBNation moved the Cards up eight spots to no. 20 but reminded us of how damaging their early season six-game skid now is.

The Cards are playing hard and winning games. At the very least, they can be proud of that.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 14, Pun Time: The Saints Go Marching On

2011-12-06T12:05:30Z

As we enter Week 14 of the NFL Power Rankings, the New Orleans Saints are probably playing the best football of any team outside of the Green Bay Packers. Drew Brees, in a contract year, has had a fantastic season, augmented by new playmakers like Jimmy Graham, Darren Sproles, and Mark Ingram. Unfortunately for them, a lot of their NFC competition is also playing well. The 2011-2012 NFL playoffs are shaping up to be an interesting set of matchups. Anyway on to the Top Ten:

1. Green Bay Packers (12-0): There's not a whole lot of drama left for Green Bay. The New York Giants represented one the last reasonable threats to their undefeated regular season and, while there was some drama in that game, the Pack still prevailed. The season finale against the Lions might be tough, though.

2. San Francisco 49ers (10-2): The Niners clinched the yucky NFC West over the weekend with a thrashing of the cellar-dwelling St. Louis Rams. While it was not a stretch to see this team winning their division, how dominantly they've been winning has been mind-blowing.

3. New Orleans Saints (9-3): Drew Brees is well on his way to passing Dan Marino's regular season passing yards record and his stellar play is pushing the Saints towards the front of the NFC. He's been helped by the team's surprising and above average running game.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3): The Steelers started off slowly against the Cincinnati Bengals, but then stepped all over their collective throat in the second quarter, laying out 28 points. They created some separation from Cincy, but the Baltimore Ravens continue to haunt Pittsburgh's AFC North dreams.

5. New England Patriots (9-3): The Patriots haven't looked all that hot this season - and they just squeaked out a win over the winless Indianapolis Colts - but they've got most of their top players healthy and on the field, so they should continue their playoff-worthy play.

6. Houston Texans (9-3): The Texans have now won two games without starting QB Matt Schaub. Now, star wide receiver Andre Johnson might miss more games. Can Houston score their first franchise playoff berth without their two best players? Sure seems possible these days.

7. Baltimore Ravens (9-3): The Ravens are probably the least-impressive 9-3 team this season. Their three losses have all been against lesser competition. They did take care of business this week against the Cleveland Browns, but their success just doesn't feel as tenable this season.

8. Denver Broncos (7-5): There is a giant mess of teams at 7-5; however, the Broncos crack the Top Ten ahead of the others because of the steamroller momentum they've got going. Their stellar D has kept things close to allow for Tim Tebow to pull off late-game wins, both with his feet and now his arm, apparently, as Sunday proved.

9. New York Jets (7-5): They got a much-needed win against the Washington Redskins to keep them in the playoff race. Their remaining competition isn't too stuff, but there are a lot of AFC teams hovering around them in the standings.

10. Tennessee Titans (7-5): The Titans have been a surprising team this season. Matt Hasselbeck has been a nice stop-gap QB for them and Chris Johnson is finally rounding into form. They beat the downward-spiraling Buffalo Bills to keep their head above water.

In local news, the Arizona Cardinals got yet another exciting, last minute-ish win against the Dallas Cowboys to end the ‘Boys' winning streak at four games. Kevin Kolb looked pretty good in the second half of his return from injury and the team's defense continues to play well. Don't let this get to your heads, Cardinals fans, but the team is actually in the NFC Wild Card race. At the very least, they've ensured that they'll be at least as good (or bad) as last year's team. After the first handful of games this season, it seemed like they'd actually be a lot worse.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 13: Playoffs? Yes, We Are Talking About Playoffs

2011-11-29T14:38:23Z

Week 13 of the NFL Power Rankings are here and guess which team is still on top, the Green Bay Packers. Surprise! They are still undefeated and are getting better defensively as the season moves towards its final destination. The San Francisco 49ers finally lost a second game and quarterback injuries are going to be tough for the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans to overcome. The Oakland Raiders, however, are surging so that's fun.

1. Green Bay Packers (11-0): Aaron Rodgers and the Packers feasted on the generous Lions who threw picks and stomped their way into critical mistakes on Thanksgiving morning. This team is rounding into form on the defensive side of the ball to complement the assumed MVP and his merry band of pass catchers. Scary good.

2. San Francisco 49ers (9-2): The Niners certainly weren't embarrassed in their big test against the Ravens and it's hard to punish them for that loss, on that day, in that environment, against that brother. They've all but locked up the NFC West and should be a dangerous playoff team.

3. New Orleans Saints (8-3): 49 points against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football? Now you are just showing off, Drew Brees.

4. Baltimore Ravens (8-3): When it matters most, the Ravens play well. They've suffered some bad losses this season but they are healthy (for the most part) and like most teams, improving. The battle for the AFC North will be fun to watch and we can only pray for a rematch in the playoffs against the Steelers.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3): The Kansas City Chiefs remain a feisty team and they gave the Steelers all they could handle at home. Big Ben Roethlisberger shook off a broken thumb (Mr. Tough Guy) and fired 21-31 to get the win.

6. New England Patriots (8-3): All they do is win, win, win no matter what and Tom Brady can't be stopped, certainly not by the Philadelphia Eagles mess of a team. The Pats have a fairly easy schedule remaining and certainly aren't worried about the Jets or Bills catching them. The playoffs and Tom Brady were made for each other.

7. Houston Texans (8-3): The Texans won but they lost Matt Leinart for the season and now they have T.J. Yates running the show. Even with Arian Foster and a solid defense, it's hard to see this ending well. Actually, they only have the Bengals, Panthers, Colts and Titans to close out the season so they should be able to still reach the postseason where their first game will be a blast!

8. Oakland Raiders (7-4): Remember when we all made fun of the Raiders getting Carson Palmer? He's won three-straight after his first start and is doing just enough not to lose the game and that's been without Darren McFadden. They only have a one-game lead on the Tim Tebows, however, so this one could come down to the wire in the AFC West. And yes, the Raiders gave up too much for Carson Palmer.

9. Dallas Cowboys (7-4): They didn't blow the doors (fins?) off the Dolphins on Turkey Day but they got the job done and they should be able to hold off the Giants and win the NFC East because someone has to.

10. Detroit Lions (7-4): It's hard to have a lot of love for the Lions at this point. They have just two wins out of six since their 5-0 start and don't exactly look...disciplined. Fortunately for them, the Bears lost Jay Cutler so they still might sneak into the playoffs although they do have the Saints, Raiders and Packers left on their schedule.

We won't bother with the teams outside the Top Ten, because well ... they're not that good. In local news, the Arizona Cardinals (and John Skelton) pulled out a win against a horrible St. Louis Rams team no thanks to their quarterback (John Skelton). Beanie Wells ran roughshod over the Rams and Kevin Kolb will be back next week as the Cardinals start the end of their season with four of five at home.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 12: Cardinals Loss To 49ers Signals Drop

2011-11-22T18:16:24Z

So much for the backup quarterback honeymoon.

Realization set in this weekend during a 6-for-19 performance by John Skelton that maybe the Cardinals were in too much of a hurry to come up with an excuse to get rid of Kevin Kolb that they forgot why Skelton was the backup in the first place. Well, he reminded them of it on Sunday, giving the national Power Rankings plenty of reason to drop the Cards even farther down the rankings.

ESPN spoke on the Skelton performance (or lack thereof) while dropping the Cards four spots to no. 27.

Sportsline ended all talks of Skelton starting even after Kolb returned and dropped the Cards two spots to no. 30.

And SB Nation didn't even feel it was necessary to talk about the Cards, saying that if you read about the Seattle Seahawks, it's the same info. That should tell you something. Oh, and they dropped them three spots to no. 28.