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

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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