‘Top Dogs’ stay the same, Seahawks climb, and 49ers and Saints continue to fall in Week 15 Power Rankings

32. team. 28. A rare victory for the Raiders, and of the least likely opponents to win against, they beat the 49ers!? That just goes to show how much San Fran is in trouble right now.. (2-11). Previous: 32nd. Oakland Raiders

52. They reverted back to true form after a rare home victory against the Giants. Now they’re going to be minus Denard Robinson the rest of the way. Oh, and they travel to play the Ravens.. (2-11). Previous: 31st. Jacksonville Jaguars. 31. team

(2-11). Previous: 30th. New York Jets. 30. team. 30. Even in a game where they had a chance to win, they didn’t. I really feel for Rex Ryan, but <em>C’est La Vie</em>.

team. 35. Mettenberger goes down, Locker goes in. Who cares? They were pummeled by the Giants big time, and that might not be the only New York team to do it.. (2-11). Previous: 29th. Tennessee Titans. 29

team. 48. Lovie Smith is just ready for this season to be over with, as the Bucs, even in the lowly NFC South, were eliminated from playoff contention following their loss.. (2-11). Previous: 28th. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 28

26. team. 31. Build your team around Odell Beckham. Seriously. That’s the type of performance we expected from the Giants last week against the Jaguars.. (4-9). Previous: 25th. New York Giants

15. Seriously, who is this team?. (5-8). Previous: 23rd. New Orleans Saints. 25. team

Previous: 24th. Chicago Bears. 24. team. 57. Chicago has excitement among them right now, and it’s not because of the Bears (see the Cubs). As for the team, Dallas pummeled them into the ground, and Brandon Marshall is gone for the year. They get to play the Saints this week on a rather uninteresting game of <em>Monday Night Football</em>.. (5-8)

Carolina Panthers. 23. team. 87. I’m just glad to hear that Cam Newton is okay, and we’ve been waiting to see that type of Panthers team all year. They completely <strong>embarrassed</strong> the Saints in the Superdome. They’ll likely tumble back down with Derek Anderson playing this week, but it is the Bucs.. (4-8-1). Previous: 27th

44. The Falcons were able to do something that the Saints only wish that they could do, and that’s fight back with passion. Seriously, what a comeback effort.. (5-8). Previous: 22nd. Atlanta Falcons. 22. team

Previous: 22nd. Minnesota Vikings. 21. team. 60. I’d imagine half of the league wishes they played in the NFC South right now, and the Vikes are no exception. They travel to play the Lions this week, but you just always wonder where this team could be if they had Adrian Peterson.. (6-7)

51. In case you weren’t keeping score at home, the Rams have outscored their opponents 76-0 in the past two games. What?. (6-7). Previous: 20th. St. Louis Rams. 20. team

(7-6). Previous: 19th. Houston Texans. 19. team. 10. They’re not dead yet, but they’ll have to steal one against the Colts this week to keep it interesting.

18. team. 53. It really doesn’t matter what I write here, because Johnny Football. Johnny Football. Johnny Football. Johnny Football. Johnny Football. Nothing else matters.. (7-6). Previous: 18th. Cleveland Browns

16. Definitely a heartbreaking loss to the Broncos, but I’m sure everyone is just surprised that they were in this one till the very end. Orton passed more than Manning. Let that sink in.. (7-6). Previous: 17th. Buffalo Bills. 17. team

Previous: 13th. San Francisco 49ers. 16. team. 42. I said it last week that this team is going to have a complete meltdown this month, and it continued with the Raiders. Ouch.. (7-6)

team. 124. Wide receiver production the issue or Alex Smith? The Chiefs had better hope they show up to play the Raiders this week, or it’s likely going to be a long offseason.. (7-6). Previous: 16th. Kansas City Chiefs. 15

Previous: 15th. Miami Dolphins. 14. team. 59. The Dolphins went from having the final playoff spot in the AFC to being 9th. That’s how crazy the AFC Playoff race is right now. As if it weren’t bad enough, they travel to play the Pats this weekend.. (7-6)

Previous: 11th. San Diego Chargers. 13. team. 13. Unfortunately for the Chargers, last week’s huge victory over the Ravens was spoiled by Tom Brady coming to town. A loss to the Broncos will really hurt them in the playoff race, as the Ravens are nipping at their heels.. (8-5)

26. We keep playing this rotational carousel with the Ravens this year. One week they dominate, the next they disappoint, and then they dominate. Pick a course and stay on it. Nothing suggests they’d lose this week to the Jags.. (8-5). Previous: 14th. Baltimore Ravens. 12. team

55. Although they beat up on the Bengals, they still trail in the division. It was a huge response by Big Ben and company to totally destroy Cincy. These two meet again next week.. (8-5). Previous: 12th. Pittsburgh Steelers. 11. team

56. They’ve struggled more than they’d care to, and now the pressure is really on when they travel to Cleveland to take on Johnny Manziel. That’s right, just Johnny Manziel. No one else in Ohio matters. Johnny Manziel.. (8-4-1). Previous: 9th. Cincinnati Bengals. 10. team

(9-4). Previous: 10th. Indianapolis Colts. 9. team. 46. When your game is on the line, put it in the hands of Andrew Luck. The Colts finished the game with an 11 play, 90 yard drive to win. However, their play in the conference is well overshadowed by Denver and New England.

team. 123. It looked like the wheels were ready to fall off on the Cowboys after suffering an embarrassing loss to the Eagles, but Dallas beat up on Chicago to stay alive in the Wild Card discussion. Things could go south very quickly for Jerry Jones again.. (9-4). Previous: 8th. Dallas Cowboys. 8

Philadelphia Eagles. 7. team. 54. From one high to one low, Chip Kelly’s offense hit a major wall with their offense when they played the Seahawks. They just couldn’t get it going. They now essentially play for the division as they try to sweep a visiting Dallas team.. (9-4). Previous: 5th

Detroit Lions. 6. team. 50. Matthew Stafford continues playing well, and the Lions need it. It sets up an interesting final few weeks as they attempt to catch the Packers and secure at least a Wild Card spot. They have three straight NFC North games (two on the road) to close out the season.. (9-4). Previous: 7th

36. It’s possible that we haven’t heard the last of this matchup between the Seahawks and Eagles, but their powerful defense limited the Eagles to well under 200 yards of total offense. The defending champions look to be the best suited team to challenge the Packers right now.. (9-4). Previous: 6th. Seattle Seahawks. 5. team

Previous: 4th. Arizona Cardinals. 4. team. 32. Once again, the confines of University of Phoenix Stadium aid the Cardinals with another win. Oh yeah, their defense played extremely well too. With a short week and divisional opponent up, do they lose control of a bye week and the NFC West?. (10-3)

Previous: 3rd. Denver Broncos. 3. team. 45. Victory did not come so easily for the Broncos, and Peyton Manning’s consecutive game streak with a passing touchdown is now over. Denver heads to San Diego to try to wrap up their division with a win.. (10-3)

Previous: 2nd. New England Patriots. 2. team. 47. No change for the Pats. They earned a solid victory over the Chargers, and now travel back home to play AFC East rival Miami. It’s tough to suggest that anyone will knock them off if they lock up home field advantage.. (10-3)

Green Bay Packers. 1. team. 49. Although they nearly surrendered their huge lead, the Packers still remain on top. Perhaps they took Atlanta lightly, but it’s hard to overlook the dominate first half performance.. (10-3). Previous: 1st