Taking it to the House: 2011 NFL Week 14 Power Rankings

Kevin Burnett’s 34-yard interception return for a touchdown put the Dolphins up 34-0 en route to a 34-14 win over the Oakland Raiders. Given the way the Dolphins have been playing they vault to number 12 in Taking It To The House’s Week 13 Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers (12-0) – The Packers wrapped up the NFC North and are now focused on home-field advantage in the playoffs.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Oakland
2. Baltimore Ravens (9-3) – The Ravens offense is best when Ray Rice is the focal point.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Indianapolis
3. New England Patriots (9-3) – The Patriots have the inside track on home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Washington
4. New Orleans Saints (9-3) – The Saints offense looks unstoppable in the Superdome.  It will be an interesting race for the number 2 seed in the NFC over the next month.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Tennessee 
5. San Francisco 49ers (10-2) – The 49ers defense hasn’t given up a rushing touchdown in 12 games this year.  Their number one priority over the next month will be getting Patrick Willis healthy for the playoffs.  Possible letdown game this Sunday without their leader.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Arizona
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) – Remember when Mike Tomlin had questions about his team after their loss to Houston early in the season?  He found out just like the rest of us that they are the same old Steelers (solid defensively), but with one of the best offenses in football.  Week 14: 12/8 vs. Cleveland 
7. Houston Texans (9-3) – If Arian Foster keeps running like he is, and the defense keeps playing as well as they are, even with TJ Yates at quarterback this is a team nobody in the AFC wants to see in the playoffs.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Cincinnati 
8. Denver Broncos (7-5) – This team just keeps on winning games.  It looks as if they are the favorite to win the AFC West, as crazy as that sounds.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Chicago
9. New York Jets (7-5) – The Jets have been very inconsistent all year.  If they are serious contenders we will see it in the next month as their remaining opponents combined record is 19-29.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Kansas City
10. Dallas Cowboys (7-5) – The Cowboys are what I like to call pretenders.  Stupid mistakes cost them three games this year (NY Jets, Detroit, and Arizona) and they didn’t show up for another (34-7 loss to the Eagles).  Biggest game of the year Sunday at home.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. NY Giants
11. Tennessee Titans (7-5) – The Titans have a real chance at catching the Texans with all the injuries they have sustained.  After Sunday, they end the season with three winnable division games (@ Indy, Jacksonville, and @ Houston).  Week 14: 12/11 vs. New Orleans
12. Miami Dolphins (4-8) – Besides Green Bay, no team is playing better football than the Miami Dolphins.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Philadelphia
13. Atlanta Falcons (7-5) – A favorable schedule should guarantee Atlanta a second straight playoff appearance.  The curious play of Matt Ryan will make that appearance an abbreviated one.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Carolina
14. Cincinnati Bengals (7-5) – The Bengals losses this year: San Francisco, Denver, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh (twice).  They have yet another chance on Sunday to get a signature win against a quality opponent.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Houston
15. New York Giants (6-6) – They have lost four games straight, but still control their destiny going forward.  If they win out, they will make the playoffs.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Dallas
16. Oakland Raiders (7-5) – The Raiders need Darren McFadden back for the last month of the season.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Green Bay
17. Chicago Bears (7-5) – The loss of Matt Forte crushes the Bears playoff chances and may cost Lovie Smith his job.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Denver                  
18. Detroit Lions (7-5) – Jim Scwartz needs to get a hold of this team.  They are very talented but also very undisciplined.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Minnesota 
19. San Diego Chargers (5-7) – Norv Turner and AJ Smith are reportedly out after the season.  The Chargers still have a small chance of winning the division if they are perfect their last 4 games.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Buffalo
20. Buffalo Bills (5-7) – Injuries have completely decimated the Bills promising season.  Week 14: 12/11 @ San Diego
21. Seattle Seahawks (5-7) – Quest Field is the toughest place to play in the NFL.  Tavarius Jackson is actually showing some promise and Pete Carroll’s defense is improving as the season moves along.  Week 14: 12/12 vs. St. Louis   
22. Arizona Cardinals (5-7) – Ken Whisenhut has this team playing good football.  They are winners of four of their last five games.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. San Francisco
23. Carolina Panthers (4-8) – One of the most exciting teams to watch in the league.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Atlanta
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8) – Raheem Morris is one of the coaches on the hot seat entering the last month of the season.  His status could be determined by the Bucs play over the next 4 weeks.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Jacksonville 
25. Kansas City Chiefs (5-7) – Ugly win in Chicago last Sunday.  Their defense has carried them through the season thus far, but hard to imagine them winning another game if Tyler Palko starts the rest of the season.  Week 14: 12/11 @ NY Jets
26. Philadelphia Eagles (4-8) – I imagine Andy Reid did a lot of soul searching during the long week the Eagles have had.  Michael Vick’s return to the lineup should give them a much needed boost.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Miami
27. Cleveland Browns (4-8) – Pat Shurmur’s an offensive coach.  The Browns are averaging just 13.2 points per game.  There is a lot of work to be done in Cleveland.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Pittsburgh
28. Washington Redskins (4-8) – The Redskins are in a pretty good position.  If everything holds serve and they lose out they should have around the fifth worse record in the NFL.  The draft order is decided by standings so that would mean they will get the 5^th pick in the draft.  The Jaguars have Blaine Gabbart, the Vikings have Christian Ponder, and the Rams have Sam Bradford.  That means even if the Colts draft Andrew Luck the Skins will be able to have their choice from a solid group of quarterback prospects.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. New England
29. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-9) – Biggest mistake of the Wayne Weaver tenure in Jacksonville?  Not drafting Tim Tebow.  Week 14: 12/11 vs. Tampa Bay
30. Minnesota Vikings (2-10) – Percy Harvin, Christian Ponder, and Adrian Peterson on offense.  Jarred Allen and Antoine Winfield leading the defense.  A top 3 pick in the 2012 draft.  Don’t fret Vikings fans, better days are on the horizon.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Detroit    
31. St. Louis Rams (2-10) – 157 total yards of offense and 0 points scored last Sunday in San Francisco.  That pretty much sums up the season for the Rams.  Week 14: 12/12 @ Seattle
32. Indianapolis Colts (0-12) – Dan Orlovsky was 30 of 37 for 353 yards and 2 TD against the Patriots.  If he can build off of that performance Sunday in Foxboro, the Colts may win a game.  One thing’s for sure, they’re running out of opportunities.  Week 14: 12/11 @ Baltimore   

 

Jason King is a contributing writer at Taking It to the House and can be reached at jdk2032@yahoo.com