We close the book on another week of NFL action with our traditional power rankings. The New York Giants broke their three game losing streak with their Monday Night Football victory over the Miami Dolphins.
As usual, these rankings are Big Blue View originals. They are formed using the teams' record, playoff seeding, and a general feeling about where the team is headed. And as usual, we are including each team's chances of making the playoffs, according to TeamRankings.com
The Rankings
1) Carolina Panthers (13-0, 100%)
2) Arizona Cardinals (11-2, 100%)
3) New England Patriots (11-2, 100%)
4) Cincinnati Bengals (10-3, 100%)
5) Green Bay Packers (9-4, 99.8%)
6) Denver Broncos (10-3, 100%)
7) Seattle Seahawks (8-5, 98.9%)
8) Minnesota Vikings (8-5, 93.6%)
9) Kansas City Chiefs (8-5, 94.7%)
10) Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5, 67.9%)
11) New York Jets (8-5, 32.8%)
12) Oakland Raiders (6-7, 0.5%)
13) Indianapolis Colts (6-7, 63.1%)
14) Houston Texans (6-7, 34.5%)
15) Philadelphia Eagles (6-7, 47.9%)
16) Washington Redskins (6-7, 21.8%)
17) New York Giants (6-7, 30.5%)
18) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7, 2.4%)
19) Buffalo Bills (6-7, 6.3%)
20) Atlanta Falcons (6-7, 1.8%)
21) Dallas Cowboys (4-9, 2.9%)
22) Jacksonville Jaguars (5-8, 2.4%)
23) Chicago Bears (5-8, 0.3%)
24) St. Louis Rams (5-8, 0.2%)
25) Miami Dolphins (5-8, 0.0%)
26) Detroit Lions (4-9, 0.0%)
27) New Orleans Saints (5-8, 0.8%)
28) San Diego Chargers (3-10, 0.0%)
29) San Francisco (4-9, 0.0%)
30) Baltimore Ravens (4-9, 0.0%)
31) Tennessee Titans (3-10, 0.0%)
32) Cleveland Browns (3-10, 0.0%)
Final Thoughts
Three quarters of the NFC East climbed a bit in our rankings after they all clawed out wins this week. Are any of them really good teams? No not really. The Giants do have the best quarterback and wide receiver in the division, but that's about it.
The real saving grace for the Giants, and the division as a whole, is how bad the rest of the NFL is. The fact that there are 21 teams with records below .500. In all honesty, that is a disgrace. The NFL will, as usual, look at the rules this offseason. However, the NFL and the NFLPA need to sit down and look at the state of the game as a whole. The rise of injuries and the poor quality of the product on the field is quite simply a shame.