ESPN: 2014 NFL Power Rankings - Week 12

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[h=2]2014 NFL Power Rankings: Week 12[/h]


Updated: November 18, 2014, 11:20 AM ET
ESPN.com

2014 Power Rankings: Week 12
RANK	TEAM / RECORD	TRENDING	COMMENTS
1	Patriots 8-2	-- Last Week: 1	Like we've been saying all year, you must stop Jonas Gray to beat the Patriots. Well, maybe not, but 199 yards and a franchise-record four rushing touchdowns buried the Colts.
2	Cardinals 9-1	-- Last Week: 2	The last time the Cardinals were 9-1, they played home games in Chicago and Harry Truman was in office (1948). Arizona's six-game win streak is the team's best since 1977.
3	Packers 7-3	2 Last Week: 5	Human victory cigar Matt Flynn has appeared in five of Green Bay's past six games. Imagine the possibilities if Aaron Rodgers threw for a full 60 minutes.
4	Broncos 7-3	1 Last Week: 3	Denver scored seven points, the fewest by the Broncos with Peyton Manning as quarterback. Manning's NFL-record 15-game streak with multiple touchdown passes was snapped in Sunday's shocker.
5	Chiefs 7-3	5 Last Week: 10	Wide receivers are overrated. The 7-3 Chiefs still have no touchdown receptions by wide receivers this season. Seven wide receivers have more yards than all Chiefs wide receivers combined (917).
6	Cowboys 7-3	2 Last Week: 8	Facing Eli Manning is a welcome return from the bye week for the Cowboys' defense, which has a takeaway in nine straight games since Week 1.
7	Lions 7-3	1 Last Week: 6	Sunday was Detroit's first game this season without a sack, and the Lions allowed Drew Stanton to throw for a career-high 306 yards and his second-career multi-TD game.
8	Eagles 7-3	4 Last Week: 4	Philadelphia allowed 53 points to the Packers Sunday, the most allowed by the Eagles since 1972 (62-10 loss to Giants). The Packers had no turnovers, snapping Philly's 21-game takeaway streak.
9	Colts 6-4	2 Last Week: 7	Coby Fleener quietly was outstanding Sunday, posting a career-high 144 receiving yards on seven catches. With Dwayne Allen and Ahmad Bradshaw out, they'll need more of that from Fleener.
10	49ers 6-4	2 Last Week: 12	Who says the 49ers' defense is struggling? San Francisco had five interceptions Sunday, its most in a game since Week 10 of 2009 against the Bears.
11	Seahawks 6-4	2 Last Week: 9	Jamaal Charles exploited the hole left by Brandon Mebane's injury. The Chiefs had 6.3 yards per rush and 5.0 yards before contact per rush, most against Seattle since 2013.
12	Steelers 7-4	2 Last Week: 14	Le'Veon Bell had 196 rush yards between the tackles Monday, 51 more than any player in a game this season. The last Steeler with more was Willie Parker in 2006.
13	Bengals 6-3-1	3 Last Week: 16	Cincinnati looked like a brand-new offense Sunday. Andy Dalton was 6-of-8 for 127 yards and a touchdown targeting A.J. Green, a week after the duo was brutal (3-of-11, 23 yards, interception).
14	Ravens 6-4	1 Last Week: 13	Baltimore is looking for a third straight win on Monday Night Football when it travels to New Orleans, a place where the Saints have dropped two in a row.
15	Dolphins 6-4	2 Last Week: 17	Short and sweet for Ryan Tannehill. He was 25-of-28 for 223 yards, two touchdowns and 14 first downs on throws 10 yards or fewer Thursday.
16	Chargers 6-4	1 Last Week: 15	No Charger recorded 65 receiving yards Sunday. They had at least one 65-yard receiver in their first six games this season, but none in three of the past four games.
17	Browns 6-4	6 Last Week: 11	Brian Hoyer was 4-of-14 for 103 yards on throws at least 15 yards downfield. Hoyer entered Sunday with a league-high 55.4 completion percentage on deep throws.
18	Texans 5-5	2 Last Week: 20	Ryan Mallett won his first career start, but he can thank Alfred Blue. Blue had 156 rushing yards, most by a Texans rookie since Steve Slaton in 2008.
19	Bills 5-5	1 Last Week: 18	Kyle Orton was 5-of-13 for 47 yards and a sack against the Dolphins' blitz Thursday. The Jets, who blitz on one-third of dropbacks, will likely follow suit.
20	Saints 4-6	1 Last Week: 19	Jimmy Graham had three catches Sunday. The Saints are 2-5 since the start of last season when Graham has three or fewer catches and 13-6 when he has at least four.
21	Falcons 4-6	2 Last Week: 23	How bad is the NFC South? The 4-6 Falcons, with their minus-17 point margin and league-worst defensive efficiency rating, currently lead the division. By rule, someone has to win.
22	Rams 4-6	3 Last Week: 25	There's plenty to be impressed by from Sunday. Tre Mason's 113 rushing yards are most by a Ram this year, while Kenny Britt posted his first 100-yard game since 2012.
23	Bears 4-6	4 Last Week: 27	Jay Cutler threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns (with two interceptions) Sunday. Cutler connected for scores with Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall (twice).
24	Vikings 4-6	3 Last Week: 21	Minnesota is 0-6-1 in its past seven divisional road games, so at least the Vikings get to host the red-hot Packers this week. They've got that going for them, which is nice.
25	Panthers 3-7-1	3 Last Week: 22	Kelvin Benjamin had nine catches for 109 yards and a touchdown Sunday, breaking Keary Colbert's record for the most receiving yards by a Panthers rookie (set in 2004).
26	Giants 3-7	2 Last Week: 24	The Giants have at least one turnover in 26 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the league. Eli Manning is one of two active quarterbacks with multiple five-pick games.
27	Titans 2-8	2 Last Week: 29	Zach Mettenberger was 15-of-24 for 263 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, but rookie QBs are now 2-18 against Dick LeBeau's Steeler defenses since 2004.
28	Jets 2-8	-- Last Week: 28	The playoffs are a tall order at this point for the 2-8 Jets, but they can play spoiler for the Bills, Dolphins (twice) and Patriots down the stretch.
29	Redskins 3-7	3 Last Week: 26	Robert Griffin III has at least five sacks in five of his past seven games. His QBR, sack percentage, touchdown percentage and interception percentage have regressed since his rookie year.
30	Buccaneers 2-8	-- Last Week: 30	Mike Evans (21) is the youngest player ever with a 200-yard receiving game and the first rookie with seven catches for 100 yards and a TD in three straight games.
31	Jaguars 1-9	-- Last Week: 31	Quick, who has the best defensive red zone efficiency in the league? And how many guesses would it have taken to get to the Jaguars (41.7%) if this wasn't their caption?
32	Raiders 0-10	-- Last Week: 32	How did the Rams-Broncos game hurt the Raiders? Week 13 at St. Louis seemed like Oakland's best bet for a win, plus Denver now needs to try in Week 17.