NFL Power Rankings: Week 12

The hardest rankings I've ever done. Let the debate begin.

1. New York Giants (2; +1): They finally claim the top spot. If Arizona couldn't knock them off, who can?

2. New York Jets (6; +4): Since the embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Raiders, they've won five in a row.

3. Tennessee Titans (1; -2): They still have the best record in football, so there's no way they drop out of my top three.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (4; 0): Just a hunch, but I bet the Steelers-Patriots game will be better than the Bengals-Steelers game.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7; +2): With the Carolina loss, Tampa Bay is staring a division title - and a first round bye - in the eye.

6. Indianapolis Colts (8; +2): Nobody wants to play them right now. The hapless winner of the AFC West is going to get them as a wild card in the first round and wish they never made the playoffs.

7. New England Patriots (9; +2): I'm not the first, nor will I be the last, person to say this, but: isn't it funny Matt Cassel is tearing up the NFL, while Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart aren't playing?

8. Dallas Cowboys (10; +2): I sense Romo to Owens is the only thing standing in the Giants way right now.

9. Carolina Panthers (3; -6): I see no reason to keep them up there, despite their excellent record. They've looked awful three weeks in a row.

10. Arizona Cardinals (5; -5): I feel bad for the five-point drop after hanging tough with the Giants. Their defense just wasn't up to the task, but then again, whose is?

11. Atlanta Falcons (13; +2): They smacked down the Panthers, causing you to scratch your head and wonder why I still have the Falcons down here. There was something about them losing to the Broncos that unsettled me. 

12. Baltimore Ravens (14; +2): Well, that was a nice rebound. 11-5 is possible. 

13. Minnesota Vikings (17; +4): Are they developing into the team everyone wanted them to be in preseason?

14. Miami Dolphins (15; +1): They were probably too low last week, so I made up for it by moving them up after a loss. Does it make sense? Does ranking NFL teams make sense in general? But you love it. 

15. Buffalo Bills (19; +4): AFC teams better hope that that offensive explosion was more about playing KC than that the Bills are getting back on track.

16. Washington Redskins (16; 0): Clinton Portis is like a pacemaker; he's the only thing that's keeping this team alive. 

17. New Orleans Saints (21; +4): They won, preserving playoff hopes - for now.

18. Green Bay Packers (18; 0): It's a good thing the other two teams in the NFC North with them are so mediocre. 

19. Chicago Bears (20; +1): Yea, they beat up on the Rams. Who doesn't?

20. Denver Broncos (12; -8): And back down they go seven spots. I shouldn't have bothered moving them in the first place.

21. Philadelphia Eagles (11; -10): They've played as poorly as possible for the past two weeks. We're witnessing the end of an era.

22. San Diego Chargers (22; 0): The thing about the Chargers is that I'm not sure anymore that this team doesn't have the character. They busted their butts on Sunday night for that game. Maybe they just don't have the talent.

23. Houston Texans (25; +2): This 23-25 range switches up every week. This week, the Texans beat the Browns, so they get the bump up.

24. Cleveland Browns (23; -1): As if they weren't out of it before, they're really out of it now. Another frustrating season for Cleveland fans.

25. Jacksonville Jaguars (24; -1): Tell me 20-25 isn't the "popular pre-season teams that a lot of people thought would be really good, but now flirts with mediocrity" category. Well, ignore the Texans.

26. Oakland Raiders (30; +4): It's so thin down here at the bottom that one win will bump you up four points despite every bad thing you've done all year.

27. San Francisco 49ers (26; -1): They never gave up against the Cowboys. I feel bad for writing that article about Mike Singletary; I'm liking him more every week.

28. Seattle Seahawks (27; -1): Is the Matt Hasselbeck era coming to a close? Doubt it, but with a draft pick this high, it will be interesting to see what they do with it.

29. Cincinnati Bengals (28; -1): The Steelers were just better than them. By a lot.

30. Kansas City Chiefs (29; -1): One of these days, I will wise up and start Tyler Thigpen on my fantasy team.

31. St. Louis Rams (31; 0): Their extraordinary lack of talent caught up with them in a hurry.

32. Detroit Lions (32; 0): They should probably take Michael Crabtree with the number one overall pick. They've done well with their wide receivers.

Division Rankings: And here are the big changes. The NFC BEast, fabled as the toughest division in NFL history, has dropped down to only the third best this year. Number one? That goes to the AFC East, which leapfrogged the South. The AFC East doesn't have a single team in the bottom half of the league, and now boast the number 2 and 7 teams. The Eagles free-fall cost the NFC East dearly.

1. AFC East (average rank: 9.50)

2. NFC South (10.50)

3. NFC East (11.50)

4. AFC South (14.25)

5. AFC North (17.25)

6. NFC North (20.50)

7. AFC West (23.25)

8. NFC West (24.25)