NFL Power Rankings Week 13: Updated 2015 Regular-Season Standings

How many NFL teams are legitimately good right now? It's not that many.

The league seems to have more parity than it's had in a long time, as only seven teams have records better than 6-5. Looking back to last season, 16 squads could have said that at this point in the year.

Not only does that make the playoff races interesting, but it also causes a lot of difficulty in power-ranking teams. So many of them are inconsistent squads with records between 4-7 and 6-5, and deciding which of them are better than the others is nearly impossible.

But it never hurts to take a stab at it, so let's look at a ranking of all 32 teams. We'll also discuss three squads that are quickly on the rise.

Rank	Team	Record
1	Carolina Panthers	11-0
2	New England Patriots	10-1
3	Arizona Cardinals	9-2
4	Denver Broncos	9-2
5	Cincinnati Bengals	9-2
6	Minnesota Vikings	8-3
7	Kansas City Chiefs	6-5
8	Seattle Seahawks	6-5
9	Green Bay Packers	7-4
10	New York Jets	6-5
11	Pittsburgh Steelers	6-5
12	Indianapolis Colts	6-5
13	Houston Texans	6-5
14	Chicago Bears	5-6
15	Oakland Raiders	5-6
16	Buffalo Bills	5-6
17	Washington Redskins	5-6
18	New York Giants	5-6
19	Detroit Lions	4-7
20	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5-6
21	Atlanta Falcons	6-5
22	Miami Dolphins	4-7
23	New Orleans Saints	4-7
24	St. Louis Rams	4-7
25	Philadelphia Eagles	4-7
26	San Diego Chargers	3-8
27	Baltimore Ravens	4-7
28	Tennessee Titans	2-9
29	Dallas Cowboys	3-8
30	Jacksonville Jaguars	4-7
31	San Francisco 49ers	3-8
32	Cleveland Browns	2-9

Rising Teams

Kansas City Chiefs (No. 7)

Despite injuries galore, the Chiefs remain on fire and have now won five games in a row. They've outscored their opponents 160-61 in that span, defeating three playoff contenders (Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills) and embarrassing two also-rans (Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers).

What's behind the huge turnaround? Quarterback Alex Smith's rock-solid passing and a playmaking defense.

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

Smith hasn't thrown an interception since Week 3 and has registered a Total QBR better than 75 in four of his last five contests. The Kansas City Chiefs defense, on the other hand, has taken the ball away from the opponent 17 times in the last seven games against just 10 touchdowns allowed.

Moving forward, the health issues on both lines will be tough to overcome, but the Chiefs are now in playoff position and are in a lot better spot than they were in a month ago.

Houston Texans (No. 13)

Having a transcendent talent on both sides of the ball is a luxury, and it's one the Texans are taking advantage of on their four-game winning streak.

Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has caught 23 balls for 305 yards and four touchdowns in his last four contests, making the best of mostly mediocre quarterback play from Brian Hoyer and T.J. Yates. On the other side of the ball, J.J. Watt has burst to the forefront of the Defensive Player of the Year conversation with 9.5 sacks in his last five games.

Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press

Moving forward, Houston has a great shot at capturing its second AFC South title in franchise history. However, a matchup in Indianapolis against the 6-5 Colts in Week 15 does loom large on the schedule. The Texans have never beaten the Colts on the road, and a first win there would boost their confidence as well as their playoff chances.

How long can an elite defense sustain Houston, though? The Texans have allowed 35 points over their last four games, but they're just 23rd in points scored this season. If Hoyer builds more rapport with his receivers and Alfred Blue keeps playing like he did against the New Orleans Saints in Week 12 (16 carries, 77 yards and one touchdown), they'll be in good shape.

Chicago Bears (No. 14)

How many people saw that Thanksgiving Day win by the Bears coming? Sure, the Green Bay Packers had lost three of their last four, but there was no way they were losing to Jay Cutler at Lambeau Field.

But Cutler played a clean game (no interceptions, after 12 in his previous four contests at Lambeau), and the Bears generated tons of pressure on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Chicago won the game 17-13.

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

With Matt Forte now back from a sprained MCL, this Bears offense has the potential for big points every game. The defense, seen as a terrible unit heading into the season and through the first few games, has come up big under the watchful eye new coordinator Vic Fangio. Even though there was a lot of turnover on that side of the ball during the offseason and there are few defensive stars on the roster, the players are tackling and marking with conviction.

If both sides of the ball can consistently click at the same time over the final five weeks, the Bears just might be able to grab a wild-card spot in the NFC playoffs despite starting the season 0-3.