NFL Power Rankings Week 13: Post-Thursday Night Football Standings, Review

Down 17-0 after the first quarter on Thursday night, the Green Bay Packers needed a miraculous ending to avoid another upset to the Detroit Lions.  

They got it. Following a defensive penalty as regulation expired, Aaron Rodgers found Richard Rodgers on a 61-yard Hail Mary to salvage a 27-23 victory. 

Rather than falling to 7-5 and facing a mob of critics, the Packers can regain control of the NFC North if the Minnesota Vikings lose this weekend. At the very least, they'll keep the conference's No. 5 seed, which is perhaps even better positioning because of the NFC East's poor representatives.

Green Bay looked poised to plummet down the power rankings, but it will instead live to fight another day. Meanwhile, Detroit squandered an opportunity to leapfrog the leaderboard with its fourth straight victory, instead receiving a nail in its season's coffin.

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

Super Bowl Bound?

The New England Patriots are down to Tom Brady and whoever else happens to have functioning limbs. The 6-5 Seattle Seahawks are dangerous, but hardly unstoppable.

Although they found life under Brock Osweiler, the Denver Broncos have obtained seven of their nine victories by seven or fewer points. Green Bay rallied to avoid a loss, but not before a scoreless half.

While all of the top preseason Super Bowl picks remain viable choices, none come without their blemishes. Their weaknesses open the door for three surprising juggernauts who are all now legitimate title contenders despite beginning the season as fringe playoff candidates.

These clubs are almost certainly postseason bound, but will any of them travel further to the Super Bowl? 

Carolina Panthers

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Hey, maybe the Carolina Panthers aren't so bad.

A year after embarrassingly making the playoffs at 7-9, the Panthers have earned their mantle atop the NFC South. At 11-0, they're the only undefeated team standing. Looking at their remaining schedule, a perfect season is well in the realm of possibility:

Week	Opponent	Record
13	@ New Orleans Saints	4-7
14	vs. Atlanta Falcons	6-5
15	@ New York Giants	5-6
16	at Atlanta Falcons	6-5
17	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5-6

Carolina doesn't quite conduct business on par with such a dominant record. It ranks No. 17 in total offense and No. 4 in Football Outsiders' Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA). According to FiveThirtyEight's Neil Payne, it rates as the worst of a dozen teams to ever start 11-0. 

The scheduling gods gifted Carolina the NFC East and AFC South along with its cupcake division matchups, leaving the Seahawks and Packers as its only two challenges to date. Looking at the full schedule, it's not unthinkable for the squad to promptly lose in the playoffs after ending the season unbeaten.

Of course, the Panthers also excel in several categories. Second in total defense and defensive DVOA behind the Broncos, the unit reminds CBS Sports' Pete Prisco of the 2013 Seahawks:

"

It's the defense that has the real Seattle look. It features strong power players inside, solid pass rushing ends—especially now with Charles Johnson back—swift linebackers who make it all go, and a secondary that features a star corner in Josh Norman, much like Seattle had with Richard Sherman.

The schemes are different, but when studying the Carolina tape, the speed of the linebackers stands out much like the speed of the Seattle linebackers. Norman is a better man-cover player than Sherman was in 2013 and is now, but Sherman excelled in the Seattle scheme.

"

As of late, the offense has dialed up the jets, scoring 141 points through the last four games. Quarterback Cam Newton is beginning to earn MVP chatter, averaging 271 total yards per game with a dozen touchdowns over that stretch. 

They're not quite the 1985 Chicago Bears, but the Panthers have overcome weak wide receivers through stellar production everywhere else. If their offense keeps clicking, they have the goods to keep running the table. 

Arizona Cardinals

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Sitting a seed behind Carolina in the NFC playoff picture, the Arizona Cardinals are well equipped to exact revenge for last year's playoff meeting. Instead of a seven-win team facing Ryan Lindley in the saddest postseason game ever, these two juggernauts would currently have to cross paths in the NFC Championship Game.

Offensively, the Cardinals are everything the Panthers aren't. Leading the league with 8.83 yards per pass attempt, Carson Palmer's stats run circles around Newton's 2015 numbers. Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown or Michael Floyd all have more receiving yards than any Panthers wideout. 

That depth came in handy when Arizona beat Seattle behind 363 passing yards and three scores from Palmer, two to Floyd. The talented group would also mitigate Norman's impact as Carolina's shutdown cornerback.

Arizona slipped up against the St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers (sans Ben Roethlisberger), but its plus-126 point differential is one point behind Carolina's margin. Ranked No. 1 in total offense and No. 5 in defense, it also boasts a more balanced squad, although a diminished running attack serves as its Achilles' heel.

Unlike the Panthers, the Cardinals will face severe tests before the postseason. After their rematch with the Rams on Sunday, they'll have to deal with three potential NFC playoff adversaries in the Vikings, Packers and Seahawks, Technically, it is four possible playoff teams since the 4-7 Philadelphia Eagles are only a game behind in the NFC East.

A Palmer injury expedited the Cardinals' regression to the mean last season, but they're currently a genuine title contender.

Cincinnati Bengals

Frank Victores/Associated Press

The Cincinnati Bengals haven't won a postseason game in four straight appearances, but how many of those teams were expected to make a deep run? With New England hurting, this squad has a better chance than any of the previous ones of making an impact.

At 9-2, they can become the first in the Andy Dalton era to surpass the AFC Wild Card Round, and they might do so from home. Week 16's Monday night showdown with Denver will go a long way to determining who earns a first-round bye.

Either way, these Bengals are different. They're first in total and offensive DVOA while relinquishing an NFL-low 17.5 points per contest. In his fifth season as their starting quarterback, Andy Dalton has transitioned from unfair punching bag to MVP candidate:

Stat	2015	Career
CMP %	65.7	62.2
YPG	270.1	236.4
YPA	8.21	7.17
PASS TD/GM	2.09	1.63
INT/GM	0.55	0.96
QB RTG	105.3	88.1

Per Bleacher Report's Dan Pompei, Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson designated more responsibility on and off the field to the 28-year-old passer, who has rewarded his confidence. 

"We changed the mindset and the trust," Jackson said. "There is no situation I won't trust him in. I give him the green light to do as he sees."

"Bad Andy" has showed up less frequently, quickly vanishing after a poor performance (22-of-38, 197 yards, no touchdowns, one pick) against the Houston Texans on Nov. 16. One of the league's most maddening franchises over the years has rarely fallen off the rails this season, suffering its other loss in a hard-fought 34-31 defeat to Arizona. 

The "Let's see them do it in the postseason" critics won't go away until they do it in the postseason, but getting there is a significant part of the dance most organizations can't master. The Bengals will get another chance to exorcise their January demons. This time, onlookers will expect victory. 

Advanced stats courtesy of Football Outsiders. 

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