NFL Power Rankings Week 12: Reaction and Standings After Thursday Night Football

With the NFL's Thanksgiving slate in the books, the league and its fans next turn to a loaded weekend.

Well, and leftovers. With any luck, those leftovers make it to the weekend for more divisional action and encounters with playoff implications swinging in the balance.

If it is anything like the epic slate of Thursday games, the rest of Week 12 might go down as the most entertaining of the year.

Here is a look at the instant reshuffling of the league hierarchy after the three-game slate of holiday action:

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

With three games in the books and 13 more on tap before Week 12 goes official, let's take a look at some of the teams with the most on the line in the power rankings department.

Atlanta Falcons

It is time for the real Atlanta Falcons to stand up.

Still in first place in the NFC South, Matt Ryan and the Falcons suffered a hiccup in Week 10 before a bye, taking a 24-15 loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now some might wag a finger and say the loss makes sense given it happened on the road. But the Falcons aren't a bad road team by any means, not after upsetting the Denver Broncos away from home back in Week 5.

So which is it? Which one was a fluke?

It's hard to say. The Falcons rank 29th by allowing an average of 28.3 points per game, and the defense has intercepted only six passes all year. Ryan has helped compensate with 24 touchdowns to five interceptions, while running back Devonta Freeman has averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

But against the Eagles, the world saw what happens when an opposing defense can hold Ryan to just one touchdown while the Atlanta defense struggles.

Long story short—the Falcons had a bye week to get it right and find themselves in a tricky matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Win, and those faithful to the team can wipe their brows and chuckle. Lose, and a nosedive in the power rankings seems likely.

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have won five games in a row and sit second in the AFC East behind the New England Patriots, yet they don't receive a ton of hype. 

Taking a magnifying glass to the schedule shows why—during the stretch, Miami hasn't beaten a team above .500. Said streak started with a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers while Ben Roethlisberger tried to play through an injury, and then the next four wins came by seven points or fewer.

This is still the same Dolphins team that ranks 30th against the rush and has Ryan Tannehill under center, who has managed to throw just 12 touchdowns to eight interceptions on the year. Other than a freak three-game stretch by running back Jay Ajayi, Miami's offense has been stagnant all year.

Week 12 will prove quite interesting for the Dolphins, who look another trap game in the face against the San Francisco 49ers. Those 49ers have only one win on the year but played the Patriots tough in their last outing while the offense came alive.

On one hand, it would be like the Dolphins of old to stumble in the trap game. Or like the Dolphins of earlier this year, who lost to the Patriots sans Tom Brady and needed overtime to beat the Cleveland Browns.

On the other hand, it would be like the new Dolphins to grab a sixth consecutive win and shoot up the power rankings even farther. Oh, and greatly increase their playoff odds.

New York Giants

The New York Giants flirted with disaster in Week 11.

They notched a fifth consecutive victory but did so in nail-biting fashion via a home escape of the miserable Chicago Bears, 22-16.

It's almost uncanny how similar the Giants and Dolphins are as of late. New York's five wins don't feature a triumph bigger than seven points. It might sound weird given his last name, but Eli Manning has looked Tannnehill-esque at times, having totaled 17 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

Luckily for Manning and a stalling offense, New York's defense ranks 11th by allowing only 20 points per game. This trajectory means the Giants can't afford to blink during a Week 12 road encounter against the Browns.

Wideout Victor Cruz hit the proverbial nail on the head:

Cleveland has yet to win a game, but fans know the drill—the longer a team like the Browns goes without a win, the more and more getting the first victory becomes the team's Super Bowl.

So no, picking an iffy Manning on the road in the cold against a team with nothing to lose isn't a given. This would help explain why the Giants sit only as 6.5-point favorites, according to Odds Shark.

Like the Dolphins, a Week 12 loss would slam the door shut on a respectable position in the power rankings for the Giants. A win keeps things the same or even lets them climb a bit higher. No pressure.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.