NFL Power Rankings Week 17: X-Factor for Top 3 Teams in NFL

All teams have a catalyst, a factor that leads to success, a less obvious variable that is key. Really good teams can win on the days the X-factor doesn't work to their benefit, but the percentages go down drastically.

The same can be said for the top five teams in the NFL this season. I caution you, my top three looks a bit different than many others, and it starts at the very top. Here we go:

1. New Orleans Saints 12-3

Yes, the Saints are my No. 1 team, not the Packers. The Saints are the most balanced team in the NFL, as their defense has stepped up in the last five weeks to take some of the pressure off of the offense and Drew Brees.

X-Factor: Four yards per carry on the ground

The Saints are 2-3 in games this year in which they average less than four yards per carry and are 10-0 in games above that mark. For as dominant as the Saints have been throwing the ball, they have been unbeatable when the rush goes for better than four yards per attempt.

2. San Francisco 49ers 12-3

Yes, I have the Niners ahead of Green Bay as well. I know, let the cheese-flavored hate rain down on me. The Niners play the most playoff-ready style game of any team in the NFC. They stop the run, and they run it well. All the talk of the NFL becoming a passing league is because there hasn't been a team to properly execute the smash-mouth style. The Niners just might be that team.

X-Factor: Alex Smith's Efficiency

The Niners are 2-2 when Alex Smith has a QB Rating below 85. At 85 and up, the Niners are an awesome 10-1. Smith is the epitome of a game manager. The team defense and rushing attack has been money all year, even against sets geared to stop the run. 

The Niners defense owns the highest plus/minus at plus-26 in the NFL, so the team provides Smith the opportunities, he just has to limit mistakes and stay accurate.

3. Green Bay Packers 14-1

Finally, the Packers. I have long doubted the Packers' ultimate dominance this season. I predicted the Chiefs would defeat them, and I've predicted that the Niners will beat them if they met in the playoffs.

Still, Green Bay is a passing juggernaut. But they are not stellar in any other aspect of the game.

X-Factor: Avoid the turnover

Green Bay's defense forced a turnover in every game this season except one. Yep, you guessed it, the Kansas City Chiefs game. The Chiefs stayed committed to the run and pressured Rodgers into his worse day, but most importantly, they didn't turn it over.

Control the ball, you control the tempo and field position against the Packers.

Here are the rest of the power rankings:

4. Baltimore Ravens 11-4

5. New England Patriots 12-3

6. Pittsburgh Steelers 11-4

7. Atlanta Falcons 9-6

8. Detroit Lions 10-5

9. Houston Texans 10-5

10. Philadelphia Eagles 7-8 (peaked too late)

11. Cincinnati Bengals 9-6

12. Denver Broncos 8-7

13. Dallas Cowboys 8-7

14. New York Giants 8-7

15. New York Jets 8-7

16. San Diego Chargers 7-8

17. Oakland Raiders 8-7

18. Tennessee Titans 8-7

19. Arizona Cardinals 7-8

20. Seattle Seahawks 7-8

21. Kansas City Chiefs 6-9

22. Carolina Panthers 6-9

23. Miami Dolphins 5-10

24. Buffalo Bills 6-9

25. Chicago Bears 7-8

26. Washington Redskins 5-10

27. Cleveland Browns 4-11

28. Jacksonville Jaguars 4-11

29. Minnesota Vikings 3-12

30. Indianapolis Colts 2-13

31. St. Louis Rams 2-13

32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4-11