2012 Super Bowl: Power Ranking the Remaining Teams in the Hunt

In no time at all, there will only be two teams still standing in the NFL postseason. That's when things will get real.

They're pretty real already, of course. Both conference championship games are going to be played on Sunday, and both of them promise to be pretty awesome. The New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers gave us a great game when they played during the regular season, and the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots offer us the kind of defense vs. offense matchup that we don't see often enough.

But for the sake of asking a random question, let's ask this question: Which of the four remaining teams is the best?

Well, here's how I rank them.

4. Baltimore Ravens

By my putting the Ravens last on this list, you might get the idea that I think they're a bad team.

I don't. They're in the AFC Championship Game, and you don't get that far if you're a bad team.

The Ravens just aren't as good as the other three teams on this list.

There are things to like about the Ravens. Their defense is outstanding, and it's stacked at all three levels. It performed great during the regular season, and it was great against the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round.

You also have to like certain parts of their offense, most notably Ray Rice. Anquan Boldin is always solid, and you never know when Torrey Smith is going to do something awesome.

So why are the Ravens No. 4, you ask?

Take a wild guess.

Yup, Joe Flacco. There are times when he's great, but he spends the bulk of his time under center being decidedly average. He has a habit of making bad decisions, and he's utterly useless when his protection breaks down. It's not his fault that happens a lot, but it wouldn't kill him to develop some improvisational skills.

Flacco has played a big part in keeping the Ravens out of the Super Bowl in each of the last three years. If they miss out again, we'll probably be blaming him once again.

3. New York Giants

When the Giants won the Super Bowl a couple years ago, they did it thanks largely to great play from their defensive line and clutch play from Eli Manning.

Not much has changed, but the scary part is that both the Giants' D-line and Manning are even better this year.

Yeah, that's frightening.

Just as frightening is the fact that Manning has two home-run hitters to throw to in Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, the latter of whom has been great so far in the postseason. The Giants don't have a rushing attack, but they've done enough to prove that they don't need one.

You also have to fear the Giants simply because they've been here and done that before. Many of the guys on their roster were there when the Giants won it all a couple years ago, and they of course still have Tom Coughlin. He's on the hot seat most of the time, but the run the Giants are on should go to show just how good a coach Coughlin really is.

As a total package, the Giants showed just how good they are last weekend. They didn't just beat the Green Bay Packers. They killed them.

And they did it despite getting absolutely no help from the refs. That's impressive.

2. New England Patriots

I have to admit, I thought long and hard about ranking the Giants ahead of the Patriots. At this point, the G-Men are the more well-rounded team.

There's one reason I have the Patriots ranked ahead of the Giants: Tom Brady.

I know, I know. I'm sick of people melting over Brady too, but it's hard not to gush over the guy after what he did to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round. He threw one bad pass all night, ultimately finishing with 363 passing yards and six touchdowns.

He also punted the ball, proving that there's nothing he can't do.

Let's give Rob Gronkowski credit too. He was brilliant in the regular season, and he was even better against the Broncos, catching 10 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. He's an uncoverable weapon.

I could give credit to New England's defense, but the truth is that a dominant performance against Tim Tebow and Denver's offense isn't something you want to read into too much. 

Even still, as long as Brady is hot, the Patriots don't need defense. They'll take what they can get.

1. San Francisco 49ers

Why put the 49ers at the top of this list?

It's simple, really. Of the four teams left in the playoffs, they're the only team that is capable of playing a complete game.

It all starts with their defense. If you try to run the ball on the 49ers, they won't let you. If you try to pass on them, they'll put pressure on the quarterback and tighten up their secondary. They also made it abundantly clear against the New Orleans Saints that they will take the ball away, and that they're not afraid to leave their share of bruises.

Offensively, we know the 49ers can run the ball. They had to get away from this strength a little bit against the Saints, but Frank Gore is still one of the best running backs in the NFL and Kendall Hunter is an underrated No. 2 back. If the 49ers want to run, they will run.

More often than not, Alex Smith is not going to impress you. But as we saw at the end of the Saints game, he has a flair for the dramatic. More important than that, he has Vernon Davis to throw to. Right now, that's a reality that scares each of the other three teams left in the playoffs.

The 49ers are also dangerous because they're unpredictable. Jim Harbaugh has a bag of tricks at his disposal, and he doesn't mind reaching into it.

Of the four teams on this list, the 49ers are hardly the most dominant. They are, however, the hardest team to beat.