NFL Power Rankings: Division-by-Division Breakdown

Everyone’s read the standard NFL Power Rankings. But where does each team rank within their respective division? Where does each division rank when stacked up against the others?

Heading into Week 6 of the 2012 season, there’s been a trend towards dominance by the NFC.  Surprisingly, that conference has won 43 games in comparison to the 36 won by the AFC so far.

What does that say about the current power structure of the NFL today?

The answer, and more, is reflected in the proceeding power rankings. Seven of the top 10 teams and three of the top eight divisions all come from the NFC.

Also, the past three Super Bowls have been won by the NFC. That’s a true testament to the toughness of the conference during that time span and in the current makeup of the league.

2012 NFL Power Rankings for Week 6

Here's a 32-team NFL power ranking to get things started.

Week 6, 2012 NFL Power Rankings:

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

1. NFC West (14-6)

The NFC West has been the most surprising division in the NFL after a little more than a quarter of play.

San Francisco was believed to be on the verge of a Super Bowl run, but not much was thought of its divisional rivals. They’ve started strong with an encouraging 4-1 beginning to their hopeful playoff run.

The Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams haven’t shown much consistency on the offensive side of the ball through the first five weeks. However, they haven’t really needed to. Their defenses have all markedly improved in the past year.

Tough defense is what wins championships, and the NFC West is collectively playing the best defense in the NFL right now.

NFL Rank	Div. Rank	Team	Wins	Losses
3	1	San Francisco 49ers	4	1
8	2	Arizona Cardinals	4	1
13	3	Seattle Seahawks	3	2
15	4	St. Louis Rams	3	2

2. NFC North (11-8)

The NFC North is an extremely tough division with some excellent football franchises. If not for a slow start for the Green Bay Packers and an even worse start by the Detroit Lions, this division would be the best in the business.

It still has that potential but isn’t quite playing to it yet.

Like the NFC West, Green Bay, Minnesota and Chicago know something about playing tough defense. The Detroit Lions, not so much.

After the next 12 weeks come to pass there could very well be three playoff teams from the NFC North competing for their chance to go to New Orleans. However, they’ll need to go through the Super Bowl ambitions of the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers.

NFL Rank	Div. Rank	Team	Wins	Losses
6	1	Chicago Bears	4	1
7	2	Minnesota Vikings	4	1
11	3	Green Bay Packers	2	3
21	4	Detroit Lions	1	3

3. NFC East (10-9)

The NFC East has the potential to be an elite NFL division. The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles have been playing great defense while the Washington Redskins and New York Giants have been getting it done with their offenses.

While no team has emerged as the clear-cut favorite, the Eagles and Giants are both playing at a high level. Mike Vick has turned the ball over a plethora of times, and the team has fallen to 3-2 as a result. They certainly have the capacity to be a much better team.

The same goes for the New York Giants. Defense has eluded the G-men so far, but Eli Manning and his depleted offense have been able to put up some big scoring totals to negate those struggles.

Dallas finally has the defense it’s craved to complement its explosive-caliber offense. Rob Ryan’s defense is certainly holding up its end of the bargain. The offense, on the other hand, has been stymied by turnovers and an inability to run the football.

The future looks bright for the Washington Redskins. They’ve found a running back that Mike Shanahan can decide to consistently play and a franchise quarterback all in the same offseason. Injuries on defense will ultimately limit them in 2012, but the not-so-distant future will yield big things for this team.

NFL Rank	Div. Rank	Team	Wins	Losses
9	1	Philadelphia Eagles	3	2
10	2	New York Giants	3	2
16	3	Dallas Cowboys	2	2
20	4	Washington Redskins	2	3

4. AFC North (9-11)

The AFC North, a division of perennial winners, sent three teams to playoffs in 2011.

Despite the Cleveland Browns’ 0-5 start, it’s still one of the top divisions in the NFL. Normally full of defensively imposing teams, this year has seen a decline in that department but somewhat of a boost in offensive prowess.

Aging defenses, injuries and suspensions have all helped attribute to the apparent defensive decline in the AFC North. That’s prompted a greater emphasis on scoring and offense.

Aging in Pittsburgh and Baltimore is definitely a concern. The teams have posted some of the best defenses over the past decade, but injuries, personnel changes and decline in play have helped spur a shift in the power structure of the NFL.

Cincinnati has been wildly inconsistent while the young Browns have played close with every team they’ve faced—and lost to. Both teams have some exciting pieces in place to possibly turn the corner in the division sooner rather than later.

NFL Rank	Div. Rank	Team	Wins	Losses
4	1	Baltimore Ravens	4	1
12	2	Cincinnati Bengals	3	2
14	3	Pittsburgh Steelers	2	3
32	4	Cleveland Browns	0	5

5. AFC South (10-10)

The AFC South hasn’t had a great start, but they have emerged as a competitive division over the past two weeks. While the Houston Texans have solidified their place atop the pack, the Andrew Luck-led Indianapolis Colts are building momentum.

Tennessee has been terrible on offense, but they’ve been absolutely awful on defense despite knocking off the Steelers in Week 6. They’ve won two close games and have been blown out four times in their four losses.

In Jacksonville, growing pains have cramped Blaine Gabbert taking the step to the next level. He wasn’t great in his rookie season, so it’s not appropriate to label it a “sophomore slump.”

Houston may end up being one of the better teams by season’s end, but they won’t have much of a challenge by their divisional foes. That may end up hurting them, as they will certainly face better competition in the playoffs.

NFL Rank	Div. Rank	Team	Wins	Losses
1	1	Houston Texans	5	0
22	2	Indianapolis Colts	2	2
29	3	Tennessee Titans	2	4
31	4	Jacksonville Jaguars	1	4

6. NFC South (8-11)

The NFL’s other unbeaten, the Atlanta Falcons, is the lone bright spot for the NFC South division. Carolina, Tampa Bay and New Orleans have just one win each.

Sure, New Orleans has largely underperformed and been neck-and-neck in every game of the season, but they’ve still lost four games.

Some expected turnarounds in Tampa Bay and Carolina, but the teams seem very much like the old Bucs and Panthers.

Atlanta has the talent needed to compete on both sides of the ball but the rest of the division is falling behind. New Orleans is still nearly the same offensive powerhouse that it was, but its offseason bounty scandal has prompted big changes in the team’s defense.

Everything is subject to change, but as things stand, the division has some very good potential if the Saints can turn things around.

NFL Rank	Div. Rank	Team	Wins	Losses
2	1	Atlanta Falcons	5	0
23	2	New Orleans Saints	1	4
24	3	Tampa Buccaneers	1	3
28	4	Carolina Panthers	1	4

7. AFC East (9-11)

 The AFC East is tough division to judge because of the changes that have already occurred with its teams. New England looked as if it were on the brink of having an off season before rediscovering the running game.

Injuries and poor quarterback play has hindered a promising New York Jets team. When the Tim Tebow debate and sideshow engulfs the Big Apple media and you actually start believing the team should switch from Mark Sanchez to Tebow—you know things have gone miserably wrong.

Miami is young and inexperienced in the secondary, but that hasn’t stopped them from playing competitively in nearly every game this season. Rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill has made a connection with Brian Hartline, and Reggie Bush has finally taken flight to give the Dolphins a surprisingly potent offense.

Buffalo spent a ton of money on pass-rusher Mario Williams in the offseason but literally can’t buy a sack to this point. It’s been Kevin Williams who has stolen that spotlight for the Bills. Ryan Fitzpatrick has played well at times but has continued to be inconsistent. In true Fitzpatrick fashion, he threw four touchdowns but also four picks in the team’s loss to the Patriots.

NFL Rank	Div. Rank	Team	Wins	Losses
5	1	New England Patriots	3	2
19	2	Miami Dolphins	2	3
25	3	Buffalo Bills	2	3
27	4	New York Jets	2	3

8. AFC West (7-12)

The AFC West is collectively the worst division in the NFL right now. Do they have potential to be better? Yes, certainly. But they aren’t playing like it as of Week 5.

As a whole, defense has been the main detriment for these four teams.

Oakland has continued its struggles in all aspects of the game, while Kansas City has been unable to realize its potential under quarterback Matt Cassel.

The top two teams, Denver and San Diego, have underperformed greatly and are not as good as I had originally thought coming into the season.

The Chargers have had inconsistency in their backfield, and the Broncos defense has been unable to stop anyone in the first half of games. That’s put Peyton Manning into holes even he couldn’t dig his new team out of.

Things may change before year’s end, but it doesn’t look like it for the AFC West.

NFL Rank	Div. Rank	Team	Wins	Losses
17	1	San Diego Chargers	3	2
18	2	Denver Broncos	2	3
26	3	Kansas City Chiefs	1	4
30	4	Oakland Raiders	1	3

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Mike Hoag Jr. is a Breaking News Team writer with Bleacher Report and also covers the NFL and the Cleveland Browns for the site.