NFL Power Rankings Week 12: Predicting Post-Monday Night Football Standings

Critiquing the NFL and its top teams is a never-ending struggle, in which every week of standings is effectively burnt to shreds with every unpredictable finish.

This rings true yet again entering Week 12, with some of the NFL's top squads going down the weekend prior. Anytime the two Super Bowl attendees from the previous year lose on the same weekend, you know things are getting crazy.

Week 11 still has one matchup on tap as the Titans host the Steelers on Monday Night Football, but let's go ahead and predict how the power rankings will unfold heading into the new week.

32. Oakland Raiders

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

One day, the Raiders will win another NFL regular-season game. It just might not come in 2014.

As Peter Schrager of Fox Sports noted, it's been a full year since Oakland did so:

The Raiders fought hard in a 13-6 defeat to the Chargers on the road, but it was just their second defeat of one possession or less in a month.

They close out the season against Kansas City, St. Louis, San Francisco, Kansas City, Buffalo and Denver. It's hard to see them winning any of them.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars were on a bye in Week 11, which means for the second weekend since the end of August, they didn't lose a game. Small victories are small.

Almost a month has passed since Jacksonville won its first game of the year against Cleveland, and they have been beaten by double-digits in each of their three appearances since. A few more lifeless games, and the Jags could overtake the Raiders as the league's worst team.

30. New York Jets

New York was also on a bye in Week 11, but the team was able to heighten the spirits entering the bye with a 20-13 win over Pittsburgh. Still, that did little to erase a 2-8 start to the season. The passing game is still hapless, and the secondary rarely shows life.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The season's second win finally came for the Buccaneers in Week 11, and it was a rather dominant one—a 27-7 victory over the Redskins in Washington. But after such a poor performance from Washington, the question now points to how much it had to do with Tampa Bay's success as opposed to Washington's ineptitude.

28. Tennessee Titans

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

The Titans will soon be 2-8 after an inevitable Monday night loss at home to the Steelers, but Tennessee will keep things interesting against a playoff-bound team on national television. Strong showings from rookies Zach Mettenberger and Bishop Sankey will turn some heads, but not enough to bring the Titans from out of the league's cellar.

27. Washington Redskins

Right when you think it couldn't get any worse for Robert Griffin III, it did. The Redskins came off their bye having won two of three, and then they were throttled 27-7 at home by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Washington will have some pressing offseason decisions to make if RG3's struggles continue.

26. New York Giants

Eli Manning threw five interceptions, yet the Giants still had a chance to beat the 49ers late in a 16-10 defeat. That says a lot about New York's improved defense that is keeping the 3-7 Giants competitive, but it says even more about the offense's woes.

25. Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons are leading the NFC South after Week 11, which speaks volumes to the ineptitude of the division altogether. Atlanta had a span from Week 4 to Week 7 in which they lost four straight by double digits. 

With teams like Green Bay, Arizona and Pittsburgh left on the slate, Atlanta will be knocked from its low-lying perch soon enough.

24. Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton made some clutch plays, but the Panthers' struggles continued in a 19-17 loss to the Falcons. Newton also threw multiple interceptions for the second straight week—a first for his career.

The Panthers will enter their Week 12 bye shocked that they're still in contention for the division. But who knows? Maybe that will breathe some life into this team.

23. Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings gave away a great opportunity to improve to .500 on the road at Chicago in Week 11, but an improving defense won't let the team down every week. Rookie Teddy Bridgewater needs help from the running game, but Minnesota is tough to beat when he gets it.

22. St. Louis Rams

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

The Rams mounted one of the upsets of the season in a 22-7 drubbing of the Broncos at home, showing that Peyton Manning is in fact human in the regular season. But after losing five of seven before that, does St. Louis have enough in the tank to keep it going?

21. Buffalo Bills

After Kyle Orton hit the ground running as the Bills' starter, the offense has sputtered in the last two weeks—both losses, including a 22-9 loss at Miami Thursday. Buffalo's defense is bringing the heat, but the club needs more consistent production from the offense.

20. New Orleans Saints

For all of the Saints' recent success, starting out 4-4 might be considered a nightmare. If that's the case, doing what New Orleans just did—lose two straight at home—is nothing short of an epidemic.

Sound the alarms if the Saints lose their third straight at home to Baltimore on Monday Night Football for Week 12.

19. Chicago Bears

Just when things were spiraling out of control, the Bears got back to their winning ways with a 21-13 victory over the Vikings. Jay Cutler needs to take better care of the ball, but as long as Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery continue to make incredible plays, he'll be just fine.

18. Houston Texans

The Texans went with Ryan Mallett for the first time in Week 11, and he looked solid in leading the Texans to a 23-7 win over the Browns. JJ Watt is wreaking enough havoc to hide a porous Houston secondary, and Mallett's continued resurgence will put the Texans in the playoff mix.

17. Cleveland Browns

Cleveland is still 6-4, but the struggles were plentiful in a 23-7 loss to the Texans at home. With a lack of dynamic playmakers, the Browns are forced to lean on their defense and grind out wins, which doesn't always work.

16. San Diego Chargers

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

The Chargers ended a three-game losing streak Sunday with a 13-6 win over the Raiders, but they likely won't feel great about it after a close win over the NFL's worst team. Philip Rivers is playing hero ball and keeping his team in the playoff hunt, but he needs a now-healthy Ryan Mathews to resurrect the run game.

15. Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals had to go to the Superdome to get the bad taste out of their mouths from a 24-3 loss at home to Cleveland, but they stood up to the task and won 27-10 at New Orleans. If rookie Jeremy Hill (152 yards) can prove that consistent week in and week out, Andy Dalton will continue to play lights-out.

14. Baltimore Ravens

Off for a bye in Week 11, the Ravens—just like the rest of the division—will enter Week 12 in the thick of the AFC North. But when they suit up to face the Saints on Monday, it will have been a month since the Ravens notched a win against anyone other than the Titans.

13. Miami Dolphins

Other than a tough-nosed 20-16 defeat at Detroit in Week 10, the Dolphins are undefeated since Oct. 12. The latest showing was a 22-9 win over the Bills on Thursday, and Miami is going to be awfully tough to beat if Cameron Wake and Dion Jordan continue wreaking havoc.

12. San Francisco 49ers

It wasn't pretty, but the 49ers stayed in the win column with a 16-10 victory over the Giants. San Francisco has been playing far from its best football as of late, but is still winning—that's the sign of a team that can be very dangerous down the stretch.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger's Steelers will take first place in the AFC North with a win over the Titans on Monday night, but it won't be as lopsided as you might expect. However, a win will bump Pittsburgh to 7-4 and very much into the thick of the AFC playoff hunt.

10. Kansas City Chiefs

Don't look now, but the Chiefs are tied atop the AFC West with the Super Bowl runner-up Broncos after Kansas City's 24-20 win over Seattle at home. Andy Reid's crew has won five straight and seven of eight after starting the season 0-2.

9. Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles were absolutely smoked 53-20 by the Packers at Lambeau Field, and that 60-minute drubbing alone raised massive questions about Philadelphia's status as an elite team. It should be noted, though, that it was just the second time the Eagles have allowed more than 30 points. 

8. Seattle Seahawks

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Such an unstoppable force a year ago, the Seahawks now look awfully vulnerable—even at home. Speedy running backs (like Jamaal Charles) can gash Seattle's front, and the Legion of Boom secondary isn't playing lights-out.

Russell Wilson's playmaking and Marshawn Lynch's brutishness will keep Seattle in the mix, but this team isn't the immovable object it was in 2013.

7. Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys had a bye in Week 11, which means a week to nurse Tony Romo's ailing back and a week to rest up DeMarco Murray for the late-season haul. This 7-3 Dallas team has a machine-like offense that just needs its defense to hold up in order to win games.

6. Detroit Lions

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Detroit was unable to notch the NFC's best record against Arizona in Week 11, falling 14-6. But it was a result that only further proved that the Lions will be serious players in the playoff hunt.

After falling in a 14-0 hole, the Lions didn't allow a point for the final 51 minutes of game play. If that type of defensive dominance holds up, Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson will put up the points necessary.

5. Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are one of the league's best teams, but they have shown in losses to Denver and New England just how much still separates them from the AFC big boys. Indianapolis' defense couldn't stop New England's offensive attack one bit, and that's a concerning trend should they meet in January.

4. Green Bay Packers

The Packers are firing on all cylinders after hanging 30 on Philadelphia in Week 11—in the first half. Green Bay now has a whopping 108 points in its last two games. Aaron Rodgers' arm has to be tired. 

3. Denver Broncos

The struggles that Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense showed Sunday at St. Louis were unlike anything we've seen from Denver this season. But with a dominant run defense and playmakers aplenty on offense, it's a matter of when—not if—the Broncos will turn it around.

2. New England Patriots

Apparently, the Patriots are still mad about everyone writing them off in the season's early weeks. New England has back-to-back 22-point wins over Denver and Indianapolis—the most dangerous teams standing between the Pats and the Super Bowl. 

1. Arizona Cardinals

Drew Stanton looked more than capable of assuming the starting role for the rest of 2014 in the Cardinals' 14-6 win over Detroit. The offense sputtered after some early success, but a resurgent defensive performance leads Arizona fans to believe their team is still atop the NFL.