Week 14 NFL Ranking: Patriots and Falcons Super Bowl Bound

With the regular season coming to the last quarter of the season, there are teams that are distancing themselves from the competition and looking towards the playoffs. This year, the NFL has so much parity while a chosen few could make reservations in Dallas soon.

The New England Patriots are showing once again that a team that plays like a team will be victorious. With the recent 45-3 beatdown of the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, the Patriots are the kings of the hill presently.

They have the nucleus with the genius of Bill Bellichick and the mistake-free Tom Brady. Brady has been on a tear as of late. It seems as if getting rid of Randy Moss did not phase the offense whatsoever. The casual fan does not know guys like Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, but they play a vital role in the success in New England. The pass defense is also starting to improve, which was one piece that the Pats had to buckle up on. The Patriots are playing their best football at the best time of the year.

The Atlanta Falcons look to hold home field advantage in the NFC playoff picture. They are currently riding a six-game win streak. That is a nightmare for their opponents. Matt Ryan has only lost one game at home in his entire career, which is a milestone by itself. He has a great offensive line with future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez at the end blocking and catching balls in the clutch. Michael Turner is a bowling ball and the great downfield running sets up the deep play action passes to Roddy White. The only true question about the Falcons is how they will compete against Philadelphia if matched-up in January. Teams will look to exploit Atlanta’s pass defense, which is their one true weakness.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were thought to have some easy losses early with Ben Roethlisberger missing the first quarter of the season, but the defense and the running game kept the Steelers in the hunt before his return. Honestly, having to overcome the adversity with the running game and the trademark defense made the team stronger because of the confidence that grew from those wins without a quality QB.

Even with the offensive line having problems, the defense led by Troy Polamalu and James Harrison will keep the wounds bandaged. The Steelers have been a target for the league’s new enforcement of hitting rules, so hopefully an egregious call made by a referee doesn’t cost them a game or two. Even though they have had trouble producing points at times, Pittsburgh always seems to keep the games very close until the final whistle.

The Baltimore Ravens are fooling fans when it comes to their identity. Most think of the Ravens as a defense-first team, but the offense has so many weapons. With Joe Flacco having Ray Rice and Todd Heap as security blankets in the flats, defenses also have to account for Anquan Boldin in the middle and deep.

Don’t forget that the only losses that the Ravens have are to teams like the Bengals, Patriots, Steelers, and Falcons. All of the losses were close—not a single loss was over five points! The defense can hold teams, but are surprisingly susceptible to a team with a great running game. Flacco is young and also is learning what it takes to lead a team late in the season. If the Steelers take the division, look for the Ravens to be the best wildcard team in the playoffs.

While these few teams look be the lead dogs, there are some other teams that could upset their hopes.

The Philadelphia Eagles have an explosive offense and a blitz-happy defense. The Green Bay Packers may have injuries, but Aaron Rodgers spreads the ball around and the linebacking core is top notch. The nationally disrespected Bears are playing with more balance every week and are making less mistakes. Don’t count out the Saints, who are starting to fire on all cylinders with defensive takeaways and Drew Brees chucking it all over the field. The Jets are seemingly all hype and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Chiefs made the AFC even more competitive than them.

So far, the NFL season has been a wild ride and the big push to the playoffs has officially started to heat up in the winter months. The Patriots and the Falcons in the Super Bowl??