NFL Power Rankings: Teams Propped Up on Hollow Pedestal

Several teams have done a great job of masking their weaknesses so far, but these deficiencies are going to cost them in the long run.

Here are three teams whose weaknesses will end their season sooner than their power ranking suggests.

No. 4 San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are a good football team, but they have holes that will not find them reaching the NFL's final four.

QB Alex Smith has been an excellent game manager, but this is a QB that still struggles to make plus plays. The 49ers' run game has shown flashes of dominance, but it is too inconsistent to carry them—especially against good rush defenses.

Defensively, the 49ers are playing at an extremely high level. However, they are relying on a great front seven to limit the damage to their suspect secondary.

This team faces very few good pass games in the regular season, and this weakness may go unnoticed and covered until the playoffs, but at some point, it is going to cost them.

No. 5 Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens defense is really good, but it is not good enough to carry this offense all year.

Joe Flacco seems to be regressing. He has moments of brilliance, but he is prone to prolonged stretches of ineptitude.

He is completing a terrible 53.8 percent of his passes on the season and has eight touchdowns to six interceptions.

This is not going to cut it, and Flacco's inconsistency will kill this team's season.

No. 9. Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are way better than I expected them to be, but they aren't as good as their record suggests.

They only have one win over a team with a winning record (Buffalo). Their defense is playing outstanding, but other than that Buffalo game, they have not played a team with a potent offense.

The offense is very young and promising, but they are inconsistent. That is certainly understandable given their youth, but it means they are headed for a rough second half of the season, as their schedule gets harder.

Check out my power rankings:

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