NFL Power Rankings: 4 Bottom Feeders Poised for Strong Finishes

On one end of the NFL spectrum, you have the chase for the Lombardi Trophy. At the other end, you have the "Suck for Luck" chase.

At this point, just about every bottom feeder in the league should be considered a contestant for Andrew Luck's services. The 0-9 Indianapolis Colts obviously have the inside track, but a lot can change in the next eight weeks.

But if you ask me, there are four teams in particular who are going to play their way out of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. They started slow, but the stage is set for them to finish strong.

Seattle Seahawks (No. 27 overall)

Let's make one thing very clear: the Seattle Seahawks are a bad team. In fact, they are a very bad team.

When all is said and done, I do think the Seahawks are going to finish below .500, but I think they're just good enough to take advantage of some very winnable games remaining on their schedule. 

In the last eight weeks, the Seahawks get to face the Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams twice. Those games could very well translate into four wins. If the Seahawks get them, they will finish with six wins.

For the record, that's one less win than they had all of last season.

"Silver Lining" Tweet:

Carolina Panthers (No. 25 overall)

Cam Newton has done everything the Panthers could have asked of him this season.

Well, except one thing: win.

To this point, Newton has led the Panthers to just two wins, which is a surprisingly low total when you consider how competitive they've been in the bulk of their games. Shoot, they even gave the Green Bay Packers a run for their money.

The road ahead is a tough one, but Newton and the Panthers do have winnable matchups against the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and two against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming up. 

If Newton can lead the Panthers to a couple more wins, this season will be a success. 

"Same Here" Tweet:

Minnesota Vikings (No. 24 overall)

We go from the Panthers to the team that just beat them in Week 8, the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings pulled the plug on the Donovan McNabb experiment a couple weeks ago, and the Christian Ponder experiment has yielded some pretty positive results thus far. He's been surprisingly efficient, and his efficiency has made Adrian Peterson's life much easier.

If this formula holds, the Vikings are actually going to be a tough team to beat, not matter who they're playing. They only have two wins now, but they're another team that could finish with as many as six wins.

"The Power of Positive Thinking" Tweet:

Denver Broncos (No. 22 overall)

After looking truly horrid in his first two starts, Tim Tebow looked pretty darn good in his third start against the Oakland Raiders. He passed for 124 yards and two touchdowns and added another 117 yards on the ground.

Of course, Tebow got a lot of help from Willis McGahee, who turned back the clocked and rushed for 163 yards.

Because the Broncos were facing a horrible Raiders defense, you obviously have to take these numbers for what they're worth. That said, the Broncos did use an offensive system that Tebow looked comfortable running, so one presumes that they will keep going to the well as long as Tebow is under center.

If they do, there will be a few more wins in Denver's future. They may even sneak into the AFC West race.

Given the state of the three teams ahead of them, that wouldn't be much of a surprise.

"History Was Made" Tweet:

Zachary D. Rymer's Week 10 Power Rankings

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