NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Which Teams Will Challenge the Green Bay Packers?

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers kept their undefeated record intact by routing the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. It's becoming more and more difficult to think of teams that will be able to keep up with Green Bay, especially now that the Houston Texans have lost Matt Schaub to injury.

As it stands heading into Week 11, here are three teams with at least some hope of knocking off the Packers come playoff time.

New Orleans Saints

New Orleans enters its bye week on a two-game winning streak thanks to a questionable decision by Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith. Sunday's victory gave the Saints a comfortable lead in the NFC South and kept them within striking distance of a first-round bye.

Drew Brees is throwing for more than 330 yards per game and, like Rodgers, uses his deep receiving corps to expose holes in the opposing defense. Getting rookie Mark Ingram healthy and in a groove is the only thing missing from the Saints offense.

Even though New Orleans' defense is average, the biggest key to beating Green Bay will be forcing turnovers. An opportunistic defense keyed the team's previous Super Bowl run and, if they can rekindle that old magic, could do so again.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Two of Pittsburgh's three losses came against the division rival Baltimore Ravens with the other one coming against the Houston Texans. Both of those teams rank among the league's elite in points and yards allowed. Green Bay doesn't have that type of defense.

Ben Roethlisberger continues to assert himself as a top-flight quarterback. He's always been good enough to win games with the support of a strong defense, but now he can help win games by outscoring opponents, which means Pittsburgh is dangerous.

The Steelers have a navigable remaining schedule, so they should have time to rest key players down the stretch should any injuries arise. As long as all of their key pieces are healthy, including Troy Polamalu, who was injured last season, Pittsburgh could challenge Green Bay.

New England Patriots

There's just something about the Patriots that says you can never completely count them out. Their defense has holes and the entire team has looked unusually human in recent weeks, but with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, don't count them out.

If Chad Ochocinco is finally ready to break out of his season-long malaise, the offense will become even more potent. They still need to develop some semblance of a running game, though, just in case they run into a strong passing defense like Pittsburgh or Baltimore in the playoffs.

The Patriots still have six more regular season games to make adjustments on defense. Belichick has got to be losing a lot of sleep at night knowing how dreadful that unit has played this season and will do everything in his power to fix it before the postseason.

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