NFL Power Rankings: 2011's Best Surprises

Two NFL teams have performed surprisingly well so far this season, proving that parity is effective and that even our best preseason guesses can be wrong.

The San Francisco 49ers and, to a lesser (but no less real) extent, the Buffalo Bills have emerged from the very dregs of the league as two of the most talented and effective squads of 2011.

Though Buffalo has stumbled recently, being blown out 44-7 by the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10, the Bills started the season strong and have a winning record of 5-4, tied for second place in the AFC East with the venerable New York Jets.

After their Week 3 win over the New England Patriots (a feat the team hadn't accomplished in 15 tries), the Bills sat atop the AFC East for the first time in recent memory. Led by quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and running back Fred Jackson, the team boasted one of the most efficient and highest-scoring offenses in the league.

While the team has regressed in recent weeks, dropping its last two games and looking more than weak on defense, what the Bills have accomplished thus far is surprising.

It should serve as a source of inspiration for teams struggling this season, providing them with an example of how one of the NFL's worst can turn it around in the course of one offseason.

But the best example of a team that reversed course in the span of just a few months is the 8-1 San Francisco 49ers, a team that hasn't had a winning season since 2002.

Little changed on the Niners roster; the main difference between the 2010 and 2011 incarnations of the team is its head coach. Jim Harbaugh has turned his team around, using a combination of seriously good coaching and strong leadership to enhance his players' strengths and overcome their weaknesses.

That a first-year coach could do this while unable to speak with his team during the protracted lockout proves that he's certainly the right man for the right team, at the right time.

Now No. 2 in the NFL, the 49ers are a win away from clinching their division and a playoff spot. And they appear, by all indication, to be the only team in the league capable of giving the Green Bay Packers a hard time.

From the basement of the league's worst division in 2010, to the very top of the NFL in 2011, it's clear that nothing is more surprising this season than San Francisco's rise to dominance. 

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