NFL Power Rankings: Contenders That Are Totally Disaster-Proof

They say that disaster can strike anywhere. Presumably, "anywhere" includes a city with a much-beloved NFL team.

At this point in the season, the teams most open to disaster are those contending for playoff berths. When I look around, I'm not so sure I see any teams that are headed for a Boston Red Sox-style collapse, but you obviously can't be 100 percent certain.

Well, except for when it comes to a couple teams. The five teams listed below strike me as being totally disaster-proof.

Baltimore Ravens (No. 10)

Their quarterback is mediocre and they have a tendency to lose focus, but the foundation of the Ravens is as solid as a rock. They're built around a tremendous defense, a very good running back in Ray Rice and one of the better head coaches in the league in John Harbaugh.

To be sure, the Ravens are far from being a perfect team. I prefer teams with great quarterbacks, but any team with a capable defense and rushing attack is more than good enough for me.

The Ravens are going to drop a few games between now and the end of the season, but I'd be shocked if they missed out on the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 7)

Ben Roethlisberger has a broken right thumb, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says he's expected to be good to go when the Steelers return from their Week 11 bye.

Not that Big Ben's thumb matters one way or the other, of course. The Steelers are an excellent defensive team, and they showed last year that they can handle any and all Big Ben absences. 

True, the Steelers have used more of a pass-heavy offense this season, meaning Big Ben is more important than ever to the team's success. But since he's proven that he can play through just about any injury, we probably shouldn't bother arguing about it. The dude's not going to miss a game, and because of that the Steelers are going to be fine.

Houston Texans (No. 5)

I've been critical of the Texans all season, but only because I'm not sold on the idea that they are one of the NFL's legitimately elite teams.

Furthermore, I guess we're going to find out in the coming weeks just how disaster-proof the Texans really are. With Matt Schaub out for the foreseeable future, it's going to be Matt Leinart under center from here on out. Last we checked, that's not a good thing.

Lucky for Leinart, he has a really good team around him. The Texans have developed into one of the best defensive teams in the league under Wade Phillips' watch, and Leinart gets to rely on two studly running backs in Arian Foster and Ben Tate.

As such, my guess is the Texans are going to at least hold steady under Leinart.

San Francisco 49ers (No. 2)

They may be 8-1, but the 49ers are far from flawless. Their offense is one-dimensional, and their defense can be beaten if you take to the air often enough.

But hey, you don't get to 8-1 by accident. The 49ers' defense as a whole is the best unit the NFC has to offer, and they get enough production out of their running backs and tight ends to put points on the board. They're essentially a beatable team that is hard to beat, if that makes any sense.

The other thing that makes the 49ers disaster-proof is their remaining schedule, which contains five games against NFC West opponents. 

Green Bay Packers (No. 1)

They have Aaron Rodgers. Case closed.

Okay fine, the Packers also have the best coaching staff in the NFL, an offense that has more weapons than a Texas gun rack and a defense with more talented players than... um, a team with a lot of talented defensive players.

This is why the Packers are 9-0. They could lose the rest of their games and still come out on top.

Zachary D. Rymer's Week 11 Power Rankings

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