NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Chicago Bears and Red-Hot Teams Primed For an Upset

The time is now to jump off the Chicago Bears bandwagon.

They have ripped off four-straight wins and are quickly emerging as a contender in the ultra-competitive NFC.

I’m here to burst that bubble.

Despite thrashing the Lions by 23 points, the offense's deficiencies are still prevalent. QB Jay Cutler went a putrid 9-of-19 for 123 yards. He may be getting more protection, but he still isn’t getting any help from his receiving core aside from Earl Bennett.

WR Roy Williams put up a goose egg despite two targets his way, while RB Matt Forte hauled in only one of his five passes. It’s a huge issue that defenses are going to start exploiting soon.

The pass defense is horrific as well, to the tune of 29th in the league. They allow just under 270 yards a game and are dealing with multiple injuries in the secondary.

With San Diego, Green Bay and trips to Oakland and Denver still on the slate, this team is about to be exposed.

Here are two other teams playing well that are about to experience a significant drop off:

7. Houston Texans

This is a pretty obvious pick considering Matt Schaub’s foot injury is thrusting Matt Leinart into the starting QB role.

His failure as a QB in the NFL was never more evident than last year, when the Cardinals decided to cut him in favor of QBs by the name of John Skelton and Max Hall.

RB Arian Foster and the third-ranked rushing attack certainly will help him, but teams are now going to stack eight in the box and force Leinart to beat them.

That’s not good.

Expect the Texans to still make the playoffs because of the horrific AFC South, but they won’t be heading in with any sort of momentum.

13. Dallas Cowboys

The fans in Dallas are riding high after two double-digit wins at home. Hate to break the news, but the team is only 1-3 on the road and still has four away games left on the slate.

The loss of WR Miles Austin is going to catch up to them soon (especially with the inconsistent play of Dez Bryant), and the defense is a coin flip every week. Dominate one week, putrid the next.

With a road game against the arch-rival Redskins on tap, Week 11 will mark the beginning of the end for the Cowboys 2011 season.

Eric Ball's Week 11 NFL Power Rankings

    1. Green Bay Packers     
    2. San Francisco 49ers     
    3. Pittsburgh Steelers
    4. New Orleans Saints    
    5. New England Patriots     
    6. New York Giants     
    7. Houston Texans

     8. Baltimore Ravens 

     9. Cincinnati Bengals     
    10. Chicago Bears       
    11. Atlanta Falcons     
    12. Detroit Lions 
    13. Dallas Cowboys     
    14. New York Jets
    15. Buffalo Bills
    16. Oakland Raiders     
    17. Philadelphia Eagles
    18. San Diego Chargers
    19. Tennessee Titans     
    20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers     
    21. Denver Broncos     
    22. Miami Dolphins     
    23. Minnesota Vikings     
    24.  Carolina Panthers     
    25. Jacksonville Jaguars     
    26. Arizona Cardinals
    27. St. Louis Rams     
    28. Kansas City Chiefs     
    29. Seattle Seahawks     
    30. Cleveland Browns     
    31. Washington Redskins     
    32. Indianapolis Colts